Notes
My first cross country race was okay. I didn't know what to expect. It was foggy at the start of the race and the grass was wet. I was concerned that I would slip but the traction was okay. This race was three loops. The first half of the loop had 2 steep up hill and 2 steep down hill portions. I started the first 1/2 mile under 6 min pace. Way too fast. I got to the first hill and charged up it as fast as I could. This will catch up to me later. Every hill drained my energy and took a while to recover. I treated this race like a 5K race. I finished the first mile in 6:31. It wasn't too bad but every time I went up a hill and down a hill I got slower. The second and third mile times were 7:01 and 7:16 respectively. I was hurting during the second and third loop. I couldn't wait until the race was over. I was able to pick up the pace for the last .82 miles @ 6:45 pace but it was too late. I started too fast and the hills killed me. Next year I will take the first lap easy and try for negative splits. Every time I start too fast I have a terrible race.