Easter Hill Country Tour

The Easter Hill Country Tour is 3 days of riding over Easter weekend in Kerrville. It's also a ride I thought I'd never do, after hearing Del talk about the super steep long hills and descents. After the RAAM ride Ingrid asked if I was coming to EHCT, hmmm, I'll consider it. I had decided I wasn't going, but then with all the electrical issues at our house I wasn't excited about being at home, especially since Jeff had to work most of the weekend. After a little encouragement from Jeff, Ingrid, and Amy, I decided I'd go, I had to work on Friday so I missed day 1 of riding, but I got to Kerrville at 7:00 and met everyone at Grape Juice for dinner- Yum!!

I was staying at a house with 10 other people, the only people I knew were Ingrid and Amy. Luckily everyone was really fun and really nice. I ended up rooming with Kelly who is in Texas Iron. We all went to bed early on Friday to get up early Saturday and ride, but Kelly and I talked and laughed until I was sure Mark and Caroline in the room next door would come tell us to be quiet!

Ingrid, Amy, Kelly, & Keith planned to ride 100 miles, I planned on 80 and Anjy, Simon, Guy, Diane, Mark & Caroline planned to ride 33. This meant I'd be riding alone, but I knew that before I decided to go. I hoped I might run into Betsy & Amy out on the course and maybe see Del & "Ronger" for a little while. Those of us riding longer got up early and got over to the University early so I could register and we could get an early start. We got going, but only a mile or 2 into the ride Kelly got a flat! She & Keith had it changed in less than 5 minutes, but while we were waiting Betsy & David came riding by and stopped to say hi. Then as we were getting ready to start again, a group was riding towards us, it was our 33 milers! They thought it was hilarious that we had gotten up so early to get a head start and by mile 2 they had caught us anyway! Guy & Caroline were trash talking like crazy and everyone was talking & laughing and having a great time! I had scoped out the course on map my ride and knew there was a big hill coming at mile 7, I turned the corner and saw it and immediately thought "there's no way I can make it up that!!" but I kept pedaling..and pedaling...and pedaling and eventually realized there was a pretty good chance I'd make it all the way! I was breathing so loud I could barely hear anything else when someone behind me said "hi Heather!", I don't think I even looked, but then Wilmer was right beside me! "Hey Heather, how's it going? How have you been?...." I think I got out "Hey... Wilmer!" but that was about it and then he was gone! Still good to see him even if I couldn't talk to him. And I made it up the big hill!

At mile 14 we rolled into rest stop 1, we waited for everyone to catch up, I saw Shellie from Houston and Del & "Ronger". I feel like we hung out there forever! Kelly ended up getting another flat and decided to call it a day. Ingrid and I finally took off on what we thought was the 100/80 mile route, I didn't see a green arrow (the 80 mile color) but I saw red so I assumed we were good. We saw a couple of our group doing 30 miles and started to wonder if we made a wrong turn out of the rest stop. Finally Ingrid talked with a couple and they said they were definitely on the 33/51 mile route. So we decided to turn around and go back to the aid station and get on our route. We saw some of our group doing the 33 mile on our way back. We went about 7 miles out of the way and made the proper turn at aid station 1 this time! I was a little annoyed that we'd made the wrong turn just because I really didn't want to ride more than 80 miles, but I knew I could take the 60 mile route (now 67 for me) or SAG in if I got too tired. I was still having so much FUN! Ingrid would sprint up ahead, then turn around and ride with me for awhile or she'd get ahead of me on an uphill and I'd race to catch her on a flat, we had a great time talking and looking at the beautiful Kerrville scenery! We got to rest stop 2 at the Guadalupe River at mile 39 (for us).

At that point Ingrid said she was going to race ahead and see if she could catch Amy on the 100 mile route, but she might wait for me at hwy #9. As much as I loved riding with Ingrid, I was a little happy because I had been riding faster than I normally would on such a hilly route and I was afraid my legs would get too tired later. We took off and Ingrid left me in the dust. I came to the turn off for the 80 mile route and decided to go ahead and take it. It was so quiet and beautiful out there! Almost no cars at all, just a few other cyclists. I really should have stopped to take more pictures!

I got to hwy 87 and turned, then I saw red tape on the ground but no green so I kept going. I thought maybe I missed a turn, but I saw riders in front of me, and lots of riders behind me, so I knew I was right. But as I rode I looked at my cue sheet and realized I was only supposed to be on 87 for .2 miles, I had already gone more than 1/2 a mile! So I stopped and looked around, some of the people behind me were turning around, so I went back and made the turn. This detour was totally worth it because I saw the biggest most beautiful field of bluebonnets ever! I didn't stop & get a picture (I should have).

I didn't stop for a pic while riding but Amy & I did stop on the way to Lukenbach on Sunday

The next road was narrow, winding, and really pretty, with nice views, loose livestock (and cattleguards) and lots of hills! It felt like a lot of uphill and the wind was starting to pick up some. My legs were getting more tired on every uphill, but I was still really enjoying the ride! I got to hwy #9 and no Ingrid- thank goodness she didn't wait! By the time I made the wrong turn and everything she would have been waiting forever! I got to the next rest stop and was really ready for a break! I talked with the volunteers and they told me about the Bat Tunnel Park (again I should have stopped for a photo op!) Trey from Houston saw me and came over to talk, he had seen Ingrid and said she was on the 80 mile route not the 100 so I should go catch her! Yeah right!! Hwy #9 was also really pretty! It was a little more downhill but there was a little headwind and still some uphills, I was feeling every uphill at this point and not sure I wanted to do the last 20 miles of steep hills back to Kerrville! I decided I'd ride to Comfort and see how I felt. A few miles before Comfort the road turned to awful horrible chip seal and that's when I decided that I was going to SAG in. I probably could have done the last 20 miles but I think I would have been pretty miserable before it was over. I rode into Comfort, stopped at the little grocery store and called the SAG # and figured if they couldn't get me I'd call Mark & Caroline (they were worried about me riding alone and had insisted that I take their # and call if I needed anything- super nice of them!!). The SAG van was there in 10 minutes. They took my bike and got me a cold Coke (talk about a good end to a ride! comfy seat, A/C, and a cold Coke!) then another rider rode up to ask directions, I was about to give him my map when he said "you know...that air conditioned van looks pretty good!" He got in and we rode back to town. The route back was really pretty with a view of the river for a lot of it, but there were also some seriously steep looking hills! I was happy with my decision to SAG in and I had really enjoyed my ride! 68 hilly, beautiful, fun miles!

