I lined up and relaxed. After lots of hydrating and the caffeine, I was starting to feel better. But man oh man did my legs feel dead. I looked around the racers wondering what females I would have to watch out for. None of them looked familiar. I stopped worrying about it because I realized it really didn't matter. I would run the best race I was capable of running, no matter who my competition was.

No one wanted to line up at the front. It was the strangest thing! Everyone was standing in a line at least a foot from the start line. Well, whatever, I moved right up to the line. I mean, c'mon guys, this is a competition after all...

Finally the countdown was here and suddenly there I was, running.

I fell into a comfortable pace and us runners strung out a bit. There were about 7-8 of us in a pack and by the time we got to the turn everyone else had to be at least 30 seconds behind including any females.

This is a relentless and challenging climb, however, completely runnable. I put my head down and worked hard. Not looking up. I passed a couple of men by the time we hit the top.

During the long downhill portion I let two guys pass me, not wanting to slow them up. The downhill portion of this run is quite challenging. You are essentially running in a dry creek bed so it is very rocky. No wanting to twist an ankle I took it cautiously.

Another guy passed me on the downhill but I easily overtook him on the next long climb. We came to a long switch across the ravine where you could look back on what you had just run and I still didn't see anyone else.

We hit the next long climb that was exposed in the sun and I was really struggling to keep running. Not wanting to lose my rhythm and walk, I pushed through and made it to the top. The bad thing about the "top" here is that it's a long false flat. I felt so entirely slow and was worried another female might catch me at any moment.

I tried my best to capitalize on the downhill and increased my turnover. Finally we hit the true descent and I knew if I could just nail this downhill, I could take the win.

I tried to stay light and fast. Around one corner there was a photographer who said, "Keep it up! The boys are struggling. I think you can catch them!"

This was totally motivating. Sometimes being a woman competing alongside men can be really hard but I will tell you most of the time they are really supportive and encouraging.
I in fact did manage to chase down one of them men, overtake him and hold him off to the finish. I crossed first woman, 6th overall.

I exchanged high-fives with the guys who were standing around and we BSed a bit. Everyone was so nice. While I wouldn't say I was in top form for this race, I would say that I ran it well. The biggest factor was heat. My time was 3 minutes slower than the last time I ran it!

As I was walking back to my car a dude drove towards me and rolled down his window. I recognized him from the run. He shouted, "I FINALLY BEAT YOU! WOOOOO!!!' I was almost startled by his shouting. It took me a second but then I replied, "yeah. Good job!" I didn't really know what to say lol it was kind of odd. I don't think he was trying to be a jerk or anything but the interaction was just kind of awkward.





Well, I certainly wouldn't be hungover or do my shakeout run so irresponsibly.

The other stuff that contributed to being kind of dead were more or less just part of my progressive training. Plus the heat I cannot control :)

Grabbed some food and then headed up and ran a portion of the PCT up to Silver Peak and back for some training.


Hangover
Fatigue
Heat


Evergreen Trail Runs are always well organized