2022 Brazos Bend Marathon

The Background

I was feeling low about running after multiple DNFs.  I got a drop-down finish of 50 miles (credited) at the Cactus Rose 100.  Work was dragging me down. With Brazos Bend Marathon coming up, I couldn't motivate myself to train properly, only running short runs.

A good thing was that James and Terri would come to see me at the race.

The Race

After catching the shuttle to the start, I started off running 10 or a 11 minute miles.  I began hiking at about mile 6, but I was able to maintain a good pace of sub-15 minute miles for many of them.  I ran some off and on after that but it was mostly fast hiking.

Along the way there were alligators!

This shows how close the gators were!

Rob drove by and the van and honked and waved to to me.

I pushed on to the finish, never going into a major low.

Reflections

I think I want to focus on more marathons.  They are a challenge, and I can finish in a day and celebrate.  I signed up for the Texas Marathon in Kingwood on January 1.  It will also be good training for Bander 100k.

Of course, I need to train  more if I want to do better than a 6 hour marathon.

I proved on smooth terrain, I can powerhike sub-15 minute miles.

It was great to have family there at the race.  I'm proud I pushed hard with them waiting there for me.

2022 Muleshoe Bend 60k

The Background

I took a couple months off running after the last season.  Summer came, and I enjoyed spending extra time with the kids and watching classic movies.  Returning to training, I built up to six mile runs.  I trained a few times with a friend of mine, Luke.

The Muleshoe Bend 60k was to be my first race of the new season.   This would hopefully be my 5th finish of the race - a record for me (second best is Rough Creek with 4 finishes).

I drove up, visited Half Price Books, got a Thundercloud Sub, and had Amy's Ice Cream.

The Race

It was hot, humid, and still the whole race.  I always forget how the rocky the race is.  3 sections per 9 mile loop, and in the middle there's some smooth, runnable stuff.

In the first loop, I began to feel some depression and anxiety.  I didn't want to run, but I didn't want to DNF at Muleshoe, which has always been a good race for me.

I decided to be conservative, hiking more and running less than I could have.  Pushing on, I rebounded but never felt great.

I did run some bits, which was good, because when I reached the final loop I realized I'd be close to the final cutoff of 12 hours. Seeing a great runner I know, Agatha, lifted my spirits. 

I ended up finishing in the back of the pack with 45 minutes to spare.

Reflections

I don't know if there is anything to learn from this race, other than that sometimes I'm not mentally there and I'm glad I didn't give up.  Physically, I was not in bad shape.

Throughout the race, I debated whether I should run the Badger 100 in two weeks.  Looking at the results, I ran at an 18-minute pace.  I need a 19-minute pace at Badger.  Muleshoe is a much tougher course; Badger is longer.  I figured it would be a gamble but there are a lot of factors saying I can finish.  For example, I ran Rocky Raccoon 100k this year in 17 hours and change.  Doing that again (and Rocky is tougher than the Badger) would give me 15 hours to finish the last 60k  in the time I need to make it to the airport.

I felt good that I finished Muleshoe so I decided to go for the Badger.

 

2022 Jackalope Jam 48hr - 100k

The Background

In planning my race season, I may have been a bit overly enthusiastic signing up for a 48hr race in between Rocky Raccoon 100k and J&J 101mile.  Suddenly, race morning was here and I felt unprepared.  I had been super busy at work, and had worked all weekend previously at the TCTELA conference.  After teaching my class Thursday night, I went to bed without even packing.  When I packed race morning, I forgot essentials like pillows and blankets for the tent; I had to go to the store to buy Band-aids. Long story short, I was not mentally ready.

The Race

At 7IL ranch, Jackalope Jam is a  1.5-mile out and back on easy trail, the turnaround being the Cone of Death.

It was cold, windy, and later rainy.  On the "out" section there was a headwind.  I called it the "vile wind," remembering the first paragraph of George Orwell's 1984.

I ran the first 10 miles at a good pace.

