57 deg and misty this morning - ran the 2.5 miles to the park as a warmup. I just don't feel too speedy in the morning. I'm not a morning runner.
Lined up and there weren't too many speedy guys. One guy I knew would be tough. I beat him in the fall but I am not in the same shape and my legs still feel shaky from last Saturday. Got elbowed at the start - not sure what was up with that - race start syndrome I guess. Right from the get go I never had the leg speed to keep up with the front guys. I just hoped they'd come back to me a bit. If nothing else I'm reasonably consistent with my race paces so that was my strategy. Was into 3rd by the 1st mile split at 5:55 or something like that. The first mile was the hardest. Drafted off the 2nd place guy in the 2nd mile and passed him at about 1.75 mile. A little uphill at 2 miles (11:35 ish) then downhill or flat to the finish. I didn't have much to give at this point and just tried to maintain. Disappointing that I couldn't gain ground on 1st guy. Finished at 18:05. 5:50 average pace No more official races for a while. I need to get my training in order so I have that leg speed and turnover like I lacked today. Track nights start in 2 weeks.
2nd overall - 1st master got a nice running visor, a nice ceramic mug, and a $25 gift card for a running store. It is nice to pay for the race with gift cards. Now I can buy a new handheld water bottle. I only have one and I need another for the trail race in June.
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