Rocky Raccoon 50 miler 2014

Since I have to struggle this week relaxing at the beach I think I will try to update some race reports....I use the word "race report" loosely as most know I don't even call a run that one pays an entry fee into a race I call it an event or a run because Im not racing anyone and am out to just have see the sites and meet great new people! Rocky Raccoon was Feb 8th in Texas... I flew down on Friday ran the run on Saturday and fly home Sunday am.  This is a 3 loop course and this was the first year they held the 100 miler the week before and the 50 by itself. I tried to make the best of it but for some reason started off just not feeling it! By mile 10 I was already ready for the event to be finished!!! The course wasn't really hilly or anything but it was very technical with roots everywhere.  I found myself tripping and rolling my ankles several times but never fell...knock on wood believe it or not I have never fallen on a run!!! The weather was so weird!!! It was cool yet so humid that I was hot and cold at the same exact time? I took my long sleeve off some then got cold again and put it back on.  I had a drop bag set in my numbered spot for each loop and goal was to get in and out quickly to try to learn how to use my stops more efficiently. I didn't think I had that much time spent there but in the end my moving time was like 11:26 and my actual time was 12:18 - another failed attempt to get these turns down quick. From the humidity and that causes my pants to stay wet I ended up chaffing in those lady parts and the crack of my ass!!! But I had some Vaseline in case case and I did have to take a stop the 2 times I came thru the aid station and run to the porta pot and lube up the best I could. Each lap details are still kinda a blur but I do remember at one aid station they had real bacon!!! like inch long pieces of bacon!!! That was super! I also remember on the very last loop where I was getting tired and was heading across one of the wooden bridges and on each side of the bridge was swamp like conditions, I stumbled and tripped good and it was so fast that my thoughts were only of how am I gonna roll, land so that I don't hit myself hard on this wood bridge and if I go to the left or right Im gonna land in the swamp! Well.....my angel who I believe are my grandparents in heaven because they were not around since I started endurance sports and I can only imagine how proud my grandfather is and would be if he was still here...so I believe he is with me each event and watches over me and I think when I stumbled and had those dangerous outcomes about to happen that he actually reaches down and yanks me upright cause that's what happened!!! And it has happened before. He always knew me as overweight, in 1989 I did a 100 mile bike ride in the raid and I was still heavy but not the 244 pounds I had gotten to but I was still a smoker (oh and I should say he wasn't a heath conscious person himself - smoker and overweight but it was nice to have him be encouraging and when I did something like the 100 mile run he was so damn proud!!!! I rode in the cold rain (its called TOSRV for Tour of the Scioto River Valley) I was still a smoker and I did stop every so often in the rain and light up my cig during this ride ha. When I lost my weight back in 2003 I started doing the TOSRV rides again and never missed a year until this year due to other events at the same time.