Summerfest 12k - Mendon Ponds

I have only done a few short, slow runs since running the Green Lakes Endurance Runs 50k last week.  I've been focusing on recovering.  Today was going to be my first longer, faster run.  A friend of mine from the Runners World Forums was participating in the Summerfest 12k and I enjoy running at Mendon Ponds so I figured I'd run it as well.

When I got to the park I realized that this was a race on the roads at Mendon Ponds, not a trail race.  I was a little disappointed but life goes on.  I decided I'd line up at the back of the pack and run pretty slowly.  I struck up a conversation with a gentleman about my age and we took off at a comfortable pace.  After about a half mile the guy next to me asks "is this the fastest back of the pack you've ever been in?" The funny thing is, I was thinking the exact same thing.  My pace felt like I should be in the middle, but I was very close to the rear.

I wasn't really planning on "racing" this race.  I just wanted to run comfortably hard to get the legs and heart pumping again.  I figured a 10:00 mile would be good.  Of course I didn't wear a watch and I left my Garmin in the car so I had no idea what my real pace was.  I kept trucking along trying to keep a consistent pace.  I spoke with a few people along the way.  I was feeling good enough to speak conversationally.

Around the 8k mark I started passing some people despite not picking up the pace.  I think a lot of people took off at their 5k pace and were starting to pay the price.  By 10k there were a lot of walkers.  I was startign to feel sore and tired but not too bad.  I attributed it more to residual fatigue from the 50k than to today's effort.

In the end I finished the Summerfest 12k in 1:10:20, for a pace of 9:26 per mile.  It was a bit faster than I planned, but not too bad.  The run served it's purpose.  I was tired, but was able to run at a fairly reasonable speed.