Cowtown Marathon

Most people have never heard of the Cowtown marathon. So, why did I decide to run it when I live in Austin, where they hold arguably the best marathon in Texas? After having run Austin numerous times, my first keeping Kent company, the full 3 times and the half, once, I decided this year I would sign up for something different. There were other reasons why I decided to run Cowtown, one very important one was so I could get a new charm for my charm bracelet! Enough of why and on to the event itself.
The Cowtown expo is small if you compare it to Chicago, New York or Boston. It is even small compared to Austin but they have an expo (which some past participants claimed they didn't) and everyone there was nice and helpful. I found out from the Ft Worth Running Company that there was going to be pace groups, which thrilled me. I haven't been able to hit pace during my entire marathon training. I'm either consistently 15 secs fast or 15 secs slow. This all took place on Friday as the Cowtown marathon (the only marathon I know of) is run on a Saturday!
Race morning arrived and it was perfect. Temperatures were around 38 degrees and the wind was coming from the S/E at 6 mph. Ft Worth is known for being windy. In 2007 the winds were gusting up to 60mph. Planes had to be grounded. Runners felt like, when running into the wind, were running on treadmills and not open road. I knew the wind would pick up but the weatherbug predicted it would never get over 12mph and would be at our backs coming home.
The race start was about a block away from our hotel. We walked over at 7am, 30 minutes before the start of the race. Thank goodness we were so close. I heard later that the traffic was so bad coming into downtown that people were still registering for the 5 and 10k when the gun went off. The start was a bit chaotic. The race officials had told some participants that the race was going to start about 2 blocks away from where it actually was. There was no one around to give directions and I couldn't find a single pace group.
Kent wished me luck and I jumped into the crowd, as close to the front as I felt comfortable. I knew from looking at the results that the race was not super fast and that there were not a ton of people who would be running my pace. However, the half-marathoners were starting with us (as well as the Ultra marathoners) and I assumed the half runners would be taking off quite a bit faster. I kept asking if anyone had seen the pace groups. I found a little group of guys who were from Abilene, Tx. They were planning on running a 3:30 so I informed them I would just hang around for as long as I could. (I didn't ask...I told).

I heard someone say, "Two minutes till the start of the Cowtown marathon) and next thing I know I heard someone say, "GO!". I turned to one of my newly adopted running partners and said, "Are you serious"? There was no National Anthem, air horn...nothing!
With that the Cowtown marathon was underway. I was nervous about going out to fast as I almost always do. And, as these reports are supposed to be informative to those of you who are interested in potentially participating in the events we write about, I'll go into a bit of detail about the lay of the course. First two miles are fast so you have to be careful.

