Longest Day 5 Mile

Apparently 6/19/2002 was the longest day of the year, the summer solstice. At least that's why this race was run on a Wednesday. There were a lot of unique things about this race. The setting is Coyote Point County Park, which has access to miles of paved trails on the edge of the San Francisco Bay. The race was on a Wednesday, in the middle of the week instead of a weekend. It was in the evening, after people got off work. It was age and gender handicapped. Because I was a male over 40, I got a two minute head start. Of course, there were similar head starts for older men, women, and children 15 and under.

I'm tired. It's late. Here are my splits:

mile-time---split
1----6:43---6:43
2---13:39---6:55
2.5-17:55---4:15
turnaround
3---22:29---4:33--8:48 for the 3rd mile?
4-missed it
5---37:16--14:47--7:24 avg for 2 miles

I'm not sure of the accuracy of the course measurement. Obviously the third mile was longer than the others. This was out and back on the same course, so miles 1 and 2 were the same as miles 4 and 5.

Unofficial time: 37:16
Official time: 35:16 (age handicapped)

I won a medal.
Well, they promised a medal to the first 100 finishers. There were only about 30 of us running. I didn't place near the top overall or in my age group. Well, you can't be totally out of the race with so few people there.
Not being sure of the distance, it's hard to know what this race means. It was a good workout, though.
There was a moment before the race. There was a strong cold wind blowing off the bay. I turned and faced the setting sun, and the wind was coming from exactly the same direction as the sunlight. I closed my eyes and stood still, feeling the wind and the sun warming and cooling me. When I opened my eyes a few moments later, everything seemed different. I was totally relaxed. That alone was worth the trip.
One more race. Five more race miles. With marathons in San Francisco and Silicon Valley coming soon, I should be able to keep up.