Yesterday I ran my first cross country race ever. In high school, my freshman basketball coach had recommended that I join the cross country team to improve my conditioning. When I found out they got up at 5am and just ran around our little town until school started, I opted not to join.
So, at 27 I am voluntarily almost doing the same thing : ). Not quite the 5am part, but close to it. Yesterday"s race was at 2pm, and it was sunny and beautiful. I gathered with the rest of the crazy looking MRTC folks in Overton Park and headed out for a 1.86 mile race through the trails. We started off in the back with the over 50 and under 10 crowd, because Becky and I have very low runner self-esteem. We always assume we will be among the slowest runners, not without reason I might add. But yesterday, this pick of starting position hurt us. As we entered the trail, there was an immediate stop. I had anticipated a bit of a log jam as we entered the trail, but this stop was due to the folks in front of us daintily walking through the mud. In my head I yelled, "For Pete's sake, people! It's a trail! Run through the mud!". We attempted to make up for lost time by passing as many people as we could along the trail, including a woman who thought it necessary to gasp each time she put her foot down! Once we got out of the trail section and there was room to break out, we attempted to speed up a little. For the first time ever, we passed several people in the last half mile of the course. I have learned to run as fast as I can once I can see the finishing cones.
After months of half marathon training where slow and steady is the rule, it was lots of fun to run fast! Granted my fast is probably your slow : ) Finish time was 21:15, which actually a slower pace than I ran my last 5k. However, I did not have to dodge mud pits and tree roots in my last 5k!
If you are in Memphis, come join the fun! The next race is a 5k in two weeks. You can check out info at the Memphis Runners link on the side bar.
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