#KerrvilleTriFestival
Like many, I assumed that after everything was cancelled in 2020, 2021 would be a new year full of racing… but then almost everything got cancelled in 2021 again. While I did a few races early in the season, come the heat of the summer my motivation dried up like a snail on a Texas sidewalk. My gym closed all the pools (boooo Gold’s), my run went to total poo, and riding my bike felt like a chore. With no real races and no faith that any races that were set were actually going to happen, and no one to train with anyway there was not a lot to motivate my training. I don’t think I am telling anyone anything they weren’t already feeling during these bizarre times.
However, the Kerrville Triathlon Festival would go on this year. This is a really well organized race put on by a great race company, High Five Events. They always have plenty of volunteers and the course is well marked and well supported. And it seems that the entire City of Austin moves to Kerrville for the weekend.
After one particularly horrible hot training run (which ended with me flipping off Shannon and Dan), I determined that running 13.1 miles was out of the question, let alone running 13.1 miles after swimming and biking, so I downgraded my race for the Half Iron Distance to the Quarter Iron Distance. It was just going to be a training race. I did not feel prepared or strong, but I had been swimming at Barton Springs on Fridays in the early early morning so I knew I wasn’t gonna drown on a 1000 meter swim, though it would not be fast. I knew I would do fine on the bike since it was only 28 miles and I normally ride mush longer than that. And I knew I could run 6 1/2 miles.
The Sunday before the race I had an amazing 7 mile run and was feeling pretty good about the prospects of my fall running season. That evening I took the dog out into the yard for his evening poo, stepped wrong and twisted my ankle. Hurt like a bitch, but I knew it would be fine in the morning. But it didn’t feel fine in the morning. It was a weird pain on the outside of the ankle but not bruising and not much swelling, I’m sure it will be fine. It didn’t bother me when I would bike and obviously not when I would swim, but I was concerned that it wasn’t resolving quickly like I thought it would. On Thursday I ran a an easy 3 1/2 miles just to see if I could and I could – it didn’t hurt any less than it had been but it also didn’t hurt much more either. So the run prolly wouldn’t be pretty, but it would be doable.
I had secured the little cabin that I stay in in Kerrville every year. It’s on the bike course and just a 1/4 mile off the run course and the gal that rents it, Barb, is a real doll. Perfect for Kerrville – an adorable little town.
The day before the 1/4 and 1/2 Iron distance races there is a super sprint – 300 meter swim, not really sure the distance of the bike (probably between 10 and 16 miles) and a 2 mile run. A lot of folks will do both the sprint on Saturday then a longer race on Sunday, but I was certainly in no condition to race two days in a row. As I said, I stay right on the bike course but there is a really sharp turn at the end of the road, so me and Barb put up warning signs. Then I got up bright an early on Saturday so I could stand in front of my cabin in my pajamas drinking a cup of coffee and cheering on the sprint racers. And Saturday ended up being was a beautiful morning, really perfect weather.
It became apparent that I knew a LOT of folks racing. After the last sprint biker rode by, I walked down the hike and bike trail to the run course to do some more cheering.
And OMG, everyone was in town! I got to see so many of my friends that I hadn’t seen in almost two years. It was just so great being back at a big race with all my friends. I guess I hadn’t realized how many people I hadn’t seen during this whole Covid pandemic or how much I had missed everyone. So many folks came out for this race, it was the biggest crowd of folks I had been in since, well, since Kerrville 2019. I spent several hours in the finish line area just visiting and did not get back to my cabin until around 1:00.
I went back to my cabin to get ready for the Sunday race. You had to set your race equipment up on Saturday and after 1:00 you could rack your bike in T1, the first transition area -you have to rack your bike the night before. T1 is where you keep your bike and bike stuff while your swimming. Then you would put your run stuff into T2 or the second transition area (the area where you keep your running stuff and leave you bike when you transition from the bike to the run). You had to have your T2 set up before the race and it is most convenient to do so on Saturday, since T1 and T2 are not particularly close to each other. Most races have one transition area and we’all just call it T1 and T2 depending on whether we are getting out of the water or getting off our bikes, but at Kerrville there are two different transition areas because the beginning of the race is mile and a half from the end of the race. This can be a bit intimidating to the uninitiated, and the process can be confusing when you are trying to figure out what goes where while organizing your stuff in your hotel room. So here’s how it goes:
With your packet (your race numbers, swim cap, and transition passes) you get three bags. A Red bag for the Bike transition, a Blue bag for the Run transition and a Green bag for your morning clothes.
