2009 Single Track Stampede

Dripping Springs, TX 04/05/2009 This was a very fun race that was just a short drive from San Antonio. What made this race so much fun was that my teammate, Ryan Campos, was out in front of most of the time. It gave me someone I knew to chase, and caused us to come up with the nickname of "Shake and Bake" for our duo.

Right after the start of the race was a big pile up because of all the over anxious noobs. After I cleared the crash, I caught back up with rest of the traffic, which included Shake. Shortly thereafter was a long climb. On the climb, Shake and Bake were derailed in a bad spot by a dude walking his bike up the hill, which directly led to us getting passed by a lot of people.

Once past the climb, the Cat 3 course was super fast and flat. Basically, it was kind of a boring course from here on out. I passed Shake about a quarter of a mile before the finish, and I ended up finishing 17th. Shake was 18th.

The Warda Race

Warda, TX 03/29/2009 This is a very special race for me since it marks the first anniversary of my first mountain bike race. Last year I finished 27Th out of 37. This year I was looking to make a big impact.

I had done so well this winter competing in duathlons, I thought I would try something different for my warm up this race. During the duathlons, I always felt very good on the bike after my runs, so I thought I would try doing a 20 minute warm up run for the race. It sure felt good to get my heart rate pumping.

Consequently, this will always be the race I remember for my legs feeling like they were on fire. Naturally, I have always felt pain in my legs from pushing myself to my limits, but this was unreal. Instead of backing off and spinning it out, I kept pushing. The pain lasted the entire first lap.

During the second lap, when my legs were finally warmed up, I had a great ride, reeling in all kinds of riders that were in front of me.

Never again will I run as a warm up for a bike race.

2009 Lake Bryan Spring Sprint

Bryan, TX 02/28/2009 What makes adventure racing so much fun for me, is that Lisa and I can compete together. The race took place on a day where the winds were reported to be at 40 miles per hour. We were required to either trek, mountain bike, or paddle to coordinates on a map.

Our inexperience was evident right from the beginning. The maps we were given were in kilometers, and our measuring devices were standard. Luckily, a nice gentleman showed us how to make our own measuring device.

The noobness, did not end there. At each check point we needed to take the hole punch at each check point, and punch a card that we needed to carry with us called a "passport". Well, since the winds were blowing at 40 miles per hour, Lisa lost the passport while we were looking for the second checkpoint. I'm glad I don't have a temper. If I would have said anything out of anger, it would have come back to bite me later, when it was my turn to lose the passport during a mountain bike leg. Luckily for us, Lisa saw that I dropped the passport, and was able to retrieve it.

Overall, it was a great race. We ended up finishing last, because we skipped two checkpoints that required us to paddle across the white capped Lake Bryan. We didn't die, and had a blast finishing in five hours.

2009 Austin Marathon & Half Marathon

Austin, TX 02/15/2009 Normally when I think of the morning after Valentines day, I have visions of sleeping in, and cuddling with my significant other. So, I find myself wondering why I am standing in the shivering cold, waiting in a line for a porta potty. The reason is that Lisa and I have signed up to run the Austin Half Marathon.

We started the weekend by attending the Marathon Expo on Saturday. First, we registered for the race, then walked the entire expo, making sure we filled our race bags with as many free goodies as we could find.

After the expo we checked into the The Mansion at Judges Hill. The mansion was a great lodging choice for the race since it was only two miles from the race start. It was also a great choice for Valentines Day since it has a romantic flare to it.

Later that evening, Lisa and I took a stroll down Guadalupe Street to get a feel for the University of Texas college student life. We stopped in a few urban clothing stores, and peeked at menus in restaurants. Eventually, we decided to eat at a Thai restaurant.

At the restaurant, I almost made a fatal race mistake. I ordered, and consumed one of the spiciest dishes on the menu. While eating this dish my nose was running, and I almost started crying. Luckily, I had the foresight to stop at a CVS on the way home and pick up some Zantac, which may have saved the race for me.

The morning of the race, a friendly couple from The Mansion gave us a lift to the starting line. I was all stoked to go out and try to break my own person best of 1:44:04, but one mile into the race I had to stop and wait in line for a porta potty. The reason I give for a mid race pit stop is a cold morning combined with a late start for the race. I'm not sure how much time passed while waiting in line, but I will guess that it was a minimum of three minutes.

The rest of the race went pretty smoothly. I took in a gel at mile seven, and at mile 10 knew that it would be very hard to set a new personal record, but I picked it up a notch anyway. At mile 12 I laid down a kick that I didn't know was possible for my own body. Overall, my time was 1:47.26.

This race was a lot of fun even if I didn't set a new personal record. Everyone should be so lucky to spend a Valentines Day weekend with the one they love, participating in activities they love.