Elevation Map

The first mile we were bunched up so it kept us about 15 secs slow. Our second mile was 10 secs slow....not bad for a long downhill when you are trying not to go out fast. I was so proud of myself that I promptly ran the next two miles, which were two miles of slight climbing, 10 secs a mile too fast. And the rest of the race follows that same pattern. I think I hit 3 miles that were close an actual 8min pace. The rest were 8 secs to 10 secs slow all the way to 8 secs to 27 secs fast.
I broke it up, in my mind, into 4, 10ks. The first I knew was predominantly down hill. The 2nd was up, the third was down and the fourth and hardest was straight up, so it seemed, into downtown. It never climbed or descended more than 200 ft but it never seemed to level out. There were very few flat spots. Robert (my new running mate) and I dropped his friends around mile 9. Robert needed a 3:30 to qualify for Boston so I think he wanted it more than his friends did. We were alone, now, expect for my amazing Sherpa.
Kent was everywhere on the course, offering support, encouragement, drugs, gatorade and documenting the whole thing with his new camera. We had decided that he would meet me in the park at mile 16 and give me Cricket. I thought it would be fun to run part of the marathon with her as she had been my training pawtner for the last 4 mos and I'd never get to do that in Austin (Austin is too big and I'd be afraid of tripping someone). I was looking forward to making it to mile 16 and picking her up. At mile 15 I wasn't sure if I'd be able to handle her. My quads started to knot up and I was afraid that if she were too excited and pulled too hard, they'd seize up on me. I made it to Cricket and Kent and told Kent that my legs were shutting down. He popped me some salt tabs and Advil, gave me Cricket and told me to pick up the pace and stretch out my legs for a bit. My cardio wasn't taxed at all so I decided to give it a try. I think it helped my quads but then my calves started to cramp up. I wanted to stop so bad and try to stretch them out but knew if I did that I'd cramp up and that be the end of my day. So, I took some of Matt Carpenter's advice, "if it hurts, run faster". So, I picked up through 16 then settled into the ups and downs of Trinity park. We came out of the park and into the neighborhoods where we had more rollers,through which we were a little slow. We then broke free of the houses adn started heading back towards the park. We got a nice slow descent that felt like heaven on my tired legs. We pulled a 7:42 out of that but then promptly entered the rollers of the park and slowed back down to an 8:04.
You know how they say, "A marathon is a 20 mile warmup and a 10k race"? Robert had said if he had anything left he would throw it down at mile 20. We hit mile 20, in Trinity park, and had some nice downhill sections. We pulled some good time out of those. I told him, I don't know when my legs are gonna go so I'm gonna go while I still have em. We did the next three miles at an avg 7:45 pace. We came out of the park and began the torturous climb back into downtown. When I hit those hills, I hit my wall. Robert began to pull away from me and I had to let him go. I could feel my calves knotting up on me and I'd pitch forward every once in a while when they'd cramp. I kept moving though. I figured until they seized there was nothing I could do. Just keep going. I met up with Kent at mile 25. He began running with me, with his gimpy Achilles and a backpack on his back (he was in as much pain as me but there for me, none the less). He actually started to leave me at one point and I had to ask him if he wanted to win this race. hee hee
He did his best to block me from the wind that now was in my face and not at my back and which was threatening to blow me down the on-ramp that I was desperately trying to climb. Those last two miles are as bad as rumored..or worse. The last three miles I avg'd an 8:25 min mile. I turned the corner and did my best to limp through the finish line with a smile on my face. I was thrilled because I knew I had done it. I got my 3:30. The best part was seeing Robert with tears running down his face. He came over and we hugged. I heard him tell someone, "she ran the whole way with me". I remembered what it was like the first time I qualified for Boston. It was the biggest feeling I have ever had. I was so excited for him and it felt good to have been part of something that made someone so happy.
I got my finisher's metal. We stuck around for a little bit enjoying the free popcorn and diet cokes. I heard there was beer somewhere but I've never been abig beer drinker.
Would I recommend this race to someone? Yes. There was great support on the course. The course was actually very scenic and though there were not many spectators, it is kinda fun picking out the people who are moving around the course to spot their runners. Also, there were people who were set up outside their houses, offering food and drink to the runners. How cool is that? For me it was a PR course but I would not recommend others trying to PR there. It is hilly and it has a history of being windy. Go for fun and for something different than Austin or White Rock.

Ironhead Productions Prairie Man 1/2 Ironman

See...no chip

If you were to take the time to actually look at my results, you'd find I have none until I get from the bike to the run. It turns out that I lost my chip in the water.

Thanks, however, to Kent for clicking off my splits, for me. He even got my horrible transition time of 2:05. I have to work on that.

Big Thanks, however, to Brandon and Amy Marshes's Master's swim program for helping me to pull off a 36 min and 19 sec swim. It is the same as my Wildflower swim but I was wearing a wetsuit at Wildflower. The swim was a big triangle with bouys every 200 meters or less. I was told that I was in the first 10 of my wave, to exit. Wahoo!

Lisa riding like the wind and having fun.

On to the bike. It was a four loop course. My tri-advisor, Coach Patrick had suggested that I could hold 140 -150 watts and still feel decent for the run. Thanks for the Coaching...wish I had pulled it off! The course was flat and fast which makes for a good bike. The only area that I might have complaints about was on the back part of the loop where you had to ride with the traffic. It was a two lane road with traffic flowing both ways. Who thought that traffic should be allowed during a bike race was a good idea? I had to slow down and get behind some of the cars because they were riding so close to the side (there was no shoulder) that I couldn't pass.

But, right after that was a fast downhill section that I was able to make up time on. It was all going really well till, on the last loop, I went to pass a woman who, at the same time I'm passing moves to avoid a bump in the road and our handle bars locked. We both went flying. I bumped my head but thank God for my helmet. My bike came out the worse for wear. The other lady had more road rash than I did but her bike seemed fine. We both got up, and the race officials came by and said we looked ok and that we could keep on going. I don't know for sure but that was about a 4 to 5 min delay. Back on the bike for the last loop. Things didn't feel quite right with my handle bars all squished and cock-eyed. I kept slipping off the elbow pad. After some fancy 10th grade math we (really Kent) deduced that I had a 2hr and 48 min bike (including the crash) for a 20.2 bike avg. That's my fastest to date!

sad bike

Into transition, where the officials pull out my chip and swipe it for me. Someone must have found it in the water. On to the run.

Even after the bike wreck I'd have to say this is where it went downhill. I must have really screwed up my nutrition, never having raced such a long distance is such hot temps. It was 90 degrees but up on that dam it felt like 95. I got hot and couldn't keep my heartrate down. I couldn't catch my breath and started cramping before mile two. It was so bad I walked nearly the entire thing. I counted....I'd run about 40 steps and have to walk till my breathing calmed and my cramps released. I wanted to quit a dozen times cause I knew that this would be my worst half ever and I had been out for a PR. But, I decided I would take something away from this and that if I quit I would be even more disappointed than if I walked the whole thing. That's just me...others would rather save it for another race but this was supposed to be my THE race, for the tri season so I was going to stick it out. I shuffled/walked (mostly walked)13.14 min/miles. It started raining when I had 1 mile to go...hard. Kent passed me Eden and I ran in with her. I'm not sure Jack Weiss would approve but at that point, I could care less about a time penalty. Guess what...I ended up 3rd in my age group (out of 8 finishers and two DNFs). However, I came in only 113th out of 192 but consider 10% DNF'd.

Rainy finish with my training pawtner, Eden.

I have to say this race was harder, for me, than AZ. The course was far from scenic and the dam run was downright boring not to mention the water and air temp was freaking hot and to top it all off, the after party sucked. Now, I'm home making plans to mend the bike and the body. Thanks to Charlotte and Lisa for being there to share in the pain. Big Thanks to Charlotte for sharing her salt tabs with me. I think it was too late, at that point, but who knows...maybe it could have been worse without them.