We got back to the university and I texted Ingrid, she said she was at the mile 73 rest stop, so I figured she should be finished in about 30 minutes. I put my stuff away and hung out to wait for her. After more than 30 minutes I texted and called, I was getting worried. I was about to go drive the course backwards looking for her when she called and said "I'm just now in Comfort" Somehow Trey had been mistaken, Ingrid did do the 100 mile route and she was still 20+ miles from the finish. So I went back to the house and cleaned up and heard about everyone's rides. The 33 milers had a good but challenging ride. Amy and Keith ended up taking some wrong turns too and ended up with 70 miles instead of 100. Amy was disappointed she didn't get to ride through Lukenbach, but otherwise everyone had a good day of riding (except poor Kelly with too many flats). While we were hanging out Simon said I looked familiar, we figured out that when Jeff & I lived in Houston, he was our mailman and he remembered me!! That was our "Small World" moment of the weekend! Ingrid finally made it back and had ridden 115 miles (with the wrong turns and turn arounds)- Wow!!

Anjy & I with the mom & baby giraffe at the YO Resort

Mark & Caroline were leaving that night and Kelly had already left, but the rest of us went to the dinner at the YO Resort. Fionna and Hans from Houston sat with us and we had so much fun!! I'm pretty sure we were "those people" you know- the ones laughing way too loud and acting crazy! We had a Chicken Dance contest with another table, and I laughed until I cried! They did door prizes and a few of us won. I won some chain lube and water bottle, Guy acted sad that he hadn't won, so I threw him my bottle.

And then I laughed til I cried again! We ended up staying up late laughing and talking at the house (even Ingrid was up past 11:00!!) So the Sunday morning plan was to sleep in and ride whenever we got up.

Ingrid took off riding a little earlier on Sunday while the rest of us decided to be lazy and start later. We were all going to ride the 20 mile route and take it easy (except Ingrid of course). The 20 mile route was part of the Kerrville Tri course so I had ridden it before and I knew it wasn't too hilly, even so, I couldn't talk Guy into riding again, he was just too worn out. The rest of us rode together and talked and laughed and had a great time! Keith and I sang "Lukenbach Texas" loud & proud (in our horrible singing voices) as we rode up 173. I'm sure Amy, Anjy & Simon were behind us laughing like crazy! About 7 miles in, we saw Ingrid riding toward us! She turned around and joined us. Before the ride I think Anjy had said "it's only 20 miles so we won't stop at the rest stop" haha! We were there taking pictures of the river and each other for at least 20 minutes!

Yeah, we took A LOT of pictures! These are just a few of the best ones! We saw Del & "Ronger" but missed Betsy, David, Amy & Matt (apparently if we had taken a few more pictures they would have passed us). We rode back together talking about how much fun the weekend had been and how we were all coming back next year! We stopped off at the state park to look at the river and then rode back to the university.
Ingrid, Guy and I went back to the state park for a swim, well, Guy hung out while Ingrid and I swam. The water was great, a little cold getting in but then really comfortable! We swam about 30 minutes and as we were getting out Del & "Ronger" showed up to have lunch at the park. We said goodbye to them and went back to pack up at the house. Everyone except Ingrid stopped off at Lukenbach to have a beer and lunch before going home.

 This is the most fun weekend I've had in a long time and I think the rides are probably on my top 5 all-time favorite rides. I can't believe just last year I said I'd never do this ride and now I already can't wait for next year!

Texas Independence Relay

Big medal for a big race! Photo by Raceshots.net

I had never really thought about TIR as something I wanted to do but when Monica posted that they were looking for team members I told her I'd be willing. At the time they had 12 people, so I became an alternate. I didn't really think I'd get called up, but about a week or 2 before the race Monica said they needed me, so I'd get to become a Running Chupacabra!

Time to figure out what TIR is all about! It's a relay race from Paige, TX to the San Jacinto Monument, 201.9 miles, teams of up to 12 people take turns running the 40 legs. Most teams take 2 vans of 6 people so the inactive van has a chance to rest a few hours while the active van races to support their runner, and get to each exchange point with the next runner ready to take over. Pre-race, the only Chupacabra I knew was Monica, and I would be in van 2 with Monica, Amanda, Jennifer, and Ian (only 5 since we only had 11 total). I really had no idea how to pack or what to expect, this would be an adventure!

Ready to start! Photo by Raceshots.net

Race morning was pretty low key and not a crazy early morning. Teams start one at a time every few minutes and our start was at 8:30, pretty late when you're used to triathlons. But the excitement started when we realized we had to get to Paige, not Bastrop, and almost missed our start! Luckily van 1 was already there and they were doing the first legs, but everyone starts together and runs about 1/2 a mile, we made it with less than 10 minutes to spare! The cannon start was pretty cool, we all jogged together, then Logan took off for the first leg.

Smitty in Smithville

We had a few hours to wait so we drove to Smithville and the 3rd exchange point. We had a picnic on the sidewalk, and painted our van. Van decor and costumes are a big part of TIR, I had no idea! We had chupacabra teeth on our van. Some teams really went all out! Tagging other team vans is also a fun part of TIR so we drew little chupacabra faces on other vans when they weren't around. We were in the middle of nowhere most of the day, it was pretty and there were lots of wildflowers, and with other vans and runners it was fun, but otherwise it would have been deserted out there! Our van started running about 1pm, it was getting pretty warm out and everyone was complaining about the heat. I figured it was good that I'd be running around 2 or 3pm since I tend to handle the heat better than most people. I didn't bring my fuel belt since I was only running 4-6 miles at a time. If I had realized it was going to be 85+ and humid out I would have brought it and some Infinit for the extra electrolytes.

