37th Drake Relay Run-on-the-ROADS Half Marathon Race Report

Career Events: 102 (22 in 2005).
Career Half Marathons: 14.
States: 12.
Half Marathons in 7 states.
Event gun time: 2:17:17.
Stopwatch time: 2:16:38. PR. (39 seconds across the line as 1,480 finished both the half marathon and the 8K.)

The first half of the weekend half marathon double is complete and I'm currently resting in Lincoln, Nebraska this evening getting ready for tomorrow's half marathon at the Lincoln Marathon.

Friday night I left Houston Intercontinental on Continental, flew to Omaha's Eppley Airfield and then rented a car and drove to West Des Moines, Iowa.

Saturday morning's temperature in Des Moines was a balmy 33 degrees at just before 7 a.m. when I went to pick up my race packet near Drake University's track stadium, the home of the vaunted Drake Relays that were going on this weekend. (By the time I got back to the hotel, it had warmed up to 48 degrees; however, it felt a little bit warmer than that.) Des Moines is also the site to the Houston Striders' 20K nemesis, Dam to Dam, which will be held on June 4th this year.

And to be honest, despite only eclipsing my personal record set 27 days ago by twenty (20) seconds, I felt like I ran pretty well. And the reason why I say that is because the only times that I really walked were in and out of the water stops.

This was one of the cheapest half marathons that you are going to find; however, it was important for me to be able to find events in different states so close to pull off this double. With the online registration fee, it was just $17.50. (I know. You're asking: What did it cost to get there!) And don't ask me what the cost of Sunday's run is!

The first five miles I really felt strong, especially with a good downhill in mile 4 after some slight gradual climbs (honestly, they were fairly minor). At mile 5, I was at 49:22.29, a 9:52/mile pace. I blew my chance at a PR in mile 6 as I rattled off an 11:02.49 mile, the second worst of the morning. Since the course ran through a lot of Des Moines' neighborhoods and everything looked the same, I'm not sure what slowed me down at all.

I really felt like I ran a pretty consistent race. Miles 7 through 10 were 10:40.40, 10:38.69, 10:32.37 and 10:37.82. I knew that I had lost some of my cushion from the first four (4) sub 10-minute miles in miles 11 and 12 though with miles of 10:56.93 and 11:14.44.

I gave myself an opportunity to PR by 20 seconds with a strong last mile. At the mile 12 marker, I was at 2:05:05.43. There was a marker one-tenth of a mile in to signify a mile to go. I covered that tenth of a mile in 1:09.59 to put me at 2:06:15.02. That meant that I needed a 10:43 or better to PR.

The course was setup nice to do so as it was a straightaway then one left turn and you could see the finish line from afar as you could at the Houston Marathon this year. My last mile (10:22.94) was my best since mile 5!

The bottom line: I was pretty happy with how I ran even though I was working through a tight left calf muscle. There was a college group that was giving post-race treatments and the young lady, who went to school at Northwestern College in Iowa, could tell immediately that that calf was tight. I don't think she was too impressed that I was doing another half marathon on Sunday.

As far as the event went, my biggest complaint is that there was no electrolyte replacement at all on the course. Water only! And the water stops were really not supported well. The one between mile 10 and 11, which included a long, yet not too steep of an incline, had workers standing on the right side of the street near the table while runners, because of passing traffic on their right shoulders, were hugging the left hand curb. I passed the water stop and perhaps I should have passed one or two more to get under 2:16.

Police support was excellent early in the race. As the course winded on, it became less and less or only at major intersections. There were a number of times that I had to holler "Car back!" to warn runners in front of me.

Packet pickup was good. Found my race number on the wall easily, got it, the T-shirt (which the design was simple with no advertising but the XL was a bit small), a pair of socks (unique) and a couple of snacks (Fig Newtons and a Balance Bar). The post-race spread was acceptable (standard fare, but the chocolate chip cookie was the best) and the results were posted to a wall timely. The massage treatments were excellent and the finish line area was not chaotic as it is in some races when you have runners getting out of order in the chute on a non-chip timed event.

Parking was a bit of a challenge as the lots around Drake were charging $7 to park because of the track meet going on all day. But you could park on certain streets and walk a little bit for free.

I got back to my hotel, the Fairfield Inn & Suites in West Des Moines, at about 11 a.m., checked out by 12:30 p.m. and was in Council Bluffs, Iowa eating breakfast at the Cracker Barrel by 2:30 p.m.

After checking into the Fairfield Inn here in Lincoln, I drove to Memorial Stadium, got my race packet for Sunday's event and had some of the event-sponsored Pasta-Thon before heading back to the hotel for the evening.

