7 am. I registered early this year, and even bought the shirt, expecting it would be a nicely designed tech shirt, like it has been in the last couple years. Turns out it was a crappy white cotton job; like a cheapo Old Navy 4th of July shirt. Bummer. At least the $20 is for a good cause. So I warmed up a couple miles, and caught a ride to the start line with one of the race organizers who thought I was going to be late. The mad dash at the beginning left me far back. I caught lots of people on the hill, and finished mile 1 in 6:34. Mile 2 was 6:03, and includes most of the downhill. I finished in 19:18, well off last years pace, but quite a bit under the 20 minute threshold; so the last 1.1 was 6:05 pace. I would have been pleased with anything under 20. I managed to catch up to Angie, Tara and Kristin in the end. I think Angie nudged me at the finish line with a furious sprint. I could have gone a bit harder, but it would have put me over the puking edge. I would love to run this race with a competitive field on a cooler day and see how much quicker I could do it. I soaked myself in somebody's hose just before the start, but I still felt hot and dry-mouth about half-way through. All in all, a good start to the day. I guess I can still fake a decent 5k. I wish I had stayed around to help Tara clean up on the gift certificates. Despite being 30 seconds slower than last year, 19:19 was good enough for the age group win and $10 at Don's Meats. | 