Overall, today was a good day, I guess. We beat out NM and took 2nd as a team and I did pretty well individually. I was hoping to do a bit better, but still, the race went a lot better than it could've. First off, it was really cold and gusty and wet. I raced in long sleeves for the first time ever, and so did some northern Utah natives on the team - it was THAT cold. Ick. Ended up using 3/8" spikes since the ground froze a bit overnight. For background - the course was 4 laps, two times on a small 500m loop by the start/finish, then 2 bigger 2k loops that were hillier and out in the woods. Anyway, here's the race rundown: Started off pretty badly. The starter was a little ADD and shot the gun out of nowhere, so I started a half second after everyone else, which took a lot of elbows and crowd weaving to get even close to the position I had planned on starting in. Our team was set up pretty well by the end of the first little loop, so I started trying to make up more ground on the leaders. That didn't work so well, so I decided to settle into a good fast rhythm and catch them later on. As we crested the first uphill of the long loop, I was pretty demoralized. The hill took a lot more out of me than I'd expected and I hadn't caught anyone. Finishing the first of the 2k loops, I finally got mentally stronger, started to pick up speed and pick off some competitors. The hills still ruined my rhythm to a large extent, but on the downhill after the 4k mark, I started picking it up and passed a few more girls. On the final uphills, I stayed in position and made up a tiny bit of ground on the two Idaho girls ahead of me. As I kicked for the finish, so did the Idahoans and I was about ready to not go for them. But I got a surge or adrenaline and managed to catch one of them at the line! Yay! So, after the ramblings, I guess the race had good parts and crappy parts, but I ran a pretty smart race considering my horrible start and pathetic 2nd mile. Next year though.... I will seriously kick some NM twins' butts. Also, I still have Regionals to surprise them with the awesome. |