A big hill!

Hello runners!

A few of us headed to Camden TN this past Saturday to run the Pilot Knob 10k. Ouch... The course is an out and back and just happens to turn around at the highest point in our part of TN. It is a steep and brutal climb. It is the kind of hill that keeps going around corners, and every time you go around one you hope you are at the top. You aren't. Adding insult to injury is the fact that it is hard to come down too! Too steep to relax and stride back down. There are some more rolling hills on the way back to the finish line. It is a tough race.

I ran the Pilot Knob 10k in 2008 too (managed to win) so I knew what I was getting myself into. The thing is I was actually really looking forward to it. I like going to courses that you know are next to impossible to run fast on. Especially when I'm not in shape or low on motivation (like right now for example). You can just race and be happy with your effort. That's really what racing should be. Don't always get hung up on running a PR. Just be the best you can be here and now. Luckily if you stick to that strategy you will PR, I promise.

I decided I'd just go out with Chuck (who was just going to go out with the leaders). Shortly after the start there was three of us out front. Just after the mile mark I felt like I was working pretty hard and decided to conserve for the climb. Too little too late. Chuck and the other runner pulled away easily. My race plan had totally failed before the turn around. Two more racers past me on the ascent and I stayed in fifth the rest of the day. Chuck had a great day mentally, if not physically, and brought home the win. After the race he told me he just decided he was going to push it and win, instead of giving up and settling for second. That is a really good sign for Chuck, and a bad sign for the people racing him.

It is amazing how it can come down to something that simple. Just a decision to go. I've been in that position a lot. Sometimes I choose to go, sometimes I don't. I wish I knew the secret to making the right choice. Like the saying goes "If it were easy...".

Post race my leg felt pretty bad. I had to do some traveling on Sunday and Monday and didn't log any miles, so it remains to be seen if I've done any more damage. As I sit here typing it doesn't feel like it. I hope not. I have to choose to run tonight...

Keep it up!

Devin