The Background
After DNFing at Cactus Rose, I forced my mind away from running. For the most part, I abandoned Twitter, Facebook, and running blogs to both block the grief from not finishing my goal and give myself space to focus on other interests. I picked up John D. MacDonald's Cinnamon Skin, a Travis McGee novel, and started a reading binge, finishing a lot of mystery novels over the month. It's amazing how much time social media eats up and I need to find a balance for the future.
My spirits lifted with a good run at the Team Red White and Blue 10K and my Achilles felt fine. Ready to get back in the game and get a preparation race in before Bandera 100K, I decided to run The Texas Trails Endurance Run 50K in Huntsville State Park. I would have run the 50 mile version, but my wife's company holiday party would start at 7pm, and there wasn't enough time to run 10+ hours and get ready.
The first ultra-distance I completed was a 50K training run in Huntsville State Park; I think it took seven or so hours. But I've never actually raced a 50K and it'd be a guaranteed new PR. Now my focus race is the Rocky Raccoon 100 Mile in February, the 50K will give me a chance to race some of the same trails. Less than an hour from my house, there would be no travel-related issues.
Arriving 45 minutes before the start, the 32 degree chill promised to make the race interesting. After picking up my packet, I retreated to my car and read a bit before the start.
The Course
My first trail race, the 2012 Orphan Hope Marathon, was in Huntsville State Park. Before the race, I'd read online from Rocky Raccoon 100 participants on how flat the trails were. However, coming from my road background I thought the climbs were crazy on that first trail race! Now that'd I'd run in the Texas Hill Country, I get the point and the little rollers are nothing anymore. Basically, there's a lot of double-wide smooth trail mixed in with some single track rooty stuff and some plank bridges over marsh. The 50K would be a 10K loop followed by two 12.5 mile loops.
The Race
My main goal for this race was just to finish and get the taste of the DNF out of my mouth. That being said, I wanted to run the whole way. I thought sub 5 hours was possible and it seemed like something to shoot for if everything clicked.
As we jogged off into the cold under the grey sky, I realized the mistake it was not to search harder for my gloves. My fingers were alternating between numbness and sharp pain the first three or so miles, but slowly this faded. After the end of the first loop I saw some gloves cast off to the side of the trail, giveaways from the race that I hadn't noticed from the swag bag, and I grabbed them.
Running at a brisk but steady cadence, I finished the first 10K in 59:06, 9:31 pace. I let people pass me and reminded myself to run my own race. I held steady through the second loop, finishing it in 1:57, 9:26 pace.
About a mile into the final loop, I felt a little bit of weakness. I was wearing a hoodie for warmth and I had never worn my pack over this before and didn't want to chance something new on race day. The shorts I had on had no pockets, so my only storage was the pouch in my bottle, which would hold about four gels. I was trying to minimize my stops at the aid stations and probably spaced the first three gels out too far. So at the next couple of aid stations I grabbed handfuls of M & Ms and a cookie. My energy level soon stabilized and I didn't go into a true low point.
I had slowed a bit as my legs started to get sore but I was still running a ten-something minute a mile pace. I passed a few people on the way to the final aid station. I asked the volunteers how far to the finish line and they said two and half miles. Checking my watch, I saw that finishing sub 5 hours would not be in the cards, but I still started running harder. As I went into the final half mile, I spotted a guy I'd been going back and forth with all race and decided to chase him down as I barreled into the finish in 5:04:05.
Reflections
I needed a race like this after Cactus Rose. I finished in 13th place out of 94 runners in the 50K, which was definitely an ego boost for a midpack runner like me. I ran 31 miles at a 9:47 pace, faster per mile than I'd run some of my early road marathons. I'd always thrown in some walk breaks, sensibly so, into my longer ultras but this was the first ultra I've run every step.
This was also my first ultra without going into a low point. The lows are to be expected, of course, but I usually go into a trough around 18 to 25 miles in.
I executed this race to the best of my abilities, starting off steady and finishing strong. Given this experience, I'd love to take another shot at going sub 5 hours for 50K. I didn't have GPS for this race, which might have been a good thing to prevent obsessing on pace and going out to fast, but on the other hand if I'd known I was that close I might have made a harder final push.
So now I have a few weeks to train for Bandera 100K. After that, its just three short weeks until another shot at 100 miles...
