Horse Country Time Trial # 1 - 3/7/09

Was a very windy day. I knew it was going to be bad when I took my bike out of the trunk and it almost blew out of my hands (with disc wheel attached). I went back and forth a few times on wether or not to ride the disc in these conditions, but after a short out-and-back ride of part of the course, I decided that I could manage it and it would at least be good practice. I didn't have any trouble a couple days before in the wind, but it was stronger and gusting race morning.

Was great to have some friends from the SMU Cycling club there (watching and racing). As well as teammates from Fit2Train.

Plenty of fluids, a GU about 20 minutes before the start (to supplement the banana and bagel/honey I had earlier), and two 20 minute sessions on the trainer to warm up. Trainer warmup is absolutely essential to these races....your engine's got to be warm when you hit the start line.

Headed out from the start (west) reasonably hard with the strong south crosswind. Was able to keep the speed around 24-27 mph. I knew it would be rough when the course turned south almost directly into the wind....and it was. Couple hills and flats into the wind and I was struggling to keep 14 mph. I passed 2 riders on the way out and made the turn.

Got a nice boost with a tailwind heading back north up the hills and passed 2 more riders....couple of spots were 30+mph. Course turned east and I fought some gusty crosswinds that really moved me around. Still, I felt that I was getting somewhat of a sail/push effect with the disc, and was glad to have it.

Passed one more rider with about a mile to go, and emptied the tank on the last 1000 meters uphill.

Crossed the line in 32:39...just about 23mph average for the 12.5 mile course. This is 17 seconds slower than the last time I did the course, but with the insane wind...I'll take it. Came in 26th place in the Cat4/5 division. Passed 5 riders, no one passed me.

I think first place Cat4/5 was 28 minutes and change. First place overall was 26:27...smokin'. Take heart all you 'older' racers...that guy was in the 40+ masters.

Thanks to Scot Montague for taking pictures!

Cowtown Half Marathon

Waking up a little before 5am and seeing the wind whipping the bushes outside (knowing it was 36 degrees or so) had me thinking of some creative ways that I could duck out of this race....was my throat a little sore? Maybe I'm running a fever?

Naaahh....this'll be fun.

Got to the race site a little before 6am and went to pickup my packet and get a race belt (the one thing I forgot at home). Was nice to spend some time in the somewhat heated expo tent and do some stretching. Went back to the car to drop off my wallet, keys and (sigh) nice warm sweats.

Now, just to hang around for the next 40 minutes in 20's degree wind-chill in my shorts. I ended up wearing shorts, thermal shirt, cap with ear covers, and gloves. I did remember to bring a trash bag to wear at the start of the race...and it did help a little. Ditched it after about a mile or so. After about 4 miles, the gloves hung on my race belt.

The starting area was so packed when I got there, there was a large group of us that couldn't even make it on to the starting street...we had to wait on a side street. Starting horn went off and we didn't move for the next 4 minutes.

A few minutes more and we funnelled onto the start chute and crossed the starting mat to register our start times. I was just ready to get running and warm up.

Unfortunately, I was near the back of the crowd and had to weave my way through miles of slower runners/walkers to be able to get up to speed.

Other half-marathons I've done, there's a crowd at the start, and then it thins out some after a few miles. This one stayed packed the whole way. Maybe it was my starting position, maybe the narrower streets. Fortunately, I was able to get enough room to run the pace I wanted with just a little weaving.

I didn't have a firm time goal in mind for this race, since I knew it would be somewhat hilly and I was not familiar with the course. Instead my goal was to keep a 'driving' effort on the flats, 'motor' up the hills and take advantage of some 'free' speed on the downhill sections. In the back of my mind I wanted to at least beat my last half-mary time of 1:51, and possibly get into the mid or low 1:40's if possible. However, I didn't really follow my overall time until the last few miles.

At around 7 miles I took a GU, I was feeling good, staying hydrated at the aid stations. I was keeping my pace around an 8:00 to 8:15 mile, with some sections in the sub-8:00 range. This felt right, so I stuck with this perceived effort level.

The hills were rolling, and never felt very steep, and I liked the variety.

The last 2 or 3 miles of this course is generally uphill, so its a bit of a mental challenge (which I've been practicing). At about 1/2 mile out I picked up the pace to about a 7:00/mile and crossed the line at 1:49:10. A new personal record by about 2 minutes on a challenging course.

It was a good race...easy logistics (easy, free parking downtown). Quick race-packet pickup on race morning, and the new disposable no-return timing chip was nice.

I went back to the car to get my sweats on to come back and enjoy the food/drink and finish festival...but once I got a little warmed up in the car, a hot shower at home sounded much better!

The finisher medal is really cool...its one part of a Texas star. If you do the event for 5 years, you get to make a complete star...nice idea to help influence people to come back.....4 more years and I've got it!

http://www.cowtownmarathon.org/images/2009_Medals.pdf

I'll do this race again...hopefully without the wind next time, but still worth it!