Mile 1: 8:52
Mile 2: 9:01
Mile 3: 8:53
Finish: 10:09 m/m for last 01 m.

Got to the start line in the nick of time. I was planning to run in a tank and was wearing a short-sleeve shirt over it. I didn't even get a chance to take the shirt off and was a little too warm throughout. Got a number from the RD and was fumbling to get it on when the race started, which caused a slow start. I was last to start but gradually picked off a couple of women once we got off the grass and within the 1st mile. I tried to catch another woman in front of me but she must have picked up her pace after she walked a bit so I never caught her. After I lost her, I just ran my own race with nobody around. I started to take in the beautiful surroundings, noticing the pelicans and other birds on the lake and in the air and trees, watching the storm clouds rolling in, and smelling the spiciness of the wetlands we were running around. As I got into the latter part of the race, I started having those "where the hell is the finish line?!" thoughts, then cursed the grass at the last part of the course. Eventually, though, I was just trying to keep running smoothly, keep breathing, and cross that finish line as strong as I could.

The 1st mile felt easy, the 2nd got a little harder and the last one was a bear. I generally try to regulate my breathing based on my paces, with 2 paces in, 3 paces out as my usual pattern. I managed that for the 1st 1/2, then it switched to 2/2 and by the end it was 1/1 and barely even that. Once I hit the grass again, ~0.4 mi. from the end, I was totally gasping for air. I must have sounded like a sobbing steam engine by that point! I would have liked to have sprinted to the finish but by that time, I had absolutely nothing left except an exhausted smile for Alex. Thank goodness he was at the finish line to catch me and tell the volunteer my name. Otherwise, I probably would have just staggered right past her.

I decided to run this race as hard as I could to see how fast I could go. My knee talked a little but not enough to be bothersome. My diaphragm started to hurt by the end as I tried to keep breathing, but nothing else bothered me, which was *really* nice. It felt great to know that my body was able to handle that level of effort!!! On a side note, I really need to remember to not hydrate so much right before a race. Although the pee helped cool me off a bit, it was a little annoying.

I definitely won't run the rest of the series this hard. I'll use them as my mid-week training runs to replace my golf course/bike trail runs. I may push the pace a little since they won't be my weekly LSD, but I can't give that kind of all-out effort 2x/month and especially not on the weeks of my tris. Two of these races are tri race weeks so I'll just go really easy on those.

Leave work earlier, know exact directions, and get to the venue earlier so I can actually warm up!!

Immediately walked to the bathroom, then sat for a few minutes to catch my breath. After that, walked back to the picnic structure for the awards ceremony even though I didn't win anything. A storm was rolling in as I finished so it got a little windy. As we were driving home, the clouds were really cool-looking and there was a lovely rainbow.


Getting there late and overall fitness


Very small but well-organized. The series is on high school XC courses around the area. No food trucks this time, but the RD promises to have one next time. The "beer garden" is a cooler full of 3.2 beer, which makes me laugh. There was also a large beverage dispenser full of some sort of sports drink. I was too tired to notice and just drank my bottle of Skratch.

It was a little hard to find the start, which added to my being late.

There were 24 runners, 6 of whom were women. I finished 4/6 among the women. The 1st place woman finished in 21:17 and the 2nd place woman was a 13 y.o. whose time was 25:49. If they're doing the series, I don't think I'll ever be catching them!! I'm looking forward to the rest of the series (there are 6 more). It's fun to run in different venues in a race format instead of always running by myself on the same old routes I always use.