More on Des Moines and Lincoln!

I made reward travel plane reservations today with Continental to fly to Omaha, Nebraska on Friday, April 29th to participate in half marathons in Des Moines, Iowa and Lincoln, Nebraska on Saturday, April 30th and Sunday, May 1st. I'm well on my way to being committed to pull off this task.

I checked both races web sites and they both have packet pickup the morning of the race, which is critical (especially for the Des Moines race.) I just now need to make a hotel and car reservation as well as the race fees of $17.50 (for Iowa) and $35 (for Lincoln).

I will not be able to tinker around on Saturday morning because of this note: "The half-marathon is 13.1 miles, the course is protected for a 11 minute pace, the finish line closes at 10:30 a.m." Last year, 704 of 721 official finishers completed the course under the 11 minute per mile pace, which equates to a 2:24 half marathon. I'll be fine as my Bearathon time three weeks ago (2:16 and change over 12.85 miles) was a PR at 2:18+ for 13.1 miles.

And it should also be enough to beat the Governor. In the Des Moines event last year, Iowa Governor Tom Villsack completed the course in 2:20:58.

Interestingly enough, there were 2,204 half marathon finishers in Lincoln (including five Texans) while just 873 ran the full marathon (but double the number -- 10 -- from the Lone Star state) there.

Was there anybody crazy enough to both last year (even though they were 8 days apart -- April 24 and May 2)? Yes, just two. Julius Rotich, a 28-year-old male from Lincoln, Nebraska took 2nd in Iowa with a time of 1:09:47 while picking up a 3rd-place finish in his hometown in 1:09:31. Additionally, 33-year-old Stacy Farr ran 1:53:22 in Iowa while posting a 1:48:21 finish in Nebraska. She hails from West Des Moines, Iowa.

Long Run Pains

As I pointed out a post or two ago, I'm contemplating a June marathon and I know that I needed to get working if I'm going to do that. The two weeks that I basically took off was indeed (save runs of 5 miles, 10 miles and a 5K) needed from a mental perspective. However, the physical toll came tonight.

Everyone, including our running coach with the Striders, Steve Shepard, points out to never increase your weekly mileage over 10 percent. When I measure how far I ran, I may still not have; however, there must be another axiom to never increase your long run by more than 10 percent as well.

Tonight I broke that axiom and physically feel the worst that I have since I started running. I figured that I'd go out an hour and a half in one direction and then head back for a three hour run (yes, I only did 1:50 last Sunday night). I messed up the timing coming back; however, it was long on the way back.

On the way out, I was at what I believe to be 6.6 miles in 1:10:52. At 1:25:45, I took a 3:01 break and headed back in the opposite direction.

The 14:52.93 that it took me to get to the turnaround point took me 15:27.98. (I marked that spot because I wanted to see what the 6.6-mile time was coming back.) That put me at 1:41:14 overall and from there, I messed up my watch twice.

And even worse, I walked a lot in the last three miles. I wasn't necessarily tired cardio-wise; however, my lower back and the area right above my pelvic bone in the front of my body felt the stress. (I'm not sure if the remaining weight is taking its toll on me or not finally.) And my legs hurt more than ever. 4 Advil were ingested before I sat down to write here.

I stopped along the way back to take in some Gatorade (24 oz.) that I bought at the store (stopping the watch of course too), but I'm wondering if the pullover sweater which was holding all the sweat (and keeping me warm) added a little extra too (and/or I may be getting a signal that it is time to switch shoes.)

I'll measure the distance on Monday. I suspect it will come in at about 16 miles out and back along FM 2920 (yes, I was wearing my reflective vest and materials.) The official distance was 15.6 miles, measured by Ford F150!

All I know is that I hurt and don't want to do this hurting again! Good night!

Run The Woodlands #126 5K Race Report

The post that you are reading is a re-write! If you are trying to highlight the entire entry so that you can cut-and-paste it into Word or Notepad, there is a set of keystrokes that causes you to lose it. I’ve done this too many times! Therefore this entry was done in Microsoft Word first!

Now … if it rains today like it did for Noah in biblical times, there is a reason why!

Upon returning from Bally’s last night and before we sat down to watch the MyMarathonDVD that I purchased from the Marine Corps Marathon (which featured clips of me actually running), I suggested to my wife, Gena, and my daughter, Waverly, that they should attempt the Run The Woodlands 5K in the morning with me.

Gena has been walking with a friend of ours from where we go to church at, North Park Baptist Church. They’ll do approximately three miles at a time and usually late at night.

Now it might not have been the best advice that I’ve ever given to anybody; however, they both accepted the challenge. It was also going to be a morning in which a good friend, Kenny Gibson from Montgomery, was making his road racing debut.

We got there in plenty of time to warmup and take on some additional liquid as the sun was coming out and it was very humid.

Today’s race turned out to be the third largest turnout ever in the history of the Run The Woodlands 5K Series with 67 runners. I won’t tell you who finished last, but it wasn’t me (as I’m the series record holder for last place finishers.). The upswing in participants is coming from Luke’s Locker’s involvement in the event as they use the Series for their Quick Beat running program participants.

I had no idea what to expect since I had only worked out once during the week and hadn’t run at all. Therefore, I was not disappointed at all with my watch time of 29:28.76.

Waverly, who hadn’t done much of anything since basketball season ended four weeks ago, covered the 3.1 miles in 44:16.00 while Gena pushed ahead a little bit sooner. (I had run out to help them in. I pushed Waverly in the last almost three minutes. She missed out on the $5 that I promised her if she beat her mother.)

Because of the humidity, I could tell that it was going to be a rough morning for me. Even though I had taken in about two liters of fluid in the eight hours up to race time, I had a parched throat the entire time. My mile splits were as follows:

Mile 1 – 9:01.18
Mile 2 – 9:35.62 (18:36.80)
Mile 3 – 9:57.20 (28:34.00)
Last .1 – 0:54.76 (29:28.76)

In the first mile I passed a couple of runners, but was eventually caught there or shortly there after by Trisha Blackburn of Pearland and two other female runners. One of them was wearing a Team in Training mentor shirt (at least that is what it said as she went by). I was, but wasn’t surprised at the 9:01.18 clocking at mile 1.

I could feel that I was pushing myself, but I wasn’t sure how fast I really was going because I was getting a burn in my legs from not having run as much this past week.

I walked twice in mile 2 for no more than about 32-34 steps and turned in a 9:35.62 mile. I could tell as I looked at my watch that I was going to have a slide from mile 1 to mile 2, but I was hoping that it wasn’t going to be that much. It was a slide of 34 seconds, but it could have been a lot worse.

After mile 1, I started to see my friend, Kenny Gibson. He had discussed before the race that it was going to be interesting on how he reined in his competitive juices versus what he knew he was able to do at this point. (Kenny is a competitor at whatever he does: softball, basketball or golf. He is like our former pastor’s son, Tommy Gross, and would strive to win at Tiddly Winks.) He was off quite a bit ahead in the distance during mile 1 and I thought to myself, “He’s going out too fast.”

