I killed it! I really enjoy running the Ravenswood 5k. I use this race to gauge my progress and have gotten faster times each year. I was hoping to keep that speedy streak alive today. Race strategy was to start out at 7:30 for the first mile, followed by slightly faster times for the rest of the way. Negative splits, if you will. ;) Turns out, I did that, and then some!

Splits:
Mile 1: 7:30. I held back during the first mile. After the 0.5 mile mark, I was running between 7:00-7:15 pace, so I slowed and hit the 1.0 mark on pace. Needed to save something in the tank for later.
Mile 2: 7:17. I started building up speed and felt great. I briefly felt disheartened as I was passed by so many people, but managed to refocus on my run and stick to the plan. I was looking forward to reaching 2.0 so that I could turn those legs over even faster.
Mile 3: 6:57. Sure enough, I hit 2 miles and started taking down runners, especially those that passed me earlier in the race. At 2.5, I went for it--adjusted the stride some for a longer kick, and just started flying! Kill. After kill. After kill. One hiccup: An older lady purposely bumped me after I passed her once and said "I was running in that space." With memories of the Nemesis coming back, I just smiled and passed her again for the last time.
0.1 Mile: 00:40. At the 3 mile mark, I saw the clock with a sub-22 time. With a PR nearly in hand, I found one last gear and sprinted to the finish. Too bad a 12-13 year old kid I had passed at 3 beat me to the line. ;)

Loving this PR! Not a bad time after a tough Ragnar SoCal the week before. Managed to see a few DM's out there too: Tim R. spectating by the finish; Jeff H. hounding people for beer after his run.