BYU Homecoming 5k- Jason Thomsen

What a crazy morning! I was a little nervous leading up to the race but at the same time enjoyed the idea of not having to wake up at dawn to go run. I spent the morning at Runner's Corner for the Boston Boost Run at 7am and enjoyed a comfortable 4 1/2 miles, nice, warm waffles, and good company. I was so hungry I ended up eating two waffles...at 8:45. The race started at 9:45.

The short drive back to campus was a little nerve wrenching because I could still feel the waffles sitting in my stomach and I knew I needed to go run in an hour. I pounded down just over a liter of water in about 10 minutes and I think it helped quite a bit because I felt fine come race time. My goal leading up to this race was to just run in the 17's and as a stretch get back under 17. (I haven't gone sub-17 since before my mission). A lack of 5k type speedwork wasn't helping my confidence too much either. So, I wasn't expecting too much to be honest.

It was good to see Robert Finicum there and line up next to him. There was quite a bit of competition this year too: a couple graduated BYU XC guys, some Davis High school kids, etc. This was my first road 5k since Art City Days in June so I was excited to only have to race 3.1 miles. I felt pretty good out of the start going up the hill. There was pretty decent sized pack of us the whole first 1/2 mile or so. Once we got up to 9th east it spread out a bit. I went 5:28 through the first mile and then 5:26 through the second mile. After two miles I realized there was still a huge chance of getting under 17 and so I hung with a pack of about 4 or 5 the last mile. I hit the track with the clock reading 16:01 and so I knew I was going to have to haul to get under. I hit the finish line all out in 16:58! It was a great feeling to see 16 on the clock again!

Finished 16:58
13th overall
6th in my age group (eesh! talk about being stacked!)