3rd place at the alley trail marathon. I forgot to clean off my trail shoes and ended up doing the whole thing in my trainers with very worn down tread. The race had 3000 feet elevation gain and the course was wet and covered in leaves. There were switchbacks and lots of sharp turns on the downhills... I really missed my trail shoes. I led the first 10 miles but my feet started cramping up the last few miles and while I'd hoped to shake the competition with a fast first lap (they got rid of the extra $100 for fastest first lap this year:(), it was a pretty competitive field and new guys with smarter race strategies and more endurance came alive later in the race. Still ended up winning my race entry back, a gift card to the local running store, a cool hat, and a plaque/trophy. Also had no injuries and pushed through bonking out pretty well. I wouldn't even say I bonked out because mentally I was unphased by it and my body just slowly went out on me over the 2nd half of the race. Always a great day when you start your morning off with a fun race like this, taking top 3 is the cherry on top! |