US Team Trials - Long Distance
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Cool area, good map, tough and challenging course. I went into the morning feeling confident and wanting to prove myself after the debacle of yesterday.
The start of the race was exactly as planned. I felt in control, holding back just slightly but still moving well up the first of many hills.
Things got messy on the way to 5. I wouldn't have been able to say where I went wrong without downloading the garmin. It turns out that I was in a classic parallel error but I was somehow convinced that I was far north when really I was a bit south. There was another runner in the same area messing around on the early hill and that threw me off too. Since I was so sure that I was north, I kinda had this feeling that I was off the edge of the map, and I was struggling with my compass and the shape of hills.
I rallied a bit, had a nice feeling again on 6 and 7, but then dropping down off the cliffs into 8, I lost my sense of control again and dropped two minutes messing around on that vague hillside.
Last mistake of note was the epic climb to the wrong hill on 12. Evidence that my fight with the compass was not over.
So, I guess I am happier with today. My fitness feels okay, I really bombed a few controls, but I fought hard through to the finish. However, If I am honest, I am disappointed with my racing this weekend. I did not show my best, but I will use this disappointment as fuel as I train for the big events of the summer.