It was a beautiful morning for a race. I woke up around 6 and headed out for a little warm-up before breakfast. I've found that if I do a little jogging early on days when I race it helps to loosen the legs up. I don't usually run my best in the morning, and doing this seems to help. I did about 0.5 miles. The temperature was in the 40s like it has been overnight recently. I ate a couple of homemade breadsticks with honey and had some water. Then I drove over to the race with Symmy and Kathleen. I talked with a few people before the race, and we had some friends running as well so we talked with them a bit. I did a short warm-up (0.5 miles), did some stretches, and a few strides. I didn't want to do a long warm-up because my mileage has been pretty low, and I've had troubles with my knee and quad hurting. It hasn't been enough to keep me from training, but it is a bit annoying. The race started on time at 8, and I quickly found myself in the lead. This was only the second year for the race and based on last year's times I didn't expect a fast pace. Given my current training I was shooting for a pace of around 6:30. The miles weren't marked, but I knew where they were approximately from the course map. I hit the first mile in 6:14. I was feeling pretty good at that point. I wanted to keep the pace under control the first mile, and I think I did a good job. I thought that there would be at least one person with me through the first mile given the pace, but there was no one. The second mile was just as uneventful as the first, and I came through 2 miles at 12:48 for a 6:34 mile. The third mile was just a straight shot back to the finish. I hit the last 1.1 in 7:13 (6:33/mile). I felt pretty good the entire race and feel like I could have gone faster. I just didn't want to push the pace given the recent problems with my knee and quad, and the fact that there was no need to push the pace. The next place person was about 3 minutes behind me. My friend Jeff came in 4th (I believe) with a time in the low 24s, but he was pushing a stroller with 2 kids. I thought that was pretty good. I did about 0.5 for a cooldown. I was pleasantly surprised that my knee and quad didn't give me any trouble at all.
Overall I was impressed with the race. The course was well marked, and they handled the traffic well. The race director did a good job organizing things and starting on time. He was a nice guy and interacted with the 20 or so runners that came. The race was to support a school in the Phillipines, so that was another plus. I got a nice little medal for being the top male finisher and a certificate for a one nights stay for two at the local Holiday Inn for being the overall winner. Symphany had a good time watching all of the runners and playing on the playground so I consider it a huge success for the modest entry fee.
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