Rise and Shine 5k race this morning. As usual I took off at the front and quickly got ahead, running side by side with a local guy (Ludo) in my age group who always beats me. By about a half mile in he had pulled ahead by about fifty yards, but I was also well ahead of the next people behind me, which made me pretty nervous since I've gone out in front at other races only to be reeled in later on. Fortunately, this time I was able to hang on and keep my place for the rest of the race.

First mile was downhill for a bit and then flat, and I hit the first mile marker at 5:32. Second mile was flat and just over 6 minutes. The last 1.1 included the climb back up the hill and worked out to about a 6:30 pace. Still, I beat my 5k PR by a few seconds, which is better than I had anticipated considering last week's "vacation" from training and its accompanying eating/drinking debauchery. :)

So I ended up second overall (out of about 150 runners), and, thanks to Ludo, 2nd in my AG. The awards were nice for a 5k (a Silver Dollar in a nice presentation box), but they only did 1st place in each group. When I came home Catie (my 7 year old daughter) asked what my award was for coming in 2nd overall, and I told her a scone, banana, and bottle of water. While I was showering she made a "2th place" award which she gave to me when I came downstairs. What a sweetheart. :)