The Franklin Mountains Trail Run

I signed up to do the Franklin Mountains Trail Run series over the summer and it was one of the races I have been looking most forward to all year.  It would be just the second time I ran over a course that had tough climbs and significant elevation changes.  Bryce Canyon over the summer was a tough course but I ran it as a dedication run where I stopped every mile and recorded a short video to dedicate that mile to a person or story that was shared to me.  

After my DNF at Mission Tejas just two weeks earlier, I was a bit nervous.  Not only would I be running another 50k, over a much harder course, I was sandwiching it between two more tough races in the same park.  I was still excited to run it, though, and I was feeling good going into the weekend.

Originally, I planned to fly out, get a rental car, and stay in a hotel but I asked on Facebook if anyone was planning to drive out from our area to see if there was a carpool option and luckily, there was someone.  I was able to take credits for my flight and cancel the hotel and rental and drive out with a friend.  We met one more and stayed at an AirBNB that was much better and cheaper than the Motel 6 I had planned to stay at, so the weekend started out great!

We arrived on Thursday afternoon and went to the park to pick up our packets and get the race brief.  The forecast for Friday morning was cold and windy with temperatures at the race start in the mid to low 40s.  Rob talked us through the course for the King and Queen of the Mountain and explained the route choices to the summit and back.   

PC: Trail Racing Over Texas

On Friday morning, I debated whether to wear full tights or just go with shorts.  I chose to wear just the shorts but had a long sleeve base layer shirt and a long sleeve tech shirt with gloves and a buff.  We got to the park early and the summit was deep in the clouds.  I stayed in the car up until about 5 minutes before the start of the race to stay warm.  The wind was strong at the base of the mountain and we were told that it was gusting over 30 mph at the top.

This is my "it's not cold" face. PC: Trail Racing Over Texas

The race started out quickly over loose rocks but slowed into a power hike as we began to climb.  I chose to take the short, steep route and tried to keep some of the people in front of me in sight.  There was more than 2,100 feet of elevation gain in just 1.7 miles on this track and it was tough!  Near the top, we entered the cloud cover and it was cold and damp with wind that ripped through my layers of clothes.  I got to the top and took my summit band and started back down the mountain immediately.  I did stop along the way down a couple times to snap some pictures and my descent was a bit slower than some of the folks that passed me.  I see people absolutely bomb through downhills and I marvel at their skill and determination.  I’m always so nervous, particularly on rocky patches, of twisting an ankle as I go downhill, so I end up working harder to slow myself down at times.

This is my "cold, windy, and miserable" face. PC: Trail Racing Over Texas

On the way down, I was warned to turn at a particular tree to stay on the short route back but I mistook which tree the guide was talking about and started back on a longer route.  I quickly figured out what happened and doubled back a bit until I found a safe spot to get down to the correct path but I lost three places and a few minutes from my mistake.  Such is racing and I’m still very happy with my performance.  I was able to climb to the peak and get back down without falling once and it gave me confidence going into the 50k on Saturday.  I finished the race with 4.2 miles in 1 hour 34 minutes.

Saturday morning started with temperatures in the low 40s again but the wind had died down and the sky was clear.  It was going to be a beautiful day to run in the mountains.  The race started at 6 am over some single track climbs that brought us to the finish line.  I wore full tights with a pair of shorts, base layer long sleeve shirt, short sleeve tech t-shirt, another long sleeve tech layer, and windbreaker with gloves, gaiters, buff, and my Orange Mud Double Shot Hydro Quiver and headlamp.  I only used one drop bag, at the finish line, and when we passed through after that first 1.7 miles, I dropped my windbreaker and headlamp.  We did a 3.8 mile loop known as Schaffer Shuffle and came back to the finish line area again.  This time, I dropped my top long sleeve layer and grabbed my sunscreen but forgot my hat and sunglasses.  I also hit the aid station, refilled a small empty bottle with Gatorade and took a shot of pickle juice.

At mile 7, the big climb began.  We started up towards the Aztec Caves area of the park where we climbed up a rock face that was often steep enough to make you bend over and use your hands as you climbed.  I learned that if I bent over too much, my two large water bottles would come loose and I lost one at one point.  My first instinct was to reach for it without moving my feet and I watched as it tumbled down the rock face into some bushes well below me and I thought, well that is gone forever!  The bottle slid right past the race photographer, though, and he told me he’d grab it and bring it to me.  I’ve said it before but the trail running community is full of selfless, kind souls that are willing and active participants in the success of others.  I thanked him for his help and found him again after the race to thank him again.

Right before I lost a water bottle. PC: Trail Racing Over Texas

From the caves, the climb continued for another few miles.  There was an aid station at Mundy’s Gap, right before the big climb to the peak that we would hit again on the way down.  We went to the same peak as the King of the Mountain race but took a more gradual ascent this time.  This didn’t make it any easier, it just meant false summit after false summit until we did finally hit the top.  This time, I did pause long enough to get some pictures with the skull at the top before I started down.  The peak was about 12 miles into the race and most of the elevation climb was done but there was still a lot of race left.

At the peak!

I hit the aid station once again on the way down through Mundy’s Gap and refilled my water and Gatorade bottles.  I also snacked on some potato chips and gummi bears and drank some ginger ale and coke.  I normally stay away from sugary foods like candy on races and stick to fruit if I need something sweet but I gave the gummi bears a shot.  I knew it was about 6 miles to the next aid station and I was also carrying a couple Quest bars to eat along the way.

The east side of the park was described as very runnable, if you have the legs.  I felt really good at this point in the race, largely because up until the descent from the mountain, I forced myself to hold back a lot.  I wanted to run it much faster and try to pass people but instead, I made myself stay behind people for early sections of the single track in hopes of conserving energy.  It seemed to work as I was moving well.  During this section of the race, I broke the stopper on one of my large water bottles and it wouldn’t close anymore, so going forward, I couldn’t fill that one up more than halfway without having the water constantly spilling out of the top while I ran.  

