Notes
Valhalla 20k. I felt like this would be a good way to get in a long run but wasn't really sure how hard I would run it. I ended up getting out feeling good and didn't think the group I was with was going too fast so I decided to keep up the pace with them. I noticed us pick it up a little throughout the first few miles into Solon and was starting to question the pace at this point. I started near Brett Rosauer with Canton, Birant, and another guy up ahead. We caught Canton a little before Solon but the other two were still 30-40m ahead. As we turned to head into Solon I was starting to feel some back tightness and decided to slow the pace down a little. I also ditched my hat, gloves, and long sleeves. I kept up a solid pace for the next couple of miles but was slowly losing ground to the leaders and noticed Canton was catching back up to me. We got to a couple of the light ups and downs on the trail and this helped me feel much better. Canton was probably withing 5m at this point and Brett/Birant were 50m or so up ahead. I got into a faster rhythm and really felt good. Over then next 2-3 miles I caught Brett and the other guy that was up ahead, and I was definitely gaining ground on Birant. I really thought the question was when I would catch Birant, not if I would catch him. But after another few miles of running 10-20m behind him, I started to realize this was a much longer effort than I'm used to. We went up "The equalizer" as they call it and I attacked it pretty hard since I was still feeling alright. I got to just a few steps behind Birant but really didn't have the ability to roll the downhill and lost most of that back to him quickly. The last mile or so before the spillway I was starting to think more about just finishing than trying to get first. Birant was still only 30-40m ahead but I could tell I was beyond my comfort zone and that I hadn't done a 10+ mile run in a month or so. The trails kept the gaps pretty similar. He pulled away for a while and I was starting to let up thinking that I had cleared myself from Canton on the big hill to start. But then I saw Canton not too far back so I picked it up again as much as I could and ended up finishing about 25 seconds behind Birant. Canton was roughly the same distance behind me.
Overall I was really happy with the effort. For not really setting out with a race mentality, wearing trainers, and not doing many long runs, I felt like I ran a very respectable time. This clearly isn't a blazing pace. But the trails at the end are tough and I felt like I ran really smart. Good finish to the year after a terrible Spring, Summer, and early Fall.