Notes
First cross country race in years. Lots of young guys in the mix. Due to baseball for Benjamin, opted for the all-comer 5K rather than the "championship" 8K. Was surprised by the number of teams still in the 5K, including Battle Road and others.
Gun went off and I tried to stick in the mix. As expected, fast start and I got nervous reaching the throat at the end of the field. On the little hill at the back, I bounded from middle of the pack to top 5 which was good. Mile 1 left me in 5th place, with top three way out there going sub 5's.
Mile two tightened up our chase pack and I lost a little ground on Bear Cage Hill, moving from 5th to 7th. As we rounded the far side of the hill, I nabbed one of the runners back and then entering the wilderness, I passed another moving back into 5th and still in striking range of 4th (although range was expanding).
Mile three was tough with more uneven surfaces, turns, and just being tired. Fourth place vanished and it was just a matter of how long I could hold my spot. As I exited the woods, I could hear people cheering on "Ethan" from behind me to come pass me and "go get yellow". I was cooked, but still kept grinding away. I was able to muster enough of an effort in the finishing chute to maintain 5th. I think I benefited from inexperience of the kids behind me who didnt recognize me as a sitting duck.
Tough race and really disappointed in the plus 17 minute finish. Dont know how much of this is due to being cross country vs a road, but definitely my slowest 5K in probably 10 years.