This was my 3rd attempt at running the hilly UW-Parkside CC course and my 1st attempt post collegiate. I really didn't have any expectations of placing high in the meet due to lack of training in this type of race, but I knew the level of competition would give me the opportunity to run a fast race and open some doors to better fitness. The meet brought a good mix of collegiate teams. NCAA Division I, II, II, NAIA where all represented at the meet. All in all 15 teams and 12 unattached runners competed in the race.
The temps where in the mid 80's with about 75% humidity and they started the race at 11 am, so it was less than ideal in terms of weather, but fortunately there was a nice breeze and most of the course is run throughout the shaded woods. The course starts with 1/2-3/4 mile long hill that gradually gets steeper as you climb. I put myself somewhere in the top 30 or so and came through the 1st mile in 5:35. At this point I felt relaxed, but I knew some tough up and down hills where coming up so I backed off the pace a little to prepare for some tough miles. In hindsight I really shouldn't have done this because I lost a lot of ground, but I thought I was being smart thinking a lot of the runners would come back to me. From miles 1.75 through 3.25 it's up and down through wooded trails. The hill at about 2.5 miles gassed me. I was sucking wind so bad I think I was hyperventilating. It took a good 100 meters to regain my legs and get my breathing under control. Throughout, the race I noticed my struggle was the hills. Those young collegiate runners where throwing strong surges on the hills and recovering much faster than I could. My 5K split was 17:05, which actually is a post collegiate PR by about 50 sec. After the 5K mark is the same 1/2-3/4 mile long hill, which I knew would be a tough climb because I remember it being tough in college. Needless to say this was another spot where I was completely gassed when I hit the top of the hill. The last 3K was trying to hold my position and relax for a big kick. I did really well on the short down hills usually catching people. The flats I made some ground as well, but again the hill at about 4.5 miles was another sore spot for me. I finished with what I would call an average kick passing two runners and being passed by two runners. The bells and cheers were awesome! Big time crowd support for a lot less than the cost of a marathon. When I let off the gas I moved back to my 66th position as I battled with the 7/8 man runners on the collegiate teams. Nine years ago I was a 1 or 2 man on my CC team, but for how far I've come in 15 months I'm happy with my level of fitness. Best of all no injuries and good health!
I was looking back at results of this race in my college days and noticed I beat my 1st attempt at the course from my freshman year of college by 15 seconds. I came away from the race a little sour with my time, but I was happy with the place and later realized the time was actually really good considering I had a 50 sec PR in my 5K split on a very difficult course. The race brought back some great memories and reminded me of my love for CC. I might try to do another CC race at UW-Oshkosh in October.
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