I had a pretty awesome, if not terrifying, dream last night. I was on a mountain in the forest and I had heard talk of bears in the area. I saw one out of the corner of my eye but never did encounter one. Eventually, I made my way down this mountain to a campsite with cabins. It was fairly populated ,maybe too populated, probably 500 or so people. A few minutes after being in the camp, I began to see 4 bears coming down the mountain with a vengeance. They were snarling and destroying everything in their path, including people. The bears were grizzlies and kodiaks. I knew this because of their color. I feared for my life but I was not harmed. The bears wore themselves down on the forest then the people. The carnage was brief but intense.
First year doing the Allatoona Creek race. Missed it last year because I had a duathlon on the same day. This course is sneakily difficult with the most challenging being the Mason's Bridge section. On a bike, it's easier and more fun because you can roll through all the dips but running through those is really tough. There aren't very many climbs and no big hills but that course is a grinder. There was a torrential rainfall a few days before the race so the first 3 miles was a mud run through open cross-country. I really liked this part though felt I got off to a slow start. Pacing is so difficult because I don't know how much energy I need to spare. Feet were wet out of the gate but it was no big deal. There's a twisted part of me that prefers adverse conditions. Went in to the singletrack section at Rusty Bucket and shuffled through twisty sections, not very fast through there. In fact, I felt leaden the entire race. I had ran the da...