I know most of you guys already saw the results on Facebook, but I thought I'd do a quick race report anyway for the Point Bock Run 5-miler that I ran on Saturday.
It was the 4th or 5th time I've done this event. They get almost 1,900 people, and it's an out-and-back course that starts/ends at Stevens Point Brewery, which means plenty of

afterwards. It's about an hour away from Appleton, so our running club charters a bus, and we stop at another micro-brewery (Central Waters) on the way home.
Anyway, last year I ran 31:58, which was a new PR and good for 2nd place in the "Big Bock" (200+) division. My goal going into this year was (1) to win the division, and (2) to PR. Unfortunately, my plan of going out for "a couple beers" on Friday night turned into
several beers and 4 hours of sleep, so I wasn't feeling horribly confident as I struggled to keep my eyes open on the ride over.
We'd gotten a bunch of snow on Friday, but they did a good job cleaning off the roads, so the footing was solid. Temps were in the upper 20s, but there was a brisk west wind that made it feel more like the upper teens. Went with the Under Armour tights and mock neck, with a short-sleeve tech shirt and shorts over the top. Did a little 1.4-mile warmup, hung out on the bus for a few minutes, and headed over to the start corral for the noon start.
I lined up near the front (behind the fast college kids) and took a look around. Didn't see any other big dudes, so I figured I might as well go for the win; in the back of my mind, I just wanted to stay under 6:30s. Didn't wanna SandTM the first mile, so I kinda just ducked in with the pack and ended up clocking an easy-feeling 6:16. The 2nd mile was a #####; the first 3/4 of it ran straight into the wind, and I split 6:25. This was the last time I looked at my watch the entire race. I was feeling pretty good as we headed uphill to the turnaround at 2-1/2. Had to slow down a little bit to make the 180-degree turn, but took advantage of the downhill on the way back and clocked 6:15. We got the wind at our back as we turned back to the east, and I was still feeling pretty good, hitting 6:13 and continuing to pass people. I was definitely starting to feel it the last mile; I know I was down under 6-minute pace at one point, but I ran out of steam in the last quarter-mile and had to settle for a 6:11.
Overall, ended up running 31:17, which was good for 42nd overall and 1st place in the "Big Bock" division. Pretty cool to have the last mile be my fastest, especially considering the cold weather and my hangover. Afterwards, excess quantities of Point Special were consumed by all. The end.