Resting Pulse: Not Recorded
Weight: Not Recorded
Course: Mother's Day 5k
Distance: 5k (4 Miles with Warm-up/Cool-down)
Time: 19:34
Other Exercises: None
Weather: Sunny, Warm

Comments: I ran a race this evening, my first run since the half-marathon on Saturday. My legs felt a little sore, but that passed after a quick warm-up. I started the race at a comfortable pace, and I passed through the first mile in 6:05. I found myself in a pack of six, and I stayed tucked between the other runners for the next mile. I haven't run in a small pack in a long time, and I'd forgotten what a difference it can make. Usually, I'm either running in a huge a mob, or by myself in a strung-out line.

Anyway, I didn't want to finish in the pack, even though they'd pulled me along for two miles. So, after I passed the two-mile mark in 6:30, I made a surge and pulled away. I opened up a gap, but I could hear at least one person trying to stay close. About 500 yards from the finish, I started pushing as hard as I could. I've had no kick recently, and I didn't want to deal with a bunch of people sprinting past me just before the end. I figured if I went hard early, I could build up a lead and coast across the finish line.

I passed through the three-mile mark in 6:17, and then glanced back. I'd strung out the pack with my surges, but one runner was still close. If I eased up at all, he might have passed me in the last tenth of a mile. I kicked it in as hard as I could—I wouldn't call it a sprint, but it was as close as I could get—and managed to hold him off by a couple of seconds. The rest of the pack trailed in over the next twenty seconds. I managed to finish fourth overall and place second in my age group. Considering I raced a half-marathon only four days prior, not too poor a showing.  ¶ 10:43 PM