Crystal Cove revisited

K- disclaimer, if race reports bore you to tears or slitting of the wrists, then don't continue.  I don't want any salty water or blood on my hands.  Not at work today, so just saying.........

For the record, the race doesn't really take place at Crystal Cover per se, but at El Moro state park, which is pretty much right across the road.  Tho, for all intents and purposes Crystal Cove p'bly sounds cooler and high-browed since it is in Laguna after all.

I got up rather early, living approx 1 1/2hrs away or so.  I wanted to park in the state lot and not have to be shuttled from the Reef lot and still pay $15 to park.  Yep, Laguna and all, $15 just to park.  I get there at about 6:30ish.  Now mind you the race doesn't start until 8:00.  So, I pick up my race packet, T, number, etc., pee, go back to my car, walk around, pee again, go back to my car, do some very lite stretching since there is nothing else to do, then basically wait for the race to start.

The hilly (I'm gonna take you and beat you down) race finally starts as you can see per elevation profile here.

It was an uphill battle for most of the race.  The 1st mile and 1/2 almost killed me straight out.  I hate starting races going up hill, and every frickin Xterra race I have done, does this.  The Xterra venues are TT events.  They Trash you then they try to Terminate you any way possible during the race.  Xterras make the Mud Run at Camp Pendleton feel like playtime in the sandbox.  Yeah, that went thru my head a few times yesterday.  Actually alot of crap went thru my head, but I tried to maintain the positive crap, which was p'bly 10% of the crap in my head floating around at any given time thru the lovely 10 mile course of torture.

1st of all, during the beginning of this race I was getting dizzy, liteheaded, etc.  I'm thinking SHIT!

this is not good Sponge Bob, we aren't even 2 miles in just yet.  Came to realize that I ate my b-fast (my Kashi LF/protein bar) too early.  That was pretty much b-fast followed by a Gu about 1/2 hr before the race.  So, I took a swig of G'Ade (they wanted us to carry water, etc. on the course) and hoped for the best til the 1st aid station came around.  Of course I slowed down considerably due to this fact, plus I was still mt goating it uphill....ugh!  Finally a downhill stretch, straight-vertical downhill to be exact.  K, hope I don't end up doing a nice face plant, but I took any downhill stretches and straight stretches (very few by the way) as fast as my legs and bod would allow and then some.  Needed to make up time for ultra/powerwalking up some of the vertical shale rock hills (why run when I can walk faster than some of the runners running up these nasty hills?)

It was interesting, tho, now I'm never going to believe an RD when they say prior to the race start that after mile 8 it will be all downhill from there to the finish.  Yeah, don't even try to blow air up my running shorts again dude.  I like hit mile 8, thinking...."thank god, now it is maybe a few hills, then downhills from here."  HAH!!  NWMF!!  Some straight areas, tho very short in length, then we have vertical hills, then another, then....so on and so forth.  The last downhill stretch was definitely a downhill stretch it was the hill we came up at 1st.  I didn't realize how frickin steep it was until I met it again going down it.  It's always interesting for me to try and navigate fast down a rock-strewn hillside.  If I was to fall I would skid for a long ass way is all I'm saying and thinking at the time.  Finally finish.  I figure my actual time was 1:42ish, the clock time coming in said 1:47, tho this wasn't chip/mat timing, so......  I'm happy with that.  Just when I think a race is going to kick my ass I have the last say.  That makes me happy.

I do have to give Xterra lots of credit mind you.  They put on very low key events, even with 300 peeps running.  They had aid stations supplied with water, G'Ade and Gu at about every 2 miles or so.  They also put on a kick ass spread at the end of the race.  Lots of fruit, muffins, and scrambled eggs.  GET OUT!  No, like really?  So Xterra is always a 5-star venue in my book.

Now, I'm contemplating like an idiot whether or not to sign up for the Xterra Xduro in Malibu come next month.  Hmmm, decisions, decisions.