About 5 months ago, I got this crazy idea. After coming off a disappointing triathlon season, I was looking for a way to start fresh. I was totally intrigued by the idea of running an ultra marathon but really knew nothing about it. I love long events and this seemed like the perfect way to cleanse my pallet and get excited about something totally new. Plus, I love trail running and its something we just don't get a lot of time to do during triathlon training. The Rocky Raccoon 50 and 100 mile races are pretty popular local races, and only an hour from where we live in Houston, so this seemed like the best way to go.
Initially, I had my sight set on the 100 miler. Go big or go home, as I always say. But after talking with a few friends, I was basically told that a 100 miler would make it really really difficulty to turn around and have a successful triathlon season afterwards, since so many of the ultra training miles are long and slow. With a tri season (hopefully) focused on getting faster and shorter course racing, this didnt seem ideal. So 50 miler it was. Around this time, I also changed coaches and signed on with Coach Steve Johnson and Dark Horse Triathlon. Coach Steve was totally supportive of this idea and we created a racing schedule that would hopefully be conducive for a triathlon "comeback" with later season A races. It's not an easy task to get a multisport athlete through ultra marathon training injury free- but Coach Steve's plan worked beautifully and I feel like a much, MUCH stronger runner all around. But, on to race day.
Jeff, Robyn (our friend from Chicago and owner of Edge Athlete Lounge) and I drove to Huntsville Friday night before the race for packet pick up. This had to be the most low-key laid back packet pick up i have ever been to. People were wearing their REGULAR CLOTHES ( triathletes, take note, you don't actually have to wear race gear to packet pick up), chatting, joking and no one was giving anyone the " I wonder what age group shes in" stink eye. What I learned from this experience is that trail runners are, in general, a more accepting and laid back crowd. What a fresh perspective.
I'll spare everyone the details of the night before and morning of routine. Race start was at 6 am and before we knew it we were running in the dark, ushered through the start with a New Year's Eve style countdown from the race director. "Hold back" was the mantra for the first few miles till the sun came up. Even with headlamps, it was dark and footing was unsure. The trails in the Huntsville state Park are beautiful, but the terrain is uneven, filled with roots and rocks ready to take you out. Jeff, Robyn and I ran the first few miles extremely conservatively (first 5 splits below). It was going to be a long day and the last thing we needed was someone to break or twist their ankle. I'm prone to falling flat on my face walking across the street in broad daylight, so my odds of not falling before dawn in the middle of the woods were not great. But we survived! And we only took people off course once... but moving on.
As the sun came up we were greeted with a beautiful mist over the park. At this point we were able to get up to speed a little bit. Note: When talking about an ultra, speed is a relative term. I made the somewhat risky decision to stick with Robyn, a seasoned ultra runner, as long as I could. I knew she was faster than me and was probably aiming for an overall faster time across the 50. but my legs felt fresh and I felt awesome- so I decided I would run with her for at least the first 2 loops and see where that left me. Sorry Coach- not exactly what you told me to do, BUT perceived effort was low. so I rolled with it :D :D
The first half of the 16.7 mile loop is rooty and technical, but forgiving. Lots of downhills where you can pick up some speed and some fun stretches of single track.
My favorite part of the course is a clear flat section overlooking the lake. This is a picture I took on one of our cloudy training runs, but the view on race day was sunny and breathtaking.
Garmin Connect file for the 50 miles here.
We finished our first loop in just under 3 hours including stops we made to adjust gear, go to the bathroom, and refuel at aid stations. We spent a lot of splits in the 10 - 10:30 range. We were making really good time, and I still felt great, so off we went on round two.
As we suspected in the beginning, we spent most of the second lap passing people that had perhaps started a little too ambitiously. But the atmosphere on the course was amazing. Lots of chatting, telling of stories and exchanging of encouragement. We were all out there to run 50 miles. Its just that some people would get to the finish line first. That seems obvious, but it was actually a really profound experience (for an endurance event). To be perfectly honest, I am not used to that level of comradery on course ( again, triathlon culture could stand to take a cue) and it was wonderful.
The second loop went by relatively uneventfully. Some splits were long- trying to figure out gear malfunctions, more bathroom or snack breaks, but some splits were quick and painless. At this point I was still running with Robyn, but knew that the 3rd loop was going to be a whole different animal. Second loop- done and done in 3 hours.
Coming into the end of the second loop I was starting to get fatigued. I opened my drop bag, and got out my secret weapon - my little bag of Mike and Ikes. I had been fueling the entire race on Osmo and Justins Almond butter, which had worked perfectly. No bonking, no crashing, and No GI distress. But, after 7 hours of exercise, i needed a little sugar boost. I dont think anything has ever tasted so good. We both took in more calories than usual starting out the third loop- and this actually made the first few miles into loop 3 hard. At this point we had been running for over 33 miles and you either get to run or digest at that point, so we took the pace down a bit to let the food sink in.
At mile 37 Robyn declared that we were "within the half marathon" and just like that, its as if she had a fresh pair of legs. She started to push the pace. I didnt want to hold her back, but I also wanted to cross the finish line running, so we finally parted ways. I kept plodding along, slow and steady. but at this point I was in a pretty excruciating amount of pain. My IT bands were tight, and descending was almost unbearable. Fortunately for me though, climbing was still fine, and the second half of the loop was mostly up hill. Miles 40-47 were definitely the low point of my day. I was tired, i felt like i was barely moving, and I had to walk more than I had walked all day. But I was still moving and looked forward to the hospitality of the aid stations stocked with girl scout cookies ( nutrition plan be damned at this point).
the last three miles were a blast. I told myself the race was really just 49 miles, with a 1 mile victory lap. That doesn't sound so bad, right? That victory lap was so so sweet. I came into the finish line to see friends cheering which made my day. Robyn had PR'ed and gotten 4th female over all. Despite my struggle in the end, my last loop was 3:22 and I came in a 9:21, almost 40 minutes before my "best case scenario" finish putting me first in my age group and 8th female over all.
I cannot say enough good things about the Tejas Trails race series, the volunteers and the organizers. it was an amazing day and amazing race, and can't wait to be back. Maybe for the 100?
