First all-out race after the mission, so I wasn't sure how it would turn out. I ended up doing better than I thought. Historically, Murray Fun days has been a difficult race for me, and I never had cracked 16:30. This year was different.
I started out with Teren, but dropped back a little before mile 1. I missed my mile split, but was 5:35 at the turnaround which gives me a 5:13 or 5:12 first mile. I was afraid of crashing after falling back, but when I hit the downhill, I was feeling great. Was 10:22 at 2 miles, and catching up to second place, who had dropped back from Teren as well.
Normally, at this point the heat gets to me and I writhe in pain to the finish, but today I was feeling good. One thing that may have made a difference was that I poured cold water and ice on myself right before the start. Perhaps it was a good night's sleep. Or possibly, being two years older compensated for the lack of training.
In any case, I smelt blood, and went for it. I caught second place a little after two miles, on the little hill (of doom and sadness). Normally, this is where I get caught. But not today. The last mile was in 5:08 (long) and I ended up with 15:58.9. Under 16, and a huge personal course record.
I'm grateful for how things turned out today, and wish all a happy Independance day (first one in the USA for 3 years!)
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