#1 I wanted to thank all of you who recommended I go for the 50k instead of the 25k (before tomorrow comes, and I cannot move ;)

The race was at Huntsville State Park which is about an hour and a half outside of Houston. Fortunately, my brother's GF lives about 20 minutes from there, so I spent the night at her house and had a short drive in the morning.

FIRST LOOP:
The 50k started at 6am- still dark so I bought a tiny little clip on light, which I may/may not have needed since at the beginning of the run, we were all running single file, really close for at least 2-3 miles, so there were many other headlight wearers that lit the path. It'll come in handy for early transition set-ups.

After that, it started to get lighter outside and sparser on the trail. It was VERY rooty and way hillier than I expected. My core got a workout like it's never had before. I had to lift my knees up way more than my usual running to avoid tripping constantly. I took everyone's advice and kept my head down and eyes peeled on the trail. I had my disposable camera and ipod in a plastic baggy in the back pocket of my shirt. At several points on the 1st loop, I took out my camera to take pics of the trail and the roots. A nice man who had been following me for a while offered to take pictures of me from the front and back as I "ran" (or posed as such). I would never have asked anyone to stop their race to do that, but he offerred, so I was happy to take him up on it. At one of those times, I must not have stuffed my ipod (in the baggy) all the way back into my pocket, because I realized, still on the 1st loop, that it was gone :(. Just as an aside, I felt NO need for the ipod, and I think it would have distracted me from the trail, had I used it. I had it in my pocket as a "just in case I would get bored", but now I know there is NO chance of that on that kind of trail. Anywho...When I got to the end of the 1st 25k loop, I told the RD that I lost it, and if anyone happens to turn it in, that it's mine. At the start of the 2nd loop I was already deciding if I should go replace it tomorrow or Monday. I was quite sure it was lost forever.

SECOND LOOP:
I was instantly happy that I chose to go with the 50k after the rest stop. I would've felt so sad to leave after the 1st loop. But off I went, and soon, I was feeling like they extended the distances between the aid stations. I chatted with some people here and there, but mostly ran on my own. All was great except for my knees were jarring on the downhills and my toes were throbbing on the uphills. Good times. (All of the aid stations were pigfests! bagels w/ pb, animal crackers, chips, drinks, chocolate, cookies, and donuts...yum) I hung out way longer than most at all of the aid stations. I got to the 3rd aid station, ate my fill, refilled my bottle, and off I went, as the nice people there said, "only 2.8 miles to go!" with a group of about 4-5 people who were around me a lot of the 2nd loop. We ran about 30 minutes....RIGHT back to the 3rd aid station!!!! I thought I was literally gonna cry. Tears pricked my eyes. I could barely visualize running that last 2.8 miles again, but the group went off, so I followed. We would have EASILY broken 6 hrs, had we not missed the turn, but alas. Suddenly, I felt a weird rubbing on my 2nd toe of my left foot. I think I got sand in there and it had started a blister, but I was just SO close, I couldn't stop. We ran to the finish at about 6:14.

POST RACE:
The RD saw me and said that about 20 minutes after I reported my ipod missing, someone turned it in, still in the baggy. YAY! I had a lovely massage, walked into the lake (not icy, but cold), and drove home.

I can honestly say, I have NEVER been so sore post any race I have ever done. Granted, I have never run this far at one time, either.
This was truly a full body experience. EVERYTHING, and I mean everything from the waist down is sore, but my arms, my core, and my back are sore too.
I am so happy I did it. I will probably do another, but not for a while. Like childbirth, I guess- the pain will fade, but the memories of the experience will always shine.