Cross Country 8K, Swamp Devil 15K

Really quick race update, before I plunge into silence again. I won't waste time on apologies, because I know you all get it, and I'll probably be apologizing again another month from now anyway...life is just too crazy. I just popped in to remind you all I am still alive! And I miss you all!!!

I ran the USATF Cross Country 8K race at Deer Path Park on October 10. It was a team race, and our women's team, despite losing many of our fastest runners to various fall marathons, turned in a neat performance, coming in first in the women's open category. Our men's team came first too, and our club had a number of masters' teams place in the top 3 spots. The men's and women's team got $500 each toward the National Cross Country Championships. I was a little disappointed I couldn't represent the team at the nationals (have to be a citizen), but I am really happy for the team. I'm sure they'll do just fine without me.

My time: 35:56:78 (7:13 pace). I placed 68 overall, 8/62 women and 5/17 in the open category.

I also ran the Swamp Devil 15K yesterday, which quite unlike the name, is a really scenic, rather flat road race, not a muddy, wallow-in-the-filth kind of race. The scenery was lost on me though, because I was busy running too fast the first 2 miles, then paying the price for the rest of the race. You see, I've been doing trackwork with a few club members on Tuesdays, and I've gotten used to letting others do the pacing for me. Besides, I have not done longer races since the Bronx Half Marathon in August. So, until Doug, one of my favorite track-mates and pace-keeper, caught up with me at Mile 4, I was doing sub 7 minute miles. I almost cried with relief when I saw him, because that meant I could stop struggling and just cling to his pace (which at this point was also torture, because I was so spent). I had side splits all the way, was cramping and had gallons of lactic acid coursing through me. But of course, I lived to tell the story and didn't do too bad at all. In fact, I was quite proud of myself. I managed to complete in 1:07:30, a 7:14 pace, placing 50th overall, 5th out of 120 women, and 1st in my age category. And it was great to bump into Glenn at the race, after a looong time. All in all, a fabulous day.