We’ll start with the Blue bag because it is the easiest. Into the blue run transition bag goes your run stuff, that is anything you need for your run – sneakers, maybe socks, cap or visor, your run race number on your run belt, maybe a water bottle, maybe a gel or granola bar. Put it all in the bluebag. You leave this bag in T2 tied to the your bike rack to keep it off the ground in case of rain or ants (the racks are marked by race number groups of about 30 and you can choose a position anywhere on that rack). When you get off the bike, you rack your bike next to your bag, take off your helmet and cycling shoes, grab your blue bag and dump all the stuff out, then put on socks and running shoes, and grab your water bottle, and visor and run belt w/ number to put on as your are running out of T2 to save time. When you finish the race you will have an opportunity to get your bike and the other stuff you left in T2 and T2 is right near the finish line.
Next we’ll do the Green bag because it will make the red bag make more sense. So on race morning it was 53 degrees but the racers are all clad in tiny spandex suits while getting ready to get in the water. Also, racers do not enter the water all together. The start of the 1/2 Iron race was 7:30 and age groups enter the water several minutes apart. The 1/4 Iron race didn’t start until 8:20, so all the races with their 3% body fat would freeze to death while waiting for the race to start if they had to stand there with no shoes on in 53 degree weather. The green bag is where you put your sandals or flip flops, sweatshirt or jacket, good luck charm and anything else that you need while waiting for the race to start. You drop this bag with volunteers about 5 minutes before your scheduled race start. So arguably, the green bag is empty when you get to the race that morning (psst, but it’s not).
So the Red bag is where you put all your bike stuff to set up with your bike (that you racked the night before). Shoes, maybe socks, helmet, sunglasses, water bottle, gels/granola bars, sunscreen. Once you get to your bike before the race in the morning, you dump all of this stuff out of the Red bag and set it up so you can get it out of T1 quickly – bottles and food on the bike, then stuff arranged so you can spray sunscreen, sock, shoe, sock, shoe, glasses, helmet, bike and run to the exit.* You leave the Red bag with your bike, because before you leave you need to put everything you were swimming in – goggles, cap and wetsuit into the empty Red bag so volunteers can transport it to T2 where you can get it at the end of the race. You probably wanna throw the sunscreen bottle in there, too. Anything left in T2 not in a bag gets tossed or donated.
*Because you have all of this crap in your red bag, you’ll have to put your dry wetsuit, swim goggles and swim cap in the green bag to get everything to the race start. But don’t worry because you will be wearing all of that stuff when the race starts, so the only stuff that will need to fit in the green bag is the stuff you take off right before you start.
I got all my required stuff into the transition areas the night before, but continued to run into people I knew, so everything was taking me forever (it’s tough being so popular).
I was getting late, so for dinner I ran to HEB and got some of that rotisserie chicken salad, a half loaf of bread (apparently you can buy a half loaf of artisan bread) and a 6 pack of light beer (hey, it’s the night before the race). Then I took a shower and got to bed to get a good night sleep for my big race.
Yeah, I didn’t sleep for shit. I finally got out of bed at 5:00am because, why not, it wasn’t like I had slept at all since about 11:00pm. I felt like 💩 and I couldn’t eat. Also my stomach was all jacked up. I felt like I was waking up for Ironman where I had trained for all season, not a race that I suspected I might have to walk half the run. Barb had left a muffin in the fridge, but I could only manage to eat a few bites. I grabbed the muffin and my green and red bag and got in the truck and drove to T1.
Once at the race start site, I went into T1 and set up my bike stuff, used the port-o-john, then went back to the truck to try to get warm and eat more of that muffin. I also tried to get an upbeat song stuck in my head (unfortunately the only radio stations were oldies and really oldies). After awhile I got out used the port-o-john again (WTF stomach), went back to the truck and managed to eat the rest of the muffin. Transition closes at 7:15 and once “transition is closed” you are not allowed to futz with your stuff until you come out of the water, so I checked my stuff one last time and then headed down to the water for the Star Spangled Banner and to socialize.
