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!
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