New England XC Championships

Sunday, November 18th

USATF New England Championships
20 min warm up
10K - 30:39 (1st) - 4:51, 10:00, 15:38 (5K), 20:01, 24:45 (8K)
(PR by 12 seconds, Course PR by 40 seconds )
18 min cool down
Total = 12 Miles, 69 min

Today went very well. There was not one moment in this race where I lost control or did not feel within myself; I never felt like I was on the verge of falling off pace or would get broken by surges or breakaway attempts. I was feeling very confident going into this race and had no doubts that I could do what I did. This does not mean that I ever thought it would be easy! or that I was not nervous going into the race. I certainly knew it was going to be hard, and because of that I had to be focused completely on what I was there to accomplish.

As expected, the race went out conservatively in front so we had a pretty large pack through 1.5-2 miles. After 2 miles, it seemed to string out a bit more, with Roland and myself switching the lead and David Bridgewater (b.a.a.) poking his head in from time to time. Between 2-4 miles, I just tried to stay as comfortable as possible without letting the pace slack at all. Somewhere in that 2 miles, I suddenly found that I was running by myself and had broken away from the others, even though I hadn't made any hard moves or changed the pace much. So after hitting 4 miles in about 20:00, I tried to start leaning on the pace a bit more and really wanted to work hard to open the race up. I felt strong and was running smooth so I was actually a little surprised to hear Roland catching back up to me. I thought I might have been slowing down without realizing it but really, he was just running really hard. He caught me at about 8K and took the lead for maybe a quarter mile. I was concerned but did not lose contact and just stayed in control. After that stretch, I was able to regain the lead and just continued to push over the last mile.

It was a huge victory for me and is yet another goal that I can check off my list this year. I have never been more confident than I am now and I have never known my body and its abilities as well as I have over the last few weeks. So many factors have brought me to this point and I have so many things to attribute to these accomplishments. Most of all, the support of my peers. I could not have won today without the support of my family, or the constant encouragement and motivation that I get everyday from my friends and teammates (Jess, Rupprecht, Mario, Gwyth, Drisc, Kirby, and so many others).

I also just want to congratulate Jess and the rest of the ladies team on their domination in the womens race. They really made a statement out there today.

So thanks again and stay tuned for the season finale in three weeks when the members of NB Boston test themselves on the national scene.

Training Log (Nov 12-18)
Monday: 0 Miles, 0 min (feeling crappy)
Tuesday: 5 x HB to the top (Avg=1:47), 10 x 200m hills (34-38), Total- 14 Miles, 90 min
Wednesday: 10 Miles, 66 min
Thursday: 7 Miles, 50 min (pain in left tibia)
Friday: 4 Miles, 27 min (feeling crappy)
Saturday: 6 Miles, 40 min
Sunday: NE Champ! - 10K (30:39), Total- 12 Miles, 69 min

Total = 53 Miles, 6 runs
The mileage this week was quite a bit lower than planned for a few different reasons, but the end result came out just right, therefore I am very satisfied and not worried about the numbers.