Race Report; Heart of the Summer 10K

My company is a major sponsor of the race so I was able to register for free. Can't beat that. It was a 10K race (6.2 miles). The night before I started to get a slight cough and sneeze nose so I was skeptical about the race. As it turns out we are into a major ragweed bloom so allergy suffers are doing just that - suffering. However the race went really well.
At start time I was getting my watch ready when, BANG!, the start pistol went off. I think the suddenness surprised everyone. Usually there is the typical "Welcome, yadda, yadda, yadda". I didn't get my watch set right till mile marker 1 but I got someone to yell out something that sounded like 6:15. Excellent! I continued to clear my thoat for the entire run but otherwise felt really good. I was with a group of young people that maintained a steady pace. I was averaging about 7 minutes per mile so I was feeling good about my goal of sub 44 minutes. On the final lap (we did 2 laps around Lake Nokomis) I saw a big group of people gathering along what I thought was the finish line. So I started to really pour it on. Well, it turns out it was the start of the 5K race. My finish line was a quarter of a mile past it. Oh, no! My heart rate was way up and I was feeling the pain. But I backed off just a little, lowered the HR a few beats, and managed the last stretch. Into the chute I can see the finish clock already at 43:30. 30 seconds left! Can I do it! Yes! I cross at 43:40. A personal best in 10k racing. And with an allergy flareup!

Results: (the overall is only the men not everyone, weird)
overall place: 119 out of 311
age division place: 20 out of 42
gender place: 119 out of 311
time: 43:37
pace: 7:02