Note
(injured)
I did the best I could on these sprints, but all of my footing in the woods was very tentative (even with the stable Montrails), as I found myself favoring the left foot/leg (and making it sore as a result).
Also, I noticed that the fabric at the back of the heel on both Montrails has begun to tear, which gave me small blisters by the end of the Sunday course.
Usually, I'm able to turn up the heat a bit for an A-meet sprint (even the wooded ones), and I've consistently finished them in about 30 mins. These 45-min times are a telling indicator about what impact the injury was having.
Despite the hobbling, it was a brilliant day to be out on a map. I felt a little stronger on the second sprint, although that doesn't come across in the pace figures.
Looking at the split analysis, I can see why the second sprint "felt" better. On the first, I didn't start hitting my goal pace until leg 9, when the course exited the woods into the open areas of the park. On the second sprint, I bettered my goal pace on 8 of the first 10 legs, before some mental errors slowed me down on 11 and 12. The HR data also shows that I was exerting more (less tentative) in the second race.