Notes
Pretty happy with this race. Weather was pretty great and I managed to find some rhythm along with my competitive drive. It's almost as if my fitness just popped back up out of thin air. Looking forward to what I can do with some actual training.
Course was tough as usual with the hills but the cooler weather made a big difference. 3OA and a nice kick to make that happen.
Full report:
Not much of a crowd at the start line and saw Chris Colgan right away. Tried to keep things slow to start but the pack took off pretty quick and I had 10-15 people in front of me in the first half mile. I didn't like the scenario so I worked on slowly moving up and tried to use a few people as wind blocks. By the mile marker I was in 8th and right with 7th place. 6:03 for mile 1 and I wasn't super confident in being able to hold. Mile 2 however features some nice downhills and after a short breathless conversation with 7th place I took his spot and started trying to use the hills.
Mile 2's big hill pulled me along to a 5:48 split and I was able to pass Chris and another as part of the mile 2 downhill surges.
I was in 5th for the relatively flat mile 3 - 6:02 and was trying to gain some ground. I was really battling through breathing techniques, a mild stitch, and the decision to just settle for 5th. I hadn't put a ton of space between me and the 6th/7th place guys so this fueled me a bit more. Mile 4 was perhaps the worst as I kept telling myself it was ok to slow down as I wasn't going to catch the two guys that I was ever so slowly reeling in.
4th mile split was 6:07 and I was around 7-10 seconds back. 3rd and 4th were right together at this point and both seemed content in running together. The 14 y/o started way too fast and may have been paying for it at this point. I saw no surges or attempts to break away. This was to my advantage as I think they both settled in quite a bit...neither was running the tangents nor did they ever take a peak behind them. I kept pressing despite the steady uphill taking a toll on my mindset. I was ready to let up and just cruise in...I had almost convinced myself that if I did catch I would have nothing left and they would both just surge away. The negative thoughts went away very quick as we reached flat ground again with 500-600 meters to go and I was coming within striking distance. The final right turn came and there was perhaps just under 1/4 mile to go. I found an extra gear at this point and just hammered down. I passed both of them very quickly and was suspecting a fight. I didn't sense much response from either and was able to break away very well. I think the 14yo put up slight surge when I passed and perhaps a late kick but I still beat him by 6 seconds. The other guy was 9 seconds back.
My kick might explain how I was able to run 5:56 on this last uphill mile. I surprised myself and I'm guessing I surprised the other 2 guys as well.
$25 gift cert for 3rd.