Notes
Preface: Long story short, I needed to run 15:50 in order to qualify for a 10miler in DC that my company was sponsoring. They wanted an amazing team and 15:50 was the 5k standard. I wanted a free trip to DC. 33:37 and 16:23 were not cutting it apparently.
Lap 1: 77.2; Got out in a good position, but I guess no one took the pace right away, which led to a large group and some bumping.
2: 74.9; Sutton heard the 1.5 lap split and took charge. I knew he wanted 75's but didn't know he would take the pace.
3: 75.4; Just trying to feel smooth. Lead pack down to 5 already.
4: 74.0; 5:01 for the mile, very happy with that and not breathing hard.
5: 73.9; Another fast lap, and I even trailed back to the rear of the pack as Wartburg and Loras were anxious.
6: 77.1; Oops, I was drafting on Wartburg when suddenly the front 2 were gone ahead. Of course my first thought was this pace was fine.
7: 74.8; Then Drew tells me 77 and I just go. 77 wasn't an option right now. I pass Wartburg and Loras immediately. Hearing 74 for this one didn't freak me out either.
8: 77.1; But apparently I went right back to 77. Not sure if Drew told me this split, but I was starting to hurt quite a bit
9: 77.4; I wanted my 2 mile split but no one said it (it was 10:04)
10: 75.9; I don't think I noticed I was gaining on 2nd place until he was in front of me, I picked up the pace just to discourage him.
11: 77.6; I didn't need to hear this split, and I'm sad to see this was my slowest lap. Is this how tired I should always feel or just time trials?
12: 76.2; I started my final push with 1 lap to go and Drew was yelling 32 at me, which I figured meant 14:32 with 1 lap to go. Drew probably could have lied to me and I would have pushed harder, but it was a great feeling to run the last lap knowing I was going to hit my goal, despite how tired I was.
12.5: 35.3; 3rd mile was about 5:07. A decent kick to finish.
Fastest time in 5 years and 36 seconds faster than a month ago. Thanks to Drew's coaching, Sutton's pacing, and great weather (not to mention everyone who helped move).
My biggest question afterwards was how I felt so good going in. Was it just feeling confident and having a strict goal. Did moving things the past few days actually help my legs warm-up rather than making them more tired? The one thing I know, if I hadn't been shooting for a farfetched time and Drew hadn't told me splits, I would have just drafted off the Wartburg guy for the 2nd mile and ran >16, I'm sure of it.