Close to mile 2, I got my first glimpse of him and as I got to the mile 2.1-2.2 area, I thought that I might have the opportunity to catch him. This also occurred near the 2.6-mile point. But as I needed to take a 30-to-40 step walk, he was getting ready to run again (after walking a bit too).

He ended up finishing ahead of all three women that passed me in just under 28:30. Not bad for a first time effort; however, I know that he is capable of much more.

My wife said that she would have done better if she had not had to have waited up for Waverly. Waverly just doesn’t completely have the “want to”, but that’s OK. She did admirably, I think, to click off a 44:16.00 for being a bigger framed 9-year-old who hadn’t run much at all since the end of basketball season.

Bottom line: I’ll take the 29:28.76 on a day like today after not having really run hard at all since the Bayou City Classic 10K two weeks ago.

Notes: It was good to see a lot of the Run The Woodlands 5K regulars that were in attendance: Tom McDonough (36th race), Jeff Westergren (49th), Ann Leoni (73rd of 126 races), Jim Harrington (44th) and Gary and Denise Van Kuiken. Ann told me that a group of them were going to do something nice for event founder Don Drewniak and his wife, Dolores. I told her that I wanted to be a part of that. Others of the “more than 20 race club” that were in attendance included myself (21st), Anne Westfall (37th) and Jon Freeman (33rd). The 24 members who have run 20 or more races have accounted for 24.5% of all races run.

I got a chance to visit with Stan Timmer of Luke’s Locker, who will be the point person for the event when Don and his wife move to Delaware. I explained to him that when I bought my first real pair of running shoes from Luke’s in November 2003 that he gave me a business card with manager Bert Gulledge on it. I told him that I’ve been calling him “Bert” ever since. Stan, Mike Lucas, and Susie Schreiber are all super people.

I also caught up with Gary Van Kuiken of The Woodlands who continues his quest to run marathons in 50 states. Gary ran marathons on back-to-back days in January when he did the Texas Marathon in Kingwood in 4:07:29 and then the next day, in Mobile, Alabama, he ran the First Light Marathon in 4:27:00.

Last weekend, Gary was in Virginia and New Jersey and ran the Shamrock Sportsfest Marathon and Ocean Drive Marathon in Virginia Beach and Cape May County, respectively. His times of 3:59:02 and 4:13:34 were 22 combined minutes better than his back-to-back effort in January. At the end of April, Gary will travel to Louisville, Kentucky on Saturday, April 30th to do the Meijer Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon and then drive north to Cincinnati on Sunday, May 1st to run the Flying Pig Marathon.

Ahhh, a new goal!

I've mentioned before that I'm still toying with the idea of doing an early June marathon (God's Country in Pennsylvania or even Sunburst in South Bend, Indiana).

If so, I'll certainly need to start clocking the long runs again and 10-11, like I did last Sunday, isn't going to cut it. (I feel the additional mileage in preparation plus the great weather was responsible for the 44-minute drop in time from the Marine Corps Marathon to the hp Houston Marathon.)

I've also wanted to do a half marathon on back-to-back days. Why? Don't ask! Actually, just to prove that I can!

I came close to doing as much last October when I did the Helotes Half Marathon near San Antonio on Saturday then the next day running the United Space Alliance 10-Miler in Clear Lake. (Both excellent events in my book!)

What am I up to now? I'm thinking about flying to Omaha, Nebraska Friday afternoon, April 29th on reward travel with Continental. On Saturday, April 30th, I'll run the Drake Relays on the Roads Half Marathon in Des Moines, Iowa then run the Lincoln Half Marathon in Lincoln, Nebraska on Sunday, May 1st.

It would get my state count up to 13, I believe, and my capital count up to 8! We'll see if it pans out or not.

Note: Last weekend was only the third weekend since August 21, 2004 that I did not do a formal running event!

Weekly Workout Information

Friday: 60 minutes on the elliptical trainer at the Bally's in The Woodlands (level 15, random) covering 5.77 miles. (I'm back, so to speak. I thought that the lay off of almost a week might have more of a negative effect, but it didn't. A muscle in the back of my left calf started to tighten up at the 35-minute mark; however, I pushed on and finished the hour.)
Saturday: Run The Woodlands 5K, 8:00 a.m.

Multiple Events on Multiple Days

Maybe this is a good sign (even though I haven't got back into my workout routine yet) that my competitive juices are going again. If there was just another half hour of time the next two Saturdays, I could run two events in the same day twice!

This Saturday, March 26th, I'm taking part in the bi-monthly Run The Woodlands 5K Series. The race starts at 8:00 a.m. An hour later, the Seven Hills Running Club in Huntsville holds their monthly club run (this month: Run in the Woods 5K at Huntsville State Park) at 9:00 a.m. If I could get Ken Johnson to push it back to 9:30 a.m. (chuckling) .... my total race expense would be $1 (RTW fee) + $1 (7Hills fee) + $3 (Huntsville State Park day pass) = $5.

The following Saturday, April 2nd, I'm already signed up for the Bellaire Trolley Run 5K, which is an event in the HARRA Spring Series. It is also a Striders Race for the Quarter where we get reimbursed part of our entry fee -- a great Strider benefit! It starts at 8:00 a.m. However, I noticed in this month's Inside Texas Running that there was a 5K that started at 7:00 a.m. (the 2nd annual Canaan Baptist Church 5K). However, it is located on the north Loop and trying to get to Bellaire in less than 20 minutes (without a police escort) would be suicidal!

I know: A wild thought or two!

While in Tennessee ...

I noticed central and west Tennessee runners have it nice this spring!

Last weekend, runners had a choice of doing either the 11th annual Tom King Half Marathon on Saturday in Nashville that starts and finishes in Titans Stadium or the Knoxville Marathon or Half Marathon. (Had I known early enough that I would have been staying over and not doing the Lucky Trails Half in Seabrook, I would have done one of these.)

Next weekend, Saturday, April 2nd, is the Andrew Jackson Marathon in you guessed it: Jackson! (They bill themselves as the Tennessee's oldest marathon!) If you register today, after the early registration, it is just $20 for the half marathon and $35 for the full marathon!

And at the end of the month, on Saturday, April 30th, runners can participate in the Country Music Marathon and Half Marathon in Nashville.

HBU Husky Hustle 5K Changes Date

Given my recent following of the HBU women's basketball team, I figured that I would check in and see when the annual Husky Hustle 5K was going to be. It has always been run late in the spring. I noticed a few weeks ago, however, that the date has moved to Saturday, September 10, 2005.

