My purpose for doing this race was just for the sake of putting in some time on my feet that I don’t normally get with all the road running I do. A majority of my running is on pavement, and for no more than 3-3.5 hours at a time. It was also an opportunity to work through the adversity of conditions that trails have to offer.
I’ve completed this event a couple times in the past, so I knew the course and pretty much had no surprises. In contrast to road races, I didn’t push my pace and just loped along until the miles were through. I’m still really new to ultra distances, and don’t have a solid feel for my endurance at that level. I suppose I play things safe when I could have the potential for better finishing times. My mindset has been to feel better on my feet for a longer time, than to grind it out and risk feeling terrible along the way.
All in all, I am fine with how things went, even though my time was the slowest of my finishes. I attribute it to a very relaxed attitude. I had no competitive spirit, and just enjoyed my time out on the island.
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