Pig van!

Another team's van tagged with a little Chupcabra head, and yes he says "chupa me"

Amanda ran our first leg and I was next. I got the slap band from Amanda at the exchange point and started running. I had hoped to have a really good run and help our team make up a little time (we all sent in anticipated times, so each team had a predicted finish time, that's also how they started teams, slower teams started earlier so most teams would finish around the same time) we were a little off pace due to the heat and I wanted to make up a little of that. My leg was 4.5 miles with a few hills and no shade whatsoever. I also had a headwind and kept telling myself that the breeze felt good, but really it was a hot breeze and I don't think it kept me cool at all. My legs felt tired and tight from the start, not sure if that was from sitting in the van so many hours or from not running for a couple days, probably both. I felt hot but not horrible, I don't think the heat slowed me down too much. We had talked about road kill earlier and I ran around a huge dead snake in the road! Probably good that was my leg and not someone who might have been afraid of snakes. A little past mile 1 I saw my team with ice and water for me, I was so happy to see them! Amanda said "you're smiling, are you delirious?" Monica told her I always smile even when I'm miserable :) I put some ice in my hat and took a drink and ran on. The team got me more ice and water between miles 2 & 3 and sometime after mile 3 my legs started to feel better- Yay! I hoped my 2nd and 3rd legs would be a little faster. I ended up finishing my first leg 2 or 3 minutes behind my expected time. Normally I wouldn't really be upset about that, but running with a team I felt bad for not at least meeting my expected time.

It was pretty desolate out where I ran, but my team took good care of me!

One of the exchange points- later when navigation got tough we were super happy to see those flags and red tents!

For the next few legs I got ice and water for our runners and navigated the course, it felt a lot like crewing for Ingrid at Ultraman Canada...pass the runner & cheer out the window, pull over get water, ice, etc, ready, watch for the runner, give them what they need and repeat...over and over. The exchange points were pretty fun, usually pretty crowded so it was fun to see other teams' vans and costumes. Van 1 took over again around 6pm, so we decided to find some dinner. Thank goodness for iphones! Between navigation, checking runners' times, and finding dinner, gas, etc. I don't know what we would have done without a few iphones! We found a place in Columbus for dinner, the food was really good, or maybe I was just really hungry! I even had a Dr. Pepper with dinner in hopes the caffeine would get rid of the headache I'd had for a few hours (I took a Zyrtec later and that got rid of it). After dinner we drove out to where we'd start running next and found a little parking lot to hang out in for a couple hours. It was muggy in the van if the windows were up, but mosquitoes came in with the windows down. I was in the driver's seat with my feet out the window, but I wasn't really comfortable enough to sleep at all. I don't think anyone else slept much either.

It was our turn to run again around 11pm, again Amanda ran first and she had a great run! I was lit up like a Christmas tree and had a bright bike light to carry, I knew my big concern about not being able to see well on the night run wouldn't be an issue. I started running and my legs felt good, the cold air even started to feel good (I was shivering while waiting at the exchange point) but my stomach felt a little off, not terrible just enough that I knew I wasn't going to be able to push the pace without puking. The night run was pretty cool, it was fun to see other runners and their vans, lots of teams cheered for me while they waited for their runner. I saw another dead snake, this one was smaller but I wondered if I'd see a snake running in Houston on my third leg too. As I kept running my upset stomach was turning into more heartburn than upset stomach- why did I drink that Dr. Pepper!! Next time I do something like TIR I'm really going to have to think about overall nutrition more and that's a big challenge when you're driving around in a van with 5 other people, exhausted, and running a few miles every 5 or 6 hours! My night leg was 6.6 miles and even though my stomach didn't feel great and I couldn't go as fast as I'd have liked, I really enjoyed that leg. And I got to run from Saturday night into Sunday morning- I've never done that before!

I helped support our runners for the next few legs and by the time the other van was up, it was 3am and I was so tired I felt a little sick. We went to a high school that was open for showers and sleeping. We showered, which felt fabulous after being sweaty and disgusting for almost 20 hours! We decided the van had to be more comfortable than the gym floor so Monica and Ian drove/navigated into Houston and our next starting point. I was in the first van seat and actually slept pretty soundly, I was so tired I probably could have slept standing up! I think I slept for almost 3 hours, which I'm pretty sure is more than anyone else on our entire team slept. But when I got up my left hip flexor was all screwed up! It hurt to walk, but I assumed it would work itself out. I got some breakfast (I think I actually ate chips and chocolate almonds for my pre-run breakfast- it's amazing I didn't puke!) and kept walking around but my hip wasn't feeling better.

Amanda said she felt "hungover" and expected a slower run. We got to the next exchange and I test ran in the parking lot, I said "ouch! that does not feel good!" out loud and got a couple of sympathy laughs from other teams- guess I wasn't the only one with "trying to run after sleeping in a van issues". I got in the porta-potty line which was right at the exchange point, I was second in line and I heard "chupa, chupa chupa!" (that's what a Chupacabra says) and Monica said she was coming, so I jumped out of line grabbed the bracelet and took off. I figured I could stop along the way for a bathroom if I needed it, but I was running through a busy residential area of Houston- good thing I didn't need a bathroom- I would have been screwed! My hip did not feel good and I felt groggy in general, I knew I'd be slow on this leg and I was just hoping I could do it in under an hour. This leg was 4.5 miles through one of the super fancy areas of Houston, very shady, but not great sidewalks, sometimes we were running in the street which was pretty scary! At one point on the sidewalk I saw, actually smelled more than saw, something that had once been an animal. How did such nasty gross roadkill get on the sidewalk?? and in such a swanky neighborhood?? I don't even have a guess at what kind of animal it was- yuck!! Well, I was 3 for 3, road kill on every leg! I didn't see many runners or vans at first but I had studied the map so I knew I was on course. I kept thinking I felt like crap but at least I got to run through a pretty area of Houston! I finished in about 55 minutes which was better than I thought I'd be able to do. Monica helped me stretch my hip, it hurt the rest of the day, but it felt better the next morning- totally a "sleeping in a van 'injury'" I must be getting old!