It may present a unique conflict for my daughter, Waverly, and I as we've participated the last two years in the Klein High School Bearkat Bash 5K. We've felt that Paula Hagerman, who puts together that event, has done a great job with one exception: everybody should have their time recorded and posted! Despite that, I would consider it a "great event".

Long Run in Jackson / Striders at Seabrook

Well, I didn't pull out that half marathon course and run Sunday morning. (I slept in. I had an excuse. I stayed up late after watching four college basketball games all day Saturday here in Jackson, Tennessee.)

And after lunch, the NAIA Final Four press conference at the Doubletree Hotel and dinner with the HBU Huskies women's team and some parents, I finally dragged myself out of the hotel at about 9 p.m. this evening to put in a run of 1:50 (an hour and 50 minutes). [I really wish I could train on these long inclines on a regular basis.]

I have no idea what the distance was, but my perceived exertion level was medium to slightly hard. I figured that I averaged an 11 minute mile (maybe a little less). I really felt like my pace was pretty consistent through the entire 110 minutes. Therefore, I probably ended up doing about 10 miles. And overall, I felt very, very relaxed although my back and the area behind my knees are beginning to hurt a little bit.

Meanwhile, Striders running coach Steve Shepard reported an excellent turnout at the Seabrook Lucky Trails Marathon and Half Marathon. He indicated that a torrential rain overnight gave way to splashy puddles and warm conditions. (Hmmm ... sounds a lot like the reports from Austin last month.) Here are some of the results:

Seabrook Lucky Trails Half Marathon
Andrea Chan - 2:59:05
Megan Clark-Dillingham - 2:01:14 PR! [Way to go Megan!]
Charles Deeds - 2:25:19
Carole Flad - 2:03:33 First Timer!
Rachel Guenther - 1:36:16 First Timer! 3rd womens overall! [6 weeks away from Vancouver Marathon!]
Frank Halter - 2:06:52
Cindy Laidlaw - 2:01:01 First Timer! [Is thinking Cindy was coming back from an injury!]
Joe Linke - 3:11:39
Lynlee Linke - 2:15:16
Noah Matthews - 1:57:31 [Almost an identical time to his Surfside Beach half marathon time]
Judith Neufeld - 3:521:39
Loren Neufeld - 2:17:02
Pam Paling - 2:06:52
Sam Ogundele - 1:57:21 PR!
Mary Ramirez - 2:42:07
Jack Rubalcava - 3:11:40
Lisa Ruthven - 2:16:37
Rich Sears - 1:56:49
Patti Sears - 1:56:48
Barbara Shepard - 2:24:41
Stacy Stepler - 2:24:41 PR!
Donna Whisonant - 2:26:57
Jean Wrench - 2:47:02

Seabrook Lucky Trails Marathon
Lee Greb - 4:43:36
Santos Hernandez - 4:05:49.1
Karen Rosenfeld - 4:12:09 (4th female overall)

Seabrook Lucky Trails Marathon Relay
SMARTies (Gavin Dillingham/Tom King/Brett Riley/Steve Shepard) - 2:50:59 2nd overall!
Strider Turtles (Charlie Rodriguez/Christina Rodriguez/Debbie Rodriguez/Cynthia Moreno - 4:52:22)
Three Babes and a Hunk (Whitney La Rocca/Ryan Stepler/Jacquelyn Tomlinson/Cindy Weiss - 4:22:06)
Trail Babes (Terry Halliday/Terry Halliday/Karen Bowler/Paige Krekeler - 3:31:44)

Some other notable times and thoughts from that event: Suzy Seeley turned in another solid performance to win the women's marathon in a time of 3:37:05 ..... Ann Leoni and Susan Schreiber, both Run The Woodlands 5K regulars, posted marathon times of 4:29:42 and 4:40:31, respectively ..... 68-year-old Lou Wilson of The Woodlands finished his 8th marathon of the season in a time of 5:53:34 ..... Lou's wife, Nora, finished third in the 40-49 age group in the half marathon with a time of 1:49:51 ..... It was good to see the PR of 2:24:41 from fellow '04 Fall Fitness PIMster, Stacy Stepler ..... Galveston Daily News columnist Bernice Torregrossa, 50, finished the half marathon in 2:58:55 ..... Former Houston Chronicle running columnist Patti Muck, 46, ran the marathon in 4:16:49.

Loyalty comes with a price!

It's official. I'm staying in Jackson, Tennessee this weekend and I will not be running on Sunday morning in the Seabrook Lucky Trails Half Marathon. (And due to the lack of timing and "having enough cash on me" issues, I was not able to run in the Tom King Classic half marathon on Saturday in Nashville nor can I run the Knoxville half marathon on Sunday.)

Even though this will be the first race that I paid for ($45) and didn't run, my loyalty to Houston Baptist head women's basketball coach Shane Brown is more important. I've come this far to support the team so I might as well stay the entire way (since where I am doing my work at isn't an issue.) The 36-2 No. 1-ranked Huskies will play Oklahoma City University in the semifinals on Monday night. If they win, they'll play the winner of Union (Tenn.) University vs. Point Loma (Ca.) Nazarene on Tuesday night at 6 p.m.

I may get up in the morning, find the half marathon course for the upcoming Andrew Jackson Marathon here in Jackson and go run that instead!

Refreshed in Tennessee!

Good evening from the Volunteer State! I'm in Jackson, Tennessee for the NAIA Women's Division I national basketball tournament to see the No. 1-ranked Houston Baptist Huskies try to win its 1st national championship in six seasons of hoop action.

I left Houston early Tuesday evening at 7:45 p.m., drove straight through and arrived in Jackson at 6:45 a.m. Wednesday morning. HBU won its first game at 2:15 p.m. Wednesday afternoon with a 64-49 decision over the No. 8 seed, Indiana University-South Bend.

And up until this evening, Thursday, March 17th, I hadn't run except a little in and out of the hotel, gymnasium, restaurant or places like that. So I took four days off without running at all! It may have been what I needed!

I ran for just under 53 minutes (52:48.34), covering an unknown amount of distance; however, I can tell you that Jackson is a lot like Huntsville, Texas. Hilly! Which was good for me. There were a couple of long inclines and some hills to charge up. I ran until I saw a little over 26 minutes on the watch, found a convenient place to turn around and came back. So there might have been a chance that I did the return distance in a little less time than going out, which would be a rarity. However, my legs felt good. I ran strong up the hills this evening and the only time that I walked was to move from the street to the median (and that was less than 35 steps).

If I had been staying in Memphis tomorrow night like I had originally planned, I might have done a 5K there before driving back Saturday afternoon and evening after HBU's 2 p.m. contest. But I may just run another 5-6 miles tomorrow night and then be ready to do the Seabrook Lucky Trails Half Marathon on Sunday!

There is a slight chance that if HBU wins on Friday and Saturday, making the national semifinal game on Monday, that I will just stay here, find a place to run and blow off the first race ever that I had already paid for. We'll just see how things go! No pressure!

