A year ago I ran this in 1:59:54, and gushed on the blog about how well everything went with the pace and a late surge. Looking back at my early 2011 miles, I was fooling myself. This year I've been much more consistent and better with mileage, and I think it showed today by running three minutes faster without an inflated last mile due to a sprint. So I do feel good about today's race and this weekend's running, but I'll keep the enthusiasm under control until Chuckanut is done. Really nice weather (50 degrees, overcast, shorts), and it's been fairly dry so the trails were in good shape. Even after 10 on the road yesterday, neither Mike, Brian or I was very sore. Mike and I let two guys zip out and settled in with two others. This guy Greg was with us almost the whole time, he was really hanging tough for a guy who hadn't run much this winter and without any idea of what he was doing (he admitted as much). I admit he helped me keep pushing the pace, because after mile 8 or so I decided I wanted to drop him. We left the other guy pretty early, and one of the leaders turned around halfway to go find his girlfriend. I guess that's the competative fire that comes out for a free race. Our little pack ran 7:30-7:40 pace the whole time, most of the straight stretches on gravel were down below 7 (as fast as 6:42 for one we timed) and then the single track/hills would slow us down. But every time we came off the single track we nailed the pace again, which was good. Mike and I stuck together to the finish, he had his little fade at 10 or so, mine low energy point was between 12 and 14, but we pulled each other through. So we were maybe a little pokey there, but the last mile was solid and we ran in happy. 1:56:52
Clif shots at 40:00 and 1:25, and one salt tablet. When we finished, the guy Greg was standing there waiting. Turns out he cut the end of the course and ran a mile less. Then the leader showed up five minutes after him. So a wrong turn by the guy up front means we tied for first. Navigation is part of the race, right? brooks cascadia green -- 15
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