I ran my first 50K race - the Trail Rail Run - yesterday and it turned out great!
I was a little slower than I thought I'd be and the route was a couple of miles long (33.5 instead of 31), but I came home with the second-place award for my age group, men 30-39. Granted, it was out of six. My official finish time was 5:16:10.43, for a pace of 9:26 per mile.
The run was quite nice, traveling through the forest along old railroad beds from Taft to St. Regis. The first 10 miles included a couple of trestles and a tunnel, adding a unique element. The first and final thirds were the most scenic, for the most part shady and near the St. Regis River, while the middle was under a full, hot sun.
This was the first race I've run at or longer than marathon distance since injuring my Achilles tendon in 2010, and it's become clear that work I've put in for the past couple of years has paid off. In both a 26-mile training run a few weeks back and the first 26 miles of the race, I bested my fastest marathon by more than 10 minutes.
Here's a look at yesterday's race:
