Also of note was that this was the first I'd race in 3/8 inch cross country spikes. Midway into the season was the first time I had really thought about the effect of different length spikes on performance. I wasn't sure what length to use race day and was a little nervous about trying something new, but ultimately decided to use the new spikes as the entire course was grass field, a relatively soft surface that I could use extra traction on. I was a little nervous about using the longer spikes on pavement crossings.
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| The Course Map didn't show the course off very well. |
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| I feel like my strava activity was clearer. |
My numerous improvements over last year improved my placement across the state and gave me an indication that I could take the win. Kyle had beat me in most XC races last year, but his many injuries and my fast rate of improvement kept me ahead in track. He was out on an injury during the dual meet we were to race each other in, so in a way this was the make-up for that. I felt pretty good on warm-ups. First was one lap of the course, then some fun trails exploration south of the Glen. Next, we put on our spikes and headed over to the line. We did strides and stretches while catching the last ten minutes of the girls race.
In those last ten minutes, I started to get nervous. Perhaps this was because I hadn't met expectations last week and didn't want to have a bad race again. Perhaps it was because I don't have much strength on hills and I don't have much strength in multiple loop course. Whatever the reason I was, I didn't have much time to think about it. The last girls were finishing and we were on the line, preparing to race. We waited an extra minute to let the last girls go by, then we were up. Someone spotted another girl finishing and the timer indicated that we'd wait another minute for her as well. We did no such thing. A few seconds later, he raised his arm and shot off the gun, to many runner's surprise.
As usual, I went out hard from the gun. This is one area I've improved significantly in this year. Last year, I struggled with the cross country starts and found them quite uncomfortable to run so fast from the gun, while this year I get out into a good position with ease and enjoy doing so. The course started with a quarter-mile lap around the field. I quickly took the lead and led around the first field. I was slightly confused on one turn, but figured it out quickly. A quarter mile in, I noticed there was no one right behind, and later it was indicated to me that I had a 20-meter lead. I was pleased and surprised with this, but still worried the gap may close. I pushed the downhill on the first field and felt strong but slightly out of control. The rest of the first loop went very well. Everything seemed to play out in my favor. Despite my constant worries of the gap closing, my lead was only increasing and I was feeling pretty good. I felt slow on the steepest uphill and was sure Kyle would gain on me. I hit the mile in 5:00. On the final field of the first loop, I felt like one of my spikes had gotten stuck to a rock or another small object and the spike felt uncomfortable and wobbly. I'd figured the stuck object would come out on the pavement crossing, but as the feeling went on, I started to feel that my spike was loose and coming out. I figured it was leaning to the side. The feeling stopped and I felt something come off, likely one of my spikes. It certainly felt like I was missing one. I was glad to remove the discomfort, and finished up the first lap feeling pretty strong.
I tried to push the downhill field at the beginning of the second lap. It was tiring when climbing again and I wasn't looking forward to the three upcoming hills. I had a good lead at this point and my only concern now was that I felt weak and was fading. I hit the second mile in 5:11. The second time up the steepest section was brutal as I was lacking energy. I felt quite slow going up. The last mile was tough. I wasn't feeling very strong anymore but tried to keep pushing, although at some points it was very difficult. I had another moment where a spike felt loose, wobbly and uncomfortable before it also fell out. Perhaps I did a bad job with tightening the spikes on one shoe. I was feeling very tired on the final uphill. The 90 degree turns made it easy to see how far my lead was, and this was the first time I was satisfied with the gap. I realized even if he had a great kick and I had a terrible one, I'd still win. I crossed onto the final field. My coach yelled for me to kick, but I didn't really have anything here. I tried to pick it up a little but lacked the strength to finish strong. I made my way around the field and made the turn onto the final straightaway. My mile three split was called out. It sounded like 15:36, but I wasn't sure if it was 15:36 or 16:36 (it was probably 15:26) and wasn't really paying to the times at all during the race. I saw Kyle on the opposite side of the field, still having to make the final loop. Then I saw the clock. The times were in the 15:40s and I was shocked. I had no idea I was running that fast and it looked like I was going to break 16. This gave me extra motivation and I was able to pick it up more. Unfortunately, I wasn't close enough, creating another soul-crushing moment where the clock ticked up and up and it didn't seem like I was getting much closer. I came very close, but I saw the clock tick 16:00, then 16:01.
I was thrilled I had PR'd, nearly broken 16, and won. I thought there was no chance of getting a PR here and I did. I couldn't believe I was 20 seconds faster than I had originally anticipated. I had replaced last week's poor performance with a great one. No matter how great my race went, it was so disappointing to just get over 16. Breaking 16 would have made this the perfect race. Chances are if I had kicked earlier, I would have done it too. It was odd being so satisfied as I had crushed my expectations, yet still leaving disappointed. Full results here. I did end up enjoying the course once again.
Another odd part of the race was that after checking on my spikes, it turns out none of them fell out and all were not only intact but also in good condition. One had pierced a hard leaf, which made some sense, although is certainly a disadvantage of the longer spike.
It's also quite disappointing that the cross country season is almost over, and all the stress-free meets are over. I enjoy running at ponaganset, but the meets held there are too big and important to have a lot of fun at. I want to have the stressful Championship races over with and run well in them, but I don't want to transition back to track. Fortunately, my time here will reflect well on that course. Last year, I felt that I ran all-out, or nearly all-out on both courses (East Bay and Ponaganset). I ran 24 seconds faster on the ponaganset course one week later at class, and then six seconds faster than that a week later at states. I feel like the gap should be similar, which would translate to a 15:37. That seems a little fast, I feel that I can run under 15:50 on the course and perhaps even a low 15:40s. Running the course Sunday made me a little nervous as it was a little hillier than I remembered. First race of the day on Saturday I'll find out what I'm capable of.
Wow, great race!
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