Land Between the Lakes 50 Mile Race, Grand Rivers, KY 03/14/2009

It's the time of year when the weather is very unpredictable. Throw in the fact that when I looked up the weather report the day before the race, I must have typed in the wrong location. I prepared for sunny with a high of 55. Instead we had a nice cool rain, which made for very wet, muddy, and slippery conditions on the trails.

The Land Between the Lakes races include four distances; 23K, marathon, 60K, and 50 miles. This made for a fairly crowded but interesting start. I'm generally not in any big hurry at the beginning of these longer distances, so getting a little bogged down in traffic, although discouraging, keeps the focus on pace.

Location and Course
Grand Rivers, KY is a great small vacation town with plenty of sailboats and restaurants. The locals were very friendly and supportive. It's definitely a good place to spend a weekend with the family.

The course proceeded 1.7 miles from a dock area to the national forest leading us to a 11.4 mile loop. The 23K runners completed the loop once, marathoners twice, 60K runners three times, and 50 milers four times. After completing the loop(s), runners returned the 1.7 miles back to town. The 50 mile runners had to run an additional 1.2 miles on roads to make up the remaining mileage. Aid stations were plenty, with stops every 2.5 to 3.5 miles. There were also many great views of the lakes that surround the park.

Pre Race
The rain began some time prior to race start. This was contrary to my poor research which told me that it would be sunny. It was also quite cooler than expected. I didn't bring my compression clothing, which probably in the end added to my final time. To keep warm, I had to wear my jacket for half the race. After it became soaked, I was essentially hauling around several extra pounds of wet cloth for half the race. Other than that I was well prepared.

This was my first time running a 50 miler without a drop bag. I wore a small waist pack that carried my endurolytes, gels, and Hammer Perpetuem, and would be completing the trip without a shoe and sock change. I always hated waiting around at the end of a race for my bag to be dropped off back at HQ, and in this case, I had to make the 5 hour return trip home after the race. I didn't want to wait around.

The Race
The road run to the trails went fine, as did the first loop. The first half of the loop include nice flat trails with only a few rocks and roots. The second half included a few hills, one long one in particular, that would serve for some pain in the later loops. The rain, along with close to 400 pair of feet, made for some fairly difficult trail conditions.

Aside from watching a few people wipe out on the mud slicked trails, the first loop was uneventful. As the second loop started, the crowds thinned out as we lost the 23K runners. I found myself with some other 50 mile runners and a few 60K runners. It was still early enough in the race to carry on simple conversations without getting too winded. We began to spread out as our focus changed. Other than passing a few people every now and then, found myself generally alone for the balance of the race.

I began having doubts as the third loop started. My stomach was starting to turn. I was losing my appetite. I was also taking in too much water. It was in the back of my mind to drop to the 60K race after loop 3. I battled with myself the next 11 miles. I reached the point of no return, the primary junction where if I turned left, I was 1.7 miles from being done, and if I went straight, I would have another 14+ miles to go. Without much hesitation I went straight ahead. I convinced myself that dropping to the 60K would be the same as a 50 Mile DNF, and the thought of having another DNF on my resume was unacceptable.

By the time I started the fourth loop, the trails had been demolished. The mud was beginning to lose enough moisture so that it became sticky, making lifting my feet off the ground even more difficult. I ran as much of the flat first half as possible knowing that I would definitely slow during the hilly second half.

The last loop became an aid station to aid station run. Each station brought a welcome rest, and I was able to get some of my appetite back. I hit the second to last aid station and stopped for a minute to talk to the volunteer. As I left he said, "enjoy the finish." I definitely intended to.

The Finish
I arrived at the final aid station for what I thought would be the beginning of the final 1.7 miles. Apparently, I didn't ready the fine print and was told that I had an additional 1.2 miles of road to run prior to starting back to the finish line. For most of the race, I thought that I was missing a mile somewhere, so it definitely made sense. I was able to pick up my pace a little this section, although the hard pavement made for some really nice stingers up my legs.

The last 1.7 miles was great. There was some local support with people honking their horns (or maybe I was swerving into their lane...I really don't know). The final 3 tenths of a mile was near perfect as most of the pain had briefly subsided. This was a tough race, and I had doubted myself several times. The race director was at the finish line to congratulate and pass out the finisher medals. This was an end to a great adventure.

My goal time was between 9:00 and 9:30 depending on conditions, so my finish time of 9:23 was pretty much on target given the rain and mud.

The volunteers were excellent; always happy and generally pretty convincing when they would tell you that you still looked strong. There was always something to eat, someone to take your bottle and fill it, and it was obvious that the race director did his job. It was an extremely well run event.