Good and bad

This turned out to be a very low-key race. Like, no-one-warmed-except-me low-key.

Strangely, the local TV station was there. The camera man sat in the back of the lead-out ATV. Talk about an awkward moment; after a half mile, he said something to the driver (like, "I didn't come here to shoot some old albino in tights"). The driver slowed down and he jumped off the ATV and probably started to film the more photogenic mid-packers. He even gave me an apologetic look, which conveyed something like, "I'm sure you understand, buddy, but you ain't making the evening news".

I felt great and had a hunch that I was on my way to a PR. The weather wasn't as bad as advertised and the legs were absolutely golden. I was hoping for a sub-5 mile split, but as I looked down, my watch said... 5:38!

I was hoping that mile was just long and the course as a whole was accurate, but my finishing time was 16:40. There was a general consensus that the course was long, which was disappointing. It felt so fast that I may go back with my Garmin just to see, but of course that won't really mean anything.

So on the plus side, I feel like I am ready to bust out a really fast race (I may even have done that today). There is a 5K in three weeks put on by UW-La Crosse, so most likely some fast guys will show up. OTOH, we are running 3 Days of Syllamo next weekend, which may take a little pep out of my step. Syllamo is 100 miles over 3 days, but I'll skip the middle day (the 50 miler). I just feel in such good "fast shape" that I don't want to chance it with a 50 miler. As if a 50K and a half marathon in three days isn't enough...

Part of me wants to head over to the local track and just run a quick 5000. That's actually not a bad idea; maybe I'll do that Tuesday.