The Mullets in costume

We got to Memorial Park between Jenn and Monica's runs. It was crowded with TIR runners and vans and typical Memorial Park traffic. We saw the Mullets, a TIR institution, with their tiki van and I saw the Austin Front Runners (they are a gay running club) vans, of course they were well decorated with rainbows and one said "eat our fairy dust" the other said: (remember the faster teams start later and catch slower teams as they go and the Front Runners are very fast) "we take it from behind!" hahaha!! I tried to get a picture of that one but they left before I could get my phone.

We were on our way to the next exchange point while Monica was running and saw her standing on a corner, she looked VERY unhappy and gave us the cut throat sign- OH NO!! Of course we were in a very busy part of Houston so we couldn't stop and talk to her, we found a place to turn off and sent Ian running to get the bracelet and finish the leg, while I went to see if Monica needed help getting back to the van. She had sprained her ankle badly, I could see it swelling already- YIKES! I helped her back to the van, we got her some ice and advil and helped her elevate her foot. It looked awful and she was super upset. Ian taking Monica's leg meant he'd be running over 8 miles in the heat- not good! We went downtown to check on him (and I actually navigated us successfully through downtown Houston!) and then out a couple more miles, at that point he was pretty overheated, so Jenn jumped in and ran for a couple miles. I'm pretty sure that's all against the rules, but at that point we didn't have any options other than quitting which we obviously didn't want to do. It was all feeling really dramatic and stressful at this point and I know we were all glad to let the other van take over when Jenn and Ian finished!

Our other runners weren't feeling a whole lot better so we went a couple exchange points down the road and waited to see if they needed one of us to jump in and run. I really hoped I wouldn't need to run more and Amanda and Jennifer were both willing, so I camped out under a shade tree with Monica while she ice bathed her ankle. That's when we found Red and Andrew! I knew we'd probably see them at some point but I thought it would be before exchange point #38 (of 40)! Wow! Exchange point 38! We were almost finished!

We drove to the San Jacinto Monument and waited for Shellie to finish the last leg, we didn't wait long- she's super fast! Then we all jogged to the monument (well they jogged, I ran as fast as I could until Joe yelled at everyone to slow down) we all got huge medals and got pictures taken. Poor Monica stayed in the van since she really couldn't walk on her ankle and it was a long way from where we parked to the monument.

and this is what we all looked like at the finish! ok, not really, but close!

my only picture of the monument

Finisher picture in front of the monument, minus injured Monica

This might be the most adventurous race I've ever done, especially since the only person I knew going in was Monica! Luckily it all worked out great, but spending 36 hours straight in a van with new people (most of it in smelly running clothes) definitely has the potential to be a disaster! It was very cool to see how cohesive our team became and how everyone was willing to help out when things got tough! Huge Thank you to all the Running Chupacabras for such a crazy, challenging, fun, memorable TIR! and for being such an awesome team!!

Shellie brought champagne for a toast at the end!

 ****Note on Monica's ankle, it's a second degree sprain but healing really well and she should be running again before the Rookie Tri in May!

Marble Falls RAAM Ride

Del told me about the RAAM ride in Marble Falls in February. I thought it sounded fun, but I wasn't sure if I really wanted to do it or not. I have never ridden in Marble Falls because everyone always says it's "extremely hilly". I looked at the map for the 60 mile ride and realized part of it went out to Bertram & Oatmeal which I've ridden before, so I could probably handle it. Then the week of the ride Annette & Betsy suggested we ride about 85 miles of the 120 mile route that goes west  instead. I decided riding with friends sounded like more fun even though it meant riding on all roads I had never seen before. All I wanted from this ride was to have fun and ride 70+ miles.

Ride morning I checked fb and Annette had driven part of the route and said there was a 4 mile section of dirt/gravel that was "pretty much unrideable" and there were tons of cattle guards too and we'd need to "put our big girl pants on for this ride!" Yikes! But I was actually still feeling pretty good about the ride.

Del & I got to Marble Falls early and met up with Ingrid, Amy, Annette & Betsy. We figured out that we'd have a police escort at the beginning on 281, but Annette, Betsy and I had planned on riding out a few minutes after the 120 riders. As the ride started we quickly realized we had to go RIGHT NOW if we wanted the escort- oops! It turned out fine, but really got us going at the beginning!

Me and Spinnaker

 Even though the ride was pretty much  constant hills from the start, up or down all the time, I was having a great time! Annette and Betsy were so much fun to ride with! We talked and joked and pointed out wildflowers and animals along the route. We saw millions of bluebonnets and other wildflowers, we saw cows, sheep, goats, horses, donkeys, wild turkeys, and an alpaca farm. The route was beautiful! After the first rest stop (and chatting with the church volunteers for a good 15+ minutes) we started hitting some cattle guards. I had only ridden over 2 cattle guards before and either they were extremely rough or I didn't do it right! So I asked Annette & Betsy for tips on how to ride them, they said don't slow down too much and make sure you hit them at a 90 degree angle, just like railroad tracks. Amazingly, these cattle guards didn't feel much worse than railroad tracks- cool! Betsy also offered to teach me to blow snot rockets since she is an expert, but for once my nose wasn't snotty, so I guess I'll have to take her up on that offer another time.

