Texas Hell Week

In preparation for IM Woodlands, Danna and I headed south to Fredericksburg to ride the hills during Hell Week. This was the 22nd year that this week of riding has been organized, so it seemed like a good opportunity to get off of the trainer and out on the road, not to mention the fact that Danna needed to log her first century ride! We arrived on Friday night and picked up our packets to find out that these rides are unsupported and you are given a turn-by-turn and are set free on the lovely roads of the Texas hill country. No problem. We're girls; we're good with directions :)

Saturday there was a ride offered that was 105 miles. Perfect. We set out with a group at 9 am. The first stop was at 44 miles and we were still with a pretty good size group and were not having to reference our maps, just follow the crowd. After the stop we found ourselves alone and so we started using our directions and, of course, got off route. We were not worried about it; we figured we needed to ride for 100 miles anyway and we had our phones with us and plenty of water and food. Unfortunately at one lost point we called and asked for directions but gave the wrong information about the direction we were going on the highway, so we ended up back in Fredericksburg at 70 miles. We were disappointed that we did not get our 100 miles, but the 70 that we rode were crazy hilly and windy and we did get off the bike and run 5 miles, so we logged that day in the books and got ready for another go on Sunday.

Sunday's route was 93 miles. We were on our own after about 25 miles and the hills were relentless. We were having a good time with the challenge of the hills, but there was a long stretch (about 20-30 miles) that was unbearable chip seal road. Luckily there was a store at the end of the bad stuff and we stopped for a snickers bar and refilled our water and headed back out to better roads....and more hills! By mile 60 we knew we were on the wrong road, but again, were not too worried about it. By mile 70 we were back on course and had added about 4 miles to the route, so we knew we would be that much closer to our desired 100 miles! Overall we rode 97 miles and it took us 7 hours! Unreal! That was the most challenging 100 miles I have EVER ridden. Good experience overall. I definitely gained mental strength and feel like if I can ride 1oo miles here, I can ride 100 miles anywhere! Danna is such a trooper. If someone took me on this ride for my first century I would be so mad! She takes everything in stride and I have tried to impress upon her that she has nothing to worry about; she will have NO problem with the bike at IM.

I can't say that I will come back to hell week. I can ride unsupported for free at my house and not pay $99 for a print out of directions and double price for a one star hotel. The people who bike here are true cyclists and I still can't consider myself one of those. I like my nice bike rallies where there is an aid station every 10 miles and there are arrows on the road that tell me where to go. If you are confident in your ability to follow directions, even when half of the roads are unmarked, then this is the ride for you. I am glad I came. It gave me a lot of confidence in my riding ability, but it was not my favorite experience.

Nana and Kara came, too! They did their own bike rides and got a taste of the hills. Then did some shopping and enjoyed some German food.

morning of day one

day two we sported our Texas Hell Week 2011 Jersies

Waiting to enjoy some italian food in the historic downtown area

The Cowtown Marathon. A new course. A whole new experience.

This weekend I had the pleasure of running with my brother as he completed his first marathon. He trained as much as possible and got most of the key runs in before the big day, but the arrival of a 3rd sweet baby girl makes it hard to find the hours sometimes. I am so impressed with people who are able to do that.

Pops came out in support as he always does. His weekend consisted of traveling between Soren's swim meet and our run to take pictures for us to enjoy. It means so much to have people out on the course cheering for you. Sometimes it is the only thing that keeps you going.


Anyway, I told Zach that I could not run with him (he is a 7:30 pace whereas I am at least a minute per mile slower) but that he was welcome to join me in my 9:00/mile training run. We set out and were cruising at a cool 8:40 pace and felt great! At mile 15 to 16 I took a new kind of gel that I had not tried before. BIG mistake. Within minutes I was desperate for the port-o-potty and had to stop at the mile 17 aid station. I had to wait for a minute before the facility was available and then had to do my thing, so that mile took us a little over 11 minutes. No problem, we were still way ahead of schedule to meet our goal of finishing under 4 hours. Well, the gel was not finished with me. I had to stop two more times and these two stops were a bit longer, making each of those miles over 13 minutes, eating away at our cushion to finish on time. Zach was so awesome and stayed to wait for me; I felt awful because he was feeling great and had tons of energy and was ready to book it to the finish. Even at mile 20 he was holding back to stay at my pace of 8:45, which was actually faster than I am usually able to go at that point. He was doing amazing. Shortly after the 20 mile marker the tables turned. Zach hit "the wall" and he hit it hard. His stomach decided it would take no more gu and no more water. It was over 70 degrees with about 100% humidity and we were 3 hours into a run; you cannot stop eating and drinking at that point! He was not able to take in anything from then on and started cramping. I cannot tell you how impressed I am with the way he handled it. He pushed and pushed all the way to mile 25 before he nearly fell over. He stopped to walk for a minute and sadly I had to keep going (I HAD to get to the finish line and find the next "facility"). I crossed at 4:00 and he crossed at 4:03. After stopping 3 times and having to walk the last mile, I would say that is dang good! Zach does not even remember crossing the finish line. He was severely dehydrated and had major cramps; but he was a marathon finisher!

Pops took us to enjoy some mexican food and within hours we were recovered and are already planning our next attack on the beast that is the marathon. It was so great to be out there with Zach. Overall we had a total blast! He learned some things about his run nutrition/hydration plan and I experienced the GI issues that I have heard about many times from fellow runners. We both hope to NEVER repeat that part of it again but know for sure that we will be running 26.2 together many more times in the future. Too much fun!

Always gotta take a pic by the necessaries

At the start line ready to "do this!"

Pops came out to see us at mile 10. We were running strong and feeling great!

This was when I was coming in to the finish. Could not stop to wave. Had to get to the bathroom!

Zach coming in to the finish. You can see how dehydrated he was!

This is the part he doesn't remember. Crazy.

Starting to recover. Trying to choke down some crackers and water