Race preview: Run Like the Wind 24-Hour Run

WHERE ARE WE GOING?
Austin, Texas

WHEN?
Saturday, Dec. 3

WHY?
Run Like the Wind 24-Hour Run

NO REALLY, WHY?
Playing off of my 12-hour run over Labor Day weekend, I picked another timed race that will give me a crack at my first 100 without having to worry about a DNF. This should also be a learning experience as I prepare for Rouge-Orleans, where there will be no margin for error.

WHO ELSE IS GOING?
Last year's race had 8 entrants. The year before had 15. So I'm guessing there will be between 8 and 15 runners. There are 12-, 6- and 3-hour events also.

WHAT'S THE FORECAST?
The forecast has been gyrating wildly for the last week... cold, warm, rain, no rain. The current forecast is somewhere in the middle of what it's been, so that's what I'll plan for: cloudy and low 50s at the start, warming to the low 60s before the wind picks up and rain rolls in after dark with a low in the low 40s. This will take some creative wardrobing, it appears.

HOW DO WE WIN?

The course is a 1,000-meter mulchy loop. That means I'll need 162 loops to hit 100 miles. After the 12-hour race, a 46-mile training run a few weeks ago and volunteering overnight at Ultracentric last weekend, I don't think mental fatigue will be a problem. It'll just be a matter of how my legs and feet hold up.

Race review: Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio Marathon

ENOUGH WITH THE SMALL TALK. HOW'D IT GO?
I had 3:40 as a goal and without strategizing at all I managed to cross the line in 3:40:59. Given the conditions I was pretty happy -- more on this shortly.

DID YOU WIN?
Of course not, but I was safely in the top 10 percent of each grouping, which is always my backup goal. I was 38th of 420 in my age group, 186th of 2414 men and 225th of 4229 overall.

HOW'D THAT HAPPEN?
My goal of 3:40 happened to be the exact average time of my previous 6 full marathons. I figured the easy course would bring my time down, but that would be offset by warmer weather and not running at full effort.

I started off at a comfortable pace under the clouds and fog. It was quite humid and I was quickly drenched. The course was not terribly crowded thanks to the corral start, but there were enough folks around to keep me under control.

We zigged and zagged through downtown, past the Alamo and out into... I don't know, the rest of the city. Not to steal my own thunder for later but this was not a memorable course at all. Maybe I was biased to begin with because I think San Antonio is a really overrated city.

The frequent musical interludes -- live and recorded -- gave me a shot of energy, especially passing the 10K mark. There was something about hearing the line "you'll be kissing my ass" from that one Pink song that really sparked me.

Unfortunately the good times only lasted a few more miles, as the evil sun burned off all the clouds that had given us such a wonderful overcast morning. The half marathoners turned for home and the rest of us were left to wander off on the long out-and-back down Mission Road. I just tried to ignore my watch and the sun and keep moving forward as best I could.

I was pretty happy with myself for maintaining a healthy jog, until the last Gu I took around mile 21.5 decided not to sit well. I've never had a problem with gels before, but this one just felt like a brick in my gut. I was probably dehydrated because by now it was easily 75 degrees on the pavement. I couldn't fight through it and had to decide whether to walk off or keep running until I threw up. I chose the former and walked off a quarter mile, an interval I'd repeat for each of the last 4 miles.

At the 26-mile marker, my wife and kids were waiting for me. This was special because I rarely bring them along -- it seems like something you'd want but believe me, a toddler is not having a good time out there waiting around for Dad to show up. Their smiles and waves got me up the last hill and over the finish line, which came about 50 yards after my left calf started to cramp (another race first).

WHAT ELSE?
Sorry to have to repeat myself here but the course, though easy in terms of its minimal elevation change (412 feet of gain per my Garmin), is not a good one. It's virtually a carbon copy of the Route 66 course in Tulsa: a circuitous first half with many interesting urban features, followed by a long, dull, unattended out-and-back to comprise the entire second half. The 80 percent of race-goers who only ran the half would probably say its a nice course, but for the full, not so much.

I had a beef with the expo as well. I understand that any promoter wants to pack as many exhibitors as possible into the available space. But it seems as though no one stops to think that the more folks you have selling stuff, the more people will be attracted to shop -- and the less room there will be for everyone to get around. I gave most of the sellers little more than a cursory glance -- because I really didn't need anything and we pretty much all know what the scene is like by now -- and it took me forever to get off the Alamodome floor. Maybe, just maybe, some race will decide to forego an extra booth or three to give the runners room to breathe. But I won't hold my breath.

