Wounded Warrior

I ran the Wounded Warrior 17.2ish mile run on Saturday from New Braunfels to Canyon Lake.  Man, that was a TOUGH run.  First, I awoke later than I wanted and had to rush out the door.  On the hour drive to Canyon Lake, I shoved down a peanut bar thing, coffee, and water.  Upon arrival, I boarded a bus for the 17.2ish mile ride to New Braunfels (downhill ride).  Then, at the starting line, I waited.  And waited. And got rained on. And waited. 

Finally, we started an hour late and my stomach was already growling.  Not good when I know I have 3 hours or so of road in front of me.  I was already sucking down honey gel things at the first water stop.  And the road was REALLY banked too - I had to run along the center line until a car would come, then veer over to the left side's severe slant, but there was no way that I could run that distance on that severe of a slant - it just hurts.

So, the first 12-14 miles were not too bad, but then the sun came out, and I realized the whole run was on an upgrade, with dips that resembled downhills.  And my calves became ANGRY, but they did not fully cramp (thank goodness).  So here, around mile 14/15, I took some UGLY race pics.  Really, these are craptastically ugly.  Excellent.  And, when you are running as slowly as I was at that point, the photographer can capture every ugly moment!

Gotta love those profile shots while heading downhill, fighting cramps, and facing another 3ish miles. 

At least I was looking strong at the finish.

But I could not leave it without a freaky "man, I'm a tired zombie chicken" pose

Wow, that hurt.  Almost as much as the hour-long payback by my calves on the drive home.

Thanks to Hill Country Rambling for the pics

For the rest of the Brak Pak, check out this.