Nine On The Ninth Including Mud In Your Eye 6k

February 9th is already the 40th day of 2008 and also the day for another race – my sixth in six weeks! This time it’s a 6k cross country race, which is the 2nd in the three-race Mud In Your Eye Series directed by KaleRunning and held at Bells Mill Park in Chesapeake, Virginia.

Bells Mill is one of my favorite race venues – an all grass course which includes a few slight slopes and several twists and turns. The race was due to start at 8am, so I arrived in plenty of time to pick up my race number and prepare for the cross country battle. I warmed up for a couple of miles at a nice gentle 8:17 per mile pace, and included a couple of the “hills” to remind myself of what to expect in the race.

After a quick change into my trusty Nike XC spikes and the removal of my warm up clothes, I jogged the roughly 600m to the start line and waited for the horn to signal the start of the race. Just after 8am and we were off. As is typical with any cross country race, the start was chaotic. I’ve learnt my lesson many times not to set off too fast. Let the high school kids and less experiences runners go, play the waiting game and gradually pick them off one by one. Today’s 6k was no exception and I soon found myself buried in the pack as we made the first 90 degree turn towards the western field.

At the far end of the field the course follows the perimeter of a lake where you can see the lead runners heading back towards the one mile mark. To help take my mind off the race, I counted the runners in front of me and realized I was in about 33rd place (there were a few small packs where I guessed the number of runners). Last year I finished in about 11th or 12th place, and knew there was plenty of work to do to even make Top 20.

I hit the mile mark in 6 minutes and 5 seconds, about 5 seconds faster than I’d anticipated, but still feeling pretty comfortable with a heart rate of about 168 beats per minute. The sun shone brightly in my eyes, and all I could do was look down at the ground and follow the runners in front (note to self – wear sunglasses next time). I picked off quite a few more as we made our way down to pass the finish line and cross over to the eastern field where once again I could calculate where I stood in the race. This time there were just 19 runners in front so I must have passed more than I thought.

Mile 2 arrived in 12:05, which meant I’d quickened the pace to a 6 minute mile. I could tell by my heart rate (now 174 beats per minute) I was definitely working harder, but at the same time feeling good and ready for the final 1.7 miles. We made another 180 degree turn and I attacked the hill, passing a pack of 4 more runners. Don’t look back, just keep pressing on….

The toughest part of the race for me is the third mile, where once again you run towards the finish line before heading back to the start line. One of the good things about the race is the crowd support from the spectators who gather at the finish area, plus the fact you can usually see who’s ahead and behind you in the race. Once you pass the 3 mile mark you make another 180 turn, then head back to the western field for the final out and back before sprinting to the finish line. I reached 3 miles in 18:03 which meant an even faster 5:58 mile and a huge confidence boost for the last 0.7 miles. Oh yes, by now I was lying in 14th place and still with a slim chance of reeling in a couple more runners.

I finished stronger than I have in quite a while and did indeed manage to pass two more guys. Even more encouraging was the fact I was able to hold off two younger runners who were closing in rather quickly! My overall place was 12th and I took 2nd in the 40-44 age group with a time of 22:20 (6:00 per mile pace) – a fair bit slower than last year, but still a solid performance. I’m particularly pleased with the progressive mile splits where I went from 6:05 to 6:00 to 5:58 with an ever quicker last 0.7 of a mile.

As for the Series Standings, I was quite concerned before the race of not being able to hold off the second place guy in the 40-44 age group. For some reason, however, he finished a couple of minutes behind me today so I have quite a healthy cushion going into the third and final race in a couple of weeks time. I’d love to collect another age group win and pick up one of the cool Mud In Your Eye awards.

After the race I ran another 3 miles to cool down and stretch out my legs. By now the temperature was rising and the morning sun made for very pleasant running conditions. I could have run more, but needed to save myself for Sunday’s long run. I wonder how that will be with tired race legs? So, 9 miles on the 9th and a very encouraging performance in many ways!