Nice brisk morning for a race ... luckily my legs responded a little better than they did in my runs all week. Alex & I ran this for one reason .... to win nice age group awards as a gift for my mom ... mission accomplished! The awards were hand crafted soapstone pottery dishes made in Kenya, as the race proceeds go to the battle of Kenyan children against Aids. Really cool awards ... new profile pic! :) There was a 15 year old that went out like a rabbit ... and Alex started to follow ... I told him just keep him in sight, it was a long race, not a mile! Alex half listened to me ... I think we were at about a 5:30 pace at the half mile ... where I told him again to take it easy (didn't want him to kill his old man!) We hit the Mile Split at 5:52 ... about 10 yards behind the kid. Mile 2 had some uphill (75'), and about halfway up the first hill, Alex pushed past him ... and I just tried to keep pace with Alex ... fortunately we had slowed down! Mile 2 was a 6:39 ... there was at least one other guy who was right on our heels & we were going to be in a battle for 3rd overall, as we were running 3,4,5. Mile 3 had some up & down ... I was pushing hard at 2.5 on an uphill ... running side by side with Alex, as I could hear the footsteps & breathing of the guy behind us. At this point, Alex started to fade a little, but he told me to push on. I tried to encourage him to stay with me ... but he was hurting a little & wanted me to get 3rd, so insisted I go. I kept pushing, but the guy stayed right on my heels ... Mile 3 was a 6:15. With about a 1/4 mile to go, (a little earlier than I usually start a finishing kick) I decided it was time to try to bury the guy. I ran the last 1/4 mile at a 5:22 pace.
I took 3rd by 12 seconds ... and Alex came in 5th with a 19:35 ... we both got 1st in Age Group. It was a fun race ... and really cool technical shirts too. PM - 48 minute recovery run
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