Sun 11/18 - AM 80 minutes incl. Franklin Park 10k in 33:21

Another disappointing effort. Of the various factors contributing to it, succumbing to exhaustion yesterday afternoon and taking a two plus hour nap was a fatal error. I realized this for the umpteenth time when I was lying in bed awake at 3 AM, four hours after going to bed last night at the usual time. Ingested as much caffeine as I felt comfortable with before the race and gave it a go anyway. After an opening mile of 5:03 that I thought would be more like 5:10, things slowed right down to 5:30 pace and stayed in that range the rest of the way. 2 miles just over 10:30, 5k 16:40, 4 miles 21:30ish, 8k 26:52. Hit numbers slightly faster than the crapfest that was Mayor's Cup, but I'd have to be running backwards to go any slower than that dog of a race. As I had been feeling better in the two weeks leading up to this race after taking a week easy to let the left hamstring heal after Mayor's Cup, I thought I'd be capable of something more respectable. Hard to say how much the insomniac disaster affected things, but the underlying flatness was palpable. Went through the motions of a race effort, felt like I was running hard. Fell back through the pack from 2-5 miles anyway. Still I was able to make a conscious effort the last kilo which enabled me to pass back one person. Whoopee. Not taking a long nap the day before a race is such a no-brainer, I knew the moment I woke up yesterday afternoon that I was in all likelihood screwed. Better question is why I was tired enough on a Saturday to take a nap like that. It feels like one step forward three steps back with the persistent feeling of exhaustion, which in turn kills me when it's time to run hard. Various left leg/hip/back issues also not helping, not at the level of a full-blown injury but still a nuisance. Some combination of these has left me racing at what was my tempo pace two months ago. Two years ago I ran this race a minute faster on a day where it was more slippery underfoot than today. The frustration continues.