Overall win!

Well, this was a little weird. This morning I won my first overall race (The Old Oak Run in Middleburg Heights) since high school and not by just a little, but by 50 seconds! I didn't sign up for the race looking for a cheap win or anything as I was 4th overall last year and 3rd master. I was fully expecting some good competition in my first 5K race of the Spring. On the starting line I didn't see any faces I knew, but a quick look down at some of the runners' racing flats led me to believe that there might be some fast running, at least in the low 16 range. Anyway, even with my usual somewhat conservative start I found myself in the lead after only a few minutes with no one willing to go with me. It was just yours truly, a cop on a motorcycle and the pace car. I kept it pretty controlled because to be honest, I was really nervous being in the lead! I kept wondering if someone might be moving up on me but it was just really lonely like my weekend interval sessions in the metro park so after about half way when I knew it was in the bag, I pushed harder and I kind of drifted back into time when I was winning high school cross country meets. My time was 17:25, not a PR or anything, but a pretty solid time for what was pretty much a time trial that I paid $20 to run. Last year I didn't break 17:30 until my 4th race of the Spring (in early May) and I went on to run 16:57 at the Diemer 5K (certified course) in mid-June so I feel like I'm ahead of where I was, which I'll take at age 44. Next up for me is a 5K in Oberlin on May 3, which should have a few fast guys in the field, so hopefully I can get myself around 17:00, which should prep me for hopefully taking down my PR at the Diemer race.