Weather - 68 degrees, sunny. A nice morning for a race. I felt pretty good jogging to the park, about 80% recovered, which is better than I have felt all week. My goal was to allow my body to set the pace. I had little desire to push myself too hard today. The initial pace was moderate, and I was able to get to a comfortably hard pace at the halfway point, which I passed in 10:10. The second half I never went beyond the comfortable pace, and I finished in 20:20, which is my slowest 5k of the year. This 5k indicates that my racing season is coming to a close. I plan to run 2 more races, the Wild Wilderness 7.5 mile trail race in September, and the Farmdale 33 mile trail race in October. After Farmdale I will take a month of easy running, and in December begin to build a new base. This year has definitely been a success, and I am looking forward to my first ultra marathon. I have not put in super long runs, but my training has been consistent for 10 months, so I should have the strength to finish the race, although my time will most likely be mediocre. Running 5-6 hours in autumn woods will be pleasant and beautiful, at least for the first 3 hours. #288
| 