Bandera 100 km Weekend

Posted by David Hanenburg on 06 Jan 2010 at 10:44 am | Tagged as: Personal Journey

This weekend I will be attempting my first 100 km trail run in the Hill Country State Natural Area in Bandera, Texas. Conditions look to be cool (15F morning and high of 44F) or flippin’ cold but sunny.

As of 1/5, 653 athletes are signed up to run either the 100km, 50km, or 25 km event. This will be quite a trail running party with many states and even a few other countries represented!

Training

My training since the crumble at Rockledge Rumble came up one week short of my desired build due to a knee tweak right after Christmas so I had to nix my last long run and essentially create a three week taper versus two.

Below is my weekly mileage starting with week 45 (Rockledge Rumble 50km). After the recovery week, I enjoyed a nice build in which I peaked my long run to just above 30 miles up at Isle du Bois. Week 51 was the oh sh*t gimp begin the taper and week 52/00 are actually the same week which totaled 39 miles.

Bandera-training-mileage

Race Plan

So what is my master plan?

Number one – Finish.

Number two – Have fun and really appreciate the experience.

Since this race is supposed to be a huge training day for Rocky Raccoon, I have decided to implement my current Rocky pacing plan of 8 minute run / 2 min walk thanks to the Rocky Raccoon tips from Mike and Matt. This seems like the perfect time to give this approach a very strong test and see how my body responds.

Other Bandera tips I need to keep in mind:

Go out slow.
Be mentally ready for hills.
Accept the unexpected.

Race director Joe Prusaitis provides this description to set the mood:

A Trail Run of Rugged and Brutal Beauty

where everything Cuts, Stings, or Bites

Time to take a step into the unknown.

Good luck to everyone racing this weekend. I look forward to sharing the trail with ya.

Be active – Feel the buzz!

David – EnduranceBuzz.com

7 Responses to “Bandera 100 km Weekend”

on 06 Jan 2010 at 11:21 am 1Porta-pot bob

good luck out there dave. In the wise words of Red Spicer:

“Life is a headlong rush into the unknown. We can
hunker down and hope nothing hits us or we can stand tall, lean into the wind and say, ‘Bring it on, darlin’, and don’t be stingy with the jalapeños.’”

You do like jalapeños, don’t you?

on 06 Jan 2010 at 11:27 am 2Greg W

I’ve run the 25K the last two years and the course description is spot on. This year I am stepping it up a notch and running the 50K. Participation in these races is up nearly 30% over last year with the strongest growth in the 50K race (76 additional people, 60% increase over 2009)

I am getting very excited!

on 06 Jan 2010 at 11:45 am 3Mike W in Austin

Dave,

My advice to you is to bring a couple different types of trail shoes just in case. I was down there for 2 training runs a few weeks ago, 8 days after a hard rain, and it was muddy in quite a few section of the flats in the middle of the loop. The problem is the mud down there is like superglue to your shoes. Day 1 I ran in my la sportiva crosslites and the mud stuck and caked up so bad it was quite challenging. Day 2 I ran in Adidas Adizero Xt’s, a lighter shoe that tends to beat up my feet on the rocky climbs and drops out there, but the mud wasn’t nearly as sticky on those as they have smaller and less grooves in the sole.
Anyway, just in case you want to dump a pair at crossroads, or at the lodge for the turn if pair number is not doing well with the mud.
If you’re going to the briefing on Friday, i’m sure they’ll comment on the status of the mud since it did rain hard down there 9 days ago or so. If they don’t comment, I can guarantee that i’ll be asking outloud about it!
I also heard that they may have opted for a detour somewhere due to the mud, but i’m not sure this is accurate.

See you out there and have a great race!

on 06 Jan 2010 at 1:30 pm 4David Hanenburg

Thanks PPB. Maybe next year, eh?

Greg – Yes, it looks like a great turnout. General growth in the sport, Montrail series, and a well ran race can bring in the runners.

Mike – Quit freaking me out. I won’t be racing against you. No, great insight and thanks for the heads up. I definitely will be at the briefing. See ya in a couple.