The Grasslands Run 2003
LBJ National Grasslands
Decatur, Texas
March 22, 2003
50Mile Report by Sarah Brown
My first 50 miler, Grasslands, Texas March 22nd. My goal was simply to get round, altho I would not be telling the truth if that 10 hour goal wasn't in the back of my mind, even if I thought 11 plus was more realistic.
After last year's mud fest we were all watching the weather very carefully the week or so preceding the race, there was some rain forecast a couple of day b4 the race which was needed to help pack down the sandy horse trails and some rain threatened for race day, which thankfully never materialised. The course consisted of 4 loops that had very little overlap, 2 of 10+ miles and 2 of 14+ miles, coming thru the main start/finish aid area each time.
Race morning dawned nice and overcast and still and we were soon off. I fell into running with an old adventure racing buddy of mine, both on our first 50 but probly not the wisest companion for me, as he was aiming for 9 hours !! however we were just warming up and settling into the groove. I had fun talking with him, he was planning on 'gallowalking' [to quote] for the first time. he had his watch all set up for 8 and 3 minute beeps. he went on to explain to me how he had calculated his finish time on a predicted pace etc, and he confessed to being a bit anal, but I knew that anyway! I found it hard to keep to the set times and fell into my more natural walking the inclines running the rest routine. we were going pretty fast and after 30-40 minutes he dropped me and I dropped off the pace a bit.
I was soon picked up by Dave Billman, also doing his first 50, and we settled into a much more manageable pace. I was not feeling too good at this point and needed to recover from my rather foolish fast start. we had a good time together, chatting about anything and everything and the miles soon passed. we finished the first loop, about 14.5 miles in 2 hours 45 min. a good pace but not sustainable we felt. I changed out of my tights into shorts and soon caught up with Dave. feeling much better now we had an easy time on the next loop. we were running comfortably walking a bit and enjoying ourselves. the aid stations kept coming up with more good stuff, some in fancy dress/themes, some with music and my vote definitely goes to the ones with CHOCOLATE BROWNIES, my hands just weren't big enuf to carry enuf. towards the end a few of the half marathoners passed us at a scorching pace. well that is what it seemed like.
Back in from this 10+ mile loop it was great to see a couple of friends who had finished their half marathon's waiting to see me in. Brenda and Rick helped me to change my shoes and get sorted with my 'best legs' secret weapon for Red Spicer's aid station. I again caught up with Dave and we made good time, but I started thinking about times and goals. I had said to Rick when I saw him I felt good and was hoping for about 11 hours and would be happy with that. I also said I would be pissed with a 10 hour 10min finish. too close to that elusive 10 hour goal.... I had left the main aid to start the 3rd loop at 5 hrs and 10 mins, feeling good and having fun. I knew Dave was having some stomach issues and he had said to go on if I felt good.
We came into Red's aid station together [about 30 miles] to see Barbara Hitzfeld and a couple of guys going thru on the red loop [15 miles ahead of us !!!] but hey we were having fun. Red was doing his "Best Legs, extra points for mooning" Aid station again. Letha and I had been joking about this since Tyler. I was determined I had a winning scheme planned; with the help of an old red velvet thong [and a pair of scissors] I was able to moon Red quite impressively. I think Dave was a bit shocked.
I was still feeling good and kept pulling away from Dave and soon left him. I started on my Cliff shots, with caffeine, and they gave me the required extra kick. of course I had no idea if I would be able to maintain the pace and if this was a risky/foolish thing to do, but hey, I wasn't far off my 10hour 'goal'. Strangely enuf I wasn't daunted by the next 20 miles, I just got into this 'zone' focusing on the trail, not missing any trail markers, trying to calculate when to have my next 'shot' and calculating pace/times from the occasional mile marker. I made sure to eat and drink at all the aid stations. I shant be eating any bananas or Fritos for a while now !
back into the main aid I changed my shorts at my car [much to the shock of the guy sitting in the suv opposite!] grabbed some more cliff shots and was out. I had 2hrs and 20 mins for my last 10-11 miles, no problem on a regular run, but with 40 miles under my belt already? it was great to go thru the main aid and get so much support, physical and vocal, from all the other runners their, but I was focused.
the last loop was on some similar bits of trail to the previous loop so I knew roughly what was coming up. I was surprised how quickly I was back with Red, gave him another quick moon and then back to work. I was enjoying the solitude and entered this weird sort of zone, just concentrating on the trail and the next couple of hours. I did still notice the birds singing, and a few armadillos scuttling about in the grass. the wooded areas were really pleasant and provided a variation from the open grassy areas. it was also getting more breezy and cooler and I was beginning to get cold ! I am definitely turning into a Texan !!! I kept plugging away, breathing harder now, making deals with myself to run up some of the inclines, run this gentle bit then walk and drink the steep bit, no walk a bit faster, hell if I can walk that fast I should be running, and off I went again ! the last bit of the last loop was really pretty, but I think I appreciated it a bit more when I ran it a couple of weeks ago ! it was great to see Paul and his wife at the last aid station, he said there was 1.7 miles to go, I figured I had 20 mins. tight. I had a cup of coke [bleugh] but figured the caffeine/sugar couldn't do any harm and might do some good at this stage. I ran hard, felt fast by this stage, maybe 10 min miles [wooweeze!] and even ran the climbs I had deemed walkable on previous loops. I had to work hard to keep focused and concentrated. I soon heard the finish line 'party', ran by the watering hole and up the little climb to the finish. I saw the clock at about 9hr50min and I lost it !! Suzi, Letha and Julie all gave me hugs, I was crying, could hardly get my breath and stand. it was great, not sure what I was most thrilled about, finishing, finishing in under 10 hours, having all my friends there, or simply not having to run another step !
Letha and Lauren helped me wash off and change then it was down to the camp fire to see the others finishing. I was really cold, couldn't get warmed so ended up in my sleeping bag in front of a warm fire! Dave came in soon after I was settled and a surprising number of other people [we were convinced we were the last 50 milers for ages when we were running together !]
Red then made a speech and presented Letha and I both with best legs awards [she had given him a perfumed red thong!] and I got first female 'virgin' award which was really cool. the first male virgin had won the race!
A huge thank you to Suzi, Red and all the other people that helped make this race come together. It was a brilliant day for everyone there.
Sarah