Wanted to leave my house at 9:00 am so that I could get there and have a 30 min to warm up but my dang work truck wouldn't start. I have a new one ordered but it won't be here until March??? So I have a truck that I am borrowing from my company. It took me 20 min to get it started and I was off. Got to the race and ran a mile, then had to quickly use the bathroom and then get in line. Ran into Walter and we chatted for a bit until the race started. He was pacing a girl today in the 10k. I really wanted to be under 19:00 min today, this course is kind of tough after mile 2. The course drops 138' in 2 miles and then the last mile you climb all of that back plus a little. Temp at the start of the race was 26.2 is what they told us? A bit cold, but not to bad. Mile 1 6:06 I felt really good during this mile, was around a few people because the 10k and 5 k start at the same time. I really didn't care what place I was in I just focused on my form and breathing. Mile 2 5:59 This mile came fairly quick, I was still feeling great and I was wishing that the last mile would have been flat so that I could easily break 19:00 but I knew with the hill I would be close. Right before this mile the 5k and 10k split. It appeared that I was in 4th place at this point. Mile 3 6:36 This was a grind for me, I tried to stay relaxed while climbing the hill and about half way up it a kid passed me for about 10 seconds and then I passed him again. I could see the 1st place guy and 2nd place guy was about a block ahead of me. I got him just as I crested the hill and wondered if I made my move to quick? I surged again and I could feel my stomach in my throat. I just kept on breathing and kept the feet turing over. I knew that I wouldn't catch the 1st place guy but now I needed to break 19:00...I ran about a 7:11 up the hill and then felt like I recovered quickly as I crested the hill. There was a head wind all of the way to the finish but it felt good to have cold air hit your face. .06 13.13 (5:47) This shows just a bit short but not by much. A lot of people after the race showed me that their watches were right on but mine was just shy?? If you ran the tangents on the way to mile 2 you could easily shave some distance off. I finished the race and had time to run a mile cool down and then talk to Josse and a few other people before they started the awards ceremony. This is not a PR for me but it is a PR for me since 2009. In 2010 I ran over 19:00 min st george and in Aug I ran 19:10 at Salems 5k. This is a much harder course than both of those so I am very excited about my time. I don't love 5k's I would rather run a half but I needed to see where I was at fitness wise. I hope that I can stay healthy and continue getting faster! THis was my last race in the 30-34 age group, tomorrow I turn 35 which marks my 5 year running career. I love this sport and I enjoy meeting new people that share the same passion.
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