Las Vegas Spartan Super 2016

Another disappointing finish, okay, disappointing might be strong, but I didn't reach any of my goals.  I wanted to break 1:30 on what I thought was going to be a flat fast course, and flat it was, or the first 7 miles of this 8.2 mile race was.  However, most of the first 5 miles were in sand or a creek with water as high as my hips.  The course was still pretty fast with only 18 obstacles spaced pretty evenly throughout the 7 miles or so.  Then came the last mile and a half... the hardest 1.5 miles of any race I have ever "run" in.  11 legit obstacles one right after another.  if you weren't doing an obstacle you were hiking up steep inclines or slogging over muddy woop-de-dos on the motocross track.  Other than slowing me way down I still did pretty well through everything except the "bucket brigade" (my hamstrings cramped up) and the final obstacle, the"herc hoist".  I hadn't failed this obstacle in over two years, and I got it to about a foot from the top when my grip just gave out after a string of 6 grip driven challenges.  At that time I was sitting somewhere around 10th in Masters and 60th in Male Elite.  My 30 penalty burpees dropped me to 15 in Masters and 78 in Male Elite.  I came up just short of all my goals, didn't break 1:30, didn't get at least 195 points (I got 189) and I didn't run a penalty free race.  Time to regroup once more or watch my goal of being in the Spartan 300 drift away.  The way I figure it, I will need to average 210 points per race in my last two.  This will be a tall order, but possible.