Ouch!! It's been nearly a year and a half since I've raced a 5K and I had forgotten how much they hurt! Not the result I wanted today but sometimes that's how it goes. This was not a PR type course, lots of hills including bonus of canyon headwind with the uphill the first mile. Also pretty warm temps probably around 70 at the start. It didn't help that the race started 15 minutes late. I had hoped I could come in around 20:something, and if the stars aligned even sneak in under 20. No stars aligning today. I thought I would squeak in under 21 but either the race was a tad long or garmin was off (I measured 3.14 miles). Mile 1 - 6:47 Lots of uphill. Course tool said I need to be around 6:40 or less for sub-20. Since it was hard enough to get the 6:47 I could sense that sub-20 wasn't going to happen. Just trying to run by feel and not crash and burn too early. Passed a couple guys this mile. Mile 2 - 6:25 Downhill comes during this mile. I was hoping to be closer to 6-6:05 but by the end of this mile the wheels are already wobbling and my motivation is going down the toilet. Mile 3- 7:00 Ugh, can't even get under 7. Steady uphill most of this mile but not as steep as mile 1 but feels worse because it's mile 3. I'm too far behind to catch the next guy in front and nobody is threatening from behind so I'm really have a hard time finding a good reason to try very hard. The best I can do is think of Terry old-Bean being disappointed in me wimping out this mile but that doesn't seem to help much. Last .1 (.14?) I manage to speed up a bit to finish (52s, 6:15 pace) and it's great to hear Kim cheering me in. Felt pretty hammered at the finish and actually feel like I worked pretty hard. Just not reflected in my time. Just need a bit more focused training, a friendlier course and cooler temps and I think I can get down into the 19's again. Looking forward to doing some more racing over the summer. Not a lot of Master's competition in this race but I'm happy for the 1st place Masters and 7th place overall. | 