I was both excited and apprehensive about the weekend- excited to see the Mud Babes, Mark and Bea Miller, old running friends and apprehensive about running 62 miles on about 5 solid-ish weeks of training- not just cross-training. Oh and that training being in the Florida Keys....
The weekend started out in San Antonio- a late flight in, a bison burger and a beer at the Esquire- and linking up with Sophia, Erica, Emily, Janeé, and Terri. Todd would fly in later that night; but we would see him in the morning. Of course in true Bandera tradition we did a little trip to the Alamo, and a little shopping to get hats and new belts for what would be a fantastic buckle- there may have been some mooning over the river... but...
We headed out to the Town of Bandera (via Target and Chipotle) and the Silver Spur Guest Ranch where we were bunked up in the Butch Cassidy Room. We went Horseback Riding- completely awesomely fun... and since we weren't worried about breaking land speed records- this was well worth it thanks to our Cowboy Guides Tom and Robert.
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| Headed out on "Whiskey" at the back of the pack |
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| Apparently Lucky doesn't make jeans like they used to... A Pants Casualty |
After our one hour tour and a change of pants- we were off to packet pick up and link up with Mark Miller, a cuz' of sorts, fellow West Pointer and Army Officer, we got the Miller headquarters location for the next morning- where there would be warmth and coffee... after introductions and such we found ourselves at the "best" Mexican restaurant in town- it was better than the Oregano laced pasta the year before... and we followed it up with some DQ Blizzards...when in Texas-one must visit the Texas Stop Sign...
Back to the room for outfit assemblage (easy since we would be in all orange), drop bag and nutrition packing... and what I would later find out is a partial charging of both my Garmin and Headlamp.
Up early the next morning for breakfast and morning rituals. The Silver Spur had a good spread with farm fresh boiled eggs, bagels and fruit... and we were off at 6 am to the start- learning from last year it's better to get good parking- and get there early... Stopped by the Miller's camper to get some much needed caffeine and stretch the legs- plus it was nice to finally meet Bea and chit chat with her. So we were ready to get after it... all of us...
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| Babes Ready for Bandera... |
And we were off... running steadily up the first climbs- which bring you to the top of Sky Island- beautiful view- and then down a bit to Ice Cream Hill and then down into Nachos, along the way I met some interesting people, a frenchman, and Andreana, a Bulgarian born Austinite, I would bump into her several times along the way- she was fascinating to talk to and a good strong runner. The course was much more runnable- yes I know this is not a word- this year so it was an easy way into Chapas Aid Station, I picked up Mark here and left Sophia and Todd who were making adjustments, and Emily was in front of us. I tend not to spend much time in aid stations- I have a system- coke, oranges, banana, and a sandwich slice or pringles to go, and I was refilling the pack at every other aid station- or I started that once I hit Crossroads... it was nice to run with Mark for a bit but I knew he was in much better shape than I (note the little gut I am sporting)- and he would pull away at CR1.
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| Mark and I Getting our hike on... Andreana is just behind us... |
With my weirdly timed bathroom breaks on the trail, and short time spent at the aid stations I picked back up with Mark and we headed to Last Chance- I lost site of him about one mile in to the windy trail, but I saw a familiar face, Emily, as I was starting the climb up Lucky Peak... We took a quick break and then finished off the climb and made our way into Last Chance- Emily and I slapped Olga with a couple of high fives and we were off to climb Cairn's and Boyle's- Emily would pull away in this last leg- the lack of training and oddly the heat was messing with me- and well the race plan of run a solid 50K and gut check the rest was weighing on my mind a bit... I was rolling down the beautiful dirt road into the Lodge when I ran into Jeremy- he was rocking along quite well after his crazy Marathon the week before- we talked electrolytes, water and heat- and I was amazed he was in a long-sleeve- but I moved on to the lodge with a first loop somewhere right around 6:58 or 7:00- shouted to Mark as I ran by and he was headed out and the Johnson sisters and Bea were there to cool me down a little- and then I would be on my way as Todd and Sophia were headed in....
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| Getting Johnson Sister Love and Healing |
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| Waving Good-bye; and off for another 31... |
I was happy to start the second loop- but apparently my stomach was not... so I quickly started to hike- Sophia and Todd came up behind me on the Sky Hill climb- we snapped a pic (which I can't find) and they were off- Andreana was with a guy named Patrick- they picked me up a little and I started to run more- heading towards Nachos- running through Sotol- Patrick said to me- you are running through Sotol like a honey badger- I said That's Erica- but I didn't really care- I just wanted to keep moving...Hit Nachos- got some ice in my pack and moved on... Coming into Chapas who do I see- yep Todd and Sophia again... I would bounce back and forth with them until the bitter end. At this point my stomach was complete toast- but I was pushing nutrition- and ginger hard candy became part of the equation...
I made it to CR #3 to see Erica, the Johnson Sisters, and Bea, my brain was a little fried- so Erica being there didn't sink in until later- got the race update on everyone, the standard nutrition package, threw a Breath Thermo top on, and grabbed my iPod- I sensed I could use the motivation in the next legs- and that I might end up being very alone in the dark... Playlist selection was interesting- Walking the Dog- apparently the best playlist ever- or so it seemed at the time... I think I told everyone so... I spent most of the 5 mile loop and Three Sisters climbs with Sophia and Todd... and then they went ahead at CR and headed to Last Chance...
I power-walked and ran a good portion of the the leg to Last Chance- alone- until the aid station- Todd, Sophia, Pam, and then Buddy and a couple others were there... I got a pancake with maple syrup- and it was worth the wait- because I caught Pam and then caught up to Todd and Sophia-claiming that giving a girl from NY a Pancake with Maple Syrup was the way to victory... I would would lose them again on the climb up Boyle's... but not to worry as I started the descent I was feeling great- I saw headlamps and flashlights in front of me- but wait was that a flicker- yep- and there it went- no headlamp... crap- two options stop and try and swap out the rechargeable for regular batteries in the moonlight- or run in it... so I chose to run by moonlight- it was a little over a mile and a half to go and the illum was pretty solid. I could see the trail markings and I was quickly catching the guy in front of me- who I passed- he did not appreciate getting passed by a girl with no headlamp- but he did offer up a light- but I was running with confidence in each step. And then Bam the road came up quickly- and I turned and could see the finish- what the clock still says 15: 29 or something... I was trying to figure out what time it was since my watch stopped sometime out of Cross Roads... I flew into the finish with a 25 minute PR from the previous year- 15:30:03 was the official time... and incidentally a Western States qualifying time.
Went to bed after a much needed hot shower, didn't sleep much, climbing up and down the top bunk to use the bathroom several times- hey at least I was hydrated. The next morning we had a final breakfast together at the Silver Spur- and of course photo ops in the main lodge with comfy couches and a fire.
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| Alive and fed |
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| The BUCKLES... |
Sophia, Todd and I headed into San Antonio for a day of relaxation before heading out the next day. Walking around San Antonio and the riverwalk proved to be a little difficult- as in stopping at the top of the stairs, out of breath, in pain and laughing our asses off... sort of looked like this:
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| At the top of the stairs |
but there was BBQ, a massage, whirlpool time, Margaritas and snacks... happy all around... happy with the weekend, and the run. I can honestly say I am excited for this year's adventures and season ahead.
