Jan 10 2009 Bandera 25k Race Report

Time: 3:16:38

Jon and I started our trip to Bandera on Friday after lunch. Domingo was staying at Dog Boys since he couldn't stay in the hotel room and also since he wasn't allowed on the race course. I missed him, but I think he had more fun at Dog Boys! We checked into the Rancho Cortez Dude Ranch around 3 and ran into JoAnna and Alicia. After checking in and walking around the property we headed to the Hill Country SNA to check out the kid 1 mile race that was starting at 4. Both Kelly and Stephanie's sons were entered in the race! The kids were all so cute running, and were all so thirsty when they were done :) They got these really cool lizard trophies for running ....

We hung out for a bit, listened to Joe's prerace speech and ate the pasta dinner that was catered by Brick's. It was yummy!! I was still hungry after I ate though and I forgot to buy Jon a meal ticket. I was feeling really bad about it but Gordon came to the rescue, he had a couple of extra meal tickets that he wasn't using. So Jon got to eat and I got to go back for seconds!
It was getting chilly, and I wanted to get my race clothes ready for the morning so we went back to the hotel shortly after dinner. Set the alarm for 6am for the next morning!

I was well rested on race morning. The winds were really loud though so I was scared to go outside. I think it was in the 40s in the morning. I ate a cereal bar and part of a banana and then we headed to the park. It was hard deciding what to wear since it would feel warmer once the sun came out. I decided on shorts, a short sleeve shirt, long sleeve shirt and my wind breaker. This ended up being a bit much and I kept my wind breaker on way longer then it needed to be. I think I would have been fine with my short sleeve shirt, arm sleeves and the wind breaker. I also carried my nathan pack the whole time with water and a hand held bottle of spiz. I am glad I brought my gloves! They easily fit into my nathan pack when I no longer needed them.

Jon and I went under the tent before the race to warm up. We saw Brenda, John Brown, Ed, Melissa and Kurt so went over to say hi. Melissa was sick so wasn't running. We lost track of time, and saw that it was just about 7:30. Oops! I thought that the start line for the 25k was right outside of the tent, but we had to hike down the road a little bit. By the time we got there the runners had already started. No big deal though since I was planning to take it easy for this race. My longest run was the Sunday before of 9 miles and I hadn't been running much because of my knee injury. Brenda and John were running together so I figured I would hang out with them. I stayed with them until the first aid station, maybe half an hour or so. They had stopped to get water and I kept on going. I took it easy for about the first hour and a half but then decided to pick it up a little. I passed JoAnna at about this point, but hadn't run into anyone else that I know. I wouldn't for the rest of the race. I did keep saying the same group of people for the rest of the race. I would pass some on downhills or at the aid stations and get passed later by the same people on the uphills.

I loved the downhills and even the uphills in the race but dreaded the flats. The flats were in very windy sections of the course. The downhills gave me energy to go faster and the uphills were a welcome walking break :) I was happily surprised to see Jon and Melissa at 2 of the aid stations! I didn't stop to say hi but I did wave and was glad that they were there! It was a nice pick me up. I was thankful that my right knee didn't hurt for most of the race, only when going down ledges. I did tend to favor my left knee for the ledges, which probably isn't a good thing.

After my race, I hung around to see others finish the 25k and to get pictures of them. Jon and I went to lunch at Bricks, I had the tortellini just like the pre race dinner the night before, it was so good. We didn't have time to go back and shower since we needed to be back to volunteer at the race. We hung glow sticks from 3-5:30 on a 5 mile loop from Cross Roads to Last Chance. I had run this part of the course toward the end of my 25k mile race! I still had lots of energy left from the run. We got back just in time to see Savitha finish the 50k.

I am looking forward to doing the 50k next year!