My first cross country race

This morning I ran an 8K cross country race (5 miles). It was my first time to run a race in which we did multiple laps and my first XC.Dirty Sauconys

My poor shoes will probably never be white again.

We did 4 big laps with a final lap around a dirt track at the end. We ran around a park that is very hilly. There are two major downhills and two major uphills on each loop. Though I have run at this park before, it was never for a race, therefore the pace up the hills never mattered. On the final lap today I speed walked the two uphills. I did not seem to lose any ground on the guy just in front of me. I think it was a good strategy.

Terrain consisted of the dirt/gravel track as well as dirt roads and walking paths. Rocks were a factor for part of the race. There was a short section where we ran on grass. Each of the up/down hill sections were asphalt. About half of the paths were shaded and the other half was in full sun. Temperatures were a nice cool 73 degrees.

I ran the race in 42:36. That is a pace of 8:10 per mile. The race was 8.4 Km in length.

I got up at 5:30 this morning. That was 30 minutes before I needed to get up. I had been laying in bed awake since 5:00 and could not go back to sleep. That is what races do to me.

I was there early enough to get bib number 11 in the men’s category. There was a men’s division and a ladies’ division. First 25 places in each got a medal. There were 99 men who ran and I did not get a medal. Not sure what my placing was, but I was lapped by several of the front runners.

With getting up so early and running quite well, I had trouble staying awake in Sunday School class this morning. Oops.

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