I pulled into the mile 20 aid station starting to feel the race.  I refilled everything and ate a little before beginning the short climb from the east to the west side of the park.  About halfway to the west aid station, I found a nice flat rock to sit down and rest.  I sat for about 5 minutes and just stretched out and relaxed for a bit.  I was passed by a handful of runners and I assured them I was fine.  For the rest of the race, I would leapfrog a small group of runners, as I stopped like this two more time during the race.

By the time I made it to the west aid station (around mile 26-27), the day had warmed up into the mid 60s and I was feeling warm.  I drained all of my bottles getting to the aid station and refilled them all.  I also made a point of drinking a couple dixie cups of ginger ale and coke.  I was feeling tired and decided to try a sugar free red bull.  I took off my pack and sat down to drink it and this turned into another 5 minute rest break.  Once I was done, I got up and started moving again and felt better for a little while.  

I knew when I got into the aid station that I had about 7 miles remaining to get to the finish.  This section of the course was not all that difficult other than the fact that it was the final miles of a long race.  It was during this time, though, that I began to doubt that I would be able to do the Lonestar 100 mile race over this course in February.  I started to consider dropping to the 100k but firmly decided to not act on this for at least a week to give myself some time and space away from how I was feeling.  It’s one week later now and I’m still registered for the 100 miler and I have no plans to drop down now but this is just a glimpse of how wearing this type of racing can be on me mentally, in addition to physically.

The last 7 miles may have been harder for me than the 5 mile climb to the peak earlier in the race.  I stopped one more time to rest and actually lay down on the side of the trail.  I ate my last Quest bar and once again assured every person to pass me that I was ok.  I really was ok but I was feeling worn out for sure.  I don’t know how far away I was from the finish line when I could see the Skyrunning flags but it seemed like it took forever to gain any ground on them once I spotted them.

As I neared the final hill to the finish line, I was already mentally composing the text message I would send to my coach to tell her that I had completed the race without falling even once.  I’ve worked hard the past 6 months in the gym to improve my athleticism in hopes of falling less on the trails.  Many of my falls were directly related to my lack of core strength and being unable to remain upright if I tripped. I’ve also improved my leg strength and I pick my legs and feet up off the ground much better and later into long runs now, which has lessened the number of times I trip over small objects. 

I looked up the rocky path in hopes of catching a glimpse of the race photographer.  I wanted to make sure I was looking in his direction as I got closer, so I could get a decent picture near the finish.  That’s where I tripped and fell.  Less than a quarter mile from the finish.  I was furious with myself because I didn’t fall because I was tired or running lazy.  I fell because I was more concerned with a picture than I was with finishing the race!  I still texted my coach and explained that I was counting this race as “fall free” with the caveat that I only fell because I was dumb, not tired.  The race finished up some steep stairs and I did still get in a decent finish photo!

Finishing Strong!  PC: Trail Racing Over Texas

I finished the race meeting all my goals.  My first was just to finish the entire distance injury free – check!  Coming into this race, I didn’t want to set a specific time goal because I knew the course was unknown and difficult.  But I did secretly hope that I would break 10 hours, which I did by more than 40 minutes.  I finished in 9 hours 19 minutes and am so happy with that time.

Sunday brought another cold, clear morning.  For the half marathon, I went back to wearing just shorts but kept a long sleeve base layer shirt with short sleeve t-shirt.  I wore my gloves and a buff with a pair of sunglasses.  I was a little tired but excited to get the last race of the series done. 

The race started at 7 am and we immediately went into the Schaffer Shuffle loop.  The first mile included a single track climb that got my legs warmed up as I followed a conga line of runners up the hill.  We spread out a little after the downhill and through a jeep trail in the middle of this loop.  We finished this loop up the same stairs to the aid station at the finish line that we had taken to finish the 50k the day before.  

PC: Trail Racing Over Texas

 

After the first loop, we started down another very runnable section to the next aid station at the lower sunset parking pavilion.  I was feeling the effort from the 50k but still felt like I was moving well through this rolling section of trail.  This aid station was at the start line from the 50k and it was less than two miles to the finish line aid station but it was also over the same section of single track rocky climbs up what seemed a never ending hill that I decided to call an ingrown hair on the devil’s ass crack.  It wasn’t nearly as high or steep as the peak from Friday and Saturday but at this point in the weekend, it was a big pile of suck for me.  I got through it as best as I could and when I got to the finish line area, I refilled my handheld water bottle and got a snack before hitting the Schaffer Shuffle one last time.  

I knew that it was about 1 mile to the top of the early climb in this loop and it went by much faster and easier than I thought it would.  I remember looking at my watch, wondering when I would hit what I thought would be the tough part, and realizing that it was a quarter mile behind me!  Most of the rest of that loop is very runnable with some rolling hills until the very last half mile or so, which goes into the same climb to the finish we had for the 50k.  I was very careful not to look for the photographer this time and I made it through another complete race without falling once.  I finished the half marathon in 3 hours 1 minute and I was once again very happy with my performance.

Finishing the half marathon. PC: Trail Racing Over Texas

At the finish line, I hugged Rob and thanked him for putting on another first class event that challenged me and forced me to push through some very tough conditions.  I got my three day medal and changed into clean, dry clothes and then visited with friends until we were all ready to head home.

The Franklin Mountains Trail Run was a great series of races for me.  It forced me to push through my own doubts and it shook my confidence a little during some sections of the 50k.  I’m happy that I found a way to push through it all and finish all three races.  

Next up – Brazos Bend 100 

Run Hard.

Be Grateful.

Celebrate Love.