The temps were in the mid 60's and it felt great! Woke up the family early and got to the race in downtown Ft Worth early. The boys (7 and 8) ran the Kid's K at 7:15 -- I ran it with my youngest, and he was grinning from ear to ear as he passed people in the final stretch. This run give trophies to all the kids -- they are recycled trophies donated from Ft Worth Runners Club members. It's a cool practice...the boys really love their trophies! My race started at 7:30. Darin, John, Dave and I discussed strategy a little before the race. Dave is still recovering from an injury, so was planning "easy 8s". Darin and I felt pretty good -- our PRs for 15K are right around 7:05 pace. We weren't sure what the day would bring, so we were aiming for 7:15ish pace...that is until the gun went off! During the first mile or weaving and jockying, my Garmin showed 7:13/mi..it felt comfortable. We sped up a little and crossed the first mile marker in about 6:56. I still though it felt very "doable" to maintain. So, I settled in to a comfortable pace. The course is very flat and hugs the Trinity River. The wind was steady at about 15MPH out of the north, but it only seemed to be directly in our faces for a little bit mid-way through the race. After the turnaround at about mile 5.5, the wind was at my back, and it still felt good, so I started passing a few people. I picked up the pace a bit, and had a strong finish. I ended up with a 1:04:14 -- my previous PR was 1:05:38 (back in January). This is a 6:56 pace -- my first sub 7:00/mi race in anything greater than 10K!! Woohoo. Placed 5th in my AG. I'm happy with the result and feel good going into the last few weeks leading the SGM.
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