Leading up to this race we have had a cold snow filled winter. The race course was covered in 4-8 inches of snow. This made for a tough slog for 5hours and 37 odd minutes putting me at 27th overall.
I started the race hitting the trail at the .8 mile point in 12th or so. As we headed into the woods it was clear that not many people had been on the trail. The snow was hard enough to almost stay on top, but just as I thought I was going to push off with ease, my foot would break through. This made for a lot more effort. Then about 15 minutes into the race my group missed a turn and lost a bit of time. The good side of this was now I was behind 25-30 people and the snow was better packed (anything would have been better).
My race plan quickly changed from a PR race to trying to stay at a 10 min per mile pace and trying to hit the turnaround close to the 2:30 mark. I ended up at the halfway point in about 13th place in 2:42. Due to some gastric issues I had to make a pit stop at the 4H camp, took care of business, and hit the trail again loosing some ground, as a few people came through the turnaround while I was busy in the Restroom.
This is a out and back course. You run clockwise on the first loop and then counterclockwise on the return. It's neat and uplifting to get to see all the runners as you head toward and away from the halfway point. This year I was closer to the front runners than I've ever been and the runners behind me were more spread out than I've ever seen.
For most of the 2nd half of the race I was in survival mode. I went out too fast and the effort of running in the snow had my muscles taxed long before they should have been. I hung on for another 2:52 on the 2nd half for a 27th place 5:37 minute 5th finish at Holiday Lake.
Next up is the 4/3/10 6 hour of Warrior Creek Mtb Race. Racing on a Duo Team
Then 4/24/10 I will be running my 5th Promise Land 50k and hoping for a sub 6 hour finish on a course that gains over 7800 feet.
Training this year has been good. Lots more miles on my feet but my bikes haven't seen too much activity.
