Small race update, the official results came out and it was 2 seconds slower than I’d thought (pooh), so I actually ran a 35:28 (not 35:26).

No matter, there is something I’m quite tickled about with that race…my age-grade standing. I hit 75.22%! That puts me squarely in the middle of Regional Class. My first running book was Glover’s Competitive Runner’s Handbook and he has those tables in the front, though he lists them differently from “regional class” etc, his “Local Champion” table is 75%, so that’s what I’ve been dreaming on for the last couple years. Now I’m there! At least for one distance anyway, hopefully the 5K this weekend will add another to the list.

Yesterday was an excellent 9, no leg tweaks, just a good solid run at 8:34 avg. Today was that speedwork session (1200 @ 5K pace, then 6 x 400 @ 5k pace w/1min. recoveries for all). My goal was to keep at 5K pace, not go any faster. Of course, I’m as guilty as anyone for loving to push my paces in speedwork, but for race pace runs, I think it’s more important to match the chosen pace and hope it feels sustainable for an entire race. That said, race pace never feels the same in training as it does in a race (thank god) but that was my aim for the day, anyway.

I did ok considering my Garmin was totally untrustable as a pace tool today, which I suppose is a blessing in disguise, making me go by feel. It ended up being one of the most comfortable speed sessions I’ve had in awhile, probably because it was only 2.25 miles of fast. Fastest pace was 6:46/mi, slowest was 6:53/mi, average for all, 6:50. Just right.

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