This past November I competed at the Canadian national cross country championships in Kingston, Ontario. Last year I wrote an article titled “What is Cross Country (XC)” and why I love it. For those of you that don’t know what XC running is, here is a quick definition- 8km race (sometimes 6 or 7km), taking place off roads and track, usually on grass/dirt/gravel/trails. Courses are always different and are usually looped into 3k or 2k loops.
There is almost always mud involved, and it’s challenging and fun! The best part about XC is that runners from all different events (marathoners, 1500m runners, 10k specialists) all come out to race at Nationals. In fact, this year the final 5 finishers all specialized in different events.
Over the past 4 years I have finished in the top 3 every time. I won in 2013, and then in 2014 finished 3rd just coming back from an injury. This year I really wanted to regain my title! The course in Kingston was 8km on a 2km loop on a grass/hard-packed dirt course. Rolling hills and a few tight corners made it challenging as well. I was able to check it out the day before the race to familiarize myself with it. It was good to get in a 30 min run on the course, not only to get a feel for it, but to shake out my legs… they were a bit sore as I had raced a 5 mile road race in Manchester, Connecticut the day before. Yes, it was probably a little bit silly to race twice in 3 days, but I just couldn’t turn down the opportunity to race in Manchester—and I ended up running really well too:) Okay, back to XC!
The day of the race it was -1C but clear. It sure was cold, but I was happy it wasn’t raining! My legs were feeling recovered and I was excited to race! I knew there was a lot of excellent ladies racing and I was pretty nervous. This was going to be a tough race and I was going to have to run damn hard if I wanted to win. And I really wanted to win. My original race plan, given to me from my coach was to sit in the back of the front pack until 2k to go and then make a move. Well… that’s not at all how the race played out.
The gun went off and I immediately found myself leading the race. Not just leading, but 10 meters ahead by the first 200 meters. Oops! I settled down, the pack caught me and I continued to run at a relaxed pace. I was still in the front, but the pace felt so easy that I didn’t even care if I was leading. Around 2km I attempted to fall back in the pack, but just felt uncomfortable in the back. I just wanted to run my own race, so I pushed forward and found myself leading again. My legs were just feeling so good, I went with it. At 4km I decided to make a bold move and dropped the pace. I gapped the field by about 30 meters around 5km. I was feeling confident that this would be enough and they would not catch me… However I eased up a bit too much and by 6km three of the girls had caught back up to me. The surge I had put in earlier was now beginning to hurt me and my legs were feeling it.
Two of the girls started to pull away from me… I fought hard and got back with one of them, my friend Sasha. I passed her around 7km and set my eyes on Rachel who was now about 30 meters ahead of me. I don’t know how I had let her get so far ahead of me. She put in a big surge around 6.5km and I didn’t respond. Now she seemed to far ahead of me, I was tired, and beginning to lose hope. “2nd place is okay. Just hang in there Tash…” But then I was like “Get tough, Tasha! You are here to win! Get going!”
With 1km to go I began to pick up the pace and I could feel her coming back to me. I was hurting but continued to push. With less then 300m to go I was right behind her… but by this point I had worked so hard to catch her I had almost nothing left… We went up the last steep hill and I spotted my good friend and physio Chris. He screamed “YOU HAVE TO GO NOW! GOOOOO NOWWWW!!!!”. And all of a sudden I just started sprinting. I scrunched my face up and pushed through the pain—I flew by her on the hill and just kept going. The crowd was so loud and cheering like crazy as I sprinted to the finish line—giving it everything I had. I crossed the line, so incredibly happy, but also exhausted. I almost collapsed, and friends had to hold me up. As I recovered I was smothered with hugs and well wishes—it was so wonderful! An unforgettable moment for so many reasons. I knew I had given everything I had in that race. I never gave up, even when I was pretty far back. I was so proud of myself for pushing through the pain. So many races I had not been able to do that. But today I was brave! I believed in myself, and sometimes that’s the hardest part.
Winning the National XC champs was the absolute best way to finish off my 2015 year of racing. I’m so excited to see what happens in 2016! If you want to follow my adventures in running and racing please go to my website: www.natashawodak.com
Natasha Wodak
Sponsored Athlete
Innovative Fitness Kitsilano
www.InnovativeFitness.com
