So I was VERY nervous again for this one. Not exactly new, but I was definitely feeling it. But thinking that just meant I'd have my usual adrenaline to start with.
Got my bib/shirt, hung out, went to the start line.
I was just in a t-shirt and shorts and had my Camelbak with me. It was about 50F which was cool standing around, but plenty warm when running.
And we were off, pretty much immediately uphill. I could tell as soon as the race started it was gonna be rough. I've had plenty of "bad runs" in training. Unfortunately this was my first race like that.
Not sure what exactly I did, not enough water or fuel or something or what, but my legs were just NOT into the running. I dunno, maybe around 1/3 of the way through they were kinda getting used to the running, but the entire race was QUITE tiring.
Probably not helped by the fact that I REALLY wanted to hit that 2 hour mark which would mean going a bit faster than my half marathon pace, down into the 8's and this time off road with hills... Yeah, that didn't happen and probably was not a good idea when the legs weren't feeling great to start with.
And what is up with downhills? Are people scared of them? Do I have more weight and go faster? Am I just stupid and wasting energy I don't realize there? I mean it was my plan to try to make my speed down the hills cause I knew I wouldn't going up. And just like in the snow at the Humdinger, I pass just about everyone going downhill. I was utterly amazed as a couple actually passed me near the end on a downhill segment as it was the ONLY time it happened.
But I struggled through. Definitely walked a good bit on the uphill sections, but I tried to keep moving at a decent pace and not walking for more than about 30 seconds at a clip and then running for at least a minute on the worst sections.
I got used to it a bit for a few sections and managed to get my pace up a bit, and near the end there was a quite long downhill section where I definitely picked up some speed.
Then that last 2 miles of uphill that really scared me because of how long that DOWNhill section was! I didn't want to climb all that way back up! But I think we must have gained some elevation on the rolling hills earlier on, because while it was uphill, it wasn't as bad as I was afraid of. I still walked in there and my "running" was pretty slow, but I kept up more than I expected.
In the end, I got about a 10:30 pace. So I'm happy I completed it, and since it's my first, it's a PR! Ha!
Trail races are also nicer in that they feed you lunch afterwards!
Well, not sure where the discrepancy lies, but according to the race guys, I got a 10 minute pace! Ha! like 58 out of 77, 10 out of 14 in my age group. Not bad really!
58. Levi Smith 2:16:40 0:10:00 10/M30-39 43/M
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