I really wanted to break sixteen minutes today, just like I have every 5k since June, where I ran a 16:06. But once again, like the last four or five races, it didn't happen again. I started out by warming up three miles. I thought warming up longer would help my race, because I've been doing better with a long warm-up in practice, and with starting the first couple intervals out slower. I felt pretty good, but I didn't have my flats, and I wore my normal running shoes. When the race started, I tried going out slower, so I wouldn't die like I did in my last couple races. I didn't push it too hard up the first hill, and I was able to recover pretty well. After that, I pushed it harder, and my first mile was 5:15. (this was about where I wanted to be) The second mile was much faster, and I could tell. It was still only five minute pace, but it felt too fast. I don't know why a five minute mile should feel so fast in a race, when I can do four fourty or fifty something in practice, and it doesn't feel too fast. But anyway, Michael Vick passed my right around the start of the second mile, and I tried to hang with him, but I couldn't. I really just couldn't move my legs any faster. I don't know why. I came through the two mile in a pretty good time though, I was at 10:15. That's about the best I've been at two miles for a 5k ever. A guy passed me, and I told myself I could go with him. I stayed with him for a little bit, but then I couldn't do it anymore. After that, it was terrible. The guy in front of me gapped me by quite a bit. My third mile was 5:50, I slowed down fifty seconds on the third mile. I also got a sideache on the last mile, which didn't help at all. Even though I slowed down so much the last mile, I didn't get passed by anyone but the one guy. I almost did, but I was able to hold two guys off with a decent kick. I felt pretty sick after, and my ears hurt a lot. I managed to cool down four miles about 7:30 pace, and work out my sideache. I don't know why I'm racing so poorly, but I would be satisfied to be even close to as fast as I was at the beginning of the summer, even though I expected to be much faster than that now. I don't really know what my next race will be, or if I will even be racing anytime soon. I'm just going to keep training hard with the team, and improve in workouts, and play it by ear.
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