I celebrated the fact that I still had the lead pack within my view, which was rare for me. I tried to shake myself out of my denial that my stride had broken down into a short, choppy survival mode. I am going to finish strong. I caught a nice gentle downslope and used it to get my stride going again. T-Bone finished just behind me for fifth.
Reality is harsh sometimes.
While we did what I thought we might be able to do team wise, I was privately embarrassed for even thinking that I might be able to run with those guys. They were very good and there is no way I could run with them. That night, I took my nephew and son to the Twilight Meet. My son was trying to impress my nephew about his dad's fourth place finish earlier in the day. I love that kid.