A few months ago I decided to run the Music City Trail Ultra 25k. I wanted to run a mid distance race and felt that was a distance I could easily manage having just ran 13 miles around my neighborhood.
Well, mid February we had a big snow storm and I strained my back shoveling snow. Than two weeks later I hurt it again. I went from running 175 miles in January to just over 100 miles in February. Not where you want to be when training for a 25k (15.6 mile) race.
Well, I was excited for the race and a little nervous. Went to Cumberland Transfer t the night before and picked up my race packet which consisted of my race bib and the t-shirt I had to pay extra to receive.
We knew a storm was coming that was going to impact the trails and the rain started to come as we waited in line for our packets.
I packed the night before and was not sure what to wear as the weather was so questionable from the rain to being fairly cold.
The morning of the race came and I probably did not fuel or hydrate the way I needed to before running a race. I thought I was ready.
Arrived to the race in Pegram maybe an hour before the start.
Well, during the 15.6 mile race, I ran over 17 miles due to missing a flag or being misdirected near a checkpoint. Either way, my body felt as beat up as when I completed the 31 mile race last October.
Well, the finishers medal was nice, but the beer on tap was not working and I was not in the mood for pizza, so after enough of a recovery, I drove the hour home.
Needless to say, I will be better prepared and be sure that I fuel and hydrate during the race as well.
Country Road Runner 