Red Mountain 55k
TT: 7:31:37. AP: 13:23 Elevation 4262
Kelli S and I headed down to St George on Friday afternoon. We had a 4:30am wake up call. I was trying to check out of the hotel, but there was no one at the front desk. I called and called and hoped someone would hear the phone. Finally, the lady came out. I was feeling a bit flustered.
On the way to the Santa Clara Reserve, I was pulled over for speeding. It’s been 15 years since I got pulled over. Luckily, I only got a warning. Now I was really feeling flustered and worried that we weren’t going to make the bus.
But we got there on time! The race is a lot bigger this year. I saw the Trail Manners guys and met some really neat ladies at the fire.
The race consists of several loops that all connect at the same aid station. 7 miles to the first AS. I felt good and ran a lot more of the hills than I did last year.
A 5.7 mile loop next. The sun started to rise and I could tell it was going to be very warm (it was in the 60’s....I’ve been training in the 20-30’s). I shed my jacket and kept taking my salt pills.
The 4 mile loop. Lots and lots of climbing. I filled one of bottles with Gatorade, took more salt, pickles and chips at the AS. I also took some Advil. I left the AS before Kelli and told her I was going to walk while I finished eating. She was having problems with her foot and ankle. Eventually, she sent me a text that she was going to turn around and head back to the AS. It was HOT.
This section had a lot of up/down technical switch backs. I walked all the ups and took a caffeinated GU and more salt. Once at the top, I was ready to run. I passed several runners during this section. Finally some clouds rolled in and there was a slight breeze. More climbing up the other side of the little canyon. This was a long 10 mile section.
I was really glad to get back to the AS. I quickly filled my bottle and grabbed some pickles and bananas. Only 5.5 miles to the finish. I took another caffeinated GU on an uphill. There was a one mile section of road. Ugh....I felt like I was sprinting at a 11:00 minute/mile. I was really glad to get back on the trail. I really struggled on this section last year, but felt really good this time.
About mile 33, I saw Kelli walking toward me. Hooray for a friendly face! I was SO excited to see her. I had passed this fast local road runner and wanted to make sure I beat him :). I told Kelli my plans and she kept me going.
Overall, I felt good and am pleased with the race! I felt my nutrition and hydration were perfect! I felt like I evenly spaced my efforts and were able to work through my lows. But I felt slow in comparison to everyone else. I shouldn’t feel that way, but I did.
This was my last long training run for the Buffalo 100. I think I’ve figured out that I just need to keep moving.....walk or run....just keep moving.
We stopped at a friend’s house in Washington to shower and hurried home before the snow storm hit. It was a great weekend!
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