And, no, I didn't sing "Rocky Top" while making my run from 10:45 p.m. to 11:40 p.m.!

HARRA Lays Rubber at Texas Motor Speedway

Two (2) local HARRA members, Al Denbleyker and Patricia Totten, who both run events for the Houston Masters Sports Association (HMSA), recorded top times in the Texas Motor Speedway's F-1 Duathlon on Saturday, March 13, 2005.

Totten, 54, was easily the women's top Grand Master finisher with a time of 2:20:36.7 in the 2-mile run, 10-mile bike, 2-mile run, 10-mile bike, 2-mile run format. Lis Heckmann, 65, of Georgetown, was her closest competitor, who was less than seven minutes behind in 2:27:03.2. Denbleyker, also 54, narrowly edged out Tyler's Timothy Myers and Houston's Michael Waldau to capture the 50-54 age group title in a time of 1:54:17.5.

Saturday's wins for Totten and Denbleyker came after early-season age group wins at the Frost Yer Fanny Duathlon in Shreveport, Louisiana on January 30th. Both won their age groups at that event. Totten did so more easily than Denbleyker. She led her closest competition by just under 10 minutes, while Denbleyker eeked out a 12-second win over James Griffis with a time of 1:35:22.

Downtown Houston Parking

The last time I ran downtown, other than the hp Houston Marathon, Park to Park Run and the ConocoPhillips Rodeo Run, was back in November for the Oshman's 25K. I had no recollection of a parking issue then or when I volunteered for the Koala's/Luke's Locker 20K; however, both of those dates were on a Sunday.

As I arrived in downtown on Saturday for the Bayou City Classic 10K, I was surprised that all of the spots either had a time limit and/or required "change only" to be put into the meters. I think I drove around for 30 minutes trying to find a safe place to park.

After reading today's Traffic column by Lucas Wall in the Chronicle, I wrote the following letter to the traffic@chron.com e-mail address:

Excellent article in this morning's Metropolitan section.

I'm an area runner, like Mayor White, and was downtown on Saturday for the Bayou City Classic 10K. For the first time since early November, when I ran in the 25K, I noticed that there were signs about metered parking for Saturday.

Imagine the surprise and the 30 minutes that I spent driving around finding a spot to park that I thought I might not get towed. (Guess what: I didn't have change.) And many garages weren't open and those that were were at least $5 or more: on a Saturday?

I parked all the way out at Caroline and Prairie and hustled over to Tranquility Park, the site of the start of Saturday's race.

I agree with the recommendation of no weekend enforcement, as I thought it used to be.

How much revenue are they really generating on Saturday?

My first thought was: No more downtown races for me and once I decide that, this letter goes to Mayor White's office (even though I'm not a resident, but somebody who does business in the city).

In response, he pointed to his November 1, 2004 column with the heading, "Downtown street parking no longer free on Saturdays":

If you're planning to head downtown on a Saturday, don't forget to bring a pile of change.
A city ordinance requiring payment of parking meters from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays took effect last weekend. Previously, the meters were only in operation on weekdays.
Enforcement of downtown parking regulations picked up over the summer, when the Parking Management Division for the first time assigned its officers to write tickets on Saturdays for cars parked in violation of signs. Policing meter payment is now part of those officers' Saturday duties.
Red stickers have been added to meters to remind motorists of the new Saturday rule.

Little good that article did me driving into downtown without any change and only one (1) $1 bill. However, Lucas kindly responded to my e-mail as follows:

I’ll share your letter with the Mayor’s Office of Mobility. I do hope the city repeals the experiment with Saturday meter collection. I never quite understood the rationale behind that given the limited traffic in the downtown area on weekends and the need to encourage folks to come downtown on a Saturday when they are not lured in by work. As you point out, it’s not easy to park downtown now on a Saturday if you aren’t carrying a dozen quarters with you.

I don’t think the city can measure how much it collects on Saturdays since I don’t believe the meters are emptied daily.

Just your friendly runner here doing whatever I can!

First Photo to the Blog!

Good morning, I certainly hope all of you are enjoying the great weather (if you are in Houston, that is) before the rains get here mid-week.

I have been wanting to add a picture to the blog for awhile and just either didn't have the patience or was willing to take the time to do so.

That's me in the Texans shirt, sweatpants and baseball cap down the finishing stretch of the 24-Hour Fitness 4-Miler at the 2003 hp Houston Marathon.

I finished those 4 miles in just under 52 minutes. But check out the lady in blue behind me: She's walking with a baby in her arms! Heaven forbid that she covered the entire 4 miles with that child there! BUT, that is what 50 extra pounds was doing to me too!

I thought that everyone would get a good chuckle out of this as well as me conquering some small technological achievement!

A Major Step Back

Good morning. It's 6 a.m. on Sunday, March 13th and this may very well be the next to last entry you'll read in this blog.

I drove this morning to the outskirts of Brenham, heading west on 290 to go run Moe's Better Half Marathon in San Marcos, and turned around when I couldn't answer the following question: "Why am I doing this?" Oh, I had answers, but they weren't very valid ones.

I'm not physically hurt, but I need to step back and make sure that my reasons are indeed valid.

This may be a one-time warning, which is good regardless of the outcome, or it may be permanent one. Only the next couple of days will prove that out. And it may take longer. In the meantime, I've wiped out my calendar to the left to only what I have made commitments to.

If I stop running events regularly, I know that I did two things a lot of people will never have the fortitude to do and that's run a marathon. I did two of them! In eleven weeks, no less!

And I also know how to maintain a healthy lifestyle and to work to be in a lot better shape than what I've ever been, even when I weighed less than the 232 that I weighed in at the Bayou City Classic 10K Saturday morning downtown.

Please understand that this isn't burnout. (Without going into too many details, I have a lot of stresses also pulling at me.) Again, it may just be a reality check as far as time and resources. Who knows? I know right now that I sure don't know.

No matter the final outcome, I'm going back to bed, sleep and enjoy the morning in a different way than running 13.1 miles in humid and overcast conditions before driving three (3) hours back.

Bayou City Classic 10K Race Report

What a great day to run in Houston! (Well, except in mile 5! It got a little warm.)

Seriously, a great crowd, great atmosphere and I had a decent run to boot. I'm pretty hard on myself, but I came in with conservative expectations and didn't disappoint myself too much. I finished in 59:31.2 (stop watch: 59:31.94). It was my third straight 10K under an hour after lowering the threshold three (3) times last fall from 1:04:03.65 (Rodeo Run) to 1:01:14.1 (Best Little 10K in Texas, La Grange).

It was also 26 seconds better than the Rodeo Run, which to me signals that my cardio and running is just as strong over a slightly tougher course.

And incredibly in this race, I walked too much. Now, to me, the novice, I don't know if that means I tried to push myself too hard and didn't necessarily notice it. And for the first time in a long time, I developed a side stitch right as I hit my watch at the mile 6 sign.

