Outback Distance Classic 6K

The past few years have sparked up the tradition of the annual Thanksgiving race. Last year my sister joined us in the crisp, early morning trot. But this year, due to logistics, she couldn't make it. Just like last year's race, I would be racing the 6K while Dad would tackle the Half-Marathon (you can check out his race on his blog). The weather, although perfect, was not as cool as last year so I donned my gloves with a singlet and shorts and was ready to go. Wanting to capitalize on a successful cross country season (where I set my 19:09 5K PR), I set my sights on running a sub 22:00 and a top 10 finish in the enormous field teeming with weekend warriors.

I lined up towards the front, ready to burn up the long and wide expanse of asphalt that lay ahead of me. Following the painfully drawn-out Star Spangled Banner, the gun was shot within seconds. After jockeying for position, I led a large chase pack as the minutes ticked by. Coming up to the mile mark, the half marathoners split from the 6Kers and I said goodbye to the majority of the people around me. I passed the mile mark in 6:00, which was my slowest first mile in recent memory. I pushed forth in the following miles, catching a person here and there. My second mile was 6:15 and my third was 6:20. With a half mile to go, the course winds through residential neighborhoods making the finish notoriously slow. To make matters worse, those in the top 10 had the task or evading youngsters and their parents running the "joey" one mile waddle. One last turn and the finish was in sight as I mustered a kick and finished in 22:04. After taking a few minutes to collect myself, I did the math and found out that my last half mile was in an astounding two minutes and 45 seconds. Despite not meeting my goal of sub 22, I still finished in the top 10 (tenth) while setting a new 5K PR (19:06).

Next race on my plate is the prestigious AAU Cross Country Nationals in Orlando, Florida. As some of you devoted readers may be able to recall, I ran this race last year and finished the 4K distance in 16:00. This year I'm looking to get as close to 14:00 as I can, and also make a run at All-American status (top 25). Otherwise, it will be another month until track starts but in the meantime I have the task of racking up some mileage.