So I think I may have given the impression that I don't enjoy cross country running in my last post (the one titled 'Why I hate cross country'). Well, that post title was, I think, an unconscious homage to one of my favorite books 'Why I hate Canadians", a great read by Will Ferguson that debunks the myth of the "nice" Canadian.
There are some great things about cross country: mud is fun, the spectacle of brightly coloured uniforms against the inevitably grey day, not having the feeling of being beaten up after running 5, 10,21.1 or 42.2 kilometers in poorly cushioned racing flats on cement, feeling like I am 12 again (cross country feels young, road racing feels old, not sure why).
Anyway today was my kind of cross country race, muddy, pancake flat and shorter than advertised (the stated distance was 4 km but my finishing time of 13.25 says not so much). So, yes, I had a really fun time running cross country today. I went out super conservatively and finished strong. I got to see baby and hubby at many points on the course (boy that pink snowsuit REALLY stands out in a crowd).
Racing as a mommy is a very different experience. Instead of running strides and focussing on the task ahead at T minus ten minutes, I was nursing baby and singing a round of "Il coccodrillo come fa" with hubby. I think it's better this way. I never do really run well when I focus intensely on the task at hand. I think I need to train hard ahead of time and then just relax on race day. Baby is great for that! And it was so much fun seeing that omnipresent pink snowsuit all over the course.
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