Charlotte, me and Lisa ready for action

Ironhead Dallas Triathlon-1500 Meter Swim - 42 Km Bike - 10 Km Run

Up at 4:30 for the 5:30 arrival time. God, I wanted to crawl back in bed. Knowing Kent felt the same way kinda helped. Misery loves company …..
We packed the car and headed down the road to the nearest 7-11 for our much needed pick-me-up cup of coffee. We arrived at the race in plenty of time an ahead of the crowds. They parked us in the middle of a incredibly wet field, due to all the rains, that was full of hungry mosquitoes. Thank God I brought the Off. We hiked the half mile to transition where we squeezed our bikes in, sardine style, on the racks. I have to stop and comment here, I’m a short person and everytime I have done a Ironhead Productions race, they use these incredibly high racks that cause my bike to swing. During the Woolman, in San Angelo, Tx, also put on by IRP, my bike swung into the bike next to it which pushed my break into the rim of my wheel. I didn’t discover this till I had gone about 10 miles on the bike. Ugh.
Back to the race.
Kent and I had set up our bikes, walked back and forth to the car about 3 times, finally decided we had everything and set off for the 7am race meeting.
Now, if you have never participated in an Ironhead Production race you should know that you MUST attend the race meeting. Also, you must follow every rule, to a “T” or else face Jack Weiss’s wrath. He will call you out and not hesitate to kick you out of his race.
A friend of mine calls him General Anus.
After the race meeting, we promptly entered the water for a 7:15 am start. The swim was slow. I’m not sure how everyone else felt, but I think it was about the slowest 1500 meter swim I have ever done. It was one big loop. Nothing wrong there. The water was warm, about 80 degrees so no wetsuits allowed. The buoys were large and easy to see and the water wasn’t too choppy so not sure why my time totally sucked. Kent’s was ok but he hasn’t swam in 3 months so he has an excuse for a "not so grandiose" time.
Out of the swim, up the boat ramp and on to the bike. Out of the transistion in a not so swift time, wasted some moments fiddling with my powertap, which decided to quit working for the race, and on to the wonderfully flat 26.2 mile bike course. It was two loops of just about as flat as you can find road. There were a few potholes and tar bumps and the bridges had those weird grooves in them that make you think someone with a really large rake went over it, but other than that, the road was flat and smooth, ie. non-chip seal!
After the second loop and the one mile trek back to the transition area, I tried my new trick of pulling off my shoes but leaving them clipped in. Kent had caught up with me by this point. He started in the wave behind me so had already made up the four minute difference. He cheered on my shoeless dismount effort. Into the transition, racked my bike, off with the helmet, shoes and on with the cap and running shoes. Here there was a bit of a glitch. I had some how gotten the free sample of body glide shoved up into the toe of my shoe. It took at least 20 secs to dislodge it. All the while, Kent is waiting for me so we can run out of transistion together. What a sweetie.
Finally running shoes on and off we go. There is a water stop right outside of the bike transition area. Kent grabs the first and second cups of water that I go for. So, no water for me. If he had been any other participant I would have kicked him. But, because he’s my boyfriend, I just called him a goober and laughed about it.
The run was flat (yay) but hot (boo). IRP, knowing this was a sinister heat, had tons of water stations out on the course, for us. I used most of my water to pour on my head in hopes of cooling me off and bringing my heart rate down a notch. The run took you through about 2 miles of picnic area, on the road, and then up on to a dam that had not a sliver of shade. Once I reached the dam, I had finished "riding the highs" and had entered the “managing the lows” stage. Two miles on the dam, out and back, then back off the dam for 2.2 miles home. I have never been so happy to see a mile 6 marker.
Thank goodness for Kent and our friend Tricia (who totally kicked ass), otherwise there would have been no one there to cheer me over the line. There were few spectators on the course.

Highlights of the race- they had Smart Water at the finish. Kent handed me two Smart Waters and we headed off to the lake for a quick cooling off and then over to the refreshment tent for bananas and pizza. Afterwards, Kent bought Tricia and I smoothies. (He rocks!) I had the banana HIGH protein. YUMMY.
We hung around for the award ceremony. I pulled out a 3rd place finish, in my age group and Kent got 4th. Yay Hardware!

3M -A Guaranteed Good Time (in both senses of the word)

