A Balance, Redefined

This morning was maybe a little ambitious. Meaning it was a little early after the marathon and I had a lot on my plate this week. All that being said this race is hosted by a friend and I was looking forward to running it. My grandparents are in town and all six of us headed to the start. There was a 1K kids fun run prior to the race and both girls enjoyed it. Then it was time to warm-up for the 5K. During the warm-up I ran into Thomas, a new post-doc at The U from Germany. I had met him two weeks earlier and new he was a triathlete and could tell most likely a good runner specifically. The race started with him, myself, and both our wives in the lead. I had about 10 ft on him and we headed up the hill behind the zoo. He was more or less right on me for the first mile. We went through at a good pace 5:13 and a slowed a little to let him along slide. The next mile we were more or less neck and neck. I slowed a bit too much and never really made a move. The second mile was 6:05. Turns out instead of fixing the run from last year and adding on a block, they took off one so it was way off. Thomas made his move and I failed to respond I just didn't have it today. I was not able to defend my title and the course was way short. It was fun all the same and then moved on to a day of family fun. My left foot was actually sore after the race. I'm thinking this speed may have been too soon after the marathon. I'm happy I did it but wish I would have had more of a fighting spirit in the racing department. Next time...