Won my 2nd straight Conrad race today. My goal this year was the same as last year--to break the course record and win 50 bux. It's such a challenging course. 5:25, 5:54, and 6:50 for the final 1.1. I asked the race director after the race why the course was so tough, he said the last 1.1 is a 2 to 3 degree incline based on an old railroad incline. So its deceptive because its not a huge hill to the eye, but it slowly breaks you down. Splits were not too reliable, and overall time was 18:13. The only thing I really took from this race, besides the win, was the strategy that played out as I raced the 2nd place guy. He led the first mile, i surged at the marker and led the 2nd mile, he hung on and took back over in the 3rd mile, but i stayed on his tail. I was waiting until 600-400 meters to make my final move, but about 800 to go, he simply stopped. I dunno if he just gave up or my strategy of baiting him just broke him, but it was nice to win a tactical battle like that--although it was discouraging to not have anyone to push me through the final half mile, would have made for a much better time.
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