One of the fastest half marathons in Texas has got to be the 3M 1/2 marathon, right here, in beautiful Austin Texas. It might even be the fastest in all of the US! Maybe in all the WORLD! Ok, so you get the picture...it's fast. I think it is one of the best confidence booster you can get with trainers strapped to your feet and a number pinned to your shirt. Almost everyone I know hits the road at this race and finds their half PR. I'm not as good as Kent in describing, mile by mile play back but I will do my best.
Firstly, what everyone looks forward to is the schwag. You get a schwag bag stuffed...no..bulging with 3M products. Everything from bandaids to glue to post its...lots of post its....are stuffed into the bag. After everyone gets their bags there is lots of swapping and tossing. Most of my items ended up in my junk drawer but I did take some of the post-its to work.
Race day normally dawns cold and clear and this year was no exception. There were about 7,000 people but there were no problems with Porto-potty lines or lines to drop off drop bags. My friends and I had a designated meeting spot which was about 100 ft from the start of the race. I found them, quickly, and we took off for a quick 2 mile warm up. Soon, after that, it was time for the Anthem and for Austin's own Evil to send everyone on their way.
Now, here is where I have to stop and point out the only real beef I have with the 3M Half Marathon. 3M hosts a total of near 3,200 thousand runners. With this many runners, I think they should have signs pointing out different time goals, like at a marathon, so that runners can seed themselves. The reason I say this is because, my friends and I were planning on running marathon goal pace avg’ing 7:25 min miles. So, we inched our way fwd till we were about 25 ft from the start. Not wanting to get to close and in the way of faster runners. Well, I wish everyone had been so thoughtful, we spent the first two miles trying to fight our way through runners going no faster than 11 min miles and even some walkers out for a half marathon stroll. We were off our time goal by a min for both those first two miles.
After the initial 2 mile traffic jam the course cleared and we were able to hold pace with no problem. The course, is known for being fast. It starts at 892 feet above sea level and finishes at 557 feet above sea level. You wind your way down through Austin neighborhoods and through some of the local business districts. It goes from quaintly-cute to eclectic and unique as only Austin can. Bonus on top of the interesting scenery, with a strong tail wind and some nice down hills almost anyone racing this year, was guaranteed a PR.

In addition to the interesting backdrop and the great course conditions we also had terrific course support. As ever, Austin crowds were present at every street corner, coffee and dogs in hand, cheering on the runners. It’s always nice to have someone telling you your doing a good job, even if you don’t know em. The water stops were well placed with plenty of volunteers handing out water and Gatorade. “Thanks be for volunteers”!

The end of the race is the best part. You have a 300 meters or so straight and downhill. If you ever wanted to “finish strong” this is the race to do it.

After the race, you are given a finishers medal and a cold bottle of water. There are bands to enjoy and food to be eaten. I didn’t stick around for the after party but I heard there were bananas and bagels of all kinds, not to mention, fun and games for the kids.

You have to plan ahead, though, because the race is a point to point, so you should be ready to either share a ride back to your car or take the bus. I’ve never taken the bus but I hear they run pretty regularly and they are pretty convenient. Also, picking my personal belongings, from the baggage reclaim, provided me with all my items in hand and no extra sweatshirts or, worse, missing items.
At the end of the day and the end of the race, I have to say that the Austin 3M Half marathon is a “must run" for serious and not so serious runners alike.

You Gotta Love the Socks - 2006 Motive

Despite being considered one of the tougher half marathons in the country, the Bison Stampede consistently draws well and is a race many look to as a test of fitness and toughness. This year was no different. Screw the tough as nails course though, I think it all has to do with the socks. Each year Motive gives out, and each year is different mind you, custom, totally ripped, running socks to everyone who signs up. It’s like; hey, this is tough ass course with hills, and wind, and it goes forever...you are gonna be on your feet a lot. Here, have some socks.

The attraction is really the hill, actually that’s HILLS, plural. The last two years they have added a king and queen of the hill premium. A race within the race; 100 bucks for the fastest man and 100 bucks for the fastest woman up the mile long climb along Raincreek Blvd. Your ranking are posted overall and within age groups for the hill and the race. Chip timed no less. Bonus points for that.

The course, of course, is the course and it’s a bear. The first 3 miles gently roll down Jollyville to Raincreek. You have to be patient. At mile 4 you fall off the earth down one of the steepest sections I have ever seen at any level, then from 4.5 to 6 you crawl back on. That hill gets all the attention, but the last climb up Fire Oak to 7 is steep and the loop around Vallecito hurts like a sombitch. Plus, it’s back in the neighborhood, no crowd, little support and after all that work up Raincreek...well,it hurts like a sombitch. You have to stay in rhythm and stay focused.

