That was ugly. Unfortunately my race went as feared rather than hoped. I dropped out part way through the 4th leg with swollen hands and uncontrollable muscle cramps in my legs. This was a hard course. The race director wasn't kidding when he said, "There are no easy legs. Some are just harder than others."
Less than a quarter of the registered soloist finished. That doesn't make me feel any better about my own performance. I know what went wrong:
1) I was grossly under-prepared. This was largely my fault. A month of field work and crappy weather didn't help but I became complacent with my training. I hadn't done any hill training. The last hill I climbed that I didn't ski down was Lost Souls 2010. My overall mileage also was way down. I've been rather uninspired to run lately. It's felt more like a job than a pleasure and I've got enough work on my plate right now to take on anything else. Hopefully I find that spark again.
2) I went out faster than I could sustain given my level of training and my unfamiliarity with the course. I kept telling myself 'this terrain will slack off soon and I'll catch a breather.' It never did. The brutal uphills, which were often so steep they were difficult to walk, were often followed by equally steep downhills that took just as much concentration and strength to descend. Leg 2, in particular, was way more difficult than I expected given it's relatively moderate ranking among legs.
3) My fueling was way off. Temperatures were higher than I was use to and I was quickly running a fluid deficit that I was never able to make up. As the dehydration grew my appetite shrank and my condition went from bad to worse. I tell myself the same thing after every race: "drink early and drink often". This course was too unforgiving to let me get away with not heeding my own warning. I need to make a fueling plan for Lost Souls that I will follow.
What I saw of the course was beautiful and I look forward to toeing the line next year.
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