Family Vacation

Growing up we had a family vacation every year. Around the time my youngest sister graduated college my parents wanted to keep the tradition going, and made my two sisters and I a proposal.

1. Parents would set the budget and pay.
2. Kids would plan the vacation (we rotate years planning).
3. Has to be an overnight stay.
4. Has to have at least 1 activity we all do together.
5. We must have a meal all together.

Over the years we've gone snowmobiling in Colorado, river boated the Mississippi through Memphis, rented a beach house in Port Aransas and went bay fishing, and stayed at a dude ranch in Bandera.

With 7 adults, two kids (7 and 2.5), and a shoestring budget, planning is tricky. My youngest sister and her husband knocked it out of the park.

We arrived at our hotel in Dallas all within about 5 minutes of each other on Friday afternoon. After checking in and dropping off our bags. We were off to our first activity, Jumpstreet Indoor Trampoline Park. You only have to look at few posts down from this to know I have decent endurance. After five minutes of chasing a 7 year old on a bunch of trampolines I was sucking wind. I was surprised I could still do a front flip, but I never did stick the landing. I wasn't brave enough to see if I could back flip still. Off to the rope swing into a foam pit, followed by family trampoline dodgeball. After our time was up it was off to a family style dinner at Maggiano's. Unlimited crème brulee. Need I say more.

Saturday morning we headed to the Merry Madagascar ice sculptures exhibit at the Gaylord Texan. While the ice sculptures were cool, the highlight clearly was the indoor snow tubing. Back to the hotel for the my youngest nephews nap time. Dinner was dinner and a show at Medieval Times. If you've never done a Medieval Times show I highly recommend it. It's not the type of thing you would do routinely but it fun for a change of pace. Back to the hotel for “Uncles vs Nephews” wrestling WWE style.

We all head our separate ways Sunday morning after breakfast. Every year we complain about how hard it is to schedule these vacations with everyone working, school, and trying to make them kid and adult fun. Then we have the vacation and we realize how great it is that we do this. Next year is my planning year. Time to put on my thinking cap.

Going Vegan = Epic FAIL

This is way overdue. With all the racing there have been better things to write about.  I tried going vegan, I really did.  The first week went really well.  I was committed enough to order vegan at Benjy’s during a first date (there wasn’t a second date after the vegan thing, oh well).  Then the beginning of the end came.  Going out to eat would prove to be my down fall.  I went out with the improv crew after a show at Third Coast Comedy.  After catching much shit from the guys about “this vegan thing”, I ordered a portabella mushroom cap “burger”.  Thinking it was a mushroom cap instead of a meat.  Halfway through I noted to the guys this was the best vegan burger I’ve had.  That’s when it realized what I was actually eating was a normal burger with diced mushrooms mixed in. 

A couple days after the Space City 10 Miler I got pretty sick.  No food sounded good, but I was able to run so I didn’t think too much of it.  Then I had to take a day off work.  So I made a smoothie and added some protein powder.  After downing a few glasses I felt a bit better pretty quickly.  I’m not sure if it was lack of calories, protein or something completely unrelated.  The second to last week of October I had a full social calendar and went out quite a few times.  Every time, I ended up with a meat centric meal.  I kept up the vegan thing at home and lunch.  The last week I went off being a vegan about every other lunch and I felt great again.  

I have no idea if going vegan and getting sick had anything to do with each other.  I did miss eggs and cheese quite a bit.  Going forward I will probably fall back into my limited meat diet.  My next food challenge is in December to finally kick my diet coke habit.  Hopefully it goes better than this did.  

Color Run 5K Race Report

Back in July Rebecca, Liz and I were discussing races we would like to do when the Color Run came up.  Generally I avoid the gimmicky 5Ks as they tend to be way overpriced.  I can do a 5K easy run out my front door at no cost anytime I want.   I’ve had several friends who have run this in the past and said how much fun they had.  When Rebecca suggested we get a team together and wear tutus I was hooked.  Team “Coloring Outside the Lines” was born. 

We all meet up at Minute Maid Park about 8:15 in the morning.  Introductions are made and new friendships are formed.  Of course then it starts raining.  The rain didn’t last long or this could have quickly turned into the world’s largest wet t-shirt contest (10,000 people all wearing white shirts).   Does Guinness have a world record for that?

Before

The race starts in waves every couple of minutes starting at 9 and going until 9:45.  Since this isn’t a race we decided to all run together which was a great choice.  Off we go to the first color station, blue.  Only one in our group had previously run a Color Run and knew what she was getting into.  I was glad I used a bandana to cover my mouth, but still ended up with a gritty feeling in my mouth.   Rinse and repeat each 1K.  We stopped along the way for lots of pictures. 

Looking back at the "Blue" zone

The post-race party was fun but that was mainly because of our group making it fun for our group.  We took even more pictures, danced to the music, and got our goodies at all the tables.  Overall this was a fun social run.  I would highly recommend if you do one of these type of races to do it as a team.  The bigger the better.  This was definitely a social activity not a race, but that’s great too.  

