Hog's Hunt 50K Race Report

Prepare yourself... this is a long post...


The day began at 4:00 am, my usual rising time for long runs or race days. I had prepared my bag the night before, so all that was required of me was a shower, eating, and trying to get some fluids in before we headed up to Huntsville.

I ate a breakfast consisting of yogurt over some Go Lean Crunch, mixed with strawberries. It hit the spot and seemed to get me to the start line ok, but I was hungry right as we were about the start the race.

Mark drove me over to Pete's house and Pete, Richard and I drove up to Huntsville in plenty of time for the 7 am. start. Several great folks came out early to see us off. Most of them were running the 25K, so I really appreciated the well-wishers and extra encouragement.

I was able to meet Tommy's son, Jakeb. What a nice young man! I also saw Liz and Sara from Woodlands Fit. I saw Ken and Katy from the Seven Hills group. They were both running the 50K as well. Katy looked about as nervous as I felt. I really, honestly, did not feel like I had any business even attempting the 50K, but there I was. I figured I would either make it or I wouldn't and if I didn't at least I would get my first DNF out of the way.

It could not have been a more glorious morning to run. The temps were perfect, the humidity was low. We started off down the Park Road and then headed into the woods. I felt strangely at home even though I had only run at the park twice. It reminds me of home, and knowing that Mom is there now too, I guess I should not have been surprised that I felt so comfortable.

The trails were not too muddy. They seemed to have drain well from the previous day's rainfall. Pete and I committed to running this thing together and I was convinced I would have to wave him on at some point. I had not run anything longer than 13 miles since the Houston Marathon save for TIR which was 18 miles over 2 days. Remarkably, I felt good.

We kept our pace slow deciding to walk the uphills from the beginning. It was hard to do this as I felt strong enough to run them, but I kept hearing Bill's voice in my head and decided to heed his advice.

I didn't use my mp3 player at all. The first loop. It was just not needed. The beautiful sounds of God's creation filled the air and I was blessed to be there soaking it in. We hit 10 miles before I realized it. I felt just as good then as I did at the start.

Pete and I both had on our TIR shirts and we received lots of comments about TIR. It is a great looking shirt and obviously, it stirs up a lot of good memories for many folks out there! At each aid station, people mentioned something about TIR to us. Many of the runners passing us each way said things. "What team were you on?" "Are you registered for next year?" "Wasn't that the best race ever?!"

I was trying very hard to stick to a nutrition plan that I had put together with the advice from Rick. I even wrote the plan on my little baggie so that I wouldn't forget it. I tend to forget lots of things when I am running. I had supplied two bags with what I thought I needed for each loop. The plan was to switch out the first baggie with the second one when we came into the Lodge at 15.5 miles. I knew that I would be too scatter-brained to count out stuff, determine how many of whatever I needed. This worked very well for me. Not only did I feel well prepared nutrition-wise, I also have a record of what I actually used on each loop. Whatever remained in the bag I counted and made note of it for the next longer race I do.

As Pete and I came into the last aid station before the Lodge, we were over taken by the 25K folks. We were 2:17 into this run and these guys started an hour behind us and still ran us down. Incredible athletes, incredible. I saw Adrienne and wished her well. We were pretty sure she was going to take First Female and she did. That young lady is going to blow some records away... just watch.

As we came into the Lodge, I saw Beth and Carmen. They were cheering us on. I still felt great, but I knew I should have stopped for the restroom. I didn't, and I regretted it almost immediately. Pete reminded me that we could stop at the Nature Center. We did. It added a few minutes on, but I am so glad I stopped.

I felt like I had just warmed up a bit on the first loop, so as we headed back into the woods, it was as if we were heading in the first time. I felt pretty strong and hoped that this would hold for the remainder of the race. I still wondered if my body would not give out when I least expected it.

As we got to mile 20, I recalled how I felt at the Houston Marathon. I felt totally drained. I didn't think I was going to make it. But I chugged along because I knew Lem was going to be waiting for me at the 25th mile to run in with me. This day, as I hit 25, I felt stronger than I had all day. I think I picked up the pace, maybe a bit too much for Pete as I kept getting too far ahead of him. He led us most of the time on the first loop and I was close behind him. I was taking the lead on the second loop and tended to get a bit too far ahead. I made myself slow down so as to not burn out before the end. I put a bit of slow music on to slow me down as well.

At one point, I came across a Coral Snake. I didn't scream, just lightly tip-toed to the side. I was very proud of myself for not screaming like a girl. I usually do...

As we came in to the Electrical wires, Pete and I picked up the pace quite a bit. As soon as we could see the finish I egged him on with, "I'll race ya!" We tore butt across the finish and high-fived each other! Honestly, I think I could have gone further. I don't know how much further, but maybe another 10 miles or so.

I am sure the wonderful weather had a lot to do with how good I felt during this race. I had been praying all week for just one more cool front. God answered and He answered big. It was so wonderful.


The only real problem I had was the continual problem that I have with my hands swelling. My fingers looked like sausages. I had to actually loosen my watch in the last few miles because my wrist was swelling as well. I can't figure out why this happens. I drank plenty of fluids, either Accelerade, Heed, Nuun, or Powerade. I took the Succeed caps. Maybe it has to do with my arm position when running?

Here are my splits for the run.

Total time: 6:39:37 Avg Pace: 13:01 Avg HR 158!! (It's never been that low!)

Mile 1: 9:58

Mile 2: 10:32

Mile 3: 11:10

Mile 4: 10:08

Mile 5: 11:10 Aid Station

Mile 6: 10:43

Mile 7: 12:29

Mile 8: 12:02 Aid Station

Mile 9: 12:13

Mile 10: 11:51

Mile 11: 14:01

Mile 12: 11:04

Mile 13: 13:10 Aid Station

Mile 14: 12:19

Mile 15: 11:58

Mile 16: 11:52 Turn Around

Mile 17: 13:58 (nature center stop)

Mile 18: 13:01

Mile 19: 12:24

Mile 20: 14:11 (aid station)

Mile 21: 13:02

Mile 22: 13:27

Mile 23: 12:36

Mile 24: 15:20 (this may have been where Pete had a leg cramp)

Mile 25: 13:11

Mile 26: 14:04 (aid station)

Mile 27: 13:32

Mile 28: 12:00

Mile 29: 14:30

Mile 30: 12:54

Mile 31ish: 10:48/pace (.71 Miles)