Final XCountry race of the season
I ran the final cross country race of the season and finished on a high note.
Last week was the Clarksburg half marathon. I ran terribly. It was a super fast course with great weather but my body just couldn't seem to go. I had completed the Humboldt half marathon in October running a 1:27:51 but at Clarksburg ran 1:31 and change. Very dissapointing.
Today the weather was cold and wet. It rained off and on and the course was muddy. Temperature was in the high 40s. The wind came up making it even tougher on the runners. All of the best cross country runners in Northern/Central California showed up for the race.
My sciatica was bugging me and I knew it was going to bother me on the course. I warmed up on the course and there was mud everywhere. Even during my warmup I was slipping and sliding. My sciatic nerve was really bugging and I usually have asthma problems when it's cold or wet or windy. Well the combination sounded ominous.
Before the race I saw my teammates. For once they were all there. This was the big race and everyone, injured or not showed up. Phew! Pressure was off. We only needed 3 people to score and we had 7 show up. 4 of us had placed in the top 3 or 4 in one or more of the X/C races we entered. I was very happy to see them all as it meant that if I did have a bad day it would not mean a disaster for the team.
The team scored well. We placed 2nd, 3rd and 5th guaranteeing us a win in the race and a tie for first for the season. Wow! To be a part of such a great team battling another great team was wonderful. No superstars but a bunch of darn good runners.
To top it off, I ran well, helping the team and finishing ahead of younger guys that usually beat me. Our 50 year olds also won and so they had brought some champagne to celebrate their victory. We all had a little bubbly and it was great!
In 2 weeks is the California International Marathon followed a week later by the Christmas relays in San Francisco. I hope to run both and finish well enough to help our road racing team to another championship. That would be a great finish to what started as a tough year.
Life is good.
Todd
Last week was the Clarksburg half marathon. I ran terribly. It was a super fast course with great weather but my body just couldn't seem to go. I had completed the Humboldt half marathon in October running a 1:27:51 but at Clarksburg ran 1:31 and change. Very dissapointing.
Today the weather was cold and wet. It rained off and on and the course was muddy. Temperature was in the high 40s. The wind came up making it even tougher on the runners. All of the best cross country runners in Northern/Central California showed up for the race.
My sciatica was bugging me and I knew it was going to bother me on the course. I warmed up on the course and there was mud everywhere. Even during my warmup I was slipping and sliding. My sciatic nerve was really bugging and I usually have asthma problems when it's cold or wet or windy. Well the combination sounded ominous.
Before the race I saw my teammates. For once they were all there. This was the big race and everyone, injured or not showed up. Phew! Pressure was off. We only needed 3 people to score and we had 7 show up. 4 of us had placed in the top 3 or 4 in one or more of the X/C races we entered. I was very happy to see them all as it meant that if I did have a bad day it would not mean a disaster for the team.
The team scored well. We placed 2nd, 3rd and 5th guaranteeing us a win in the race and a tie for first for the season. Wow! To be a part of such a great team battling another great team was wonderful. No superstars but a bunch of darn good runners.
To top it off, I ran well, helping the team and finishing ahead of younger guys that usually beat me. Our 50 year olds also won and so they had brought some champagne to celebrate their victory. We all had a little bubbly and it was great!
In 2 weeks is the California International Marathon followed a week later by the Christmas relays in San Francisco. I hope to run both and finish well enough to help our road racing team to another championship. That would be a great finish to what started as a tough year.
Life is good.
Todd
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