The day finally arrived, my first race since starting my “no hard runs” training plan, having banked a few good weeks training and everything feeling good I picked up a couple of my club mates and we made the 40 mile trip south to Wrekenton for the first fixture of this seasons NEHL Cross Country.
There was a nervous excitement building all the way down, it was Jordans first XC since school and he’s been running really strong the last few months so there was quite a bit of nervous excitement building as we arrived at the venue and collected our numbers. We’d both be starting in the slow pack although he’d be a lot further up it than I would be. I really like this set up, having Slow/Medium/Fast packs really makes the quicker runners work hard and gives the opportunity for faster slow runners to still be in the mix come the finish, the only problem is that in the first race of the season the packs are a bit more mixed as everyone settles into their level.
The first thing that really surprised me was how dry the ground was, almost everyone was wearing road shoes, this is pretty much unheard of as an XC here, most of the time it’s so muddy that by the time the men’s race starts even fell shoes struggle.
I pulled on my vest and did a quick warm up then and wiggled myself into the starting pack at about 2 thirds of the way up as I didn’t want to get caught in the stampede of fast runners at the front but wasn’t too keen on being stuck behind too many people through some of the narrow sections of the course.
As always the men’s race was 3 laps, I’d decided I push fairly hard for the first half of the first lap in the hope of finding a clear space to run in, in retrospect this was probably a mistake, one I wouldn’t have made had I take then time to have a proper look at the route before the start. The first section of the race is pretty much all up hill and the steepest part of the course, pushing hard here meant that I suffered a bit later. I settled in behind a small group that felt as if they were pacing themselves nicely around where I wanted to be, about three quarters of the way around the first lap we were passed by the medium and fast packs and WOW were some of them moving at a pace, I cheered a couple my club mates as they passed then settled back into my group for the rest of the lap.
The second half of the lap was definitely easier than the first, although the total climbing was about the same the hills weren’t as steep so it was easier to find a rhythm. Then as we reached the start of the second lap the group began to slow so I eased around them and made my way back up the first climb pretty much on my own, I could see a couple of runners cresting the hill as a turned the corner half way and set my sights on catching them before the end of the lap, having someone to chase definitely helped me hold on, my pace was slower then the first lap but significantly more measured, I was consciously holding back a little so I had enough in the tank to push hard on the final lap.
I eventually caught the last of the group I’d been chasing as we hit the start line and tucked in behind them to catch my breath, it was unseasonably hot and there being no drinks stations was playing on my mind as my throat was starting to dry out, I’ve a feeling this was less to do with the lack of a drinks station and more about the drinking I’d done at a wedding the previous day, but at the time I was just thirsty and distraction mean my pacer had gained a little gap on me which I was struggling to close. Having helped out at events before I make a point of thanking each marshal as I pass them on the final lap, it’s a long day in what is usually awful weather and without them none of us could be competing. This took my mind off my thirst and looking back at my stats I ran the second half of the last lap at my fastest pace of the race, I’d like to say this had been the plan all along but I’d be lying, I managed to catch and pass my pacer on the way up the final climb and as I hit the last 400m stretch I could see 3 runners up in front and set my sights on chasing them down as hard as I could, I was running hard as I made the turn for the final 200m straight and could hear at least one runner gaining on me, I pushed again but the tank was empty and with 20m to go he sneaked past me.
So that was it, the first XC of the season done, the men’s team did amazingly well, after gaining promotion last year we managed to finish 3rd in our new division and Jordan had finished as a counter for the team, all in all it was a great day, just a bit of a shame there was no mud!!
Trying2Tri 