It's been pretty cold lately in Ann Arbor, and today was no exception. As I stepped out the front door to jog to registration, the reported temperature was 25 degrees. It was mercifully sunny, which helped minimize the effects of the wind chill. The temperature rose a couple of degrees by the 2 PM race start, but it was still below freezing.

I think what hung me up was having more than one race goal: I wanted to race tactically with the race leaders, and I also wanted to break 16 minutes. It became pretty obvious by the middle of the first mile that I would not be able to duke it out for first place, because there were two guys who just plain dropped me after the half-mile point (they finished under 15 minutes).

Once I was dropped, the race turned into a solo time trial, because the guys running behind me were too far back to bridge up and push me, and they were going slower than sub-16 pace. In the end, they came pretty close to catching me, but I was able to hang on to take 3rd place overall with a time of 16:08. Didn't quite meet either of my goals, but given the conditions, my time today bodes well for future races on flatter terrain and with warmer weather. I still have lots of work to do to get myself under 16, but I'm getting closer.