Steamboat Perspective

Looking at my stats from past races, I was shocked to find out that Sunday's race is the fastest I've ever raced at ANY distance. In January, I ran the 10-mile option of Frosty's Frozen 5 in 80.5 minutes with an avereage pace of 8:03. For me, that was FAST! Well at Steamboat, my average pace was 8:01!

Here are some unofficial Steamboat Springs Marathon Results. I like the handy graph.
I'm certainly not used to finishing in the top 11%.

During the race, I got a few of the usual looks from people because I breathe so hard and loud. Like they were thinking, "If he's breathing that hard, he isn't going to last."

This bumps the Leadville Marathon down from being the race I'm most proud of.

Before the race, I noticed my left big-toe knuckle hurts. The race didn't do it any good - it hurts more. I unconsciously rotate my foot to avoid putting pressure on it. It's a bad habit that could lead to other injuries, but right now, I guess keeping the pressure off will help. Hopefully this won't become chronic.

I went to Strawberry Park Hot Springs Sunday afternoon and stayed for a couple of hours. I spent the first 20 minutes standing in the painfully cold river next to the pools. Then I hobbled my paralyzed legs out of the river and let some circulation get going again before dipping into the hot pool. I re-entered the river a few more time to get a good hot/cold wringing-out of my muscles.

Everyone was complaining about their quads. This race left my quads unscathed. It was my hams and butt that hurt me. If I knew more about running and locomotion, I'd know what this implies.
I ran the whole race, even through aid stations, and always on my toes. No matter how steep the downhill, I leaned forward and concentrated on high cadence.
Maybe after totally trashing my quads at Jemez Mtn, not much can phase me? That would be nice. Leadville is especially hard on your quads.