(Finishing strong down the cinder path)
(Around 3 1/2 mile mark with Brad Liston)
(The Start of the Race. Packing it up early)
The Race:Going into the Iona Meet I was a bit unsure of the course. Van Cortland Park has been known for its hills and tough terrain which make for a great Cross Country course. We didn't get a chance to run the course the day before due to the 15 hour bus drive from Portsmouth to New York, so I was not to familiar with the mile markers or terrain which made me a bit on edge.
The race went out pretty quick. Our top five (which included Michael Owen, Keegan Rathkamp, Josh Linkous, Me and Galen Dills) stayed tucked in together in a nice pack for the first mile in a half. The only split I got the whole race was the first mile right around 4:58-5 flat. The pack broke apart once we hit the woods. I stayed with Galen as Michael and Keegan where up front and Linkous right behind us. From 1.5-3m it was all rolling hills which included some steep ups and downs with rail road beams and loose gravel. A lot of physical body contact which is always a great time.
The terrain started to wear on my legs and I started dropping off pace around 3 miles where Linkous passed me. When we came out of the woods we had about a 600-800m stretch where we ran on the outside. Brad Liston polled up next to me where we ran together for about 400m until he polled away right before hitting the woods for the second time. I tried to keep up my form the last mile in a half, but as soon as we hit Cemetery hill my breathing was shot. I went into O2 debt within seconds and was trying to leap towards the top. As soon as your down running up hill your foreced into a massive turnover down a 400m steep downhill with sharp turns and loose gravel.
I was surprised how strong I felt coming into the finish after running those hills. I thought for sure my legs where shot, but I was able to have a nice kick and passed a few runners. My overall place with 85th with a time of 26 minutes and 44 seconds. I'm happy to have a good time on a tough course my first 8k of the year and am excited to pursure sub 26 at All-Ohio on October 1st at Cedarville.
The City:
The City:
Following the race, we got cleaned up and ate a quick lunch at our hotel and were off to explore New York City. We got into time square around 3pm. Looking like a bunch of tourst from Southern Ohio who haven't seen anything like this before, we where amazed by the size and vast cultures the city had to offer. The first stop he hit was Bleeker Street Records in Greenich Village. This was the one thing I was really looking forward to. I picked up a few vinyls which included a used edition of The Beatles White Album and a brand new pressing of The Velvet Underground & Nico produced by Andy Warhol.
We then proceeded to Ground Zero, Hard Rock for Dinner and some shops around Manhatten. We got a bit lost on our way back to the Bronx on the subway. We took a wrong train and ended up near Queens which delayed us back a good hour, but that was the only part of the trip that went bad. I had a blast and would of liked to spend a couple more days in the city to see everything.
(Bleeker Street Records)
(Walking around Time Square)
-BJW
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