Houston's Brittany Brockman finishes 3rd in 5K at Drake Relays

Baylor sophomore Brittany Brockman (Langham Creek), who won the women's portion of the first event that I ever ran in -- the 2003 24-Hour Fitness 4-Miler in 22:03, ran a regional qualifying time of 16:37.43 to finish third in the 5,000 meters as the Bears began action Thursday at the Drake Relays at Drake Stadium.

Three runners from Texas Tech (Violet Chemakwila, Irene Kimaiyo, and Bridget Tidwell) finished 2nd (16:32.78), 6th (16:43.26) and 7th (16:44.24) to round out the Texas-based participants.

Iowa's Governor and Who is Doug Woodcock?

Fitness Sports in Des Moines has released an entrant list to Saturday's 37th Drake Relay On-the-ROADS Half Marathon. It seems as if I've been assigned bib #1133 (nothing significant or superstitious).

Iowa Governor Tom Villsack will be participating in the event as well as Douglas Woodcock, a 42-year-old runner from Fort Worth -- denying me the chance to be the only Texan in the event.

I know I can beat Villsack (based on his recent Little Rock Marathon time) if I don't run into trouble with my left calf. Originally, I thought that I might not be able to take Woodcock but after examining his 15K time at the Fort Worth Runners Club Labor Day event (1:40:36.30), I might be able to. His pace was 10:48/mile and that would be close as my last 10-mile event pace was 10:57, but my best half marathon pace (Big D Texas Half on 4/3/05) was 10:27.

Running at 6,500 feet and above in ABQ!

Last week on a drive back from visiting a couple of hospitals in Clovis and Tucumcari, I found a bike trail that ran parallel with Tramway Blvd. (the part that runs north and south), after exiting onto it from I-40, that I wanted to run on out here in Albuquerque. (The trail is basically part of the first 7 miles of the New Mexico Marathon.)

After being a little lazy Monday and Tuesday, I left work early enough to get in that area no later than 6 p.m. as I wanted to run for close to two hours; however, I couldn't figure out a logical place to park my car. So that necessitated a change in plans. I had browsed earlier in the day about the Elena Gallegos Open Space Park. The area has an extensive series of trails, the Foothills Mountain Bike Trail System, that are popular with cyclists.

I paid the $1 entrance fee (less than the $3 at Huntsville State Park), parked the car and started out hitting the trail. I hadn't looked at a map of the trails. I just started running. Well, two weeks of not having run at the altitude, it was a run/walk because the park sat at 6,500 feet above sea level.

I figured I might as well keep going up as long as I could and I got in what they call the "Sandia Mountain Wilderness area" that is only available for foot traffic. Again, it was a combination of run/walk-hike, but I knew that I was getting even higher in elevation (and looking at a map I think I might have been up over 7,000 feet at one point.) I went up for nearly 35 minutes until the trail got to a point that I was unsure about whether I could find my way back out.

I ran back down to a place that looked familiar, but soon thereafter I realized that I wasn't headed back in the direction of the car. I had made a right hand turn onto a wider, easier to run trail. I passed a hiker, said "Hello!" and then stopped realizing that I should probably ask for some information. He pointed out to me where I needed to go; however, I decided to run awhile longer and headed off down a different trail (visualizing where I needed to come back to.)

I ended up running (and walking some ... going up any incline at 6,500 feet is a little challenge) for just under 1:30. I felt good. My left calf muscle, that I pulled umpiring baseball on Saturday sprinting down to third to make a call, got worked some and it is a bit tender right now at 9:30 p.m. Mountain time.

I'll go back here and run some more, especially since I know some mileage on one of the trails.

Koch adds to Marathon PR Streak!

Three weeks ago, I shared with all in this blog about Shane Koch's 9-marathon, 8-PR streak.

On Sunday, Shane and friend John Meredith ran the 5th annual Oklahoma City Marathon and he made it "10 marathons, 9 PR's" by running a 4:36:56. This represents a 59:14 improvement from Koch's first marathon in December 2003 and a 51:34 bettering of his OKC Marathon time from a year ago.

I'm hoping to be able to get permission to track Koch's career marathons on my website, http://www.walksports.com/.

Run The Woodlands 5K #128 Race Report

Once I committed to umpire three 8-and-9-year old baseball games in our church's youth sports program, I basically then committed to running the bimonthly Run The Woodlands 5K. And what a day to run! PR weather ... almost!

