Tonight's race was one word - HOT! The temperature was 97F at race time, with heat index numbers around 105. I ran with a coworker Thom, and one of his friends who was crazy enough to ride Alafia earlier today and decided to brave the run. Having started riding my bike in the heat, I knew hydration was going to be very critical in this heat, so I filled up my camelbak with 3 bottles of cold water.
After the last race we decided that starting in the middle was not opportune, as the choke point of the race is in the singletrack portion of the mangrove swamp. This would have been terrific if it wasn't almost 100F outside. Ultimately Thom and I both started off way too fast. I have never ran 7 minutes during a race and had to walk and unfortunately, this would be the way the entire race would go tonight.
Course Routing
From the start line, run north down the length of the beach. At the north end of the island turn left and run uphill. The ascent here is probably 30 feet. Head toward the NE and then make a sharp left and make a loop around the berm. Once back around stay to the left and run down the top of the hill parallel to the beach. As you approach the shelters, you will find the obstacles 1) a net to crawl under, 2) a tire obstacle, 3) a 2.5 foot tall hurdle. Continue past these and continue toward the south end of the island. Now you get wet! the image gives the impression you are on the beach - this is not the case - you are in ankle to shin deep water (depending on the tide). Tonights run was just over ankle deep for the most part. At the end of this the course jogs north and back onto dry land. You continue down this path till you get to the water again and then you run through ankle deep water as the course turns to the west. After about 40 yards, the bay water turns into a single track mangrove swamp. This part smells really bad, does not allow for passing, and everytime I have went, I usually end up standing around waiting for people to get through this. Once you get past this the course jogs to the north and you run down the island's service road. This continues down for about .25 mile and then jogs to the right (NE) and depending on the tides, is either dry land or a slippery mess. Tonight was the latter. At this point the trail crosses the service road again, does a few zig zags on flat land and you loop around the berm the opposite direction of how you did earlier. Finally you run up and down the hill as it parallels the beach. Finally after several zig-zags, you continue down the beach, then you get wet again. This time you get thigh deep into the bay and loop around a buoy, back onto the beach and you run 20 yards to the finish line.
(click on image to enlarge/follow along)
Conclusion
The most difficult part of this race was the heat. The obstacle course really is not very difficult at all. The swamp section wasn't nearly as deep as it was last time, but it really smelled something horrible (almost gagging me). The next portion proving to be a challenge was the fire road that was slippery. A fall here would have really been painful, as it was covered with limestone.
I finished the race in 43:19, which was 2:30 slower than last time, and I ended up with some really nasty blisters, which is the first time this has happened to me since I have started running. No matter what the difficulty, when it was over I still felt great and had a good time. I hope that in July, it rains like crazy during the run!
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