BIG DOG 10-MILER

Jay and I sneaked out of the house at 5:30 this morning to drive over to Ruston and run the 10-miler at the Big Dog Ultra Trail Runs event at Lincoln Parish Park. I did the 20-miler there with Sophie last year as a training run for my first marathon, and I have to admit, I was giddy today knowing I only had to run the loop once this year (those hills are no joke)! It was MUCH warmer this year than last (hence our shorts and tanks), which also made me happy to be finishing in 2 hours (well, 2:05, officially) rather than 4-4.5 hours (when the heat index would be even higher)! We met up with some of our running buddies (Mack, Lee, Lori, Daniel, and Tom) before the race, but decided to stick together just the two of us for the miles (not that we could have kept up with Tom anyway, but you know what I mean). Jay twisted/sprained/tweaked his ankle while running a trail with me on Wednesday (having Gramma in town allowed us lots of fun runs together - thank you Jean!), so he had some pain throughout the duration of the race unfortunately (not necessarily his ankle, but the overcompensation for it, which caused other muscles to ache) and perhaps shouldn't have run today... As such, we took it slow and easy, which for me resulted in a super fun run that left me with zero aches or pains (during or after the race). Lucky me - a fun, pain-free run with my best friend in a beautiful place! Hopefully Jay will be feeling better soon after a few days off to heal and recover, so we can get some more runs in together while we're in Florida, then while my mom and grandma are visiting at the end of the month.

 Photo Left: Early on in the race when we were still moving at a good clip (it's hard not to go out fast, even on trails, when excitement is high and adrenaline is pumping!), Jay is nothing but a blur.
Photo Right: I told him to "Smile if you love switchbacks!" (this section of trail has you running back and forth up half a dozen switchbacks, with the aid station just out of reach at each turn).

 Jay's first experience with ultra aid station fare - here he's enjoying Pringles!

 Lincoln Parish Park is truly gorgeous and we're lucky to have such a place not too far from home (too bad a storm came through earlier in the week though, knocking down so many leaves - I bet the fall colors were even more incredible before Thanksgiving).

 I attempted to take a photo of us with one of the Big Dog mascots (they have painted wooden cutouts of rescue dogs marking each mile of the course), but Jay got the tail end...

 See that scar and suture tape above Mack's heart? He had a pace maker put in a mere 12 days ago. No big deal.

 Got my picture taken with the girls, Lori and Lee. 

Nobody placed at this event, but we all got finish medals!

This is an event I'll return to year after year. The park is beautiful, the race director is super organized, aid stations are well stocked, the volunteers are all really nice, and the registration fee is minimal, especially for an ultra event (they have a 50K as well as the 5, 10, and 20 milers). If you're looking for a great first trail race experience, I can highly recommend Big Dog!