As mentioned in an earlier post, I'm registered to run the Mountain Mist 50k in late January. http://www.huntsvilletrackclub.org/HTC_Races/MM07WEB/index.html This race is billed as the "Toughest Trail Run in Alabama," full of steep climbs and descents across 31 miles of rocky single track terrain.
Since I've only done one trail run in my life, I decided that it wouldn't be a bad idea to get some practice today at Oak Mountain State Park. William and Colin agreed to join me on this adventure. We decided to start at the North Trailhead and run the blue trail up to Peavine Falls and the white trail back to the car. Sounds easy, right? Well, not so much.
William's brother in law, Bo, an accomplished and fast trailer runner, joined us. It was comforting to have someone who had a clue with us.
Upon arrival we only chatted for a couple minutes before we were off and running. Everyone but me has a house full of kids, so time is always precious and not to be wasted. The first mile of the blue trail was straight uphill. I reached the top gasping for air. It didn't get much better after that. Bo moved along with ease up front, while I struggled in the back, falling at least three times. The course was all singletrack, filled with rocks and branches.
None of us seemed to have packed enough water. About three miles in Bo refilled his water bottle from a stream, popping an iodine tablet into his bottle to cleanse the water. One thought entered my mind, "Holy S@*!, this sport is more extreme than I thought.
After a painful 6.5 miles we reached the halfway point at Peavine. I was considering bailing and having them send a car for me. Fortunately Bo and William didn't stop to chat and Colin and I were forced to continue the pursuit of our superior running partners.
We finished the 13 miles in 2.5 hours, about 45 minutes slower than we would have run it on a flat road.
At the car I realized that everything hurt...toes, feet, calves, quads, shoulder blades, wrist. I asked Bo, a four time Mountain Mist finisher, about my upcoming race. "Much harder terrain than we covered today for the entire 31 miles", he said. Not very reassuring.
I know that I'll survive and finish the race, though it may be slower than my 6 hour goal. As I've said before, "I'm stupider than I am smart", which seems to benefit me.
I'm thankful that I have a great wife and friends to train and race with. They are what truly make all these crazy weekend adventures fun.
2008 has been a blast with all of you and we're gonna kick ass in 2009.
May the upcoming year bring more races and longer distances.
JG
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