Notes
Wowowowowow, a race I can finally say I'm happy with! Went in pretty chill about how this race was going to go, because I know I'm going to be "here" at regionals for the next 3 years - and in much better shape by then. I was a bit unsure about how I felt before toeing the line, but once the gun went off I got in the zone. And uh, after getting boxed in pretty bad for the first couple of minutes... Though it wasn't slow at all. I was able to focus on my breathing for once, and went through the 3k in good form (though a bit behind from my start). I saw that I hit 4k in about 26:50 pace, and continued to squeeze the pace from there. Started to surge after I saw Alex Miller along the cornfields just before the 5k. Caught Jake with 2k-ish to go, and Ben/Nolan with about 1k; they weren't too far behind at the finish, seconds or so between us all. That last straightaway after the stone turn feels so much longer than it is.
I can say I raced this pretty well because I had a bad cough for the next half hour after the race, which is something I try to only do so many times in a year. Raced with a plan, for sure. My 5k split almost matched my PR of 16:23, so I want to see what I can do in the Bloomingdale turkey trot.