BRATS FROZEN 5K (race report):

In January 2012, I set a 30-second breakthrough PR (18:25) on this fast 5k course in Manassas, VA. That's a hour drive from where I live in DC, and I did the race last year simply because the weather was weirdly Spring-like and I couldn't find any other races nearby. This year I did it again in hopes of reconnecting with last year's PR-vibe, and I was not disappointed: I set another PR (17:58) by almost the same margin (I never managed to run faster than 18:25 in the previous year). This year the conditions weren't quite as perfect: again it was sunny and the wind was calm, but at 27 degrees it was colder than ideal. That may have contributed to my getting off to a slow start. But I ran almost even splits, which really means that I sped up in mile 2 since there is a turn-around a little past halfway through it. I started fading in mile 3, but I think it was more mental than physical. Luckily, the first woman finisher passed me around halfway through mile 3 and said "come on, guy." That jolted me to speed up and follow behind her, which I managed to do only for a little while until I could see the finish line, which had its usual effect. Besides her, nobody else passed me during the entire race, and I must have passed 40-50 people after the first half mile. I started a little back from the front and got off relatively slowly, so at first I just tried to find a rhythm. It wasn't until maybe two-thirds of a mile into the race that I realized there were basically two chase packs at that point following one lead runner who was way ahead of everyone else. I realized this as I came up to the second pack from behind and passed it around the first mile marker. In the second mile, the other chase group disintegrated into a bunch of individual runners chugging along at different rates. Most were slowing down, and I passed those people one by one. Of those who didn't slow down, one dressed in bright colors some 30 feet ahead at the turn-around was my target for the rest of the race. I never caught him, and neither did the woman who passed me, who had started out in that second pack and must have stayed just behind me for most of the race. I ended up finishing 13th (and 3rd in the 35-39 age group). I'm sure that I could have run faster today by staying mentally stronger in the last mile, and by warming up better to run a faster first mile. But I still ran well. As usual when I set a PR, my first and second thoughts upon finishing were "Yay, I did it!" and "I can run faster than that." I discovered last Spring that duplicating a good time set on this course requires running slightly better on a course that isn't as fast. So that's my next 5k challenge. I'd rather not wait an entire year again for another 5k PR.