Miles 1: 9:14 Mile 2: 9:19 Mile 3: 9:15 Mile 4: 9:09 Mile 5: 12:24 Mile 6: 11:10 Mile 7: 11:17 Last .46: 10:03 You can clearly see where this race went so horribly wrong for me. The last time I did this race was 4 years ago. It was very cold back then, but not a lot of snow. This time, it wasn't terribly cold (in the 20s with a wind chill in the teens), but we just got about 8 inches of snow. I did NOT use screw shoes because I am not smart. Mile 5 was slow partly because it contained a hill that you would be a fool to run up (if the entry about the last time I did this race is to be believed, it is about .2 long and winding, but I didn't look this time at my watch). But mile 5 also began my undoing. No joke: I fell every time there was a downhill and on almost every uphill. The second or third time I fell and bent my thumbnail back so much that I think my nail may eventually fall off. I knew it hurt, but I didn't examine it until the race was over and I was at my car. After that point, I stopped really caring about the race and just concentrated on the running part. I intentionally slid down a few hills. On about 5 occasions, I told a bunch of people to pass me because I didn't want to be that guy, you know the one who slows everyone down when the trail narrows. Unfortunately that included at least 2 women each time. I cared, but only in a remote and detached way. My original goal was top ten women. Ha. I just barely made it in the top 25. I think I was 24 because they gave out the last t-shirt to a woman when I was still in the chute (prizes were to the top 25 women). I mean, I'll take the t-shirt and the medal, but don't feel good about most of what happened here. I'll update my time and place when they post results. My miles for today include a mile warm up and a .55 cool down to make my mileage even. After my cool down I grabbed a snowball to ice my thumb on the way home. Next time: screw shoes. I don't think they would have stopped every fall, but they would have given me more security and thus I would have been riskier and faster on the hills in the last half of the race. | 