Dark Side Series - Race 1

"The All Nighter" at Mule Shoe Bend
1-Aug-2009
Spice Wood, Tx

With temperature constantly roofing 100+, its definitely a relief to have a night race. I promptly registered for the all the 60K distances races held over three weekends in august (1,15,29) More details. Its the best way to meet your local runners, its always fun. To top it, these would be the real training run for my Cactus Rose 100 miler on Oct 31, yes on Halloween night.

I have been focusing on my speed for few weeks leading into this race. I could feel the difference in my speed as i have been constantly clocking sub 23 in 5K and sub 48 in 6k. Thanks to Pete, i am seeing considerable difference in my running speed. And yes, i have shed few pounds as well - now standing at 156 pounds.

The course was 6 loops of 10k distance. Though the race officials claim its 10K loop, i personally feel it was more than that. Should be roughly about 6.5/6.8 miles. Doesn't matter. My approach to this race was to run first 2 loops real hard, next 2 loops - tempo run at comfortable pace, last 2 loops - just relax.

Primarily used for mountain biking , the whole course was runnable with few climbs needing its due respect. Though not technical, there were parts where you had to be careful especially at night. The real challenge was unfurled by Mother Nature. When the runners took off from the start line at 7PM, the mercury was close to 102+ with hot and humid. I was tagging along with Amanda, Dalton, Larry for most of the loop1. My goal was to finish the loop 1 within top 10 runners. I figured i was pushing hard too early in the game. But i have to try running fast at some point and i had a good rhythm. Listening to your body when its in rhythm is pure music. Real joy.

End of L1, Joe reminded me to run "smart" as its very hot. I have seen it umpteen times when his words come true. Made a quick change in the approach (L2,3 - run tempo L4-hard L5-tempo\relax) and kept moving ahead. It started drizzling as i finished L2.

Body and mind was craving for more rain. You have to be careful what you ask for. Rain did pour! It was hard enough to make visibility a challenge. Thanks to my prescription glasses, it was super fun. Running on slippery rocks and water clogged trails were interesting. The real trouble started when it stopped raining. The trails were not runnable & the mud stuck to your shoes making it feel like heavy boots. It was nasty in a way that the runners were dropping off the race like nine pins. The splits would speak for itself. I was glad to hang in there & finish it.

My splits

Lap 1	Lap 2	Lap 3	Lap 4	Lap 5	Lap 6	60KM
1:10:54	1:34:02	1:44:30	1:56:19	2:03:15	2:06:41	10:35:41

Only challenge in L5/L6 was my struggle to stay awake. Couple of times, i would have fallen off the ledge with my sleep running. I was scared to hell. Figured its better to power hike rest of the race than end up with broken bones.

What worked: Running Fast, New diet (lentils, nuts & bread), Power Hiking the uphills.
Need to improve on: To stay awake \ Night running, Work on doing even splits

When many call it quit there were few who hung in there even when they were well beyond the scheduled time. They are real inspiration. (John/Cheri). That reflects on their character.

We were handful of people at the end for the tear down which we got done real fast. Had a beer or two with friends before we officially ended the night long party. Next race in the series is on August 15th (Indias' Independence Day) at Pedernales Falls. What a great way to mark my respect for our freedom fighters. Cheers to that.