My splits were as follows:

Mile 1 - 9:02.02
Mile 2 - 9:04.69 (18:06.71)
Mile 3 - 9:38.26 (27:44.97)
5K - 29:18.24 (.1 of a mile covering 1:33.20 .. problem!)
Mile 4 - 9:26.07
Mile 5 - 10:29.47 (lost my shot at a PR here)
Mile 6 - 10:06.31
Last .2 - 1:45.45

Mile 1 felt good, even as I was finishing it going up one of the Memorial Drive inclines. I passed the water station at mile 1.5, but took a walk once I got past the mile 2 marker. I know I walked at least once more (never more than 52-56 steps) in mile 3 and another time before I hit the 5K marker. Mentally, I thought that I still had a shot at another PR with 29:18 at the half way point (double it, 58:36); however, I was also beating myself up for walking. The way the course is laid out, I think you get a nice mental boost after making the turn at Shepherd in hitting the mile 4 marker right after.

But the sun started to warm things up a little in mile 5 and that is where I lost my shot at a PR, I believe. I'm really not sure I remember walking anymore, but I do vividly remember feeling the salt crystalizing on my forehead which was a trigger to hit the water stop at mile 4.5 (I now remember not stopping at mile 5.5).

After the side stitch at mile 6, I got some energy making the last left hand turn towards the finish line when I saw a lot of the Houston Striders who competed in the centipede competition as well as seeing good friend, Karen Thibodeaux, at the finish line taking pictures!

Another reason why my pace picked up the last 1.2 miles is because I came up behind fellow Strider (and last fall's Fall PIM Fitness participant) Sophie Rydin. When we did the free Bear Creek 10K that the Striders put on the Sunday before the 20K, Clarence Silva and I watched Sophie pass us before the 3.1-mile turnaround. We both caught her on the biggest hill returning back towards Memorial and knew that she was on our heels a couple of times. (Clarence, with Megan Clark-Dillingham assisting, pushed ahead and "won" among the three of us that day while I made a charge to hold off Sophie when I heard her tell Lee Greb that she was going to try and catch me.)

Sophie's been running fairly well of late and had a nice steady pace going when I caught her, but I must admit that I did a little "middle of the pack racing". If I had said "Hi!" as I went by, she would probably have kicked into gear and given me a harder challenge (which actually is probably what I should have done for both of us ... so I'm guilty here perhaps of being a little .. or a lot .. selfish. Can we blame the hot sun?) Maybe this is why I felt so bad this morning. :)

Actually, there were four of us from our Fall PIM Fitness group that started the race together: Clarence, myself, Amy Parker and Becky Spaulding. None of us said anything to each other, but I figured Amy would come in first, Clarence next then myself and Becky. (Which during the half marathon in January, that would have been the order of finish. Amy was 1:58, Clarence was 2:12, I was at 2:18 and Becky finished in 2:34.)

I saw Amy take off and didn't see her again. I know I dodged about 4-5 walkers, started out strong and passed the 10-minute-per-mile Strider SMART centipede (the 99's, I think) with Loren Neufeld, Pam Paling, Lisa Ruthven and Whitney La Rocca (among others).

All I wanted to make sure of the whole race is that that centipede didn't catch me nor did Clarence although I wouldn't have been stunned if either had.

Our Fall PIM Fitness scorecard looked like this:

Amy Parker 56:52.2
Jon Walk 59:31.2
Sophie Rydin 1:00:47.7
Clarence Silva 1:01:13.7
Becky Spaulding 1:08:04.1

So all in all, I had a good race. According to the race scoring system (see "Evaluate Your Latest Run") that I measure my runs by, it was the third best run I've ever had.

After the race, I stayed around until close to 10:45 a.m. -- the latest ever! However, I had a good time socializing with tons of Striders and non-Striders. As I was going to check the results to see where I came in in the 226+ Clydesdales division, I saw and talked to Strider Jackie Connelly, who shattered the Striders female masters record at the hp Houston Marathon. She said that she had run almost exactly the same time as she had in the Rodeo Run two weeks earlier.

I visited at length with some individuals that are regulars at the Run The Woodlands 5K Series: Lou and Nora Wilson and Jim Harrington. I've seen Jim before but didn't know his name nor had I talked with him. Jim's a nice guy, who ran his first Boston Marathon last April in a heat-laden 3:51:17, but nailed a top 10% overall time on Saturday of 42:26.8. Lou, who is 68 and has run 7 marathons this season, finished in a sterling time of 55:46.2 but 9th in a deep 65-69 men's field.

After seeing Becky Spaulding in the post-race area, I had the pleasant surprise and pleasure of meeting Bernie Clinton, who was one of 24 Spring 2005 PIMsters that finished the Bayou City Classic 10K on Saturday. He had recognized me from the Striders newsletter, Stridelines, and wanted to say "Hello!" (He's a non-Strider who downloads the newsletter often and also recognized me from PIM last fall.)

Additionally, two of our Striders' Centipedes won awards. The SMARTie Pede won the longest award and Andrea Chan's group won another (which helped celebrate her 40th birthday and movement into a new age bracket).

Perusing the results I also found the following notes of interest:

Houston Mayor Bill White -- 1:09:15.6 (I saw his staffers in the finish line chute, but never saw him on the course anywhere. His back half was three minutes slower than his first 5K.)
Brandon Mendiola -- 48:43.5 (Brandon played baseball at Aldine Nimitz and attended the same church that I do. What's notable is that he clipped off significant time from the Rodeo Run where he notched a 53:13.25 time.)
Galena Park ISD AD Ed Warken -- 1:05:51.5 (His time at the Rodeo Run was 1:09:55.85.)
Local TV anchor Lisa Foronda -- 59:14.6
Pearland resident Trisha Blackburn -- 1:12:18.8 (Who I met at the RTW 5K Series)

The Bayou City Classic 10K was also the first race of the 2005 Texas 10K Challenge, which I may not try to complete this year after all. We'll see!

