Real cross-country start spread out over a field. I was on the far right where there were less people and got a good jump on the faster people on the other side. Ran across a path and through a muddy field.

Jacob was on my left and slowly pulled away from me which was surprising because I expected him to jump right out near the front a leave me in the dust.

Quickly the pack split and I was at the lead of the 2nd large pack. Ran through the grass on the side of the trail to dodge the large puddles, but the soggy grass and mud was unavoidable.

Made a left turn onto a running trail and my HR was right on target. Moved from side to side to try and aovid one puddle after another. Grabbed a cup of water at the aid station and around the next corner was the turn around for the sprint race. This meant that my first mile was under 6:30! WTF?!? My HR was still on target so I didn't think much of it and kept on moving.

Got of the paved trail and ran up a grassy hill. Now the burn started in and I knew the rest of the run was going to hurt. Ran through a field and for a short section of trail before we turned around and headed back.

Coming the other direction, the leaders of the 40+ wave were already catching up to me. Damn. Okay, focus on your run and stop thinking about overall positioning. Grabbed another cup of water at the aid station.

The sprint course people were rounding the turn when I got back to that point. One mile to go and my HR was slowly climbing just like I wanted. Now I had a few more people to pace off of and that certainly made things easier.

I got back onto the wet and muddy section of the trail and slowly started picking off the sprint racers. Pulled my gloves off as I ran up the hill towards transition so it would be easier to get into my shoes once I was on my bike.

The clock showed 20:00 even as I passed which meant I was on 5K PR pace. If only they hadn't cut out that last .1! Colleen let me know that Jacob was only 4 spots ahead of me.

Nothing. Hit my HR targets perfectly.

Shoes off, helmet on; grab my bike and run. I finally learned to steer my bike by only holding the saddle! Turns out you really can run faster that way.

Nothing. Only a few people had faster transitions.

Hopped on my bike and got up to speed before climbing into my shoes. I accidentally stepped on the tongue of my right shoe so it was a tad bit uncomfortable but I didn't have time to do anything about it now.

Came around the baseball field and slowed down a good bit before the construction section. Hit the round-about in the neighborhood and slowed down to keep from whiping out on the slick roads.

Came to the last turn out of the neighborhood and a cyclist came riding up from the opposite direction. At first I thought that the race leader was already on his 2nd loop, but he would of covered 10 miles in 10 minutes if that were true. Then I realized it was Jacob. He made a wrong turn!

I let Jacob go ahead and quickly passed him on the next straight away. We had a nice downhill but the speed didn't last long when I had to slow for another rain soaked turn. Dropped a gear or two for an uphill section and then finally got a chance to hammer.

Now that I had some long flat straight sections I could start catching people. And slowly but surely I was passing one person after another. Hit a sharp 120 degree turn and after another sharp curve there was a metal grate we had to cross. They had placed a piece of plywood on top of the grate and some textured tape on top of that. I took this one very easy the first time.

Another hill climb and then we hit what must have been a solid mile long downhill. Made killer time and got some good momentum for the next shallow incline. I did my best to ride in as straight a line as possible while I watched the guy in front of me waste energy weaving back and forth.

Got back onto the park road and finally caught two of the guys I had had in my sights almost since the start of the ride. Downed a gel just after I passed transition and buckled down for the last lap.

This time the course was much more empty. I was into the top 20 by now and all the sprint course people were well on their way. Well, except for the few straglers. But for the most part it was a very nice empty course.

Took the same technical sections just as slow as the first lap. This race wasn't worth wrecking over. The roads had finally started to dry out some but my bike was covered in mud from that small construction section.

Came back down the park road and passed Sarah as she was finishing her only lap. Climbed out of my shoes and jumped off my bike running into transition.

Nothing. Good solid ride considering the wet conditions.

Unclipped my helmet as I ran, put my shoes on, helmet off, hat on, grabbed my flag and ran.

Nothing. Again, one of the faster transition times in the overall list.

Didn't take long for my heart to start feeling like it was going to jump out of my chest. Just a half mile in and I was dying. Made the turn onto the paved path and I was just now getting my HR into the bottom of my target zone for the 2nd run.

Grabbed a cup of water at the aid station and tried to push harder. Hit the one mile mark and I was strugling to catch my breath. Got off the path and ran up the grass hill. This is where it really started to hurt and I started to feel a side stitch developing.

Made the turn around and that's where I cracked. I was gasping to get enough air. My side was burning and there was nothing I could do. But I also hadn't seen many guys going the other way who looked like they were in my age group.

So I didn't stop working any harder. I just tried to put the pain into the back of my mind. Got back to the aid station and the guy behind me passed at the exact same time. He grabbed the cup of water the volunteer was holding out so I had to grasp at the one in her other hand and only got a small sip. Jackass, but he timed it well. I'll have to remember that one.

Passed the sprint turn around and knew I only had one more mile of this to go. My HR was still too low but I just didn't have the ability to push any harder. Hit the soggy trail and tried to lengthen my stride in an effort to get my HR up. I was dying. I just wanted this race to end.

Came up the final hill and crossed the line... finally.

Run harder.

Walked down the finish chute and leaned up against the fence to try and catch my breath. A volunteer took my chip and I just tried to keep from puking. Walked along the transition area while the pain in my chest subsided. Threw my flag and race gear in my bag and put my warm clothes back on.

Did some stretching and finally got the full story from Jacob on how he missed the turn. Found Colleen and Sarah and hung out while I grubbed down on the post race BBQ from The Salt Lick.

Checked the race results and I ended up with 3rd in my age group. 4th place was just 12 seconds behind me and I beat Jacob by almost 4 minutes! Even if he would have made the turn I still would schooled him.

I'm a little frustrated that I couldn't hit my HR goals on the 2nd run and I know that I could have been faster, but it was still a good race overall. It was good enough to qualify me for the Worlds Short Course Duathlon Championships at least.


Pain, mental focus.


Fun, tough course and a great race to start off the season.