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I finished in 8:24 for 12th place, which is slower than I would have liked. I was slow and cautious through some sections to protect my feet, but in other sections I felt like I ran well. More at http://connect.garmin.com/activity/55904981
==What Worked==
* '''[[Modified Nike Free ]] Trail.''' Because of my skin condition, no trail shoe offers sufficient protection. I have been pleasantly surprised by the combination of protection and flexibility that the Nike Free Trail shoe offers. See [[Modified Nike Free]] for a description of the modification.
* '''Vitamin C.''' I experimented with taking Vitamin C on the race. There is some scientific research that Vitamin C prevents oxidative damage to muscles, which in turn prevents endurance adaptation. I’ve been modifying my Vitamin C intake during training and found that there is some impact. The goal of racing is optimum performance, not fitness adaptation. Therefore I took 500 mg Vitamin C over three doses through the race. It’s hard to be sure of the effects, but I feel that there may have been some protective benefits. I’ll write more on this in the future.
* '''Hill Week.''' Two weeks ago I did a week where all my running was on my local hill. I think that this helped prepare my legs for the long down hills at MMTR.
==What Failed==
* '''Stubbed Toes.''' Normally I check out a hotel room to make sure there is nothing to fall over if I go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. This time I failed this simple exercise and did not realize there was a luggage rack to fall over. I stubbed my toe quite badly, and I thought it might be broken. When I examined it in the morning, it made walking painful, but did not appear broken. It was mostly okay on the run, and some Ibuprofen at the half way point kept pain under control.
* '''[[Modified Nike Free ]] Trail.''' One unexpected downside to the MNF Trail is that cutting the heel reveals some cavities. One of these cavities got a sharp stone embedded, but not visible on casual inspection. When I hit another stone on the trail under that part of my foot, the sharp stone pushed into my heel. Each time that happened, it was painful enough to cause me to shout expletives and has left my heel quite sore.
==Other Lessons Learned==
* '''Rocky Trails.''' It should be obvious to me, but I’m never going to do well on rocky trails. They tear my feet up too badly and slow me down. I do best on Asphalt, and can do okay on smooth trails.
* '''Body composition.''' Since Hinson Lake 24 hour, I’ve lost some muscle mass and put on body fat. This is probably only 1-2 pounds of each, but enough to have a noticeable impact on performance.
* '''Vitamin C.''' I will continue to experiment with Vitamin C intake.
* '''[[Modified Nike Free ]] Trail.''' I need to work out how to block up the holes in the sole that are revealed when the heel is cut down.
