I decided about a week before this year's race to give it a shot, as my morning had unexpectedly opened up. I hadn't run more than 12 miles since NYC in November, but I figured I probably had the stamina to make it, and all that mud would just be like permission to go slow.
Race morning, I fueled up with coconut water, a little oatmeal and Hammer gel, and all my best Hammer Nutrition Supplements - Race Caps Supreme, Endurolytes, and Anti-Fatigue Caps. I figured what my legs might lack, my blood can provide. I also grabbed a number of Hammer gels, for sustained energy on the trail.
I figured the wet winter and ample mud would add a good 15-20 minutes to last year's time. Then my friend who was working the course the day before (double-loop 50K) said it was absolutely brutal, so I tried to throw out any expectation of time.
I got a good 15 miles from home when I realized I'd left my race bib on the dining room table. Dag! Luckily I always leave insanely early for these things, because I was able to drive home to retrieve it, and still arrive in time to use the facilities before finding the starting line.
I saw my friends briefly at the starting line before the gun. The first mile and a half to two miles were road miles, added into the course to spread everyone out before the single track mudfest. I felt comfortable, and reminded myself not to overshoot on the road and pay for it later. Once the muddy part came up, I was having a great time. It was just the right amount of sloppy. And trail runners are good people, by and large. I let people pass me, and other people let me pass them with relative ease. Around five miles or so was a big, slidey, wet hill. I almost went down, but didn't. I'd pulled out my first gel to eat right before I saw what I was getting into, so I'm glad I stayed upright, because my hands were busy.
(Protect that banana gel!)
After this part, we ran up and around. Some pavement, some mud, tons and tons of fun. Around mile 7-8 we crossed the dam, and started our northward trek back up the west side of the lake. There was an aid station that was nicely stocked with all manner of snacks, but I packed my own, so I powered on.
Around mile 9, it started to get sloppy. My memory might be a bit skewed, but it seemed that the majority of the time between mile 9 and mile 14, I was running on ball bearings. I'm pretty comfortable running trail, and even falling over from time to time, but I felt like a cartoon character with my legs sliding in every possible direction. At one point, I was running along a little ridge, and all I saw in the mud were shoe prints sliding down toward the ridge. I didn't want to risk a more serious fall, so I slowed way down. I was still having fun, but I was a wee bit frustrated that although my stamina was holding up really, really well, I just couldn't get good enough footing to pull it off. I walked when necessary, and let people pass me when they came up on me.
At what my Garmin and Nike+ said was mile 12, there was another aid station, notable only because the guy working it said it was only mile 11. I pressed on, assuming I was right, and that there were only 3.5 miles left.
Right around mile 15 was the famous Pig Sty - shin-deep, squelchy mud. The kind that'll suck your shoe right off your foot if you're not careful. This was fun because there is mud, photographers, and you know you're almost done. The sticky mud is much better than slippery mud, so I started my final acceleration in the pit. From there, it hit the open road, so I tapped into my still-comfortable energy stores, and kicked it to the finish line.
I finished in 2:55, a full 28 minutes slower than last year, but feeling like I got the full muddy experience. I ended up with 4th in my age group, and I didn't bother counting the masters this time - there were some fast ladies ahead of me! All in all, an enjoyable kick-off to the 2016 running year.
(Coming out of the Pig Sty)
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