Buffy Weaver's Decker Challenge Race Report

RACE DAY: December 6, 2009
Race Information
Race Results

Well, it was cold and it was wet. Yup, cold and wet – the whole time. Seriously, though, I really had a great time. I’ll start back at the beginning.

I love to travel to race, but there really is something nice about racing in your own town. Loads less to stress about! I took a little break from working on Friday and headed down to Rogue to pick up my race packet (which was very familiar since I helped stuff them). I was super pleased with the Decker Challenge technical shirts this year, too. In fact, I’ve worn it since the race and I love it! It is long-sleeved, but thin so it is really perfect for Texas in December.

I took Saturday off from training and just bummed around running errands and getting my race gear all set out. This is one of things that is nice about racing locally. I didn’t have to worry about if I had packed everything or what the weather really would be like. If I didn’t set an item out on Saturday night, I knew I could always grab it on Sunday morning or make an impromptu clothing change if the weather went funky.

I got up around 5:45am (really closer to 6am since I like to hit the snooze button), drank some coffee and worked my legs and hips out with my foam roller. I have been having some trouble with pain/tightness in my left hip so I really concentrated on that since it was my biggest worry for the race. My running buddy picked me up at 6:30am and we headed off to the race.

I love that they have that building at the expo center open before this race. It was so nice to not be standing outside in the freezing rain before the race started. We milled around and checked things out until we heard Leilani say “10 minutes to race start” and we headed outside. Once outside, though, it was cold and wet.

The race started and my friend and I took off. Lately in races we haven’t been running together and we usually split up close to the start of the race. This time we stuck together almost the whole race. It was a nice change and reminded me a lot of when she and I first started running and always ran together. At this race, the ground was wet, my hip started hurting (around mile 3), and she has recurring hip issues that were flaring up. We decided just to run for fun and we chatted and talked almost the whole race. We did split up between mile 10 and 11 but we still finished within minutes of each other. The cold and wet conditions were a bit miserable, but the crap weather also made me feel sort of tough. Running in poor conditions is good for the soul, I think. Worse than the weather was that I realized I needed to pee only a few miles into the race. For some reason though, every time I saw a port-a-potty I’d just run on by. I understand that is strange since I wasn’t running all out, but I just wouldn’t stop – I haven’t had to make a bathroom stop during a race in a very long time and I guess I just couldn’t bring myself to stop – dumb, I know. I wish I had more to say about this race here. This was my second year to run it and I know it is a hilly, tough course. It did feel like a hilly tough course, too, but I think since I had good company and was just out there running for fun that it really seemed to fly by pretty quickly and was enjoyable (even with the hip, the weather, and the need to pee).

This race in 2008 is my half marathon PR. I was pretty sure that with the wet conditions and with my weird hip issue that I wasn’t going to beat that PR (and I think I was in a tiny bit better running shape at this time last year). I think if I had tried to run it all out and not beat that PR I would have been a bit disappointed. I’m sort of glad that I had the rain and my hip pain as excuses to not feel like I had to beat that time. That may sound strange, but it keeps me happy (until next year)!

After the race I ran into some of the other RLE Brand Ambassadors and chatted a bit. I would also like to say that I really, really enjoyed Lindsay’s yellow apron at chip collection at the finish line. It had nice, big pockets for her to stuff chips in after she retrieved them from runners. Quite functional, but cute because it looked like a June Cleaver apron. Nicely done, Lindsay!

My friend and I headed back into the expo center building to escape the cold and the rain. We milled around a bit and chatted with some people, but we both were freezing so we headed home. After she dropped me off I ran in the house, took one look at my husband, yelled “I’m soooo cold!” and then took the longest, hottest shower of my whole life. It was sort of awesome.

Oh, by the way, my hip is fine. I went to my sports doctor to get checked out. Nothing crazy – tight IT band that is rubbing over the bursa in my hip and is causing inflammation. Stretching, foam rolling, and ice and I’ll be good to go!