Salida Marathon

No photos. It's a great course, but it's not the most photogenic.
I didn't feel good or bad, leading into this race. My daily life was so frantic I didn't have time to read the website, but I glanced at the map - new course similar to the old one.
I slept in the back of my car near the halfway mark of the race course.
Before the race, I consumed a quart of Gatorade, two 20oz coffees, and about 8-12oz of water. So about 80+ oz. That's well over half a gallon pre-race.
I ran with a 20oz bottle and didn't bother stopping at the first two aid stations. After that I filled up as usual.
I was feeling pretty decent, but my lungs were full of gunk. I couldn't tell if it was all from my asthma, or if there was still junk from my recent illness with the "crud". I had more respiratory problems than I'm used to having during such a short race.
I screwed this race up. Between the 4th and 5th aid stations is the furthest, and I ran out of fluids. Hard to believe how incredibly quick I dehydrated.
I wonder if my asthma, filling my lungs with fluid, dehydrates me internally faster than a regular runner? The water is still in me, but it's in my lungs, not my blood-stream where my organs could use it.
Anyway, by about 15.5 miles, I was screwed. I basically had to stop racing and go into survival mode. I was suffering.
But I loved it. If I'm on a trail and moving, I'm happy. I'd rather be moving fast, but I'll take slow if I have to. I asked myself if I'd rather be anywhere else? No. You like pain, right? Yeah. You're miserable? Yeah. Then you're happy, right? Yeah. Alright then.

Wow, Tim Parr was incredible. Even Nick Clark and Ryan Burch couldn't reel him in. The new course is HARD! There's a killer steep climb thrown in near the end. How Tim managed this course in 3hr is a mystery to me. The guy's having an incredible year. And this on the heels of leading Red Hot nearly all the way. He's always been fast, but this year he seems to be the one to watch.
Nick Clark is still fast as ever, and seems to do well even when he doesn't have a great day. If anyone shows him any weakness, he'll take the lead. On a good day, with a chosen key race, good luck staying ahead of him.

I spent Sat. night after the race sleeping in my car above Leadville. Gold Burro still gave me the local discount, even though I told them again that I'm not a local. Looks like Pbville hasn't had much snow since I last visited, but it started snowing during the night and blanketed the dirty snow with pristine white stuff.