TIR 2018

This was the 4th year for Vic to organize a team for the Texas Independence Relay. In fact, last year, his team committed right away and paid their money and were ready to go as soon as the 2017 race was over. Although throughout the year, they had to replace two members who could not race, they had another great team. Vic just thinks this race and the guys have a better and better time each and every year! I have only seen them off from Gonzales last year, when I took the kids and we made a day of it. My friend, Meghan, whose husband, Lucas, has always been on the team as well, has also only been one time. So, we decided to be brave and take all 6 of our kids in my car to Gonzales, see the team off, find a place to play, and then come home. We were so successful!!All 6 kids car seats fit into our car; the kids were so good that day; we saw the team off and took lots of photos; then we found this great park right down the street from where we left the guys and the kids played and played. We got Whataburger for lunch and even better....Meghan and I visited a total of 4 hours in the car! Kids were there but were so good and we got true quality visiting in. It was just the very best. I cherished the time so much!

As for the race, the guys did great!! They didn't have any injuries or problems come up. And, they were so fast! I really need to find out the average age for this group because they were running against young college age mens teams and their times are right there with them. I think our youngest team member might have been 27 or 28 and our oldest in his 40's. So it is very impressive! They placed 5th in their division of 20 teams (Men's Division). They placed 11th overall out of 157 teams. And their team pace was 7:40! The teams ahead of them were 6:58, 7:09, 7:13, and 7:15 and we know one was from t.u. and one was the Corps of Cadets. So, I am so proud of them! It was slightly different this year because they had to make the race only 180 miles instead of 200 miles, but it was great because it meant only 36 legs instead of 40. So, every guy only had to run 3 legs which is really helpful because those 4 guys that have to run a leg at the very end of their 24 hours are really spent.

Vic was so proud of his times. He actually trained more this year for the race than last year, because last year he felt he didn't train enough. Vic is always so diligent with meeting his goals and working hard. His paces and distances were:

Here's photos from the rest of the day!

 My handsome hubby excited and pumped for the race!

 We arrived with the kids and the boys immediately started playing ball.

 And the sweet big girls took care of the sweet little girls who wanted to be pushed in one another's strollers!

 A little warming up before we all walked down to the start line.

 Look at these beautiful girls! Lizzy is 9 in this photo and the sweetest little girl. Grace loves to play with Lizzy and looks up to her and it makes me so happy!

 Lucas, Lane, Vic & Atticus

 Now they are seriously warming up for the race!

 Two sweet friends! And side note: how are they such big boys now?

 The team and Ronald, Lucas's dad, who was their driver again this year!

 And they are off to run the first mile together as a team, before the first runner continues on with his leg.

 Vic's parents usually bring Geoff to the race and then stay the night in Houston with their friends and then take Geoff back home from Houston on Sunday. So, we got a quick Seidel family picture.

 And then we got a quick Erwin family picture.

 I told Charley to smile because Ana might want his picture. He said "she won't!" hahahahah!

Don't Stop, Give 'Em Hell is always their team name! I make the kid call them Don't Stop, Give 'Em Heck. haha!

We took the kids to this great park to play and they had fun, until it just got hot!

I didn't really hear from Vic much throughout the race, but here are some of his photos.

 I am not sure what this is, but he took it so I will post it. It must have been significant!

 The route ran through Shiner and they stopped to get little tiny cups of beer.

 Vic & Geoff

 This year, instead of ending up at the San Jacinto Monument (boo!), they ended on top of a parking garage. Vic felt so bad for the guy who had to run up the garage to end the race. But, this was their view.

 Their team finished and got their medals! Such a great race for them! Even the two new guys immediately wanted to do it again next year!

They arrived back to the house and started cleaning out that disgusting van. It is just so stinky after those guys are in and out of those vans!

As they pass other runners on the race, they mark them down as "Kills".

 Once everyone left and Vic returned the van, he struggled with what to do next. He is always tired, but still energized from the race. And he doesn't want to go to bed too early because he wants to sleep all night. So, he sat on the back porch to tell me all about the race and then even played football with Atticus for awhile. In fact, he actually watched the John Wayne movie, The Alamo, with Atticus that evening too because Atticus was doing a project on the Alamo for school. I would have showered and slept, but Vic just kept going until bedtime where he crashed!

 And, I just thought I'd document the good ole' spreadsheet Vic uses each year. He is possibly the most organized team captain ever!

Texas Independence Relay 2017 Complete!

