Morning mile shake out before a breakfast of oatmeal. Our race was the very first of the day which was awesome. It was freezing waiting until we warmed up and I was glad for all the layers I was wearing. We warmed up 2 miles on the course, put spikes on, potty break, cheer and prayer, strides and begin. The start was nuts. It is nice and wide but when it narrows in, everyone gets shoved together and it takes a lot to stay on your feet. Yesi and Carrie got really good starts and I was with Jenn. We kind of got buried once we merged all together. I told myself "stop panicking. You are fine" I kept myself upright and slipping into gaps and spaces when they opened. I found myself just hoping girls ahead of me would do all the pushing and I could just follow. (It worked occasionally.) I came through the mile at 5:30 and surged on the far left side of the group and began passing. I kept moving until I caught Yesi, closed another gap and ran with Carrie. I hit the 3K in 10:20 and knew I could PR on this course today. I still felt pretty good so I kept moving among the masses. At 3K, I heard 55 and knew I was mid 50's. By 4K I was 48th. All past years, I would be dying by the 4K. Not this year. I still felt strong and good. I kept moving, passing and cruised up the hill to the 5K. Turning to the last 1K and finish is when I really struggled. The wind was full force, it was strung out and I was tired. I was starting to doubt and I remembered MOVE. I matched with a girl who passed me and stuck with her. Turning into the finish, I passed one. I heard Eyestone yell "pass 5" and I caught 3 and finished with the 4th. I ran a 5 second PR (since my freshman year) and teammates were right behind. Our top 4 were 9 seconds apart. We ended up 9th overall- our goal was top 10 and we nailed it! I am thrilled with how today went. 1 improvement- stronger 1K finish.
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