After not running for almost three weeks (I actually ran about 3 miles yesterday :-) I went out and did the Hagg Lake 25k Trail Run. I originally registered for the 50k run, but clearly I wasn’t ready for a 31 mile run today. In all honesty I wasn’t really ready for a 15.5 mile run, but I registered, I needed to get back to training, and I needed to get out and run. So I went, figuring I would just take it easy.

I’ve done this race once before, four years ago. At that time 15.5 miles was the farthest I had ever run. It took me 2:21:17, a 9:07/mile pace. I remember it being really hard. I wasn’t the runner than that I am today, and running that time was pretty hard. If I remember right, my average heart rate that day was somewhere close to 180 – basically my threshold. I had no intent to go that hard today.

As today’s race began I started near the back wanting to make sure I didn’t end up in a group of runners that made me feel I needed to run faster than I wanted to. Early on there was a very funny sight on the road. There was a dead skunk, fortunately not smelly at all. Someone stuck an empty beer can under one of its legs! I wish I had a camera.

The race overall was pretty uneventful for me. I ran my own race, passing people when I needed to, and didn’t try and stay with anyone that passed me. About half way through it started to become obvious that the distance would be tough for me to cover today – I was getting tired. I began walking up more of the hills, and trying to be more careful how I doled out my energy. Unfortunately on this course some of the toughest sections are near the end. The terrain itself doesn’t really get any more difficult – it is the mud. Several sections towards the end have very thick, sticky mud that sticks to your shoes. It probably adds at least three pounds to the weight of your shoes. I don’t think that is an exaggeration – I may be underestimating a bit. This doesn’t make running any easier.

Around 12 miles in was maybe the most memorable part of the race for me. Someone caught me from behind. He was breathing very loudly, and every time he exhaled he sounded like he was saying the f-word. I don’t mind the language (and this might have been my imagination) but it did take a little away from the peace and quiet the lake and forest offered at that point. At the next muddy section that required walking I stepped aside and let him pass, and continued walking until he was far enough ahead that I didn’t need to worry about catching back up. I never saw him again. It looked like he was still running a really good pace, and must have finished pretty strong, despite how he sounded when he came upon me.

This time I finished the race in 2:39:23 – a 10:17/mile pace. Quite a bit slower than last time, as I planned and expected. The pace was pretty much what I anticipated, and is good to see considering I just ran how I felt instead of paying attention to what my actual pace was. My average heart rate was 156 – again much lower than last time I did this race. Like the average pace, I feel good about this effort. I ran a solid ‘zone 2′ pace (an aerobic effort) despite just running how I felt, not paying attention to my heart rate at all during the run.

As I sit here now, I’m pretty tired. My calves especially were spent at the end of the race and on the verge of cramping. Both of my big toes have some hot spots, something I’ll definitely have to figure out how to deal with, and prevent, as I run longer distances. Overall though I think it was a pretty good day. It was awesome to be out trail running again!

Thanks to Stacey and Ronda and all the volunteers who came together to make today happen. I especially enjoyed the salted M&Ms at the finish line. Yum!