Pancakes for Breakfast Dessert

I was forced to stay out too late last night at a dinner party and only got 6+ hours of sleep before getting up at 545. I had a breakfast of yogurt with sliced strawberries and half a bagel. I took my time getting to the race site 30 minutes from home. It was a beautiful cool morning with light traffic on the interstate.
At the race site I looked for a few familiar faces before the start; chatting up a few pals but not seeing someone I expected to see who told me a week ago she'd be there. We had determined we ran the same pace, her perhaps a little faster, so I was looking forward to a pace partner.
I hardly warmed up because my legs felt heavy. The little jogging I did was worthwhile because it told me just how tired they were.
At the horn I started running and knew quickly that I wasn't blazing by any means. I was chugging at an 8:22 pace for the first mile. I figured it must have been from the 9+ miles yesterday stealing my race strength. I was 30 seconds slower than my 10K PR time in M1 and seven seconds off my 5-mile race pace too. I resolved to just keep going and see what happened.
In the second mile we got into the closer quarters of Celebration, FL neighborhoods, cutting street corners and racing. I brought the pace down to 8:09. If I was going to break 50 minutes for the race I knew I needed to average 8:00 miles. With one-third of it gone I was 31 seconds heavy. I skipped the water stop.
In M3 I felt looser. My quads tightness abated and I was passing people with regularity. I figured they just went out too fast as always happens. The split was 7:52. Hey Hey! I was even cutting people off at every street corner. Sorry folks. It's racing!
The fourth mile felt as good as the third. People kept dropping off and I kept picking them off. Occasionally I drafted up behind somebody and eased off a little to relax and regain form; take a short breather. Then at a corner or cutting an angle I passed them. M4 was a 7:44. Negative splitting! Now I had 2.2 miles to go and I was only off the 8:00 average pace by seven seconds. I stopped at the water stop for some sports drink figuring it would help.
The fifth mile is usually my toughest and we were out of the neighborhoods and back on the through roads that led back to the office park start area. The sun was hotter and my shirt was glued to my chest. With my recent "problems" I was thinking great things about the Body Glide under my shirt. My legs kept moving and I was no longer tired. I thought about my long runs on Sundays and how I always had a kick over the last mile or so. I had two to go. The fifth mile was 8:07, slower because of the water stop stop.
Coming into the homestretch I was chasing some little kid who was just pounding away. He was on an elementary school cross country team according to his shirt. I was impressed that he was holding his own so far along the race route. Usually I see the little guys go out too fast and fade. He was pacing me in M6. We turned into the alley that led to the finish. At the six mile pole I clicked in at a 7:57 mile. Oh yeah.
I sprinted the last two tenths, reminiscing about a hot lap around the track, crossing the line in 49:46.5, a new personal record in the 10K. It felt great; much better than my PR at Disney last month where I went out so fast in 7:50 and 8:00 the first two miles. This time I raced the right way - or at least the way I should approach the marathon.

Feeling so good, I waited around 45 minutes cheering in other runners and talking to people I knew then jumped in to run the 5K race. I took my ChampionChip off and got up front so the clock time would be accurate. I didn't expect much. Having stood around for 45 minutes, I was stiff and sore again. I hadn't stretched either. Whatever. I looked at it as a cool down run. Well, I did it in 25:15 which was an 8:08 pace, just a little slower than the 10K pace. It ranked 10th among my 29 5K race times so I was satisfied.

After the 5K I went to the hospitality tent (thinking of Jon) and dug into a platter of fresh-off-the-griddle pancakes, courtesy of the local Rotary Club. With a cup of coffee, it was delicious. If you ever see a race offering pancakes in addition to the bananas, bagels, water, orange slices, etc., I highly recommend it.
Later in the day I went to Costco for one of their super duper vanilla ice cream bars dipped in chocolate and then nuts. Mmmm. Good. And just $1.50!