Decided late yesterday that I wanted to race today. There were several races to choose from, but I ended up selecting the MamaBear 5k in Buckhead. When I was warming up, I ran into another race going on close by - a Race for the Cure event. Riley and Delaney expressed vague interest yesterday evening in racing, but I was pleased that the both decided to get up and head down with me.
A bit disappointed with a couple of aspects for this effort. 1. The time, of course, but more so with regard to the fading last mile; 2. Loss to a gent in the last tenth of a mile who I traded leads with for most of the race, and who ultimately was the overall masters winner. Consolation was that he was 7 years my junior. Have not run a 5k in ages, so the first mile was somewhat cautious/conservative at 6:37, second mile 6:32 (all of which made sense given my recent 3 x 2 mile workout in the same range), but the last mile ended up 7:07. Little mental lapse in the last half mile resulted in me letting my competition pass me and let my pace drop off by 30 or more seconds.
Overall, though, there were positives. Course was very nice - not too hilly, and the event was well organized. I saw improvement in pace per mile - since the 10k I did a few weeks ago (granted it was a 10k and not a 5k) - and felt stronger today then I did then. And it seems that I have selected relatively small races in the last 2 - which have resulted in age group wins.
My girls ran together and surprised me with a neck and neck sprint to the finish at 28:30. They really enjoyed the race, and I love how even at their ages - they are still very close and enjoy each other's company.
I think I need to see where my speed has gone. I will do a little work over the next few month in my training - with the hope of seeing more speed come back - but may ultimately have to adjust to "old man" times if things don't start to show improvement.
PM - easy 4 miles shake out in the early evening on the golf course.
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