Notes
First mountain race!! Gunstock peak-to-peak 10k. First a layout of the course:
- stage 1: up a mile to the cell tower via a wide but rocky trail. 700 feet elevation gain.
- stage 2: along the ridge to the peak. Another 600 feet elevation gain and 1.8 miles. Trail is now single track but not too technical.
- stage 3: down the mountain. Single track and now very technical. 1.7 miles and 900 feet descent.
- stage 4: to the finish. Trail opens up for the most part, although care is still needed. 1.3 miles and another 300 feet descent.
I started out pretty conservatively, having no idea what to expect. I took it easy going into the uphill and settled into what was probably the top 30. But then something weird happened. A lot of people started walking. Really, already? It's a race! All I did was kept running, very slowly, and I passed person after person. I was nearly up to the leaders by the time I had gotten to the cell tower! I found it so strange that the best people in the race would be walking, and simply by not walking I put a gap on most that would hold for the rest of the race.
In stage 2 on the ridge I continued to push, knowing that after this I would be descending rapidly. I was able to pass a couple more people in this section. Almost caught up to Jake, about 10-15 seconds behind at the turnaround. Then the downhill started.
Very technical. Very technical. A lot of switchbacks, a lot of rock hopping, and a lot of slowdowns. I prioritized my safety over speed, slowing down to a walk to clear a good amount of obstacles. When it got just a smidge less technical I opened up the taps as much as I could. With all the walking I was forced to do I no longer needed to pace myself; I needed to go as fast as physically possible, limited only by how technical the trail was.
After what seemed like a really long time of negotiating the single track, finally an opening. The trail opened up into a wide smooth path. Hallelujah. I opened it up as much as I could without losing control on the downhills. Finally I got to a clearing, a field with about 400m to go. I pushed as hard as I could to the finish; watch had me at 5:12 pace.
What a weird and wonderful race. Good for 4th place too! Very happy with the result. Who knew "not walking" would be a good enough strategy to be competitive in a race.