First race back was a success, I would say, although maybe a little poorly executed. I did not feel as much resistance from my stomach as I usually do for my racing. Today everybody took it out fast, with JR leading the pack for almost 800 meters. Then the three Issaquah fast kids took the lead. Kennan took the lead and started surging as we approached a series of sharp turns. I went with him and we began to move away from the pack. I got right up next to him ~50m before the mile mark on a brief straightaway. I felt really good and thought I could negative split, but moderate amounts of tiredness seemed to pop out of nowhere just before the mile mark. I think we went through 4:58-ish. Kennan continued at an elevated pace. I stayed with him for another 1.5 minutes or so. I think if I pushed my limits I would have been able to hold with him for longer, but I felt like keeping things comfortable and within my control so I let him gap me with the hopes of maybe coming back. This was a mistake. For the rest of the race I kept a solid turnover and finished with a powerful kick, but Kennan got 8 seconds on me and I was on my own for most of the second mile. I feel good about the race because I was just about as fast as last year, and last year I stayed the same speed the entire season, whereas I know I will progress if healthy this season due to ample sleep and being fairly undertrained coming out of the Summer.
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