Sundown Trail Race @ Ann Springs

 I was back at Ann Spring running the July edition of the Sundown Trail series. They had a new course this month. The course was a bit more technical than the one that I did in May. 

I finished my warm up of the course, and I took off my hat. I squeezed it, and the sweat just ran out of it. This was after just 45 minutes of running. I should have expected it. My car showed the temperature was in the triple digits. Back in the trail, no air was stirring. I felt like I was running in an oven. 

Storm clouds were rolling in as we started the race. Marcus took off as usual. David and I, we ran pretty much entire race together in May, were hooked together again. I settled in behind him when hit the single track section of the course. I was doing pretty well, and I was hoping to stay close and then push harder in the last mile. 

My plan was working until we hit the Timberline Trail. David took to it like a mountain goat. Try as I might, I just could not stay with him. A gap opened. 

When we got to the back side of the course, he had a nice lead but I wasn't giving up. I worked hard taking every corner as tight as possible. I was narrowing the distance but I also knew that I was running out out of course. 

As we passed by the lake, I got within 5 yards of him. I just could not close it any more. When we hit the open field, David opened it up, and I just tried to hold it close. I finished a scant 3 seconds behind him. 

I guess that we will have our rubber match in Aug. event. 

Next up is River Jam 10k @ WWC next Thursday. 

The Cool Down Runner