By 15 miles, I was in a bad place.  I felt mentally exhausted - mainly from working so many days straight.  I went to my car and sat, dozing for maybe 50 minutes.  Almost set to drop, I looked at the folks at the aid station on the way back and decided to head out again.

I rebounded, pushing on, telling myself at least make it to marathon. Then I said, make it to 50k; that way you could finish half today, half tomorrow for 100k.  By 50k, I was still feeling good, so I made it to 42 miles.  I had been fueled by sliders at the aid stations.  After sitting at the aid at 42, I got the chills and decided to rest for the night.

I was so disorganized that I had left the tent open; rain had entered.  My mattress was deflated.  I pumped it up as much as I could, but by 2am or so I was sleeping on the ground.  I got up and went to my car and slept more, starting again at 6am.

I had 21 miles to go to make it to 100k.  I mixed in running with hiking.  It started to rain for real towards the end. I finished up the 100k after 27 hours and change.

Fighting the Wind

The Cone of Death

Reflections

I had hoped for 100 miles at this race, but made the B goal of 100k.  My thinking was that with a 101 miler coming up, it was better to save the mental and physical energy for the final race of the season.

The conditions were really unpleasant.  That, combined, with my mental state, made making it to 100k at least respectable.  I'm glad I plodded on and finished that.

I might need to pare down my race schedule a bit.  For example, I want to do both Snowdrop 55hr and Bandera 100k one week apart - obviously not wise.  May have to make a tough choice and cut Snowdrop.

I decided to buy a camping mat the rolls up to use instead of my inflatable one so I don't have to mess with that.

Coming up, I have J&Js 101 miler with a worse problem: I have to teach until at least 7pm then drive to Rocksprings.  I'll get there after midnight.  Hopefully, I can set up my tent rather quickly and get some sleep by 1am; maybe get 5 hours sleep before the 7am start. I need to have everything ready by the night before for that.

 

2022 Rocky Raccoon 100k

The Background

I was excited about the Tejas 300.  I had finished the Cactus Rose 100 Mile and Bandera 100k, leaving Rocky Raccoon 100k.

Originally, I had signed up for the 100 mile, but some slow finishing times led me to switch to the 100k to avoid fighting the cutoffs.

A winter storm hit the US.  No rain or snow in Huntsville, but low temperatures would be in the 20s.  Plus, I had a cold.

Terri was able to come and stay for the first loop, which was great.

The Race

After a 2-mile short loop, there would be 3 20-mile loops.   I kept a good pace the first 10 miles, running 10 to 12-minute miles.  I slowed a bit from miles 10 to 20, then hit a low point.  I had been blowing my nose and coughing, and probably got behind on my calories, and began to move very slowly.

I saw Terri at 22 miles and she encouraged me.

Able to rebound a bit, I pressed on, but hit another low at 26 miles before the turnaround for that section.  Then I ran a bit and snapped out of it.  I chatted with a fellow who had finished a marathon on each continent and another looking to finish his first 100k.

Hitting another low around mile 36, I really wanted to quit.  I thought if I was staggering around at a slow pace at night when the temperature would drop to 30, that would be miserable.  

I felt a bit better by the final loop, 42 miles in.  Even thought I had many hours before the cutoff, I avoided taking a rest in my car, just grabbing extra layers of clothes for the night.  I kept going and was able to rebound.  I continued running.

By mile 50, I couldn't run anymore, but I was able to powerhike at a 16 or 17-minute pace.  Which was great as I could generate heat through the night.  I did run short bursts at times.

I chased headlamps, always a good sign.  There was one guy behind me for miles and I ended up finishing right in front of him.

Reflections

I was so happy to finish the Tejas 300, a goal going back to 2013.  2013-2014 I DNFed Cactus but finished Bandera and Rocky; 2014-2015 I finished Cactus but DNFed Bandera and Rocky. 2015 to 2017 I was barely running, finishing only a handful of races, and 2018-2020 was trying to finish a 100 miler again. COVID wiped out a year of live racing.

But now I finished the Tejas 300.  

I really felt like quitting, but made it through, which always feels good.

