My first 15k, which is part of the 500 Festival Series leading up to the half marathon. Race day packet pickup is super helpful, and the organizers ran this race pretty much the same as the 10k. I warmed up for 2 miles on the last mile or so of the course, did some strides, drills, and stretching. Got up somewhat toward the front but too close because I don't want to slow down faster runners. The course was similar to the 10k course, but this time we took a left out of the gate (I think it was a right last time because we had a turn around before. I had to dodge a lot of folks and a few trees (!) going into the first mile, which was a bit faster than goal pace. 6:56, so I backed off just a bit to get back to schedule. A few smallish hills, but the course is quite flat overall so I settled into the plan. Miles 2, 3, 4, & 5 (7:03, 7:09, 7:07, 7:08). I picked it up a bit going into the 10k mark, so Miles 6 &7 were (7:03, 7:02). I started to feel it after mile 7. I only took a few sips of water just after mile 6, and even though it was cool (about 40), a bit of whiskey tasting last night wasn't my smartest move :), but Mile 8 was 7:06. Form was starting to sag, so I remembered to "get tall." Mile 9 was supposed to be my fastest mile, but I try not to underestimate the finish, whatever the distance is. Still 7:01 was the second fastest mile. Once I hit mile 9 I went for it, and chased down the women in front of me. Decent finish at 6:12 average pace for the partial mile. Walked for a bit and got some water. Cooled down on the Canal Trail for 2 miles.
The goal was to break 66 minutes, but really 1:05:30 :) and maybe 1:05:00 :), and I was pretty close at 1:05:12 (7:00 average). Great race series. $30 for the 10k + 15k can't be beat. These races will be on my schedule next year for sure.
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