I decided to race this on Thursday after speaking with my friend Glenn. I was either going to swim or do a harder run on Saturday and follow that with my last long ride before Kona. Glenn encouraged me to do the Elbert Reflections 10k that he has been a part of for years. Glenn entered me into the race and I got set to go. It's a small event in rural Colorado. I saw a familiar participant at all races, Gerald Romero, at the start line. He always beats me by one minute or more. I figured I'm fitter than I have ever been so I'd try to stay with him and see what happens. The gun went off and the usual group of people took off way too fast. After 1/4 of a mile, those folks were already hurting and dropping off. The 5k and 10k start at the same time so you don't know who you are racing. There were 3 of us leading out. The first half of the race is just a long uphill section. I was not feeling good for the first 1.5 miles. One of the 3 guys then turned for the 5k so it was just Gerald and I. I was doing everything I could to hang on to Gerald. At that point, I came around and started feeling great. I took the lead and led out to the turnaround on the out and back course. Gerald passed me there but I was able to stay with him. I had not idea of time....I was just trying to race. At about 4.8 miles, he started to pull away. I would surge to pull myself back and then he'd pull away again. This happened all the way to the end. I couldn't reel him back as hard as I tried. He ended up beating me by 6 seconds. I did however get a great time for myself as a result. I ran 36:20 which is my PR at altitude. This time beat the previous course record by over 40 seconds as it's a slow course. Having completed a 3.5 hour workout the day before, I am thrilled with this performance.
Glenn and I rode for 5 hours following the race. It was very hilly which was great! I felt fantastic the entire ride. Ready for Kona!!!!!
Congratulations on a great race!!!
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