As all know my final 2010 focus run was the Bigfoot 50K trail race held on December 5 at Saltfork State Park near Cambridge, Ohio.
With many hours and miles of training I was chomping at the bit to run the race. Race morning arrive with very windy and crisp temperature in the 20's. It really did not feel that bad as I decided to run in shorts.
The race started promptly at 7 AM with quite a large field including the relay teams. A little blacktop began the race and soon funneled to single track trail. The course was not flat by any means and had some nice down hills, designed just for me. I really did not feel in sync (Not the group), I was just out of it from the get go and really did not know why. I continued on to the first aid station around 6.2 miles and onward to the start finish line with 10.4 miles in at 1:55:30. I was so not feeling right that I decided to call it a day. At that point I did not know what was bothering me. More on that later.
The race was well organized, running friendly, and took good care of you before, during, and after the race.
I would highly recommend this race to anyone who loves to run trails.
My wife Betty did a nice walk on a not so nice day while I was running and got in a good 5.5 miles on some hilly roads. Well done, Betty!
Even after the race I still had no idea what was my problem. Not even on Monday, I took off.
Tuesday the 7th, I did run trails in Mohican with Terri Lemke and Zack Huff. The conditions were cold and snow covering the trails making for some slow trail running. It was during this run I realized my problem for Bigfoot. I was having difficulty breathing (asthma). I think the cold air triggered my difficulty breathing and I just did not realize it until the 11 miles of trail we ran at Mohican. So problem solved, but a race was wasted.
I did have a nice run with Zack and Terri. Terri was second women overall at Bigfoot....Congratulations Terri!
So there you have my saga and go out for 2010 with a big DNF. Now let's focus on next year.
