Live race today - first one longer than a 5k since March! Was really excited to do this race, on a trail from Fort Collins to Loveland. 280 feet of gain, but overall relatively flat. Goal was sub 1:23. Hit that. Main goal was to have fun and enjoy racing again. Because of covid, had to get up super early, my wave went off at 6:45am. Was up by 3:25. Race started before the sun came up, pretty cool, upper 30s, low 40s. Was kind of cool to run the first few miles in the dark. During the race, stuck with another guy who was older (found out later he was 56), he was hauling though and we passed each other 4 different times. Although he edged me out at the end, he was key to me running as fast as I did today - so great to have someone to run with. Splits weren't super trustworthy since my watch couldn't seem to find me, but they were 6:20, 6:16, 6:26 (hill), 6:15, 6:11, 6:09, 5:56, 6:16, 6:16, 6:09, 6:18, 6:12, 6:13 + change.
Finished in 1:21:19, 6:13 pace. 4th overall. Not a bad day at all considering the 5000 foot elevation for this race and the lower training volume lately. I was pleasantly suprised with my performance, but more than anything, I had a blast doing a real race.
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