Race 32 Thrill in the Hills Half Marathon

The race should have been called "Thrill in the Mud"!   After days of heavy rain, very thankful it stopped two hours before the race started though, there was just an incredible amount of water on the trail.  This was a trail race at Fort Yargo State Park in Winder, Georgia with 575 full and half marathoners signed up and this was my third time doing it, however, first time with these conditions.

All week long I was watching the weather predictions, it was bleak -  rain all week including during the race.  I have been super lucky to date as this was my 32nd race and none of them have been in the rain.  Luck.

Arrived at Fort Yargo with plenty of time to check in, cycle through the porta-pottie line, and try to stay warm, temps were in the mid 40s.  The full marathoners started at 8:00 and half at 8:30.  The walk over the starting line was definitely an indication of things to come as there were puddles everywhere.  We watched the full marathoners trek through this and began to wonder if all 13.1 miles would be like it.

Thrill in the Hills Half Marathon at the start

This race was a test of my knee.  Since going to the Sports Med. Doc I have been stretching, after every walk, a lot.  However there is a huge difference between doing 13 miles on my own and doing 13 miles in a race, so this was a test.  My normal approach to these races is typically a combination of walking  &  jogging/running, mostly walking though.  For this race there would be absolutely no jogging/running, none.  And I did have the knee brace on from the start.  The hardest part was the beginning, I always jog/run with the crowd.  

At 8:30, we were off.  The first 2 miles or so wasn't too bad, mud, puddle wise.  But that quickly changed.  At first when we came upon puddles, we could go around them.  Sure it takes you off the course but it helped keep your feet dry.  But the puddle frequency increased and going around them began to mean going into marshy areas (think sink your foot in and if your shoe is not tied tight, it might just stay in the mud without your foot) or going through briars.  Hey, this was not in the brochure  :)

After a while, with mud caked up to your ankles and your feet as wet as if you hosed them down, well that was pretty much how the race was to be.  As the race organizer said on their website (dirtyspokes.com), "FREE Mud Run".

The entire trail was not like the pictures above, but there were so many hills and the water was always in the low parts.  I was glad I got to do the race but I was really glad when it was over.  

Oh yeah, no, none, nada, knee pain.  :)  Very pleased about this.  And of course as soon as I finished, did 15-20 minutes of stretching while eating the post race pizza they provided!

Race 31 - Museum of Aviation Half Marathon

Race 31 - Museum of Aviation Half Marathon, Robins Air Force Base, Georgia

The Day Before

I love this part - leave work early on Friday to head south on I-75 to Macon.  It really does feel like playing hooky from school as a kid!   I needed to get to Macon by the time my grandsons got out of school.  Made it just in time with a couple of bottles of Yoo-Hoo.  This is the third year in a row where I spent the night at my daughter's house for this race.  Jen and I where both signed up to do the half.  As usual, we all headed out for their favorite Mexican restaurant for the pre-race carbo-loading meal : )  As usual, it was good.

The Day of the Race

Up early, coffee, eat a little and head down to the Museum of Aviation which is right next to Robins AFB where the race would take place.  As always, they have the museum hangar opened and it is heated so with the temperature hovering around freezing outside we were able to stay warm until the race started.

One of the neat things about this venue - aircraft all over the place!  Not what one typically sees prior to a race.

Jen & me in front of a C-130

I believe they had about 1200 people for the marathon, half marathon, and 5K.  The marathon started at 8:00 and the half at 8:15.  The picture below is the starting line for the marathon with  the old Air Force One - again, not your typical starting line.

At the starting line - Air Force One (retired)

At 8:15 the half started.   Except for the very beginning, this race was never crowded.  We exited the Museum property onto the base within a couple hundred yards.  We passed many Air Force buildings in the first 4-5 miles and then made out way towards the runway.  The scenery changes drastically when you get to the runway.  (click on photos to enlarge)

Robins AFB runway

backside of the runway

backside of the runway

we had to cross the tarmac around mile 9

Yep, the back side of the flight line was pretty much what you would expect for the back side of a flight line. After that we made out through the base golf course, horse stables, a camping ground, and finally through base housing.  

Update on the Knee

This race was a test of my left knee that I hurt during Soldier Marathon back in November.  I have taken it easy on the knee, have had no pain at all in the last 4-5 weeks.  Last weekend I did 14 miles, walking, no running, and everything felt great.  So my plan for this race - jog 1.5 minutes, walk 3.5 minutes.  I did that for the first 5 miles and everything felt okay.  Then, around mile 6, a little twinge, a little tightness.  I really thought it would go away.  It did not.  The same exact pain in my left knee that I had in Soldier Marathon, I have again.  The pain steadily got worse from mile 6.  I need to make an appointment with the Sports Medicine Doc and try to get to the bottom of this.

On a high note though, my daughter Jen got a PR today 2:14!   : )

Race 30 One Epic Run - Trail Half Marathon

I did a half marathon distance in the "One Epic Run" event in Spartanburg, SC on Saturday.  This event was a 24 hour trail race that allowed participants to accumulate as many miles as they could during that time period.  Or, as advertised, you could do any distance you'd like.  Originally my plan was to make it a 50K.  But with my recent knee issue, I thought it would be more prudent to cut that distance down.  So I opted to do it as a half marathon.

Disclaimer:  The name of this race "One Epic Run" really does not describe what I did for this event.  The word epic ( extending beyond the usual or ordinary especially in size or scope ) may describe what some participants did during the 24 hour race, but it really does not apply to what I did!

The day started out very early for me as I opted to drive up to Spartanburg (~170 miles) that morning instead of the night before.  If I do this race in the future, I think I would take them up on the offer to camp out the night before as the race sign up fee ($35) included a campsite :) at Croft State Park where the event took place.  

Croft State Park

The race had 98 people registered and that was pleasant in comparison to the Atlanta Half Marathon that I did a few weeks earlier with 10,000+ people!  This is definitely more my speed.  Upon arrival (with about 15 minutes to spare) I needed to find where we check in - was told camp site #11...

Race check-in at the trailer on camp site #11

So check in was a breeze.  With only a few minutes before the start, the race director hopped into the back of a pickup truck, gathered everyone and explained a bit about the course.  The trail was shaped like a lollipop and just over 3 miles.  The trail head was just on the back side of the trailer on camp site #11 and after each loop be sure the volunteer who is keeping track marks you down.  And we were off.

This was actually a non competitive race, sure there were personal competitions going on, but the RD opted to not have a leader board.

The course for the most part was not too technical - not many rocks, roots, or climbs.  It was pretty though:

The Bridges of Croft State Park

We had to cross over water a few times on the trail and I noticed the farther out we got, the more primitive the bridge:

Bridge #1

Bridge #2

Bridge #3  :)

I'm just glad we didn't have to go into the water!

Although my original intention was do make this a 50K (10 loops), because of this knee issue that is still not resolved, I did it as a half marathon (4 loops) instead.  I am glad I switched this.  The knee started tightening up towards the end of loop 3 and at the end of loop 4, it was hurting.  However, I think I would like to do this as a longer race/event in the future.  Maybe next year the knee will fine.

Oh yeah, in case you are not familiar with trail race aid stations (we had one aid station where we checked in after each loop) and it was stocked!!!

This was a fun race, I highly recommend it!