Notes
Off to another race this time with Dan. We met at his place and start driving with 2 cars since his and my family joined us. I really liked that. I drove up ahead with the GPS showing the way and we arrived at the ferry at 7:25 AM. After signing up we went on the boat and off we were for the 10 minute boad ride.
Once at the island I went to do some business in the badroom. Once I came out everybody was gone and I learned that the race will start in a minute. I went to the starting line, strapped on my water bottle belt, looked out for Dan and off we were... just like that.
After a very short run we hit some stairs remainding me on my last run, the Double Dipsea, which I mastered 676 stairs. We fast walked up the stairs knowing that we'll be back 6 more times.
The first loop (25 KM pink) goes a long way around the island mostly on street and very much flat. The second loop (16 KM green) is shorter but has more hills. The third loop (8 KM orange) was the shortest but lead us all the way up to the tallest mountain on the island, the Mount Livermore which is 785 feet high. After the first 3 loops we started off to do the same all over again.
At my 6th loop I suddenly had a new found power kick and I ran 2/3 of the way up, something I didn't even have done the first time we conquered this mountain. It's a 2.5 miles trip and I had over 4 minutes at the top to spare while waiting for Dan. It was beautiful. I took pictures but Dan didn't believe that I was still there waiting for him. I guess he was excited that I am doing a new PR on this race.
Dan had 2 pretty bad falls and 5 times he dripped. I dripped twice and fell once in the last mile of the race. But, as Dan demostrated so lovely, when you fall you take a second to gather your thoughts then you get up and keep going.
It was GREAT seeing my whole family at the finish line waiting for me. I finished strong in 6:42, a whole hour faster than my previous 50K!
All in all an amazing event, which I truly enjoyed.