Today's post will summerize what happened this weekend.
I'd first like to congratulate Tristin Uhl for winning Valley of the Sun. Good job homie.
I'd also like to thank Mom and Magan and Jason for allowing me to complete and compete in the double marathon weekend.

Marathon 1: Terlingua Mountain Bike Race. Tons of guys preregistered. Tons of guys toed the line. One guy hit my bars while lining up, and took down himself and another guy, and a bike. I made it clear of my intention there, and I haven't even begun riding. I was gonna wreck shop.
We start the easy roll out, and I'm sucking dust. I make some suave passes, to get good position, but the race hasn't even begun. We cross the road, and I'm comfortable in 15th postition or so. We are CRUISING down the first section, and dust is everywhere. I run over anything in my path, bumps, rocks, sand....and I think a homeless guys cardboard home...I think. In the singletrack, guys are in a line. I'm comfortable, so I'm content. Then as the first creek bed area comes, guys let huge gaps open and I pass about 5 guys and bridge a gap to the end of the lead group.
Everything is dandy.
The Superfly rig is Flying Superbly over all the whoops, and doops. I am settling in a very doable 4 hour pace, right behind strongman Scott Henry. The pace got a little hot, and he is gapped, I can still see the group, but Scott is still motoring, and instead of passing and riding what I should have done....I waited. A little turned into a lot.
Then out of nowhere, the guy who gets 2nd, pulls past us. Scott doesn't hang on his wheel either. He must be out of form, because he's one of the strongest guys in TX. I pull around and get on the wheel.
Now the pace this guy is pulling is rough. I can hang, but it's definitly not something I would like to do on the first lap. Nonetheless, I make it to the climb, where the lead group is only 30 seconds up. I start the climb and hit my pace. I'm doing fine, actually making a little time...very slowly.
But here is where race strategy goes to crap.
My rear tire is hooking up great. Better than normal. But I notice that on some bigger rocks I am just gliding over....but also hitting the rim.
Half way up, I see a cameraman, and ask him if my wheel is flat. "Boy is it ever!"
I pull up to where the rough stuff starts, and decide to pull out the big air. As I started out with 28 pounds of pressure....I aired it up, to what I found out was a 55 PSI.
So I start back, after losing 30 seconds or so.
About 3 minutes after that, my chain goes inbetween my spokes, and my cassette. I catch it pretty fast, and jump off to pull it out and get the chain back on the correct cassette. Dangit, 20 more seconds elapse.
I climb the rest, now out of sight of the leaders. I get passed by the guy who got 4th, and decide to ride with him after the descent.
So as I'm pulling through the start area, the only part I didn't preride. I end up having to make a U turn to go get my feed. Baahhhh.
Half way done and I'm feeling it, that guy that I was riding with was motoring! So I start the second lap, and can now see a guy 35 seconds or so ahead. So I start chasing. Loren Dodson is only 30 seconds or so behind me now too. But I wasn't gonna wait on anyone. 20 minutes of riding and I close the gap ahead. The pace feels easy. Legs are feeling queezy. My stomach is growling and the wind was howling. The race was starting!
I make the long pull to the climb, into the headwind. With a guy in tow, and sitting 6th and 7th. I see Ray Hall ahead. 5th place. My place. Who knows who was ahead of him.
I start the climb and again hit my pace. A bit slower than previous, but the guy I was with was only putting a minute tops on the climb. And I was saving myself for a nasty descent!!!
I was bouncing this time around, as the rear tire hadn't deflated at all. But Ray was literitly 10 seconds ahead. Nat Ross was coming from below and was about a minute down. I can hold him off...pass Ray...and catch the guy I rode with. PERFECT!
Then as I'm hitting a switchback....a loose one, with a steeper incline, I must've downshifted. But not into a gear. Straight in between the cassette and spokes. I immediately shift to get it to realign, but I just made is worse, as when I pedaled it got deeper in.
Some choice words were spoken at this time.
I jump off, and start working on pulling it out. More words are flying, with an even more temperment to them.
Nat appears around the corner. "good job Nat, keep it up" I say, and he cooly passes me.
OK, so now I just need to take time and stop manhandling this thing, and think my way out of it. My hand is bloody, and I'm not really wanting to break something by forcing it.
This way doesn't work, and that way doesn't work. Finally, it sets. I jump on and hit the climb. Nat is way up the road.
I am climbing faster though. And I'm ready to descend.
I see him ahead, and I'm hitting the 44-11 regular. I'm flying down the caution arrrows. I bridge the gap, and Nat looked a bit suprised. Instead of resting after a long intense effort, I go ahead and make the pass, and keep pushing. Being the smart pro he is, he sits on and as I see this I go pretty hard. Then I see a small climb ahead. POOF. Nat is around me, and goes away again. Nothing much I could do, as my legs start feeling it.
So instead of finishing a doable top 5. I end up 8th. Which is good. But it looks as though racing the Smithville course instead of an adventure race is in my midst. My time was respectable though, with 4:15:25. 10 minutes off Sagers.

Marathon 2: After driving 9 hours after the Terlingua race, we find ourselfs in Austin for the half marathon. Magan was running her first one, and I told her I'd do it too.
We show up with 90 seconds to start. PERFECT timing!
BOOM, gun goes off and we start the 13.1 mile trek. Magan said she wanted about a 10 minute pace, but I kept it around 9:40ish for the most part.
I love doing these because so many supporters are cheering and so many running styles you can look at and often laugh at. Elf was even there running!
At mile 7, I turned to Magan, who has been sick as a dog leading up to this, and said "this is as far as you've ran huh?" Turns out, 5 miles was as far as she's ever ran.
Mile 10 and we were almost there. Haven't seen Jason riding his bike yet.
Mile 11, and here is a nice steep hill ahead of us. Jason is riding and somehow spots us out of 1000's of people. He starts singing and cheering so loud, and other runners were actually getting pumped. Some girls were getting hot and bothered with him around too!
The hill was tough, the only part that Magan wanted to walk, but a couple of motivating words kept her going.
The last mile she tried picking it up. Was trying so hard, and couldn't go any faster. We ended up with a 2:05:25.

Today I rest. But I leave you one thing to ponder. How do you think a woman, working at a sperm bank, can embezle without getting pregnate?