Yeah, let's never speak of this one again. Fortunately I managed to coincide the worst race of my life with one of the sweetest courses I've been on, so it wasn't a total bust.
Where to begin? I didn't feel great at the start - felt congested and warm to the point of being feverish, despite the mid 30 degree weather. I was never really able to shake those negative thoughts out of my head and get my body going. At the start, I tucked in with the 2 hour pace group, which should've been a pretty conservative effort, yet it felt way faster than the 9 minute miles we were doing. In the back of my mind, I thought about dropping out when I saw Andrea just before the mile mark, but 1) dropping out sucks and 2) I really wanted to see the course. Nonetheless, I lost contact with the pace group just past the 3 mile mark, which essentially ended my day. After that point, I felt like poop and was never able to get myself going - it just became a matter of getting the thing over with. I was half-hoping a bear would wander over out of curiosity and end my misery (and I was so zoned out I probably wouldn't have noticed until his teeth were on me), but unfortunately none obliged.
It's a shame that things went that way, because the couse was really a lot of fun. It started out with a quick loop through downtown West Yellowstone for a mile or so, then picked up some non-descript dirt roads till about mile 4, when we turned onto a bit more primitive double track trail. We started climbing in the 5th mile and would end up gaining about 300 feet over the next mile and a half, before plunging downhill around mile 7. The climb wasn't really as bad as I was expecting, but it didn't much matter by then. At this point, the trail became a bit more rocky and technical. Not super difficult by normal trail running standards, but you definitely had to pay attention so you didnt take an ill-advised step and go flying. At around mile 9, the trail became smooth again and wound it's way around a nice lake to the right. This was a really enjoyable part of the course; great views and pretty easy trail. At mile 11, it was back onto the bigger dirt road for the last push into the finish. It was more or less a trail race, but like I said, not bad as far as trail races go. I'd call it a pretty nice 'gateway race' for anyone looking to pursue trail racing on a regular basis.
The course was on the slower side for sure - about 7-10 minutes based on the times of the more established runners I knew and somehow I was still in the top third of finishers. But truthfully I was cooked before the 'slow' part even started, so that's not an excuse. I've been struggling in general to find a groove lately, but hopefully I can use the summer to build up a more solid training base, which will bring the good performances and the confidence back. I'm wondering if some dietary interventions might not also be in order due to the general low energy 'blah' feeling I've been having as well.
I won't post splits because I'm embarrased by them, but I will say that the awesome finisher's medal was well worth sticking around for. Also, hearing the finish line announcer's voice coming into earshot may be one of the most blessed sounds there is. I'm sure I'm not alone on this.
And now the 'fun' part of the Yellowstone weekend can start!
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