3 Races to cover!

Alright, so it was midterm-season here at St. Mikes, so the time to blog has been limited. I'll just cut to the chase here and give out the race reports, with just a little bit of stuffing.

First up was the Vermont Collegiate State Championships at Vermont Technical College in Randolph, VT. This was the same course that we ran the Vermont Tech Invite on last year, so we had a bit of an advantage on already knowing that it was a very dirty course. 

It was a good race, nice having Middlebury there to chase down, I ran what at the time was my best race all season, coming in 13th (SMC Harrier#2) in a SB time of 29:33. As a comparison, I came in 13th at the Invitational last season in 32:21. That is 33 seconds per mile faster. What.

That week, coach told me not to run much, and to do more cross-training. So, I went for a bike ride.

Next came the NE-10 Preview Meet/Gates Farm Invitational at Franklin Pierce College. This course was, um, challenging. Going in, someone gave us the idea that it would be a flat and fast course. It was flat like the Rockies are short. The defining feature of the 2k loop is a section affectionately known as "Executioner Hill," a 150m long grade with 35m of vertical (500ft long, 115ft up), in some places pushing grades of 35%. The first mile mark was at the top. And we ran up it three times (1k out and back + 3x2km loops). It was a tough race, but still fun. I ended up placing 22nd overall, in 32:35, third for the team.

Lastly, this past weekend was the 24th Mayors Cup in Boston, MA. This race brings in elite runners from all over the world for 25-30 minutes of racing in historic Franklin Park. I ran what is definitely my best race so far, running my second fastest 5k while running a PR of 28:10 in the 8k. Franklin Park is actually a flat and fast course,and having the elite field there really helped. I was 125th overall, and the third St.Mikes runner, but this race was really a breakout performance for me.