I was cold and at about 7:45 I decided to put on my wetsuit. Let’s just say we all gained a little Covid weight and it took awhile to get in, I counted that as my race warm up. I dropped my Green bag with my sweatshirt and sandals with the volunteers and waited by the water for my group to start.
Several of my friends told me that the water was not cold enough to warrant a wetsuit, but let’s be honest. I live in Texas. 98% of the time the water temperature and/or race distance does not warrant a wetsuit for warmth, but my swim sucks and a wetsuit makes you more buoyant and makes it easier for me to swim, so yes, if given the option I will ALWAYS go with a wetsuit.
I had never done the 1/4 Distance at this race before and for the 1/2 Iron the swim just seems so long. Like, much longer than any other 1/2 Iron race swim I have done and a 1/2 Iron is always the same distance with a 2k (1.2 mile) swim. From the shore, the 1/4 buoy markers also looked impossibly far away. But I was fairly certain I would not drown since I had been swimming one slow mile at Barton Springs every Friday. I generally start in the back of the pack of my age group. There is really no need to make all those nice ladies swim over me. But once in the water, it was really beautiful, not too warm, not too cold. No real current, no waves. And the 1/4 distance really wasn’t horribly long. It was shorter than the Barton Springs swims I had been doing. I swam reasonably straight and the only real issue I had was that there was gal drafting off me (swimming in my slipstream) which is allowable and I generally don’t mind, but she kept tapping my right ankle which hurt like a bitch. If she had been tapping my left foot I would hardly have even noticed, but the only real way to get someone off your feet if you don’t want them drafting it to kick them a few times (I’m not talking about knocking anyone teeth out or anything – although I do know some folks who would find that acceptable). Since my ankle already hurt I did not think kicking a person was going to improve my lot in life at that particular juncture.
I got out of the water after 22:04 minutes at a 2:12/100m which is right about what I swim. 🤷♀️ Extremely mediocre, but just what I expected.
I ran up the big hill to my bike where it took way too long to get my socks on (why do I wear socks during a race? Because I am a friggin delicate flower, that’s why). I managed to get dressed and stuff all my wet, grassy, dirty swim gear into the Red bag where it would cook in the sun for the rest of the race, but hey, free penicillin!
I jumped on my bike and set off. While it was still chilly out, the way to warm up is to pedal harder. The ride started on this nice smooth neighborhood road for about 1.5 miles, then you ride through town with is kind of cobblestoney for another mile or so, then you get on the Main Street/Hwy 27 for another 12 miles of smooth concrete. The first half of the bike route is flat and fast. Then you turn towards Centerpoint and remember that Texas roads are predominately made of chip-seal and hills. I had made pretty good time on the first half and the day was not windy, so even though we were dealing with that horrible chip-seal, the ride was still pretty good. Also, while the race director had signs warning folks to slow down on the low water crossings, it appears that sometime during Covid they re-did the low water crossings so they were in very good shape (no potholes).
At mile 22 is the hideous hill. Besides being the steepest hill on the course, it is a surprise hill. It is around a corner after not-a-downhill. I mean you expect an uphill after a downhill, but this is some random hill out in the middle of nowhere with no warning (unless you are riding near me, then you’re gonna get a warning). Just as I approached the hill, I was riding passed a guy. I yelled, “Get in a good gear! Big ass hill, though it doesn’t look like it.” I have no idea if he believed me, but then bam!, your in your granny gear, standing up trying to get up this hill. This is where I finally caught up to Dottie who really seemed to be enjoying the hill [/s]. There were two gals walking their bikes near the top, as well. We all determined that there really ought to be a sign warning up about the hill.
At the top of the hill you make a sharp right turn and enjoy a long downhill. Since I had just passed Dottie, I had no idea where she was, but I didn’t want her to pass me on the down hill, so I kicked it into overdrive. Then the last few miles stretch is a very gradual uphill (about .5% grade) until you turn into the transition area. I took my shoes off as approached the dismount line, then jumped off my bike and ran to my bike-to-run rack.
