A few months back I heard about Ultra marathons and thought "..that just does not sound like fun. Why would anyone want to run further then 26.2 miles?" As I looked into Ultra marathons I started to notice that most if not all Ultra races had shorter distances on the same course and all are run on trails. Now that sounded like fun, trail running! Enter The Bandera Endurance Run. It has three different distances 100K/50K/25K. After doing some rough math I realized 25K was just slightly longer then a 1/2 marathon. "I can run a 1/2 marathon, I just ran the San Antonio 1/2 marathon, I can run two extra miles."
As I started to research Bandera I started to get excited about doing a trail run. I used a gift card I got for a birthday present to REI and bought a pair of Salomon XA Comp 5 trail shoes. The next day I did my first official trail run. I liked it so much the following morning I ran at 5AM in the dark with a head lamp, I was hooked. I continued to run for the next couple of weeks on the trails around my house.
There is something special about trail running versus running on the road. Trail running is a very focused endeavor. Each step requires fore thought. Each stride needs to be determined quickly. Questions must be answered instantly. Where will my foot go? How far do I reach? How high do I have to raise my foot? Do I land on that rock? Is that piece of ground stable? These are all make or break decisions. Make the wrong decision you wind up on your ass, believe me.
I signed up for the Bandera 25K!
I scoured the Tejas Trails website daily looking for information about the run. I read the course description, trying to envision what it would be like. I looked at all the pictures from the previous years. I looked at the race director's website for photos of the trail. The one piece of information that eluded me was a profile of the course. So I downloaded the course map for 25K run and imported into Google Earth trying to get some perspective on what I had signed up to do. As best I could tell from the pictures, the course description and looking at the map, it was going to be a hilly race. I started to question my decision for signing up.
As race day drew near I became an instant weatherman. A few times a day I would check the weather. The forecast for the week called for sunny warm days, except for race day, that day had a 60% chance of showers with colder temperatures. "Damn it", but as the week went on the forecast changed to cooler temperatures for race day and rain for the following day. I packed my gear accordingly.
Race day, T minus one day.
In an effort to gather more information about the run I left work around noon on Friday. My plan was to drive to the race venue, Hill Country State Natural Area, check in, pick up my race packet and attended the trail briefing meeting. Since the race started early in the morning on Saturday I wanted to make sure where I was going and see the lay of the land in the daytime. I'm glad I did, it was a long winding single lane dirt road to the race. I thought seeing the venue would calm my nerves. It only added to my anxiety when I saw the terrain that surrounded me.
The trail briefing was very informative. The race director covered all the do's and don'ts. Since there were three different races running on the same course at the same time. The race director wanted to make sure everyone knew which trail markings to follow. Making a wrong turn could cost you time and effort. Apparently route finding is an understood part of trail racing. My anxiety increased one more notch.
The room was filled with an eclectic looking group of runners. I'm glad I grew out my beard as I blended in nicely with most of the other men in the room. When the race director asked how many were running the different distances I was surprised to find out that 3/4 of the room were doing the 100K/50K and the other 1/4 of the room were first timers doing the 25K. Fresh meat as we were called.
After the meeting I headed back to my nondescript hotel for dinner, pre race preparations and a restless night of sleep.
5AM race day.
I applied Tincture of Benzoin, moleskin and tape to my feet in an effort to avoid hot spots and blisters. I did this after reading an article in Trail Runner magazine weeks before. A decision I would realize later was a great one. I ate a dry bagel with peanut butter, dressed and headed out. It was 32 degrees and clear. I made a conscience effort not to vomit. I was scared about what lay ahead. Being an Askins I was the first to arrive at the race and parked right at the finish line. I spent the next hour sitting alone in my truck in the dark watching people scurry about in their own pre race routines.
At 7:15 250 of us made our way to start line for a 7:30 start. There was lots of nervous chatter. People were sizing up one another and everyone was jocking for position near the front of the group. One guy in particular stood out amongst all the runners. He had on trail running shoes and shorts, that's it. The rest of the group had on a smattering of long sleeve shirts, hats, running pants, gloves, fuel belts, racing vests and hand held water bottles. Not as I found out later the eventual winner of the 25K race Mr. No Shirt
Runner's take your mark, GO!
