It was a fine day! Great people, nice weather if a bit cool, and easy enough logistics for a big race. Not racing it, I was there mostly for socialism. Hung out with lots of maniacs before and after. Most of the race I was with CasualRunner. For the first 8 K we helped hold back AlfieFromPickering from going out too fast as he sometimes does. Came upon UltraQueenga just before halfway and ran with her for a bit. Saw Mark1 at the relay checkpoint. It went surprisingly well up to the 20K mat. We were kicking along faster than I had a right to hope for. Into the hills, though, and a couple of recent pains came back with threatening twinges. I had no problem taking it easy, especially since I had only run over 20 K once this year, back in January. My knee was worrying me, especially on the many downhills. One guy, liberal with his comments, said I should maybe see a separatist about it before it coalesces on me.The goal here was to finish. Saw Casual last at the 25K point, just before the big hill. It was handy that I know the course so well, I just had to bring it home. Slowly, but running, I came in at 2:53. Most minutes ever, yes I said that last year too. Good (if slow) times!
