I learned 5 things on Sunday

On Sunday I raced the La Sportiva Eldora 11k up at Eldora Moutain Resort. The event was sponsored by La Sportiva, their shoes look very cool.

I decided on this race because I wanted to get some intense/fast training miles in at elevation (9,200 ft to 9,600 ft). To date, I’ve done ZERO speed work in my training which I knew would be a big factor in my overall time. The race started at the base of Eldora and took us thru some beautiful single track and forested areas. None of the climbs were to bad, but at elevation, you feel everything. At mile 2.5 I re-rolled my right ankle which forced me to stop for a minute to recover. I was able to run thru it but it took a lot of needed energy away. Bummer. There were 2 VERY large water crossings at mile 5. You couldn’t avoid either of them forcing you to run with soaked feet and legs. Because of water on the course, they couldn’t get a full 11k in, leaving us with 5.79 miles total.

Details:
206 total racers
00:54:48 (62 overall)

During the race I learned 5 things…

1. I’m not fast running up hill
2. I’m “ok” fast running on flats
3. I’m really fast running downhill (don’t laugh, some people aren’t)
4. There was a LOT fast woman trail runners
5. Rolling your ankle in a race sucks

I’m glad I raced, I just wish I was fast,

Andy B
outsideallday.com