This morning I woke up at 4am, had some coffee and drank a pre workout fueling mix. It was race day and I was headed to Tyler Texas to run the Running The Rose 54k trail race. 2 weeks earlier I ran the Houston Marathon where I cut 37 minutes off my previous Marathon Personal Record.  Following the marathon I decreased my training load a bit and had the intent of going into today's race with tired legs. Sounds crazy but my goal race this year is the Leadville Silver Rush 50 miler and since I can't replicate the altitude of Colorado living in Texas and at the current moment can't train in the heat to add strain, running on tired legs is the next best alternative to helping me prepare for Silver Rush.  I did not have a time goal for today's race but did have a a few non time goals for the race:

1) Run the race in heart rate zone 2 as much as possible- the legs were tired and I wanted to stick with a pace that would not make me feel worse.

2) Use the UltrAspire Bronco Race vest during a race to ensure I could use all of it's features and that it did what I needed it to do.

3) Test using the fueling strategy that I used in the Houston Marathon during a trail race- essentially 1 Maurten Gel 100  / Caf 100 every 6km.

Loop 1: The weather forecast called for intermittent rain showers, which we got (less intermittently). The air temp was in the mid 50s, which felt great. This race had 3 loops of 11 miles each with about 1200 feet of elevation gain per loop. The first loop went really well and I had the chance to run with a few new friends who I met on the trail and an old friend that was just straight up good for my soul. I decided to take off my rain jacket at the first aid station, I appreciated having my base layer stay dry but the jacket was trapping all of the heat to my body which, at the time, seemed like the greater risk. For the next 7 miles it rained on and off but the tree cover helped shield us, and the race course, from the rain. This race had several distances, 7 miles, 11 miles, 22 miles, 54k and 108k and there were staggered start times which made it super cool because I had several friends running the 7, 11 and 22 mile races that I was able to see on the course. It always gives me a boost to see friends out there giving it their all! I came out of the first 11 mile loop feeling great in just over 2 hours.  I went to the tent to take the rain jackets out of my pack and quickly made my way back onto the course.

Loop 2: When I hit mile 2 I realized that I hadn't pick up the 3 gels that I was going to take on this loop. On loop 1 I nailed it and am certain that it helped me from feeling any fatigue. I decided to focus on my hydration until I got to the first aid station and then pick up some fuel. Side note: one of my favorite things about trail racing is that we're essentially moving from station to station looking for great snacks! When I got to the station, I picked up a few pieces of banana and refilled my flask with orange Gatorade. At some point between station 1 and station 2 my stomach decided to begin punishing me for not giving it what it was expecting- it wanted those Maurten gels. I've done many training runs with them and conditioned my stomach to handle them, in fact, conditioned my stomach to EXPECT them. When I got to station 2 I spent some time talking with some of the runners that came in about the same time I did, this is another awesome thing about trail racing. Rarely in road racing do you talk to people during a race, but in trail racing it feels very welcomed in the festival like atmosphere. I picked up some Pringles, had a small peanut butter & jelly sandwich and grabbed a small cup of pretzels to take with me. I had about 3 miles left to the end of the 2nd 11 mile loop. At this point, I was soaked, the course was becoming more muddy, my feet had began to blister and I started thinking about the final upcoming loop. I had a choice to make, I could muscle through the final loop at a more casual pace and finish the race or I could turn in my tracker and call it done at 22 miles, earning the DNF (Did Not Finish). I made my decision with about 1 mile to go of the 2nd loop.

I came over the timing mat again with a loop time of just over 2 hours, found one of the Race Directors and let them know that I decided not to run the final loop. As I walked back to the tent several friends encouraged me to go on and avoid the DNF. I explained to them that I was happy with my effort for the day and got what I needed from a training perspective. I think that puzzled some folks because I was still looking fresh. Why not just run the next loop of 11 miles, I already did 22 miles so it could be a celebratory lap, I could take it easy and earn the finishers medal. You see- I don't view the DNF exclusively as a Did Not Finish, I also view it as a Did Not Fail. Here's another way I think about it. This past year I have been super focused on my nutrition and began thinking of food as fuel. In the past, if food was on my plate I would finish it because it was there (call it the finish what you start approach). Now, I am finished eating when I am full, when I have the fuel needed to carry on with what I need to get done. Races are no different (unless it's a goal/target/A race), if I get what I needed from the course, why carry on. I know what workouts I have coming up the next week and want to be in position to get them done because I know they will provide me with more of the stimulus that I need than (in this case), the next 11 mile loop. So while I indeed Did Not Finish, I also Did Not Fail- I succeeded.  I am very happy with this result (even if Garmin only thinks I went 20.46 miles on (2) 11 mile loops.

In closing, I am proud of the run today. I'm also super proud of a friend who I've known when she first started trail running and has become an incredibly strong and determined runner. Today, she finished 1st in her age group in the 54k race (she also takes great pics, thanks for the pic above).

Let's revisit my 3 goals:

1) Run the race in heart rate zone 2 as much as possible- the legs were tired and I wanted to stick with a pace that would not make me feel worse. There were a few spikes but overall I'd say mission accomplished.

2) Use the UltrAspire Bronco Race vest during a race to ensure I could use all of it's features and that it did what I needed it to do. This vest totally worked, I loved having the bottles sit high near my shoulders and a 2L bladder in the back. There was also enough storage for 3 rain jackets and an additional running vest.

 3) Test using the fueling strategy that I used in the Houston Marathon during a trail race- essentially 1 Maurten Gel 100  / Caf 100 every 6km. This was a miss, although the aid station fuel helped me avoid feeling fatigued, it didn't sit well in my stomach. I'll nail this one during my next race in a few weeks.