Xterra Thrill in the Hills 42k

Xterra Thrill in the Hills 42k
Feb. 22, 2014 - Winder, GA

Distance: 42k (26.2 Miles)
Elevation Gain: 1,760 ft.

Time: 4:09
Place: 30th / 108 finishers
Finishers Percentile: 72nd Percentile

I had been eyeing this race since November. After the crazy elevation in the Georgia Sky to Summit, I wanted a break and this was the perfect race. They did a great job with the race. It was two loops around Fort Yargo Lake. My 1st half marathon loop was 1:57 and my 2nd was 2:12.

When I got there, I saw this awesome Muscle Milk Jeep. I wouldn't mind having one of these.

I grew out a beard for this race because I was training in the coldest of the cold. Many of my training runs were in the snow. So my beard was my permanent ski mask. 

The race felt good. I had two goals. I wanted to get 4:30 or below and the second was that I wanted to see how close I could get to 4 hours. So I was pretty happy with 4:09 considering it was trail. I loved running along the shore of the lake and as I have mentioned before, I love running in tall pine trees. Georgia has plenty of that. I got 30th overall and 3rd in the 25-29 age group. There were only like 7 people in my age group, but hey, it felt good to get another medal.

Jason pulled in a little later and I was very pleased when he wasn't crossing the finish line cursing me. He said he enjoyed it. We got medals AND sack lunches AND they served us pizza at the end of the race. I think I ate about 7 pieces. That was awesome. NO SHAME, I just ran a marathon.

I felt really good at the end of the race. Although, at mile 24, I got really light headed. I am not sure why. I have been thinking about that ever since. I think I may not have fueled enough. I did have some food, but maybe not as much as I should have. Overall, the race was awesome. I love being able to fly through trails in the woods.