Not exactly a rest week with meets Tuesday and Thursday as well as a track workout Saturday.
Monday: 9 Miles
This week marked another increase mileage, moving my distance runs from 7 to 8 miles. I was generally excited for the tick up in mileage, but the day before a meet my legs felt trashed (a common theme this week) and I would have preferred an easy day. Additionally made the mistake of running a hilly loop, which pretty much guaranteed heavy legs for the race.
Tuesday: 8 Miles
XC Dual #2 vs Prout, Narragansett and Middlebridge. I wasn't feeling great pre-race, both tired from lack of sleep and with heavy legs. The course was at Narragansett high school, which was a disappointment because it was supposed to be at Middlebridge's new and mostly trail course. Now we had a two-loop course that simply ran around most of the athletic fields and crossed or went on asphalt many times. There was one neat section they made recently that actually somewhat resembles an XC trail, but the overall consensus was that this was a terrible course. To make it even worse, the distance was measured out to 2.85. I wish they had done something to bump it up to 5K or to bump it down to 4K, but 2.85 is not a real distance.
I thought I should have this one, but knew Michael King is fast-improving and could potentially be close. My plan was to get out fast and get away from everyone so if I was tired lap 2 I wouldn't have to make any extra push. I went out fast and got the lead quickly, but struggled a bit and only got a slight lead. I tried my best to keep pressing, but it wasn't until the second lap where a comfortable gap started to open. Unfortunately, that was when I ran out of steam completely and slogged through 2 miles in a sloth 10:35 (unlike my fast 4:55 opener). There wasn't really anything in me after that, and I only won by 30 seconds, clocking a 15:50 for 2.85 miles. On the bright side, the team dominated and we beat brought, nearly clinching our 3rd place spot in the division.
Not my best race (about 16:45 converted on an entirely flat course), but a triumph for the team.
Wednesday: 8 Miles
Pretty normal route, but felt absolutely terrible in the heat. Couldn't take it at all and the pace suffered. Not great for a shakeout.
Thursday: 8 Miles
After not caring at plenty of meets, I was determined to come back on a course that meant much more to me. I had set the CR of 16:40 last year and while I wanted to break that, I wasn't sure how realistic it would be, especially with the recent heat and racing on Tuesday. I tried my best to get extra sleep the nights before, which helped with confidence and generally feeling better. The competition would the stiffest here, with Toll Gate's Nik Reygadas likely going to face me. I was certainly confident I could beat him, but was still nervous about facing him.
I tried hard to push from the gun and while I quickly got the lead, my legs were a bit heavy and I wasn't unable to continue a quick pace on lap 2 of the field, which brought Nik right on my heels. I knew I would have to respond immediately and not let him pass or the race could be over as I knew it, so I did what I could to put pressure down on the hill. With somewhat heavy legs, it wasn't easy, but I did pull away slightly and open a small gap. The gap continued to open up to the point where I couldn't feel/hear him anymore when I hit the two mile marker. I was confident I could win now, but tried my best to hit the last mile in order to run a decent time. I ran scared the whole time, but thought I had plenty of room. I didn't have much of an extra gear in the final field, so I was glad I had a decent lead. My coaches were suddenly yelling at me to start kicking, and when I took a glance back I realized he whittled down my lead to less than 50 meters and was coming for me. I did what I could and while it seemed he would catch me, eventually I was able to kick it up a notch and take the win in 16:48. My time was okay, but I was just glad to take the win in what was a nervewracking race and become southern division for this year.
Friday: 9 Miles
Springbrook loop. Felt very good and continued to push the pace, resulting in one of my first sub-6:30 runs the whole season.
Saturday: 7 Miles
A return to the track. Was not looking forward to this but the rest was generous enough that I got through it without ever getting really weak. 12x400 @67 w/90s rest. Very smooth and comfortable. 68/65/65/67/67/66/65/65/66/67/67/64. Difficulty: 3/5.
Sunday: 0. Day Off.
Weekly Total: 49 Miles
YTD Total: 1,788 Miles
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