It rained. A lot. The first hour or so wasn’t that bad, after that it was a steady drumming that left whole sections of the course filled with wet, sticky, flowing mud that obscured tripping hazards like roots, potholes and rocks. I was fortunate to not slip until a slick, steep downhill in the last half mile, and then only went down in a smooth area on one leg.
I came in a little faster than I’d projected. I actually felt really good almost the entire day despite being soaked through. With around 4-5 miles to go I began to fade a bit on some steep sections (actually, stairs). The last aid station was at 23 miles and when I stopped both quads froze up. I also noticed some pain in my right heel. I took a slightly longer break to let the cramps fade and when I restarted the heel was really painful. Screaming, even.
I thought I might have to walk it in but I decided I’d rather suffer for 30 minutes than limp for 60+ and vowed to power through. I slid in behind a runner from the 50k and paced off her. It let me focus on something other than my foot. She saved my race, I was managing low 10′s on the flats and 8-9 on the downhills despite the pain and having 23 miles in my legs.
Of course once I stopped the heel tightened up. Thinking it may be bursitis or Achilles tendonitis, we’ll let the doctor decide when I get home.
In the end I finished with a 5:44 for 110th overall, 66th men, 5th in my age group and a little bit ahead of what I’d projected. Considering my GPS track says there was over 4,000′ of climbing and this was the longest I’ve ever run by 6 miles, I’m not unhappy with the result. I successfully resisted the urge to go too fast out of the gate and nearly had a negative split. I also set new PRs for 10 miles, half, 20k and 30k.
