Ahh man, this was by far the hardest event that i ever been apart of. I new it was going to be rough but i didn't know there was going to be over 1,700 ft of elevation gain...Outch!!!!
When i first got there to pick up my packet the lady asked me what my goal time was, i told her i just wanted to survive. Without knowing that is exactly what my goal time should be. I then proceeded to get my number and noticed that they had my age as 34, what the heck my birthday Isn't until the 26th i am still 33 peoples.
The crowd started to gather around the starting line and i began to notice that this wasn't your typical 5k charity event runners, these where hard core trail runners for the most part. I did see a few people sporting some VFF's and i have to give them props this was a extremely rocky trail.
The race started pretty flat and i tried to keep a decent pace, i new that at mile 5 there is a mountain that is to be climbed. I felt pretty strong until i started to hit the first series of steep hills, i ran up the first when then i quickly realized that i will be faster and will be able to save some energy if i either slowly job or walk up these GIANT mountains.
Then Mile 5 hit and i looked up at about 800 feet of elevation gain ahead of me. I new once i get to the top of this beast it would be smooth sailing from then on out. I decided to not even to attempt to run this bitch, i decided to walk it. It wasn't even really a walk it was more of a slow climber using my hands to grab big boulders in efforts to pull me up it.
Once i got to the top i couldn't believe that i can see all the way out to the ocean. This foggy day ended up being a pretty clear warm day. Time for the decent, i defiantly need to invest in a pair of trail running shoes i could have defiantly used some extra grip. I was just trying to stay on my feet, a few runners ended up eating it without any serious injuries.
Once i got back down to the flat ground it was pretty clear to me that i am going to be sore the next day. I began to feel my hamstring telling me that it has had enough of this shit. I managed to down a bunch of water and all my crapping was gone.
I crossed the finish line and headed straight for the food tent and downed some muffins. I ended up finishing the race at 1:49:23. Got my sweet as medal and i hit the road, time for a awesome egg white omelet that my wonder wife made me.
Please Donate or Join my team in hopes of raising money for the Ronald McDonald House Charities
http://www.crowdrise.com/run2sdronald/fundraiser/run2sd
http://run2sd.blogspot.com/
I felt like I was at the race with you. Great job!
ReplyDeleteAwesome job!
ReplyDeleteThanks guys!!
ReplyDeletewell done Matt, sounds like an epic run.. loved the video too!
ReplyDeleteInsane. Awesome job, sounds like fun (in retrospect).
ReplyDelete