Alumni Meet

I wasn't really sure what to expect coming in this race so I didn't spent that much time coming up with a plan. I knew I was in fairly good shape but far from being race sharp. Plus I hadn't run a cross country race in almost two years (last year's alumni meet doesn't really count) so I was hesitant to get out and hammer from the start. I was content with getting out at whatever the early pace was and figured I would start pushing somewhere between miles 2 and 3. I was expecting Yermie to get out in the lead and was somewhat surprised that I was all the way to the front by the time we rounded the first corner. It was pretty hot and muggy today so that may have contributed to everyone being a little more conservative. For the first mile I was running side by side with Schmeck and we came through in a pedestrian 5:20. It felt like we were running slow but I was secretely hoping that the pace was reasonably fast and just felt easy  because I was in such great shape. Of course that was not the case and once I heard our split I figured I should get moving. I picked up the pace and only Yermie stayed on my heels. That only lasted until we reached Bear Cage where I started building a gap on the way up. Climbing Bear Cage felt easier than ever before and I felt strong topping the hill. I thought that Yermie would try to close the gap on the way down but that didn't happen and I figured I should keep pushing the pace and put the race away early. I came through the 2 mile mark in 10:47 and by the time I got into the Wilderness I couldn't hear anyone close. With no one around to push me for the rest of the way it felt more like I was running a workout rather than racing. I was just going through the motions and didn't really stay focused the entire time. I'm not sure about my exact mile splits, from what I remember hearing I was around 16:15 at mile 3 and 21:50 at mile 4. As Schmeck pointed out, this was the slowest winning time for the Alumni meet since we can get results for. I sure can't argue against calling this a slow race, despite the far from ideal weather conditions. A win is a win, though, I ran as hard as I had to and it's not my fault that Yermie can talk the talk but can't walk the walk. I didn't do anything to prepare specifically for this race and didn't cut back the mileage at all so overall I'm satisfied with how things turned out. After all it's hard to be disappointed after a win, especially since this was my first cross country win ever (excluding high school).