Fri 4/4 - PM 70 minutes incl. 10k in 32:16

Effort was there, result was not as I ran out of gas soon after 5k and went from 76/lap pace to 79-80 in the blink of an eye. For this many laps on the track it's imperative to break it up into digestible chunks, I decided to use kilometers. Those splits as follows:

3:11
6:19 - 3:08
9:28 - 3:09
12:38 - 3:10
15:49 - 3:11
19:04 - 3:15
22:21 - 3:17
25:38 - 3:18
28:57 - 3:19
32:16 - 3:20

After 800m in 2:34, I felt the group I was with sag a bit and made a move to bridge to a group ahead that seemed to be closer to the 76 pace I wanted. Thus the faster second km. In hindsight of course I should have stayed right where I was. The next 3k I spent right following a kid clicking off the pace I wanted. Felt relaxed and under control at this point and optimistic about running evenly the rest of the way. Breathing got more labored during the fifth km which was the first sign of trouble, still hopeful though. In the 14th lap I lost contact with the pacer and the drop-off in pace was immediate. I knew at 6k I wouldn't be running 31:40, but still hopeful to break 32 if I could maintain 77-78 second laps. At 7k I knew going under 32 would be difficult at best, and by 8k I knew I was fucked. The final indignity was busting my ass while running the last km at 80 second pace, playing out the string in no-man's land.

Hindsight being 20/20 I certainly overestimated my fitness, which is the crux of the dissappointment of course. The first half of the race I felt like I was holding something back for later, and that the pace was eminently sustainable. The realization that it wasn't came quite suddenly. The 6k time trial I was thinking of doing 10-14 days ago certainly seems like a good idea in hindsight. I'd like to think had I run the first 5k in 16:00 the final time would have been at least 10 seconds faster, not that I drove five hours to run 32 minutes.

I don't suppose driving all afternoon to get to the meet was the ideal way to approach things, but I'm loath to use that as an excuse when many other people at the meet must have had a similar complaint. I felt unusually alert and crisp while warming up as well, although that ended up being an illusion of course. Whether from lack of endurance or fatigue, I reached the end of my rope about 2.5 miles ahead of schedule. Apart from a modest breeze on the homestretch, the conditions were almost ideal, and the size of the field ensured that there would be someone to follow, which there was. In fact the kid I was following early on ended up running 31:41. Overall, my fitness continues on the gradual decline since that 3k time trial at BU four months ago when I came away so certain I was ready to run sub-15 for 5k. As ever, I'd have to say the root of the issue is not sleeping long enough or well enough. It could be and has been worse in this regard, but still I need to be sleeping better if I hope to race better.