AM - 14.2 miles @ Snowbasin, see below... PM - 6.3 miles easy w/ Andrea then added a little more on.
Ran the XTerra Nationals course at Snowbasin this morning. The "21K" is actually a bit over 14 miles, as I expected (its not quite realistic that linking 2 trails would come out to an exact half marathon!). Andrea ran the first loop w/ me, which is ~6 miles of rolling but rocky singletrack. I didn't necessarily love this section, and rolled my ankle several times. The second loop goes up towards Sardine Peak on a very smooth trail. Its about a 3 mile relentless climb up to the top, then comes back down on some huge switchbacks, which are also very run-able. Then you have a steady gradual climb over the last mile back to the finish. Overall, the total elevation gain is probably between 2000-2500 feet (profile and map below). Now I have a decision to make... whether or not to actually run this race. One on hand, its a fun course and I think I could put some major hurt on people from the 7-10 mile marks, there is incredible prize money, and honestly I feel like I can win this race. But on the other hand, its 2 weeks before the Long Beach 1/2 Marathon, which is a much more important race for me. I'm not sure how many times I can go to the well this fall. The 2500 feet of downhill scares me, and I can't imagine the winning time being faster than 1:20-1:25, so its extra time on the feet. The competitor in me wants to do this race and just crush this course, but the coach in me (who already told Andrea she probably shouldn't race it), knows I'm probably better off just saving it for Long Beach.
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