I suppose it had to happen

Yes, I have used that title previously.

This morning I failed to hold onto a lead as I ran over the bridge. I saw a guy up front, caught up with him, looked at his leg size and figured I could overtake him and maintain my lead. So I did not belt past him. I eased past...and he stayed with me. Damn. I gently increased the pace. So did he. He was now running alongside me. I sped up, he sped up. Damn, this was going to hurt. And it did hurt, and after a couple of hundred metres next to each other, me flat out, I eased and told him he had me beat. He slowed, shook my hand and ran on, more slowly. Pride damaged, I ran off of the bridge behind him.

A few words in my defense. I was 5km into my run when I got to the bridge. I had a small backpack on. I had already run faster than usual for most of the route after another bloke had overtaken me around 500m from home and, frankly, I can't have that. So it was, sort of, my second race (I won that first one.) This second guy was well ahead of me on the bridge when I first saw him and I did have to catch him up. As we approached the southern end of the bridge he had the outside, which is more flat, then the side-sloping inside I had. It was wet and slippery and I had already caught a heal on one of the rubber strips between the concrete paving blocks. I had run too and from work the previous day. I've rarely actually raced anyone, so my record of never being beaten is not one I often test; maybe I am not that quick at my max speed? Despite not having runers legs the guy was fit. Enough excuses?

None of that matters. I tried to pass and beat someone and they beat me. But worse; I don't know if I gave up because of a physical limit actually reached or because I did not have the heart that he did. Damnit. That bites.