The 29 mile bike completed in 1:26:15 at 20.2 miles per hour, so pretty good!
When I racked my bike bag on Saturday, I was the first one there, so I tied my bag to the end of the rack. But a lot of folks will tie there bag right up next to another bag not remembering that a bike has to fit in there, too. So someone had tied their bag to the very very end of the rack right next to my bag, leaving both of us about 6 inches of rack space…but I got there first. I racked my bike, figuring when that person got in, they would just have to find a better place. I got out of my helmet, brushed some grass off my socks since I took my shoes off on the bike, got into my running shoes, grabbed my water bottle, visor and run number belt and headed out onto the run course.
If this race was going to fall apart it would be on the run course. My run training had not been great and just as I was getting inspired, I twisted my ankle and had to stop the track workouts. My ankle had not bothered me at all on the bike, but I knew if I started having new or worse ankle pain I was going to blow the run because I did not want to ruin my entire fall running season by really messing myself up on a race that didn’t really matter. I got started on the run and felt pretty good. There was a gal in front of my with a (seemingly) good pace and good running cadence, so I paced off of her while I got my bearings. The run is about 2.5 miles out on a paved hike and bike trail to a turn around, then you run back the same trail, pass the finish line 😬 by another mile, then turn around and run back to the finish line.
There was a lot of self-talk on the run. It feels like you are running uphill the whole way out and the sun was shining so even though the weather wasn’t awful it felt hot. So long as I ran straight, my ankle was fine, but it did not like lateral movement, so I figured if I just stayed on the trail I should be fine. I got to the one mile marker feeling a bit winded but I always feel like crap for the first 3 miles of a run after getting off the bike. I just kept telling myself that I needed to make it to the turn around. I passed the gal who I had been pacing off of (a bad idea, by the way) at about the 2 mile marker. Only 1/2 mile to the turn around. You can do anything for five minutes, I told myself.
I finally made it to the turn around and thought, woo-hoo, downhill. But alas, this course was uphill in both directions. No, I don’t know how, but it was. Ok, 2 1/2 miles to the finish area. 2 1/2 miles is how far the Brushy Creek trail dam is to my house, so I just told myself, get over the dam. Then “get down the hill”. When I run my 6 1/2 mile route on Brushy Creek trail I tell myself that the first two miles are the warm up and the last two mile are the cool down (the other 2 1/2 miles are the “middle.” And yeah, I do have to work on something more inspiring and will be taking suggestions). So when I had 2 miles until the “finish line” I told myself, this is just the cool down (even though the race did not end there). At some point the gal who I had paced off of then passed passed me. Never a good sign and generally means that I started too fast. I just tried to hold my pace and maybe get a Dua Lipa song stuck in my head (which is hard when there is no music to get you started. Don’t get me wrong, there is a Dua Lipa song stuck in my head right now, but that is only because I heard it on the radio 14 hours ago, but I digress…). When you run through the finish area on your way to the final dog-leg of the race all of the teams, spectators and everyone who already finished the race already is there to cheer you on. This is probably the easiest part of the race since you have so much support…then you pass the finish line and have to run the dog-leg where there are not many people, and you have to fight to keep your spirits up.
I just need to get to the final turn around, just get to the turn around… Once I made the U-turn, I just had to get home. First you get to this low water bridge, just get to the bridge, just get to the bridge. Then once over the bridge it would be like running from the trail back to my Dinosaur ( I have a giant metal T-Rex on my property). As soon as I cleared that bridge I kept yelling to myself “Run to the Dinosaur! Run to the Dinosaur!” even I realize just how ridiculous this is.
Finally, I crossed the finish line!
The run took 59:51 at a 9:08 pace, so not horrible considering my training.
My ankle really did not bother me on or after the run. I did soak in the Guadalupe River after the race (there are a bunch of tubes you can use to float in the river with your post race beer and your friends, which rocks).
My total race time was 2:54:20 which was good enough for second place in my age group.
*And a week after the race I finally went to the doctor and it was determined that I had actually fractured my ankle, so maybe I shouldn’t have been racing on it. Oops.
jredtripp 