Pre-Race
It was April 14 and my alarm clock had just gone off at
4:30A.M. I grabbed my stuff and I soon was out the door. After about an hour of driving, I arrived at
Huntsville State Park and started to prepare for the race. After picking up my bib (#61), I headed to my
car to get ready. I did a little bit of
stretching, took in a few shot blocks, got my handheld and headed over to the
starting line. It was 7:00A.M and I was
about to start the 50K trail race. Not
only would this be my first time running anything over the classic 26.2 mile distance,
but it was also my first time doing a trail race, and even more specifically,
it would be my first time running on a trail at all (bad idea, I know).
Loop 1 (0-15.5 Miles)
7:00 A.M. struck and the race director released the crowd,
there were about 100 of us running in the 50K race. The morning was cool and cloudy, and luckily
the humidity was low (relatively). I
took a spot close to the front of the pack and as soon as we heard the signal,
we took off. About a quarter of a mile
later, there were only 4 of us leading the race. We started at a comfortable pace of about 8
minutes/mile. I felt like it was a bad
idea to start off at that pace, but I felt comfortable, so I went with it. Leading the pack was a guy who I will refer
to as Shirtless Man, right on his heels was another guy who I will call Bryan
(I overheard someone call him out as Bryan, so I can assume that was his
name). I was right behind Bryan, and one
more person was behind me, though after about 2 miles, he had already fallen
back. Both of the runners in front of me
looked pretty strong and I knew I wouldn’t be able to keep up with them for too
long, but so as long as I felt comfortable, I was planning on staying with
them.
My main fear coming to my first trail race was getting lost,
but the course was well marked with visible signs where the trails forked and
with orange/white tape hanging from branches along the course to let you know
you were on path. Staying behind someone
gave me the ability to concentrate on other aspects of the race, and leave the
orienteering to the leader. The first 2
miles of the trail had a few short and steep climbs, but nothing major, aside
from watching out for the roots. Soon
after mile 2, we hit a jeep road, which had some short sections of sandy
road. The sand wasn’t bad enough to
suck, but definitely enough to throw off your momentum (at least for an
inexperienced runner like me). The jeep
road also had quite a few short hills, also bad enough to throw your
momentum. After about mile 3, I think
Shirtless Man and Bryan picked up the speed, because for some reason I started
falling behind (either that, or I just started slowing down). I kept them in sight for a while, but
eventually I lost them, and I knew I was now alone.
Shortly after mile 4, you reach the first aid station, which
also served as a turn-around point. On
my way to the station, I was able to see exactly how far I was from the
leaders, but knowing their pace, I knew I had to worry more about maintaining
my own place, rather than trying to catch up to them. At the aid station, the volunteers were very
helpful and encouraging. I took in some
Gatorade and refilled my handheld and I got back on the trail. This being a turn-around point, I was able to
see who was behind me and how far. I saw
some strong runners only a quarter of a mile behind me, and I knew that if I
didn’t keep pace, they would catch up, and with 27 miles left, anything could
happen.
As I reached the main jeep road at about mile 5, I got to
encounter the rest of the 50K-ers. We
ran by each other and exchanged “Good Job’s” and “Doing Great’s.” I kept
running alone for another couple of miles of the hilly/sandy road and
eventually the course turned back into the single track trail. It was here that I got to experience the
beauty of the forest. The sun was coming
out, so the sun rays could be seen through the tall pines; you could hear the
breeze of air moving the leaves on the tall trees, and you could smell the
fresh aroma of the forest. For some
reason, being alone with no one in sight made it that much more beautiful; it
was peaceful to say the least. This part
of the forest wasn’t too bad; you just had to watch out for the roots and the
random steep hills. Oh, and you also had
to watch out for the snakes. As I ran, a
mountain biker was off his bike and was poking the ground off the trail with a
stick. As I approached him, he said, “I
just got a really pist off rattlesnake off the trail.” I thanked him and kept running, but the
thought of snakes came into my mind. I
was just thinking to myself and hoping I wouldn’t encounter one, when sure enough,
I almost stepped on one. Later I found
out it was a Copperhead laying on the trail, trying to soak in some heat. The snake was of dark color, and it almost
looked like a tree root. Luckily I saw
it, jumped to the side and screamed out, “OH SHIT!” I don’t think anyone heard me though. It was also in this section of the forest
that the first runner caught up to me.
His name was Joe, we chatted for a bit, but he eventually was too far,
so we wished each other luck and kept moving (he eventually finished in second
place).
