Competition

“There is a port-a-cactus just up the trail” — Paul Stone

Bandera kicked my butt, no doubt. I’m thinking it’s slightly due to all the fantastic peppermint ice cream I’ve been eating this past month, yet it’s almost all due to the killer hills and rough terrain.

I left my house to pick up Debbie for a night in San Antonio. We ended up in SA, TX at about 8pm, had dinner (Mi Tierra), and went to our hotel to sleep. We got up at 4:30 and and left SA for Bandera about 5am. It was dark outside so I didn’t know what the terrain was around me after we were west of SA. I’m glad I didn’t know.

I picked up my packet, used the restroom, and found my way to where the 50K and 25K were starting. Bandera does a good job of having each of the three races start at different points. the 25K had the joy of starting the race with the Lucky hill and ending it with Lucky. The 50K also started with a killer hill but at least it wasn’t Lucky. Meanwhile, the 100K started a little different direction and joined up with the 50K shortly after the start of the race. The race started promptly at 7:30 with a light fog and the sun rising.

The first section of the 50K was probably the most difficult. The initial hill is something unlike any hill I have had the pleasure of running. I walked most of the uphill and tried to run the downhills. Even that was dangerous as it was steep with lots of big and small loose rocks. Even hiking this would give you a major workout.

I ran for awhile with a guy who told me that he had ran quite a few Bandera races and let me know I was in for a day of fun. About a half mile before Nachos, I saw him again as he was hobbling to the aid station with a broken foot. He didn’t want any assistance from runners though. I also ran with and talked to [--updated with name -- John Sharp] who trained out there. He let me know that once I made it to Nachos, I was in the clear. That was about 10 miles into the run, so I had some good news as I passed over those very difficult sections.

Bandera was very well marked. I had thought about carrying a map because I wasn’t sure how it would be. There was a lot of crossing over different trails and changing up the direction. However, the marking was great. They only marked the intersections instead of the entire trail. I think this worked well as you knew once you were going the right way nothing would change.

After Nachos, I was out there with just a few groups of people for much of the race. I did a lot more walking than normal because I wasn’t properly trained for the race. It didn’t help that it was a little over 70 degrees without any clouds. I didn’t get enough sodium, so I was bloated and dehydrated pretty soon into the race. I wasn’t ever able to shake that.

After the Chupas aid station it was onto an area that was more open pasture. I got some delicious Clif Bloks from a guy named Phillip who was out there for fun and to run with his friend through the Nachos section of the race. I also ran with a couple other people for a little while.

Once I made it to the Crossroads aid station, a guy from the Hill Country Trail Runners let me know that I wasn’t taking enough enduralytes with the current temperature. I was taking one an hour and he said I needed at least two, so I grabbed a couple and took them with a bottle of Heed and headed out. This section that went out around the two sisters and came back in was one of the worst for me. I wanted to be done and I was tired of climbing these hills. My calves were completely thrashed, so I had a difficult time climbing.

Once I made it back to the Crossroads a volunteer who had finished the 25K let me know what I was in for with the Lucky section. He said about 2.2 miles was covered and flat with good trail and then 2 miles of lucky was left where it would be brutal. Taking that advice, I ran the 2.2 miles almost the entire way. Then when I got to lucky, I climbed it as quick as I could and descended it slowly so as to not hurt myself.

Once I made it to the Last Chance aid station, I got some gatorade and water and ran the last .5 mile to finish in about 7 hours and 27 minutes.

All and all, this was the most difficult race I have run. I look forward to running the course again as it was a lot of fun. I loved the nature surrounding me even if the hills were pretty rough. Next year I will come more prepared!

This morning I ran the Fall Lone Star Trail Run 25K. I finished third place overall with a decent time of 2:24. I don’t know the exact seconds, so I will wait until the official race results appear.

The weather was perfect, the course was great, and the volunteers did an outstanding job. Expect a full race report soon.

This weekend and next, I do believe, is when NBC is going to air some of the Osaka Track and Field World Championships. If you join me in watching you’ll get to see a couple fantastic distance runners — Bernard Lagat and Alan Webb. They are both fantastic runners in their distances and should be quite the force for the American team in China at the Olympics.

The 2007 first place male at the Western States 100 is Hal Koerner who led it from the start. The first place female is Nikki Kimball. Joey Anderson, of runjoey, dropped at Devil’s Thumb but still made it nearly 50 miles! The website has more information about all the competitors and links to youtube videos.

Meanwhile the AT&T USA Track and Field Championships were held this weekend in Indiana. Alan Webb pulled out an amazing victory in the mile. Breaux Greer, complete with his faux hawk, threw the javelin 299 some feet for a victory. Nick Symmons was unable to win the 800 but he sure had an impressive second place finish. Angelo Taylor dove across the finish line to win the 400 meter sprint. Finally Terniere Clement won the 1500 meter race for the women.

