This is more of a fun run than a race. There is no real registration - you just show up and sign your name to a waiver. The official timing is somebody at the finish line yelling out times. In past years, I have made the mistake of lining up too far back and ended up getting boxed in for the first 1/4 mile. This time I positioned myself at the front of the starting line (next to a couple of people pushing strollers). My plan was to try to hold 6:00/mile as long as I could. The gun went off and I somehow found myself in the lead. I knew it wasn't going to last so I just enjoyed it while I could. I really didn't feel like I was pushing that hard but nobody wanted to take the lead. After about 1/3 mile, a couple of high school runners and another guy (late 20's/early 30's) moved by me. The older guy and one of the young runners started to push the pace and I didn't want to try to keep up with them. Hit the first mile in 6:01 which was perfect. I peeked over my shoulder and there was a big pack of runners not too far behind. I didn't expect this big of a pack of runners to be that close but knew that they would back off after the first mile. I focused on maintaining my pace during the second mile and stay within striking distance of one of the younger runners ahead of me. Second mile came in at 6:00 and I was feeling alright. Third mile was tough. I was really starting to fade and I could here a runner on my heels. He moved along side of me and I thought I was done. He commented on how easily I was breathing and I didn't want to tell him how bad my legs burned. I started to push again and was able to put a little distance between us. The waves of nausea started to hit me at about 2.5 miles but I was able to push through them. I ran a little stronger the last quarter mile. I wasn't going to catch the guy ahead of me and wasn't going to get caught from behind so I didn't move to an all out sprint (I didn't want to risk pulling anything). I ran the last 1.1 at 6:15/mile pace. Finish time was 18:54 which is a 30 second current running life PR. I left some room for improvement, though. I should have pushed harder during the 3rd mile but am still happy with the results. In 2004, I finished in 20:00 and ran it in 19:35 last year. Finished the morning with 2 cool down miles.
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