Sat 8/10 - 95 minutes incl. half-marathon

Mt. Sneffels half marathon, Ouray to Ridgway. Not looking to set the world on fire, more like survive what I had a feeling would be a less than pleasant experience between the elevation of the course (start 7800' or so, finish 7000') and the tight right piriformis/glute/hamstring. Also felt like I was still wiping the crust from my eyes on the starting line, neither the time nor inclination to do much of a warmup quite frankly. The first 2.5 miles which go back and forth up and down the streets of Ouray did nothing to assuage this. To sum up the course went up (on a tilted road no less) for 3/4 mile or so, then a 180 turn around back down the same stretch, then turn around again and back up (level road this time, not quite as steep either), then gently down, then steep short up, then steep longer downhill before finally settling into the gradual descent that marked most of the rest of the course. First two miles each a sparkling 6:26, felt much much harder than that of course. From there I settled into a rhythm that was sustainable if not comfortable. Remaining mile splits were between 5:55 and 6:25, with the 12th mile being an outlier at 6:41. And that was the mile I decisively passed and pulled away from a guy who left me soon after 2 miles and at one point was so far ahead of me I couldn't see him. I figured the numbers would be nothing to write home about but was hoping the gradual downhill would make it possible to go a little faster than I did, although I had a feeling in my gut that breaking 80 minutes would be a tall order given my lack of specific fitness and underlying fatigue. Very concerned going in about the potential for booty lock given the downhill course, it did feel pretty bad by 3 or 4 miles but more or less stabilized after that. Quite stiff afterward but that would be the case on almost any half marathon course given the way it's been bothering me. In fact I was expecting to be unable to walk in the aftermath of the race but this wasn't the case thankfully. Tiredness underscored by the fact I fell asleep on the shuttle bus taking us back to the start area. Overall an interesting experience, able to claim the second money slot as well so worth my while in that respect if nothing else.