Just in case you didn't get enough color during the run.

After shot

Car dealership getting creative to get your info

 Notes:

• Parking at packet pickup sucked and so did traffic around the Galleria.  Next time a packet pickup is in that area, go first thing in the morning.
• I love races at Minute Maid Park.  Parking is never an issue as they open up the stadium parking.
• Need some eye protection the next time I do one of these.  My contacts came out yellow.
• Liz’s idea of using the dry cleaners bags as car seat covers was brilliant!
• The color washed off me and out of the clothes much easier than expected.  My white shirt is white again. No bleach needed.
• Need a mohawk wig for the next one, and maybe some other flair.

Next up was supposed to be the HMSA Classical 25K, but my sisters decided that was going to be family vacation weekend since I was the only one that needed to cancel something.  Time to sugar up my nephews and hand them back over to mom and dad.  Yep, I'm that uncle!

Rocky Raccoon 50K Race Report - Pt. 2

In case you missed it part one is here

Loop 2

Back to Aid Station 1

Tenth place?  How can I be in tenth place?  I’ve never been that high in any race unless you count starting at the front of a church 5K.  This is BAD news.  I either ran way too fast on the first loop, she was mistaken on my overall placement, or everyone else in this race is really slow.  I’m pretty confident that  I didn’t take 10 years off from ultras and become a superstar.  I wonder if I can get a top 10 finish. I must be pretty high up in my age group. 

Of course all kinds of crazy nonsense comes over you when you hear things like you’re in tenth place halfway through the race.  So now I’m running all the time scenarios in my head.  Sub six hours, maybe even sub 5:30?  I’m not sure why things like this come over you during a race.  My experience is you get what you get on race day, planning and training be damned. 

With the possibilities running through my head it takes my mind off the fact my legs are done for.  It’s not a matter of IF but of WHEN my legs start cramping.  BAM! Wipeout 4! (Or is it 5, I’ve lost count)  I didn’t know you had muscles on top of your shins, but evidently you do, as these muscles cramp up in my left leg.  I give the “my legs are cramping” scream and I’m pretty sure the guy hot on my heels thought I broke my ankle.  He helps me back to my feet, checks I’m ok, and head off.  It takes a bit of stretching and walking a couple hundred yards before I can resume running.  Hey this must be about where I wiped out the first time. 

I make it to the start of the out and back section to aid station 1 without incident.  I notice as soon as I hit the sandy parts of the trail my legs start to cramp.  Anytime my foot lands less than perfectly my legs twinge in near cramps.  This section is at a slight incline and with the cramping I run/walk it telling myself the aid station is just past where I can’t see.  Where the heck is the aid station?  I don’t remember it being this far.  Then I see a couple people I recognize from earlier heading towards me, and I pass a couple people walking now.  Ah it must be close now.  I see the guy who helped me up.  He comments that my ankle and form look good.  I go to respond and BAM! Wipeout!  Every muscle below my knee in both legs cramp up.  It was a two foot toe curler and not in anything resembling a good way.  If it wasn’t for a couple people helping me up I’m not sure I could have physically pulled myself off the ground.  I’m pretty dejected with all the face planting, but the word that the aid station is just out of eyesight is good news.  I walk it into the aid station.

I spend a fair bit of time in the aid station.   I down a couple Hammer gels.  These aren’t too bad.  The raspberry taste good, but it is pretty gritty.  Maybe it tastes that way because I’m covered head to toe in dirt.  I honestly can’t tell if I'm eating dirt or not, and I really don't care either.  I joke around with the race volunteers for a bit before I head back out. 

Back to Aid Station 2

Heading out of aid station 1 I decide to walk a bit, but I get bored of the slow pace so I start to run.  As before whenever my right foot lands less than ideally I can feel the outside of my ankle cramp.  I push it as far as I feel I can go then walk for a few minutes.  Then I start walking more and running less.   With all the walking I realize all those pseudo goals from being in tenth place are done for.  A couple people pass me, but it appears the heat is taking its toll on everyone.  For some reason the wise words of Victor come back to me and from here on out my motto becomes “Embrace the pain”.   I get passed again. Dang she has nice legs.  At least I know I’m mentally still with it and it is just physical problems I’m dealing with.  I bet I can catch her.  Kind of like a dog chasing a car, I’m not sure what I’d do if I did catch her.  I’m gaining ground, but then I cramp up and am forced to walk a bit more.  Rinse and repeat with several other people and I make it to aid station 2.  This section I mainly power walk with a bit of running.  At this point I’m searching for positives.  The good news is my mind really wants to run, but the cramping is preventing me from running.  When I do run I’m gaining on the people who passed me until I cramp again.  I’m having zero stomach issues now.  Pop a salt tablet from the aid station and head back out.

