I love to race so I had signed up for this one despite knowing that it would be run immediately after I got off an overnight shift at the hospital. The day before I prepared by running right after I got off work at the same time as the race. I felt ok, definitely not good by any means. I felt worse on race morning. My stomach was out of its rhythm and a mess. My mind was in a fog. However, I had paid for the race and was there to do business. Luckily for me, the race got out fairly slowly. Chris Schabron set the pace early and there was a pack of 4. Ragan was on Chris's shoulder and a UW walk-on named Jesse was hanging in there as well. Through 3k, I felt like I was hanging on for dear life. After that the race started to shake up, Ragan made a big move in the 4th K and I passed that mark in second behind him in 13:38. He started to tire in the next K and I took the lead, passing 5k just over 17 minutes. From there it was a long push to the finish. I felt way better in the 5-7k then I did at any other time before or after. The last 5k was a struggle but I finished it strong.
Overall, I think this race bodes well for the SDSU Classic 8k in 3 weeks. NCAA altitude conversions (if they existed for 8k) would put this at least a minute faster in Brookings. If I were properly rested and feeling well I think I could run much faster. I am excited. Jelm Mountain is up next Saturday.
Update:
I emailed coach Joe Stephenson about getting some results for this race. He sent back the top 5:
1. Kyle Schmidt 27:15
2. Ragan Driver 27:39
3. Jesse Gray 28:07
4. Chris Schabron 28:09
5. Jeff Kreuter 28:15