This year a bunch of us were together the first 2 miles. Guys I don’t normally see going that quick that early and it was hard not to chase; or freak that I was off pace, but it worked out okay and I climbed better than last year. The weather was perfect, cool and sunny, little bit of wind. After the Vallecito loop you are back on pace and cruise to Oak Knoll through “campus” and down McNeil. Marla with Eden and Anna with her dog were cheering on the loop around right after mile 11. That made the race. The neighborhood before it is a drag. Total mind-bender. It climbs and putzs around before you drop into the street that you know is just a “c” to get the mileage right. It plays with your head; total dead zone, near the end of the race. So as I hit the section 300 meters out there is Marla screaming her lungs out. She is shouting still as I go by, signs and all, still egging me on as I turn back out on the blvd. Made all the difference as I found my legs again, refocused and started the last mile + climb for the finish.

This is an Austin classic. It has color: a competition where the volunteers from home-grown Motive deck out the water stops with different themes, best one is voted on by the runners. It has innovation: the aforementioned KOH, one of the first courses ballsy enough to include raincreek in the first place. It has a great after-party: bands, massage tents, free coffee, tons of food, nice awards, CASH...and the killer socks and a t-shirt. Plus, tons of parking...did I mention the free coffee? In the “go-go” dot com days, the shirt was even better and the marketing firm doing all the sock and shirt designs gave out great posters. As with most races in Austin, organization, timing, packet pick up and race day functions are always well staffed, well coordinated and smooth. We are spoiled in Austin, always the best place to race in the country.

One last neat thing, most people rate their Motive time within the half marathons they’ve done. For instance, they have a half marathon PR as well as a Motive PR. And supposing (is that a word) you or a buddy do straight up PR at Motive, then prepare for a whole slew of handicapped stats on how fast that translates on a standard course, blah, blah, blah, or heaven forbid, 3M.

Oh yeah, the socks rock, can't forget the socks.

Ft Worth Turkey Trot

This was the first year that I have ever done a Turkey Trot other than Austin. The Austin Turkey Trot is HUGE. There are games for the kids, music, people in Pilllsbury suits walking around....it is a Turkey Day Festival in and of itself. So, I was sure what to expect from Ft. Worth.
Getting there wasn't hard and finding a parking place was fairly simple. I think we ended up about two blocks from the actual start, parked in front of someone's house. We had about an hour to kill but still had to pick up our packet. The packet pickup lines were no where near as long as the Austin lines but there were few volunteers and they were not doing a good job of keeping folks in their correct alphabetical lines. So, we stood in line, drinking our coffee, eating our Clif Bar breakfasts, people watching. Oh, and BIG bonus points, here, as it turns out dogs are allowed and the Ft Worth canine population was well represented.

When we finally made it through the line, we were told they were out of shirts and we would have to sign up for them to send a shirt to us. Also, the chip pickup was at another table so, as Kent had a chip and I didn't care if I was timed or not (let me point out that normally I would run the Trot with one or more of my dogs and this was the first year I had not done that. I missed my Eden and we almost went back for her.), we skipped it and went to find the start of the 10k and to do our 2 mile warmup.

When we had first arrived there seemed to be about 3,000 people milling around, listening to the band play, eating free yogurt and doing warm-up exercises with Jane Fonda. As we headed towards the course, we noticed that more than half the participants were gone. We concluded that most of the folks were doing the 5k which started about 50 mins before the 10k or the 1 mile walk which started with the 5k. As we took off on the course, for our warmup, we noticed that the 5k'ers were making their way to the finish (quickly, I might add) and were having to dodge around the walkers, many of which had their pooches or baby strollers. That probably could have been better planned. So, deduct points for possible collisions or dog bites.