Trying to get 250 runners into a single file line on a trail is like trying to herd cats. There was pushing and shoving and people sprinting by me not on the trail. I questioned that tactic as the initial section of the trail was uphill and rocky. Two hundred yards into the race my nerves were gone but my heart rate was around 220 beats per minute. I was going too hard to fast. I decided to slow down and let other pass. After the first mile the group spread out over the course and there was space between each runner. After we gained the first hill I latched on to a group of runners going slightly faster then my comfortable pace but I decided they would be good to run with. Over the course of the next 5 miles each of us would trade off being the lead runner setting the pace for the entire group. Those mile flew by as we introduced ourselves to each other, found out where we lived and talked about our trail running experience. I was feeling pretty good. I was relaxed my heart rate was at good and I felt strong. At mile 6 there was an aid station. I stopped, took in a PowerBar Gel, had my water bottle refilled and then tried to catch my running group. Unfortunately that group had splintered up and I ran with one of the women, Jane, from that group.
Now that my initial adrenalin and the excitement of the race wore off I started to feel some discomfort in my legs and feet. This is when the race really started for me. The middle part of the course had a lot of short steep hills both up and down. As Jane and I made our way over a hill called Sky Island we both remarked about how ruggedly beautiful the hill country was but we didn't have to time to stop and enjoy it. On this descent I made it be known I'd never wished for a descent to be over and how I was looking forward to the next climb. Yeah, it was a steep nasty downhill with loose rocks that made progress slow. I never felt like I had my feet under me and falling seemed like a good possibility. Soon after that descent I felt a familiar feeling. I was in the first stages of "bonking" aka "hitting the wall". I watched as Jane continued to run until I could no longer see her. I looked at my watch I was at mile 8. Mile 8 I thought "oh shit, I'm in trouble. I'm only half way through" I took out another PowerBar Gel and took a drink of water. I knew another aid station was coming up at mile 9. I told myself to hold on and keep going forward. Mile 8 took me 14 minutes. That was a hard mile!
At mile 9 the aid station known as "cross roads" was certainly a good thing to see. I ran in proudly trying to disguise my fatigue and lack luster enthusiasm for the race. I stopped and looked over the table of goodies: bowls of M&M's, potato chips, frozen bananas, pretzels, sandwiches, Gatorade, HEED products, Hammer products and Coke! A volunteer said "can I refill your water bottle?" she took it as I said "thank you" and grabbed a hand full of M&M's. I lingered at the table for about 5 minutes grazing on all if it. I had two cupfuls of coke and then I realized I probably shouldn't be eating and drinking so much. I still had 6 1/2 miles to go. After the aid station I headed out with a renewed spirit and a full belly of sugar. I jogged slowly over what was the only "flat" part of the course. It was uphill but the trail was almost void of rocks and it flat as in smooth. I plugged away slowing jogging, walking and talking to others who were feeling just like me.
I rounded a corner only to recognize I was near the beginning of the race. I could hear people off in the distance cheering. "People must be finishing the race, I'm almost done". I was indeed back at the starting point which meant I must climb that first big hill I climbed nearly 2 1/2 hours ago. The women in front of me yelled out "Way did God put this hill here!?". As I walked the entire hill. I passed a guy who was squatting then I realized he was puking. I continued to walk up hill and slowly made my way down the back side. That was mile 14 it took me 15 minutes to do that mile. As I passed the aid station I passed at mile 6 a volunteer yelled out "1/2 a mile to the finished, that's only two laps around I track" I started to perk up and found my legs again. I caught up with two other runners and we blazed the last mile in 9 minutes!
As I crossed the finish line I was almost over come with emotion. I had finished the race! I set a goal of 3 hours and the finishers clock read 3:00:59. I did it! I was handed a metal which I proudly put around my neck and took off my timing chip and handed it in at the timing table. I walked over to get a drink and the other runners I had run with were all there congratulating each other and trading war stories about their run. I went over the the timers table on my way out and thank Joe the race director for a great job on the course and told him I'm see him soon. He shook my hand and congratulated me on my race.
I went back to the hotel, showered and headed back to Austin. I thought a lot about the race as I drove home. I keep hearing people say that during a race "..you find out a lot about yourself, you find out what you are made of, you find your limits.." It's true. Could I have run harder, sure. Could I have trained smarter, sure. Would I have finished higher in the standings with more effort, yes. Honestly after this race I have a new out look for racing. Enjoy the race and the experience. Don't focus on the results. I'm not going to beat myself up over 'would of', 'could of', 'should of' questions. That's what I found out about myself during this race. I'll continue train and work hard but enjoying myself now takes top priority for me.
Endurance racing, I'm hooked. Grateful to have the opportunity to be healthy enough to suffer for fun, you bet!
