Notes
I don't think I've ever raced this well. Windy start, sat patiently through first 5k, split 18:01. Mark, Joe, and I got behind 3 guys at 5k and let them do the work for us up to 10k, split 35:18. Headwinds picked back up in Fort Story.
Been in several races with Greg Swiatocha last two years and he has been a great guy to race. Around mile 5 i could see we were catching his pack and I decided to focus on racing Greg. Caught him at 10k and just abused him. Sat right on him through mile 8. He seemed a little irritated (understandable) and tried to slow down, so I did, too. So he then decided if he was gonna do the work we might as well catch the next group. I obliged. Caught the next group at a really exposed patch so just tucked in and sat patiently, waiting for the wind to change.
Then two guys up front just died. So it was me, Greg, and a Dashing Whippet guy with headphones in. My planned trigger was coming out of Fort Story, so I put a big surge in right past mile 9 to break the group up and catch the DW guy. Greg covered but sounded like he might be getting tired. So to thank him for all his hard work, I put one more surge in and tried to send a message that I was in a different race. It seemed to work. Never saw either guy again. I split ~525 at mile 10 and found myself solo with 5k to go. I steadied the ship, and just chipped away at this guy about 100m up. Saw parents at 11, shut the watch off, and just raced my way home. Caught the last guy at mile 12 and threw down a ~6:40 final 2k to finish 13th in 1:13:27. (Greg ended up with a great race, too, nice pr in 1:14 lo).
Final 10 miles came in at 55:27 and that's probably my favorite stat of the race. This one is a keeper. Teammates both put in great races with Joe running a fantastic 1:14 lo and Mark battling some stomach problems to 1:14 mid. I have to thank both those guys because we worked perfectly together through the first half and really put everyone in a great spot for a great finish. They got me to a place where I could race well and in return I worked my ass off for them. Go CAR!