Hog's Hunt 50K 04/05/08

As I geared up for this race I reminded myself that this was only a race to keep my mileage up- not really a race. Certainly not a PR race. The weather in Texas is sometimes unpredictable, but for this race it was ideal. On Friday a cold front swept through the area dropping some rain, but it made the temperatures very nice on Saturday. I was worried that the trails would be muddy, but they were very good and only muddy in a few spots.

My wonderful husband and I left Friendswood to head to Huntsville at o'dark thirty on Saturday morning. Although my husband would have loved to run one of these races, he was wisely taking it easy after a hard effort and a nagging injury. So he was there to support me. We arrived at the park, picked up my packet, and prepared for the race. I told him several times that I had no intention of running this race for time, my PR for a 50K was 6:06 from the Rockledge Rumble in November 2007. I told him that I expected to run this race in about 6 hours. Ok, I know that technically that is a PR, but I feel that Huntsville terrain is easier than Grapevine- so I was not going to run hard.

Since Bruce was not up to 15 miles, he decided to make his own Hog's Hunt 10K and when we took off, he ran a little over three miles on the trail in the opposite direction. He said that you should have seen the looks on the faces of the volunteers as he came into the last aid station about an hour before they expected anyone. He just smiled and told them that he was running the "unofficial" Hog's Hunt 10K- which by the way he won first place! Sure there was no shirt, no swag, and no recognition- but he won!

I kissed Bruce bye and left for the first 15 mile loop. I have run several races in the Huntsville State park and I am always amazed at how many different routes race directors are able to find in one park. I feel like every race is different. I remember thinkning that Paul Stone had somehow managed to find a terrific 15 mile loop that was all downhill. As I came in from the first loop, Bruce was not even looking for me. He was chatting with others as I was running up. I yelled "hey, pay attention!" as I ran by. :-) I grinned at his surprised look. I grabbed something at the aid station and headed over to him for a quick clothing change. He asked me how long that loop took and I was surprised to say 2 hours and 38 minutes. No wonder he was not looking for me- I was way ahead of schedule!

I headed out again secretly worrying that I started too fast. The truth was that I felt great. I discovered that somehow the second identical loop was all uphill! Ok, maybe it just seemed that way. I just decided to keep up this pace as long as I could. The terrain was typical Huntsville, a few hills, very rooty and a bit muddy here and there. This was the first race that I have ever run without a Garmin or Polar to keep my pace. Maybe that is why I was able to do better than I had expected- I was just running because it felt good.

The front runners kept me inspired throughout the race. I ran it in at 5:18- over 40 minutes faster than I had anticpiated. So much for not running for a time goal or a PR. It was a fantastic race.