Notes
Where did this come from?! Fantastic XC race that shows I somehow have held onto some shape. My original plan was to go out at 6min pace, see how I felt and then pick it up. That plan went out the window from the gun. Basically, I just raced.
Went out like I normally would for a race. Got out somewhat fast, looked around and tried to find a good position. As we finished the first straight, after finishing my look around, I couldn't help but smirk. I'm racing again :) And it feels real good.
Continued at what felt like a comfortable and sustainable pace. Picked my way up to Jake and Matt. Through the first mile in 5:22. Felt comfortable. From there I tried to really make the 2nd mile hurt. I kept the forward pressure, kept picking people off. Got up to Austin eventually before losing him again.
3rd mile was tough. Hills weren't bad but definitely took some toll. And of course it's been fast up to this point. But I think a lot of my slowdown was mental. I'm not convinced I'm grinding as well as I could be. I think I could have pushed harder. Once I can relax a bit after XC season and start to get into a quality winter training block, this is something I should try improving. Probably just need more racing along with some experimentation with different mental strategies.
Overall super happy with this race. Way way better than I expected. I did not think I was still in this shape. This was a fair course so it probably means I am in 16:45 - 16:30 road 5k shape. Woot woot. Hopefully I can have some level of consistency during the next 7 weeks of coaching and come out alright on the other side.