They threatened rain... they threatened thunder... it was going to be a soaker. Until it wasn’t.

Both the hour before and the race was rain free except for 20 seconds of sprinkle as I waited for friends to finish. Being risk averse I brought rain coat and long sleeve shirt which was not a wise choice as I had to carry the coat around my waist and the shirt got hot.

Even with these plights, I still went faster than the year before by 19 seconds. At 49:56 I finally broke 50 minutes for the 12k. The first mile was blazing at sub 6, then I paid for it on the hayes street hill rolling up with a 7:11. Crept speed back until I was at 6:15s by the end. Next year I want a better warm up and more space from the race before... definitely wasn’t fresh... and cool.

Food wise was great. Pasta the night before and a cliff bar and gel. And not super hydrated either. Just right. So next time it is more rest and maybe a few faster intervals to warm up for it. And a more crazy costume!