Turned out it wasn't my day, but that's the selfish way to look at it. The course was much improved from two weeks earlier, the rain held and by the finish the sun was even out, a lot of familiar faces were there, and I finished without injuring myself. So I have a smile on regardless. I slept in Mount Vernon the night before so I didn't have a long drive before the race. Cup of coffee and a plain English muffin for breakfast. Arrived in plenty of time, though I was one of the last four people out of the bathrooms before rushing to the start. I jumped in line next to Brita, who I drove up with, well back in the pack. The first mile or two was slow, just staying in that pack as we stretched out on the Interurban. Like last year I didn't want to waste any energy there. I ran alone, mostly passing people, and hit the 10k in 49 minutes. A minute slower than '10, but right where I wanted to be. One gel on the way out. Small cup of water at the station and then up the hill. I was with a pack of guys headed up to Frangrance, and one older runner and I ended up leading the whole climb. We really trucked through, it felt great and I was really strong on the climb to the lake. I ended up passing the older guy, though he stayed close and moved ahead of me on the Cleator climb. But I made the Cleator station in 38 minutes, feeling good. Walked through that aid station and got going again up the long climb. Other than a four-minute walk on the steeper early stretch and a short walk near the top on a steep turn, I moved pretty well. Just over 30 minutes to the Ridge (though I can't compare to last year because the station moved, I think the time was faster overall). I felt in a much better place than the year before at that point, and started off strong on the Ridge, catching a few people quickly. But, at 2:30 or so, the cramping started in my calves. I still had energy and felt strong, but I was a little worried. Same place it happened last year. I managed through, walked some of the steep bits and slowed the pace some, tried to fuel. I have a feeling I had less water in me than I should have. Took some salt tablets, and made it back down to Lost Lake trail. Took it easy up that trail, trying to work the cramps out (or at least hold them at bay). Kept moving at a decent pace, though I hiked the last uphill up to the lookout. Heading back down to the Chinscraper start was brutal though, I was completely zapped and cramping all the way through my legs by then. No water left either, and I was just clinging on until that aid station. Hit it in 1:19 for that stretch. By then I knew a pr was pretty much impossible. I spent some time there refueling with soup, electrolytes, etc., which helped some. A group of us scaled chinscraper toghether, mostly hiking, in just under 20 minutes. At the top, however, the three or four I was with bolted and I had nothing to go on. The cramps whacked me again. I made it down (because, well, it's downhill) in 26:00.
I was at the last aid in just over 4 hours, so I wasn't sure I'd even break 5 at that point. I was a little broken in my head, knowing that. Just kind of frustrated, tired of battling the cramps, second guessing everything I had done in preparation (or had not done); I wasn't hurt at all but I was broken in my mind. I ran slowly in, walking occasionally when my legs would cramp up, and I was passed by at least four or five people. At some point I finally told myself, 'just finish, don't worry about it.' So I let go of the 5-hour goal, tried to grind through and find some enjoyment in looking out at the water as I squeezed the last drops out of my body. Hit the finish in 5:04:42, and all I could think about was food despite the gels, shot blocks, etc. I just had nothing in the tank and could feel it. I could make excuses all day about the performance (and sitting here thinking I'm coming up with more). But there were a few that probably affected me which I can address before the next race: my mileage for both January and February was slightly below last year; I've been working an odd shift at work the past three weeks, which has thrown my rest out of whack and fatigued me overall; work has been particularly stressful the past two months, which I think has worn me down mentally and made it tough to focus on the race; my nutrition in the four or five days preceding the race was abysmal, I was skipping meals and eating less than the best when I did eat, which I think explains some of the dehydration and definitely the lack of energy in the last few miles.
The rest of the afternoon was good, sat in the sun and talked to people, watched awards, all that. After eating my head straightened out, which was nice. So it wasn't my best race, but I'm not too beat up now (a little shin pain and swelling is about it) so I'll get another one on the schedule soon to test myself again. brooks cascadia VI -- 92
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