Well, today was proof to me that I can run well when I don't feel fantastic. It was our conference championship, the course is at Apple Ridge Run in Yakima, which is kind of a slow, grassy, hilly course out in the middle of a bunch of orchards. The race got under way, my goal was top 10, and I knew pretty quick that my legs weren't very rested. Which is fine, we're not focusing on this race. Saint Martin's lined up right next to us, which was convenient for tucking right in with their top 2 runners. They pulled me through the mile in 5:03 and up the big hill to mile 2 in 5:03 as well. The course takes us through the hill 3 times, and my legs were starting to hurt well before mile 2, so I chose to coast up the first time. The front pack was pretty much together up to that point, and then the top 2 guys took off to duke it out and the pack strung out. I was in about 8th, SMU #1 was pushing the pace and I was hurting already so I decided to play it conservative. I hung with his teammate for awhile, then went after the each guy that fell off the pace. Alaska Anchorage's #3 was the last guy I caught, and we had a little battle to the finish. I threw in a little surge up the final hill and he fell back a few paces. For the last 1000m I had to work hard to keep that gap as he kept coming and coming, but I managed to stay 2 or 3 steps ahead through the line. Even though times were slow and I didn't feel like I ran to my potential, this raced showed me I can compete whether I feel great or not. 5th is a little higher than I thought I'd finish, so I'll take it and look forward to the next one. I also learned that being in shape slows how quickly your legs hurt. With how I felt going into the third mile, I thought I'd be dead by mile 4, but 2-4 wasn't all that bad. I need to remember that in the future.
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