Betsy & her Bedazzled Bike

Annette & Buzz

 At rest stop 2 we told ride director Fred that we were taking a short cut and we'd see him at the last rest stop. We took our 11 mile short cut road, with lots of wildflowers, lots of hills, a big sheep farm, a few cattle guards and the strongest cross wind of the day. Then we turned onto the road with the gravel/dirt section, "The Road From Hell" as Annette had been calling it. At first it felt awesome, since we had a tailwind. But after a few miles the pavement ended and it really was a dirt/gravel road that was really wash boarded and had some big rocks sticking up! Yikes!

"The Road From Hell"

 But for the most part you could choose the best line and ride through it, like mountain biking (which I don't really do). Betsy was really good at it and we tried to follow her line when we could. It actually wasn't as bad as I had expected. There were also 2 super rough cattle guards and 2 low water crossings in this section, so we walked those.

low water crossing on "The Road From Hell"

 I think I averaged about 8 mph on that section. But I had planned on walking that 4 miles so 8 mph was a lot faster than expected! After "The Road From Hell" Betsy raced to the finish since she had family obligations, but Annette and I had no where to be and enjoyed the wild flowers and hung out a long time at the last rest stop.

I hadn't expected it, but the last few miles was on a busy 2 lane road with no shoulder- Yikes! Way scarier than "The Road From Hell" Annette was behind me and kept yelling "car back" but there just wasn't anything we could do but hold our line- NOT FUN!  We got to 281 and it didn't look any better! We decided to cross as pedestrians and race to our turn. From there it was a nice ride into the park. I was surprised to see Logan there announcing and we got medals at the finish- cool!

I thought I'd start to feel pretty tired & sore around mile 60 or so since I hadn't ridden more than 56 miles yet this year (and those miles were pretty flat), but I actually felt good the entire ride! I was getting tired of climbing by the last 10 miles, but that was 30 miles longer than I'd ridden this year and probably hillier than anything I've EVER ridden. Aside from the trafficy last 5 miles and maybe "The Road From Hell" this was an awesome, beautiful, fun ride!

Post ride Annette & I got some food & beer and met up with Del, Ingrid & Amy, then we headed over to the Blue Bonnet Cafe for pie- my first experience there- Yum!

Post ride pie!

Annette added a few notes about the ride, I forgot to include a couple of fun jokes that she remembered, so here are Annette's additions: "Heather Herrick wrote up a nice report about the RAAM Cycling Challenge ride she, Betsy Tieman and I rode together last Saturday. Only a couple things to add: The first rest stop was at a church in Cypress Mill. Okay, THE church in Cypress Mill. The super-nice people there noticed Betsy petting the cat and a gentleman said, "his name is Pentecostal". I realized at that point that it was probably a joke and I should have noticed the denomination of the church. Used their restroom and discovered it was Episcopal (knee slap). I discovered the roctane gu hadn't made it to my jersey pocket so Betsy gave me one of her gels, chocolate cherry clif shot. MMM (thankyouthankyou). We rode past a donkey farm that had one of those iron archways across the entrance and it was labeled "Donkey Oaties". If you don't get it, say it out loud to someone else (another knee slap). You might have to do it more than once.. Heather pretty much covered the wildlife report, but I also managed to spot two snakes, both on their backs, one dead, one live. The weather could not have been more kind to us. Became a little windy at the end, but that made us more determined for barbecue and beer. Hope next year we get more friends to join us!"

HITS Triathlon Corpus Christi Race Report

I have done a lot of the same races for a few years now. Kerrville was a new course for me (and everyone) last year, but it was still a Jack & Adam's race so I knew exactly what to expect. I was excited and a little nervous about doing a completely different race, I had heard some good stuff and some bad stuff about the first 2 HITS races and I just didn't have any expectations either way. I originally signed up for the full distance race, but downgraded to the half partly because I just wasn't getting in long rides in the cold, and partly because I knew it would be a small race and as a back of the packer I wasn't excited about being alone on the course for hours and hours. I felt like my swim and run training were really good for the half, but my bike training even for the half was a little lacking. So I had no expectations for HITS and no expectations for my race except to enjoy the race and have a new and different triathlon experience.

Saturday (day before my race)

Ingrid swimming with the dolphins!

We got to Corpus Christi on Saturday just in time to see some of the final finishers from the Olympic race, we cheered for a few finishers then walked down to the swim entrance to see if we could see Ingrid practice swimming. There was only one swimmer in the water and there were 4 or 5 dolphins swimming beside her! She didn't even know they were there.

They had listed the half/full packet pickup from 3-4 pm, but it was only 11, I asked if I could get mine early, "absolutely". We went to lunch and got back in time to watch the open race- what a great idea! It was very short and free, so a lot of kids and families did the race together. We had fun watching most of the kids doggie paddle through the swim, and cheered and high-fived them as they went into transition. After a few minutes I realized Dave Scott was standing right across from me, cheering in the slower kids too- very cool!

Ingrid, me and Spinnaker in transition

Ingrid and I got our bikes set up and did our warm up rides. It was crazy windy, 28 mph, I felt like I was getting blown all over the road and I was really happy the wind was forecast to calm down by morning. We weren't sure if we wanted to leave our bikes in transition in the wind, so we asked Transition Dude Joe if we could wait til morning, "sure you can leave them tonight, we'll have security all night, or bring them in the morning, whichever you prefer" Nice. None of the bikes already in transition were blowing around, so we decided to leave ours.

 We were waiting around for the pre-race meeting when Dave Scott walked over, that's when I got my photo op and he asked "are your legs feeling good for your race tomorrow?" Pretty cool.

