I will start off by saying even though I didn't have the race I wanted I still had a fun great race and came away with 13th overall (last year I was 30th overall.)Sometimes I have nightmares where I will be midway through a race and suddenly my legs stop working and all I can do is watch my competitors run away while all I can do is stand there. Later you will understand why I mention this. Anyways the morning of there race I tell my dad about these nightmares and say that luckily I hadn't had them last night.
Now in the actual race I started upfront and the early pace felt much easier than last year (not at all like my nightmares) so I was feeling very confident especially since the day before my dad and I had run the technical part of the course and I was able to all out sprint the very very rocky old jeep road easily on the downhill. For the first 4.5 miles the race was just on road and was all just a blur, It went kind of like I am in 3 place now 4th now 3rd again "hey there's my dad". Then we got to the fun part. I was an 4th place at the start of the big climb to mosquito pass and felt amazing. So I just started chugging up it. I was eventually passed by two people but it didn't matter because I could tell they weren't in my age group. But I could look down and see two kids that looked my age just a couple minutes behind. But I wasn't worried because once we got to the downhill thats where I would really be able to do well. Finally I could practically smell the top and I was sitting in a comfortable 8th place. But this is when everything starts to go wrong. My quads start to get a weird feeling as a summit mosquito pass with a kid obviously under 19 close behind. And as I start the very technical downhill the section where I usually shine my legs just stop working! Just like in my nightmares. And just like in my nightmares I watch competitor after competitor fly by while I can't even walk. So I am sitting up there punching and stretching my legs for minutes while 3 kids clearly in my age group are flying down the hill. But finally all my punching seems to work and I am able to start down the hill at a snails pace but slowly getting faster. I than suddenly they work fully and I start passing people and just trying to make up time. And right when we hit an aid station I am able to pass one kid in my age group putting me back on the podium. Alright now the cramps and the non working legs are starting to come back. To bad to I was having such a fun time on the downhill. soon I am at aid station "B" only 4.5 miles from the finish and in 12 overall 3rd in my age group. Then there is a blur and I am at aid station "A 1/2" only 3 downhill miles to the finish but unfortunately my legs seize up again so I have to start off slow and have intense pain. But unlike the earlier cramps these wouldn't go away so I just had to grin and bare it. So I still wasn't going my full pace and I knew it was only a matter of time till I was passed. Than of course with a mile left I was passed by a kid in my age group and all I could do was watch while he ran away. The last 1/2 mile of asphalt felt like it took years but I was finally able to cross the finish line in 13th overall and 4th in my age group. Also all 3 kids that beat me in my age group were 16.
Now I know what my nightmares fell like in real life and I now know that you get very sore after running 7.5 miles down hill on clenched muscles. Although my race did not go as planned I still did a lot better than last year and I learned a lot. Next year I will be looking to try again at this tough race.
