ETSU 3k

20 min. w/u + strides (2.5 miles)
3k race @ 10:23
24 min. c/d (3 miles)
Total: 7.5 miles

So, let's focus on the positives. I won the race. I won my heat, which was the middle of three, but also ran faster than the other two heats, so technically I won overall. The second positive is that I negative split. I think I went through the mile in 5:34, then closed the final 1400m in 5:28 pace. Lastly, I felt very controlled and relaxed the entire time, never really straining for the pace.

With that out of the way, let me say I'm fairly disappointed in my run. I'd really hoped to be closer to 10-flat, which is 5:20 pace. And I dunno, maybe if there had been someone for me to run with in the race, I could've dropped a second or two per lap. I ran by myself more or less from the gun, minus a harried opening 200 meters when I decided to run around everyone in lane 3. After that point I was essentially running a solo time trial, with my coaches and teammates and a few hundred strangers standing by. At the end of the day, my hope is to run this pace for 5k in the very near future (say, in two weeks at the Armory). I feel like that's doable based on how I felt today and given a few more weeks of training. Plus, the Armory is a 200-meter banked track. The track at ETSU is completely flat and 276 meters, which makes for very wide curves and bizarre split points.

Oh, and I almost forgot what was truly the highlight of the day: seeing Blake! I haven't seen him in many months, and it was cool to hang out for a bit and watch him in action coaching the girls of UAB. I've definitely missed this crazy kid.