Notes
This was such a strange day. I missed the car pool so iIhad to make the 2 hour drive myself. I didn't really mind actually as I had the freedom to come back at my own choosing. This course was very similar to the Moffat 15K in Scotland. A similar brutal hill and steep downhill finish. There was even Scottish bagpipes playing during the race! I didn't seep well, but that really wasn't a factor in the race. First 2 miles I ran somewhat conservatively with Mike Wade at 6:20 pace. I was saving myself a bit for the 'hill' which was for me just as tough as Moffat... similar distance and grade, except this was on the road.
I tried to use the same strategy as Moffat where I ran a great race, i.e. save energy up the hill and blast the downhill. The problem was as I started going down, the left hamstring /glutes started to tighten up. By mile 4 it really started to be a problem and I had to slow down and run mile 4-5 at 7:00. I lasted another few minutes going even slower as the pain increased so I dropped about with about a mile to go. Very disappointing as I wanted to finish on that bridge! I have myself to blame because I've been having problems in the past 2 weeks with the hammy and I didn't heed the warning signs. Last time I can remember dropping out due to an injury was the Huntsville Marathon when I ran with Reno and Mark about 17 years ago.
Racing is so unpredictable. My last race which was Moffat was my best of the year and today on a similar course I had my worst race.
The leg was very tender and sore the rest of the day. I didn't even want to sit down. At night I just turned into a coach potato and watched movies.
There is always next race. One race at a time.