Kerrville Race Report

I was so excited to race this race since it has been months since my last race and because I have been working hard on nutrition and on the run off the bike and I wanted to see how things were coming along. Plus the weather has been pretty nice here lately, so a cool(er)* race is always welcome.  The race was about 4 hours out of Houston so Chris and I headed up early Saturday morning, making a necessary shopping stop at Bucees on the way.  Don't know it?  Next time you are in Texas check it out.  They pride themselves on having the cleanest bathrooms out there, and they don't disappoint.  We had the usual pasta dinner with wine (we had to make a pit stop on the way home so Chris could stock up on more wine for the night.  Boy needs something to do while I am sleeping)

I slept well and woke up bright and early Sunday AM ready to race.

The swim - 34


I was originally pissed off about my time.  I swam 1:09 in IMTX without a wetsuit and it was much rougher of a swim, but after reading several race reports I found out everyone had a slow swim and some are saying it was actually 1.3 miles.  So now I am not so sad.  I can still improve here though, but since it is my strength in the race (if you can call it that), I dont train it nearly as much as I do biking and running.  I started out in front and felt really good until I realized I was way off course.  When I came back in, there were two girls in front of me, so I decided to try something I have never tried before, and now I know why.... Because I suck at it.  Note to self - must practice drafting.  I tried to draft for about 400m off these two ladies until I realized that it was way harder than swimming solo, so I went on my own way.  And I came out behind them in 3rd.  After that it was a steep run up a hill to transition to get on the bike.

Getting strangled by my wetsuit

Me leading until I decided the course was stupid and that a better course would be to go way outside of the buoys.

Finished and not a happy camper

Bike - 2:59

Stop wasting time with the garmin and go!

The day was windy and rainy, so not the best conditions, and the course was somewhat challenging.  It was a two loop course with the first half of each loop incredibly fast and flat and the second half chip seal, hilly and head wind-y.  I finished loop 1 and thought that the quarter distance race was looking mighty good, but I went into the second loop knowing I had a Coke waiting for me to drink on my bike.  The only bad thing that happened was when I fell.  Going up a steep hill.  Which meant after I got up I had to walk up the hill.  No bueno.   Good news - 1) I am getting better at my nutrition and didnt want to puke once on the bike.  I am doing infinit made into a gel mixture so all I need with that is water.  And my coke.  Coke makes everything better.  and 2) I only got passed by 1 girl while riding (I may have been passed when I fell but who knows).  huge win for me here since usually the first hour on a bike all I hear is "on your left".  Before I knew it we were finished, and I was hoping that my legs would do what I have been training them to do.

Run - 2:20 - dont laugh.

Running fast for over 100m is not my specialty.  Who am I kidding? running fast for 100m isnt my specialty either.  The goal here was to run into the painful, uncomfortable place. Mission accomplished.  Despite the time, I was very happy with this run.  The run was 4 loops with a full mile in each loop of single track trail running.  I knew there was going to be some trails, but usually that means a little bit of rocks and gravel. This was actual trail running, and because I have an ankle that isnt mobile and has no ligaments from a bad accident and surgery years ago, running on trails is not possible for me.  So on loop 1 when I saw what I was faced with, I got a little frustrated.  And then I saw the positive side.  It was going to be a break between some somewhat fast (for me) and painful miles.  It went something like this.  8:20 mile, 14 min mile, 8:30 mile, 8:20 mile, 14 min mile, 8:30 mile... And so on until I finished 4 loops.   It was definitely a big confidence boost knowing my legs could run off the bike, even if they had some easy breaks in there, and I know that going into Austin, the trails there are run-able for me and I am hoping for a much better time.  I also was able to get in some cliff shot blocks and infinit gel mix, which again, is a big win.

Look - running!

I finished the race 7th in my AG, and I am pretty content with that.  I learned a lot and proved a lot to myself on this day and hope that I can continue to improve going into Austin and Oilman.  It was a great race and I highly recommend it, and I plan to do it again next year.

Who doesnt love a race where they hand out free local beer?  I gave my second allotted one to Chris - my superstar sherpa

On the way back we went to Bucees again so I could stock up on food.  Im not sure who let me out of the car looking like rainbow bright with race hair (which only took me 45 minutes to comb out.  A new PR).  Seriously, I need to remember not to drink and dress.

*cool in Texas is anything less than 95 and I think we may have topped out at 89 or 90.