I tried to avoid the initial melee of overenthusiastic young 'uns at the start and settle into a comfortable-but-fast pace for the first mile. My goal was 5:50, and I thought that the stiff headwind might have slowed me more than that, so I was surprised to pass 1 mile in 5:38, feeling fairly good. I counted myself in 12th at the turn-around. The wind was kinder in the second half, but the course now tilted uphill, and so I worried about losing a bunch of time. I hoped that I could maintain 6 min/mile through mile 2. I was surprised (again) to reach the 2 mile marker in 11:25. Now I was starting to get more tired. This impaired my math skills, and my plan had been based on trying to squeeze under 6 min/mile for the whole race, so I wasn't so sure what to make of my split. The third mile included two stretches that were uphill and into the wind, so they took their toll. Trying to stay aggressive, but I was thinking more about just being done. I passed a couple of people, and thought that I was clear of any traffic behind me. The mile 3 marker was passed in 17:24, so I thought there was no way that I could make it to the end below 18 minutes. I think the marker must have been slightly wrong, as I didn't realize just how close I would be. I should have mustered more of a sprint. Also, around 50 yards from the end a guy came flying past, and he looked like he might be over 40 (indeed, he was 42). Fortunately, there was another 40+ who finished 10s ahead of me, so at least I didn't throw away the Masters win at the line. And I later learned that the guy who finished 10s ahead for the AG win was Keith Dowling, a 2:13 marathoner who is himself on a bit of a comeback. So I didn't feel so bad about not beating him.

If my mental arithmetic under pressure had been better, I'd like to think that I could have pushed a little harder and got the 2s needed to break 18 minutes. No worries. If I can stay (relatively) injury free, I feel good about making that 2012 goal before too long.

Jogged around the block, trying to ward off tight achilles tendon (uh oh, gotta watch out for that one). Then enjoyed the post-race donuts and hot chocolate, before skating with Zoe (aged 9) at the ice pavilion directly next to the start/finish, then going for delicious birthday lunch at a nearby French bistro with Andrea and Zoe. Does that count as a warm-down?


At some point I think I will need to incorporate some speedwork into my run training.


It's just a local 5k, so no great expectations. But Potomac River Running do a good job with their events, and most everything went off well. They should have laid on more port-a-potties for the start. Correction: they should have laid on *some* port-a-potties. They relied entirely on the small number in adjacent buildings. Nice venue for the start/finish, in the middle of Reston Town Center, adjacent to the Ice Pavilion and lots of good eateries. This made it a less-boring-than-normal race morning for the family.