Having run the course on Wed., I knew the first .5 miles were downhill, and tried to balance the free speed with the potential of over-pacing. When we got to mile 1, a volunteer was shouting out times. I went past right at 8:30.

"Not bad", I thought. "Now I just have to maintain that pace up the steepest part of the course. We were running through subdivisions at this point, with a couple rather steep hills thrown in that forced some of the folks to break down and walk. I did my best to just keep chugging ahead.

As we turned off of Miles St. and into another neighborhood, a volunteer was shouting out 2 mile times. I heard "16:59, 17:00" as I went past.

"Not bad," I thought. "Keep up this pace and you'll meet your 27 minute goal."

At this point in the race, I was inspired by three things:

1. A quarter mile spent talking with a guy next to me. That always seems to pick me up out of any running doldrums.
2. I was being paced by an 8 or 9 year old girl.
3. A few downhills were thrown in during the last mile.

I actually picked up my pace slightly, and as I turned out onto Ring Rd, I looked at my watch and knew I would beat my goal. Now the question was by how much.

As I turned the corner for the final stretch, I saw 25:45 on the digital clock at the finish. I picked it up even further, and was able to cross the mats right at 26:00.

Still not a speed demon, by any means, but nearly a minute off my previous 5k best!!

Oh, and I beat the 8 year old!!

Well, I had the post-race pace regret. I think I could have done even better?!?!

I left the race shortly after finishing. Got a call 30 minutes later saying my name had been called for a door prize.

I think I missed out on a Wii!!!