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Notes

BRATS Frozen 5k in Manassas, where I ran my previous PR a year ago, and this is a new one. The course is not only super fast (flat but with turns that keep you from getting bored), but also a hair short. It's within the margin of error, though, so it counts. Last year I had to get a tad stronger before I could duplicate my time on another course, and I never beat it. But this year I should be able to do better, because I didn't execute today as well as I could have, for at least three reasons. First, I should have run the first mile faster, since I actually sped up during the second mile but my split doesn't reflect it because there is a turn-around just before the end of mile 2. Second, not far into mile 3 I started losing it, but I think this was mostly mental. I should have kicked it harder at that point. Luckily, Peggy Yetman, who finished as the first woman (and is 44), passed me right then and said "come on, guy." That jolted me back to a faster pace. I followed just behind her for only a little while, but it was long enough that I was within sight of the finish line, which had the effect it always does. If she hadn't passed me right then, I probably would not have finished under 18 minutes. Third, it was a bit colder than is ideal, though otherwise the weather (sunny with no wind) was fine. I was wearing shorts, a long sleeve tech shirt, and gloves. It's possible that my slowish first mile was due to not being fully warmed up on account of the cold. Anyway, I still ran a good race today. I never coasted but simply pushed past people who were trying to run comfortably, which I now realize you don't have time to do in a 5k. I must have passed 40-50 people after the first half mile or so, and only one (Yetman) passed me.