Race day: 5K

I'm in my third year of triathlon. I train all year long with very little down time/off season. Right now I'm three weeks out from my first tri of the season but I was getting a bit bored with the training. So, I decided to do a 5K race yesterday; nothing like a little competition to add spice to my training! On a good day I can do a 9:30min/mile training pace but a few weeks ago I did an all out run and got it down to about 9:15. So, for this race I was hoping to put down around 9:00. I exceeded my expectations and did 8:38! Wow! Having looked at last year's results I knew that a 9m/m pace would give me a good shot at placing in my age group, so I was really hopeful with my 8:38. Still, somehow, I finished out of the top three :( They have not yet posted the official results so I don't know how far off I was. An 8:38 was great and I'm really pleased, but someday, someday, it would be really nice to make the top three!