Race Recap: City College Invitational 10k

Result:  34:58, 5th place.

Well the time wasn't too flashy, although all reports point to the course being about 6.5mi, but my place was decent and that's all I was looking for.  The plan today was to try and snag a decent place to pick up a few extra points for the individual standings.  We didn't field a team so it was really just on me to do this for myself.

The course is on very uneven grass, wood chips, over little toy train tracks and on some nice dirt paths.  It is a loop course in which you do 4 "2.5k" loops.  Each loop starts out flat on very uneven grass, runs up a steep wood chip hill, around a sharp turn and back down the hill, then through a few sharp turns on wood chips, and then fairly flat for the remainder of the loop on dirt/grass and some interesting maneuvering over some toy train tracks.

The race plan was to run up with the "leaders" for about a lap and then see what happens.  I was probably 5 seconds off the leaders through the first loop, which was good.  This was good practice at running up with some of the guys I feel as though I should be running with once my form actually comes around.  This also put in well in the top 5 and I already had a clear 10-15sec over the next pack.  From there on out I just tried to maintain my pace as best as I could, push the tough, wood chip laden hill and accelerate on the downhills.  I think I probably lost a little time on the 3rd lap but regained composure and increased my lead to around 20sec over 6th place by the final half mile or so.

So I think I'd say I was happy with my place but I wish I could have stayed in contact with the leaders for a bit longer.  I had a relatively tough week of training, although i did take it easy the day before the race in hopes that it would lead to a good effort.  It was a good workout for sure and I can't complain.  I picked up a 5th place, which is my best so far this series, which helped me leap over a competitor or two in the standings and set me up well for the individual standings.

Next up is a 5k at Morley Field, home of the Footlocker XC Championships.