Cross Country Cupidity

The past couple of weeks have been less than ideal training.  After a solid 7 weeks of continuous quality fall base, Dennis (Team USA MN's top notch coach) wanted to change my workouts up just a bit and put me into a 6k cross country race last weekend.  I was all excited about dusting off the old spikes and lacing them up for some soft surface fun, but before the weekend arrived, my left achilles flared up on me, complaining from the 70 miles I had put in the previous four days.  Yeah....I got a bit greedy for my current level of fitness.

So as my mileage plummeted over the course of the next few days and eventually hit rock bottom as I jumped on the spin bike for 5 days, my spirits too have fallen, but not as drastically as they have in the past. In the world of post-collegiate running, there is no home meet to attend, required conference race, or mandatory NCAAs for which to prepare: the season is what one makes of it.  This realization has lifted the burden of time sensitivity and pressure to rush back into intervals and long runs, it has allowed for a more conservative and healthy return to activity.  This is not to say that I'm not chomping at the bit to lace up and speed out the door, but it does allow for a greater long term perspective.

Injury aside, this past Friday I had the pleasure of attending the NCAA D1 Great Lakes Regional at the Thomas Zimmer Championship XC Course in Madison, WI.  What an incredible venue.

Thomas Zimmer XC Course

The afternoon of the race was an idyllic cross country day with 50° temperatures and a sunny sky beckoning for fast races fueled by a rowdy fans.  Below is a picture of the men's start with my former team, the Cincinnati Bearcats, on the far right:

2013 NCAA D1 XC Great Lakes Regional

As I watched the start that day, I have never wanted more badly to jump into a cross country race to experience the joy of pure racing, the rush of adrenaline over the hills, and the well digging drive to the finish. Races like those sit fondly in my memory!

So it is with this renewed energy of watching races that I am re-inspired to dive back into my rehab to recover from this bout of achilles soreness and carefully return to full training, preparing to have the best indoor and outdoor seasons of my life!