HUFF 50K

This race was not very fun. It was cold outside, the whole path is super muddy and wet, and the course itself was not very interesting. Who knows- maybe it was just a bad run that day. I didn't really have any serious goals for this race. I ran the Lakeshore 50K (flat and paved) in 5:06 so I expected to finish this trail run about an hour later.

The race consists of three 10+ loops- it was about 32-33 miles all together. The course was completely covered with mud. I hope my shoes aren't ruined. I was told I made a rookie mistake- wear old shoes! Your socks get soaked after about a mile, too. You literally run through water about 1 foot deep- you can't always jump across it. Don't bother bringing a change of socks and shoes because they will immediately get soaked again after you change. I now have a bunch of cuts around my ankles from where my wet socks rubbed up against my skin.

The race is not very hilly, thankfully. The hills during the Tecumseh Marathon were a lot steeper, narrower, and harder. A couple of times there are big hills where you have to be careful not to fall down- it's all mud and ice and very slippery.

I was feeling pretty good for the first loop. I was able to talk to some people for a few miles so that helped. I finished the first loop around 1:40. I was lazier during the second loop, running a lot slower. I started to get bored because #1 the course, #2 I was alone for a good part of it. At this point I started walking more and not really caring. Right after I finished my second lap, I almost just walked to my car and quit. It was a bad run, I had already run 20+ miles and I did not have any motivation to finish. I started the third loop by eating a lot of food and walking. I had no mental strength and I kept telling myself I wanted to quit (even though I knew I shouldn't and it wasn't helping). At this point, I didn't know how I was going to keep going.

Luckily after about one mile, these two men ran by and talked to me for a second. They weren't running too fast so I decided to try to stay with them. SOMEHOW I was able to keep up with them and I didn't even think about stopping at all. All I needed was a distraction. We easliy ran about 8 miles together, and then they took off. I had enough motivation/energy to finish the race on my own but not enough care to not walk and make a good time.

I finally finished at 6:05- which is fine my me. Although I enjoy the two trail runs I've done so far, I miss having a quicker time on a flat surface. :) I'll just have to get better. I need to make myself train more on trails and also work on sprints. Two things I don't do now and I've said I needed to do for about 4 months. Whoops.

I'm glad I finished and didn't quit- but it wasn't the most fun. Oh ya, I went to the YMCA afterwards- only to take a cold shower! No hot water. I was freezing but tis life.