The Next Race

I wanted to title this post Planning Your Race Card but worried about the erroneous assumptions which would be suggested. But the fact is, I do mean planning your race card, and it has nothing to do with ethnicity, but about .....well.....races. I guess I could find motivation to train without a next race on the horizon. After all, we do this for our well being, for our health, and as an excuse for eating ice cream. When I used to be a drinker I would reward myself with a beer for every mile. You pretty much break even on calories burned and calories consumed. I haven't calculated yet the ratio of miles to dips of ice cream, but I have switched to a lower fat, fewer calories ice cream.

But back to the original topic, planning your race card. I train better if there's a race on the horizon and I brainstormed through today's 6 mile run where and when I want to run the next several races. On the near horizon looms the 3M Half Marathon in Austin. I love that race. It's the first distance race I ever did and it gives me a good measure of what I am gaining or losing with each passing year. Right now I feel pretty good about running a new personal record (PR) in January. This will keep my training honest and it might even prompt me to do some speed work on the track. After the 3M, the next race on my schedule is the Texas Independence Relay (TIR), as much a logistical challenge as a physical challenge. I look forward to it.But that leaves open the month of February and here I am toying seriously with attempting the 50 mile Rocky Raccoon over at Huntsville, Texas. I would never have thought about my race history as being a resume, but that's how Carroll Voss refers to it. I like the idea. Thus far my resume includes too many 10Ks to recall the number, 3 or 4 half marathons, 6 full marathons and 2 50K ultra marathons. The Beach to Bay Relay Marathons have been fun, ditto the 2 TIRs. Still lacking on my resume is a multi-day race run in stages (Marathon des Sables is an exotic example - 145 miles total, run over 6 stages in 7 days, across the Sahara) and the more extended ultra-marathon distances of 50 and 100 miles. This, of course, is where Rocky Raccoon comes into play, maybe. I still haven't decided for sure, but it's definitely playing with my mind. Hmmm...

Then there is something completely different but which might trump one or two running events. The idea of scaling the Pico de Orizaba, an 18,490 foot mountain in Mexico, seems to be moving up my short list of potential adventures. While I lived in Coatepec, Mexico, a small coffee producing town in the State of Veracruz, I was ever in the shadow of the Pico. The first thing I would do every clear morning was climb a ladder to the roof of my house and stare in awe at Orizaba, a classic snow and glacier clad former volcano. It's beautiful. But I have always wondered what the view would be from the top. Is anyone else curious? Want to hire a guide and climb it? It's the 3rd highest peak in North America. The climbing season for the Pico de Orizaba is late December through February, so this is an adventure which may have to wait another year. As we used to say in Mexico, "vamos a ver," "we will see."

So, my race card is still incomplete, but it will fill ever the weeks and months ahead. This is what keeps me an honest runner.

Cozumel Ironman

So we think a 10K is tough, or a marathon or half. Welcome to the world of the iron men and women. Since I began running regularly about 6 years ago, this has been my principal form of exercise and recreation. I like it and I'm stubborn enough to have had some modest success at distances I would previously have never imagined being within my reach. In my 20s and again in my 30s I would pretend to be a runner, thinking one day of running a marathon, that is, a 10K. I'm afraid that's still a prevalent misconception amongst the uninitiated. Friends will query of me: "How long is this marathon you're going to run?" Answer: marathon - 1. a foot race over a course measuring 26 mi. 385 yd. (42 km 195 m). Of course, the next option is: 2. any long distance race.

A couple of years ago I decided to try my hand at triathlon. At that time (and perhaps it still is) the sport of triathlon - swimming, bicycling, and running - was one of the fastest growing recreational sports in the country. I came into the sport clueless, really. In this case, I was the poor newbie asking: "How long is a triathlon?" The internet came to the rescue as I learned there are different grades of triathlon, ranging from a sprint distance (750m swim, 20km bike, 5km run) to the Olympic distance ((1.5km swim, 40km ride, 10km run) and beyond. The grand-daddy of all triathlons is the Ironman. This demands of the athlete a swim of 3.8km, a 180 km bike ride, and a marathon run. Translated into miles, the distances are swim 2.4 miles/bike 112 miles/run 26.2 miles/total 140.6 miles.

