Scooby Doo

Report:
Finally had enough flexibility to go to the group run at the Y and, generally speaking, had a great time. It was a small group of four (including myself) and as expected, I was the only guy. I'm used to it though and didn't let it get to me like it has in the past. We started out at a very comfortable pace that felt almost slow. And yet I was leading the pack. Felt pretty damn bizarre to be in the front, even though the rest were right behind me. As we cleared the first mile mark, I looked at my split and damn near shit myself. Didn't expect to crank out a sub 10 minute mile and certainly didn't expect it to feel like I was walking. I mean, it was was seriously easy. I was a bit freaked out to see my split and I think my mind played some games with me a bit as I went into the second mile. I still hung with the rest of the group but dropped back a bit when I took my walking breaks. I cleared the second mile still faster than expected so decided to speed up a wee little bit to try to catch everyone else. By the start of the last mile, we were spread out over a quarter mile or so. By the end of the run I managed to catch two people and was within a minute or two of the third. Totally unexpected so I rewarded myself by not going back out for a second 5k. Not really, but it felt like a good argument in my head. I knew I wouldn't have time to go another 5k due to my schedule but I didn't want to feel like I was wimping out too much. In the end, I ended up walking another mile as a cool down just because it felt so damn awesome outside.

Weather:
Temps were about 60F to 65F. Light wind. Sun was out but sky was partly cloudy. Humidity was low.

Fluids and Fuel:
Breakfast was yogurt, toast, egg sandwich, and iced coffee. During the run I had a bottle and a half of plain water. Recovery was some leftovers for lunch.

Aches and Pains:
My left quad was still a bit grumpy but not as much as last week.

Gear:
Wore my rarely used waist belt so I could carry my voice recorder so I could record an episode of my podcast. Outside of that, the usual gear (although it was cool enough for me to keep my shirt on).

Codename - Scooby Doo
As I walked my final mile as a cool down there was a County Sheriff sitting in his car in the dead-end. He slowly creeped up to the intersection and as I turned around, he followed a truck into the local animal shelter. He then led them across the street to the new Sheriff's Office. I think Scooby would agree that something looks mysterious.

Splits:
Mile 1 - 9:57
Mile 2 - 10:30
Mile 3 - 10:17
Finish - 31:42 (34 seconds slower than my 5k PR - WTF!)