Piney Woods 20 Miler

My first trail race of 2015 was the Piney Woods 20miler at Lake Houston Wilderness Park.  This race is part of the USATF Texas Trail Championship Series and I was excited to get an early start on this competition.  Last year, I participated in the Texas trail championship but got a late start on beginning in July.  I was able to finish the year at 6th place in my age group.  This year, I hope to make top 5.  I rode up with my running buddies early Saturday morning.  It was cold and cool outside.  The trails were muddy from recent rains the week leading up to the event.  Team RWB volunteers at this race so it was awesome to see all the Eagles on the course.  I wore my Beef Team jersey, as has become my custom for all races in the last year.  I really enjoy running for Team Beef as a sponsored runner.  The 20 mile race is 2 10 mile loops.  I toed the start line with my friends Bruce and Erin.  The trails are single track at the beginning, and it was just a few minutes into the race, when I decided I felt good enough to push the pace on this one.  I started passing on the left and found a steady pace I could maintain.  The trails were mostly flat and nontechnical.  The difficulty was in the extremely muddy sections that were slick and full of water.  When my shoes get soaked, I get horrible blisters, so I attempted to tiptoe through most of these sections which slowed my pace down a bit.  I came in the first loop in about 1:45 time even with a pit stop at the port a potty.  My pace slowed on the second loop and the temps heated up quite a bit.  My overall finish was a 3:34, which got me a second place medal in my age group.  They had well stocked aid stations, and great barbeque and beer by Karbach brewery.  An awesome day on the trails.