Xterra Magnolia Hills Race Report

Xterra Magnolia Hills Race Report

The Background

After my DNF at Bighorn 100, I wanted to reset my running mindset and focus on a completely different goal.  I looked for a shorter trail race and found the Xterra Magnolia Hill 21k in Navasota, Texas.  Just an hour from my house and with a reasonable entry fee, it’d be a convenient and hopefully fun race.

I hadn’t devoted too much time to speedwork in the previous months, so I did several fartlek sessions between 6:45 and 7:30 pace for a mile or two.  These felt like hard efforts but manageable.

The Course

The race had advertised itself as a fast course, so I imagined smooth, rolling doubletrack.   Most of the course is actually on winding, hilly bike trails.  There is never a climb of over a few feet, but the constant up and down and turning at a running pace beat up your legs.  There’s two loops of the bike trails of five or so miles each then one two mile loop of smooth trail around the lake.  No rocks or roots to speak of, just a few wooden bridges.

The Race

As stated above,  I anticipated a very runnable course.  I had finished the Natural Bridge Caverns Half Marathon in 1:41, and that race had some moderately technical trail and big hills, so I figured I’d head out at a 7:30 pace then see how I felt.  If I could hold that, I’d be up at the front given last year’s results.

This shows how you should never set any time expectations the first time running a race.  I headed out fast the first couple of miles and the windy trail soon beat up my legs.  It was also hot and humid and I soon began to feel drained.  I slowed steadily, trying to run my own race and letting people pass me.  As I faded, I would walk a few up hills.  At one point in the second loop I took a wrong turn that cost me a couple of minutes.  By the time I started the final two mile lake loop I was almost staggering.  I crawled to the finish line in 2:15.

Reflections

This experience goes to show that going into any race overconfident is a mistake.  I’m a midpack runner and going out trying to place up front will be a mistake.  I should just take what the day gives me.   A half marathon can still be hard after fourteen ultras.

The soreness in my legs was different this time, mostly around the calves and ankles, showing how the little rolling hills at a fast pace beat them up.

I did finish 4th out of 14 for my age group, which does the ego some good despite the tough day.

I do want to run more shorter races like this, though. I still think I need to limit my ultras and sub-marathon races allow the chance to race, finish in a couple of hours, and not drain the body and mind too much.

Bighorn 100 Race Report - DNF

Bighorn 100 Race Report - DNF

The Background

I took about five weeks off after my first 100 mile finish at Rocky Raccoon.  I started off thinking I might run a road marathon early in this season to build speed, but my first run out the door let me know how slow my legs were.  I used the Brazos Bend 50 to build my base and did a lot of Stairmaster and treadmill at a 15% incline at 3.7 to 4 mph.

My wife, my kids, and my mother and father-in-law arrived in Cody, Wyoming a week before the race.  It was amazing to see actual mountains.  We spent two days in Yellowstone and I climbed Elephant Back mountain with my wife and the kids, about an 800 foot ascent.

Checking into the race was my first medical exam before an event.  The volunteer warned me about the elevation but so far being at altitude had not phased me two much.

What I was worried about, though, was my cold.  Stepping off the plane, I felt a soreness in my throat, and I felt extremely week the first day in Wyoming.  The weakness faded a bit but I still felt sick into race morning.

The Race

We headed off at 11am, an unusual time to start a 100 mile race.  I did manage to get a full nights sleep the night before thanks to some Nyquil, unlike many of my previous ultras, but I would be running well into the next day were I able to finish.

The first part of the race winds through Tongue River Canyon.  Craggy rock formations loomed overhead as we raced by the river.

 

Before the start

 

Love that Stonehenge looking rock formation

 

Running along the canyon

 

 

 

Once out of the canyon begins a massive 4000 foot climb up to Dry fork aid station at 13 miles in.  The trail up the mountain is truly spectacular with the green hillside covered with yellow and purple wildflowers.  I could have stopped every few feet to take a picture.

 

 

Climbing

 Halfway up

 



Approaching the summit

 

After leaving Dry Fork, there are many miles of relatively flat running before the 2000 foot drop to Foot Bridge Aid at mile 30.  Flat sections of courses often send me into mental low points, as I prefer the variation of climbing and descending.  I started to feel tired and my head wasn't in the race until the drop.  The descent was truly amazing and I hammered down the trail, perhaps too hard as things turned out.

 

Running down to Dry Fork

 

After Dry Fork is a long 4000 foot climb up to Jaws aid station at mile 48, where we'd be at nearly 9000 feet in elevation.  There is a lot of beautiful running by the river and the climb was not as steep nor sustained as the first major ascent.

 

 

Running along the river as night approaches

 

I carried a hoodie and pants out of Dry Fork as I knew it would be getting cold as night fell.  I started to feel very weak as I slowly climbed up to Jaws, shaking my head, dizzy and disorientated.  It felt like sickness from the cold and not the altitude, as there was no headache.  There was a lot of mud on the course that sucked at your shoes and it rained a bit.

 

I started stopping for several minutes at aid stations, sitting by campfires, trying to warm myself with soup and regroup.   By the time I got to Jaws I was completely spent.  I contemplated for a long time carrying on but I couldn't stop shaking.  The volunteers had my lay out on a stretcher and I couldn't get back up.  I dropped.

 

Reflections

 

I went into the race knowing that I was sick and I'm proud that I made it halfway through the course.  I would have turned around at Jaws and headed back the way I came, so I'm glad I at least got to see the whole of the trail.

 

I honestly think I could have finished this thing healthy, but a DNF is a DNF and I would have had to prove it.  I look forward to going back, hopefully next year.  The course is beautiful beyond words and the volunteers are amazing.  Many thanks to all.