Race review: Santa Fe 5K

ENOUGH WITH THE SMALL TALK. HOW'D IT GO?
I started strong, ran strong in the middle and finished strong for a time of 19:29, only 6 seconds slower than my PR from March 2011.

DID YOU WIN?
I did win; I was 1st of 35 in my age group. I was 12th of 257 men and 13th of 485 overall (I thought there would be many more runners but apparently there were either a lot of no-shows or a lot of folks running untimed).

HOW'D THAT HAPPEN?
Look, I ran a 100-miler between running this 5K and writing this race report, so please forgive me for blanking out on some of the details. I remember there were a few raindrops here and there that held off for the race but nonetheless made for a steamy evening. I ran out comfortably, knowing the only meaningful hill was coming in the first mile. Making the climb on Santa Fe Avenue I focused on using my glutes to get up the hill, which has been a point of emphasis in my recent training.

Getting up the hill I passed people, coming down the other side I passed people, and I just kept it going like that the rest of the way. As the leaders made the turnaround and headed gently back downhill to the start, I counted 15 folks in front of me. I picked off a couple and got tantalizing close to some others as the last half mile approached. But even with a group of 4 just a few seconds in front of me, I couldn't find another gear to kick past them -- I had pretty well spent everything I had to get there, leaving the tank just empty as I finished.

WHAT ELSE?
The post-race setup was pretty nice -- think Katy 5K on a much smaller scale. There were half a dozen food trucks with food for sale (boo) but a few vendors such as Urban Taco handing out complimentary bites. With only a couple of spotlights on hand, the festivities had to wrap up rather quickly post-race; this is something the organizers should fix for next year to make this more of an event.

SPLITS?
N/A

OK, WHAT ABOUT THE REAL REASON WE ALL RUN, THE STUFF?
Beyond the standard cotton T-shirt, a green wristband -- possibly the least useful accessory ever -- was also thrown in. The age-group awards were unique, though: these lanterns:

WHAT'S NEXT?
Heartland 100 (already done, race report forthcoming).