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NATIONALS

December 14, 2019 (Morning)

Exercise Type: Run

Weather: 40s, drizzle then rain then strong winds

Comments:
"I could really finish dead last!" I thought to myself as the 650 of us bunched up behind the line listening to the starter's instructions. "These are literally the fastest post-collegiate cross country runners in the country. I could end up embarrassing the B.A.A. by being that guy they're holding the finish line open for long after everyone else has finished. Our club director will regret having let me come. Did any other clubs bother to enter athletes outside of their top 7? Did any of those athletes just take their post-season two weeks off from running?" BANG! And in a flurry of muds and spikes, we were off.

As we settled into the first of the ten kilometers, it became rapidly apparent that I was not going to finish last. After only 2-3 minutes, I was already passing people and there must have been at least a dozen or two behind me (out of 615) to begin with. I continued to pass more through the race eventually finishing 526, ahead of nearly 100 other guys. I did get passed from time to time but my overall trajectory was to rise in the ranks and I feel good about that.

I spent most of the race thinking about mud. That's a good thing because otherwise, I might have been focusing on how tired or out-of-shape I was. I was wearing half-inch spikes for only the second time in my life and as a result, has almost on fear of slipping. The other runners generally headed to the outside of each curve as their coaches and fans were urging in search of firmer ground. I headed directly for the post or flag, cutting off several meters and often passing entire groups of competitors in the process. On the straightaways, I'd tried to run reasonably tangent to the curves and reveled in squishing through the thick black muck. I heard my parents cheering at least 3 times during the race, including on the final straightaway when I really needed it. "They've driven 3 hours to see me race!" I thought. "I have to beat someone." And so I gave an extra heave and passed a guy I'd had my sights on by less than a second. Plus I squeezed in under the 39-minute mark by four seconds and ran nearly even splits (19:26 and 19:30)

All in all, a memorable race.