A pretty crazy race. Coach Murphy was great and invited to me to come with his team down to NXN southwest a few weeks ago. I had been looking forward to this race, but my main focus was/is Footlocker still. I hadn't tapered as much as usual for this race, but knew I should still be a top-5 finisher if I had an okay race. I warmed up later than usual, and got to the start late. I planned on taking the first mile at a pace that felt easy, not caring how well I started, but get close enough to the front, and either make a move to the front (at the mile marker) and run on someones tail for the rest of the race, or break away from the pack, and then at mile 2 make a move to win if I'm in position. I ended up do my stretches at the start line, trying to hurry and get them in.
The gun went off, and I did the same thing I did at state, just not at an all out sprint this time. I got out well, and in a good enough position to make a move, and my legs felt great. Nothing hurt, it felt easier than a tempo run. I got in position and let the Colorado kid go. Now looking back on it, I wish I would have tried to go with him, and not let him get a big gap on me. On the first turn, it was really muddy, and some kid in a Dover uniform cut me off and I went from 5th to mid pack. I was ticked, but got into 2nd at the mile marker. This is where I should've made my move, but instead I just ran next to Brewer. My legs felt good, nothing hurt. It felt more like a fun run for some reason (probably the mud, we crossed the 3 inch deep 6 foot wide river 2 times by now. I ran in the less muddy parts, and before I knew it I was at the 2nd mile marker (10:02). I then decided to make my move, but I was too late. A kid in a green jersey went with me, but burned up and fell off after a half mile. I started catching Cerake, but I wasn't in it all the way, and I was too late. He was around 9:48, maybe faster at the 2 mile mark. I finally felt like I was racing again. If someone was with me, like Kramer(got boxed in at the start) or Connor Mcmillan(sick), I would've caught him because I would've been pushed by someone else, not just a target for the last half mile. I ended up finishing 5 seconds behind him in second. Zach Jacklin, Mike Buckly, and Brewer all came in about 9 seconds later. I congratulated Cerake and others, then went on my cool down.
Later I ran more with Murphy and Kramer whenever the bus stopped on the way home. If we ran at 7:30 pace then it added up to be 3 miles. The Alta team finished 10th, which was great, even though they were hoping to be 2nd or 3rd and go to nationals. None of them had the race they were looking for today.
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