2018 Buzzard Day Trail Race 25K - Not as muddy as it should be

I just realized that the last time I updated this blog was after Thailand International Half Marathon!! Well, that's not totally true. I started another blog post after my birthday race (10K) in Bangkok but did not get a chance to finish it. It's been a busy semester and I felt like I had no time to take a break from work deadlines, running, and other life commitments since I came back to the US.

After new year, R. started to run in Hinckley on the Buzzard Day course. I joined him and others on the Saturday after I came back from Thailand. The weather was UGLY on that day and I went from running in a 85F, humid park in Bangkok to -10F with a blizzard in just 6 days. I started my A race training plan a couple of weeks after I came back from Thailand but was able to loosely follow the plan since life got in the way (too many work deadlines and responsibilities).

January and February flew by in the blink of an eye. At one point, I felt like I only had 2 things in life - working and training for ultramarathons. I also took on more responsibilities outside work that I think about cutting it down. We will see how this semester goes before I decide if I should cut back or not.

Last year I ran the 50K at Buzzard Day Trail Race in Hinckley, OH. I was debating if I should do another 50K this year or only the 25K and volunteer at the race after. The race director is a good friend of mine and I would like to support the race as much as I could. So, I decided to only run the 25K and volunteer after the race.

On Friday, I got out of work early (after a 2-hour committee meeting. Ugh) and helped mark a section of the course with T. It took us 2 hours to mark only 5 miles! Then, I picked up the bib and went home.

The race had 3 distances - 25K, 50K, and 100K. The 100K started at 6am, the 50K started at 8am, and the 25K started at 10am. The RD told me that I could start with the 100K runners at 6am so I could be done early and help out at the race. I agreed. Running early is never an issue for me. On the race day, I showed up at 5.30am. There were about 17-18 100K runners at the race this year. The RD did the pre-race briefing and everyone took off. 

I was not sure how I would feel on that day so I took it easy at the beginning. Ran and chatted with other runners in the dark. I told other people that I only ran the 25K (1 loop) so please don't try to keep up if they did not want to go out too fast. I started to feel "good" after 5 miles into the race and was able to keep a good pace throughout the race. I finished the loop in 3 hours and 20 minutes, which was considered fast for me. Usually, I'm the back of the pack runner LOL 

I came back to the start line at 9.20am, which was even before the 25K runners started. I still felt good after I finished and kinda regretted not signing up for the 50K because I could have gone out for another loop. Oh well. 

 

After I came back, I heard that S. fell and (potentially) broke her knee and that she had to go to the ER :( That was a bummer. Also, a couple of 100K and 50K runners took the wrong turn and ended up adding more miles. The section that many people got lost was the section and T. and I marked the night before so I felt responsible for it :( 

After the race, I helped out in the kitchen preparing hot food (macaroni), sandwiches (grilled cheese, PB&J) and did whatever others told me to do. It was fun to volunteer in the kitchen at the Buzzard race because we had the full kitchen to ourselves. It was warm and I got to see many friends who finished the race. I stayed until about 5pm before I went home. 

Overall, my run was a success. Faster than I expected and I had a great time talking to people and serving them food. Next month I have Forget the PR 50K, which will be super hilly and harder. I try to do only 1 race a month so I get to spend time with the family to make them happy :)