Usually the weather in San Antonio in mid May is hot and muggy, with temps often in the high 90’s with plenty of humidity. This past weekend was a pleasant aberration. Chris, Tim, myself, and Rachel (new to our group) met at Exxon at 4AM to drive out to Bandera for 15-20 miles. Robert met us there, and we donned our headlamps and hit the trail just after 5. The plan was to do our “usual” 10 miles loop in reverse, meaning we would climb Boyle’s, then Cairns, then Lucky’s Peak. Back to the car to refuel and out for 5-10 more miles. On trail 8 and 9. I was scheduled to run 15 easy miles, but the morning was so cool and comfortable that I decided to wait and see how I felt after the first loop.
We settled into a nice rhythm of hiking the uphills and running the downs and flats. Considering I had done 50 miles in the Grand Canyon a week prior, my legs felt pretty good (not super fresh, but certainly not sore). Robert and Rachel ran off in front, while Chris, Tim, and I lagged a few minutes behind. As Tim and I were descending Lucky, we chatted about how neither of us liked to run down this section because of the steepness and all the loose rock. As we talked (and I ate a gel), I lost my footing momentarily and reached out to brace myself. In doing so, I bent my finger awkwardly. It hurt, but I’ve had worse and didn’t think much of it. We ran the mostly downhill 3 miles back to our cars and re-filled bottles and grabbed some food.
My legs felt decent enough to tackle another 9-10 miles, so we headed off to link up to trail 8, a nice uphill start with some fun running towards the end. As usual , once Chris put on his headphones, he took off and left everyone behind. He’s going to be dangerous with his lethal concoction of pickle juice and Roctane gel! The sun was up, but there was a light breeze that kept things comfortable, making this a great day to be on the trails. Robert left us to take a different route and finish with 15 miles, while Chris, Tim, Rachel, and myself headed to the field section and a 19 mile day. I love Bandera on a bad day, but days like this make it that much better.
Sunday found me up at 3:30 AM (that was sleeping in compared to the day before). As part of my entry requirements for the Tahoe Rim Trail 100, I need to fulfill 12 hours of volunteer work. I decided to knock out half of that by working an aid station at the final race in the Rogue Series, a 3 race series in/around Austin. The final race (10K and 30K options) would be held at Reveille Peak Ranch in Burnet, just under a 2 hour drive from my house. Despite the lingering fatigue and concentration needed to avoid hitting deer on the side of the road, I made it to the race site just after 6AM and was shuttled off to my aid station.
I would be working with a guy from Austin named Corey, and we would see runners at the 4 mile mark and again (for those running the 30K) at mile 11. Apparently there was quite a bit of confusion regarding the course, as many runners remarked on the first time through that they had difficulty following the correct path. The second loop was much worse, as only 25 (of 75) runners ran the correct route and passed through our aid station again. Despite this, I had a great time hanging out and chatting with al the runners. Although I did it primarily to accrue hours for Tahoe, I enjoy giving back to the trail running and really need to do more of it. I just love running so much that I find it tough not to run these races myself. On another note, Reveille Ranch is absolutely beautiful. The trails are rocky and twisting, the climbing plentiful, and the possibility of outdoor activities endless. I will definitely be going back one day.
As I was driving home (why don’t I have a time machine to transport me to/from places), I noticed that, in addition to my being incredibly tired, my finger was really swollen, much worse than yesterday. It also hurt, and I couldn’t really bend it. I go home, took a monster nap (almost 4 hours), and awoke to a throbbing finger. I know really there’s nothing you can do for a broken finger, but I decided it would be wise to go to Texas Med Clinic just to be sure. I called ahead to see if there was a wait, and the person who answered the phone assured me there was no one there. Either he lied or 8 people arrived before I did because the place was packed when I got there. 3 hours later, I walked out with my non-broken finger buddy taped together, which has become a nuisance. It is much better today, but playing the banjo hurts. Oh well.
No comments:
Post a Comment