Big Kids' Nationals

~3-4 miles
Lots of running around

Our long day started bright and early with an 8am departure from Jennifer's house. We'd almost made a disastrous error in planning, forgetting that Terre Haute was in Eastern time instead of Central, and had we not realized this late Sunday night we would've ended up leaving too late to catch the D1 meet. Instead, we made it with just minutes to spare before the start of the men's race at noon.

From the gun, we were sprinting around the course as fast as we could, weaving around people and dodging potholes in the tall grass to make it from one point to another. I was huffing and puffing like a chain smoker and was ready to shed a few layers within minutes despite the cool temps. There's really no point in recapping the races for you--anyone who has even a modicum of interest in the sport already knows the outcome, seeing as I'm posting this three days later--but suffice it to say both races were exciting and thoroughly surprising. Equally exciting was unexpectedly running into so many people we knew at the meet--just off the top of my head I can think of Camille and Conor Holt, Christian Tabib (former Brown XC), John Alewine (Adidas rep), and Rick Patterson (one of my former co-workers at Mizuno). Jordan also engaged in awkward banter with Craig Lake and a brief snippet of conversation with Martin Smith (Jordan, around 5k: "How are the OU guys doing?" Coach Smith: "Overwhelmed.")

After the conclusion of the races, Jordan and I decided to jog the course with Jenna while we waited for the parking lot to (hopefully) clear out. Though I was thoroughly enjoying the atmosphere and the beautiful weather, by 5k it became apparent that pretty much every part of my body hurt. Guess it's that whole "delayed onset" kicking in. My lower left leg is particularly nagging. No idea what's going on there, though I'm sure it can be traced back to Sunday's race, but I'll have to keep an eye on it for the next few days. At any rate, I decided to part ways with J&J and head back to the car, content to snack on a piece of leftover pizza while they continued to burn calories. Once the run was over it was time for Jordan and I to load back up and hit the road. Ohio, here we come!