Cross Timbers Trail Race Report

Last Saturday I completed my second milestone race, the Cross Timbers Half Marathon. This year was the 30th anniversary of the oldest trail race in Texas. Cross Timbers also claims the title of the “toughest little trail in Texas.” After participating in the race last weekend, I don’t argue with the title!

I ended up placing 45th out of 214 total finishers and 12th out of 26 male masters with a finishing time of 3 hours and 13 minutes. I think the actual mileage for the race was around 14.25 miles, so that puts me at around a 13:34 pace, a minute and a half per mile slower than my goal pace. (race results)

Before going any further, I want to stop here and thank the race director, Teresa Estrada-McCoul and all the volunteers for an absolutely fantastic experience. The Cross Timbers Trail Run was very well organized and we all know that these events would not happen if it weren’t for the volunteers. So thank you to Teresa and the volunteers for a job well done!

Getting There

I did not sleep well the night before Cross Timbers. I was too excited about completing the race and achieving my next milestone. I was also wondering about the challenges I would face on race day. Over the last couple of months I spoke to many trail runners about Cross Timbers and I had heard over and over again about how tough the course was. Was it really as tough as everyone was saying?

Sometimes people build things up much higher than reality in order to make a point. I’ve experienced this with movie reviews, my friends telling me about the life-altering drama of the most recent blockbuster, only to be gravely disappointed when I sit to watch it. Maybe I amplify what I hear from others and build it up further than they intend. That’s where I was at with Cross Timbers. I had heard the stories. I was warned about the terrain. And I didn’t want to be let down. I WANTED a challenging run, something more difficult than I had experienced in the past. Well let me tell you this…

Cross Timbers did NOT disappoint!

I awoke around 4 am, made some coffee and nibbled on a bagel and peanut butter while I read some email. About 4:30 am I awoke my wife and then headed for the shower. We had packed a rental van the night before, so all she had to do was to get the kids up and loaded into the van. We left shortly after 5 am and arrived at Juniper Point about 20 minutes before the scheduled race start.

I signed in and received my race packet. I absolutely loved the tech shirt that was included in the race packet. I attached my race number to my shirt and then jogged around the parking lot for about 10 minutes. I joined the group at the starting line to listen to the last minute instructions.

The Race

Right on schedule we were off and running (well, jogging in my case!). We had too many runners to head directly to the trail, so the race director had us run three laps around a small paved loop in order to thin out the group. I thought this was an excellent approach. By the time we had completed the loops the runners were roughly aligned with others of a similar pace.

I fell in behind a group that was moving at about an 11:30 mpm pace, which for me was perfect. I was hoping to finish the race at a 12 mpm average pace, but was secretly trying to do a little better. I really wanted to “crush it!” Yea… as my first time on this trail, I clearly didn’t know what was in front of me!

The trail was beautiful. I remember running along the rim above the shoreline of Lake Texoma. The sights were incredible. But the terrain was pretty rough, so I kept my eyes down most of the way.

The Hills

About a mile into the race I came across my first climb. I realize that the hills at Cross Timbers are still “speed bumps” to those who run in the mountains. But for me, training on the relatively flat Northshore Trail, the hills at Cross Timbers were much larger than I expected! The pack in front of me slowed and walked up the hill. I was OK with that. I am still good with the pace, so I followed their example.

After the hill the course flattened out for another mile and then entered into a series of ongoing inclines and declines for about the next two miles. I could see my pace starting to slip, so I decided to pass the group that was in front of me. On the smaller hills, I continued to jog up the hills and only slowed to walk on the steeper inclines. On this section of the trail I came across some inclines that I couldn’t even walk up—I had to grab on to rocks and roots in order to pull myself up. It was AWESEOME!

By the end of mile four, I started to feel a strange sensation in my legs… my quad muscles (the big ones in the front!) were starting to get a little sore. I hadn’t experienced this during my training. As I thought about it I remembered the numerous trail race reports I had read from others about how running downhill works the quads. I actually thought it was kinda neat that I was feeling it--that meant that I was getting a good workout. I would later regret that thought later!

Stairway to Heaven

At about mile six, I came across the lead runner heading back from the turnaround. He was MOVIN! I wasn’t even going that fast at the start of the race. But he looked fresh and fast. The second place runner was about a minute behind.

I continued on my way through what felt like a longer sustained climb and near the end of mile six, a long but sharper decline. I was definitely feeling it in my quads during the declines by this time, and I was starting to feel like I was losing energy in my legs during the inclines. I was no longer jogging up the hills but walking them, as was everyone else that I could see.

I continued to watch runners coming the other direction from the turnaround. I would cheer them on as they blew past me. As I approached the end of mile seven, one of the runners told me “only one more hill to go” and then I would be at the aid station. I thought, GREAT, no big deal. Until I reached the hill…

I believe this is the section on the trail that they call the Stairway to Heaven. If it’s not, it should be! I get the stairway part. You have to climb up a bunch of steps made out of rocks and roots, a stairway of sorts. And I get the Heaven part—by the time I made it to the top I thought I had died and was at the Pearly Gates!

