Sun 7/6 - AM 80 minutes incl. mountain race

The most foolish of fool's errands. Got far too greedy with all the unnecessary racing of late, on top of being strung out on far too little sleep, on top of having used the rebreather Monday through Friday. It all added up to an effort that I'd be hard pressed to call a race. Knew from the moment I finished Friday's fool's errand that this would be an ever loving turd today and it certainly was. In fact given my compromised state this particular type of event is the worst type of thing to try and attempt what with the added resistance of running up (and down) and up a ski hill. Feeling flat and disinterested while warming up, and once the going got tough (roughly 2 minutes into the race) I started falling back through the field. The people I should have by rights been racing with were out of sight after a mile or so, followed soon after by people I rarely see in any race at any point. With my bag having been taken to the top in the gondola I saw no choice but to persist anyway. Racing instincts remained resolutely intact despite having nothing to drive them. Eventually I passed a couple of people having even worse days than me on some of the more torturous climbs before the long and extremely annoying descent to the base of the infamous Upper Walking Boss trail. I was actually happy to see the UWB because it meant no more treacherous descents and based on previous experience two years ago I knew it was pointless to try and run the thing so I could walk the rest of the way. Power walk that is. In fact this final stretch was by rights the best part of the entire thing for me as I passed five people with only one of them getting me back near the very end. Like I cared at that point. Speaks to how utterly ridiculous the course, the event and the whole niche of mountain running is that one can be walking and passing people. Should have learned my lesson two years ago when I last raced here, but I can say with confidence now I won't be coming back. That being said, it was a great day to be outside and I enjoyed my time spent in the area before and after the race itself. Great views from the top of the mountain:

 it's a bird, it's a plane, it's a guy wearing superman underwear in public