ran the red hot 55km this weekend: Good Fun. I had a good race . . . quick stats: 14th, 5:00.27 . . . ran well most of the day, although I never felt like I was running at 100%. Not sure what was going on, but my feet never seemed to be in the mood for the day (wondering in retrospect if I had simply tied my shoes too tight and my feet were a little bit asleep or at least cramped at the midfoot). After a relatively patient (too patient?) start, I moved through the pack pretty well until about mile 29 when I got lost for a minute or so and as I got back on the trail was passed by the person who eventually finished in 13th -- I was not able to respond at this point and was glad to simply keep him close for the remainder of the race as we worked through some slower runners from the 33km race as well as maybe 1 or 2 more runners from the 55km. My inability to respond was a bummer; however, the fact that I kept moving despite some negative mental and physical moments in the last few miles made me feel pretty good about the day in general . . . I am also glad to see that I seem to still have some speed in my legs and believe that if I ever want to give a sub-24 Wasatch another shot it isn't the speed issue that is keeping me from pulling it off. I simply need to learn how to run stronger for longer and to keep my wits and focus about me during long term suffering . . .
As far as the course goes, one of the coolest parts of the race was a series of quick up-downs on the slickrock around I'm guessing mile 27 or 28 where you could just fly downhill then crank up the next rise . . . the first part of the race had a little too much dirt road for my liking, but the technical sections later on made up for these early miles. And the excellent post-race spread definitely helped make this a race worth doing again sometime in the future: here, here to race directors that make the whole weekend a positive experience!
Oh, yeah, and I made it home in time for some good turns to still be had in the Wasatch before the sun totally baked the snow this afternoon!
No comments:
Post a Comment