I didn't carry my amphipod and I missed it - I had to stop for the water break and drank too much from the cup and ended up feeling sloshy for the next half mile or so. Other than that, I felt good on this race. I spent a mile chasing a woman who was running faster than me but kept stopping to walk. While I was doing that another guy came up behind me and breathed down my neck for half a mile or so until I dropped him (same time I caught her.) I worried the last 1/2 mile about whether they were saving it for the sprint, so I never let up. I found myself looking at my HR monitor and making myself speed up if it got below 184.

By the way, the place I caught that woman (and dropped my heavy breather) was on the killer hill at 2.25 miles. I knew I couldn't jog it so I walked it with big powerful strides with wide swinging arms. I could feel those high bench step-ups powering my glutes. I'm positive that my striding walk way beat my climbing jog for speed, not to mention heart rate conservation.

Not do lower-body weightlifting the day before: my legs felt a bit wooden on the first hill. On the other hand, I didn't walk on the first hill and sometimes I have to.

This was the fastest I've run this all season. I beat my PB on this course by over a minute!