Dave Scott and me

The pre-race meeting was pretty informal, in the transition area with Race Director Mark Wilson talking to us, there were about 80 athletes doing the half and 30 for the full. At one point someone asked about cut-off times, "don't worry about that, we'll be here...no big deal". He suggested that everyone carry 2 tubes "we had street sweepers clean the course, but you never know" I (correctly) took that to mean no roving bike support car on the course- not a huge deal, but hopefully something they consider adding as the races grow. He gave a couple of other useful points about the course, so I was glad I went to the meeting. On our way back to our cars I asked Rosie (Rosie of Houston who sometimes gets nervous in the water and has missed Ironman swim cutoffs a couple of times) if she heard that they weren't enforcing the swim cutoff time. "Really? Are you serious?" "yes, that's what Race Director Mark said" Rosie jumped up and down and squealed! "Heather you just made my race!!" I was just the messenger, but I thought it was pretty cool that they'd let people continue racing as long as they were able (within reason, I'm sure).

Pre-race

Cool tattoo race numbers, a first for me!

We got to the race site at 5:50 on race morning and parked less than a block from the start- awesome! It was definitely a more low-key relaxed pre-race atmosphere than I'm used to. It took me forever to set up my transition area, I had a ton of space, but it was a different set up than I'm used to and I had way more clothes than normal. I finally got everything set up the way I
wanted and got into Maggie's wetsuit. Ingrid had an extra pair of neoprene socks, so I put those on too. It was a cold morning but I knew the water would feel even colder. Official water temperature was 62, but Ingrid said she thought it felt colder during her practice swim. I didn't do a practice swim at all, I thought if I got in that cold water once, I might not be willing to do it again! Race Director Mark told us we could get in for a practice swim, most of us just laughed, but eventually we had to get in.
I waited until the 3 minute warning and got in fast, at first it didn't feel too bad, but as water got in my wetsuit-wow it was cold! I was shivering and couldn't wait to start swimming and hopefully warm up!

Waiting for the start and freezing in the cold water!

Swim

Countdown and air horn- GO

Easiest swim start ever! No contact at all, there were a little over 100 people starting, but we had a big start area. I think I had my feet touched 2 or 3 times the entire swim. I started swimming but had a hard time getting into my rhythm, swimming while shivering doesn't work too well for me, I tried to just keep moving. The first 5 minutes or so was tough, I wasn't sure I could stay in that water for 45+ minutes! But finally I started to get sort of comfortable, my hands, feet and face stayed really cold, but otherwise Maggie's wetsuit was keeping me pretty comfy (THANKS Maggie!!).

Sunrise and swimmer

My head started to hurt after a few minutes and I couldn't decide if it was just because of the cold water or if it was the 2 swim caps I was wearing to try and stay a little warmer. The sunrise was beautiful and it was fun to watch as I swam along. I know there were concerns about swim support at the past HITS races, but there was plenty of support in Corpus- lots of kayakers, a few jet skis, and police/Coast Guard boats, if I had any issues I'm sure someone would have been there in seconds. There were also plenty of big red buoys marking the course. It took me almost 27 minutes to reach the turnaround buoy, which is really slow for me. I assumed the cold water was just slowing me down and I tried to pick it up a little on the way back.

Great shot Jeff!

 By this time my hands, feet, and face were still really cold, but otherwise I was comfortable and enjoying the swim, but I was really happy I had decided to do the half instead of the full, I don't know if I could have stayed in the cold water twice as long! I came out of the water in 54 minutes, my slowest half iron swim ever, but also my coldest! I assumed my slow time was due to the cold water, but later I heard rumors that maybe the course was a little long, so maybe both the cold and a slightly long course contributed to my slower time. I bear crawled out of the water, the steps were just like the ones at IM Cozumel.

bear crawling up the steps

T1 

I got onto land and tried to jog to transition, but my feet were frozen and not really working. Announcer Alex was talking about me and as I walked by I said "wow! my feet are Frozen!" and he announced that! haha! I got into T1, and sat on the ground to get my wetsuit off (no strippers).

Hello! They gave me a stool, why did I sit on the ground??

I planned on wearing some extra layers since I don't warm up easily, so I tried to struggle into my long sleeved fleece bike jersey and it was tough with cold hands and being all wet! I finally got that on and had some trouble with my fleece lined tights too. My wool socks and bike shoes with toe covers went on easier (I did sit on the stool to put my shoes on) and and the rest of my gear was normal. I had fleece gloves that I was planning to put on over my regular bike gloves but I thought I didn't need them (biggest mistake of my day!!) My hands didn't feel too bad but my feet were still numb as I walked out to the bike mount line. T1 was 6:08.

Bike

Starting the bike

I got on my bike just as the full iron race leader was starting the bike. He was swerving all over trying to get his shoes on, so I yelled to let him know I was right behind him and passing. Of course he flew by me a few seconds later! Jeff was yelling something about him to me, but I couldn't understand him (he was saying "stay with that guy!" haha yeah right!). Ocean Drive was really pretty in the morning and I was enjoying the sunshine, but I was really glad I had decided on the extra layers because it was still pretty cold. There were at least 4 or 5 guys in transition with me, so I was surprised that no one passed me for awhile. My feet stayed cold and my hands were getting colder and colder, but otherwise I was really liking the ride. Police at every intersection stopped traffic and cheered for me, and there were more spectators than I had expected. I thought Ingrid should pass me around mile 6 or 7 since she passed me at both Ironman Cozumels around mile 12. Around mile 9 I started to worry that maybe she had a really bad swim, and finally at mile 12 she passed me (her swim was a little slow, but not too bad)! So at every race we have started in the same wave, Ingrid has passed me at mile 12 on the bike!

I had been a little concerned when I asked the HITS people if roads would be closed for the race and they said no, 358 is pretty much the main highway in Corpus and we'd be on it! Turns out they coned off a lane along with a wide shoulder and had plenty of police watching out for us, so I felt very safe even on the busier roads. I was glad we drove the 358 section of the course because when you see the tall part of that bridge it looks huge!! Luckily I knew it was doable and as I started the climb up, it didn't feel much worse than the long hills on Parmer. Park Road 22 was all chip seal-yuck! But I got a big tailwind, so I was going fast and having fun! It's a 2 lane road and was open to traffic, but it wasn't busy at all and the cars that did pass were super polite and safe about it. I got to the turn around at 1:46 minutes, which is great for me!

