Beat the Heat 5k

5k w/u + strides
Target: 5k @sub-17 (5:27/mile)
Actual: 17:17 (5:24, 5:46, 5:30)
$215 won ($150 overall, $65 age graded)
Results
3.5 mile c/d
Total: 9.5-10 miles

To quote the ever-supportive Jordan Kinley: "Well, that was unimpressive."

So yeah, that pretty much sums up my performance last night. The weather was amazing by North Carolina summer standards--a surprising respite from the stifling heat and humidity we've been dealing with lately--and the course was as fast as one could hope for in this area. (I should qualify that, however, by adding that practically the entire second mile was uphill--but it was followed by a long and generous downhill for mile three.) No, there are really no excuses for why I just felt flat, tired and heavy-legged from the gun. Caitlin pulled away from me shortly after the first mile marker, and though I caught Heather shortly thereafter I was unable to make a decisive move to pull away from her. Instead she was the one who confidently charged ahead with just over a quarter mile to go, putting a full five seconds on me in a very short period of time. As for the overall winner, a Kenyan from the Raleigh area whom none of us recognized (but who was, incidentally, wearing a pair of Karhu Racers), she was pretty much in her own race from the start. But the frustrating part there is that her finishing time of 16:52 is something I should be fully capable of running right now. Instead I was farther away than I'd considered as my worst case scenario.

If the race itself could be described as terrible, the post-race festivities more than made up for it. A group almost 20 strong (including three of the top five male finishers as well as a solid Charlotte contingent of Jordan, Caitlin, Matt, Billy, John, Thomas and Allen) posted up for the duration at Foothills Brewery in downtown Winston-Salem. Without question, the best part of a night race is the revelry and merriment that ensues afterward. A good time with good friends makes a world of difference in washing away the lingering disappointment of a hard-fought battle lost.