Notes
Paul Short Invitational 2014. Awesome course, wide trails the whole way. Ground a little soft and muddy but nothing terrible. A few rolling hills, but not bad. In the Open race. #1 goal for this race was to have a positive experience. To that end, I tried to put very little pressure / expectations on myself, just wanted to go out and run smart and have fun. Plan was to go out comfortably and controlled for 2-3 miles and pick it up from there.
Race went basically perfectly, pretty much exactly as I had envisioned it. Backed off right away off the line, I was last of the RPI guys in the Open race for the first mile. Found my comfortable rhythm and just chilled. Was worried that I was maybe going too slow, but came through the mile in 5:35 and knew that everything was gonna be ok. Passed people sensibly throughout the second mile, caught Tyler and Cish around mile 2 (~11:05). Just running totally comfortably to that point. Mile 3 had the most ups and downs in it, I wasn't sure if I wanted to push yet but it was so easy to pass people so I cranked it up a bit. Heard ~17:05 at 5k and knew I was running great and that I could break 27 if I got on my horse. Last 2 miles was a little hard to read, it finally started to get a little difficult. Was still passing people but not as much. I kept telling myself not to settle, that I could give more, hard to say whether that that alone was enough to keep me engaged or whether I actually wasn't going hard enough. The last mile-1200 m of the course was really tough, it was fairly hilly. About 800m out I realized Jarrett was right ahead of me and I surged by him. He came back and got me, and then put 10 seconds on me... ah well no shame losing to the GOAT alumni! Very happy with my final time of 27:05, 35 second PR from Bard last year, 93 seconds faster than UR, would have been 6th on the team in the Brown race which is an all time best finish for me.
A lot of positive takeaways from this race. It was a huge confidence booster. I was ready to race, but I didn't psyche myself out. After a comfortable first two miles I knew that I was in control, that there was nothing to prevent me from keeping up that pace / effort to the end, and so I didn't have any trouble going ahead and doing it. It was fun passing people, but I think a big part of what made today feel good was that for the most part I tried not to worry about how the guys around me (on the team or off) were feeling or doing, I just kept reminding myself that I was in charge of myself, that I felt good, and that I could hold pace to the end. Pace progression was pretty much perfect for today. I think that I maybe could have given a little more in the last mile, but that's hard to say. I'm happy with my performance today but am far from satisfied. At first after the race I was a little worried, thinking that I somehow still needed to "toughen up" to get the next 45+ seconds that I think I can get. But that's not true, as Paul pointed out there is still fitness, race experience, and sharpening that will get me there. Going to approach the next 4 weeks the same as ever, just keep doing the right things, keep a positive attitude, race smart and let the chips fall where they may.
FUN fact: By my brief count, I passed 184 people from 1 mile -> finish
Fun fact #2: Only got beat by one guy who went out slower in the 1st mile. Conclusion: I should feel comfortable starting faster next time.