I ran my second best 5K ever, clocking a time of 28:45.20, and missed my personal record by just 9 seconds. (Hmmmm ... what if I hadn't walked twice? Who knows actually?)

Certainly I was curious about how I was going to bounce back from running a 5K less than 12 hours before and not getting to bed until about 2:30 a.m. Saturday morning, but it looks like I did OK. And I really did feel pretty good. (Of course, I was a little encouraged about meeting The Woodlands' legendary cross country and track coach Danny Green.)

I could tell I was running well because there were lots of people around! (When I first ran this event, a good day was for me to see one person!)

I got off to an 8:56.76 first mile, knew that it was a little fast for me and that I wouldn't be able to hold it completely. However, I got to the 2-mile blue dot on the pavement and found myself staring at a time of 18:17.45 (with a second mile of 9:20.69).

At the first part of the second mile, I passed Debbie Tripp and Denise Van Kuiken as they were running together. I knew that if Denise went out on her own that she'd eventually pass me, which she did just before the mile 2 marker.

The third mile was more of a challenge it seemed than the night before as I took a short 30-plus step walk break just past mile 2 and the 2.3-mile left turn back onto Crown Ridge. suprisingly, my third mile time was 9:35.44 to give me a three mile time of 27:52.89.

I tried to kick it into gear on the last one tenth of a mile as I could. I had forgetten what my PR time was, but knew I was going to be close to it and that I would crack 29 minutes again and beat my previous course record there.

I covered the last one tenth in 52.31, which was under a 9 minute per mile pace, and finished in 28:45.20.

I later saw my good friend, Kenny Gibson of Montgomery, at our church as he was umpiring at one of the other fields for his Dad, Joe, who coordinates the umpires and officials there. I told him that I would have been nipping at his heels. He chuckled that I might have beaten him as he hadn't run since he did the event four (4) weeks before. He said that he was planning on being out there on the 14th of May as well as bringing some folks from the Sunday School class that he teaches. There's something to be said for strength in numbers -- or a higher place in the finish if they are slower runners!

Other event highlights included: Katie Gwyn won her 4th female title in four tries by setting a personal course record of 18:44 and lowering Perla Rios (now Rodriguez)' 20-29F standard in the process. Rios ran 19:16 in race #57 where future husband, Gabriel Rodriguez, set the all-time course record of 15:29 ..... Lisa Green, Tom Sherwood and Rhonda Birmingham all posted 2005 best time in their respective age groups ..... Clint Sherrouse's winning time of 16:10 was an April age group best (20-29M), his personal course record and third win in four tries (the 4th was a second place finish) ..... Sherrouse's time was the 4th best time ever in the history of the event ..... Saturday's field was deep as Cesar Casarrubias time of 17:27 in sixth place was the second fastest 6th place finish ever (just six seconds off of the best 6th place finish of 17:21) ..... Chris Bittinger's 7th place time of 17:34 was the fastest 7th place finish ever ..... Huntsville's Robert Duncan was 9th in 18:54. His previous two showings were 2nd and 3rd in times of 18:40 and 19:15, respectively ..... Ann Marie Gorman took 2:12 off of the time she posted in her only other RTW appearance a year ago. Gorman finished Saturday in 29:07 bettering an April 10th, 2004 performance of 31:19 ..... Jim Harrington ran a 20:09 just five days after finishing the 109th Boston Marathon ..... Lisa Green ran her 13th RTW on Saturday in 20:15. Outside of her initial 21:55 effort in #6, her subsequent 12 efforts have been within 1:09 of each other (19:26 to 20:35) ..... 13 of the 25 members of the "20 race and over" club ran RTW #128. A 14th, Tom McDonough, was in attendance, but we hopes he isn't timing his comeback to Carl Lewis' ..... Debbie Tripp bounced back from a 32:25.9, third place age group showing last week at the Blue Bell Fun Run to finish in 28:54. It was her 40th RTW appearance ..... Denise Van Kuiken's 27:36 time was her 4th best of 17 RTW showings ..... Her husband, Gary, next weekend runs marathons on back-to-back days in Louisville and Cincinnati ..... The fast field caused Kingwood's Bill Schroeder to finish outside of 4th overall for the first time ever in 25 RTWs ..... His wife, Mindy, will join the 20-race club in her next RTW appearance ..... Vincent Attanucci was just five seconds (20:22) off of his course best (20:17) ..... While not a course record, Al Gallo's 22:57 was his best RTW showing since a pair of 22:59 showing in May/June 2002. Gallo made his 44th RTW appearance on Saturday.

