I lined up in the middle of the pack for the start. The trail is quite narrow for the first 2km, maybe wide enough for 3-4 people across. I knew I would be bottled up at the beginning, but I also don't think it is right for slow people to line up at the front of the pack.

The gun went and we were off. It spread out enough fairly early. I didn't want to go out too fast, but I ended up going out too slow. I had a plan to negative split with a gradual increase in pace. That didn't exactly happen.

My calves and shins were a bit tight to start. Over the race, they loosened up, but then my hamstrings, esp left started being sore almost cramping. By the end it was right hip flexor. Share the love!

The first 6km were tough. I started to feel strong/in a rhythm at 7km. I took a gel at 42 minutes, knowing that if I don't take one by 45 min, it causes me problems with feelings of low blood sugar.

For the first few km i was checking my watch often to see my pace. It wasn't going well. :20 slower per km than I wanted. So I stopped looking. In September, I was walking at 10km. My mind works against me, tells me I can't do it. Today, every time the negative voice came in, I shut it down. "I can't keep this up" "yes you can, just focus on your cadence"

The distance from 9km to the turnaround seemed to take forever. I just wanted to be on the back half. Somehow, it was going to be easier, the mental thing, y'know? I knew it was going to be tough, don't get me wrong, but it would be 'easier'. The negative voice continued to try and derail me. "I'm not sure I can do this, this is hard, this hurts. Yep, it does, keep going you can do it."

At the turnaround, I look at my watch. 1:03:23. Ok, I can still do this. I gotta keep picking it up though. There was a guy just ahead of me that seemed to be going my pace, so I hung on his shoulder. At one point he slowed down, so I went by. We traded leading until the finish.

From the point of the turnaround until there were no more people on the out leg, I cheered and clapped and told them they looked great. Totally selfish, I get such a lift from doing that, but it hope it helps them along too.

My stomach was not feeling great. I knew I was going to need to get a gel in at 1:30. I started it at 1:23 (~14km), but couldn't take it all, so I just held on to it. At about 15km, I started to feel a bit low blood sugarish. I was too hot, but had goose bumps. I took a small amount more of the gel, but I knew that if I tried to continue to choke it down, it would just be coming right back up, cause everything was sitting in my stomach. The amount I took seemed to be enough, Because a short while later I was feeling ok.

At 16km, I knew this was going to be the test. I told myself no matter what, we are not walking. Slow down if you must, but DO NOT WALK. I actually didn't end up slowing down until km 19 and 20, but even they were just over 6min/km. But at 16km, I was hurting now. I wanted to give in. But I had told myself earlier, it's ok to blow up, but not to give up. I tried to remember to smile. It seems to hurt less. I looked out over the water, the sun was shining, there were awesome fluffy white clouds. I can do this.

From here to the finish, it is just "Ok, 5 more km. 4 more. 3 more." Just praying that they go by quickly. I was focusing on keeping my cadence up. And not stopping.

The last km I was whimpering. I am sure if there are any photos of me near the finish, they are not pretty. I just gave it whatever I had left; looking at splits, it was actually the fastest of the last 3km, if only marginally. I crossed the finish line and wasn't sure I wasn't going to hurl or pass out. One of the volunteers stayed with me as I tried to not fall down. I sat down on a log for a few minutes. Another volunteer brought me some Gatorade and within a few minutes I was able to stand.


Go out a bit faster?
Honestly, this was such a great race for me. I did not let the Negative Nancy voice get to me. I shut it down each time. I told myself ahead of time it was going to hurt, and that I would just get through it. I had no idea what my time was until I crossed the line and stopped my watch. I was happy with the 5min PR for sure. 2:00 continues to elude me, but I am so happy with the progress I have made, both physically and mentally.

Walked around a bit, grabbed some snacks (including dessert tofu--would have been great if there was something to eat it with! I ended slurping it), signed up for some body work.


Just started out a bit slow.


I think it would be best if they staggered the start so that it is not so crowded in the beginning. Otherwise a great race.