Event: Fire Trail Running Festival
Distance: 8K
Date: 2024-06-15, Sat, 8:00p
Location: Spring Branch, TX;
Guadalupe River State Park
Event Host: Texas Outlaw Running Co.
My latest race. And I did actually run it! Albeit, an abbreviated distance. 😉
I’ve been volunteering (mostly) and/or running at trail events every month since March. Most often, twice a month1. Surprisingly, I’m enjoying the volunteering and interacting with the community much more than I expected, what with my history of social anxiety. (I’ll write more about this wonderful bonus in a later post.)
This event is the first of three night races Texas Outlaw Running Co. is including in their Texas Summer Night Series. They have several more night events I’m looking at which aren’t part of the series.
Night-time hiking, not to mention running, is a different kind of challenge. Rule number one: Have a bright light. Rule number two: Have a back-up for it and/or batteries. Rule number three: Slow down.
(Note: I have a/the Cadillac of lighting systems, an AY UP from Australia. 700 lumen, independent vertical adjustment, waterproof [not simply water-resistant], and up to 8 hrs runtime on a lower lumen output. It’s almost like a spot light on high!)
While hanging out with the Race Director’s wife near the finish line (and the start and finish of each loop of a multi-loop distance), I saw and heard of many, many people falling. One woman I’d worked packet pickup with stopped by to chat after her run. She said after she’d fallen several times on the course during her first two loops, she wasn’t going back for her third. I learned from the RD the next morning while working to tear-down and load gear back into his trailer, that someone had fallen and broken their arm.
I don’t know if this was necessarily more falls than a typical trail race. Or simply, since I was hanging out at the start/finish, I was hearing the tales and seeing the (sometimes bloody) aftermath. Probably the biggest adversity for runners to overcome that night was the humidity2, although I didn’t think the temperature was too bad at around 88°F. We also had an 8-mph breeze out of the southeast that I could feel in quite a few places along the course.
There were many, many stories of runners falling out on the course, recovering and continuing (slowly) after water and a rest. There were always runners behind or near them who stopped to help. Or reported the downed person to the RD. I know he went out in his truck at least once to check on someone, but by the time he got there, they had already moved on. Many with severe vomiting and nausea. Uncontrollable tremors.
As for myself, I planned to finish 10 miles of the 15.5 mile (25K) distance. Continuing into the third 5.2 mile loop depended on how I was feeling after the second. I was confident I could finish 10 miles. After all, I had been able to finish an 8 mile trek a month earlier in the dense woods and on the gnarly trails of Cameron Park.
Ah…to dream.
Trouble started with stumbling and tripping. It got frequent enough I deliberately slowed even more and really focused on lifting my feet. That’s usually not something I have to concentrate on so intensely. I will say, the size 11 shoes I’m now wearing3 can feel like clown shoes sometimes and certainly take a higher stride for the toes to clear obstacles protruding from the ground. Fortunately, I finally learned my lesson and always use my trekking poles on the trails right now. When I get stronger and more conditioned, maybe I can keep them in reserve for use only on the most technical courses.
Second problem started up in the last 2.5 to 3 miles of that first loop. My heart rate got up above 135 bpm and wouldn’t come down. Often as not in the 140s up to low 150s. I never noted a lot of trouble breathing, but did feel the dull beginnings of a headache.
The RD was at the loop start/finish noting bib numbers as runners finished each of their loops. He saw me. “Two more to go,” he said.
I thought, Do another 5.2 miles with a persistently elevated HR4?
“Nope. I’m done,” I said.
I did get a medal, though.
Because all distances had started at the same time, the RD dropped me down to the 8K distance I’d managed to complete. I didn’t get a picture of the medal, but I did get one of the “Dead Freakin’ Last” award (shown above) I received for the 8K distance.
It was so funny, the RD asst. came over to where I was sitting after finishing and approached me hesitantly. “Ma’am, may I present you with an award?” I recognized it immediately and cracked up.
“Because I came in last! That’s my third one!”
While other runners might not like coming in DFL, I perversely like to collect the “honor.” It shows I hung in there and finished. (In this case, at least 1/3 of my intended distance. 😜)
My problem was dehydration. I knew I wasn’t hydrated enough when I started. I guess I was thinking I could drink enough to compensate, even though I know better. There is no “catching up” in the moment. It takes time for a body to absorb and distribute the fluids throughout to fully re-hydrate.
The hotter I got, the more blood my body was trying to circulate to increase oxygen and to cool the blood by increasing the flow to my skin. However, dehydration lowers blood volume (to the point of lowering blood pressure). No surprise my HR was out of control. It was working pretty damn hard! Stopping at 5.17 miles was the right decision.
I’m usually okay with not finishing a planned distance. It’s more about being out and doing something rather than about competing with myself for better times and longer distances. I do want to improve, don’t get me wrong. However, right now, I’m okay with the “something is better than nothing” progression. Still, I was disappointed at not being able to do the 25K.
Particularly because I felt the conditions were very optimal for me. Night time with cooler temps, nice breeze blowing through periodically, and a course that was a mix of technical and non-technical with very little elevation gain. So frustrating! My own inattention to something as simple as water intake stopped me from reaching that goal. Grrrr…
Okay, last thing I wanted to mention: I got to try out the camper top tent I got with the Softopper5. It’s not quite as roomy as the truck bed tent I used at Possum’s Revenge, but it worked great for a single night. I set it up at midnight when I got back to the campsite. Quick and easy. Means I can put it on and take it off on a trip where I have to use my truck to go between locations. The camper stays in place so everything in the bed of the truck remains protected and doesn’t require much unloading and reloading between sleep periods.
A few more pictures from the event.
- If you’re reading this and I’m missing posts for all these previous events, they’re coming soon. I’m behind with my writing. Easiest to write about the most recent while it’s fresh in my mind and catch up the others later. ↩︎
- Here’s a great article that explains how humidity affects runners. Humidity raises the heat index–how hot it feels. Then the moisture in the air inhibits evaporation of sweat off your skin–the body’s cooling system–so it’s harder to get your body temp down. ↩︎
- Seriously! My foot measures a 9 to 9.5 womens, but a comfortable fit with room for swelling in the toe box requires the +1.5 up-sizing in a standard trail shoe. I have both a New Balance and an Altra pair in size 11–professionally fitted for both! I’ll be glad when I can get acclimated to a true minimalist shoe. Those I can wear with a simple +.5 increase as is more typical. ↩︎
- From an HR zones explained article provided by the Cleveland Clinic, “You can’t keep up at this rate for more than about 15 min.” According to my Garmin watch, I spent 1:27:46 or 81% of almost 3 hours (includes the 1+ hr I was seated at the finish line!) in zone 4. ↩︎
- Dad bought the camper top and the tent for me shortly after I bought the “unicorn.” ↩︎
