Cranbrook "5K"

The Cranbrook 5K, where last year I posted a 21:28 in much worse shape, was supposed to be a breakthrough race this time around. I figured if I could only run just under a 7min pace last year, with all the work I've put in, I'd be able to at least hit 6:30 pace or better.

The first bad sign: I forgot my racing flats. I made up my mind that racing flats weren't actually necessary, just a creature comfort that I could do without. I had myself convinced that the soles on my Axiom IIs were far superior to those of the Racer STs. It is, afterall, a real cross country race.

For most of the first mile I'm in second place, just about 10-15 seconds behind some short and skinny guy with long hair. I have no idea who he is, and had no idea what to expect out of him. I could have stayed with him for the first two miles, but I knew that a lot of the better runners use the first mile as a sort of warm up, and I wasn't really in the mood to be torn up by a really good runner. At the mile marker I check my watch: 5:53.... the fastest split I've read since the early to mid 90's. I'm feeling great at this point and I'm wondering when things are going to fall apart. Just as a precaution, I slow down to what I think is roughly 6:10 pace and I attempt to hold that through the remainder of the event. I was pushing myself up the hills, and trying to fly down the hills during the recovery. There were a few areas where I followed cones that I shouldn't have...but by this time, with all the twists and turns, I was alone, still in second place and virtually no one on the course to tell me where to go. Running down Lone Pine you make a sharp left followed by an immediate right onto the trail. This is supposed to be the exact spot of the 2 mile. I know I didn't go 7:00 for mile number 2, but I wasn't about to argue with myself at that point in the game, I just picked up the pace and attacked the course, remembering that it was about 3/4s of a mile either downhill or flat. I ran along Cranbrook Road and turned back towards Cranbrook house until we reached the end of the path, turning left after stopping to try and figure out why I wasn't being directed straight ahead (no thanks to the course marshals)...circling back to Cranbrook house, following the residential path to the waterfall near the Art Museum reflecting pools, cut back to the trail from which we came, turn left and go up the hill (the only part where I might have actually gone 6:45 pace), cut left to the sundial, cut right to the twisty road that exits from the science museum, fly down that road, turn right, ignore the last water station, turn left, another left...400 meters to go, 90 seconds later I'm finishing...........IN FIRST PLACE!!!

My official time: 24:15
two misdirections: 15 seconds in wasted time
total distance of the 5K: at least 3.96 according to 4 independent GPS owners
Pace: roughly 6:00
How I felt: Like I actually pushed myself the entire time.

FIRST PLACE!