Lake McMurtry Trail Run

I ran with Gina up at Lake McMurtry by Stillwater as she rocked out her first 50K. The race consists of two figure eight laps. We ran this race last year, I ran the full 50K and Gina ran the 25K. Last year it was a dreary, cold and windy mudfest and with the torrential downpours we had here in the first part of last week we thought we were in for similar conditions. The sun came out though on Friday as it warmed up and it looked like at least we we're going to have gorgeous running weather. On the drive up to Stillwater we saw some swollen lakes and streams, a little foreshadowing of what was to come. Earl Blewitt (race director) postponed the race for thirty minutes since some of the roads heading into the park were flooded. As for the course, I think a quote from Earl sums it up the best:

"The trail is in good shape where it isn't covered in water."



I'll let Gina tell you the whole story:

Gina's race report:This is my first (and hopefully not my last) race report. Matt suggested I tell you a bit about how I felt during, before and after the race. So hear it goes..

Before the race, I honestly felt alright about everything. I actually wasn't thinking about it too much, because I had had a very busy week - getting back from Seattle after a cancelled flight and a red-eye, I started a new program at work, and then I had to come back to my computer that had crashed right before I left for Seattle. So, yeah, the race wasn't at the tip top most of my mind. But I was excited and looking forward to the challenge. I tried to get Matt to go to bed early on Friday night, but he was basking in the humor of "Still Standing" (ask Matt). So off to bed I went, because we had to wake up at the early morning hour of 5AM. During the very peaceful drive up to Lake McMurtry, I tried not to get to antsy or too nervous. I really just wanted to get things started, so I didn't have to think about the next 31.1 miles. But, it was not to be. We got there and the race was postponed for a half hour because of flooded roads. Well, I tried to keep my cool and take a forty minute nap, but my nerves coupled with Matt's java drinking kept the sleep at bay. No worries, though because the race started soon enough and we were off.

Honestly, my favorite part of the run was crossing the "river." Water up to mid-thigh, kept me alert and made me feel tough. It was also like a nice cold ice bath, that soothed my muscles, which I really appreciated on the second loop. I'd like to say that this run was fun the whole time and that I had a stellar performance, but ...well it wouldn't be the truth and it wouldn't be as interesting! I did have fun and I did meet one of my goals (to finish under 6hr 30 min.). I also felt like crap, and wasn't sure I was going to finish. Half way (ok, not even half way) through the race my legs felt like lead and I felt so tired. I just lost all my energy and it was pretty demoralizing because I knew I had 15 more miles to go. Luckily, I had the just the thing I needed to get through the race...Matt. He was the best cheerleader, crew master, pacer you can imagine. He advised me to keep going, even if I was just walking, to try eating whatever and whenever I wanted (there's a reason they put potatoes out on these long races), and to just try to enjoy the scenery. And you know what? I did all those things and I had a good time. I walked a lot over the next 8 miles, ate a bunch of things from pretzels and potatoes, to animal crackers and lots of GU, and I was able to move from a tired walk to a slow shuffle, and eventually even picked up my feet for some actual trail 'running!' My last 7 miles I think were some of my best, because I stayed focus and just tried to listen to my body. There are probably a lot more moments I could recount, like the people who hitched a ride on the back of a truck for 10ft to avoid getting their feet wet, passing someone in the last mile who had passed me at the half way point, almost falling on my face after a root jumped up and grabbed my shoe, and the joy of never getting lapped, but if I kept going you'd be reading a novel.


So, how did I feel after the race? Tired, sore, happy. Amazingly I didn't cry at the finish, though I was pretty emotionally spent. I popped some Vitamin I (ibuprofen) pretty quickly, but the next 24 hours were a bit rough as I was definitely sore. Yeah, I pretty much felt like an old lady, with bones cracking and an early bed time! But, surprisingly 48 hours or so later, I'm feeling a little bit better, a little less sore and more than a little excited to go out on a run on Wednesday (I figure one more day of rest would do me good!).

Running moment of the week: Watching Gina finish her first ultra! Check it out below. Don't mind my heavy breathing and woo-hoo's, I had just run for the past 6+ hours, I'm allowed to sound like a dork.




4/7 - 4/13
total miles: 49.6
time: 8:50

YTD miles: 803.1