Over the past three years, I have worked to get myself back to a better place, both in running and life. The last time I really felt strong as a runner was when I crossed the finish line of the 2014 Cactus Rose 100. I got injured in the 2015 Bandera 100k and the past three years of my running and life have had a lot of challenges.
This January, I DNFed Bandera once again. I had three injuries going in: left calf, right Achilles, strained back. All three were in pain at 10-15 miles in and I dropped.
Devoting the new year to healing, physically and emotionally, I walked a lot. By March I was running.
I emerged from this dark time feeling better than my first or second year running. Clocking eight or nine minute miles on the road, I felt confident about my first race of the season, the Wildflower Marathon. This would be the start of a series building up to the Bear 100 in September.
The Course
The Wildflower Marathon is a rolling course in Bastrop State Park. It starts with a mile out and back up a hill to a little house. Then there are four 10K loops with a few climbs but mostly runnable terrain. Burned out sections offer little shade, which would factor in to what happened on this hot day.
The Race
I made a rookie mistake and went out too fast. Reviewing the previous results, it appeared a 4+ hour marathon would be at the front of the field. Excited about my road pace, I took a shot at a fast time and it blew up in my face. Lining up at the front, I sprinted up and down the out and back hill, already feeling I was working too hard but not wanting to block those behind me.
Charging the hill too fast
Settling into a nine or ten minute pace on loop one, I was maybe in fifth or sixth place at this point. What felt like a manageable pace proved my undoing by the end of loop two and the beginning of loop three. A combination of going out too fast, getting behind on hydration and calories, and the day heating up left me woozy. I never fell into a death march, but I slowed way down.
I grabbed a hat from my dropbag and headed out on the final loop, feeling a bit better. I'm proud I kept running, even the road climb up the hill to the last 2 miles.
Pushing Forward
I finished in 5:40, 14th out of 28th runners (50%). Technically, I achieved my goal of finishing in the top half of the field :-)
Finish Line
Post-race Lunch at the Taco Stand
Reflections
I feel great to have finished the first race of the season and to be healthy. Obviously, it was dumb to go out so fast, but I'm happy I held on for a semi-decent performance. I raced this 50 minutes faster than the Night Moves Marathon nine months ago, which I think shows I'm in better shape.
I've got the Possum's Revenge 56k, the Captain Karl's 60k series and Habanero 100k coming up and I'm not going to worry about my time for any of these. They all will be training races for the Bear 100 and I'll just try to move a decent pace.
Thanks to Rob and Cheryl, Trail Racing Over Texas, all the wonderful volunteers, and my sweet girlfriend Terri for the support!
I'm excited about this season. It will be an adventure!
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