All of these athletes make it look so effortless.

After work, I put in a quick Friday run of 10 miles. People worry that they can’t work out on a Friday because it’ll interfere with their social life too much, however, I was finished before 6:30.

I don’t recall how long it took but I didn’t push too hard. I figure that some of the runners at the Western States 100 will be doing  enough pushing for all of us.

If you want, you can chart their progress at the WS100 website. Meanwhile, I will actually have a life and be listening to US Supreme Court oral arguments on my computer…

Good luck to all of you running the Rocky Raccoon tomorrow. I just ran a lap around the course and can tell you that there are quite a few wet spots. In fact, one area was nearly impassable without going through an inch or two of water. However, most of it is good and will be a fast course with great weather.

I will be out there from 6pm until midnight at the volunteer tent near camp site 174. Afterwards, I believe that I’ll be pacing someone on their last 40 miles.

See you on the trails!

The new PR is only because this was my first 15K, so I’ll have to go with 1:40 as my nearly official time. Not at all what I was hoping to be at, so I’m disappointed. Oh well, there is always next time, right?

The run was pretty good. It was overcast and windy at times but the conditions weren’t bad or anything. I enjoyed the run and liked seeing a lot of people out there for the run. I’m also not too sore from it which is nice.
With the end of cross country season, there were a lot of high school kids at the run. They were being pretty annoying before the run began, but I correctly assumed they were going to be splitting off at the 5K/15K course change. Most of the 15K runners were pretty cool and encouraging of everyone around them.

The Jogger Egg Nogger course is a pretty good one. It begins on Mockingbird where it crosses a bridge to the west side of the lake. After a half mile, you are out on the side of the lake running. The 5K group follows the lake for about another mile then turns around and returns. The 15K group continues to follow the lake until, I think, mile 4 or 5 when we turned into the Lakewood residential area. We follow that and cross under Mockingbird, turn to the east, and turn back to go under mockingbird again. It’s a really pretty area with a lot of trees, little traffic, and even some observers cheering us on. At 10K, we were back at the lake heading North to go to the finish line.

The most fun is you get a glass, or many if you want, of egg nog with either whiskey or rum at the end of the race! The community for Thurston racing is really nice and it was a good run.

Where to start, where to start? I guess that I’ll explain why I didn’t write yesterday. I went on a date with a cool girl, so I didn’t run and didn’t have much time to write anything.

Today I signed up for the Jogger Egg Nogger run this weekend. I flipped a coin on whether to run an easy 5K or a more challenging 15K. I decided that I would do the 15K because it’s more of a challenge for me. Regardless of how I run, I look forward to a cup of whiskey egg nog after the run! Is anyone else running this one?
This evening, in preparation for the race, I ran a fast-paced 4 mile run. My time was right around 28 minutes which is good enough for me. I would like to be at a 7 minute pace for the weekend run, but I know that I won’t do that well for the full 15K.

I wanted to say something about about Marc Witkes who passed away this past weekend during the Tuscon Marathon. It was a tragic and premature death that is both unfortunate and frightful. I did not know Marc, or even of Marc, so I can’t offer anything personal (please read what Scott Dunlap says at A Trail Runner’s Blog) but I can say that this should affect all runners in some way. It’s scary to me because mortality is something we all have to be aware of regardless of our age, health, and athletic ability. It’s a thought that both scares me and reminds me of how precious our lives are.

I went out to mile 16 around 8:15 this morning and was there in plenty of time to find a nice spot to cheer. I ended up helping the Dallas Running Club (formerly the Cross Country Club of Dallas) with a couple things. They told me that the mile 17 group only had a few people helping and would like more volunteers. I went to mile 17 and helped by giving out water to everyone who needed it. If you ran by there, I was the first person and have curly red hair.

Everyone looked pretty great out there and it was a good day for a run. I don’t think the rain began until most people were finished and the temperature was nice. Good job to everyne who ran!

Dear Hicham El Guerrouj,

I watched you run the mile in Athens this summer, and I must admit that I was impressed. 3 minutes and 34 seconds in this race and over 31 times you’ve ran under 3:30. Then I watched you win in the 5K or whatever. I’m NOT impressed.

No, this morning I went and ran a 5K. All I can say is that you best watch out, because I’m charging after you. That’s right, I came in 19th with a time of 20:03. That set my pace right around 6:27. I’m going to find a coach and reduce that pace to under 4 minutes and then you’ll be sorry you ever ran.

I said sorry you ever ran.

Thank you for the inspiration,
Curtis