Back to Aid Station 3

There were a couple of us that left the aid station at about the same time.  All of us start off walking.  I start to realize my legs are feeling much better now that I’ve walked quite a bit.  I run a fair bit and I’m still cramping but it is becoming less frequent.  Now I’m mainly just hot and exhausted.  In retrospect it probably was the heat that was the biggest issue for me during this stage of the race.  On a couple of the flatter, less technical trail sections I’m able to run at what feels like a pretty good pace.  Ah it feels good to stretch my legs out a bit.  When I hit the Boardwalks sections I’m feeling really good.  This section I mainly run with frequent, but short, walking breaks on the more technical parts.  I come into HTREx aid station 3 to the news the Aggies scored on their first two drives and are leading 14-0.  Whoop! 

Knowing there are only 2.8 miles left is invigorating.  I down some bananas and M&M’s.  I’ve avoided the candies up to this point fearing the post sugar rush crash I tend to get.  Now it’s time to celebrate.  Stephanie finds me and tells me she won the female division.  I’m sure from here perspective it didn’t seem I cared, but in actuality I found it pretty exciting.  Like I said trail runners are a different breed.  It’s not often someone seeks a complete stranger out to share their race experience just because you ran with them for few miles.  Cool.

On to the Finish

I continue with my mostly running, walking the technical sections strategy.  I’m ready for this to be over with.  About a mile outside of aid station 3 I realize I probably didn’t give Stephanie the reaction she was looking for when she told me of her win.  I was generally excited for her, but I was exhausted and just wanted this run to be over with.  This is when I know I’m mentally done.  Generally I'll stay in the aid stations way longer than I should simply to keep talking with people.  I figure I’ll see her at the end and give her the props she deserves and chat with the other HTREx people.  Of course it doesn’t occur to me until I'm driving home that they are all at aid station 3 and I won’t see them again today.

I’m able to run it into the finish.  I don’t get passed in the final mile stretch, and I actually pass a few people.  I cross the finish banner with all the usual fanfare of an ultra.  “Your finishers medal is over there, and don’t forget to turn in your chip.”  I finish in 6:20:34, only 7 minutes off my time 10 years ago.  Not bad for a hot day, and not nearly enough training.  I start cramping again.  I walk around a bit, grab a couple of handfuls of various foods, refill my handheld, and tell Paul (the race director) thanks for putting on a great race.  Off to find some shade.  I sit around chatting with various people for about half an hour and head to my car to find the showers.  Turns out Victor parked right next to me.  So I sit down and talk with him and his buddy for a bit.  Time to hit the shower.  When I get out there really isn’t anyone around anymore and the race tables are being packed up.  Time to head to back to Houston.

Final Thoughts

Despite all the face plants, I think running a week in mountains this summer helped with my footing.  I haven’t trained much on trails or in the dark recently.  I’ll need to work on both going forward.  I’m baffled by the stomach issues.  Maybe I was simply that nervous going in.  I don’t recall eating anything out of the ordinary in the week leading up to the race.

I’m glad I didn’t drop out, even though battling cramps is never fun.  Cramping is something I need to figure out.  I seem to cramp in any race taking longer than three and half hours.  It doesn’t seem to matter the distance, the pace, the sport, or the weather conditions.  I’ve tried all the electrolyte supplements in various quantities.  Maybe I simply need more “time on my feet” runs to get my muscles used to it.

First half of the race was 2:37:29 (~10:10 pace), and the second half was 3:43:04 (~14:23 pace).  I’m not too happy about such uneven splits.  However, I don’t think you can ever be disappointed in finishing an ultra.  Sure I didn’t meet my time goals, but realistically with the limited training I put in for this race it doesn’t come as a surprise.  Also, I’ve learned over the years my performance is dramatically affected as the temperature rises.  This was the first race I didn’t run with some sort of timing device.  In some ways it was liberating, but on the flip side it drove the analytical part of me crazy.

Despite the negative tone of this race report I had a great time running this race.  It felt good to challenge myself and plunge into the unknown again. There were a lot of positives.  Mentally I was upbeat most of the race.  “Embrace the pain” seemed to work well for me.  I had no blister or chafing issues.  Even with the cramping when someone passed me, when I could run, I was gaining on them until I cramped again.  Despite all the falls I had little road rash and no true injuries.  This was my first long run with the handheld and it worked out great.   Hammer gel worked out great and it was my first time trying it.  It took a while but my stomach issues completely went away.  Even the cramping somewhat subsided.  That knowledge will help in the tough times in future races.  I was walking around like Frankenstein with Tourette’s on Sunday but the stiffness was mostly gone by Monday. 

I need to make it to some training runs with HTREx. I’m soooo not a morning person.  Running through the woods is so much more enjoyable than anywhere else.  I’m planning on volunteering at the Rocky Raccoon 100 miler and I look forward to the Hogs Hunt 50K in April. Next up.  The Color Run 5K, team "Coloring Outside the Lines"