Going in to Colorado Bend, the 3rd race of the Capt'n Karl's series, all was well save my back. After injury at Night Moves Marathon in August 2017, I experienced off and on sharp pains. A couple days before the race pain was back, not that bad but noticeable.
Terri couldn't come, so I headed out solo. On the way to Colorado Bend, I stopped at College Station at the George H. W. Bush Presidential Library. It had a lot of cool historical artifacts, like Bush's flight instructor's bomber jacket, campaign buttons, a presidential limousine...this made me want to see as many presidential libraries as I can.
The Course
Colorado Bend 60k consists of two 18.6 mile loops, with a lot of rocky sections and some smooth running. It is definitely a tougher course than Pedernales and Muleshoe.
The Race
I started off at a decent pace even though my back was hurting. After the first aid station at about 3 miles, there is a fast section of relatively smooth trail for 5 miles to the section aid station. I made it through that in about an hour, pushing a bit. I started to feel a bit tired but was still ok.
Whenever I see a two loop course, I think, "Great, I'll only have to go out twice." True, but the second half seemed long. My back was getting beaten up going over all the rocks.
On the second loop, I got a little dazed / dizzy. I'm not sure if it was the caffeine pills I was taking for the first time or fatigue. Also, I realized I probably needed more water instead of only Tailwind. Regardless, I kept my head and kept moving.
The second-to-last section is a 5.2 mile, mostly rocky stretch. I started to feel good again, as I have in the past few races, like I was just going for a morning jog. I made some time, particularly on a smooth part over halfway through the section. I passed only one person the whole second half of the race; I barely saw anyone.
Right before I reached the last aid, my watch started to die. I had been playing the "mile game" where I work on one mile at a time since the start of the second loop. I didn't want the watch to die and have no data at all, so I turned off the GPS. This really messed with my head and what was a good feeling a few minutes ago turned to agony as I counted down the minutes. I figured I would finish this 2.9 section of rocky, up-and-down trail in under an hour at least. I had a shot at this point of finishing under 10 hours.
After interminable fast hiking, I popped out of the single-track to a short double-wide path that lead back to the start. I knew I'd come up a couple minutes short and finished at 10:02, 17th out of 24 finishers (bottom 30%), 17th out of 40 starters (top 35%). Not to offer excuses, but with the back not hurting I think I could have gone faster.
Reflections
I didn't feel the elation I normally finish after an ultra. Maybe it was how my head was messed up by the watch issue on the last section. Maybe it was knowing I had a 4 hours drive back . Maybe it was just mental fatigue at this point of the season: I've run 5 races since May.
I did experience a peaceful feeling a couple days later, after catching up on sleep. I am proud I finished the third race and am set up for a Capt'n Karl's buckle three weeks later.
I ordered a $99 Epson GPS watch with a 20 hour battery life. We'll see if it works :-)
So I have my long run at Habanero 100k in two weeks, followed by Capt'n Karl's Reveille Peak a week later! Good news is as I'm typing this on Tuesday my back feels better. Habanero will be a real test...the heat plus I haven't run 50 miles since Cactus Rose 2014. I am starting to get psyched for the challenge!
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