Bandera 100K

“This sux. May drop after 1st loop”, says my text to Cara. This is how I’ve felt all morning during the Bandera 100K. The weather is cold and dreary and I can’t seem to get warm or pull out of a funk. It rained this morning making the trail conditions treacherous. I slept in my ice encrusted tent last night and, although I was plenty warm, couldn’t sleep because I was too worried about how miserable today was going to be. Ironically I started out overdressed and, working very hard to climb several steep hills, sweated through my layers making me feel damp and miserable. 

San Antonio River Walk

Running in the inner city poses many challenges because of traffic, crowds, smog, stray dogs and other perils. I learned to deal with the problem in my former job where I traveled extensively for 20 years including four years in Europe. Unfortunately, we didn’t have smart phones or Google Maps in those days, so I would simply go to the front desk of my hotel and ask for a map or directions to the river. Many cities have recreation trails along their watercourses and I’m fortunate to have had the opportunity to run many of them; the Potomac, Mississippi, Danube, Rhine, Rio Grande and Colorado to name a few.

San Antonio Riverwalk at night during the Christmas season