Notes
After a few weeks of dry weather, the rain arrived all morning. It was clear that the course would be muddy by my race. Thankfully I had packed my spikes and that saved me some slippage (even if there was still a ton of slipping).
I got out easy but also slow as I was at the very back of the pack. I ran up to Retro but he started passing people and I was more boxed in. The first quarter mile was fine before the next 3/4ths of the mile was just plain sloppy mud (other than the uphill, surprisingly, as they smartly laid sand there). The mile was over 6min.
I picked up the pace as the footing was better for a bit. It didn't feel smooth but it wasn't hard and I was starting to gain on people. Unfortunately as I headed through the prairie, I got the feeling that it would be risky to keep up the faster pace. I backed off and continued back to my 6+ min pace.
The 3rd mile was sloppy again in the trees. The final hill I took easy and the next stretch was pretty silly. Guys (presumably) with flats were falling off trail or barely staying up. It was hard for me in spikes. But I never fell or walked and finished with a slight kick.
My slowest 4 mile by a bit. I'll just focus on the fact that I finished. That's a step in the right direction I got to believe.