So I wrote the entire post and thought I had posted it to my blog…clicked out of Microsoft word then realized I hadn’t posted it. So that was a me (per usual) fail. Oh well moving on to my retype. Hopefully I remember everything…
So my first cross country race on Saturday was fantastic. It wasn’t a fantastic time, or a PR but the course itself had 15 turns and 5 u turns. That was the sole reason it wasn’t a PRing course (because of the u turns) but also because of the slight hill. Anyways, I’m really going to start recapping now.
So I drove to the race and couldn’t find my team anywhere. (Since I’m interning 2 hours away from my college, I had to drive to the meet by myself. Sad day). After looking around for 30 minutes and getting extremely frustrated, I decided to jog out the course (I def needed to warm up) and go from there.
Of course within a mile I found my team and all was well. During my warmup I did not feel the greatest but I wasn’t too surprised. The females started this race first (thank goodness). My team was located in box 11 out of 14, which was actually a really great box line up because we had to cut over towards box 14.
When the gun went off, we went and it was a pretty intense start. I immediately found myself having a really good start and I moved into second pretty quickly. (I never have good dstarts…who am I?) The first place female was nationally qualified and very fast. Meaning, I was not going to take first and I better damn well work for second.
*Let me just interrupt by saying NEVER have I ever been in a position in an XC race that I would rank this high up. I was fighting for a top 20 place last year!
Moving on, the first mile I took out way to quick at a 5:46. I just got so excited to be racing again. And boy did I pay for it in the second two miles.
Well first, I didn’t feel good after mile one and the race seemed like it dragged on forever. Between mile 1.5-3, there were a series of either long and gradual deceiving hills or more turns. I had wamred up on this course, I had run this course two years ago (in my first ever cross country race), my coach had warned me about these hills several times…
But for some reason…this hill was still terrible. It felt never ending and it just felt awful. Perhaps because my body was just sore due to hard runs and such…who knows…either way I felt awful and I was all aboard the pain train for the remainder of the race.
I never really felt like we were going downhill either. For the long gradual uphill…where was the downhill for all that uphill?
Oh wait…it was laced between more turns that took more work to maneuver around. This is cross country though and the courses are like rolling a giant dice. They aren’t easy and that is why they aren’t road races.
When I saw the finish line I was both relieved and happy. I ran the entire race by myself at place 2 (with that constant fear that female three was coming up close).
So 2nd overall with a time of 20:01. If I had known I was that close, I would have dug something fierce for a sub 20 minute race but for some reason I never saw the clock until after the race. Oh well I’m over it.
Take aways:
- Turns stink more then hills
- It’s still summer heat
- Don’t take races out to fast
Questions for you:
- 1. Is it still summertime hot where you are?
- 2. What is the weirdest course you have ever run?
Congrats on your award and getting a shirt, you ran an awesome time to come in 2nd especially with the girl who won it being nationally ranked! Glad you found your team and saw some of your friends, it has to be weird training away from them so at least you see them at meets and race together 🙂
I am actually in Martha’s Vineyard (an island off of Cape Cod) at the moment and it has been perfect running weather: sunny, breezy, not a drop of humidity in the air. I have no clue what it is like back home. It is probably still a hot and steamy swampy mess. As for races the Baltimore Half Marathon was a weird course (but I liked it) because the half marathon race starts at 9 am in the middle of the full marathon. You run the last half of the full Marathon and cross the finish line with the marathon runners. Congrats on your time 20:01, even though it is not a PR it is still a very fast 5K time! 🙂
You’re nuts! Congrats!!!
The wierdest course I ran was the marathon by the sea 5miler (aka the first one I ever ran). It was hailed as a new course and a FLAT course… why yes, where the marathon/half veer off to do their crazy thing is flat… the 5 miler course is pure hills. Most of them straight up. FML
Holy cow that’s a lot of turns! Geez louise! Great run…heck yes for 2nd female! Looks like you’re off to a good start 🙂
My IT bands are screaming at the thought of all those turns. Congrats on such a brilliant placing on what sounds like a nightmare course!
It’s cooled off a bit in the Northern UK, but I’m thankful for that. I rather enjoy the interim period between scorching humidity and blizzards of snow, neither of which I am very fond of!
Weirdest race? Has to be a 5-mile race on sand held locally in the middle of December. There are these tidal breakers called ‘groynes’ which are varying in height from 3ft to 7ft (!!) and you have to traverse them as you run. It’s such a small race but there are volunteers out with ladders if you can’t jump the higher groynes – when I ran it in 2010 someone literally threw me over the top of the highest one because I was taking so long on the slippery ladder! Thank God I was a lot liighter then – I don’t think anyone could just casually throw me over now.
Hope you’re okay!
xxx
Jealous it’s cooled down there a bit.
That race sounds ridiculous and nuts! I cannot even imagine!
Great race, and congrats on 2nd place 🙂
So excited for you, sounds like a great race.
Holy moly, coming in second is exceptional, and how cool about being behind the girl that is nationally ranked! Gahh I love your blog, but it sure makes me miss running so very much 🙁
What a great race!!! Congrats on such a good placing, even if the u-turns and hill took a bit out of you! This is just somewhere to start for the rest of the season. 🙂
Summertime in the Pacific Northwest doesn’t ever get too hot, but lately it’s been warm. 75 and somewhat muggy? Ugh.
Hope all is well and good luck with your training and racing this season!
Northern NY has been the same way. It’s been so hot and humid here lately! Gross! I want fall, not winter, but fall. 😉
GREAT WORK!! You killed it Hollie. I love that you were still able to learn things too and take them into your next race.