Notes
Washington University in St. Louis Distance Carnival: 5K - Heat 3
Had a good drive over to the meet. Small crew of myself, Weem, Choi, Leonel, and Anneliese. Weather was about 50 with some slight wind. A bit chilly, but overall good conditions. Watched Leonel run gutsy in his heat and get 3rd, so I was pretty fired up going into the warm up. Felt pretty ehh on the warm up. Legs felt loose, but my right IT band was a bit tight. Made sure to roll it out and loosen up after getting back.
Got called to the line for the start of the race, but we ended up standing there waiting for > 5 min waiting for the officials to finish setting up the timing system. This break probably help though, as it helped to calm my nerves. Gun went off, and I got out in front of my group. After 100m, the outside alley (which I was in) came in right at the front of the other group. Tucked in in ~5th and just tried to stay relaxed and on the rail. A top group of about 8 guys formed after the mile. Hung out near the back of there, just trying to stay focus and relaxed. Weem and Choi were at the front of the group, so made sure to stay in contact with them. Started hurting a bit after the 3K, but stayed relaxed and keep contact. At this point I looked over my shoulder and saw a big gap of like 30m, so moved around a few guys to prevent falling into no-man's land. Pace started to ramp up with a K to go. At 800 one guy made a big move and gapped our group by 15m. At 600 I was hurting and at the back of our group of 7, but thought I had to give what I had. At 500m I put in a big surge and went around the whole chase pack into 2nd as we hit the bell. Started pushing hard here, and started closing well on the guy in first. Passed him on the back straight. Honestly, didn't want to be in the lead this early, but had no choice but to try and run away. Closed well and took the W.
Very happy with this race. This is basically my competitive 5K debut. Think I've got a lot more in my legs. Excited to race for big points next weekend and then try and chase that sub 15.
Ran into the two guys who hosted me when I went on a visit to Wash U as a senior in high school, Josh Clark and Adam Streicher. I was honestly surprised that they remembered me, and how genuinely excited they were to chat for a few minutes. Runners are the best kind of people :)
Splits: 35.7, 77.3, 75.0, 75.1, 75.6, 74.0, 75.1, 73.4, 75.2, 74.7, 74.9, 71.9, 62.8