Sunday 111713 Colorado Club XC Flatiron 6k

Race report in bullet form:

- Pretty much a melt down.  Told myself I would go out conservative and then see what I could do to roll folks up.  I thought I did go out conservative (first mile was 5:58) but then got rolled up.  I don’t think I passed a single person during the entire race after 500 meters in.

Where is my hat? (pic credit:  Bob Sweeney – no he did not take it while he was racing as he was ducking me).

This looks bad.  It felt worse. (pic credit:  Bob Sweeney).
About to heel strike.  Some one should talk to this guy. (pic credit:  Bob Sweeney). 
- I went with the flats over the spikes.  There was too much concrete for me to go with the spikes, and I don’t think it would have created a difference anyway.
- After the mile, I could feel the fight slipping away from me and the whole thing got progressively slower.  I managed to keep about the same placing on the 2nd of the 3 laps but I got eaten up by at least five guys in that last kilometer.
- It was windy for sure out there.
Start of the women’s race.  They took it out in a pace that both Lucho and I looked at and said, “damn, they are moving.”

- Tons of great folks to see out there.  Wes made the trip up from the Springs, and while I had some prerace thoughts of hanging with him he beat me by like 10 minutes or something.  I also go to meet Peter J and chat with him and his wife briefly.  Lucho and Bob were out there of course, and so I mostly old man grumped around with those guys pre and post race.  Lots of guys from the FF days:  Peter, Rich, James, Jim R, Marc.  Got smoked by every single one of them.  And all the BRR guys:  Terry, Rich, Carl and a ton of other guys that I did not connect with but I saw from a distance.  Racing in Boulder is like going to a reunion party and that itself is a pretty fun and warming experience. 
- There comes a point in the race when someone comes by you and your ego says, “ah shit.  Really?  I am getting worked by him?”  It happened a lot to me and it was reminder of where I am.  Totally an ego thing, as some of these guys I would beat in races handily and easily in years past.  That has obviously changed.
- Bob asked me if my hip was bugging because he said my form looked all jacked.  Actually he wondered if it was my hip or the running in the grass.  It was probably a bit of both to be honest and while that sort of energy expenditure does not help, I can’t say it was the cause of my performance out there.
- I have raced less than half dozen times this year if you take the burro thing out of the equation.  Other than the sea level races in Ireland, nearly all of them have been something that I felt did not represent the standard I could perform at.  I guess what I think does not matter, because this is where I am at! 

Is it the hip, the cold, that I was at sea level for the week, the wind, age, loss of muscle density, lack of speed work, too many miles, burned out, crap form in the grass, a ten mile walk yesterday, my diet, that I am too heavy or something else?  It sort of doesn’t matter.
- Lucho report.  We were chatting how we look at old logs for training and it is like reading something from a different person.  I have logs (I will get a reference to one) where I am bitching about not getting as much out a workout that I wanted when I did 10 x a quarter and I am pissed because they were not all under 70.  And now that is so far away.
- It seemed to me like I was folding it up as the race went on, but I guess looking at the HR chart, it seems it was a just a steady effort with a decline in space.
- We had a fair amount of chatter post as to what we all need to do to get ready for USATF XC coming in Feb.  Back and forth on miles, workouts, rest days, weights, etc.  I clearly don’t have the speed or endurance right now to think I’d crack 30 in February.  And that means I probably would not be in the mix on any competitive team.    To change that, I’d need to better focus on my key workouts and giving up on some of the miles on the days leading into them.  That said, I fear giving up some of my miles because I think it would mean I’d start to slip up in weight. 
Grinning before the hurt begins (pic credit Peter Jones, he took some good shots – check em out over here)
- I can run 10 miles a day every day at 7-7:30 pace but I struggle right now in that sub 7, and sub six stuff – or at least sustaining it.  That would mean I’d need to do workouts that tax that at 3-10 minutes.  Or get out and race more often to taste the blood in my throat and get my arse handed to me regularly.
Early.  Sort of like April for the Colorado Rockies, I was still in the hunt.  It went downhill from there though (pic credit Peter Jones). 
 
Nobody left to out kick as they all kicked by me (Pic credit Peter Jones)

Results.