Grasslands 50 Mile Trail Run

“If you’re going through hell, keep going.” Winston Churchill

            Yesterday’s Grasslands 50 Mile Trail Run was a race of 2 complete opposites for me: the first 30 miles were a suffer fest, while the last 20 miles flew by with me clocking paces that are difficult for me even when I have fresh legs. I don’t know why I felt so sluggish for the first half, nor do I really understand why I felt so good for the second half, but either way I ended up with a respectable finishing time of 9:18, a top 10 finish, my 2^nd 50 mile completion for the year, and met some great people while spending the day out on some trails. I can’t complain with any of that.

            The Grasslands Trail Run is held at the LBJ National Grasslands, a 50 min drive from Denton, which meant I would just drive to the race the morning of. 3:30am Saturday, and I was up finishing packing, having a banana/mango/almond smoothie, and was out the door of my apartment. After a quick stop for some coffee, I was at the race site an hour or so before the 6 am start. The weather forecast called for a high chance of rain, so I had come prepare with a packable poncho and extra shoes/socks. Luckfully, it had not rain overnight (the course is notorious for becoming a mud hole due to its sandy trails) and everyone at the start was hoping our luck would hold for the day (our luck did hold, as it didn’t rain once).

            The race course features a short out-and-back, followed by 4 loops in a clover pattern, all starting/finishing at the same point, which meant at any time I was only 10 miles max away from my drop bag. 6am came and us 50milers were off. I quickly realized that I was very low on energy and found myself near the back of the pack (which turned out to be a blessing in disguised as the lead pack took a wrong turn only a mile into the race and had to run a couple of extra miles to correct their mistake). I wasn’t too worried about being stuff/slow early on, as 50 mile is a long way, and just figured I needing to warm up a bit. After finishing the out-and-back section, I was onto the first of 4 loops and feeling even more sluggish. I stopped at the first aid-station eat some bananas and drank some extra water hoping that that would help pick me up. It didn’t.

            Mentally I felt ok, but I just physically didn’t have any energy, any push. About 10 miles into the race I met up with James (I think that was his name: I’m always bad at remembering names, especially while running 50 miles) after we both made a wrong turn on the course and had to backtrack maybe a quarter of a mile to the right trail. I would end up running the next 20 miles with James and another runner from Scotland. The two had met at the race the year before and were happy to (literally) run into each other again this year. I was very willing to run with this group who wanted to talk, as I was able to just get lost in our conversations and forget about how I was feeling.  

            The three of us finished the first loop, and I rummaged through my drop bag to see if I had anything to help get me some energy. I down a coconut water, ate some bananas, and then three of us were out for our the second loop. A couple of miles later, and I was still struggling to have any energy. We were running on pace for a 10 hour finish time around mile 20, I was struggling to stay with the group. I can’t over-emphasize how helpful it was for me to have been running with those two. They had much to talk about: home brewing, traveling, mountain climbing, and other stories that allow me to mentally focus on their conversations and to just keep my feet moving.

            Our pack of three arrived at an aid-station around mile 25, and I was starting to feel a little better. I ate several bananas, refill my water bottles, and off we went. Almost immediately after leaving the aid-station I started to feel much better. Instead of being in the back of the pack of three, I was now leading and even at times walking until the other 2 caught up with me. I made the decision that I would stay with the group for the remainder of the loop, and take off alone for the last two loops, with the hopes of beating a 10hour finish time. We finish the loop, putting us at 30 miles in 6hours for a pace of 12 minutes per mile. I was feeling great, and honestly a little gutsy, so I dropped off one of my water bottles (I had been carrying 2), eat 3 bananas, and headed out alone.

            I still don’t know why I started to feel so good, but after suffering and shuffling for 30 miles, I was finally able to fully open up my running stride and was genuinely enjoying running through the woods. This loop was 10 miles, and I did not stop once. I bypass both aid-stations (it’s usually a very stupid decision to skip any aid station during an ultra) feeling great but fearing the come-down from my high that I was certain was soon to come. I finish the loop, with a spilt time of 1:39:40 which equates to a pace around 9:30. I have trouble running that fast on trails when I am fresh, and let I was running that fast (or I should say “fast for me”) 40 miles into a race.

            I was running a rather big caloric deficient as I had not stopped to eat once during the last loop, and stopped for 10 minutes (my longest stop of the day) to get some calories in me. After eating several more bananas and downing a Gingergizer (12oz apple juice with a shot of ginger juice: it’s a basically a sugar rush/adrenalin shot for me), I took off for the final 9.5 miles of the race. I was hoping to finish the loop before the sugar rush ended, as I know all too well that it isn’t pretty when I come down from that sugar high. I was still running at a pace that had earlier in the day seemed impossible for me and having a blast on the trails. After a quick stop at an aid-station at mile 45 to refill my water bottle, I was finally able to believe I was going to finish, and was awaiting the veggie burgers I had packed for post-race. I finish the last loop just as fast as I had the previous loop, for a finishing time of 9:18.

                The causes for my sluggish start are unknown to me: I slept well, ate well, and tapered for the race as I normally do. But I am glad I stayed with it and allowed myself to run through it. The last 20 miles were well worth it. As far as recovery, I feel fine today. Ran an easy 3 miles today and notice some tightness in my hamstring and lower calf, which isn’t anything to complain about after a 50miler.

            Huge thanks to the North Texas Trail Runners for putting on a great race. And thanks to James (I really hope that was his name) and the Scottish runner for helping me through those early miles.

            And now I’ve got two weeks until the Possum Kingdom 52 mile Trail Run.