MT. TAM WILD BOAR RIDGE 18k

I ran the Envirosports Mt. Tam. Wild Boar Ridge 18k (~11.25 miles) on May 12th. The short story is that I started out too fast on a cold morning with inadequate warm-up and now I have a new injury - shin splints!
I got a late start the morning of the event. With some careful driving I made it to the event site on Mt. Tam about 5-10 minutes before the start of the race. It was clear out, but cold and windy. I had no time for a warm-up run and after quick announcements from the event coordinator we were off. The first few miles were on pavement and hilly. At about the 2 mile mark the strain in my left hamstring was back - damn. I had probably gone out to fast and wasn't warmed up either. I stopped briefly to quickly massage the strain and stretch. Then I started out again at a much slower pace and spent the next mile or so deciding if I should finish the event or not. I decided that I would just continue and hope for the best. I was able to finish but my legs were wrecked by the time I was done - with a new injury, a painful case of shin splints in my left leg - damn.
Other than my little injuries, it was a fun event. About the first 4 miles were on pavement, but the rest of the race were on trails. Some of these trails I trained on 20 years ago when i ran track at C.C.S.F. so it was fun to run on them again. The first section of trails was along a grassy ridge with beatiful views of the Pacific. The trail was less than a foot wide with grass at least knee high whipping your legs, with the occasional thistle to spice things up. On the first steep uphill section most people walked! I was initially shocked, but then I reminded myself that I was running with slower runners and why not? The trail wasn't wide enough to pass, so I tried walking a few steps - it was refreshing- haha. Anyway, once back into the woods (this is Matt Davis trail if you know Mt. Tam.) the trail widened, but now we has rocks and roots and branches to dodge. One runner took a nasty fall in front of me and another almost did the same. At the 10 mile mark, we came to the last water station and then a 500' climb of switchbacks to the finish. I ran the some of it but everyone around me walked the steepest portions. It seemed almost sacrilegious to walk, but I could see no reason to kill myself and appariently no one else did either. There were great snacks and a cool T-shirt at the finish. Simple things like cold water and chez-its are sooo good after a hard run...;-)
My official time for this event was 1:52:21, but I had my time as under 1:50 Either way, not very impressive, but so it goes...