Today's race was pretty different for me. I have my goal half marathon next week and because I have mentally blown races knowing I was ahead of pace or behind pace, I decided to change my Garmin settings to show me distance only. This was a trial run on getting used to not seeing my pace or elapsed time - basically I was "running naked" and off of feel. It actually went really well. This wasn't a goal race for me by any means as I simply wanted to enjoy some miles, practice with the different Garmin setting and keep my legs fresh.
I finished just about a minute slower than my goal time, but that is mainly due to mild calf cramps in the third mile. With a goal race a week away, I didn't want to hurt something, so I slowed down a bit in the final stretch.
After crossing the finish line, I got about another mile in as a cool down and stretch out the calf a bit before meeting up with Buzz at the finish line and heading to the post race party area.