Texas Independence Relay Race Report

For my sixth consecutive year I was again honored to run with team DOGs (Disciples of the Order of the Garmin) as we ran the 200 mile Texas Independence Relay.

We lined-up, as usual, in the historic small town of Gonzales, and were excited to be blessed with absolutely fantastic weather.

Along the way, we were treated with some beautiful sights. The bluebonnets, Texas' State Flower, were in full bloom and gorgeous.

 

The rural scenery was breathtaking (photo credit to Jamoosh.)

The DOGs got along fantastically. Our team of twelve had four substitutions in the preceding months resulting from injury or relocations, but the new DOGs fit in perfectly. Upon reaching the San Jacinto Monument finish, a short 29 hours and 27 minutes after we began, I was sorry to see the relay race end.  While we were happy to learn that we had finished second in the Mixed Masters' Division, 68th out of 149 teams, the real reward was running a fantastic weekend together. 

During the TIR I learned again that the human body is truly a mysterious and miraculous thing, as I ran the prologue one mile convinced that may very likely be my only mile based on the discomfort I was feeling in my calves which had become aggravated in the preceding few months.  To relax and to set realistic expectations I applied a bit of my talented sports massage therapist Connie's sage advice by cautioning my teammates of my condition.  They uniformly reassured me that I should only do what I could, and they'd pick-up the slack.  With faint hope I proceeded to extensively apply Tiger Balm, repeatedly self-massaging my calves with with "The Stick", and stretching preceding and after each run.  Miraculously, each of my succeeding four legs (8, 26, 32, and 38)  became easier, and afterward my calves had seemingly become rejuvenated as they felt fantastic - both immediately, and in the week afterward.