A Sunday morning fun run in Bremerton, this one is especially 'fun' because they don't keep the time or places. And you can decide during the race whether you want to turn around and just do a 5k. Not real serious competition, it's just a relaxed little thing the Y does to get people outside in the cold (and as an excuse for a post-race potluck, though I skipped it to make it to church. What a sacrifice). But I wanted to show up because it's in the neighborhood, and I'll count it as a 'race' even though it was more like a tempo workout.
The field didn't look too imposing as we stood there, most people had just stepped out of their cars. I think 4 of us even did striders before starting. Luckily one guy went out strong, so I had someone to run with. He was a triathlaloner and in pretty good shape. We stuck together the whole race but weren't really 'racing' as much as pacing each other. The route was basically the Illahee State Park run I do from my house, but shorter based on where it starts. Roads were a little slick and icy so I held back a bit from really getting my stride going, at least until I was on sand left from the street crews last week. It's a real hilly race, almost always heading either up or down. I had warmed up 1.5 before we started, then we held the pace just over 7 minutes for the race. Felt fine, was able to stay consistent throughout. The other guy surged on one of the hills right before the finish and pulled away just enough to hold me off. He opened up about 5 seconds with 1/2 mile left, I let him go thinking I'd get him back on the big downhill to the finish, but couldn't quite do it. Finished right behind him. Oh well, they don't keep results so no one will know. A good morning though, and I was just happy to get out and push a little bit. 59:57 total. supernova red -- 120
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