I came into this one well rested and a little heavy but was pleased with the finish as it looks like only half of the field survived the humid conditions. The only saving grace was that we had cloud cover all through the day. I squeezed my way into the first 50 or so runners at the starting line. I slowly worked my way into the clear after a couple of miles. This race starts at 6 am which leaves us running in the dark for about an hour, you can do it without a light if you stay in pack but I chose to carry a small handheld. I changed shoes and socks after each lap it really felt like putting on a new set of feet. I ran the whole first lap and on the 2nd I walked a few of the steeper grades. On 3rd and 4th laps I was walking all the grades and running where I need to be. The 5th lap I came apart, the 2 Alleves I took we're having no effect on the pain I felt in my hips and legs. I decided to go for a long walk on the last lap hoping to get started running again. It never happened I continued to walk the whole 20 mile loop. A pacer might of got me running again but have never used one. I don't know if I will ever break 20 hrs but I need to overcome my strategy to run until tired and walk the finish in. |