Appreciating The Last Of Something!

Beautiful day for a race. Woke up at 5 A.M. and headed out to Las Cruces at around 6:15. The 5K course is one I have run before.....fine gravel that meanders slightly uphill into the wind, hits the turnaround, and heads back downhill with the wind. Winds were lighter than when I ran this course in the spring, and it was a perfect 62 degree overcast day. There were 60 total runners, including about 20 Army reservists, and about 40 walkers and stroller pushers. I paced perfectly for the leg out to the water table, and was in 10th place overall. I felt strong and relaxed at the turn, and was ready to press on the wind aided downhill return. I first passed two women, and then three reservists. These guys always do 2 mile runs for their fitness tests, and it appeared that they rarely ran longer than that. At the 4K mark, I realized that if I could push that last half mile hard, I could get under 27 minutes...something I have not done this year. I pushed really hard to near gag level, passing one more guy who was having some sort of leg cramp/pull issue, and ended up 4th overall in a time of 26:48. I ran two more kilimeters as a cool down and then came back to the finish line to get a bottle of water and a yogurt protein bar. They had posted the preliminary results on a board, and I was confused at first because there was one guy in the 60-69 age group, and it wasn't me. Then I noticed that they did top three overall men and women, and I was third male. The two guys who beat me were 23 and 40 years old. Now I realize this was a nice fluke that will certainly never occur again, but since I ran a good tactical race in a good time, it was just pure gravy poured over a satisfying performance.
Stopped at Toucan for some specialty groceries and wine, and then the Barnes and Knobles college bookstore for coffee and a chicken pesto sandwich, and then headed home. I unpacked my purchases, and now I am on my back in front of the tv. Back hurts like heck and my feet are buzzing, so I will go easy this week and hope to heal, and then prepare for one more race early in December to close out the year!