Croom Trail 50k

I ran the Croom Trail 50k on 4/3 - this was a race I had done (or at least suffered through) in the past and decided that i would give it another try. it just so happened that I had the 3rd off so I was able to fit it in my schedule.

I was not trained properly for the race - I had 2 runs of over 2 hours on the trails going into this race but I thought if I could take it easy and try to put it on cruise control I could get through it. I figured if any way it would test me mentally.

This course is a 2 lap run through the woods in Brooksville and is a lot tougher than I remember from a few years ago when I ran it then. I ended up running a 4:26 for the 31 miles (8:35 pace) and was pretty happy. The first lap all I wanted to do was slow down and run conservatively. The first time I ran this race I ran 1:55 for the first lap and we will not talk about the 2nd lap but to say it was slow.

One of the problems with this race is that they have a 15 miler too - and the 15 milers start with the 50k people and you do not know who is who - sometimes you get caught up in early speed and get wiped out.

So Saturday I let all the fast guys go and tried to settle in to a nice steady conservative pace. The first lap went by in 2:07 - a little fast but not to bad - I would have preferred a 2:10-2:15 but I would take it. I came by the start finish and saw some awesome friends that were there cheering me and others on. I stopped and had some of my peanut butter and jelly sandwich and switched out water bottles for the second lap.

The second lap went well until I reached about mile 26-27, that is when the course really gets hilly and is tough after running for 3.75 hours or so. I kept pushing alternating running and walking. When I knew I was about 1.5 miles from the finish I decided I should start running again and then it happened, I fell, crashed, bit the dirt. Not hard but enough to cover my sweaty body in dark brown dirt/mud - hello Pigpen!

I ended up finishing in 4:26 (8:35 pace) and about 11 minutes off my target time but not a bad overall result. The last time I ran this race it was about 4:33 so i got faster on less training - go figure.

I was 5th overall and 3rd in my age group - the old dudes ruled in the race - 7 of the top 10 were over 40.

Now it is time to decide what I should run in the Keys - 100 or 50 miles - the next couple days will let me know - and maybe I should be out running instead of writing in my blog.

Hope training is going well for everyone! See you all soon.