5000m opener

My first 5000 of the season was a mixed bag. I'm ok with the time 13:42, one second off my personal best but not about how I ran the race. Biggest thing was I needed to be more aggressive out there. A great pack of 7-8 guys formed with another few running off it's coat tails and unfortunately I was one of them. 3k went by (8:14) and I was still hanging on pretty well. Trouble with hanging out at the back of a pack is that when guys start falling off you've got to think fast, go around them, and bridge the gap between you and the next guy. This takes a fair amount of work. Last night I paid the price for not getting around a couple of guys quick enough and was left chasing a good looking pack for the last 2k.

Saw 12:38 with 400 to go and gave it everything I had in an attempt to get under 13:40 but alas the kick just wasn't there. Maybe it would have been if I had the help of a pack to run with the last 2k, that I'll use as motivation next race to get after it earlier in the race. Weather was a bit breeze too which didn't make solo running any easier. All and all though I'll take that time for an opener and unlike last year I can positively with out a doubt say it won't end up being my fastest of the season.

Results http://www.flashresults.com/2007_Meets/outdoor/eugene08/?DB_OEM_ID=500

Catch the race here. I'm in a light blue singlet starting up top.
http://www.flocasts.com/flotrack/coverage.php?c=45&id=3215

First blog post

It's the morning of my first 5000m of the 2007 track season, Eugene Oregon. Feeling confident about my fitness having already run a couple solid 10000's and have four weeks of good training since the last.

Jogged down to the famed Howard Field last night to watch a couple NCAA regional 5k's, place lives up to it's billing, great atmosphere. Looking forward to stepping out there and given'er tonight.