I got out of the single track trail and got back on the jeep
road, by this point I was nearing mile 8 and approaching the 2nd aid
station. The volunteer there was
helpful, but I decided to skip a refill on this loop and continue on. The next few miles were uneventful. The course consisted of staying on the jeep
road, but eventually moved into single track trail yet again. The trail was basically the same, including
sandy parts and steep, short climbs. I was
feeling great up to mile 13, I had been maintaining an average pace of 8:15 minutes/mile. I was also taking in salt pills every 45
minutes and “eating” some PowerBar energy gels every 30 minutes as well as
hydrating every 10 minutes. I thought it
was a fool-proof plan, but all of a sudden, and for the first time in my short
running career, I hit a wall. I couldn’t
understand why this happened, but my energy levels spiked down like crazy. At this point I probably should have stopped
and walked it off, but I decided to just keep running at a slower pace. Shortly after, I reached the 3rd
aid station, refilled with water and was off back into the trails. My unbalanced energy level wouldn’t allow me
to keep up my old pace, so I slowed down to about 9 Min/mi. Soon after, Lang from Norway, passed me and I had now fallen into 5th
place.
A couple of miles later, I had finally reached the starting
line. My GPS read 16 miles, so either
the course was a bit longer than advertised, or my GPS was off. Either way, I didn’t care, so I refilled my
handheld and was ready for loop #2. On
my way in to the starting line, I got to see who the leaders were. Bryan had now taken first and had a nice lead
on Shirtless Man. Joe was behind them,
and Lang soon followed.
Loop 2 (15.5-31)
As I headed out on the already familiar loop, my pace
remained at about 9 min/mi. This one guy
who had tripped (I will refer to him at Mr. Tripped) and was really muddy
passed me in the first couple of miles.
I kept running and encountered a few more 50K-ers who were finishing up
their first loop. I hit the jeep road
and continued on to the first aid station of the loop. After the turn-around, something else
happened. I was developing a stomach
cramp, but rather than having the “stitch” on my side, it was on my upper
abdomen. It felt like the cramp was on
my diaphragm. The cramp became so
painful that I actually got in the way of breathing to the point to where I was
forced to stop running and walk it off.
After half a mile or so, the cramp had eased down and though it was
still there, it allowed me to breath normally. For some reason, my energy levels also dropped
yet again, so with the cramp and low energy, I had decided to power hike up the
steeper hills.
The next few miles were very uneventful. The lack of energy had taken its toll on me
and my running form had gone to crap. By
mile 27 I was so worn out, de-energized, and mentally weak, that I had never
wanted to be done with a race so bad. My
pace had fallen to 10:30 min/mi and kept slowing down; it just wasn’t my day. I did however catch up to Mr. Tripped and passed
him right before the 3rd aid station. My body was so worn out that I didn’t really
care about the place I was in, I kind of lost count, but after passing Mr.
Tripped, I think I was still in 7th place. Three miles later I had the finish line in
sight, and surely enough, one more thing had to go wrong. My right calf starting cramping, but I’d been
running for too long to slow down and walk to the finish. I limped to the finish and was helped out by
the volunteers at the aid station.
Hearing all the cheers from the spectators and those that were done
running really felt great, but just finishing felt even greater. I finished with an official time of 5:00:45
and took 7th place (Hog's Hunt 2012 Results). Not too
bad for a first timer. Also received a wooden engraved plaque (though I would have honestly preferred a medal).
Finisher Plaque received after 50K.
Synopsis
I am unsure as to what or why my body acted the way it did,
I am assuming that it just wasn’t my day.
I had done the same thing I had done for every other marathon, but the
outcome was way different. I know it was
weird because my body started giving out at mile 13, something that had never
happened before. I don’t think that I mispaced
myself at all, but maybe trails do slow you down that much. Also, living in College Station, TX, I have
no access to hills or trails, so that probably affected me. I will consider this race a “bad” running
experience solely due to my body not cooperating with me. All I can do is sign up for another race and
give it a second shot to see what happens.
The course was awesome, the scenery was beautiful, the
course was well marked, and the volunteers were amazing. I definitely recommend this race to
anyone. And if you plan on running Rocky
Raccoon 50mi/100mi, this would be a great race because it is held at the same
park and even uses some of the same trails (I’ve never ran it, but do hope to do
so).
Thank you for reading, and sorry for going on and on with my
typing (and sorry for any misuse of the English language). I hope that my description of the course and
my experience can help someone else who will be running this race in the coming
years.
Thank you to the race director and all the volunteers for such
a great event.
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