WWC River Jam 10k - August Edition

 Last Thursday, I rolled in to the WWC parking lot. I didn't want to get out of my car. The outside temperature shown on my car's dashboard was 97 degrees. This was definitely not going to be an ideal evening for running. No runner in their right mind should want to race let alone run in these conditions.

I ducked down in the trails for a few miles under the leaves. I needed to get my legs turning over. Yes, the foliage did make it feel a little more tolerable, but not much. 

Sweat was dripping from my fingers as I waited the final few minutes until they opened the course at 5:30. 

Jamie and I headed out together. He was pushing it around the channel. I only closed the distance once we hit the climb before dipping in to the trail. I heard my Garmin chime, and I glanced at the split: 6:38. Much to fast for the day. 

We worked the back side of the trail along the river and over by weigh station. Coming out in to the sun under the powerlines made my already hot body push further in to the red. 

I tried not thinking about it.

Turning on to Lake Loop, Jamie was sticking with me. We rounded the lake and headed up the long straight climb in the back. For the first time, I could not feel him on my shoulder. 

When I turned the corner, I got a chance to gauge the gap. 

Running the trails at the WWC so often, I know every root and rock. This really helps in the race because I know exactly how to take almost every turn. 

I could tell that the gap was growing.

Rounding the channel, I looked back to see Jamie 100 or so yards behind. Didn't want him surprising me with a last minute sprint by at the finish line. 

As the finish banner came in to sight, I tried to make my tired legs turn over a little faster. I don't think that I had a huge amount of success. 

I crossed the finish line, and I stopped my Garmin. I ran 45:53 which surprisingly was faster than July. Honestly, I am not sure how I did it. I felt that I was struggling the entire race. My legs felt really lethargic from the start. I was expecting 47 or 48 minutes for a time. 

I have been logging lost of miles and doing lots of workouts in prep for my 100 miler in September. Running this kind of time gives some some confidence that I am on the right path. Time will tell. 

The Cool Down Runner