Well, they did it! Vic came home really proud and ready to do it again next year! He said this might have been his most relaxed year yet, so it must get more fun every time you do it! I got to hear about every leg and every highlight throughout the evening, but here's the overall scoop:

• Once again, 12 great guys to run with!
• Once again, another great driver in Lucas's dad, Ronald (but we still missed you Dad!) and all of Vic's organized binders paid off.
• The weather was SO hot. The first legs for everyone during the day were rough because even though it was in the high 70's, it felt like 85 or 90 to some of them. The night runs were cooler of course, but by the last legs the next day, it was back to pretty hot. Vic said he thinks this has been the hottest weather year so far for the race.
• They got 200 kills during the race, which shows how many runners they passed. Impressive!
• Vic felt good on all of his runs, but needs a much better watch. His was trying to give up on him and give him problems. He got his times though and they were great!
• One hilarious story happened was when it was time to get lunch in Schulenburg on Saturday afternoon. The team usually wants to load up on carbs so they go get sandwiches from Subway. But, Wes's team last year went to Oakridge Smokehouse, and he wanted to go there again. Most of the crew said a definite NO to greasy fried food, but Vic and Mike joined Wes. So, Vic ordered a nice turkey sandwich and Mike ordered a burger. But, Wes needed some serious calories so he went to the buffet 3 times and loaded up with chicken fried steaks, sausage biscuits, sauerkraut, mashed potatoes and gravy. Then, he finished it off with two pieces of chocolate cake. He wanted peach cobbler but they were out of ice cream. ha! I seriously love telling this story because Wes is so fun and clearly so crazy because he still had many miles to run! Anyways, I couldn't stop laughing. Oh and he still ran less than 8 minute miles so I guess don't mess with what works for you! 

 What Vic needs to run a race. 

What Wes needs to run a race.

• Also, one of the best things for Vic was that he got 3 solid, hard, hours of sleep this time from about 12 to 3am. He said it took him 30 minutes to wake up and start comprehending what was going on around him again! haha! 
• Leg 3: 5.35 miles and he doesn't know the total minutes, but his pace was about 7:30. Between the hills, heat and dirt roads, it was his hardest leg. He started this leg at 1:45 pm on Saturday.
• Leg 16: 6.82 miles in 50:59 with a pace of 7:28. This leg was also a mostly dirt road, and pitch black dark through the countryside, so it was tougher to see ahead of where he was going. He started this leg at 9:30 pm Saturday night and ended it at some giant grain silos for his exchange.
  
• Leg 27: 6.25 miles in 45:44 with a pace of 7:19. This leg began in super swanky Cinco Ranch, still in the dark, around 5:30 am Sunday morning. Then, it immediately transitioned into George Bush Park, with absolutely no park lights. He relied on his headlamp and it was dark, but it was his favorite one to run this time. 
  
• Leg 38: 2.66 miles in 18:57 with a pace of 7:04. This leg began at noon on Sunday with a sweltering 81 degrees that felt like 100 degrees! This went through the Pasadena neighborhoods where the policemen stop traffic for the runners, but a lady got confused and almost hit Vic! But, this was his fastest leg of the race!
  
• Overall, Vic ran 21 miles of the 200 mile race!
• This next information is just amazing. So, the team was 7th in their division of 28 Open Men's teams. The crazy part? They completed the race in 25:46:51 with a 7:46 pace. Last year, their team completed it in 25:48:24 with a 7:46 pace. WHAT? How is it possible that they are so close? They even have two new members! And out of 191 teams, they were 20th. Amazing! For a side note, the winning team of the entire thing ran it in 6:13!
• So, I just have to point out how awesome all of these guys are! I know they enjoy it and have a great time, but it is really really hard on their bodies and they are so exhausted at the end. And for the guys that still have to drive back to DFW from College Station, I feel so bad for them too. I mean, they are just beat! The upbeat mood from Saturday morning is so different from the tired, quiet mood of Sunday afternoon, as it should be! They are sweaty, tired, hungry, and sore. But, anyways, I say all of this because Vic's 3 hour power nap at night must have given him tons of energy. I had planned to feed us leftovers except for Vic, who I would go pick up any food he wanted to eat. But, he was so energized, he took Grace and went to HEB to grab stuff for fajitas. We put it on the grill, visited outside, and had the nicest evening. I know he will sleep hard tonight, but I loved getting to hear everything and see him after such a fun weekend for him! 

Here are some more pictures!

 Vic said they found great places to just sit back and rest!

 I love this picture that Lucas got of Vic handing off to Matt at the end of his third leg. Also, the funny thing is Vic said you are supposed to "be cool and super smooth" and slap the bracelet onto the next runners arm and he said every single time he failed! haha! Towards the end, Matt was telling him to just hand it to him and he still dropped it. hahaha!

 

Vic said he took this picture as he ate his small breakfast taco and was wishing this place was open for a margarita!  

Smith Fountain in the middle of Downtown Houston.

Almost there! They all run the last .08 mile together as a team to finish the race!

A team picture at the finish line! (minus Dave, who somehow ran all 3 legs super fast by 10pm because he had to fly to Chicago on Sunday for work! Now, that is team dedication!)

And here they are with their awesome medals!

What a great weekend for Vic and his team! Before he crashed at 10:00 tonight, he posted this on Facebook and I just thought it summed it all up!

Oh and here is a last photo of Wes, with his many rub-on TIR tattoos when they got back to College Station. Team spirit!

 Can't wait for next year's race!