How much do I hate XC...let me count the ways

1) Always have a lot of hills
2) Tall grass clings to my shoes, forcing me to work harder
3) Grass hides ruts in the ground
4) Uneven running surface requires constantly changing running line to avoid roots and holes.

I could go on but you get the point.

June 12 - MCRRC Gaithersburg XC 5K
This was my first MCRRC race for this year so I got there early so I could renew my membership. I'm glad I did as they didn't have any member ship forms there and they were a little befuddled on what to do with me. Fortunately, Christina was there and she sorted things out for me.

The race was run at the Agricultural History Farm Park in Derwood. It was an evening race so it was pretty warm, though not unbearable. The course was run on tall grass or uneven trails. The race started and ended on uphills. Thanks for that!

I tried to go slow at the beginning but I still found myself pretty well in front of Christina after just a couple of minutes. But she caught me quickly when I stopped to walk after just 8 minutes. I felt beat, even though the heart rate data shows a max of only 141 beats per minute at this point. I had a late lunch that day and struggled with indegestation throughout the race but I think the main thing is I have a mental issue with cross country races.

Anyway, I followed Christina for a while and was just about to yell out to her that we had just passed 1 mile when she stumbled and fell. She sat on the path for a few seconds and looked a little dazed as I approached but she said she was OK and she started to run again. I ran with her for awhile jsut to make sure she was OK but I had to stop and walk when we reached a steep hill. I encouraged her to catch the 2 young women in front of her and she was off. She did catch them about 5 minutes later but I see in the results that they ended up beating her by about 35 seconds at the end. Oh well...she lost about that much time due to the fall so I call it a dead heat.

A few minutes later, a Mom and her 2 young kids passed me about 2 miles into the race. I learned later it was the Duelge family. They ended beating me by about 2 1/2 minutes as I struggled to complete that last 1.1 miles. I ultimately finished in 43:57...a painfully slow time. I'm actually shocked that I beat anyone but I did actually beat 2 men and 5 women. I think that helps show how tough a course it was. Jeanette Novak was my closest pursuer as she finished in 46:27.

Christina and I walked back together to the refreshment area and shared our mutual disappointment in our times and our frustration with cross country courses. I was in no mood to chit chat with others so I grabbed a few cookies and headed home quickly. I hope I don't have any more XC races anytime soon.