My second race of the year was back in my home county. It was the Cocoa 5K part of the Carolina Chocolate Festival in Morehead City. This would be my third time running this race.  I took the win in the inaugural running in 2013 with a 17:57 performance. I next ran it in 2014, placing 2nd in 17:44.  

It's a flat, out and back course that starts at the CMAST building near Carteret County Community College. The course runs down sidewalk on Arendell St before turning right onto 34th Street and running down and back on Evans St.  I sent many years running down Evans St with Sonny Hyman as he lived on that street near the Atlantic Beach Bridge so it's been great getting to race by his former house that his son and his family live in now. 

I woke up race morning with chest congestion, body aches, coughing, and all over fatigue. I didn't feel like racing. My Dad and I still went to the race because I was going to give it what I had and I wanted to support the race. I hoped once I got there and went through my warmup I would start to feel better. My warmup consisted of dynamic stretching and an easy 3 miles at 8:04 min/mile pace with some strides on the clock thrown in during he last half mile. It was sunny, windy, and the temperature was in the upper 30s.  

I wasn't feeling any better than when the race started at 8am. It's a smaller race but the turnout was good. I looked around and didn't expect to have any competition but you never know who will show up at a race. The race started and I went out to the lead. I tried to focus on running hard, sub 6 pace, despite how I felt. I ran the first mile in 6:01. 

The first mile felt harder than it should have. I didn't hear anyone close behind me but I didn't look until the turnaround at the end of Evans St near the AB Bridge. I had a big lead but I knew I still had to keep the tempo up and not fade or I could still be caught. I ran miles two and three in 6:05 and 6:08. I finished in 18:57 and took the win for the second time at this race. Performance wise it was ugly and a struggle to run sub 19 feeling the way I did and dealing with the wind.

​It's always great getting a win especially in my hometown. I enjoyed seeing some friends and supporting the race and charity. The race organizers did a good job and the timing was done by my friends Charles and Susan Teachey; who I've known since I was in high school. They coached the Swansboro High School Cross team when I ran for East Carteret. We were in the same conference so we saw each other a lot and have gotten to be great friends since then. I hope the race continues to grow. 

Race Gear

Socks:  Smartwool Men's PhD Ultra Light Low Cut Socks
​Shoes:  Reebok Floatride Run Fast
Shorts: Adidas compression shorts
Singlet:  Duke Blue Devils Singlet by Adrenaline Promotions 
Road ID Wrist ID Slim
Gloves: Smartwool Liner Gloves
Arm Sleeves: Royal blue Asics arm warmers
​Beanie: Smartwool Merino Sport 150
Sunglasses:  Rudy Project Tralyx 

The CRC Winter Classic 8K and 4K is a great event held at McAlpine Park in Charlotte, NC on a Saturday afternoon in January. McApline Park has a rich history of hosting NC State High School Cross Country Championships, big cross county invitationals, and the high school Foot Locker South Regional cross country championship. It is also the NC-USATF Cross Country Championship.  The 8K is a flat, two loop course on a crushed gravel and dirt path.  

I decided to race this year's event as part of the Zap Nation team which also included Coach Matt and Amanda Lopiccolo, Ryan Woods, Melanie Brender, and Savanna Plombon. This was going to be my first race since the Richmond Marathon last November. I took eleven days off from running before easing the weekly mileage back up into the 50s miles per week and 60 the week before racing CRC Winter Classic.  

I arrived at McAlpine Park around 12:30pm for the 2pm race start. I got my packet and met up with my team for an easy 3 miles warm-up before lining up for the start.  The weather was great for a January afternoon. It was sunny, no wind, and 48 degrees. The race started and I went out fast; maybe a little too fast. The field was stacked on the gravel dirt path as we made our way around lap one of the two lap race. 

​I opened mile 1 in 5:43. Coach Matt was just ahead of me and I focused on staying with him. Mile 2 cruised by in 5:46. It started to get rough after that. I could feel I was working hard and didn't have the speed in me to maintain the pace of the first two miles. I had to grind and dig now to hold on. Matt started to pull away from me but no one else was passing me yet. We passed by the start/finish area at 2.5 miles so just one lap to go.

I went through a rough patch and put a 6:10 up for mile 3. Mile 4 was more of the same with a 6:08 and Ryan Laytham caught and passed me. I didn't realize I had been ahead of him till then. He was running on the Bull City Track Club team which I am also apart of. I was able to pick it up the final 0.97 miles to finish 45th Overall out of 155 in 29:31. I also placed 44 out of 103 males and 14 out of 21 in my age group (35-39). 

​Our Zap Nation team did really well and won the co-ed team division. Ryan Woods led the way finishing 6th in 25:32. Matt finished 40th, 1st Masters in 28:50. Savanna finished 53rd Overall, 5th female in 30:07.  Next to finish was Amanda in 56th Overall, 6th female in 30:23. Melanie finished the day off for our team placing 65th Overall, 11th female in 32:41. 

The race was a rust buster for me and I had speed early but lost it the second lap. That wasn't too surprising since most of my runs leading up to this were easy, progressions, and just three interval workouts. It was still a quality first race of the year. I really enjoyed the course and it was a lot of fun racing cross-country again. CRC did a great job organizing the race and I recommend doing it. 

Race Gear

Socks:  Smartwool Men's PhD Ultra Light Low Cut Socks
​Shoes:  Reebok Floatride Run Fast
Shorts: 2XU MCS Run Compression Shorts
Singlet: Zap Fitness
Road ID Wrist ID Slim
​Watch:  Garmin 920XT
Sunglasses:  Rudy Project Tralyx