After getting pumped up by watching Cowboys and Aliens the night before, I woke up at 6:15. Stretched a little. Ate some oatmeal and put some Bengay on my calves. Got all geared up and headed to Santa Monica for the race. Warmed up about 3 miles before the race and did 10 strides alternating fast sprints and jogs.

First mile was way too fast. I hadn’t done speed work in over a week so I wasn’t sure how it would feel. It was slightly downhill so it was quicker than I thought. Not sure how accurate the splits are but the first mile was in the ballpark of 4:20. Ran with Yermie for about 2.5 miles and then he faded off a little. Great to have him there pushing the pace and me. Finished with a high five from Santa right before the finish line in 14:28. Had about 4 miles to cool down post race.

No real pain in the Achilles until after the race. Will ice and do a bike ride this afternoon. Pretty happy with the result since I defended my title and was about 30 seconds faster than last year. Good benchmark for now but definitely have a lot of work to do. 14:28 on the road, this early in the season, with little competition is not a bad way to end the cross season and go into the track season. Just have to stay healthy.

Thanks to my Aunt and Uncle  and injured teammate, Andrew, who came out to support and take pictures. We Are One 365.

AR. NF. NR.

Nick