I was really happy at my powerhiking pace.  A lot of races I had told myself I'd powerhike at a 17 minute pace late in the race; here, I did it.

I learned that extreme cold is manageable if I can keep moving and generate heat.

At this pace, I could have finished the 100 miler.  It would have been close, but possible.   With better training (running 20 mile training runs), I think I'd have a shot. Maybe next year.

I will run the J&J 101 Miler to try to add to the mile total for the Tejas 300 in the standings...

2022 Bandera 100k

The Background

I had intended to run the Across the Years 48 Hour Race in Phoenix over the winter break.  Then my wife got COVID-19 and her son broke his wrist on Christmas day.  It was definitely the best thing for me to stay in town and take care of the family.

Luckily, I had the Bandera 100k as my next race a week later. Originally, I was not going to be able to run this because of a TCTELA board meeting, but the date of that got changed.  I was fortunate to get into Bandera on the waitlist.  

Big picture, I had failed to finish the full 100k distance three times in a row:  2015, 2016, and 2018.  Not finishing one of my favorite races was something I hoped to fix.

I drove up straight from work and set up my tent.  It was in the 40s but not super cold.

The Race

My scheduled race start time was 8am, but they told me to go right after the first wave at 6:30.  This was great because it meant finishing earlier, less hours in the night.

Race Start

It was foggy in the morning; the view from the hills was just blank white. I headed out at a 11-13 minute pace, hoping to perhaps finish under 17 hours, Western States qualifying time.  I gave myself maybe a 5 to 10% chance of reaching this goal. After 6 miles, my pace fell and I wrote off Western States.

A few miles into the race, I noticed my timing chip was gone!  There had been another timing chip on the trail previously, not mine.  This had never happened to me in a race before.  I knew that there would be no chance I'd be disqualified; they'd figure something out to help me and there is only one timing mat at the end of the 50k loop.  But this lowered my spirits and my pace slowed a bit.

I rebounded and pushed, running to marathon distance, then continuing a good pace (for a slow runner like me) to finish the first loop.  The field section of the race with relatively smooth trails also helped.

Luckily, at the aid station they had my chip.  It had fallen off a few feet after I crossed the starting line!  I made sure to cross the timing mat.  I was thankful to God.

I finished the first loop in 8:46.  By the time I headed to my tent to get my running pants (which I never used)  and started again it was nearly 9 hours.

I was a bit lazy on the first section of the second loop, hiking slowly.  I began to run again, but my running was more like 15-17 minute miles.  But that was better than hiking at 20+ minutes a mile so I pushed on.

I continued that for the rest of the race, never hiking only for miles on end.  

I never got sleepy and it wasn't that cold, my two big fears.  Mentally, I was in an okay place, not feeling the despair I did at Cactus Rose.  I kept telling myself the time will pass, the magic of grinding it out will work, then I'll be finished.

I got it into my head to run 2 miles straight for miles 57 and 58, remembering my daily runs and treating it as a test.  I finished those in 15-minute miles.  

I slowed a bit, then ran in the last mile.

At the finish line, they said that the buckles were stuck off the coast of California in a shipping boat.  I understood; COVID-19 has caused far worse problems for people.  They'd mail it later. 

At the end of the race, I saw a runner I know, Jimmy, which was great.

I poured water on myself in the cold and dark to wash off, then slept a couple hours before driving home.

Belt buckle arrived 3 weeks later.  I love the green!

Reflections

I felt so happy to finish the Bandera 100k.  This race is so special to me and to redeem those previous failures was great.  

I am going for the Tejas 300.  I've finished the Cactus Rose 100 Mile and Bandera, so this leaves Rocky Raccoon 100k.  The Tejas 300 was a goal going back to 2013 that I never finished, so I'm excited about trying.

Also, now I have 400 miles at Bandera...next year might be the 500-mile fleece.

I think I am capable of finishing Bandera in under 17 hours, but I'd have to train better to do that.  I've been focusing on just finishing many long races and training very lightly to avoid injury, but next year I might train harder.

Thanks to Chris McWatters, Tejas Trails, the volunteers, and Terri!