Zak's race inside the numbers

You know ... I take a lot of time to type up race splits on this blog, and I hope some of you find it worthwhile.

Being a certified numbers geek, I love it and think it is good for record-keeping and objective post-race analysis.

While revisiting the numbers, so dutifully recorded by Doug Ainscow last Friday night, this amazing -- stunning! -- nugget was uncovered.

In Zak Smetana's 14:50.39 5k, his 2,000-meter split was 6:02. This means ... this means ... this means ... his last 3,000 meters were covered in (drumroll, please):

8:48.

For those keeping score at home, that's one second slower than Zak's excellent 3km indoor PR of 8:47.

And remember: That's not Zak's FIRST 3km of the race. That's his FINAL 3km of the race.

I just texted Zak this information, and he replied back: "Oh my God that's unreal. I can't even explain how I did that."

Indeed!