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From Fellrnr.com, Running tips
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[http://www.eco-xsports.com/mmtr.php Mountain Masochist Trail Run] is a pretty trail race through the mountains of Virginia. It has some technical single track, but is mostly on fire roads. Some of the fire roads are gravel and broken rock, which I found tore my feet up a little and dramatically slowed me down through some sections. The race is well organized, with well stocked aid stations [[Aid Stations]] and outstanding route marking. There are some steep sections in the race, with 9200’ of ascent and 7200’ of descent. The best estimate is that this is about a 54 mile race, making the 12 hour cut off difficult for many runners. There is a pre and post-race dinner, both in the race hotel. The hotel was comfortable and well-priced, so most runners seemed to stay there, making it a sociable event.
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
* '''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.
* '''2XU Tights.''' This is the first race that’s been cold enough to wear the 2XU Elite compression tights. I think there is a slight benefit from these tights over just calf sleeves, but it is a small benefit. The only downside is that they tend to slide down due to the compression, which is a mild distraction.
* '''GPS Profile.''' I downloaded a GPS track for MMTR in case of problems with navigation. The course was so well marked that navigation was not an issue, but I discovered that I could have the GPS display the course profile, which let me know how long and steep the hills work. The GPS also shows that I spent 13 minutes not moving, which is more than I expected. Some of that time may be when I was picking my way over rocks and moving so slowly that the GPS decided I was stationary, but I may have spent longer at the aid stations [[Aid Stations]] than I thought.
==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.
