Jay and I got to Yankee Springs early to set up shop. Brian was there walking the dogs and came to the site to help us as well. It was cold when we got there....overcast and windy. Temps were in the 40's and it was chilly. But....before I get ahead of myself.....
Saturday evening as I was packing up and getting ready my allergies started to flare. I was thinking that it wasn't a big deal...until I woke up at 3am Sunday morning sneezing and with a very sore throat. Lymph node under my the right side of my chin was super swollen and hurting. Perfect feeling on the night before a race. The best part was...the little girls were up and ready for me to go Sunday morning so that was a bonus. lol.
So...we were set up and ready to go pretty early. We didn't go down to the start, but we knew a lot of people that were on the course. Those are super fast guys and girls. We were chatting with Dennis and we saw Jordan and Simonson come flying through. Those guys are just ridiculous fast. Sub 44 minutes on their first lap. Crazy.
Finally I started to get dressed. Nose running. Sneezy. Hit the 2 mile loop trying to get everything opened up and headed to the start line. Everyone was chatting and then it was time for me to go...when Martin says "hold on" and makes me WAIT! They were running a bit ahead because of the people that didn't show up. So I looked at him and said "this is like getting on a roller coaster and having it break down right before you go...NOT FAIR". He just smiled and said "couldn't have happened to a nicer person!". So it was time to go....3, 2, 1. GO. and I was off.
First mile wasn't terrible.....second was worse...third was WORSE yet. I was just plugging away but I was having trouble getting that deep breath that I needed. Lungs just would not cooperate. By the time I got to the guard rail climb I was blown. I just plugged away and kept going. A few people caught me right away, but not as many as I figured would. And these guys....Kudos....they were polite and asked to pass when there was an opening. I was keeping an eye and ear open too....because I was having a bad day...I didn't want to hold anyone up. By mile 5 I was like "ok, almost halfway". I still wasn't feeling the greatest...but hey....on the home stretch.
Just keep plugging away....a slow time is better than not finishing. I was shooting for an hour.....but I missed that. I was about 3 miles from the finish and was really struggling. Just wanted to be done. I really like mile 11 to 12 out there at Yankee. A guy passed me right before the 11 mile marker. This is where I am fastest on the course...so I stayed with him. He got a little off kilter in one of the sandy sections and I got past him. I put the hammer down and never saw him again. One guy stayed with me and passed after a while...but he was definitely drafting off of me for a bit. I just love that section.
So I finished. Took 19th in my class. Way off the leaders....but I can't complain. 1:07 was my finish time. Faster than last year. Feeling awful. So.....next up is Fort Custer Stampede. Hope to feel better and compete a bit more in that race.