We finished up our warmup, headed back to the car (which was conveniently close) and took off a couple of more layers of clothing. By this time it was probably in the upper 60's low 70's. We headed back to where we thought the start was located. Turned out we weren't completely right. As it got close to time, they herded all 500 or so, of us, into a parking lot where there was a white line drawn on the ground. As Kent handed me his gloves, camera and shirt, which I wrapped around my waist with my own long sleeve shirt (not very aero dynamic at this point) I heard a faint 8...7...6....5... I yelled to Kent, "GO...GO...GO" and pushed him the direction of the start. With no starting mat to run across Kent needed to be as close to the front as he could get when the gun went off. Correction here, when the guy yelled, "GO". (most of the racers couldn't believe we had started as it was 2 mins early and not many people had heard the countdown). So take off points for an unorganized start and double negative points for no National Anthem. (how do you know a race is about to start without a national anthem?) First mile was down hill...then, from there, it was up, down, up, down, up, down. I mean, I thought Ft. Worth was flat. You basically ran up and down a hill on one block, took a corner another corner and paralleled the same street with the same hills in it. There were water stops about every 2 miles, however, at some of the water stops there was a total of two people working. There were not too many people out on the course, cheering, but the ones that had come out of their houses, coffees in hands, were all smiles and cheers.

The last 200 meters was totally down hill which provided a strong finish, if you have anything left in ya, and a great picture as you churn your way over the finish line.

The after race celebration was on, with the "We only know one melody" country band and the awarding of giant trophies to the winners of the different age groups and races. The results were posted within 15 mins of our finish so add points for efficiency. However, turns out that the normal standard champion chips were not used at this race so we had to go convince the results guy that Kent came in 4th in his age group and 10th over all. For some reason the woman who promised him she had written it down when he crossed the mat never conveyed the information to anyone that matter. Whatever, it was the principal of it cause, in the end, you only get hardware if you get top three in your age group.

So, with no tshirt and no trophies, we loaded up ourselves and headed to a 7-11 for drive home coffee.

2006 Tour De Habitat

I'm not sure whether to review the ride or my nice, new winter cycling shirt. I think I might write a totally different review if it weren't for that shirt.
The ride started out at the decent hour of 9am. Just enough time to get a real breakfast (something other than a Clif Bar) and make a coffee stop on route. So, A+ for start time and many, many 7-11 stores, on the way.

It was pretty cold, about 50 degrees and as windy as a day in March so we weren't too surprised that the turn out was small compared to last year. That's ok, just meant we extra attention from the incredibly nice volunteers and more cookies on the route. I even noticed a huge tub of Super Bubble so A++ for the nice volunteers and their thoughtfulness in handing out my treat of choice, Bubble Gum! Oh...and they all loved Eden and even offered to watch her while we rode. These folks are tops in my book.

On to the ride...
Kent was cold. The volunteers were cold. Everyone was cold but, me, I was nice and warm in my new Sugoui riding jersey. I'm not 100% sure what it is made out of but I think it is a mixture of fleece, cool max and Eskimo all rolled into one snug-as-a-bug shirt.
If it had not been for the 20mph winds, this ride would have been fast and smooth. Most of it didn't have a hill to speak of and the scenery, though not so scenic, was better far better than any ride up Palmer or towards Buda (both normal Austin routes). The other riders were polite if a little too cold to carry on a real conversation. The volunteers, however, are what made this ride so nice. I think there was one volunteer for every rider and each rest stop (one about every 10 miles) had cookies (some homemade) and fruit. There were even cops stationed at every crossing to hold the traffic as we went by. I felt like I was at the Ride for the Roses but for less than 1/10th of the cost. There was one stretch of about 2 miles where the road was grated and was so hard to ride I almost got off and walked. Other than that, they were your normal country back roads. A few pot holes to keep you on your toes but not so bad beyond that.





We got back, and unlike the Ride for the Roses, there were no bands or roses being handed out. That's ok, though. For $25 I was not expecting bands. There were hotdogs and chips (knock off some points for no turkey legs). We left the hotdogs to the other riders, loaded our bikes and said farewell to our fellow riders and headed off to find more coffee and another 7-11.


Race Schwag Shirt.

2006 Gulf Man Festival in Galveston

More like a impromptu practice tri than a real race....


