{"id":4285,"date":"2016-12-12T12:22:58","date_gmt":"2016-12-12T18:22:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/w0ep.us\/TM\/?p=4285"},"modified":"2016-12-12T12:22:58","modified_gmt":"2016-12-12T18:22:58","slug":"brazos-bend-race-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/w0ep.us\/TM\/?p=4285","title":{"rendered":"Brazos Bend Race Report"},"content":{"rendered":"

The quick version: \u00a0I finished!!!<\/p>\n

Now for the longer *and probably more information than you’d ever wanted to know* version.<\/p>\n

I arrived in Houston Wednesday evening. \u00a0I am part of a terrific racing team: \u00a0Renegade Endurance\u00a0http:\/\/www.renegadeendurance.com\/ and two of my teammates picked me up a the airport and drove me to my hotel. \u00a0Renegades are good people!<\/p>\n

Thursday, I lounged around and tried to rest up. My original plan had been to rest on Thursday and Friday before hitting the trails Saturday. \u00a0I was going to pick up my race packet Saturday morning before the race, pin on my bib and run. \u00a0Funny how the “best laid plans” can change.<\/p>\n

I found out later on Thursday that some of my other teammates had made plans for all of us for Friday. \u00a0My Friday ended up being a pretty busy day! \u00a0It included packet pickup and setting up the Renegade Team Tent for Saturday’s race.<\/p>\n

The race was held at Brazos State Park. It’s a very nice park! \u00a0If you’re in the area, you should make a visit. I think you’d really enjoy your time there.<\/p>\n

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We set up the tent and grabbed something to eat.<\/p>\n

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Directly across the trail from the tent was this sign.<\/p>\n

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*lunch<\/p>\n

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It was at this point when EVERYBODY on the team came to the realization that I am a talker. \u00a0LOL!!! \u00a0I was amused. \u00a0I HAD warned them but I don’t think they realized that my mouth does NOT have an off button. \u00a0Hahaha!!! \u00a0Well, I’m laughing. I think they’re still shaking their heads in bewilderment.<\/p>\n

Once I got back to the hotel Friday evening, I laid out my clothes and all the other goodies I’d need for the race the next morning. \u00a0I took my obligatory “Flat Melinda” pic and posted it to social media.<\/p>\n

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When I went to bed, I had exactly 5 hours I could sleep before the alarm woke me up. \u00a0I twitched and thrashed around for a few hours. \u00a0Once I did fall asleep, I woke up every 45 minutes. \u00a0It was dreadful! \u00a0I think I got *maybe* 2 hours sleep. \u00a0UGH. \u00a0I finally just got up.<\/p>\n

Pretty soon one of my teammates was at my door to tape my Achilles with Rock Tape. \u00a0I slapped on my socks and shoes and we headed off for the race.<\/p>\n

It was soooo cold!!! \u00a0Holy Cow it was cold! \u00a0Now, y’all know what a #coldweathersissy I am and I thought I would be a frozen block of ice before the race got started. \u00a0Lucky for me, another teammate had brought an extra blanket and I bundled up. \u00a0As a matter of fact, I didn’t toss that blanket until I crossed the starting line. \u00a0That blanket was wonderful!!!<\/p>\n

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With about 2 minutes to got before gun time, I heard somebody yelling, “Mama! \u00a0Mom!!!” \u00a0I didn’t think a thing of it….except it was a grown man’s voice. \u00a0The voice was getting closer and closer~”Mama!!! \u00a0Mom!”<\/p>\n

I thought, “Huh?” \u00a0I looked up and there was a Twitter friend and his wife! \u00a0Hahaha!!!! \u00a0There’s a long story to that but you know how stories lose something in the translation so we’ll just leave it be~ but it was pretty doggone funny!<\/p>\n

What a treat to meet both of them! \u00a0We bumped into each other many times on the trails as well. \u00a0They were both running strong. \u00a0*Awesome job, you two!”<\/p>\n

\"CzXFJ3ZUAAAOojL\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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Bumped into another IG\/FB friend on the trails, too! \u00a0I tell you, meeting all your online friends at races is worth all the training and tears during the grueling miles.<\/p>\n

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I met others as well but, Sad Panda that I am, didn’t get pics. \u00a0#missedopportunites<\/p>\n

We had 12 people racing at Brazos Bend from Renegade Endurance. \u00a0The race had a Half Marathon, Marathon, 50 Mile and 100 Mile. \u00a0Every single one of us did great! \u00a0Renegades DON’T Quit!<\/p>\n

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Then again, you know what they say in Ultra running:<\/p>\n

\"Figure<\/a><\/p>\n

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Now to the actual race report:<\/p>\n

I wanted to finish as close to 12 hours as possible. \u00a0I finished in 12:46. I was #99 overall in the 50M and #47 female. Not as close as I’d like but I admit to walking more than I should have in the last loop. \u00a0There was some mud that in the dark was being kind of ugly and I was soooo proud of myself. \u00a0I had stayed vertical so far…the longest I’d gone in an Ultra without falling! \u00a0I elected to tip toe through the mud and see if I could go the whole 50 miles without falling (I did!!! \u00a0YAY, me!)<\/p>\n

