Miles make you faster

The mantra for when you are struggling.  I was feeling pretty good heading out today - nice sunny weather.  Since I'm 4 weeks out from my first race (5k) - i decided to try a bit of a tempo run.  I started at the 14 minute mark, deciding to head up the bike path for 10 minutes, then head back down. Going up felt hard - as it often does.  Pacing was probably in the 7:30-7:40 range.  Thinking I'd put the hammer on the back half after the turnaround - but felt pretty bad after two minutes - then just kinda cruised the the last 8 minutes.  Pace was probably about the same pace.  A little disappointing - considering i should be able to knock out 20 minutes at a 7-7:10 pace - but maybe not so bad considering the lack of tempo work. Doesn't bode well for the upcoming race - but i probably deal with this every year.