Notes
Another week, another XC all-terrain race. I'd been meaning to do this race for a while as it's close to Des Moines and bills itself as the "Warmup to LHF" (although at 4 miles, I wouldn't mind it being longer). I didn't know too much about the course but figured I'd deal with it as it came.
We started on gravel to spread out and I was at the front, not really setting the pace though. Gradually we got rid of the high schoolers and everyone else as it got down to just 3 of us a mile in, myself and 2 guys that had won the race previously. The next mile was a long downhill followed by some flat field running. The local guy, Marty, took the lead from Mitchell during this section.
I doubt we were running too fast, but I wasn't feeling great, not sure if the reason was the shorter distance, still tired from the past week, or just not mentally as confident in knowing the course and competition as last week. In any case, I could see we were approaching the woods section with an initial hill and Marty was slowing (not sure if he was tired or getting ready for the hill, or just relinquishing the lead). So I took the lead and that was that; I don't know how much space on got on the uphill, but I think the ensuing downhill certainly gave me plenty of room as this section was very Governor's-esque: lots of agility needed and logs to jump over.
I cruised for awhile enjoying myself and making sure I got out of sight. The stream crossing section was next but the water level was low and I ended up never getting my shoes wet (thanks to a few well placed rocks as well). Still, that sort of made it more fun and it wasn't easy finding the course always as well. Nevertheless, I was getting anxious to get to the finish. The final climb was a solid hill, but it was made a bit worse as it was loose rock, so each step resulted in some rock sliding backwards. After that though, I sped to the finish.
Very fun race and I won by nearly 1.5 minutes. I almost wish it had been longer, but it was probably good to do something faster. This is the most similar race to Governor's as I've ever done, though Governor's still takes the cake it terms of distance, craziness, stream-crossings, and competition. This race did have parts that were most difficult footing I've ever raced on though, as most of the course was on a cattle ranch, and several spots were just completely filled with holes. This also may be the only race I've been to that I had to drive gravel roads to get to.
Recommendation: Great race! And I'll certainly be back, if only to get the course record (I learned afterwards that I was 24sec off). I don't think that would be a problem with some more competition (or just a fast friend).