Notes
Elvelopet race for nordic fest. The race went well and my back didn't give me any trouble. I started out a little quicker than Nutmeg and Rebel were interested in so I settled back with them at about a half mile. Right before the 5k turn off Brett Egan caught us and was going at a much faster pace so I hopped on with him. It was a pretty big gear change but I was expecting him to be coming. Rebel caught back up and took the lead going in to Twin Springs. We didn't push much in the trails and got a group of 5 back together but it did feel good to let the legs recover for a little bit. I started to set the pace with Rebel when we got out of the trails and were passing people in the 5k. It is always fun to hear the awe of the 5k runners as you pass them. This makes ice cave road that much more miserable when we split back off. Rebel was keeping a good pace and I started to get a step or two behind him at the start of the hills before I was able to get back to a quicker cadence. I thought maybe Rebel and I were hurting Egan for awhile on the hills but then realized it wasn't enough to keep him from getting right back on us on the flats. In Palisades I finally heard Egan breathing harder which was good since I was starting to be concerned he was just chilling behind Rebel and I. I also felt really good on these rolling hills and was getting a little separation but didn't have any desire to try to stretch it on the down hills at that point. When we turned on the gravel road Rebel made a big move and almost caught me off guard. I jumped up to the move but soon started to wonder how sustainable it was. I asked Rebel a few silly questions at the time and then started to drop behind him. After I tucked in the pace became more fluid and I started to go back up to him and then decided to just keep it going since we had gotten a lead on Egan. I was hoping Rebel could keep it up with me but didn't really want to look back to see what was happening. From this point on I just tried to grind out a long hard finish. Not a typical racing style but it worked out for me on this day. Finished feeling tired enough that I was hoping the time would be faster but not a big deal when trails are involved. I believe I owe Rebel a thank you for dropping Egan. Long recap.