SPLITS?
7:26
7:28
7:25
7:20
7:36
7:26
7:17
7:13
7:21
7:28
7:18
7:34
7:48
7:57
8:08
8:13
8:28
8:38
8:46
9:04
9:26
9:37
10:44
10:54
11:06
10:47
8:49 pace last .29

OK, WHAT ABOUT THE REAL REASON WE ALL RUN, THE STUFF?
We all got an actual goodie bag with actual goodies, with a pack of Gu Roctane among the highlights (I'm going to consider the above Gu episode as a one-time occurrence). I can appreciate other races' efforts to go green by nixing the pre-race bag, but it's still nice to get actual stuff now and then.

The medal is not bad, though it's attached to a thin, completely nondescript ribbon:

WHAT'S NEXT?
Run Like the Wind 24-Hour Run, Austin, Dec. 3.

Schedule changes

My finish in next weekend's Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio Marathon will mark my 8th marathon or ultra in the last 12 months, good enough for a promotion to Level 2 (or whatever the catchy nickname is for it) of Marathon Maniacs. It'll be short-lived, since the New Year's Double will get me to Level 4.

But the New Year's Double will get a bunch of other people to Level 4 too, and let's face it, that makes me a little less special. I'd reviewed the Maniacs criteria before and always figured Level 6 would probably be where I'd ultimately top out, getting there with 6 marathons in 16 days (3 weekends of back-to-backs). I've decided to reach that goal sooner than planned -- about this time next year.

Of course, this could fall apart if any of these races change dates, but for now here's what I'm going with:

*11/13/11 Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio Marathon
*12/3/11 Run Like The Wind 24-Hour, Austin TX
*12/31/11 New Year's Eve Marathon, Allen TX
*1/1/12 New Year's Day Marathon, Allen TX
*1/29/12 Miracle Match Marathon, Waco TX
*2/10/12 Rouge-Orleans (126.2 miles), Baton Rouge to New Orleans
3/17/12 Dash Down Greenville (5K), Dallas
*4/16/12 Boston Marathon
*4/29/12 Big Sur International Marathon, Carmel CA
5/13/12 North Trail HM, Dallas
6/2/12 Old Dominion 100, Woodstock VA
6/17/12 Dadfest (5K), Dallas
7/4/12 Liberty 10K, The Colony TX
7/15/12 El Scorcho 50K, Fort Worth TX
9/3/12 Labor Day 15K, Dallas
9/15/12 Tour des Fleurs 20K, Dallas
9/23/12 Heels & Hills & Him HM, Irving TX
10/6/12 Heartland 100, Cassoday KS
10/6/12 Arkansas Marathon, Booneville AR
10/7/12 Mother Road Marathon, Joplin MO
10/13/12 Kansas City Marathon
10/14/12 Prairie Fire Marathon, Wichita KS
10/20/12 Frankenthon Monster Marathon, Cedar Park TX
10/21/12 Waterworks 25K, Dallas
10/21/12 Brazos Bend Gator Run, Needville TX
11/4/12 DRC Half, Dallas
11/18/12 Big D 30K
12/1/12 Cajun Coyote 100, Ville Platte LA
12/2/12 Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon
12/15/12 Jog'r Egg Nog'r 15K, Dallas

Race preview: Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio Marathon

WHERE ARE WE GOING?
San Antonio, Texas

WHEN?
Sunday, Nov. 12

WHY?
Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio Marathon

NO REALLY, WHY?
Many reasons: It's a family outing. I get an extra medal for having done the Dallas event earlier this year. And with this being my 8th marathon or ultra in the last 12 months, I'll get a Marathon Maniacs promotion.

WHO ELSE IS GOING?
Looks like a field of something close to 5,000 for the full, and of course many thousand more for the half. That reminds me, I better get my Saturday dinner plans lined up.

WHAT'S THE FORECAST?
Some sun, some clouds, a north wind, 60 at the start, 70 at the end. 

HOW DO WE WIN?

With Run Like the Wind coming 3 weeks later, I don't plan to run this thing all that hard. I'm really just hoping for something much better than that ridiculousness in Tyler (4:23).