Chilly 1/2 a unexpected 3rd place

I ran this race as a LSR in prep for my goal race " Around the Bay" . The weather turned out to be an excellent  -2C with a gentle 25kpm wind from the West. I lined up with Eric the 2:30 pace bunny. The race course ran west for a few Klms and then turned back east along Lakeshore to Burloak at about 13k and then turned west again back along Lakeshore to the finish. I noticed Maya running with her guide Kaoline running west before I reached Burloak, about 20 minutes a head of me. I also met Paul D and Aranka B and we formed a nice little group behind Eric. At about 18k I was feeling really good and ran in at my planned race pace. I finished 2:29 still feeling good and felt the run was a great success. I was surprised when Paul D, EMailed me that I was 3rd in my age group. I checked and there  were only 3 runners in my age bracket Very surprising as there are at least 5 runners my age living here that can leave me in the dust.