Saturday morning, the trio ran a little to loosen up their legs and to get a feel of the Texas terrain. Without saying much to each other, each of the girls were thinking the same thing...."Dang, I thought Texas was supposed to be flat". Their Saturday consisted of some sightseeing and hitting some local hotspots which included of lots of Mexican food and famous Texas bbq. They ventured to the race expo to pick up their bib numbers and do some much needed shopping as Joni had forgotten to pack a very important item....her running shoes. Vicki offered Joni her broken in cowboy boots to race in, but they were a wee bit too small. Joni found some shoes, but the expo was so crowed that the friends wanted to sit a spell and relax with a margarita or two, or five. Feeling quite fine after happy hour, Joni was easily persuaded to mosey down to the local tattoo joint. There Vicki and Dawn watched Joni get branded with her mantra, "Still is still to moving to me" ...a Willie Nelson song. It didn't take too long, but Dawn did find herself gazing onto the street outside the parlor which was quite a steep hill. She uttered out loud as the tattoo artist was finishing his work of art, "Lord, I hope that hill is not on the race route". Saturday evening was spent relaxing and getting racing gear in order for Sunday morning.

Five am came early, but the girls were excited. They made their way to the race and in big Texas fashion, a fireworks display marked the start of the race. The weather was a little chilly to begin with, but when the sun came out, a runner couldn't have asked for better temperatures. Cordial Texan spectators lined the course and offered many kind words of encouragement to give to the runners...because they NEEDED it. Texas maybe flat with the exception of Austin. That course was a rollercoaster to say the least. It was a beautiful race and the girls did great. Check out their times http://www.attaustinmarathon.com/ (Dawn ran the whole darn thing and Vicki and Joni did the half).

Willie was with Joni in spirit and on her wrist on the course and she suggests everyone get a tattoo before a race. Dawn recommends the race to female runners as there are many, many handsome cowboys out their to look at and pass the time during the race. Cowgirl Vicki was just glad to be back on her stomping grounds. That evening, the Pacer padres went to the post-race party and had the opportunity to meet the second-place marathon finisher, a Kenyan of course. The girls hung with him for a bit, but really couldn't understand a word he was saying and their tired legs were telling them to go home and relax...which they did.