Before:

Like most others in our group, I traveled up the day before the race. My teammate Dawn rode up with me, and it was really nice having someone to talk to for this very long 8.5 hour drive. We were very lucky in that we made good time, and everything went smoothly. We both arrived and checked into our hotels, and then shortly after, it was time to go to the pre-race dinner. That is a briefing of things like cut-off times, aid stations, race course and other details. (and uh..dinner, too, of course!)

The pasta dinner was just what the doctor ordered for pre-race. I was impressed with how organized every aspect of this race was. They have been doing it for 24 years, so I guess they have it down to an art! After the dinner/meeting we all headed back to get some sleep.

I put every single thing out I'd need for the race so I could just jump up and bolt ( I had to get up at 4:30a) We were set to leave at 5:15a. I felt ready for the race, and I was ready for some good shut-eye. For some unknown reason, I woke up every single hour the entire night, almost exactly 1 hour apart, and looked at the clock. Why? I have no freaking clue, but it was immensely annoying. Typically, physical exertion and lack-of-sleep do NOT mix well with me. (see my Bandera weekend report)

Event Day:

Our hotels were very cool in that they setup breakfast at 4:30a for us so we could have a pre-race meal. This was gladly received by me, and many others. After a quick breakfast, I headed out to the canyon with one of my teammates and her hubby. Everything was setup SO nicely. It was cold, though. (well, cold for an Austin dweller who hasn't felt the 40's in a while) Most of us brought some sort of warmups to stand around in before things started. I noticed that my right foot was feeling a little sore at the ball of my foot. I had hurt it somehow on my tuesday workout, but I never felt anything hurty during my run. I noticed it the next day. I took very special care to treat it, and it had felt totally fine, until this moment. I figured it was the cold, and it would warm up and be just fine.

Most of our group was doing the 50k race, a few were doing the 50 mile, and a few of us the 20k. The 50k/50mi would start at 7am, then the 20k would start at 7:30am. It was, of course, dark when the race started, so headlights and flashlights were recommended. By the time we 20k folks started, there was enough twilight not to worry about lights. It was beautiful to watch the sunrise in the canyon. When it broke the horizon, it lit up the walls in a brilliant explosion of colors. What a wonderful way to start a race. I was almost surprised when I reached the first aid station, was it really 3.5 miles in already? I was warmed up enough not to want my long-sleeve shirt on anymore, so I took it off and tied it around my waist. between the first and second aid stations, there was a low area that had a blanket of fog over it, it looked other-worldly, and beautiful. A lot of us were having serious sinus issues that morning. I bet I blew my nose 300 times during the 20k run. I wonder if that is where a lot of my energy was spent: just blowing the nose?! gah.

They had some rain a couple of days before the race, and there were some spots that were a little muddy, but most of the ground was very pleasant to run on, and slightly softened from the little moisture left in it. We had pretty nice weather for this event, too. I'd say it was about 86-88 degrees at the hottest. (which can still feel mighty warm when you're in the open sun, and running, but better than 98 like they had last year.)

It was starting to warm up fairly quickly once the sun came up. The part of the course after the aid station #1 was extremely sun-exposed, and there were even warning signs saying as much. Luckily, that meant the views were spectacular. I was feeling pretty good so far, despite my lack of sleep. At the 2nd aid station, I took some Hammer Gel and kept on trucking. My plan was to pick up my pace a decent amount past this point, but that didn't really work out so much. I was starting to feel that weird, strung-out feeling from lack of sleep, and it seemed that no matter how hard I tried, I just could not stay at the faster pace I wanted to be at. Crap. Oh well, might as well just enjoy the race. I ran the first half with Kelly, but she was able to pick her pace up and maintain it, so she got ahead. I ran the last half of the race mostly by myself, but I did see a few teammates on the trail at various intervals.

About mile 9, my right foot started to hurt a lot. I could tell it was even a little swollen at the spot I mentioned before. (the same place that hurt from earlier in the week) I didn't have any pain relievers with me in my pack, which was stupid. Lesson learned: always carry a few of those along, just in case. I had virtually everything in the world with me but those. It was starting to feel kinda hot in the open sun by this point, and I told myself "if you decide to walk too much, you're going to be out here forever..move it!" It was not easy, but I kept on trucking. I did give my foot a break a couple of times, but mostly I kept going, realizing I didn't have that much left in my race. I passed the last 2 aid stations, and just kept moving, since my pace was rather lame by then.

The run from the last aid station to the finish was about 2.5 miles. I swear that seemed like the longest 2.5 miles of my life! It was nice to have a bunch of my teammates there cheering me in. I reached the finish, and was glad to be done, since my foot hurt, and I was feeling all weird from not sleeping well. I was rather disappointed in my time. I had wanted to beat that time by about 15 minutes, but I still did it in less than 3 hours. I believe my official time was 2hr 54 min 40 sec.

After: (after the 20k race, but with the event still going)

Kelly and I decided we both wanted showers and to change clothing, so we snuck back to our rooms and did that, and then went back to see our teammates finish. They were serving some GREAT burgers and hotdogs, and all of the fixin's at the race. By the time we got back, we were really ready to eat. It wouldn't be too much longer until some of our 50k friends were going to be done, so we went and cheered people in gradually. I wasn't going to leave until our last team member crossed the line, even if that meant staying until the event closed at 7p.

I was so proud of how well everyone did. I was proud of those who finished, and I was equally proud of those who had to make a very tough call and choose not to finish their races. We had two folks that finished their races with some pretty nasty ankle issues. It was inspiring to see them finish, even though their discomfort was palpable. (and suddenly, I felt like the biggest wuss in the world for complaining about my sleep and my minor foot issue when they hurt for all 31 miles they ran.)

It was very hard to watch a teammate not make her cut-off time after running 37.5 miles. I still personally feel like she did a fantastic job. A 12-hour cutoff for a 50 mile trail race is a fairly aggressive cutoff. It does NOT leave very much time for breaks unless you're a pretty fast runner. Not to mention, this was her first trail running class (although she was an avid street runner) and only her 2nd trail event. One of our teammates won the masters class, which rocked. There was also some big suspense at the end. We had one 50-miler out on the course still, and she rounded the corner with only about 5 or 6 minutes until the cutoff. We all screamed and cheered our hearts out. I was so excited and happy for her, and everyone else was too. It was a great day, and I did, indeed stay until 7pm. It had been a long, wonderful day and I was a little sad to see it all be over.

I felt so honored to part of this group/team and tons of people commented to me about how much they liked our solidarity. Rogue definitely made its presence known at this event, and lots of folks asked me about Rogue, as well. I will be back next year, and I will conquer the 50k. (preferably in a time that does not stink!) Next time, i will have Alleve with me, and perhaps even some tranquilizer darts for in case I cannot sleep :-P