20:20 or so '6k' for 8th at Little 3 Championships! Quite happy with first xc race in 22 months or so. Wasn't feeling super excited earlier this morning, but read from RWTB, listened to Echoes, and I was hyped to race when I left the dorm to go get on bus. Wasn't really overanalyzing how I felt on warmup, tho also felt pretty neutral which probably helped with that. It was also pretty hot. Anyway, gun goes off and get out well, crazy how many people are at the front at the start of a race even if it's just little 3s. Was feeling quite good being a bit behind the leaders first part of the race, but the time we did the little hairpin turn in the field and then started going up the big hill it was quite clear that the leaders were really not hammering and I was a bit behind big williams clump plus a few amherst guys. Rolled down the hills, was still sorta behind big Williams clump at first mile which was like 5:15, started moving up a little on second woods loop, think I passed some of the amherst guys and some of the wesleyan guys were ahead of me for a few minutes at one point during the first 3k loop but then they were gone. When we got out of 2nd loops and were running around the fields I finally passed Nate who I'd kinda been near for a while, putting me in 9th OA and 8th on the team. After the hairpin field the second team Billy Massey's foot kinda slipped out and he was done, leaving just williams guys ahead of me which was cool. By the point I had caught Chuckie, and Pat and I were kinda together. In rest of first woods loop second time thru I kept kinda trying to break chuckie and pat, but couldn't really. At some point on second woods loop Pat dropped back, and I was just trying to stay with Chuckie, and the two of us were running in 6-7. When the 3 of us were together we were 1-8 and that would've been cool to repeat that from two years ago. Sadly on second woods loop second time I kept noticing someone getting closer behind me and lo and behold it was an Amherst runner. Going up last little steep hill before you come back out on to grass I pushed and with about 250 to go (I think that's what Pete said) I started to gap Chuckie and the Amherst kid who was pretty clearly close behind me, but then we came into the stretch and first the amherst kid (turns out it was Owen Daily) and the Chuckie blow by me, beating me by a couple seconds. So I don't have much of a kick rn which isn't great. But yeah ofc happy with this, 7th on the team which obviously doesn't mean I'm going to nationals, purple valley, and then really conn college and nescacs will determine that, but good confidence boost to remind myself that I am in that conversation and should be working out with spollen/john/chuckie/pat/nate etc. Grant didn't race today bc of his hamstring, so possibility he'd have beat me, and Luke is planning on making his debut next week and he is certainly someone to watch out for. But nonetheless, happy with how I did on the team, and also would've been super cool to have beat all the amherst guys, but only lost to one which is something (and beat all the wes kids, which was a goal going in but looking at how they ran, clearly wasn't that hard). Time is ridiculously slow but our course is even hillier than used to be since can't use baseball fields, only woods loops, and is probably long so whatever. Hopefully I can keep building some more fitness and get faster as season progresses! Onward and upward.