My hands and feet were still freezing and numb, so I stopped at the turn around to try and warm them up. It wasn't really working and the volunteer said "it's not going to get any better when you ride into that headwind" and he was right, sort of. My hands stayed really cold and I was mad at myself for not putting on the second pair of gloves, but my feet actually started to thaw out while I rode into that headwind. The headwind definitely slowed me down, but it wasn't any worse than a typical day out on Parmer. I really looked forward to seeing the big bridge again since I knew when we curved around the headwind would let up some and the chip seal would end. The bridge the second time was more fun and I let myself fly down the backside as fast as I could. It was also really pretty looking out over the water. There were only 4 turns on the entire course,

finishing the bike

but for some reason I almost made the turn back onto hwy 3 a block too early, luckily the police officer said "NO, NO, go straight!" when he saw me slow down and look to the right. The cones continued straight and there wasn't a sign, so I don't know why I wanted to turn there. The real turn was well marked and impossible to miss. I made the final turn back onto Ocean Drive and saw a couple of the full iron racers heading out on their second loop. I was completely out of Infinit, which has never happened before, and feeling hungry so I was glad to be almost finished with the bike (I did drink more than normal, but my speedfil straw wasn't pushed down all the way, so I wasn't completely out of Infinit. I guess if I'm going to race with that thing, I should probably train with it once or twice!).
As I got closer to the finish I started to see some of the faster runners on the run course. For a mile or so the bike and run were on the same road, at first I thought that would be an issue, but it wasn't. I assume if the race gets bigger they might need to change that, but with only 100 or so people it wasn't a problem. With 3 miles to go, I passed a run aid station. Aid Station Troy started jumping up and down and cheering for me! He yelled "I'll be waiting here for you!" Near the bike finish I passed Jeff and he asked "are you warm now?" in a joking tone (assuming I would be more than warm after a 56 mile bike ride) and I replied "not really". I was looking forward to running to warm up my hands and feet! I could hear Announcer Alex talking about me, but I don't know what he said. Bike time was 4:02, one of my slower half iron bikes but based on my training I'm not surprised or disappointed with that.

T2
It was a small transition area but when I came in I couldn't remember if I was in row 3 or 4, I guess I asked Transition Dude Joe if I was in this row or the next one, and he looked at my number and ran over to my spot and guided me in. I started to take one shoe off while standing up and he said "use the stool, it helps, I promise" Oh yeah, the stool! I sat down and took my shoes off, took my extra layers off and started getting my compression socks on. Transition Dude Joe asked "is there anything I can help you with?" in such a sweet tone I was sure if I had asked him to put my compression socks on for me he would have done it! But instead I said "no, I've got it, thanks though". I ran out of T2 while Transition Dudes Joe & Chris cheered for me and told me to have a great run. T2 was 5:50. Both my transitions were slow, but if I hadn't had cold hands and put on/taken off extra layers, I could have had some of my fastest transitions here. I had space to set things up however I wanted and the T area was small.

Run

I felt good starting the run, saw Jeff as I got onto the street and I finally started to really warm up! I was loving the sunshine, the ocean view, and seeing other runners on the course! We were running along the seawall and random people out for a walk saw my number and cheered for me, that was pretty cool. I got to mile 3 and Aid Station Troy started jumping up and down and yelled "I was waiting for you! You look Awesome! What can I get for you" I took a cup of water and thanked him. Love the enthusiasm! Around mile 4 or so, I saw Ingrid running back, she seemed to be enjoying the race too. I ran 4, walked 1 most of the run, near the beginning I felt like my stomach might be getting upset but after switching to the 4/1, my stomach felt better and was fine the rest of the run. When I got onto the road, I cheered for cyclists coming in and other runners on the course. I got to the run turnaround and saw the only volunteer who didn't cheer for me all day, he was napping! I thought about making some noise and waking him up, but I figured he had already had a long day and had a lot more hours out there, so he probably deserved a nap :)

Almost finished!

On my way back I saw the full iron run leader- he was flying! (but he wasn't the same guy who started the bike with me, that guy had mechanical issues and had to drop out). I was still feeling pretty good, my legs were a little more tired than I'd like, but I think that was mostly from the bike. I got back onto the seawall and more random people cheered for me. I've never run a race on a sidewalk that was open to pedestrians before, there weren't too many people out and they all got out of my way. I wonder if anyone had issues with that? With 3 miles to go I got to see Aid Station Troy for the last time. He yelled "you're Awesome! what can I get for you?" me:"nothing I'm good" "what? you don't want ANYTHING??" me:"how about a high five?" "YOU GOT IT GIRL!!!" "just 3 miles to go, YOU GOT THIS!!" I think I actually sped up a little in the last 2 miles and I saw Jeff and Ingrid just before the finish. Run time was 2:46, about 6 minutes slower than my fastest half iron run time, but based on my bike training, I expected my run to be a little slower. Overall time was 7:55, my second slowest half, but hey it's FEBRUARY and I did a half iron!

Finish Line!!!

Post-race
I felt pretty good after the race, we hung out with Ingrid for a little while, then went to shower and eat and came back to watch some of the full iron. I got back just in time to see Rosie start her run, she finished the swim, but had 3 flats on the bike,so she was pretty far behind her goal time.

Rosie starting the run

 I wanted to find out if anyone aside from the winner had finished yet, the only person who didn't look busy at that second was Dave Scott, so I asked, "no one else has finished yet...how was your race today?...I saw you finish. How are your legs feeling now?...how did you feel about the bike course marking and support?" Pretty cool to have Dave Scott asking about my race!!

We stayed to watch Deb finish and see some of the other racers hit the turn around point. We chatted with Race Director Mark, Announcer Alex, and Time Keeper Lindsay a lot. Alex asked my last name, then he looked deep in thought for a couple seconds and said "did you do Ironman Cozumel in both 2010 and 2011?" Yes, how did he know that??  "and he (pointing at Jeff) bought you a bike and that's why you did your first triathlon..." I had written that in my athlete bio, apparently Announcer Alex had pretty much memorized everyone's athlete bio to have good info for announcing- pretty impressive! 

