I've never really liked true cross country courses. The course was at the Cottonwood Complex and was 3 laps around the park on long wet grass. There are a few (7) short but steep climbs that do a good job of taking you out of rhythm. Warmed up with an easy 1.25 miles but probably should have gone more. The gun went off and I had a hard time getting started. My legs felt like they were stuck in mud. Once I got going I was alright and took the lead going into the first turn. It didn't take too long for a few runners to pass me. For some reason, I really didn't have the desire to push the pace. A couple more runners passed me during the first mile and we all pretty much settled into our places at this point. Hit the first mile in 5:56 which was a little surprising. I just hung behind two other runners most of the race hoping they would fade. I was able to move past one of the runners while climbing the last hill but he passed me again once the course flattened out. Second mile was 6:18, third was 6:27 with the last last 0.1 was at 5:53 pace. Final time was 19:40 and I finished in 7th place. I really don't have an explanation for the slow down. I figure the course itself is about 1 minute slow so I guess this is a typical time for my 5k's. I wish I could find a way to dig deep and push harder. I assume that the biggest problem is I have done very little VO2 work this year so my body isn't very familiar with 5k pace. Our team ended up taking 3rd place. PM I needed a break from yard work and house work so I went out for a run at 9:30. Drove up to Mueller Park with the intent of running to elephant rock. As I pulled into the parking lot a saw a wolf (at least it looked like one). It kind of freaked me out and it was all I could think about as I started up the trail. I couldn't see the trail very well, even with a head lamp so I went back to the car and drove to Bountiful Boulevard. Ran out 3 miles, turned around and went back to the car. I felt really good during the run.
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