Over/Under At The 30 Mark

Following a nite of grooving to The Sisters Of Mercy it was up early{5.45am early....:( }to get to Willow Grove to meet Chuck and Neil on our way to famed Van Cortlandt Park for the fifth running of Manhatten Track Club,s Bad Boy 8K XC.
Next Sunday marks three years since my VCP debut but this race saw me in the best xc shape of my life,last years race was one of the worst races of my career,probably my worst ever xc race but buoyed by Sundays 28.16.62 at the NJ C,ships I was confident of a much better performance.
The conditions were as different as chalk and cheese,last years overcast grey skies and biting wind were replaced by sunshine,blue skies and dare I say it a tad warm come gun time at 11.30am,in a field exactly half the size of last years I got into my stride early on,due to renervations to the soccer fields where the traditional starting line is all races now have a different start,subsequently the mile markers are now off....less splits to recall!!!
I feared my long week at work plus last nites rare nite out and subsequent early start may come back to haunt me,certainly going up the hills on the back hills felt taxing but I caught some major air on the down hills and went thro the finish at 5k in 18.03.
I knew Chuck was close to me b4 exiting the back hills and whether it was legit or not Armondo Olivara from CPTC told me Chuck told him he thought he,d beat me last week over 8k,he was clearly "well up for it" today and inbetween the first and second flagpoles Chuck made his move.
I knew to maintain my unbeaten run this xc season over Chuck I,d have to stay close to him,my superior finishing strenght would count for little if Chuck opened a sizable gap on me,and entering the cow path I overtook Chuck and picked off two runners to put some bodies between us as we went up Cemetery Hill.
Last year I felt I was dying up Cemetery Hill but I knew I had to work the up hills,Chuck is a demon on the downhills,ask Bob Rimkis and I could ill afford any margin of closure on my lead over him.
Cresting the final uphill I almost felt I was running on the spot,mercifully I couldn,t hear Chuck gaining on me as I flew the final two downhills to the final 600m path to the finish,switching my focus from what was happening behind me,I began to focus on the two runners ahead of me"I pity anyone ahead of you w/ 400m to the finish"wrote Ray in an email Friday and for the 5th time this xc season I proved it,s not just on the track I possess a kick finish,reeling both of them in I reached the finish in 28.57.22,my pre race target time was 30.00,dispite passing those two runners inside the final 250m I just missed a top 30 finish,33rd,but for the second week in a row first masters runner which earnt me a brand new Timex stop watch....which unlike my present one takes splits..........freakin sweet!!!
Even sweeter, another club xc record,the race was meant to be an 8K however w/ the soccer pitch renervations and new start the race was altered to a 5 miler and like the Osprey 6k I was the first GPTC runner to finish hence another xc club record and another in a long line of New York City big races for me,next stop on the Top Cat fall tour right back here for the NYRRC 5K XC next Sunday,w/ all this success at xc I need to add John Treacy to my list of great Irish inspirations,long b4 his Los Angeles 84 silver medal in the marathon Treacy was a two time World XC champion in 79 and 80 which earnt the nickname "The Mudlark"for his love of xc,it,s hard not to run in NYC w/out an Irish point of reference but for all nationallities compeating in the New York City marathon tomorrow this Irishman wishes ye all the best of luck being a two time finisher myself in 90 and 03.