Double Race Day!

First off, I had a long post written just needing finishing touches and pics... it got deleted.  HATE when that happens.  I started writing Sunday but, you know, Stranger Things Season 2 and Halloween happened.  I can't be held accountable, can I?
So, Saturday I ran two races, a first for me.  I didn't go all out the second race, but it was still a fun and interesting challenge.  The first race that I did was a 10K trail race at the San Angelo State Park.  Welllllll... there's a story about that.  A few weeks back we (The Good, Bad, and Ugly run group) were out there measuring and marking the trail.  Dennis and I took off ahead, followed the pink ribbons, and finished with our watches coming out to exactly 10K.  When Kent came back to the parking lot a few minutes later, we told him.  He looked confused, asking "did you run that one loop?" No, we hadn't.  "Oh!  Well you have to run that loop too!"  Such is trail running in San Angelo.  Where the distances are made up and the points don't matter.  The 10K ended up being around 10.5K.
Race morning was cold, with some readings as low as 28.  I made the mistake of mixing the 5K and 10K start times up and showed up at 8:10, just as the 10K race brief was starting.  Luckily I'd run the course multiple times, so I knew where to go (with the extra loop and all).  I rushed to grab my packet, toss off my excess clothing, and put my bib halfway on.
The dinosaur trail that gives the race its name is one of my favorite San Angelo routes.  It's not necessarily technical or hilly.  It does have a good variety of areas that are packed into such a short trail.  There are fields, lots of cacti, rocky ups and downs, riverside running, and woods all within 6 miles.  Like I said, it's not necessarily hilly, but climbs have been giving me problems recently.  At both this race and the Ragnar Relay I recently ran, hills just sapped the energy right out of me.  I think part of the reason is  that I have gotten away from my lifting regimen (can I blame NCOA?) for the past two months.  It was noticeable Monday when I went back in the gym and had problems with less weight than I had been repping relatively easily in July.  It's a bit late now, but I will definitely be keeping weight training in my workout plan in the future.  I've been reading my friend Jammie's CrossFit Blog and maybe I'll get back into that this winter. 
Back to the race.  It was small, only 13 at the start.  After taking the lead in the very early going, I let a woman slip past me before we started a long single track section.  I ran alone for the majority of the race, as I was able to keep her in view for a couple miles, but didn't see anyone after that until the courses merged towards the end. I hit my time goal (8:16 average pace) but couldn't run as consistently as I would have liked due to my problems on the hills. 
Everyone seemed to do well as Justin and Jake ran 15K PRs, Dennis won his 15K division, I was the male champion, Cody won his 10K division, and Ally even decided to blaze her own trail.

The only pic of me I've seen.  Beautiful, right? 
Photo Credit: Angie Mendez Martin

BTW, the medals for this race are awesome! 
After the awards ceremony, I rushed home, showered, and we hit the road for San Antonio.  Cristina was nice enough to let us stay at her place and we went straight there to get makeup done.  Yep, makeup.  We went to run the Dia de los Muertos 5K.  I have written before about finding your why for a run.  This one was simple - Mila found some leggings that she thought would look good as part of a muertito costume.  Huarache Turbo always puts on fun and competitive races and this one was no exception.  (Previous Huarache Turbo Race reports here and here) Because we were rushed, Mila didn't quite get the makeup how she wanted it and her eye stickers wouldn't stay on, but I think we looked pretty good.

she says I move too much

Iggy got bored waiting for us

For the second time that day, I showed up at a race just mere minutes before the start.  Again, we had to hurry to grab our packets, put the bibs on, and go.  Luckily, Mila's mom was there at the start to hold on to our stuff.

10K runners taking off as we got close to the start

Mila setting up her mom's chair AND the leggings

Party Pavilion

 We got to the start a few seconds after the first runners took off.  As there were nearly 300 runners, we snuck in the back and would have some time before we got to the starting line. 

A quick "wesie" just before taking off to run

The course goes along one of the many greenwalks in San Antonio.  It's a fairly flat out and back course.  After about a half mile picking our way through walkers, we settled into a nice even groove.  That is, except when there was any sort of climb.  Mila is the opposite of me; she seems to get energized by any incline and push it all the way up.

this little guy kept sprinting past us at breakneck speed then stopping and waiting for his family

At the midway point, I realized that Mila was on pace for a new PR.  She was still holding steady, so I mentioned it to her.

Look at that handsome water boy in his Boston attire

She was able to hold strong and do it!  For the first time, Mila ran an entire race without having to stop to walk.  In doing so, she set a 5K PR by 11 seconds!  Maybe it was the power of the leggings? 

Photo Credit: Huarache Turbo

Photo Credit: Huarache Turbo

OK posing this time (Photo Credit: Huarache Turbo)

The last little bit was around a corner, able to see the finish line the entire time

"Don't take pics of me right after running"

As always with the Huarache Turbo races, there was a great post-race atmosphere.  There was music, sausages from Kiolbassa, beer from Alamo Beer, photo props, and, of course San Antonio running buddies.

Ceci getting finish line pics

Rose finishing the 10k!

the adult costume contest

Mila told me we had to get this for the blog.  But of course!

Reina, Mila, Ceci, and Cristina

That's two cool finishers medals on the same day. 
It was a good day.  I was "supposed" to run 20-24 miles the next day but we were celebrating my mother in law's birthday that night.  My next race is the Wild Hare 50 miler and I'm really excited/nervous.  I feel like I'm prepared as far as training goes, just unsure on logistics.  As far as the blog goes, I start my next class on November 6th, so I may not have time to write for a while.  We'll see, as I'd like to put out a post-50 miler entry.