Notes
Yep, a 50k, signed up this morning. Small, casual start as I just latched onto Nate Canton and Mark Thompson (both older Luther grads). 1st mile was on bike paths before hitting the trails, mile 1 around 6:40 then likely slowing slightly once on the trails. Chris Nealy had joined us (we hadn't met before but we both knew of each other as we'd raced often and finished close). After a few more miles we were joined by 2 others (Andy, who lives in Cedar Falls, and Hommer, former good Wartburg 800 runner who lived in Cedar Falls for a few years). The 1st lap (~10 miles) was full of chatter as we all felt good.
The 2nd lap began with some separated groups as people took the aid station at different speeds, but soon we were all together again. The next 5 miles were interesting as we were passing all the 10mile racers who started an hour after our start. Though this kept my mind active, it soon became a nuisance. After about halfway and through most of the 10 milers, I took the lead since I hadn't yet and we'd been rotating the lead so far. After a few miles of leading, Mark went for the lead (he was just racing 20 miles). I went with him for 20sec before realizing he was making a push for the finish and I slowed back down. However, the rest of the 50kers were not with me and took awhile to catch up 1 by 1. I was alone by the time I started the 3rd and final lap.
With a gap between myself and 2nd place, I was feeling good and not really thinking I had already run 20 miles. So I decided my best course of action would be to get a good lead and diminish any thoughts of chasing me. I was running a nice pace, feeling confident, but also looking back quite often. Right about mile 26.2 (anecdotal estimate), my quads/hamstrings started tightening and seizing up. I still had some power and didn't think I was slowing down but suddenly Canton was within 10sec of me (surprising since I'd been looking and hadn't seen anyone recently). He caught me gradually and I let him go at the last aid stop where I stopped for a solid minute eating and drinking whatever I could. From there I watched Ross Salinas roll by as he'd started slower and was going faster than even Canton now. With that I was mentally defeated to go along with my physical degradation. Still, I knew 3rd place would get some kind of prize while 4th would not, and I wanted to get something out of this self-punishment. So with a slower pace, I trudged on, not daring to look back knowing there was nothing I could do if someone was catching me. I finished with a still respectable time faster than last year's winner.
So, reasons this could have gone poorly:
-Nutrition
1 banana before race, 1/2 a banana at 10miles, some kind of honey gel drop at 15miles, and another 1/2 banana at 10miles. I was the only one to not carry water in the the lead group. And though I didn't feel hungry or dehydrated after the race, perhaps my muscles could have used more sustenance.
-Injuries
I felt my right foot being sensitive the entire race, and throughout the 2nd lap I constantly tried to land softer on it. However, I don't think this changed my form too much or tired me sooner, but mostly this affected my training beforehand...
-Training
Like I said, I signed up for this race the morning of because I was not confident enough to sign up early. Though I was feeling fine running, I've had plenty of odd injuries the past month. The injuries, along with xc racing prevented any dedicated training; basically I just didn't have the structured/single-minded training I had before the marathon.
Or maybe I just ran foolishly - trying to win from 10 miles out when I was feeling good and probably should have waited to make a move. Or maybe even if I'd done everything perfectly, I wouldn't have ran much faster.
Really this was probably much more enjoyable and interesting than my marathon, unfortunately I have a sour taste in my mouth from falling apart so we'll see if I pursue long trail races again. Right now my legs feel better than after the marathon but my back, joints, and general well-being are worse. Hopefully bounce back soon.