Went out a bit fast, but not too bad. Counted about 25 people ahead of me down the first one mile straightaway...about 15 of them separated into a lead pack (basically the sub-40 people) early on and I was in a straggling group of about 8 other people comprising a second pack. Fell in pretty early on with a young guy running right around my pace and when my Garmin showed 6:48 at mile 1, I figured I'd just hang with him and see how that went.

Uneventful race. My couple nagging injuries didn't bother me. The motion control shoes I decided to wear because of the PTT flareup weren't slowing me down. The kid I fell in with in mile one held the pace I was looking for, so I ran pretty much shoulder-to-shoulder with him until he separated from me a bit on a short uphill in mile 5.

A volunteer around mile 4 was calling out placements as people passed...she called out "21" for me. I could see two guys ahead that I would definitely catch sooner rather than later and only one person gaining on me from behind. Looked good for my goal of top 20 overall.

Only two water stations with tiny Dixie cups...spilled half my cup at each one, so going a little less than ideally hydrated on a morning that was warming up quickly. Knew at mile 5 I had a strong chance of a sub-43 minute finish (and a PR) if I held no worse than a 7:05 pace for the last 1.2. Dug in deep and managed to hold sub-7:00/mi to the finish. Stopped my Garmin and did a double take to see "42:07"...my PR (on the same course...though different event) was 43:07. Looked at the distance readout and saw the reason: Only 6.13 miles. (Liz's Garmin had it at 6.11, so definitely short.) Even so, that would have translated to a 42:35-42:40 for 6.21 and still a big PR.

Well, I should have done more than one speed workout in the four weeks prior to the race, but marathon recovery and foot issues precluded that. Didn't keep me from dropping almost a minute off my old PR set on the same course.

Jogged a bit while waiting for Liz to finish (she ran 58:30...decent time for her, but 4 or 5 minutes slower than her PR). Stretched. Waited around forever for awards...thought I might have won AG, but the 5th overall finisher was my age...finished 4 minutes ahead of me.

Third time I've raced this event...did the 5K in 2009 (still my PR race) and the 8K that they subbed in for the 10K due to course conditions in 2010 (still my PR at that distance). Getting the 10K PR this time makes it a "hat trick" for me for this event.


PTT flareup. Not wearing my usual racing shoes. Neither really had a noticeable impact, though.


Fairly well-attended race that benefits a youth abuse treatment services clinic at a local hospital. Moved to a new start/finish location within the same recreation area this year and the move definitely generated a bit of confusion here and there. But my wife and I try to do it every year since it is in our neighborhood and benefits a good cause.