2024 Texas Switchback Marathon

The Background

I enjoy attending UHD's commencement.  I feel blessed and honored to be there as a faculty member, and it is inspiring to see the students accomplish their goals. However, the spring commencement ended at 6pm. Getting to bed at 8:30pm, I would get 4 hours of sleep before getting up at 1am to drive to the Texas Switchback.  I was really sleepy the first hour of the drive, but it got a bit better.

The Race  

The two-loop-course features some rocky trails, climbs, some smooth, runnable sections, and a really cool section two miles in where you run under a rock wall and through a short tunnel.  

I headed out at a conservative pace, but by half marathon I was tired.  By mile 16, I was feeling, woozy/dizzy/sleepy, like at a 100-miler.  I hiked a bit at this point, telling myself I just needed to survive.  I rallied, running what was runnable from 19 to 21. Again, my vision blurred and I slowed. 

Hitting an aid station at 22, I drank some coke, which revived me.  For a while, I just hiked, wanting to keep in good condition.  At mile 24, I saw a runner ahead, motivating me to run and compete.  I passed 3 folks along this stretch.  I saw another guy ahead running, and chased him down, but he turned out to be a volunteer! I finished 30th out of 35.

Reflections

The beginning of this season has been one of adversity!  First Hachie Marathon cancelled midway due to storms, storms on the way to Wildflower plus 3 extra miles, now a battle with fatigue at Texas Switchback.

Just finishing the race was a victory, given the lack of sleep, early wakeup, and long drive.  I needed marathon #99, so I'm glad I did it.

Also, I fought a bit harder at this race than at Wildflower, running more in the last third.  Even if I'm having a challenging race, I can still compete.

I will try to avoid the logistics of this race in the future.

Well, 99 marathons/ultras done.  Next up is #100 with Mohican Marathon! 

2024 Wildflower Marathon

The Background

I was devastated after the DNF at Rocky Raccoon.  After a great season, to end on a let down was tough.  I took time off - 5 weeks no running and mentally avoiding thinking about races.  By spring break, I started running again.

The first race of the season was to be the Hachie Marathon. Terri and I drove up to the race in a storm.  I kept a sub-5 hour pace to mile 17, then the race organizers stopped the race.

Well, I had Wildflower Marathon scheduled anyway for two weeks later, and I tried to view the miles at Hachie as a good training run.

Terri and I got up early and drove to Bastrop, again in a storm.  I suggested we turn back since I didn't want us to be stranded, but Terri (thankfully) said we should try to press on.  Luckily, the weather cleared up by the time we got there, and we didn't get rained on.

The Race

The race started with a long loop to the lake, 2 medium loops, and 1 short loop.

I kept a 10 or 11-minute pace through mile 12.  Feeling a bit low, I hiked to half marathon, then ran to 15.5.  

At that point, I was on the second loop, and there was sign "2.5 miles to finish."  Doing the math, I realized the course would be long, probably 29 miles.  Checking with other runners confirmed it wasn't just my GPS; the course was long.   I reminded myself trail racing is never exact mileage.

My motivation plummeted. I wasn't mentally prepared for 29 miles.  I switched over to powerhiking for the rest of the race, telling myself it was training for the Arkansas Traveller 100. Doing some calculations, I knew I would have to move to beat the 8-hour cutoff.  I knocked out some 17-minute miles, finishing in 7:34.  Weather was a bit hot at the end.

Reflections

If I had kept my cool and kept running, I would have finished in the top half of the field.  I am grateful just for the finish, though.

Well, the advantage of starting off the season with a very slow marathon is there is room for improvement!  I signed up for the Texas Switchback marathon the following weekend to make up for the Hachie Marathon, as I am trying to reach 100 marathons/ultras by the Mohican Marathon in June.