Twilight Trail Run by Team HTFU!

I don't know why I do this race.  It is always very humid and hot and I always struggle to the point wear I have puked during the race and after through the years.  It always seems like most of my girlfriends do it and it's a nice chance to see them (especially after being so off the radar with school for a year) so I just get sucked in.

I really wanted to do this race with JP and the girls.  Although, not being the fastest team out there the bandanas, sunglasses and pink HTFU t-shirts would undoubtedly get a few questions and some laughs.  It had been about 2-3 weeks since I had done anything. I hadn't swam or biked since Muncie and after one good week of 38 miles my left hamstring and heel were just destroyed. However,I had made my decision, I would run the race with JP and then call it quits until October or November on the running front. 

I got to the race super early and although I didn't need a warm-up I was talked into 2 super hot and sweaty miles.  My HTFU t-shirt was soaked with sweat by the time I was done and the bugs were already coming after me.  Two of my classmates running under the team name "Kenny Rogers Chickeneers" had come out, so I was excited to see them and thankful they had bug spray. 

Our wave started at 9:00 minutes in and I had every intention of taking it out slow until about 1.5 miles and just running smoothly from that point on.  My effort felt okay all the way to the hill and then I ran as much as I could before power walking the second half to the top.  When I reached the top I walked a bit longer as it is a false flat before re-grouping and picking it back up.  Mile 1 was so incredibly long, I thought for sure it hadn't been marked, but then at 10:24 I saw it.  OUCH!!

My achilles and my hamstring were just screaming at me from all the uphill and I felt hot and nauseated.  Wow, was I paying for it.  I started smiling though, thinking this half of Team HTFU needs to harden up a little for sure.  I had lost sight of all my friends and just kept plodding along thinking I really should not have run those 2 miles for a warm-up. 

Each mile took forever and I never got that feeling of am I gonna vomit or not to go away.  I just kept thinking 49 minutes max it would be over...keep going.  It seemed after the first mile I ran between 9:00-10:00 pace.  As I was running down the big down hill I passed a woman who was walking and she slipped and scared the crap out of me.  I asked her if she was okay and she responded with "yep, that's why I walk this down hill." 

I was almost done and when I saw mile 4 just passed the castle I was relieved, less than a mile to go.  I had nothing in my tank, but I had nothing from the start, so what did it matter?  SL ran me down and we exchanged words of encouragement with each other before he broke away.  I couldn't wait to stop and catch my breath and have this feeling of puking everywhere pass!  When we popped out of the woods I forgot we had to run a zig-zag back to the finish and I was definitely thinking "F*CK!!"  But I did it of course, and as I ran across the field to the finish I heard my friends cheering for me.  I crossed the finish in 48:41 and walked right over to the woods where I dry heaved for a few minutes before heading back down to join my friends.  The feeling of puking subsided as I recovered, but it never totally went away that night.  My leg was completely trashed though and it hurt like a mother.

It seemed most of my friends had done really well.  E-speed and NC winning 1st in the female team division with Daisy and ET 2nd, BS had of course won the 1st place male.  My teammate, who was running a good hard pace still finished really well (not a shocker - GO JP!!!) and although "2 Slow 4 Elizabeth" didn't place as a team I think they might have quite possibly come up with the BEST team name EVER....hahahaha!