Weekly Workout Information

Sunday: Rest
Monday: 60 minutes on the stationery bike at Bally's in The Woodlands (level 8, random) and 10 minutes on the elliptical trainer (level 19, random).
Tuesday afternoon: 3.4 miles in 36:03.04 (10:36/mile). Not too surprised about this pace. My legs I think felt like they were on the hills on Saturday and/or had just gotten off of the bike from last night. The 10:36 pace equals exactly what I did 12.85 miles in on Saturday. In fact, I took short walk breaks of 52-56 steps in the 10-, 13-, 17- and 29-minute marks. So ... if my VDOT number (based on the April 2005 Runner's World article) is 32 (sub 29-minute 5K and sub 1-hour 10K), this was quicker than an easy run of 12:04/mile but not that of a tempo run of 9:47/mile.
Wednesday evening: 5.8 miles on the Memorial Park Loop in 57:47.79 (9:58/mile). 28:49.41 on the first loop, stopped for less than 2 minutes, then 28:57.98 on the second loop. Saw all of the PIMsters and coaches. Ran pretty solid and strong at times. Got a little help though. On both loops, I had a better-in-shape female pass me twice. That was enough motivation to kick it into gear. On the second loop, one guy that I passed in the process started to race a little and pushed. So I lengthened my stride a little and tried to rev it up. After a half mile or so, he passed me and as he ended up his run, I told him, "Way to push." Then after dropping a FedEx envelope off, I did 30 minutes on the elliptical trainer at Bally's in The Woodlands (level 15, random) covering 2.69 miles.
Thursday: Rest. Unintended, but helpful.
Friday afternoon: 5.91 miles in 60 minutes on the elliptical trainer at Bally's in The Woodlands (level 15, random). A good solid cardio workout that also seemed to relieve a little tightness in my legs from Wednesday. I know it seems crazy that I'd do a hard workout in less than 12-18 hours from running a race; however, it has really worked well for me to go in relaxed and ready to push.

Target race this weekend: Bayou City Classic 10K. To snap my PR of 58:29, I need to run 9:26/mile. To snap 58 minutes, I need to run 9:21/mile. Last year, I ran 1:05:56.9 in this event (although the timing mat didn't record my start). My estimated difference at the start from gun to chip time was 1:20.
Expectations? (Added Friday afternoon): None really. I just want to run well. I feel like if I train enough (and with quality) that I have a good chance to run well each time out. I'm looking for consistency. Last two 10K's: 58:29 and 59:57. Another sub-hour run would be consistent. Going over wouldn't be a disappointment as the temperature projections for tomorrow are 79/61. Weather.com states that the temp at 8 am is going to be 59 with a five (5) degrees jump to 64 by 9 am while the humidity drops. (I'm drinking liquids now!) Difference from last week? I'm prepared this week. Consistency? My biggest fan will be with me: my daughter, Waverly.

Updating the Race Calendar

As you can see over here on the left-hand column, I've updated my racing calendar a little bit.

On 3/26, I'll be doing the Run The Woodlands 5K again and will be introducing a good friend of mine from where I go to church at, Kenny Gibson, to road racing.

Thanks to my running club, the Houston Striders, I'll be doing the Bellaire Trolley Run 5K on 4/2 as it was voted on as the Race of the Quarter by the club at the meeting on Tuesday night. This is one of the many benefits of being a Houston Strider! The club reimburses members $15 of the entry fee for four (4) races per year. (I think one of the biggest benefits besides the great encouragement and friendship of fellow runners is the Longest Long Run three weeks before the marathon on the course!) I had really given some thought of doing the Hog's Hunt 25K in Huntsville this same day, but I also have some parenting commitments with my daughter after the 5K as she competes in PSIA district academic competitions.

On Saturday, 4/16, I plan on going to Brenham to do the Blue Bell Fun Run 10K. I've wanted to do this event since I started running. While I should do the Bayou Bash Relay to help score points for the Striders in the HARRA Spring Series competition, I would if it were the 4-person relay (as in the fall) as opposed to the 2-person variety.

The following Saturday, 4/23, I'm going to Fredericksburg to complete the 2nd 10K of the HEB Texas 10K Challenge, the Fredericksburg Wildflower 10K Run. (The Bayou City Classic on Saturday is the 1st race.)

I'm leaving 4/9 open for the time being. My preference is the John J. Eikenburg Law Week Fun Run 8K; however, I'm considering running the Yuri's Night Fun Run 5K to support fellow blogger, Sarah Graybeal.

Recent HARRA Member Performances

Little Rock Marathon Finishers (March 6, 2005)

3:53:56, Victor Aguirre (TOR)
3:55:00, Claire Greenberg (BCRR)
4:05:28, Greg Birk (TOR)
4:21:30, Craig Toenniges (Unattached)
5:01:04, Allen White (Unattached)
5:44:28, Vickie Hildebrandt (Unattached)
5:48:09, Bette Lehmberg (HF)
6:05:33, Julie Taunton (HF)
6:48:50, Joanne Taunton (HF)

Little Rock Half Marathon Finishers (March 6, 2005)

3:23:53, Sara White (PTI)

Tyrell Park 5K (March 5, 2005)
Beaumont, Texas

2. 18:05.89, Joe Melanson (HMSA)
11. 21:43.48, Billie Kay Melanson (HH)

Run Against Violence 5K (March 5, 2005)
Houston, Texas

Overall Male
16:09, Terry Garrett (HH)
Masters Male
18:00, Jorge Alvarado (ALRC)
Masters Female
21:00, Eva Luckey (HMSA)
Under 14 Male
1. 20:24, George Alvarado (ALRC)
Under 14 Female
3. 31:57, Sydney King (HS)
30-34 Male
1. 17:18, Brett Riley (HS)
2. 20:34, Kevin Goodwin (BCRR)
30-34 Female
1. 22:10, Karien Goodwin (BCRR)
2. 23:47, Melanie Brooks (Unattached)
35-39 Male
1. 17:42, Thomas King (HS)
35-39 Female
1. 20:48, Anne Ekern (Unattached)
40-44 Male
1. 18:41, Robert Walters (BCRR)
2. 19:32, Paul Danilewicz (BCRR)
40-44 Female
1. 21:11, Bonnie Jo Barron (BCRR)
2. 22:00, Annie Hadow (ALRC)
45-49 Male
1. 19:25, Mark Drummond (ALRC)
45-49 Female
1. 23:58, Anne Gilmore-Smith (Unattached)
2. 25:58, Jo Ann Canich (Unattached)
50-54 Male
1. 19:00, Gary Johnson (HMSA)
2. 19:37, John Polisini (ALRC)
3. 20:07, Bill Butzner (BCRR)
50-54 Female
1. 22:08, Yong Collins (HS)
2. 25:08, Camille Hood (BCRR)
3. 26:57, Kathi Mahon (BCRR)
55-59 Male
1. 19:53, John Hood (BCRR)
2. 19:59, Rich Vega (TTC)
55-59 Female
2. 29:34, Mary Jane Savino (BCRR)
60-64 Male
1. 21:40, Gary Wood (BCRR)
60-64 Female
2. 29:32, Rosa Herst (HMSA)

Houston Ultra Event Weekend (February 25-27, 2005)
Bear Creek Park, Houston, Texas

48 hours
1. 140.56 miles, Mark Fraser (BCRR)
4. 82.33 miles, Peter Birckhead (BCRR)
24 hours
8. 62.25 miles, Chris Rampacek (PTI)
12 hours
1. 60.64 miles, Nicolas Meza (TOR)
7. 20.08 miles, Norma Dunn (PTI)
6 hours
2. 34.96 miles, Santos Hernandez (HS)
4. 33.33 miles, Lee Greb (HS)
5. 30.52 miles, Nancy Crane (HMSA)
9. 18.07 miles, Judith Neufeld (HS)

