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Paul Short 8k

October 5, 2019 (Morning)

Exercise Type: Run

Comments:
Up 3
Race 5
Down 8

Woke up feeling stiff and maybe not as well rested as I had been in previous weeks with high holidays, midterms, etc. But once we warmed up and stuff I felt ready to go. Will and I planned to race together and push each other as we went, aiming for 5:40 pace. Weather was a little chilly, but great for racing. The course was in much better shape than last year.

The first couple of miles were very relaxed, both at 5:40ish. Had to work on the outside because it was so crowded after people went out hard and then slowed down a lot after about 400m. Will and I found our groove running that third mile, which is a bit hillier, and we came through in around 5:50. We then accelerated through the fourth mile, using the downhills. I started to really feel it at the beginning of the fifth mile, but knew that we were really racing well and that one last push would help make a huge PR. There were a few moments where I thought that I would slow down, but having Will right next to me kept me focused. We really attacked that fifth mile together, only really getting separated by a matter of seconds at the very end. My kick wasn't as strong as it has been at the end of the couple of shorter races we've run, but that's okay for the first 8k. Very happy with this race, and excited that I dropped from 29:50 last year (at conferences) all the way down to 28:16! I even PRed in the four mile (my previous best was at Main Line two weeks ago in 23:05), with the automatic timer reading 22:33 at the four mile mark. I think that this race is only hopefully scratching the surface of what I can do this season and beyond.

We cooled down 8 miles afterwards, in five and three mile segments.

Splits: 5:40, 5:40, 5:50, 5:23, 5:43.