Just finished my Peacock loop. Yes, they caught me in the middle of a weird face. I've got tons of photos, will upload more when I get a chance.
A Few Facts:
51 people started the race, 21 finished the 'trail marathon' of 30+ miles (one loop), 30 finished the 100k (both loops), only 3 DNFs (Didn't finish the first loop, Brent was one).
Kert St. John was probably the runner Susan and I saw way out ahead of the pack. Pretty sure he's not a regular with HURT but maybe I've just never noticed him at a race before (I'm usually pretty far back so it's definitely possible). He finished in 13:09, more than an hour ahead of second, then everybody started coming in. If this is his first HURT race I'm blown away by how talented he must be to fly past the home team like that, on their home turf, in such a difficult race.
I've posted a question about Brent and tried to look him up without luck so far. If I hear anything I'll post it.
Not So Factual Summary:
There were some things I learned from the race that really encourage me and I wanted to share some thoughts.
First off, for all of my concern coming into the race my conditioning wasn't an issue. I was definitely huffing and puffing up some of the hills and took more breaks than I wanted to, but overall I have no complaints. I ran a very conservative race, as I planned, and I STILL kept up with my pacing plan. Had I not trashed my feet on the long road of the first loop I would have felt confident doing another loop, physically I was feeling that well.
The pre-race speed work definitely paid off. When I could run I was running faster than usual (5-6 mph instead of 4-5) and even when I was walking I was pushing a decent pace (3+ mph). Even with the conservative race plan, taking generous walking breaks, I was maintaining my original pacing goals without pushing myself. One of my biggest fears pre-race was being able to run the route but not being fast enough to make the cut-offs, which was why I started the speed work. Even stopping to help Brent out, and walking most of the ten miles back from the long road, I was still under the cutoff for the first loop. Not too shabby.
And lastly, compared to a few other races this year, I felt really good the week after the race. I've had some residual soreness but nothing bad considering the how rough the race was. I'm sure if I'd done the full 100k I'd have been on crutches, but considering the lack of long runs the month leading up to the race I am amazed at how good I feel. Apparently, having run the entire trail series this year I built up enough of a base to pull off this race without killing myself.
Anyway, I'm incredibly happy with how well the race went. It was a blast and I can't wait to start training for another ultra.