I think I was the only one that had not heard the news, of how the
race was given up by one race director and picked up by another, just
weeks before the event. There was somewhere in the realm of 50 people
that did not show because they heard it was going to be a TOTAL
CLUSTER.
The day before the race nobody knew
1. how many laps around the lagoon we would have to do. It looked like
a mile, with the bouys, but we heard it was 2 laps around. We were
scared.
2. where the race dinner was. We ended up at some bar that didn't even
serve food. Wrong advice or a bad April Fool's joke.
3. How the transistions were going to work. We had to place our bike
at T2 with the expectation of riding our bikes, the next morning, with
all of our wetsuits, goggles, helmet, sunglasses, race number, shoes,
to T1, 2 miles away. (I didn't bring a bag so had to use a trashbag). swim/run
Day of race
They are running behind. I ask the race director (THE DIRECTOR) how
many laps around the lagoon. He still doesn't know. I don't find out
till I am about to enter the water that it is 1 lap. whew!
We ride our bikes, me with my trashbag, everyone else with duffles,
trashbags, semi-suitcases...whatever they could find to stuff their
crap in, to T1. I stuff myself into my wetsuit while they are sending
the 1/2 group off on the swim. We are running about 30 minutes late.
(which you think is no big deal but you have to realize the longer you
wait to start the hotter you can guarantee the finish to be)
I notice that the 1/2 group is struggling to swim the first 50 meters
because the water is so shallow. So, when I get in and the horn goes to bike transition
off, I run the first 50 meters. Let me just say I was almost in first
place when I finally started swimming. I have never almost been in
first place in any swim. (of course it didn't last long) It was funny
to be running alongside the chick who was swimming out front.
The swim went great. (Thanks Ryan and Lauren).
Got out of the water, stripped down to my tri-suit, shoved everything
back into the bag and took off on the bike. Crappy thing bout this
race is they add the transisiton times to the swim and run so I won't
really know how I did on my swim.
The bike was great. The wind was more from the side, so I never got a
head or tailwind and the roads were smooth and flat. The only thing of
note was the turn around. We had to ride off the road, onto Beach run
kinda-sorta sand, under a bridge, where there was standing water, and
then back onto the road. My back tire slid out twice. I kept
repeating..."don't fall little bike...don't fall little bike".
Got off the bike feeling great and took off on the run. That is when I
found out, for the first time, it was a beach run. Beach runs are only
romantic and cool in books. In reality, the sand is too soft for good
purchase, there are sandcastles and children building sandcastles, to
dodge and holes (dug by those same kids) to jump over. Oh...and there
was no water. They had water stops ever 1.8 miles. That aint much on a
hot beach. We did run off the beach, through the RV park and then back
onto the beach. There was one waterstop the whole time. I looked at my
watch and it was sitting at 12 minutes, when I hit the first water
stop. I asked one of the volunteers what mile he was and I got
back..."oh 3 or 4". Wow! I was flying! (yeah right)
Heading back to the beach, one kid had told me to go over the bridge
and take a left (or was it a right). I run up to this girl, who is
going in the opposite direction, and ask her....have you seen any
runners going this way. She assured me that, "yes, she had". I took
off again. At minute 22 I see the finish line and I am thinking...ok
we run past it and up the beach and then will turn back around. This
guy is waving to me....Your done! Your done! I run up to him and stop
and tell him, "I can't be done...I missed a turn"! I am so upset. He
then informs me that they decided to turn it into a 5k. ugh
I finish and then use all of my mental will power to turn around and
go do the loop, again, so that I get the right distances for my
training tri. (Ruth...I hope you are proud of me for that)
I spend the next 5k playing Santa Clause and telling all the tired
people that, instead of a 10k, they are only having to run a 5k. I
have never been the cause of so much happiness.
There was hardly any water at the finish and a few bananas and
oranges. I want everyone to say thanks for the many well run tris,
here in Austin, that we might take for granted (and the beers, and
bands and hoopla that can make em so much fun)
Results were posted a month later and they were iffy at best. I won 2nd woman overall and was told I would receive my medal in the mail. I'm still waiting.