Big, Bad Bandera
First of all, to this South Texas boy, those are not
hills-they are mountains….and I’m supposed to run up and down those? And run
through arms of razor sharp, toothy cactus leaves? And bound through loose
rocks? And then run over exploded, sharp rock fragments? For 31 miles? Oh hell
no!
Not more than two months
ago, the thought of running a 50k at Bandera was definitely not in my plans. I
thought I should choose an easier course for my first 50K, but after completing my second marathon in December
without being sore, I changed my mind. I decided to do Bandera 50K.
I knew from all the horror stories that this would be the
toughest trail I would run.
Would I be able to conquer the sotol, the rocks, the steep
climbs, slippery descents….and the unpredictable weather?
I decided I needed family support, so I dragged Kathy,
Daniel, and Zara with me…to be honest, I brought them just in case I didn’t
finish, or got really hurt out there..i didn’t want to be alone…plus I could
maybe get Zara to run again cuz it would be “a fun, REAL trail for her.” She
was third place and first girl. I overheard her tonight talking about cross country!
The Race
I decided to take the first 10 miles easy…and to stop at all
aid stations for a few minutes to eat and drink and to simply just rest. That
worked perfecty. I was able to follow a couple who had done this race 3 times
before, so I just did what they did, slowed when they slowed, picked up pace
when they did, walked when they walked. To be honest though, I was chomping at
the bit to go faster. I finally went ahead of them and didn’t stray too far
ahead for a mile…but soon, I heard them no more.
I didn’t anticipate so much flat areas of Texas hardpan
trail, though, and the Solomon fellraisers felt like football cleats on those
sections…a bit tough on the feet. But I didn’t complain because those shoes were awesome on
the rocky and hilly sections. Oh and after ice cream hill, I thought I got lost
in the sotol canyon cuz I didn’t see any tags anywhere…but I finally ran up on
someone and it was cool.
Miles 10-15 I sped up too much (if 9:30 pace is too fast,
lol) because I would feel it in the 22-26 mile loop up and down the 3 sisters.
I don’t remember
miles 15-20 except for the exploded rock section that I had to walk…too
dangerous for my taste to twist or roll an ankle. Oh, now I remember…this was
near the border of the park where I went off trail for half a mile. Oh, and it
was getting hot. The sun was stinging now.
Miles 21-26, the small loop from crossroads back to itself,
was tough. Those 3 sisters, or 3 whores as I call them, were motherflippers.
Tough climbs and tough descents, but all I could say to myself was that when I
reach the crossroads, I will have completed a marathon in this tough terrain. I got to crossroads, and super glad to see Ben, Laura, and Judy. I ran with them a little while, but felt like a third wheel, so I just pressed onward ahead of them.
Miles 26-31 were my “bonus” miles in my mind. I just coasted
through them for a while, but then I heard some watosas coming up behind me talking about
shopping and crap. (This brought a bad memory of Nueces last year when a couple
of those gueras passed my ass pretty easily while chit-chatting about shopping
and crap.) UGH. So I decided I better pick this pace up, sucka! I did. And
dusted them for a while.
Then I remembered, oh crap…Lucky Peak is coming up! And I
reached it…it seemed halfway up as I was laughing to myself, that I was not
gaining any ground, lol! Until I heard those chicks behind me again…at the base of the climb. I am NOT
getting’ chicked on this damn mountain! I rushed up the last part and moved as
quickly down the other side as fast as I could.
I reached the last half mile and there was David. Chingg…telling
me to hurry up. I yelled at him that this is all I’ve got. True, I was tired,
and I couldn’t run faster. I saw Kyle around the corner and he said “you got
this”…I sprinted to the last stretch where my son Daniel and Zara awaited. Oh
crap, I’m choking up with tears. They ran with me through the finish! Best finish
ever!
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I have to admit feeling strong going into Bandera having
done two marathons, wild hare, and a couple of shorter races ( a 10k and 5K)
mixed in…plus serious training this time with more hill repeats and tempo/pace
running gave me confidence that I would not bonk at mile 20ish. I got tired,
but I didn’t bonk. I ate a gel every hour, took my S-cap every hour, kept
sipping on water, ate pbj ‘s and bananas at every aid station, rested 3-4
minutes and kept on going.
The scenery was magnificent and I made myself stop and take
a look around...i really wasn’t in a hurry until the latter miles when I wanted
to finish under 8 hours. Bandera is a gorgeous place and tough terrain but well
worth the effort. Please run this race next year! I am glad a lot of us went!!
My next step is to do only 50K and up at these races (ayy,
muy chingon, que no?)…travel cost is expensive and I need to make these “runcations”
worth the expense.
Bandera Profile
Nueces 50K race is next.
