Jackson County 50K

      The Jackson County 50/50 was a race I wasn't entirely sure I was prepared for. The only thing that kept me deciding to enter is it that I had run a number of long and longer races before and had recently done a terrific training run at the Tecumseh marathon at the end of October. I had some good friends who were going to be there running either the 50k or the 50 mile and wanted to be where the action was.
    I had already started training for some big races and so had put in three  weekends in a row of 20 + miles but the weekend before JW I had only run 8 Saturday and 7 Sunday. I had rested as much as possible that week although being a trainer and boot camp instructor I have a very active job so for me complete rest days are rarely to be had however I had done as much as I could do to rest up, foam roll,get good sleep and hydration pre-race.  I hadn't checked the weather until the couple of days before the race. I have the good luck to be friends with some serious weather stalkers to give me (lazy!) a head start on what the weather is going to be like and then I just double check.
     I had been able to borrow a friend's car to go to the race so that morning I got up at 4am, had my breakfast, packed and repacked my bag, hydration vest and drop  bag. On the way down the rain was relentless. I had brought my big, orange.plastic poncho to wear over myself should it be raining like that during the race but when I got there it had stopped (Thank God!) and so I could leave the poncho behind. I arrived and was happy and excited to see some friendly faces before I started off.
     We started running at 8am. I had my Garmin I had just bought and was excited to use it but I hadn't charged it up properly the night before so it was low battery.  It still hung on for a little more than 7 miles of the first loop. We ran the first loop around the lake then started another loop---the first of the three times we would go around this particular 10 mile loop--and man was it muddy!! It had rained for two days before the race and then the night before they had had a good downpour so it was a mudfest already. I knew from experience that by the third time I went through this loop, if not the second time around, the ground was only going to get muddier as many feet churned it up.
    It was cold but not terribly cold and the first loop went well. I came around to the start, finish line and Arielle and Katie were there to cheer and see if I needed anything. Katie took a photo of me which was nice. I put some dry socks in a baggie in my pack, took care of a couple of things, got my polar buff (the top of the ridge was windy and cold) and then took off. The first thing I did was fall right into a mud puddle up to my waist. My gloves got soaked so I reached into my pack, took out the baggie with the dry sock in it and replaced it with my wet gloves. Now I could use the socks on my hands!

       The photo above is from another of my very muddy races. I wanted you to see what the mud level was in some places. The hills were another thing. On our training run we had conquered the hills so I knew they were coming. These were the type of hills where I had hands on my quads and trudged up as they probably had an incline of 30% or so, They were also muddy (see above) so that was a slippery mess.
    I was not surprised though, nor unprepared, for mud. Many of my races have been muddy messes and that should not be surprising to other trail runners. As outdoor runners at any time of year we have many different conditions to contend with and I try to pick the best thing about each one. The best thing about the mud was when I did fall once I just kind of slid down in slow motion and the mud was very soft to land.
     On my second lap my left hip started to talk to me. Not pain necessarily just a little nagging pain with occasional sharp pains here and there. I am not sure if the fall in the puddle did it or what but it gradually calmed down again. I got to the aid station that was in the middle of nowhere on the course and was happy to see Rebecca there to give me a hug and some magical tomato soup. We took a picture and then I was off to finish up the lap.At the start/finish line this time I was excited to see some friends who I hadn't thought would be there. It is always such a boost to come around and see friends. Erin and Amara were so nice, too, to help me with my pack and get me ready to finish the final 10 miles.
    The third lap seemed to go by more quickly then the second. I sped by Rebecca again and finished up the final four. As I came around the finish line it was great to be greeted with cheers. I received a nice medal and a plaque that said "Third place Age Group." 

I had now finished my second 50K and fourth Ultra. I am excited about it and ready to go on to further adventures!