Doonst revists the Rattlesnake
Posted: Sat Jul 12, 2008 1:40 pm
No rest for the wicked! While most people in the daily thread were sleeping in, I visited an old friend, the 5 Peaks Rattlesnake Point enduro trail race, 12.7 K. This was my third year in a a row, its a rocky hilly technical favorite. Having had some mixed results in races this year, I was really hoping for a strong race to measure up to last year's time,
Nice enough when I got up, it rained on the way to the race. Not the first time this week, humidity might be a problem, and with it slippery rocks and roots. 5 Peaks put on a good race, this year over 700 people. That's a lot for one little trail, last year they went to a wave start, roughly 100 every minute. I was in the 4th wave. The sun broke through 3 minutes before the start.
There's always a few who line up way in front of where they should, but it wasn't too bad. All sorted out in the first 2 K. My first split was 4:44, exactly the same as last year. Heading down a long hill into the canyon around the 3 K mark, I passed at least 10 people, feeling good. Going along the canyon floor for a couple of K, I tried to pace myself on the easy going. Going up the rock scramble to the main escarpment, I didn't gain or lose a spot. Along the cliff edge at the top, the rocks were very slippery. I had to walk sections that I know I ran last year, definitely lost some time. This course is an ankle-buster, and I did not need that. Around the Crawford Lake groomed trails I picked up a couple of spots from people starting to struggle in the humidity. Back down into Nassagaweya Canyon was a slight breather, but now is the biggest hill. 70 or 80 Metres in less than a Kilometre. First theres a section you walk, then you can run as it angles sideways, then walk again. Its all about how much you do of each, and what price you pay. Did I mention that it was humid? I did get up it faster than I did last year, but I paid a price. In last year's report I speak glowingly of how good I felt here for the last 4 k, and how many I passed. Not so much this year, I was bagged. I felt I was slogging along for a while, then I noticed that no-one had passed me, and I was slowly gaining on 2 guys in front of me. I guess it was hot and tough for everybody. I was mostly racing my last year's time though, and I did lose speed for 3 K compared to '07. I wasn't too optimistic through here but I kept on trucking. As ironboy recently said, even when I'm not feeling the love I am consistent. Last bit seemed to take forever but I picked it up just a bit. Crossed the line in 1:10:49. That is 8 seconds faster than last year. And I had such good excuses lined up too. I was very glad to see that, I mean a full minute would have been great but I knew halfway through that wasn't happening. Even moved up 2 spots from last year, in a larger crowd. 98 out of 369, 7 out of 28 in my age group. I find 5 Peaks races to be a relatively tough crowd placement wise.
After I had a massage, yum, and watched the awards, then snuck off home right at noon. Yeah, I'm up to being as fast as I was last year!
Nice enough when I got up, it rained on the way to the race. Not the first time this week, humidity might be a problem, and with it slippery rocks and roots. 5 Peaks put on a good race, this year over 700 people. That's a lot for one little trail, last year they went to a wave start, roughly 100 every minute. I was in the 4th wave. The sun broke through 3 minutes before the start.
There's always a few who line up way in front of where they should, but it wasn't too bad. All sorted out in the first 2 K. My first split was 4:44, exactly the same as last year. Heading down a long hill into the canyon around the 3 K mark, I passed at least 10 people, feeling good. Going along the canyon floor for a couple of K, I tried to pace myself on the easy going. Going up the rock scramble to the main escarpment, I didn't gain or lose a spot. Along the cliff edge at the top, the rocks were very slippery. I had to walk sections that I know I ran last year, definitely lost some time. This course is an ankle-buster, and I did not need that. Around the Crawford Lake groomed trails I picked up a couple of spots from people starting to struggle in the humidity. Back down into Nassagaweya Canyon was a slight breather, but now is the biggest hill. 70 or 80 Metres in less than a Kilometre. First theres a section you walk, then you can run as it angles sideways, then walk again. Its all about how much you do of each, and what price you pay. Did I mention that it was humid? I did get up it faster than I did last year, but I paid a price. In last year's report I speak glowingly of how good I felt here for the last 4 k, and how many I passed. Not so much this year, I was bagged. I felt I was slogging along for a while, then I noticed that no-one had passed me, and I was slowly gaining on 2 guys in front of me. I guess it was hot and tough for everybody. I was mostly racing my last year's time though, and I did lose speed for 3 K compared to '07. I wasn't too optimistic through here but I kept on trucking. As ironboy recently said, even when I'm not feeling the love I am consistent. Last bit seemed to take forever but I picked it up just a bit. Crossed the line in 1:10:49. That is 8 seconds faster than last year. And I had such good excuses lined up too. I was very glad to see that, I mean a full minute would have been great but I knew halfway through that wasn't happening. Even moved up 2 spots from last year, in a larger crowd. 98 out of 369, 7 out of 28 in my age group. I find 5 Peaks races to be a relatively tough crowd placement wise.
After I had a massage, yum, and watched the awards, then snuck off home right at noon. Yeah, I'm up to being as fast as I was last year!
