Steve - 5

Perfect conditions today for a 5k. Very overcast and not hot at all. Not a ton of participants either. I even showed up early for the race for once. So these factors were all in my favor to break 19. . .

Well, it didn't happen. But, I still ran pretty well. I started out a bit slow (6:16 first mile). At the beginning I thought recognized a runner from the Flyers and talked with him a bit in the first 400 meters. Perhaps I should have just ran, but oh well. As I crossed the first mile marker, I recognized another runner from the Flyers who had ran his first mile way too fast. I zoomed by him, this time not wasting any energy to chat. I guess slowed a bit on the second mile (6:25) for some reason. I thought I had sped up, but it might have been because there were a few slight hills to go up. At that point, I still felt pretty good, so I decided to pick it up. There was a woman who was like 30-40 meters in front of me at the second mile mark who I had seen at other races. I remembered she had run in the 19s, so I decided I would catch her. As we approached the final turn, I passed a few other runners. The final portion of the race had a downhill beginning. It's a great feeling mentally when you round the turn and start tearing downhill. I really wanted to finish strong. I looked at my watch, saw 14:xx and told myself "only 5 more minutes of pain" as I upped the pace. I passed the woman in front of me and another runner who was breathing quite heavily. As I closed in on the 3rd mile marker, I set my sights on another runner 20 meters ahead. I wanted to get one more runner. I crossed the marker at 6:04 for the third mile and went into another gear for the final 200. Couldn't quite catch up to the runner in front of me, but it was a solid finish. Stopped the watch in 19:23 (:36 for the final 200). Not too bad, considering how slow I did the first two miles. I felt great after the race, so I know a lot of time was left on the course. Not sure about when I will do another a 5k, but I won't be tapering anymore when/if I partake.