U.S. Cross Country Championship Results

I just finished an ice bath and a LONG shower and I'm still not sure what to think about today's race. The main thing I can say is that I'm looking forward to getting on the track. I finished 29th and I had definitely hoped to be in the top 15. The 2k loop was really up and down and by the time the 12k rolled around it was pretty muddy in some spots. After the first loop I was in the mid-30's and I felt like I competed well throughout the race. When I got to the 4k split, my self-talk went a little something like this "Wow, I'm already slowing down a lot and I still have 8k to go." Until today, 8k was the farthest race I've run at a high level and that wasn't lost on me at that point. I'm frustrated and disappointed because I've put so much training in and I had hoped that this race would serve as a breakthrough. Here's a link to the official results from today: http://www.usatf.org/events/2009/USAXCChampionships/Results/om.asp The one bright spot is that I now have a 12k cross country race under my belt and it was a solid workout that will serve me well later in the year. Also, in comparing it to my last cross country race it's not that bad. In 2006 I ran the 4k championships which is much more to my natural abilities. It wasn't a good day for me but in a smaller and less competitive field I was 23rd. Here are those results for comparison: http://www.usatf.org/events/2006/USAXCChampionships/results/om4km.asp