More! -- 10Ks and Half Marathons

Half Marathons

$15.00 - Swamp Stomp, Lake Charles, La., 12/12/04 (would have cost more had I opted for the beach towel)
$20.00 - Carrabba's Classic, San Antonio, 6/19/04 (sunburn came at no extra charge)
$25.00 - Buckeye Half, Cuyahoga Falls, Oh., 9/26/04 (walk-up price, got nice hooded sweatshirt to boot)
$27.51 - Huntsville Half, Huntsville, Tx., 10/9/04 ($25 with signmeupsports.com surcharge)
$30.00 - Baylor Student Foundation Bearathon, Waco, Tx., 3/5/05 (regular entry, 2 T-shirts)
$35.00 - Indianapolis Life 500 Festival Mini-Marathon, Indianapolis, 5/8/04 (how much would you pay to run on the Oval? I think this was reasonable.)
$35.00 - Chicago Distance Classic, 8/1/04 (got a $5 discount because I participated in Columbus Half)
$35.00 - Texas MedClinic Helotes Half, Helotes, Tx., 10/2/04 (early registration was cheaper)
$36.75 - White Rock Half, Dallas, 11/1/03 (regular registration price)
$40.00 - Halliburton International Half, Houston, 1/18/04 (regular registration price)
$45.00 - Capital City Half, Columbus, Oh., 4/3/04
$48.20 - Little Rock Half, Little Rock, Ark., 3/7/04 (have to pay for the medal somehow)

Not surprisingly, all of the ones from the Indianapolis down provided a distinctive medal. (The Buckeye Half gave a medal that might have been purchased at the dollar store. No big deal. But, who cares, it was inexpensive, a great course and a cool day.)

10K's

Free - Houston Striders Bear Creek 10K, 10/10/04 (free as a member)
$10.00 - Sportspectrum Independence Bowl Run, Shreveport, La., 12/27/03 (would have been $16 but they had no more T-shirts .. darn .. lol)
$15.00 - Combat Medic Run, San Antonio, 7/24/04 (Tough course @ Fort Sam Houston)
$16.00 - Sportspectrum Autumn Breeze, Shreveport, La., 10/18/03 (got nice sweatshirt .. too big now)
$16.48 - Azalea 10K, Tyler, Tx., 4/17/04 (nice course, well-managed event)
$16.89 - Noon Lions Spectacle Spectacular, Angleton, Tx., 1/3/04 (boring course, nice people)
$18.00 - Mardi Gras Beach Run, Galveston, Tx., 1/29/05
$19.01 - Bayou City Classic, Houston, 3/6/04
$20.00 - IBM Uptown Classic, Austin, 10/5/03
$20.00 - Kennett Square Run, Kennett's Square, Pa. 5/15/04
$20.00 - Country Roads 10K, San Marcos, Tx., 9/18/04
$20.00 - Hopewell Challenge 10K, Hopewell, N.J., 9/25/04
$20.00 - ConocoPhillips Rodeo Run, Houston, 2/26/05
$20.08 - Mardi Gras Beach Run, Galveston, 2/14/04
$20.08 - ConocoPhillips Rodeo Run, Houston, 2/28/04
$23.50 - Austin American-Statesman Capitol 10K, Austin, 3/28/04 (regular registration)
$25.00 - Best Little 10K in Texas, La Grange, 10/16/04 (might have been late registration)
$30.00 - Cingular Wireless Cajun Cup 10K, Lafayette, La., 11/15/03 (ditto ... late registration ... but I needed a 10K this week in my preparation for the Houston half in January)

Looking at things from the cost per mile perspective, a $15 entry fee is $2.42/mile. $20 is $3.23/mile. $25 is $4.03/mile while $30 is $4.83/mile.

10 Toughest Courses (To Date)

1. King of Jester 5K, Austin, Texas, 2/27/05
2. Baylor Student Foundation Bearathon (Half Marathon), Waco, Texas, 3/5/05
3. Huntsville Half Marathon, Huntsville, Texas, 10/9/04
4. Hopewell Challenge 10K, Hopewell, New Jersey, 9/25/04
5. Little Rock Half Marathon, Little Rock, Arkansas, 3/7/04
6. Kennett Square Run 10K, Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, 5/15/04
7. Brenham Hillacious Cross Country Open 3M, Brenham, Texas, 9/11/04
8. Combat Medic 10K, San Antonio, Texas, 7/24/04
9. Austin American-Statesman Capitol 10K, Austin, Texas, 3/28/04
10. Best Little 10K in Texas, La Grange, Texas, 10/16/04

10 Most Expensive Races (To Date)

$85.00 - 29th annual Marine Corps Marathon, Washington, D.C. - 10/31/04 - $3.24/mile
$65.00 - hp Houston Marathon - 01/16/05 - $2.48/mile!
$48.20 - Little Rock Half Marathon - 03/07/04 - $3.68/mile!
$45.00 - inaugural Capital City Half Marathon, Columbus, Ohio - 04/03/04 - $3.44/mile!
$40.00 - Halliburton International Half Marathon, Houston, Texas - 01/18/04 - $3.05/mile
$36.75 - White Rock Half Marathon, Dallas, Texas - 11/01/03 - $2.81/mile
$35.00 - 28th annual Chicago Distance Classic - 08/01/04 - $2.67/mile
$35.00 - Indianapolis Life 500 Festival Mini-Marathon (Half) - 05/08/04 - $2.67/mile
$35.00 - Texas MedClinic Helotes Half Marathon - 10/02/04 - $2.67/mile
$32.83 - 17th annual Houstonian Lite 30K, Sugar Land, Texas - 12/05/04 - $1.77/mile!

I thought, at the time and probably still do, that the Little Rock and Capital City half marathons were a little overpriced. The hp Houston Marathon's $65 early entry fee is a bargain as is the $35 entry fee last year for the Mini-Marathon in Indianapolis.

http://oneinchahead.blogspot.com/2005/02/cost-and-profit-of-marathoning.html
An interesting blog entry entitled, "The cost (and profit) of marathoning"

2005 Govenor's Marathon Challenge

Governors Mike Huckabee of Arkansas and Tom Vilsack of Iowa competed in the Little Rock Marathon yesterday, bringing to three (3) the number of governors completing marathons so far in 2005. Huckabee finished his debut marathon in 4:38:31.

Vilsack, 54, accomplished his first marathon finish last fall on October 17th by finishing the Des Moines Marathon in 4:57:35. In lieu of official results from the event web site, KTHV-TV in Little Rock reported on its web site that Vilsack completed the hilly marathon in "about 5:25". On Tuesday, it was reported that Villsack finished in 5:27:24.

