Sun 10/19 - AM 70 minutes incl. 5k road race

What could easily have been one of my dumber ideas in a long time (which is saying something) ended up working out reasonably well. After getting in around midnight after spending a good 6 hours standing around in a windy field in Falmouth watching an endless parade of kiddies run past, slept for not long enough and woke up to make the trip to Swampscott for a return to a race I last did four years ago. An enjoyable course, nice spot to spend a morning but my main motivation was of course far more acquisitive and venal. After yesterday's slog I had no confidence whatsoever that I'd be able to manage much faster than 6 minute pace. Warmup didn't do much to dispel this, nor did the gusty NW wind that was raking along the water's edge. However, once the gun went off and I settled in to what seemed a sustainable rhythm, found to my surprise that 5:30 pace actually felt ok. Gapped the only competition (sorry Titus) soon after the mile mark and from then on out it was mostly a game of keep away. Checking the watch the last four minutes wondering how much longer there was to go but still under control. Right leg held up fine which was the biggest surprise of them all. Cooldown was a leisurely drawn out 35 minutes or so on the nearby railbed into Marblehead.