Robert at the turn around point

It was also impressive to watch all of the HITS staff help racers at the turn around point. I saw Race Director Mark run to transition and get a jacket for someone who hadn't expected it to get so cold. I saw him stuff Snickers into someone's jersey pockets, I saw Announcer Alex help someone put his jacket on, and hug a few sweaty, smelly athletes at the finish. It was pretty obvious that these guys really cared about their athletes and would do just about anything to help them have a good race.  
Alex also told us all about Robert a fire fighter doing 26 marathons in his fire fighting gear this year, some of them as part of ironman triathlons to raise money for 911 victims- wow!


When Rosie hit the turnaround point, we decided to call it a night. It was really cold and I was tired and my feet hurt. So we ended our ironman spectating at about 8pm.




Overall thoughts about HITS
yes, I enjoyed the race and yes, I would definitely do another HITS race!

Pros:
 1. these guys really care about their athletes and it shows, I really didn't expect the personal attention from a "big" national race company, so I was impressed.
2. huge transition spots, and you don't have to worry about someone "camping out" as Red says, next to your spot and taking all your space.
3. I know there were concerns with the first couple races about course marking and support, but at Corpus the entire course was well marked, the swim was well supported, and there were plenty of police at intersections
4. they had aid stations every 10 miles on the bike and every 1.5 miles on the run and aid stations were all well stocked when I came through at the back of the half pack.
5. I emailed Haley with some questions a couple weeks before the race and she responded in about 10 minutes. At the race site when I had a question, I asked Mark, Joe, Haley, Dave Scott, they were around all the time and it couldn't have been easier to get answers.
6. 1 year age groups, even with my 7:55 time I was only 1 spot away from winning my age group, pretty cool for us mid to back of the packers who would never get an award otherwise.
 Cons:
 I feel like all of my "cons" are nit picky little things, but I also feel that for those planning to do a HITS race, these might be good things to know and expect, so here goes:
1. no wetsuit strippers.
2. no roving bike mechanic, although when Rosie got a third flat someone found out and took a tube out to her, so even though they're not roving the course they'll help out when needed.
3. 1 volunteer per aid station, not an issue on the run, but if you take hand ups on the bike and miss one, you're kind of out of luck. I'm sure this will change as the series grows.
4. in Corpus the run was partly on a public sidewalk (a big 10 ft wide sidewalk) I had no issues with that and didn't hear about anyone else having issues, but I could see it being an issue if there were a lot more pedestrians out or if there were a lot more racers.
5. no finish line clock, but Time Keeper Lindsay is right there and will tell you your finish time. Mark also said they're hoping to get a finish line clock soon. 

Fountain near the finish line lit up at night

My coldest bike ride ever!

Last weekend was really cold in Austin! It even snowed on Sunday! Shayla and I needed to get in a bike ride on Saturday and she needed to be finished fairly early, which meant starting early too. Forecast for 8:00am on Saturday? 31 degrees with a 25 degree windchill! BRRR! plus 15 mph North wind-even more BRRR! On Wednesday I got an email from Shayla "I wonder if we could find someone who would be willing to come out to Parmer to pick us up at one end and drop us off at the other end so we could ride with tailwind for the whole distance!?!? No, really, I'm being serious. :)" I laughed and assumed she was joking, I know she said she was serious, but she followed it with a smiley face. But next thing I knew we had Katherine and Nydia volunteering to be our SAG support! And on Friday Jenny decided she wanted in on the craziness.

Finally ready to ride, notice Jenny's ski helmet!
We met at Waterloo Icehouse, piled bikes, jackets, blankets, hot chocolate, etc into Jenny's SAG truck and headed to Andice. Shayla, Jenny and I spent about 15 minutes piling on layer after layer. I started to wonder if this was just stupid, a couple weeks ago we rode in 40 degrees and I was completely miserable (but Shayla pointed out it was MUCH worse riding into the headwind and really not so bad with the tailwind- true I conceded)! But seriously, I get cold when it's 65 degrees out, what was I thinking???

But I had on a ton of clothes! Plus I put my Mad Alchemy warming embrocation on my legs, my legs burned all afternoon, but it was worth it. We took off and I was immediately cold, oh no! But after just a couple miles I started to feel comfortable. I wondered if I might have actually over dressed! Is that even possible when it's below freezing?!?! Turns out I was almost perfectly dressed, on long downhills I got a little cold and on long uphills I got too warm, on the flats I felt good...except my feet. I wore thick wool socks, bike shoes, neoprene toe covers, and full neoprene booties, I don't think there's anything else I could have put on my feet (except maybe the warming embrocation), so I guess in a 25 degree windchill I just can't keep my feet warm. We rode 22 miles with the awesome tailwind and stopped at the designated gas station on Parmer, but we didn't see our SAG truck! Oh NO!

Waiting on our SAG crew
Katherine and Nydia had missed a turn, luckily we found a nice sunny spot shielded from the wind to wait. We all agreed Shayla was a genius for coming up with the plan and not making us ride into that freezing cold headwind! The SAG crew was there in just a couple minutes and got us loaded up fast, and we headed back toward Andice, got out and rode 20 miles back to Waterloo Icehouse. Katherine and Nydia stopped in lots of spots to cheer for us- pretty cool to have a cheering section on a training ride! A total of 42 miles in a 25 degree windchill!

Turns out even though it was 25 degrees, I had an awesome ride! All tailwind on Parmer is an amazing thing! Plus having friends to ride with and a cheering section/SAG wagon really helps too! Thanks to Jenny for riding with me and providing a SAG truck, Katherine and Nydia for being SAG crew, and an extra big thanks to Shayla for planning and getting me out there. I would NEVER have considered riding outside on a day like that if you hadn't made such a genius plan!