Rocky Raccoon 25k race report

Earlier in the week I made the decision to switch from the Rocky Raccoon 50k trail run to the 25k trail run. My training and nutrition remain sub-par, so I made the smart decision and change to a race with a liberal finish time.

Pre–race:

Last night Aly and I stayed out late at a “wine and art” class. Then we found ourselves eating Mexican food at a taqueria at midnight. The end result was less than three hours of sleep before waking up to leave for the race. I went minimalist for the race, which is not my usual style. I woke up and walked out with just my Garmin, knee brace, water bottle, and a baggie full of s-caps.

Weather:

The weather was near perfect for a run. The starting temperature was in the low 40’s with clear blue skies, low humidity levels, and an occasional breeze swept through the forest.

Route/course:

I’ve run this exact route before and run the trails of Huntsville State Park many times. There were no surprises. The trails we’re in good condition and the forest looked stunningly beautiful as the sun was breaking over the horizon

Damage Control:

Not a lot of damage today. I felt really good for the entire race. In fact, I finished the race wishing for more mileage. I maintained a walk/run regimen and never deviated. Once I was done I found a quarter-size blister on the ball of my right foot. Thankfully it doesn’t hurt much, merely looks bad.

Race/RD/Aid stations

The RD, Paul, did a good job with this race. I like the nice non-white tech shirt. The aid station staff was great as usual, but the food seemed to be on the minimal side. The spacing of aid stations was good too.

Gear:

As I stated before, I didn’t take a lot of gear today. I wore my knee brace as a precautionary measure. A couple times during the race I found myself wishing I had a camera and music.

Fuel/Hydration/Supplements;

I took along a Nathan handheld water bottle, which was just enough water to keep me hydrated. I consumed one S-caps every 30-minutes. I didn’t bring along any nutrition, so I decided to fill my bottle up with HEED at the second aid station. The taste wasn’t as bad as I remember and I felt mentally stronger minutes after consuming the sport drink. The only negative side, HEED doesn’t seem to quench my thirst.

Runners and Friends:

There were several Texas Trail Nerds and other friends on the course today. I took Alyson with me. Erin was dropping the kids off to me this morning, so she watched my babies while I finished running. Anna ran her first 25k this morning. She had a difficult time with two gnarly blisters and ended up running without shoes for several miles. Carly also ran her first 25k as well as her first trail race. Carly seemed to have a good race as well, despite a couple falls and blisters. Jeff with KW Tri club ran the 50k and finished 7^th overall. Nicolas, who has more experience on trails, finished 4^th overall in the 50k race.  Jenny woke up sick and missed her first long trail run and there was a report of Vic running the 10k. Congrats to my Texas Trail Nerd friends!!!

Lessons Learned:
There’s always a lot of lessons to learn from trail running. Today I learned to never give up. I was so sleepy this morning I almost decided to cancel my race. Who would have known that I would end up having a GREAT race? I’m confident I could have finished the 50k, although it would have come with an extra dose of pain!

Timing:
It might sound pathetic, but I ran a regimen of; run 3-minutes, walk 7 minutes. On occasion I ran a little longer, but I’m proud of my consistency.

Run:

15.64 miles

3:49:23

14:40 pace