Recently, I ran a 5K cross country race. It was a very team oriented event and it was my first true cross country race in 15 years that I felt like I could take seriously and focus on being competitive.
This was a ton of fun and something I would encourage everyone to do.
Well, maybe I’m not encouraging you to do a cross country race, although if you’ve never run one or it’s been a long time since you have I would recommend you try one out.
What I would strongly encourage you to do is find a way to mix it up. Try something either completely new to you or something you haven’t done in quite some time.
Challenging yourself in a new way or a way you haven’t recently done is a great way to spark some excitement that can be lost when you’re doing the same thing all the time. It can also challenge you in ways that you normally don’t get challenged, which can lead to performance improvements in events you are more used to.
As for me, the cross country race was a ton of fun. It was a great team event that had me, much like my high school and collegiate years, turning around immediately at the finish line to cheer in my teammates. It had me working with the course in ways that only someone with cross country experience can really understand, holding back at tight places or around turns and then surging when the course opens up or being patient on an uphill before attacking a downhill for a big pass. These are strategies that I always found fun and mentally stimulating, planning out the strategy that will work with the terrain. I will absolutely not wait another 15 years to do another cross country race like this. I will also continue searching out challenges that are new or I haven’t done in a while. In fact, I’m already thinking about racing a distance I haven’t raced in far more than 15 years.