Texas Governor Rick Perry, also 54, last month made his marathon debut at the Freescale Austin Marathon finishing in 4:06:54.

Here is the Associated Press story from Sunday evening:

By CARYN ROUSSEAU Associated Press Writer

LITTLE ROCK (AP) -- Nearly two years after he embarked on a diet and fitness regimen that left him 110 pounds lighter and diabetes free, Gov. Mike Huckabee finished the Little Rock Marathon Sunday ahead of his new running mate -- Gov. Tom Vilsack of Iowa.

The crowd cheered as Huckabee turned the corner toward the finish line and started the last stretch of the 26.2 mile race. Huckabee finished in just over 4 1/2 hours and hugged his two sons and daughter.

"What do you say? Is that not cool?" the Republican governor said, holding up his medal afterward before heading over to the VIP tent for a massage and two Diet Pepsis.

Vilsack, a Democrat, had given an early concession speech the day before and finished about 40 minutes after Huckabee, who waited at the finish line and hugged his friend as he crossed, giving him his finisher's medal.
Huckabee said afterward that he watched the movie "Rocky" the night before the race to get pumped up.

"I never felt I was going to quit," he said. "I never hit a point where I thought I couldn't do it. I felt good all the way through the finish, and I was kicking it at the end."

Arkansas' first lady Janet Huckabee walked the entire 26 miles, while Iowa first lady Christie Vilsack walked the first seven miles of the marathon.

Huckabee has championed healthy living in public talks nationwide and media interviews after losing more than 100 pounds from eating right and exercise. He invited the Iowa governor to join him in the race a few weeks ago at a Washington, D.C., meeting.

Huckabee competed in his first race, according to the state's website, on Saturday, July 2, 2004 in Little Rock's Firecracker Fast 5K in 28:39.6. More information can be found on Arkansas' Healthy Arkansas program which Huckabee champions here.

Two (2) members of the Seven Hills Running Club, based in Huntsville, completed the Little Rock Marathon as well. 57-year-old Conroe native Hans Jaeger rolled in with a time of 4:34:20, beating both of the governors, while 51-year-old Tomball native Ray Alexander finished in 5:06:58.

Baylor Student Foundation "Bearathon" Race Report

When is a half not a half?

A half is not a half when the Baylor University police department doesn't have enough officers - because of other events - to safely patrol an additional .35 miles of a half-marathon course that was recently certified by USA Track and Field.

It's a shame because the Baylor Student Foundation, with tons of Baylor students involved, put on a nice event Saturday in Waco (my first running effort in the central Texas town) with a tough course that included parts of Cameron Park. (And, by the way, I had been warned but never noticed it. In the original e-mail from the event on 2/24/05, here is what is said: "Please note that this course is a hilly course especially in area of Cameron Park!")

With only one run and no additional workouts this week, I knew that this run was going to be a challenge and it was early as I started to take a walk after the first two miles. (It was more that my quads burned and that without the elliptical trainer workouts, they were probably more tight than anything.)

My mile splits were as follows:

Mile 1 - 10:12.26
Mile 2 - 9:49.72
Mile 3 - 10:09.54 (30:11.52)
Mile 4 - 10:56.08
Mile 5 - 11:23.06
Mile 6 - 10:55.82
Mile 7 - 11:17.90
Mile 8 - 15:44.28
Mile 9 - 7:08.78 (two mile average - 11:26.54)
Mile 10 - 11:00.35
Mile 11 - 9:49.09
Mile 12 - 11:29.66 (two mile average - 10:34.38)
Last .85 - 6:19.66

12.85 miles - 2:16:16.22

As you can see, we went into the hills during, at least, mile 5 (maybe mile 4), and came out of them before the mile 10 marker. [The mile 5 marker was at the top of an incline!] The reason for the big difference in mile 8 is that the mile marker sign was on the left hand side of the road instead of the right. So when you are running on the right side of the road (and runners are coming back on the left, by the sign), it was hard to tell if that was the mile marker or not.

Once I came back by the sign, hit my watch and looked at my split, I realized that I should have done it on the first pass of it. Additionally, it seemed that the mile marker for 11 was off. I can't imagine that I went from 11-flat (mile 10) to 9:49 (mile 11) and back to 11:29 (mile 12) in three miles.

So was the course short? Yes. Was I disappointed? Sure. But here is where good runner's etiquette comes in. Have a complaint or question? Ask! And I happened to spot the woman, who I've misplaced her name, that was handling the award envelopes and she explained to me that an announcement was made early that the course was short. (I didn't hear it, but I was hearing it now.) She explained that, at the last minute, they found out that Baylor's police department couldn't staff the street closures on campus. (The Waco city police did a great job manning the course!)

What was excellent is that she was very apologetic as well as eager to seek input as the event is completely student-run and was in its 3rd year.

The biggest plus is that you get two (2) nice T-shirts! One, a green and yellow (Baylor colors, of course) entrant's T-shirt and then a blue finisher's T-shirt! [I crossed the finish line with my fingers in the UH! salute - Eat 'Em Up Coogs!] The event was chip-timed by Run Far out of Austin who I'm becoming more convinced are the best group in the state.

The overall winner was Clint Bell of Wilmer, a former Dallas Christian School and SMU cross country and track star.

This may come across as tacky, but it is clearly unintended to be. (I'm aiming for the comedic effect!) I'll be willing to do this event again for one reason alone: Where else can a 38-year-old man go and have tons of college co-eds cheering him on at nearly every mile? Actually, it was an added touch: especially in the hilly sections of Cameron Park!

HARRA On The Air on Sunday

HARRA Board Members Steve Shepard and Roger Boak taped a 30 minute public service announcement radio show on HARRA with Mike Mollett of Cox Communications, and it will be airing this Sunday, March 6th as follows:

o 6:00am on FM 106.9 The Point

o 6:30am on FM 93Q Country

Topics covered include the Bayou City Classic 10k, Running Safety, the Power In Motion Adult Running Program, and the history of HARRA. Tune in!

Tuesday's Run

After taking a rest day on Monday, I drove down to Memorial Park to run today. I got there at about 9:15 a.m. and logged two (2) loops around the 2.9-mile path.

My quads were still a little tight from Sunday's King of Jester 5K in Austin. They felt like they did last July after I did the bike portion of the Webster Bicycle Duathlon in La Marque.

Mile 1 -- 10:05.07
Mile 2 -- 10:16.84
Mile 3 -- 9:20.53 (actually .9 miles)
Loop 1 -- 29:42.44 (10:14/mile)

Mile 1 -- 10:32.56
Mile 2 -- 10:26.85
Mile 3 -- 9:25.03 (actually .9 miles)
Loop 2 -- 30:24.44 (10:29/mile)

Overall -- 1:00:06.88 (10:22/mile)

Off to Philadelphia for work!