So we start the race - the deal was I would pace Jorge as he had never done more than 10 miles, but almost immediatly I got in trouble. My little food pack was too lose and was bouncing on my ass and back. I tried to adjust it while running in the pack but jsut couldn't do it. I pulled over and fixed the pack. This made it kind of strange as by the time I fixed it, I was dead last (there were no walkers). I had a police escort right behind me with a bumpkin hick who was clearly upset about working this event and was letting everyone know with her loudspeaker:

SQUAK: You need to stay left. Cars have the right of way!!!!
SQUAK: Please move off the road!!!
SQUAK: Wait for the the officer to signal you to move forward!!!

I hated her.

So, I start to run and I'm ok. I start to very slowly catch up with some of the racers and I'm totally happy that I no longer have to deal with the angry rage of the hick cop behind me, though I could hear her periodically harrassing the runners at the back of the pack for the rest of the day - maybe I was going a little too fast. In any case, my shins and the top of my left foot start screaming before I had even gone a mile - I've been dealing with this for about a month now. I was so incredibly frustrated.

At about mile 2.5 I caught Jorge at a restroom and told him I needed his key in case I had to DNF. A look of fear crossed his face and I laughed out loud - I was supposed to be there for him and didn't realize how nervous he must have been. I told him that I was going to try and push throgh it, but that if I needed to stop, I wanted his key to put my crap in the car. So I got it, and we started running, me jorge, adrain and sandra, by the time I had gone another mile the pain was just too intense and I stopped. I took off my shoes and re-did the laces, stretched - anything to provide some relief. Shortly I was at the back of the pack again - dead last. I was pretty demoralized and upset.

The first 7 miles was an out and back with the back part a little shorter than the out. I decided to do the best I could intil I got to 7 and if the pain continued, I would stop. At least I would get in a 7 mile run. So I started to run again, not trying to catch anyone, just a really slow recovery pace. I saw the group, plus some other folks from San Antonio Road Runners pass me on the back section of the run, told them what was up and moved on - at 4+ I reached the top of the hill and started down, still at a slow pace. The pain in my legs started to deminish and by mile 6 was completely gone. I mean completely, not a trace, gone. one minute I was in a mind set of "This sucks, this sucks this sucks" to "shit, I'm enjoying this."

A complete feeling of relief passed over me an I picked up my pace a tad, my goal to run as best I could until/in case the shins came back.
At the relay point I ran into kate, a woman I had dated: I smiled when I saw her, she smiled back, then she recongnized me - My smile almost broke my face apart: the several emotions that passed across her features were priceless: recognition, remembered animosity, then happyness. I laughed and we ran for a couple miles (neither of us were doing the relay, and she was talking to the volenteers, taking her time as a training run). She said she would call me and burned to catch her friends at about mile 9. My pace had increaded a bit running with her, and just as I was about to back off, I spotted Jorge and the girls. Shit, I couldn't believe I had caught them. When I pulled along side, Jorge was struggling a bit - his knee felt really week and his leg hurt along the outside. Turns out his longest run ever was 7 miles. I sent the girls on and hung with Jorge. He needed to walk for about half a mile at 10 and I walked it with him. We started running again and about 11 he let me know he would peel off at the last out and back (Was straight and steady uphill 2 miles, then straight back down. So I told him ok, he walked the rest of it in and I kept going. I hate friggen hills. I had totally redeemed my run and was feeling really good about Austin, but that last hill humbled me. At about mile 12 it started, not a huge elevation, but a steady uphill pace that sucked the life energy out of me and everyone else. I finally had to stop and walk for about the last 1000 feet - I felt like my lungs had blown. So I walked it and then started back down the hill. Ran about a mile and had to walk again. Not good. Just didn't have any energy left - started thinking about Haley constantly giving me shit about proper nutrition during races and mentally tipped my hat to her. Yep, a bowl of flakes and 2 gu's were probably not enough for a 3 hour run in the sun. I then realized I was sunburned - and my face was rubbed raw around the eyes and cheeks - my hams started twitching a little. I smiled at the mental image of my body flying apart at mile 15 like a broken clock spitting springs in all directions....

I started walking 15.1, 15.2, 15.3:Ok, pussy, start running. I started a little to early. By the time I was in the chute, I was completely miserable, but I was done and felt great!

Maybe eat a little more, figure out what the deal is with my shoes/shins

So we settled in for the drinking. We drank and drank - finally we moved into the dirt parking lot and started tail-gating Adrain, Sandra, George, kate and a couple others parked our cars in a clover and sat on the gates drinking. When the kegs were floated, we opened up the coolers and started drinking Tecate. Eventually, we were the only cars in the lot other than the guys with the sound system. We went back to Jorge's and BBQd. Turned out to be a wonderful day.


about fiddy pounds, shins and shoes


Austin is going to be very interesting. Epic and interesting. Can't wait.