The Turnaround

When I arrived at the aid station I said jokingly, “You could have set up at the BOTTOM of that last hill!” The volunteers didn’t seem to find my comment as funny as I did. Maybe they were offended, or maybe it was the 30th time they had heard that joke. Regardless, I was REALLY glad to be there.

I stopped for a few minutes to refill my water vest, send out a couple of text messages to give my status, and then headed back down the trail. At this point my legs were just fine when running on the flat portions of the trail, but I was definitely feeling it on the inclines and declines. At least now I knew what was in front of me and still felt confident I would finish strong. I got this.

You know the old saying… ignorance is bliss!

On the way down from the aid station I felt honored when other runners would yield way on the trail, just as I had done for those in front of me. I cheered each person on as I passed. A few minutes later one person asked me if the aid station was close. I responded, “Only one more hill to go!” I didn’t have the heart to describe the hill!.

About eight miles into the race the battery died on my Garmin GPS watch. I had checked my pace a few minutes earlier and I was at about a 13 mpm pace, a full minute per mile slower than I was hoping for. But I was very happy with my pace, given the hills that I had encountered. My legs still felt strong on the flats, and I still felt like I had lots of energy. I felt that if I could just keep the same pace I would be very happy with my performance.

Then it happened.

The Ankle

With about four miles left (I am guessing), if felt a sharp pain shoot through in my right ankle. I immediately stopped and looked down. I’m not sure what I expected to see. It felt like someone had driven a spike it. But it looked perfectly normal. I hadn’t twisted it or anything like that, at least, not to my knowledge. It only took a couple of seconds before I knew the cause.

When I was a kid I was run over by a car (long story, will expand on it another day). My right ankle was injured in the accident and I had to have two surgeries to repair the damage. I eventually recovered and went on to live an active life. But ever since then I’ve had the occasion incident like this one, where my ankle just gives out on me. It typically comes on without warning and returns to normal within a few days. I’ve been very fortunate during my training over the last six months that I have not had any major problems with it. Yes, I have had a few runs were my ankle has been sore, but nothing like this.

So I bent over and massaged it for a few minutes. As I did, a group of runners passed by. I pretended I was tying my shoe so they wouldn’t think anything was wrong. To be honest, I felt a little embarrassed that I had to stop. For a brief moment I thought about my goal to complete an ultramarathon. Was it really realistic? Or was it too much for me to take on at this point in my life. Is this the point where I should give up on my goal? My response:

FUCK THAT!

I stood my sorry ass up and started walking. It hurt like hell for the first few minutes. I felt like I had crushed glass inside my ankle grinding away at the bones with each step. More runners passed me by. I smiled and cheered them on.

I probably walked for another 20 minutes before I was able to figure out a footstep that felt OK on the flats. I couldn’t find anything that worked on the inclines, but the declines were not as bad. Within another 10 minutes or so I found a way to jog slowly on the flats.

I continued on to the last aid station. I remembered from the website that the aid station was about 2.5 miles from the finish. I was almost there. I just needed to keep moving. I stopped for a minute and munched on a couple of oranges, then grabbed a hand full of pretzels and headed on my way.

I was jogging pretty well now on the flats, but my ankle still just couldn't take the hills. So I walked up and down anything larger than a speed bump. After a while my ankle sorta went numb which was a better feeling than the pain I had experienced earlier.

The End

I could tell I was nearing the end of the trail. I remembered the beautiful views of the lake that I had seen during the early minutes of the race. I also through I could year some faint voices off in the distance. A lady passed my going the other way. She commented as she went by, “Only one more hill to go.” Yea, I’ve heard that one before! But the comment seemed to fire my last cylinder. I picked up my pace slightly and pushed up the last hill.

As I approached the top of the hill I was certain I could smell hamburgers. My stomach growled. My ankle didn’t seem to bother me now. I picked up my pace a little more and jogged down the last hill toward the finish line. As I approached I could see my wife and kids waiting for me. They were a sight for sore eyes. I crossed the finish line, gave my wife a quick kiss, and then headed to find those hamburgers!

OMG—that was the best hamburger I think I’ve ever tasted!

Next Steps

Now I shift attention to my next milestone race. I have two milestones to go before running my first ultramarathon at the end of this year. I have already picked my next race--now I need to spend some time to think about and develop my training plan.

As for my body, my ankle is still a little sore, but otherwise recovering just fine. I am surprised at the amount of stiffness I feel in my quads. I don’t think I was adequately prepared for the hills. That will change. I will definitely incorporate some strength training in this cycle, maybe even some hill work.

In closing, as I sit and write this a couple days later, I have had some time to reflect on my adventure. I am very proud that I completed my second milestone race. It has been quite a journey so far and I am excited about what is still to come. Although I don’t feel like I gave Cross Timbers my best potential performance, it was all I could give on that particular day. But I still feel like I have some unfinished business there.

With that said, I finish with this promise to Cross Timbers…

I’ll be back.