The Ranch 30K

Or, Are we done yet?

Parts of the course reminded me of Grayson Highlands State Park, with a Texas twist of mesquite trees. Running over the granite uplift and through granite boulders was wonderful. And fortunately, only part of the first 10 miles. I couldn't have repeated that section, it was spectacular, but tough. This race was my absolute favorite of the series. On-site camping, beautiful course, beautiful weather, awesome post-race showers and food. The scenery was so amazing that I didn't feel bad for the times I slowed to a walk. That said, I least looked forward to this race. I had busted my knee and elbow open at the ranch two weeks prior on a training run, and had struggled on long runs since. I was tired and ready to be done. Apparently, my busted knee was legendary. Some of my friends told the staff they were with me and didn't have to pay for camping.

The field was probably twice that of the previous races, so chances of placing were pretty slim. The 'back of my mind' unofficial/unspoken goal was to finish no slower than The Loop race at Emma Long, but I wasn't sure even that was possible. Tough to gauge how that was going on this (unequal) two loop course. Loop one was about 11 miles, loop two made up the difference. Turns out no one got official times or placing because there were course marking issues. Many people took wrong turns and either ran over or under 30K. My time was on par with my goal, so I either ran short and slower, or ran the course as marked.

A couple of times I stumbled but caught myself. Both times I rather vehemently told the trail, "you are *not* getting another piece of me!" Both occurrences boosted by energy level for a bit, so that was a nice bonus for not quite falling. Somewhere beyond the halfway point, my right hip started to bug me. Either my adductor or psoas was complaining. I tried some minor gait adjustments with some success. It never really resolved itself, but would come and go for the rest of the race. It slowed me to a walk a few times, so I got to enjoy the views. The hardest part was the last half mile. We had to run back along an unshaded dirt road, skirting the pond by the pavilion, where we could see the spectators and everyone who'd already finished. And they could see whether I was still running. I really wanted to walk for part of that last bit, but kept running (slowly) out of pride. We circled wide to get back to the finish line, which I couldn't see until I'd made the final turn. It was a nice surprise to see my housemates and friends there to cheer me in, with a sign and everything! I found a little finishing kick for the last 50 yards, very happy to be done.
My time was slightly faster than the previous race, and being one of the few women who completed the 30K series, I earned a pair of Brooks Cascadias. Not bad for 90K in 3 months.

Six days of rest, and on the seventh day, fall marathon training began. So far, I'm enjoying the base building phase.