Notes
Short XC race, $5 entry, 2mi from my apartment; couldn't pass it up even if I wasn't feeling like racing.
I got to the starting line just in time, lined up behind some kids and steadily got to the front of the race. Soon Scott Gall passed me (basically the 1 guy I figured might be there that could beat me). After some confusion on the direction of the course, it soon was just the 2 of us. Following him was quite different than last week as Scott was good on the uphills and very agressive on the downhills. My advantage of knowing the trails well did not help at all since he likely knows them much better than I. Like last week, the flats were where I faltered (though this time, instead of trying to keep up with Bowerman's long strides, I was the one with the long strides as Scott's short, quick strides just powered on). After a sandy section, I quickly went from comfortable to having trouble. I tried to get back under control, but the race was over quick and I lost by 10-20sec.
This race was short, haven't raced this short of a distance since August. Interestingly, before this race, I checked that 3 of my last 4 races were above 6:00min pace, that probably hasn't happened since early high school. I'm hoping my tired legs were the main reason for not feeling good and I'll get back on track this week.