Indoor/Cross Country Summary

As you can tell, when I'm running well the posts come quickly and frequently. Lately I've been pretty reluctant to post. The 3000 meters at the ISU Classic was a four second personal best but a disappointing race. It definitely reassured me of my fitness level but my tactics were flawed and my confidence was still pretty low for some reason. I went out controlled and near the back of the pack of 20 runners in 64 or 65 seconds for the first quarter. I moved my way up through the pack and by 1500 meters I was in a small group in a distant third to Gruber and Chesang who had gone out with a rabbit to start the race. I'm not sure exactly where or how long I led the pack for third but I distinctly remember making a stupid move with 1200 to go. I went hard to the lead but once in front I didn't continue chase down Gruber and Chesang. The end result was a group of guys following me for a couple laps and then with about two hundred meters to go one guy went around me and then there was a parade of guys passing me before the finish. I was happy with the time but I definitely feel like I didn't compete up to my fitness level. The US cross country championships were disappointment at another level. Coach Ihmels and I had determined a race plan to go out in the first 500 meters and put myself in the top ten or fifteen. When the gun sounded I unconsciously threw that plan out the window. I definitely ran too conservatively and I wish I could have another opportunity to compete at the 4k distance. I'm not sure exactly where I was throughout the race but I don't think I was in the top 30 at the half way point. I did finish well and it was a great learning experience and that's all I have to say about that.