Goal pace going in was 8:00/mile. First mile was downhill and was very fast. Wasn't even trying and it was right at 7:00. Pulled back a little bit the next two. Hit the 5K mark at 22:40.

Started to tire on the fourth mile, but then my legs woke up and felt incredibly strong. 10K mark was 46:00, a PR for 10K by 10 minutes. (Then again, I've only done one and had a terrible go at it.)

Didn't see the water station at the 10K mark until I was right on it. It was around a bend at the bottom of a hill. My plan had been to get some water and suck down a PowerGel at 10K. Not expecting the water station to be so soon, I barely got my PowerGel open (with my teeth) before I got there. I grabbed a cup of water, which I promptly spilled all over my right foot. Cold water on a 40 degree run with lots of wind is COLD. So no water. The I couldn't get my PowerGel to come out. I had torn it incorrectly so there was just a little hole. Got as much as I could, then gave up.

Hit mile 7 at 52:00. Still felt pretty good, but was starting to go uphill. Hit mile 8 at 1:00 flat. Slow mile. Tried to push as hard as I could the last 1.3. Didn't want to leave anything behind. Had a chance to beat 1:10 so I went for it.

Shannon was expecting me around 1:15, so she had to hurry to grab the camera. Nice to demolish a goal by almost 6 minutes.

Need to get some kind of pockets on my race belt so I don't have to carry my PowerGel in my hand. That got annoying. Also need to already have the gels open before the race. Trying to open them while running is for the birds.

Did a bit of jogging, but not much. I was gassed.


Unfamiliar with course, trouble with water and gels.


Sure didn't plan on placing, but I managed to get another trophy. Beat my goal pace by more than 30 seconds per mile, beat my goal time by almost 6 minutes. Even set a 10K PR in the process.

My legs felt stronger in this race than any race I can remember in a long time. Losing 16 pounds since September sure helps. Not having my legs push that extra weight around definitely saves energy.

Now that I know I can finish 9.3 in a reasonable pace, going to do a half-marathon in Austin in February.