This past Saturday, I ran the MS50 Trail Run. I had trained for the 50M distance and my training had been spot on. The training simply couldn’t have gone more perfect!
Race days have a way of being unpredictable.
Especially trail races.
Saturday was no exception.
MFH (My Favorite Husband) and I arrived at the start for the MS50 at 5:00 am. Gun time was 6:00 so we were spot on for timing. They were handing out bibs for the race that morning. Usually races hand out the bibs in your race packet. This year the MS50 decided to have runners pick up their bibs on race day morning, that way they would know exactly who all was on the trails. Smart!
I got my bib, pinned it on and was set to run!
It was a perfect Mississippi morning. The day promised to be a tad on the warm side but not too bad. Most of us runners were prepared for the warmer temps. No worries.
Last year, it was quite cold at gun time. When we arrived at water crossings on the first loop, the mud was frozen and some of the water crossings had ice on them. This year, it was in the 40’s at gun time so that meant no ice and aggressive mud on the first loop.
Just like last year, we encountered our first water crossing right after the 2nd mile marker. After this first crossing, your feet are wet for the remainder of the race. There are water crossings every 3(ish) miles for the rest of the race.
We had received some substantial rain on Thursday so the water crossings were higher than last year. That’s a risk you take with trail racing. Only two crossings were above my knees so I considered myself lucky. The mud…holy cow, the mud! It had a life of its own!!! It seemed to try to suck you down as far as it could and not let go. Hahaha!!! Serious stuff!
As the race progressed, I was getting a chuckle as we would approach the water crossings. We would hear other runners at the crossings about a quarter of a mile ahead of us. We knew what was happening from the variety of 4 letter words drifting through the air. Funny! Or at least it was funny until it was my turn to try to get through the muck. I witnessed runners frantically digging through the mud trying to find a shoe that had been sucked off by the mud.
At mile 4, I fell. I picked myself up and kept on running. The first loop is 12.5(ish) miles and by the time I had successfully run the first loop, I had fallen a total of 8 times. That’s a LOT of falling!
My last fall was between mile 9-10. It was in a water crossing. There was a log I couldn’t see. It was in the water but the water was so murky from everybody running through it…well, it was impossible to see. That log came up and smacked me a good one on my shin bone. When that happened, I knew the 50M wasn’t going to happen. RATS.
I completed the first loop. MFH was there ready for me with advil and a bandanna. I grabbed both and kept on running. I thought I could run out the discomfort from that smack on the leg. The first loop was considered a 20K distance~one of the distances offered for this race.
Half way through the second loop, my leg would not quit hurting. In fact, it was getting worse! My leg was swelling as was my foot. My shoe was getting tight and I found myself compensating for the discomfort. Soon, I was limping.
It was a this point I had to make a decision.
Taking a quick peek at my Garmin, I looked at my total miles run. 17 miles. A 50K is 31 miles plus change. There is a long way to run from 17-31. Did I want to push myself and get the 50K? I knew if I tried this, there was a very strong possibility I would injure myself enough that it would put the rest of this year’s racing at risk.
Seeing as I’ve successfully raced the 50K distance a couple of times, I decided to throw in the towel. I was already hurt, better not to add insult to injury. I stumbled to the next aid station and DNF’d. The kind people there drove me to the start/finish/timing tent where I told them I thought it was best for me to call it a day.
This is where a great deal of kindness was shown to me!
The RD (Race Director) asked me how far I had run. I replied I had run 17.75 miles *gospel according to Garmin* That was 5+ miles further than the 20K distance. Instead of giving me my well earned DNF, they put me down as a 20K finisher where believe it or not, I was second woman overall! Amazing stuff!
I received a finishers medal and a finishers visor. They were so very, very nice to me on what was a discouraging day.
Some days are just like that! Most days are not but every now and then a run just doesn’t go as planned. It’s just a bummer my turn at this kind of a day happened to be a race day.
We did have a lovely time, though!
Yesterday I did go out and run a 6 mile recovery run. I needed to know what the deal was with my leg. Seems to be just some pretty major bruising from all the falls. That is a HUGE relief! I’ll take bruising over broken bones any day of the week!
There were some race pics and I’ll share them. MFH even had a race pic! When I was running, he was having fun doing some Ham Radio stuff.
#IRun4Aiden
#teamZensah
#AbbottWMM
#MoveItMonday 