5.62 mi , 43:55, 7:49 avg
I did not run until later in the afternoon.
I watched Thomas's first cross country meet of the year held at Lake Holloway in Lakeland (where they have a pretty cool permament cross country course with markings for 3k, 5k, 8k, and 10k. Course winds back and forth so you get a chance to see the runners at several spots).
Weather was overcast and a little warm but not hot. He's put in a ton of miles this past summer, although once school started the coach switched to all afternoon workouts which made for a lot of slower and difficult runs. Andy came out to watch as well as another former cross country member from last year and of course Jenny was there (drove Tom, Andy, and Dan).
Saw Tom at first mile, looking strong and coming in at about 6:08. He was running just behind Spencer. Saw him again at about mile 2.3 with everyone still in about the same lineup. I then ran to the finish area. Jenny went over to the spot where they come out of the woods and at that point he was just ahead of Spencer, but Spencer made up the time on the small horseshoe after the woods.
Tom finished in 19:42 - a new PR for his cross country times (as well as beating his road PR of 19:53) and put him 3rd place for Mitchell varsity team after Zeke and Spencer. His time was 5:16 faster than season opener last year at this same course.
I hung around a bit then headed home with a stop at McDonald's and a stop at the car dealership which was supposed to be just 10 minutes but was over an hour.
I finally ran about 4:45 in the afternoon. The overcast skies had cleared up and was warmer but I actually felt pretty good. Just wanted something quick and at least 5 miles. Legs felt much better than they had in a while and I ended up doing the last 0.62 miles at a 6:40 pace.
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