PC: Fit & Able

Half an hour before online registration closed, I decided to sign up for another semi-spontaneous short race of 6.5 miles at Sole Mates in Cary, North Carolina, on February 18, 2023, due to the event’s taking place in my neighborhood, the lack of nearby options in my preferred distances, and that I planned to run this day anyway and did not have to wake up extra early thanks to its later-than-usual starting time. I ran this exact cross-country course half a year prior in a different event with the same group, and having felt these nonstop hills and turns, I only mildly cared to run faster than I did previously and more so accepted this as a light training run for a longer race hopefully soon.

PC: Fit & Able

With the organization’s highly discouraging the use of headphones, I ditched music once again, which has somewhat become the norm nowadays. I perplexingly clocked a 7:53 first mile and, no matter how short, reminded myself to chill out for the next several miles and push at the end depending on my remaining energy level. Because of the heavy rain the day before, I had to navigate around mud at times, nothing severe nonetheless. I crossed the finish in 58:08.65 and third in my age group of 30-34, with my COROS reading 6.58 miles and 476 feet of elevation gain. I did not have any expectations or serious goal coming in, but I am content I managed to beat my time from last year, albeit by a small margin, on this exact course.