2014 Huff 50k

So December 20th marked my second attempt at the Huff 50k.  This race is easily one of my favorites and I was really looking forward to running it in 2014.  My training had gone well and I was pretty well prepared for it.  Unfortunately, the weeks leading up to the race were not cooperative.

I was sick with a sinus infection the entire week leading up to the race and was unable to train.  On top of that, the day before the race I had to work a 12 hour shift and only got 3 hours of sleep before having to jump in the car and drive 3 hours to Albion, IN for the race.

Even after all that, I still felt pretty good at the start of the race.  It wasn't until about 8 mile sin that the lack of sleep and proper training started to take it's toll.  I started to drop back from the group that I was running with and told them to go on without me, not wanting to hold them back.  After that, it was a run/walk combo for the rest of the race.

I managed to hit the halfway point, mile 15.5, in about 3 1/2 hours.  Not too bad, but my clothes were soaked and I need to change.  After changing and being inside a warm ten, it was very difficult to convince myself to go back out into the cold.  Fortunately, I was running with a friend, Jack, who was motivating me to keep going.

We headed out of the check point and back out into the cold to complete our second lap.  The second lap was much slower than the first.  My energy stores were all but depleted and I was cold.  At some point in the first 2 miles Jack ran on ahead and I kept up my brisk walking pace.  After a while I managed to convince myself that running was a good idea if I wanted to finish within the cutoff.  I kept up a brisk walking/light running pace for the next 2 or so miles, until I caught back up to Jack at the 20 mile check point.  We stopped for a minute or two in order to get some much needed food and flat Coke.  After that we headed back out and stuck together the rest of the way.

At the  24 mile checkpoint, they had all sorts of warm food and drinks available.  At this point my hope of a PR was well and truly sunk so we took our time at the aid station.  I made the mistake of grabbing my food and going by the fire they had setup.  The fire was warm and inviting and everything that is good in life.  The only problem is, if you leave the circle of the fires warmth, the cold hits you like a brick wall.  It was a while before we finally were able to pull ourselves away from the fire and head back out on the trail for the final 8 mile stretch.  The plus side to being so cold, was it forced us to run in order to get some body heat going.  Our running was short in length but we were trying to at least get some decent distance each time.

It was getting late in the race when I decided to check the time and realized we were really puching our time and were going to risk being pulled from the course.  I saw that the light was starting to fade and they wont allow runners out on the course after dark.  Jack and I doubled down on our efforts and we started to run at a decent pace for the first time in a while.  We managed to keep it up until we came to within a mile of the finish line.

Finally after what seemed like an eternity, we came to the last check point which is about half a mile from the finish line.  We skipped right past it, not even slowing.  I decided that I was going to run the last half mile and Jack kept up as best he could.  I crossed the finish line with a time of 8:46:09.  That was 31 minutes slower than I did the same race in 2013.  However, at that point I was just happy to be done.  I am not disappointed with my results at all considering all I went through the week before the race But i do vow to finish with a sub-7 our time next year.

Before the start with the Midwest Vikings 

At the Finish with Jack Reid