Started under control, in a huge pack. This is a gigantic race for a 5k, like 1500 participants, so the beginning you just stay in the pack. At about 1/2 mile it opened up a bit but the seedings seemed pretty good since I just picked out a few people and stayed right with them. I kept my breathing very deliberately and just kept the pace steady. I didn't feel like I was over pushing, but I haven't done any speed work so I really didn't know what to expect for pacing. At 1.5 miles, I knew there was no way I could pick up enough speed to beat Matt's 21:18, so I just settled the effort into a hard and slightly uncomfortable pace. I never went to the excruciating place but this was a hard effort. I felt good straight through to the end, and didn't leave a lot of time on the table. I was passing a fair number of people the last 1/2 mile, which isn't typical for me, though a few young kids flew by me in the chute.

Maybe just push harder, but I say that after every race. I need to get my running mental game together.

Ran back to the car and drove home. Ate non-stop until writing this report.


I've done a lot less running this year, only 342 miles vs. 752 last year. So to be only 2 seconds slower wasn't a bad effort. I think I pushed harder last year, but this was a good hard effort.


Great race. This is probably too many people for a 5k. It was crowded the entire run. It didn't slow me down really, but it was just crowded.