My career as a triathlete only lasted a year, though I may return to the sport at some future time, and the only race I competed in was at the sprint distance. This gave me plenty of respect for those who stick with triathlon. It's funny. Triathletes are often people who became frustrated with marathoning. When I tell them I run marathons they at the very least feign awe. "If you can run a marathon, you can complete a little ol' triathlon," they say. Don't believe them! This is a tough sport and one which requires superb discipline.

This is why I am still slack-jawed in awe and envy at the accomplishments this weekend of my friends Dorian and Fred Ramirez. While the rest of us ran a Turkey Trot (at best), Dorian and Fred were in Cozumel for the realization of their dreams of completing an Ironman competition. They proved it: dreams do come true. Dorian finished her first ever Iron(wo)man in 14:26:55 while Fred finished in 15:34:50. Congratulations!

I've known Fred and Dorian for a number of years. Dorian is a lawyer who is also a cellist with the Mid-Texas Symphony. Fred is an engineer who in his undergrad days at UT Austin played the Euphonium in the Longhorn Band. Our team of musician runners from the Mid-Texas Symphony has included Dorian and Fred as we have competed in the Beach to Bay Relay Marathon in Corpus Christi (which happens to be home for both Dorian and Fred) and the Texas Independence Relay. I know their story of transiting from out of shape (Fred described himself as a couch potato) to being two of the most fit people I know. Though I won't pretend to give a blow by blow of how they did it, I will say that they moved towards their goals in measured steps. It has taken them 3 or 4 years to graduate to Ironman and now that they have made it I suspect they have their eyes on something beyond. I consider myself lucky to have them on my team.

Meet Joy and Jay Hilscher

I'm still reflecting back on Rock'n'Roll weekend and how quickly it flew past us. The training months go on forever and most of us are about to renew our training for whatever the next event might be, maybe a Thanksgiving Day turkey trot, another marathon or half. But isn't it amazing what a whirlwind we were swept up in the weekend of November 15th? Let's cherish those memories and the many other things we learned about ourselves through the challenges we jointly undertook.

I was thrilled to finally meet Joy and Jay Hilscher at their Lone Star Relays booth at the Expo. If Lone Star Relays doesn't ring a bell, you might know of Jay and Joy for the Texas Independence Relay (TIR). That's why I went out of my way to say hello. The TIR happens to be my favorite race. I've captained the Mid-Texas Symphony team through the race twice and am looking forward to the third race in early March 2010.

Actually, I think I have said hello to Joy at the TIR finish line each time (they are hands-on organizers), but this was my first time to shake Jay's hand and thank both of them for the wonderful relay they brainstormed. They are now branching into sponsorship of a couple more relays, the Hillie Billie Relay around Canyon Lake and the brand new Capitol 2 Alamo (C2A) Relay scheduled to debut next August. These now reside, along with the TIR, under the auspices of the new brand of Lone Star Relays. Check them out.

Thanks again, Jay and Joy, for the wonderful experiences I've had with my team at the Texas Independence Relay. Go Mid-Texas Symphony!

New on iExercise - Texas Independence Relay

Just posting online and also at iTunes will be a double episode of iExercise recounting the 203 mile Texas Independence Relay (TIR). The episodes should be up by October 12th, or so. The two TIRs run so far by my running team, which represents the Mid-Texas Symphony, have been highlights of my running career. If you are a runner who knows other runners, perhaps you have run the Beach to Bay Relay Marathon in Corpus Christi, consider taking a quantum leap to an ultra-relay. Find more information at the TIR website or try to meet Jay and Joy Hilscher, the race directors, at the Rock'n'Roll San Antonio Marathon Expo. They had a table there last year and I assume will do the same this year.