Easter and Gnaw Bone Race Report

Jumping back a bit (before the Flying Pig and before the Oaks), we went to Louisville for Lily’s first Easter.  She had a great Easter celebration and it was great seeing the family.

 
Now jumping forward (after the Oaks and after the Flying Pig) to the 50k.  Since the race was in a beautiful part of SW Indiana, we already had hotels booked, and my parents were coming up as well…we decided to go ahead and make the trip. If nothing else, we could spectate and enjoy the other amenities Brown County State Park has to offer.

Of course (wouldn’t you know it), I felt great by Friday afternoon as we left town; almost good enough to convince myself to attempt the full distance. Luckily, wisdom (Susan) prevailed and I ended up switching registration to the half-marathon. They charged extra for this…switching to a less expensive race option which I thought was a bit of a bummer. The rest of Friday was spent getting acquainted with our hotel and resting for the race.

Saturday morning I awoke to rain. Had I stayed in the 50k I would already have been on the course for about an hour, so I was glad to have made the switch. However, the rain wasn’t letting up anytime soon.  We drove to the start where I hid under the awning of a building near the course with the other runners waiting. Since the rain had been at it awhile, everything was a wet and muddy mess. Finally, with about 3 minutes to the start I ran over to the start line and off we went. The first mile was through a field, then onto a gravel road…mostly flat for .75 miles, then climbing into the woods. This offered a good chance for the crowds to thin out before getting into more of the technical sections.

Once off the road, we entered a trail that was still wide enough for service vehicle access, but was mud (with a drainage river flowing down along it). By the time I crested this hill I was officially a mess. Around this time the rain stopped and as the sun came out above the trees it turned the shaded trails into a humid, almost tropical environment. The pace was slow, but I was near the front of the field. With all the mud, a lot of time was spent focusing on footing.

Around mile 3 we hit the first aid station, then ran along a park road in a campground before picking up single track for the next couple miles. This was the highlight of the course for me. I was still feeling strong and the course was technical with rolling hills. This trail merged with another service road and would weave around the service road for a while until it looped back around and wound up back in the campground where I hit the second aid station (same as the first).

Leaving the aid station I was 8 miles in and was backtracking along the initial route. This continued for almost a mile before diverting to a different route for the finish. A couple times along this route I thought I was lost so I slowed a bit to take in my surroundings. Another runner came by and was looking confident in his direction, so I followed him until we got to an area that was better marked. It also had more crowds as we merged with other race distances for the last couple miles.

Reading the course description, I was aware of an old ski slope that we had to run down near the finish so it was always in the back of my mind. However, I was not prepared to all of a sudden emerge from the woods immediately onto the slope. I came to a halt before careening over the edge. As I evaluated my approach to the mudslide that was the top of the hill, another runner flew past me and straight over the edge. I was certain he was dead, but he just dropped around 10 feet and slid before popping back up to his feet and continuing to descend. Now I felt like a wimp so decided I had to get on with the descent (fall).

As with most things, it looked worse than it was and ended in a long flat field where you could slowly run out your downhill momentum. From the base of the hill there was only a little bit left so I started feeling the runners high. The people I passed from shorter races during this stretch did not share my feelings. Many were walking and had a defeated posture and look on their face. I’m sure they were not impressed with the fording of the creek that remained between us and the finish. The water was cold, but it was a great way to get the mud off my legs. I crossed the finish still feeling strong and having a lot of fun…trail runs are just more fun. I was a little disappointed I didn’t have a longer race, but I never would have made it for the 50k.  My parents had come up and caught the finish.

After the race, we checked out what Nashville, IN had to offer to grab some lunch and walk around the quaint downtown a bit.  Susan and Lily went back to the lodge for an afternoon nap while my parents and I went back to the finish to watch some of the ultras come in, and it convinced my dad to look at giving the 50k a go next year. Something to look forward to…

The next morning, we decided to take Lily swimming for the first time since our lodge had a pretty impressive little pool.  She was overwhelmed and underimpressed.  We knew she’d had enough when she started sucking her thumb while simultaneously clutching her mommy. 

We leave you with a family picture taken in our backyard at the end of April.