Upstate NY X-Country Series Opener, Eh?

Run: 3.1 in :20:57 min. @ 11:00 a.m. + 2 miles prior on the course
Weather: Cloudy with Light Drizzle, 55°F, 94% Humidity, Wind: From WSW @ 3 mph; feels like 55°F.
Pace: 0:00 min./mi.
Course: The "storied" Mendon East Course at Mendon Ponds Park.
Official results: GVH Website

Pre-Run Ruminations: Today's Upstate NY Cross-Country Series Opener is many things to many people, many of whom will not be the normal locals (like myself) who average a 5-10k every couple of weeks. As part of the larger series of Upstate Cross-Country races (and the 100th such race, to boot!), I suspect there will be members of teams from Syracuse and Buffalo who will also be attending. Additionally, and on an international scale, this is also the Upstate NY vs. Ontario Masters Challenge, meaning some of our running friends from "not-too-far" North will be there, too.

My interest, other than having some fun on the trails, is that this race is also a Rochester Runner of the Year (RROY) race. In years past, I have never finished enough of the series to actually qualify for an "official" place and with three runs left (including this morning's) I only need to do one another to remain in contention for official placement in the standings. With a "minimum if six races" required for contention, I could miss only one more.(Of course--especially in the age group standings--as much as rank is about placing at individual runs, it is also about signing up and showing up to enough races, something I am pretty good at.)

I must confess to being just a little disappointed before I even leave the house, as I had hoped that either my son, my wife or both might have been able to accompany this morning. Anne is picking Gregory up at camp and Jack wanted to go to his mother's to hang out with some friends. Such is life, I suppose, so I'll once again be heading out solo, with a gym bag full of dreams... well, shoes, socks, and other rnning junk, anyways.

Post-Race Reflections: I felt significantly better today (though I realize the race was about 23 miles shorter!), and would attibute this to a couple of facorts the chief of them being the cooler weather and the fact that I was wearing shoes that fit.

I'm not sure how I placed, but the event itself was very nice with a number of teams representing their respective clubs (GVH, Checkers, Buffalo, etc.), and quite a few of our local cross-country (x-c) club "stars" on display. There were also a few "independents" (like moi) mixed in for good measure, and I suspect all felt this was a wonderful way to kick off the Fall running/racing season. For many f the teams this was the first of a series of x-c races, and for the rest of us it was the first of what I hope will be a cool, community centered Fall racing season...

Breathe in, breathe out… YOU AND I ARE ALIVE!