Celtic Solstice 5 mile

It was a sunny, yet cold day for the big "ChemRun" winter face off.  Temperatures in the 20s with a nice breeze blowing made it feel absolutely freezing at the start!! I meet with Alicia at Hopkins, and all bundled up, we walk the half mile over to Druid Hill Park, where the race is being held. It was unmistakable that it was going to be a big run ... a couple thousand people were milling around!  The race volunteers have hot coffee for the runners, but both Alicia and I don't want to press our luck, and decide to pass on the coffee until after the race.

The race started with a steep uphill climb for the first half mile.  I tried to stay with Alicia, but we both quickly found out that I was in a crazy sort of mood and was pushing the pace from the very first hill.  Just about a quarter mile into the race, I said "See ya!" to Alicia and dashed off.  The next 2 miles of the race consisted of slightly rolling hills through Druid Hill Park.  My legs were screaming at me from the very first mile.  When I got to the first mile split, I knew why - 8:46 on the first one.  A flash of self-doubt runs through my mind - Can I keep this up for another 4 miles?  I'm never been able to consistently run at that pace before ...

Then I remembered that my boss was also running the race, and there was no way I was letting my boss take me down.   I would hear about that victory in lab for the next 5 years! I push on the hills, trying to convince myself that I'm a better hill runner than my boss.  Mile 2 goes by, and another mile split (8:19) makes me absolutely sure I'm crazy.  I bypass the water stop at the halfway point, and start the downhill push to Druid Lake.  Another mile goes by, another mile split (8:06).  I realize I'm having the best run of my life, and there's only 2 miles to go.  Mile 4 is almost completely downhill or flat as we go around the lake.  Halfway around the lake, we hit another mile split (8:14).  One mile to go!  My legs are screaming at me, and I'm beyond the point where I can talk, but somehow I'm still running at sub-8:30 pace.  A small hill brings us back around the lake, where we're greeted 

with a sharp downhill finish.  That last mile - 7:57.  

My splits for the 5 mile: 8:46, 8:19, 8:06, 8:14, 7:57.  How's that for a negative split?!  My watch says 41:30 when I cross the finish line, and I find out a few hours later than my official time is 41:29 (8:18 average min/mile pace), a PR by over 5 minutes!  I've never sustained that kind of a pace before.  

Alicia came in at 44:02, a definite PR for her as well!  And the best part ... I beat by boss by a good 4 minutes.  No bragging rights for him ... Maybe he'll have better luck at the "ChemRun" summer faceoff (The Dreaded Druid Hills 10K), but somehow I don't think so :)

Here's a picture of Alicia and I (courtesy of Christina) from the start: