Clearly, those of you who read this blog can see that recently I have not kept it as up to date as one would like. So, today I am going to fill you in on the U of M Griak invite and Pine Hill invite.
When I last left you, I had just run the St. Olaf pre nationals race. It was a strong race and I felt good about the results. Fast forward a week to the U of M Griak race. The weather is exactly what you would expect for a mid-fall Minnesota cross country meet. It is cold, windy, and rainy. As the gun goes off the field takes off and runs down the driving range at the U of M golf course. I went out fast, with a 5:12 first mile. Although I slowed down some on the back stretch of the course it can be expected – the Griak is much hillier than one would expect on a golf course. I ended up finishing in 28:26, and I placed 118 out of about 400 runners. The week prior to the race I was feeling a little congested and had some sinus pressure, but all in all it was not a bad finish. And the seasonal sinus pressure cleared up a few days after the race.
Photos of the U of M Griak:
Next we move on to the Pine Hill invite hosted by UMD at the Pine Hill golf course in Carlton, Minnesota. This race was held at the end of a week filled with lots of rain, which meant a race held basically in a lake. The course was soggy in the best places, and had standing water in many others. The temp was lower than ideal, but not entirely unexpected this time of year in northern Minnesota. Wind was breezy at times, but not as strong as Griak the week before. I went out with the lead pack from the gun – much easier with the smaller field. The race consisted of three complete loops and a partial finish loop. I began to feel sluggish at the three mile mark but managed hang on through mile four and run a strong last mile to finish in 28:05 – good for 10th place. Though I was disappointed with the time, for the exceptionally soft course it was a good performance. Next up will be the Brooks Oshkosh Invite. It is a fast course, and was the site of the 1999 NCAA D-III nationals, so it had PR written all over it.
Photos of the Pine Hill Invite:
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