Notes
In reality this was a terrible race. However, the result was a ~6 minute course PR. It was also the first time I've finished the race since I got Lyme's. So I guess to get through the race, have a PR, and finally crack 2 hours, the results weren't too bad.
Got stuck in a crowd going down the first hill at the start. It was probably okay to keep me under control right from the gun. By the time we hit the flat 600m into the race, my legs were already burning and I knew it was going to be a tough day.
I settled with a group of about five guys and just tried to hang out with them. They dropped me a little on the first climb, but I was really trying to take it easy on the hills. I caught them pretty quickly at the top and we were all in contact through some of the upper prairie area. That group broke up a little and I went with the two guys in front so there were now just three of us. And after a mile or so, the third guy took off so it was just myself and one other runner.
We worked well through the middle part of the race. Nothing exciting, but I was trying to cruise along, but not push too hard yet. It was warm, but not unbearable. I was not carrying water, so I was taking a good long stop at each pass through the aid station to be sure to hydrate. My running partner would drop me there, but I'd catch back up pretty quickly. As soon as I caught him though, he'd speed up a bit so I couldn't pass.
I finally got him going up the fire road hill and never really saw him again. However, after that hill, I finally was hurting enough that I broke my streak of running up all the hills. I started power walking the big ones and trying to survive everything else.
The last five miles felt like a death march. It had warmed up a bit, but still tolerable. I was fading pretty fast. We went by a volunteer who told me he thought I was in 9th place. I'd given up on the two hour mark and was just hoping to hold my position. Got to the single track, and by now I had a nice blister going on my left foot. I thought this part of the trail was quite a bit rougher than in the past, so it slowed me a little.
Saw Robbie and Jeannie at the bridge that goes under the entrance road. I handed off my sunglasses (I need to remember that these are pointless in this race). Their cheering was a nice pick-me-up. Then all of a sudden I popped out of the woods and could see the last climb and the team standing there. Looked at my watch and realized that I had at least a slim chance at sub-2 hours.
I definitely picked it up coming by everyone and heading to the finish. After I topped the hill I was pushing as hard as I could to make the finish line. Didn't even see the clock, but I guess I had some time to spare. 8th overall isn't too bad, but I should have been probably 5th or 6th on a decent day.