Sundown Series June Edition

 The Rockhill Striders do an awesome job giving us an opportunity to race on Wednesday night during the summer. I was a little worried about the rain but other than a few drops just before the start, the trails were dry. In full disclosure, after the race while we were standing around, the rain started coming down pretty hard. Most of us made a quick sprint for our cars. That is, what sprinting that we had in our legs. 

I found these very overcast days creates some pretty dark trails. Sometimes, I think that I might just need a head lamp.

But I am getting off topic. One thing about Rockhill guys, they are always throwing different courses at us. This time, I believe we ran the backwards version of their New Years Day race. 

We left the grassy area and headed down by Lake Haigler. Then, we were off on the trails. With the downhill everyone was flying out of the start. 

I had several guys around me. We jockeyed back and forth as we seem to have our strengths and weakness in different areas. 

I finally settled in to 4th overall but I had one guy hot on my tail. I tried to shake him as ran but I could not do it. He had me worried that this was going to come down to a sprint at the end. Not the best strategy for me. Sprinting isn't my strength anymore. 

The last mile is pretty benign, and I found my stride and was able to create some separation. I could have taken the bridge but why. I crossed the creek. My shoes barely got wet. I hit the hill and told myself to not look back - just focus on getting to finish. Once I got pasted the steepest section, my legs felt better. I ran hard all the way through the finish line. While I am not fan of getting my shoes wet during the race, I like losing time even less so getting wet, it was. 

I finished 4 OA in 32:32. The course was about four and half miles. Troy ran just under 30 minutes so between the May and June races, we were about the same distance apart. 

I am looking forward to the July race now. I wonder what course that they will throw at us. 

The Cool Down Runner