1:48:40 (7:13/mi) It was a beautiful day! Sunny and warm (for this time of year). I raced in shorts and a long-sleeve T-shirt. My intent was to treat this race as more of a progression training run. Plan was to run the first 5 miles in 8:00 to 8:30 pace, the second 5 miles around 7:30 pace, and the last 5 miles under 7:00 pace. After the gun went off though, everyone took off, including me...FAST! It was a real struggle to reign myself in for that first mile (7:19). I felt good and decided to change my plan: do 7:30ish pace for the first 10, then ramp it up. I couldn't believe the number of runners that hit the turnaround halfway point ahead of me! Sure... I wasn't racing all-out, but I wasn't running easy either. For the last 5K, I picked up the pace (6:49, 7:00, 6:34) and took out a few runners. Later-on, they congratulated me on my kick. We had a nice loaded baked potato and cake for lunch at the awards ceremony! Even though I took 5th place for my age division of this race, I took 1st place for my age division for the series. Next race is the 20 mile in one month! | 