This was a three loop course for the 50 milers. \u00a0The first loop I came in under 4 hours so I was pretty happy with that. \u00a0The second loop? \u00a0I HAD to find a little girls room! \u00a0Apparently I wasn’t the only one because there was a loooongg line for that outhouse. \u00a0I stopped twice on that second loop for potty breaks and there was a line every time. \u00a0Made new friends chatting in line so that’s a good thing, right?<\/p>\n

I completed the second loop 20 minutes slower than the first. Rats.<\/p>\n

Headed out for the last loop feeling pretty good. \u00a0I zoomed through the part that I knew had all the tree roots and uneven pavement. \u00a0I wanted to do that before the sun went down. \u00a0Once the sun went down, all I would have to mess with would be the mud. \u00a0I already told you about walking around all the muddy stuff so we’ll not re-hash that.<\/p>\n

Now, about the course, itself? \u00a0It’s beautiful! \u00a0Super, super pretty and super, super flat! \u00a0 \u00a0Some people excel on flat courses. \u00a0They sound wonderful, right? \u00a0For some reason, they present new challenges to me. \u00a0I work the living daylights out of the same muscle groups without being able to give them a rest from doing hills with opposing muscle groups. \u00a0Those muscles get very, very tired. \u00a0I’ve found this to be the same at the Berlin Marathon, also a very flat course. \u00a0All of that to say, my ITBS was giving me fits. \u00a0It was what it was so I dealt with it as best as I could. \u00a0I would stop and stretch a bit and then keep on going.<\/p>\n

For fuel: I relied on Tailwind. \u00a0AWESOME stuff!!! \u00a050 miles without any GI problems. \u00a0No gut bombs. No hunger issues. Happy tummy and energy filled miles. #WINNING<\/p>\n

Shoes and socks: \u00a0Without any hesitation, I wore my Injinji’s. \u00a0Best. Socks. Ever. \u00a0Enough said on that. \u00a0The shoes were a gamble. \u00a0I almost always wear Altra LonePeak’s for my Ultra’s but my Achilles have been giving me fits lately and I didn’t think 50 miles in zero drop shoes and niggly Achilles was a very good idea. \u00a0I rolled the dice and wore a pair of On Trail Shoes. \u00a0I only had 6 miles on these shoes and those had been on the road! \u00a0Those miles were just to see if I thought I *might* like them. \u00a0Like I said, a gamble. \u00a0Have to say, they were terrific! \u00a0I was very happy with them!<\/p>\n

Somebody asked me if I changed my shoes and socks mid run. \u00a0Not this time. \u00a0The trails were dry so I never felt the need to change things out.<\/p>\n

Chafing? \u00a0NONE! \u00a0I used my ChafeX again. \u00a0This stuff is fabulous! \u00a0If you’ve never tried it you really, really should. \u00a050 miles and no chafing? \u00a0I’m the queen of chafing so this is pretty big deal stuff!<\/p>\n

I did not see a single alligator or snake. \u00a0Not surprised about the snakes seeing how chilly it was but I was kind of hoping for a great alligator story. \u00a0I DID see wild boars on my first loop. \u00a0They just all of a sudden zoomed across the trail! \u00a0You know all of my animal stories from my training runs but this was the first time ever I’d encountered wild hogs. \u00a0Saw a huge turtle and lots of Pelicans. \u00a0That’s about it for the animals on the trails.<\/p>\n

I came to Texas to run a race and to meet people on my racing team. \u00a0I’m leaving today having met them and made friends with them and with lots of other people I met on the trails. \u00a0I know I could race better if I buttoned my lip but where’s the fun in that!?!<\/p>\n

So, that makes 50 Miles done and dusted!<\/p>\n

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Today I’m leaving for Colorado. I’ll meet MFH there and we’ll do Christmas with #1 Daughter and her #1 Fiance’ \u00a0Can’t wait!!!<\/p>\n

#blessed<\/p>\n

#IRun4Aiden<\/p>\n

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#teamZensah<\/p>\n

#AbbottWMM<\/p>\n

#ChafeX<\/p>\n

#areyourenegade<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The quick version: \u00a0I finished!!! Now for the longer *and probably more information than you’d ever wanted to know* version. I arrived in Houston Wednesday evening. \u00a0I am part of a terrific racing team: \u00a0Renegade Endurance\u00a0http:\/\/www.renegadeendurance.com\/ and two of my teammates picked me up a the airport and drove me to my hotel. \u00a0Renegades are […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[21,22,6,3,7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/w0ep.us\/TM\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4285"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/w0ep.us\/TM\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/w0ep.us\/TM\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/w0ep.us\/TM\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/w0ep.us\/TM\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4285"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/w0ep.us\/TM\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4285\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4298,"href":"http:\/\/w0ep.us\/TM\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4285\/revisions\/4298"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/w0ep.us\/TM\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4285"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/w0ep.us\/TM\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4285"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/w0ep.us\/TM\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4285"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}