US Champs, Middle distance
I really wanted to get back into the groove, and have a clean race. Went really slow to the first control, and happily, things just clicked after that.
Small bobble at 9 when I stupidly got pulled off by others towards the powerline.
And a very silly bobble at 12, when I misread the feature as a boulder rather than knoll. There was a very visible statue, and I ran right to it. No marker! Where am I? Stepped out to the road to confirm I was at the right corner, looked at the control description and Duh! Back to the knoll.
Pushed into the finish and stood there catching my breath. After the heart rate slowed a bit and I started thinking again, I realized: that was a good run! I was so happy. Lately I have had real issues with middle courses. This felt good.
Until Kissy beat me my 19 seconds :)
Nah, it still felt good!
My route
Nice weekend, good course, good organization. Great to visit with Raymond and Jenny on Fri night, and Peter, Gail, Phil and Kris on Sat night. Fun but brief breakfasts with Carl and Ethan, and Eileen and Rick. Even got to chat with Valerie and Cristina for a few minutes. Real fun to catch up with Dan Ellsworth, who was so incredibly helpful to me when I visited Alaska in 1989. And 2.5 good races for me. Such fun.