I had a big target for PRing as the last two years have been more social costumed runs (still disappointed at how few dress up, but whatevs..). Sauntered up to the start but probably should focus on getting even closer up if I want to be competitive at these things cuz there was some traffic to work through. Still, my expectations were to shoot for an hour, give or take. Gun goes off and working through the crowd. It started to thin out about a mile or so in. I am getting better at using folks to draft off of, especially important on a day like today. I just get the foot on the pedal. Looking at the garmin, I just happened to be around 6's so went with it. I didnt feel overly strained, just comfortably uncomfortable. Plan was to get about 6 miles in and push with whatever I had, not having much recent tempo work to draw off of which would make it a bit of a crapshoot.

We got to mile two and I was counting folks up ahead and wondering if i would have a shot at top ten. I think I needed to make this choice to take a stab at it from the start and stay on the heels of some folks, but still, just kept churning away. The long hill up Lake Shore and maybe some too hot starts from peeps had some folks peeling back a bit. About 4 miles in, caught a group of three and ran on their heels for about 2 miles then decided it was time to push. Two of those guys faded, but it was me and another dude neck and neck and kind of working off of each other. Very fun and we were working off each other competitively. We got to the turnaround by the kite shop in Veterans Park and the wind was just blasting away. Tactically, i made an error here as I literally threw caution into the wind and did a nice job of sherpaing dude in to about 3/4 mile stretch to the finish. I wasnt too concerned though and was trying to find another gear, but wasnt getting too much out of the legs. Between him and another dude, I was just going to have to settle with where I was and finish it out. Crossed the mat, got some water and shared congrats with dude for duking it out. He had obviously dug deeper for the win but at least it seemed he was hurting more and he appreciated us pushing each other too. Got some other props from other racers that had been passed, primarily cuz it was hard not to notice being passed by a dude with a skull face and wig I guess.

624
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623
.34 621

Nada. Very happy with this especially since it was only Friday night I knew I was going to race the 15k. I think this shows that my base is pretty strong after being a slacker most of the month and it also leads me to believe that if i actually decide to compete at these, i just might be able to do so. There is a different feel about racing these and to be honest, I havent done a lot of running races with the hope of winning but its where i would like to get. There is just something very primal about it that I love. This is also a great distance that gives you a nice mix of hammering it out and requiring strategery. Hopefully, this bodes well for the future and where i will be in the spring after another winter of run focus.

Waited around for peeps a bit, froze my arse off and then headed to the comfort and beer at the Ale House. Some post race good times with the Donks and some coworkers too.


I think not touching much speedwork betrayed my top end and push at the end of the race. I could have used a more aero wig for such a windy day. Race strategy could have been better with more drafting and being at the front from the gun.


This is a fun race. The price is nice and its a bit spartan in race support with some water tables and stuff (bare bones) but with a single bottle in the fuel belt, i didnt even touch the water tables. Finishes at the Ale House and a good crowd. Whats not to like?