Stayed in Heber with some of Dave's family last night. Great people and they also had great food. Woke up and felt pretty good. I didn't know a ton about the course except that it was going to have a lot of climbing. The race started and Dave, Scott Jaime, Jody Benson, and I take it out nice and easy down to the trail just past Bridal Veil Falls. I took the lead for the first section of climbing not really knowing where I was going. Scott took the lead a couple miles in and I never saw him again. That guy is seriously part mountain goat. Dave pushed up the mountain and I held back in 3rd place to not overdo it early on. We kept climbing and climbing and I made it to the top of the first aid station sitting in 3rd place and just about a minute back from Dave. I knew the next section would drop down a little and it did. I was feeling pretty good through this section down from Squaw but had Jody catch me on the next climbing section. He got out in front of me but I kept in my sights until about mile 20 or so and then passed him. We went back and forth and even ran together for the next 6 miles or so down to where my dad and Ferron (Dave's dad) were. Jody and I both stopped at our respective personal aid stations and then started running up Hobble Creek. Once I hit the pavement, I did not feel great for some reason. Jody decided to take off. I knew Dave was only about a minute in front of me still. I kept moving along for a few miles until I came to my dad and Ferron again. I grabbed some fluids and food and I saw Dave walk around from the back of the car. I didn't expect to see him there. He said he was not feeling good at all. I told him we should run together for the next little bit to see if he started to feel any better. We finally got off the pavement and started to climb some more. I asked Dave, "When does the climbing stop?" His reply, "It doesn't!" I stayed with Dave for a mile or two and he told me to go. I was a little torn because I knew he needed my help. It was like Zion all over again but the roles had been reversed. The first place girl caught us and I knew that I needed to get past her and keep moving. I passed her and kept power hiking/running for the next 10 miles or so. I was sitting in 3rd place at this point and feeling pretty good. I still had no idea what laid ahead on the course so I was cautiously optimistic. I extended my lead once I got to the top. I felt awesome from miles 33-41. I was in cruise control and was really happy at this point. Everything felt great and I was rolling. Once I got to Windy Pass, I looked to my left and the first place girl came bushwhacking through the trees with her pacer. They must have cut out a mile or two of the course. This made me mad for some reason. I made it to the second to last aid station and she went passed me. I just finished Born to Run again and the first thought out of my mind was "Brujita." I was in 4th at that point and started to make the descent. The trail was covered in rocks so I had to slow down. I kept clipping my toe and almost falling. Every time I did this my calves and quads would get tight. This did not make me happy. I tried to relax down the mountain but it was not happening. I made it to about mile 44 and then the next guy passed me. He was smiling and laughing as he passed me. What a jerk! I wish I was smiling and laughing at this point. The wheels started to fall off and this point. I really started to cramp up and had to wake for a bit. Just before the final aid station, I got passed by a good friend Shaun Martin. He was flying! I made it to the aid station sitting in 6th place but was toast. I knew the last section would be pavement to the finish and I was not excited. One other guy passed me and I knew I could get him. I passed him with about 2 miles to go and then we hit a small hill and I was done. I stopped in the road and started to walk. I wanted to cry because the last part of the race was not going great. I kicked myself in the behind and pushed to the finish. I probably looked like death but everyone cheered as I went by. 9:38:33 and 7th overall. Happy to finish the race but knew I had a great chance to run well today. It just didn't happen. Dave came in about 10 minutes behind me. I was happy to see him finish strong. I knew he wasn't feel 100% either. We both soaked in the river after and cramped up the entire time. We tried stretching each other out but it did not help. We gave each other an emotional hug and told each other we will do better next time. It was not a great day for either of us. Better luck next time. We both agreed that we shouldn't have ran Zion two weeks ago and should have done some more hill training. I know I should have at least. 14,000 feet of elevation change just plan tired me out today. Hopefully I can learn from this and do better at the next race. I plan on doing some 50ks for the rest of the year. I don't know which ones I will do yet but I am not stressed out about racing right now. School is busy and will get busier and with Oliver here I just will have to be extra smart with my time. Running is still great but I don't want to stress about it a ton right now.
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