It was great!! In that painful, long uphill, kind of way : ) We had 2 age division winners in the 5k!! Myles and Brian had a pile up very early on in the race w/Brian landing on top of Myles. There was blood and tears. By the time I was through the woods and up on the fire road I heard a whole lot of hooting and hollering down in the trees below us. I couldn't' see anyone, but I knew it was my two boys having fun. I stopped and yelled out "go Bubba" and heard Brian saying "did you hear mama?" So he ended up having a blast. He made it up the big hill with no problem, he did have a cup of gummy bears in each hand, so that probably helped.I really struggled up the hill, it almost did me in. It was hard to see the 5k turn around and keep going past it. I did think about dropping there and just doing the 5k, but made myself keep putting one foot in front of the other till I got to the top. It was a long slow climb for sure though. Once i got up on the ridge, there were some steep rollers for a few miles. Once we did the sharp left turn to start the decent, it was on!! I made up for some lost time on the downhill and loved every second of it! It was awesome to be able to fly by people who were really watching their footing (I will only think this until I sprain an ankle in a race :). I have only done the 5k here previously, and it felt pretty awesome to approach the finish coming down the "big boy" hill that the 10k and half marathoners come down!! I was concentrating so hard on running all out down that hill (everyone at the finish can see you, so pressures on) and on not tripping!! I heard the family yelling and knew they were off to the left, but I didn't want to look away from where my feet were landing and almost missed my high fives, but I just barely got them in there.
I love my new trail shoes and definitely felt the difference in my footing, especially on the descents! We all had a great time, and I think 10k my be my new favorite distance!
More amazing pictures are uploading here. (amazing in view, not quality)
It was awesome seeing you all again and big congratulations all round on a great day's racing! Glad you all had fun :-) I enjoyed the gummy bears, too, and the hills were LONG and HARD. Treated myself to a free massage at the end (a first for me). What's up next, gang?
ReplyDeleteIt was great fun seeing the whole family before the races started! I'm so glad you all had fun out there (and snagged a few winner's medals to boot!). That hill is torture, but once you really start going down it, the pain of the climb quickly starts to fade. (At least that's what I kept telling myself.)
ReplyDeletePat - really good job today!! That is a beast of a half and you put up a great time!
ReplyDeleteNext big one for us is Napa Valley Marathon, but I'm sure there will be some Brazen in the mix between now and then!
Allen - man o man!! That hill whooped my behind!! And then the downhill made it all worth it!! Great job out there, looks like you greatly reduced your time this year!! See what a Hill Brute you have turned into over the past year?? And your wife...holy smokes. My mouth got really dry from eating all her dust!
You guys are pretty amazing out there!
Beth, you are way to kind. I am pleased with how it all went though. I had a blast and am so glad I did not do the 1/2. I am still sore from going all out on the downhill. I love that I got the same shoes as you without even trying. They were stupendous! Great seeing you all out there. No Brazen Diablo? See you soon!
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