Kettle 50k

Hello Blog!  Yikes...I'm behind on writing this update but figured I better get something down.

My first race of the year was on Saturday, June 6th.  I ran the Kettle 50k, which is run in conjunction with the Kettle 100 and Kettle 100k.  The 50k follows the same course, point-to-point, from Scuppernong to Nordic.  This is the second half of the 100k, and miles 31-62 of the 100 miler.

I enjoyed this race for a couple reasons.  First, the race starts at 2 PM, which is pretty cool.  Totally different set up for me in terms of getting ready for it.  It's a point-to-point, which I prefer also.  And, there are a lot of people out on the trails to see.

Things I didn't like...I took a shuttle to the start from the finish area, and the shuttle had us at the start 2 hours early.  I had nothing to do but burn through some calories, which kind of threw off my gut a bit towards the end.  Second dislike:  the course is a bit monotonous.  Outside of the first 5-7 miles of single track and a stretch around mile 15-20, a lot of the course is meadow.  Just mowed grass.  Meh.
Also, the last 8 miles are on the Nordic Loop at Nordic which is the same trail that Ice Age uses.  I am really starting to dislike that trail.

Still, I see myself going back next year.  I can improve on a couple aspects of the run.  I managed to win despite a 5 mile death march towards the end, and finished in 4:31.  I went through the half way point in 2:03.  Bit of a positive split, eh?

Strava Data.

Finish Line...SPENT.

This past weekend I took part in the Elkhart Lake Triathlon on a relay team.  I got after it for the 10k run and set a PR of 38:10 minutes.  Fun times!

Now, it's on the Devil's Lake where I hope to figure out some of this heat/humidity running.