Notes
Very solid race. Good for 4th on the team and overall... GET OUT THE BROOM BECAUSE WE SWEPT THAT RACE.
Was very in control the entire race. Got out harder/smarter than last race in the first 400, then settled a bit to a comfortable pace. The weather was warm so I was not interested in killing my race in the first mile. An RPI (and Oneonta) pack formed up front but with the hill and heat, I wanted to be back a bit. Came through at 5:30, maybe a tad slow but it felt like the right place to be at the time. It put me about 5s behind the next guy, but I wasn't worried. Took my time closing that gap, and from there it was just pick-off city. Going to be honest, don't remember who I caught when... maybe Tyler a little after 5K? We worked together with Fazio to 6.5K-ish, at one point I was in front of that pack, then Fazio took it back just before 7K and I hung on him. We got up to Sean, Fazio pulled away a bit, I found a little left in the tank to take Sean before the line and JUST sneak in for a baby PR. Got that last Oneonta guy in the last K.
Not a blazing time for a supposedly blazing course, but for the conditions, I think I ran a very smart race. Stayed comfortable through 2, moved up during 3, and just started to grind for the last 2K. Only splits I saw were mile and 6K (20:15 ish), but from that I know it was again a non-negligible negative split (~5:14 pace for the last 2K?). Really cool stuff sweeping, even if the meet was tiny. Definitely some positives and negatives today on the team, but it's a good confidence booster for the team overall, I'd say. Week of hard work coming up.
Maybe more thoughts later.
Aight, it's later, more thoughts. It's tough to look at this race and look for improvements ahead, because I think for THIS race on THIS day, my strategy was mostly sound. But, in general, if I'm going to continue scoring, I need to be up further to help do real damage. The improvements will probably come from a still more aggressive start, more competition, and a few more weeks of fitness. Without stronger opponent competition, it's hard to know how my time really stacks up today, but it's a step in the right direction after last week at the very least.
Intermediate splits: 5:30 pace through mile, 5:26 pace through 6K, 5:24 through 8K.
FUN FACT: Our top 5 was a Soph, Jun, Fresh, Grad, and Sen!