USATF National Club Cross Country Championships - Run

The weather was just perfect, and it was really exciting to be a part of a group of 250+ masters women toeing the start in iconic Golden Gate Park. Our club representation was small, only 3 women, but we had good team spirit and enjoyed deepening our friendship. We had to form a 50-59 team, because that was the age of our youngest; but at least we had a team!
I had my Garmin set to NOT display HR because I have been having better results this fall just running by RPE. I always wonder, just before the starting horn, "Do I remember how to do this, to run fast, to pace myself correctly?" It does seem so mysterious, to just tell my body what I want it to do; and then it knows how! Our bodies have so much intelligence.
My race plan was the same as it always is at this 6k distance: go out fast, then progressively go harder and harder and harder. Really push the last kilometer and then bust a gut the last 200 meters. Although I wasn't displaying any of that data on my watch, it was being recorded; when I looked later at the HR progression, that is pretty much what I achieved.
This race was made more interesting in that the 2 runners immediately in front of me wore the same age group tag as me. I knew I wasn't catching the first one, but the one right in front was close. We played back-and-forth, with me overtaking her on the flats & especially the downhills, but her overtaking me on the uphills. This caused me to push mysellf harder throughout, because I was really determined not to lose her. We topped the last hill with her ahead, about 3/4 mile of flat track before the finish. I didn't know how I'd have the reserve to accelerate, but my Normalized Pace according to TrainingPeaks was my fastest in the race, so I guess I did. I didn't catch her-- she beat me by 3 seconds--but I took 42 seconds off my previous best at the XC Nationals in 2014 and am quite satisfied with how I raced.

I might take a page from running superstar Paula Radcliffe's memoir, which I'm reading now. When she was in a competitive situation like that, she'd expend the extra energy when she passed her rival to put enough distance between them so that the other runner was too disheartened to catch up. I could've tried that on the downhills and hoped it wouldn't wipe me out later. If there's a next time...

Walked, with some jogging, about half a mile from the finish back to the start to get my bag, and then back to the finish. Had some Recoverite and 1/2 Recovery Bar, a bottle of water, and then part of a burrito. Didn't stretch until evening at the hotel.


I think I performed up to my ability and training level on that particular day.


I really love cross-country and this was a fantastic race. Because the terrain & surfaces are more challenging than in road races, the running is more difficult; yet unlike trail races, x-c is short enough that you have to put out hard from beginning to end. For these reasons, and because the level of competition is mostly very high, it has been for me an excellent discipline for improving my running speed and racing ability in general. Also, the team aspect is lots of fun for a triathlete like me who mostly trains solo.