I just couldn't get up enough enthusiasm to run outside so there was only one thing to do - sign up for a race! I swear not to run this ever again every year but the chili is yummy and the alternative - being stuck inside on a gloomy January morning - is intolerable. This year was different though, as we had some competition show up! Both Toni and Devra were inside the center when I got there so I knew it would be challenging to get the W today. We straggled across the street and lined up pretty much on time, and off we went!
The new Hokas really really like the downhill, as I was able to pound with all the force I wanted to. I dropped under 4 flat briefly and then held it at 4:20 while Johnny Ahn ran alongside at speed to get warm. He dropped back a little before the first turn and after that I didn't see anybody ever again. I was trying for a 5:10 first mile but there was some tiny uphill and a lot of flat so I only got a 5:36. Up the 400 feet of gain to the canal was pretty brutal, but I still couldn't see anybody following. Maybe because my eyeballs were too cold to properly focus and I couldn't see much past an eighth of a mile. But I remembered what Toni did to me two years ago so I wasn't about to drop back. But the miles went by, mostly 6:30s (full winter gear) and nobody ever caught up! I turned off the Murdock for the last downhill mile to the finish and grabbed a 6:10, ran around the corner, into the parking lot, up the stairs, and through the door. I figured that was probably good enough for the finish so I stopped my watch there for 1:23:14, a solid win! Toni came in at 1:25, then Devra at 1:28 so it is good I kept the pressure up.
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