The 6 mile loop back to Dam Road was pretty miserable too, and now thoughts of quitting after 2 x 20 mile loops were already firmly planted in my mind. Fueling was going to plan, effort level was low, but mentally I just wasn’t in the game. And I don’t mean the elevation profile.ĭespite staying on pace, the 3 miles to the Dam Road aid station were a bit of a slog. I’m not sure why, but shortly after this brief stop things started to go downhill. I stopped briefly at the Nature Center aid station to re-tie the other shoelace before crossing the road and continuing along the trail – no big deal, and better to waste a few seconds here rather than have a blister ruin your race later in the day. □ The first 3 miles of the 2nd loop went well – more good pacing and a nice opportunity to exchange cheers and support to the runners closing out their first loop. 10 yards up the trail I realized the Black Diamond Headlamp was still wrapped around my arm, so I shouted back to Ally and ditched it at the side of the path for her to collect. Ally had all my fuel waiting as planned, and after a quick re-tie of the shoelace on my right shoe (I sensed a hot spot was beginning to develop), I was off and running for miles 21-40. I ended the first loop at 2:48:37, side-by-side with Scott and in good spirits. Conversation was good and the miles ticked by pretty quickly. Much of the first loop was shared with fellow Masters guy and ultrarunner extraordinaire, Scott Dunlap, and super-talented Shaheen Sattar who snagged an impressive Top 10 finish at the 2014 Western States 100. Pacing was good, and the effort level was super easy. The early miles in the dark are always a time to focus on the rooty trail and stay as relaxed as possible. Bang on 6am and Race Director Joe Prusaitis got us underway. All went to plan, which meant I was able to relax and doze in the car for a while before going over some last minute plans with super-crew and wife Ally as we ambled to the start line. Saturday morning called for a 3am alarm call so we could snag a prime parking spot at the park as close to the start/finish area as possible. Dinner was nice and early, and sleep came easy as it typically does the night before a big race. It was nice to chat with fellow racers James Whipple, Joshua Finger, Chris Oles and a couple of others at the brief, and we were all looking forward to some good weather and a great day of racing on the trails at Huntsville State Park the next day. We flew into Houston on Friday morning as we’ve done the previous two years, before driving to the hotel to get checked in before packet pickup and the pre-race brief on Friday afternoon. The taper week was stress-free and my legs and mind were both well rested and looking forward to another 100 mile adventure. Longer story – The build up to the race went well not quite as many miles as the build up to the 2014 running of the race, but enough to give me confidence of a solid showing. Almost 2 days have passed since I pulled the plug on what was meant to be my 5th 100 mile finish, and naturally I’m still replaying all the details in my mind. Short story – I didn’t achieve any of the 3 goals. How did the race go? Better keep reading to find out…
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