Ran a total of 8.75 miles today, but ran 5 of which at 5:30 mile pace. I ran 1x3 miles, an easy mile at 7:15 pace, followed by two more miles at 5:30 pace and finished with 2.75 miles at easy pace. I think I may have isolated my problem. This workout seemed to just kill me. I had no trouble for the first two miles at 5:30 pace, but the third began to get tough. The last set of 2 miles at 5:30 pace was increasingly difficult, leaving me to believe that this may be the factor that is holding me back. Once I get this under control, I think that I could definitely decrease my 10k time. In all, a good workout. Oh, the next CU race is a week from Saturday. I am not feeling particularly nervous this time, but I definitely want to show the coach that my previous effort was a fluke. I feel more determined than scared this time around. I have quietly waited and put my money in the bank, now it is time to show the coach that I have what it takes to be part of the team. I am going to shoot, once again, for 26:30, or top twenty out of the 100 people that run it. If I can pull that off, I will most likely beat five or six of the existing cross country team members. | 