A Confidence Boost - The Grasslands 50

Yesterday I completed a 50 mile race outside of Decatur, TX called The Grasslands. Last year I did the marathon, so I was familiar with part of the course. I went into the race with very modest goals. 1) To get through the race healthy - no matter how long it took me 2) To get some good time on my feet for WS training 3) To monitor my fluid and calorie intake effectively - I did not want to bonk.

Well -- I blew away my goals! Here is how my day unfolded...

My buddy Josh and I stayed at his parents house in Denton the night before the race. Their house is about 30 minutes from the race start so we got to sleep in a bit. We woke at 4:30 and were out the door by 5:15am. We arrived at the race and made our last minute race preparations and then at 7am - we were off. OK - everyone else was off -- I started the race by power hiking. So I was dead last. And I did not care at all. My strategy for the race was to power hike 5 minutes then run 5 minutes -- repeat. I did this for the first 20 miles and I was averaging a 12:30 minute pace which is really respectable for the terrain and the distance. I made friends with some of the other runners on the course. I met Sean from Michigan who was running his very first 50 miles. We would leap frog each other. He would catch me when I power hiked and then I'd catch him when I would run. We did this for miles. About mile 20 I met Nick from Houston. He ran Western States last year and made it to mile 85 before timing out. He gave me a ton of advice about the race. At this point, I decided that I could really use Nick's advice so I decided to stop my 5/5 plan and run with Nick. We ran together for about 5 miles. Nick told me he was using the Grasslands to qualify for Western States again and had a 11 hour goal. I told him he better pick up the pace a bit because we were at mile 25 and he had to run the next 25 miles at the same pace to do that. Running an even split like that during any race is difficult, but I could tell Nick had some speed so I thought he could do it.

At this point in my race I was feeling really good - my energy level was high. The 5/5 plan left me with a ton of gas in my tank. Physically - my IT Band was sore but not hurting - my right ankle was swollen from the Waco race two weeks ago but was not killing me. And Nick's speech about qualifying for Western States again really motivated me. So I started to pick up the pace hoping he'd follow me. But I lost him at an aid station and pushed on my myself. I ran miles 26-40 pretty much by myself. There was the occasional runner I passed and a lot of folks riding horses, but other than that I was alone. I really pushed hard during this part of the race. I had decided that I would also try and break 11 hours. I was feeling good - so why not? That was not the plan going in, but plans change - right?

My buddy Josh ran the 1/2 marathon that morning and had been waiting for me all day long. He ran his race (he PR'd!!!) then ate, rested, and even taken a nap while waiting for me. The plan was for him to pace me the last 10 miles of the race. Of course, he did not know that I would be going for a goal time. He thought we'd be taking it easy for the last ten miles. So after punishing himself with a very tough 1/2 marathon, he would now be running over 10 miles up and down hills, through sand, and creeks all the while motivating me to run fast. He was waiting for me at the car ready to go. I told him I have two goals - to break 11 hours and I don't want anyone to pass me. He said -- let's do it! And off we went for the last 10 mile loop.

We were cruising along at a nice pace - power walking the uphills (Josh is good at this and really helps me) and running the flats and downhills. We started passing a ton of people - most of whom are veterans of this race. At first I felt like these guys are faster than me - they'll take off soon and leave us behind -- but finally I knew that they were toast and I had a lot left in me so we took off past them. The last 10 miles flew by and soon we were close to the finish. We just had a nice 1/2 mile climb to get there. All of a sudden a runner blows by us running very fast up this hill. I recognized him as a guy who was resting at the last aid station. He was apparently a very talented runner because he could still run up that hill after running 49.5 miles! Believe it or not, I was a little disappointed. I really did not want anyone to pass me. But this guy just flew up that hill - we pushed hard but there was no way to catch him. Oh well! But I did accomplish my time goal -- I finished in 10 hours 32 minutes and had a smile on my face!

So what does that say about my training and this race? 1) I am becoming a better power walker - I literally walked 10 of the first 20 miles of this race and still finished with a solid time 2) my hydration and calorie plan worked well 3) don't worry about where you are in a race -- even if you are dead last. Just run your race - you know your strengths and weaknesses. Run hard when you are at a section of your strength and power hike when you can't run. 4) I still had a lot left in me. I was tired of course, but I could have kept running for a long time - that is what ultimately gave me the huge confidence boost.

I also found out that I really like starting last and then catching people as the day moves along. 50 miles is a long way to go - you can not go out too fast - better to save your gas for later.

So how did my new friends Nick and Sean do? Josh and I waited at the finish line for them. The clock was down to 10:57 minutes and I was getting worried about Nick. You could tell how bad he wanted to break 11 hours to qualify again for Western. All of a sudden I see him make the turn and he is sprinting the last 200 yards of the race. He crossed the finish line and fell over. He did it in 10:59 and qualified again for Western! He's going to be at the Western training camp in a few months so I'll get to chat with him again. He's a good guy.

Nick told me he passed Sean at mile 41 and Sean was power hiking the rest of the way in. I think the Texas heat got to him a bit. He's from Michigan so coming down to this temperature while his home is still very cold was a shock to his system. We waited awhile and then here comes Sean across the finish line! He ran a very respectable race and it was his first 50 miler! That is a GREAT feeling!

So what's next? First thing is to heal up a bit. My ankle worries me and my IT Band is a little sore. I am going to take it easy for the next few days and then decide my next race. I'm still targeting the Free State 100K, but I want to be sure it will do me more good than harm. I'll decide this week sometime.

Until then -- HAPPY EASTER - HE IS RISEN!