Not sure how I feel about this one. After RnR AZ I figured I'd be cracking 31 minutes with no problem today, but the last 3 weeks haven't exactly gone as planned. My quad seems better, but I'm still very hesitant to run much faster than marathon pace on my achilles. My goal today was to put in an effort similar to what I did last Saturday and try to beat everyone except Riley (figuring he'd end up running quite a bit quicker, which I was right about - he is very fit right now). So on one hand I did the exact workout I wanted to - and my leg actually appears to be getting better... But on the other hand, I hate being in a race and not responding when someone makes a move. I like racing aggressively, so now in hindsight I am slightly mad at myself for not being more aggressive today... of course if I was more aggressive and re-aggravated my foot, then I'd be really mad at myself! I guess slightly mad is better than really mad. I tried to start conservative and we had a pack until about the one mile mark. Riley was running strong and started to drop the pace around that point... obviously very motivated to get that RRCA state championship coaster :-). I didn't go with him, but still felt like I was putting a gap on everyone else because the footsteps were disappearing behind me. Hit the first 5K in ~15:45 (tailwind), then turned around into the pelting snow-wind and I'll be honest - it was not very pleasant! Riley was gone and it didn't seem like anyone was close behind me, so I ran what felt like tempo effort on the way back. Second 5K was ~16:40, not very impressive! The good news is that my achilles felt good... actually better after the race on the cooldown than when I was warming up. And it also feels better than it did earlier this week. I got this achilles brace yesterday, and despite the fact that its one of the more primitive contraptions I've ever spent $20 on, it works extremely well. Afterwards we did a casual cool down (the weather was a lot nicer by that point) and it was nice to chat with all the guys. For a wintery February day, the depth at this race (mainly because it was the first event on the USATF circuit) was incredible. I haven't seen the results yet, but I'd betting Fast Running Blog took about 9 of the top 10 spots on the men's side. SLC Track Club has some good photos on their Facebook page... here's one from the start:
 Seriously - what would you rather be doing with your friends on a Saturday morning?!? :-) And the Terminator kicking it in for 3rd place:
 Stealing these next two from Matt...
 
Riley, Me, Matt:
 Old Guys:
 AM - 13 miles (3 up, race, 4 down).
PM - 4 miles easy in the snow.
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