Cincinnati's Joe Hale: "7 in 7 on 7"

I was listening to my good friend Mike Mollett this morning on the public affairs programs of 93Q and Country Legends 97.1. He had representatives from the local chapter of the March of Dimes and was talking about next Sunday's WalkAmerica event.

Once I checked out the WalkAmerica website, I found out about Cincinnati's Joe Hale, who is four marathons into completing a "7 marathons in 7 months on 7 continents" marathon challenge. Two weeks ago, Hale finished his 4th marathon on a 4th continent by finishing the Rotterdam Marathon.

His link on the WalkAmerica website can be found here.
His "Run Joe Hale Run" website can be found here.

17 People Finish 2nd of 5 Legs in HEB Texas 10K Challenge

17 runners -- 15 from Houston and 1 each from Huntsville and Pflugerville -- completed the second leg of the 5-race HEB Texas 10K Challenge today in Fredericksburg Wildflower 10K Run. Their times are as follows (with the Bayou City Classic 10K times from March in parenthesis):

43:48.8, Eddie Espinosa, 42, M, Houston (46:30.5)
43:53.1, Raymond Maza, 25, M, Houston (53:44.1)
44:42.2, Ryan DiMarco, 14, M, Sugar Land (44:09.6)
44:50.0, Karen Nyberg, 35, F, Seabrook (44:00.5)
47:07.4, Garret Vandenbelt, 49, M, Spring (48:42.8)
48:58.8, Raul Capetillo, 42, M, Pflugerville (49:51.2)
49:33.6, John DiMarco, 46, M, Sugar Land (52:25.1)
51:21.5, Mark Ezekiel, 51, M, Houston (52:53.6)
57:06.4, Soniz Alizzi, 55, F, Houston (1:01:16.1)
57:07.0, Cathy Harris, 55, F, Katy (58:25.1)
58:50.4, Lisa Hollier, 39, F, Houston (58:14.1)
59:06.4, Skipper Nethery, 56, M, Huntsville (1:03:13.6)
59:47.1, Zully Garcia, 38, F, Houston (1:03:09.8)
1:02:21.1, Jesse Keller, 44, M, Kingwood (1:08:46.2)
1:04:59.4, Abigail Woller, 23, F, Houston (1:09:26.2)
1:09:23.8, Joy Ezekiel, 51, F, Houston (1:10:10.0)
1:24:15.6, Richard Kerr, 69, M, Houston (1:27:32.9)

The next race in the Challenge is on Sunday, May 15th when the Fort Worth Runners Club hosts the Bud Run 10K. The last two races are in July (Lampasas) and September (San Marcos).

Cumulative "unofficial" results can be found here.

GLOW (Giving to Light Others' Way) 5K Race Report

I ran on supposedly hallowed ground Friday night (i.e. the campus of Texas A&M University)! Yeah, right! Oh, that's Kyle Field. Where the yell leaders protect the field with drawn sabers. (Remember the incident in the early 1980s with the SMU cheerleaders?)

All joking aside, this was an event put on by the Maggies and the Aggies Men's Club that benefitted New Horizons, a school and home in Goldthwaite, Texas for kids who have been rescued from abusive backgrounds. It was a 5K -- it felt like a 5K (figuring that this course wasn't certified) -- that started towards the back of the campus near the Simpson Drill Field, took you towards the front of the campus near Business 6 and then back on the east side of Kyle Field before finishing close to the start.

The event started at 10:00 p.m. -- the latest of the 100 events that I've completed since I started running in January 2003. (In 2004, I did four (4) events that started later than 7:00 p.m. and eight (8) that started at 5:00 p.m. or later.)

No mile markers. One water stop (supposedly at the halfway point). But ... lots of co-eds to run by, with and behind. (Actually, it is probably why I ran so well because there were lots of students that I finished in front of.) The turnout was excellent. They were estimating near 1,200 participants!

I finished in 29:14.40, on my stopwatch! And I only stopped to walk once and probably didn't need to. I actually felt great about my running for once. (It took me a second once I crossed the finish line to get my watch stopped, but they called out 29:27 as I hit the line. My watch was 29:28.26 and I started it when runners took off; therefore, I took off a minute from my 29;15.40 time.)

Some statistics:
+ By time, it was my 4th best 5K ever. (49th career 5K)
+ It was the 4th straight 5K that I have dropped my time since ballooning to 30:26.10 on February 27th (but I had done two events on one day too).
+ By race score, it was my 7th best event of all time. (45 of the 100 have scored 50.0 or better now.)
+ It was my 20th event of the year (surpassing the 19 I did in 2003). At this point last year, I had completed 15.
+ It was the 25th different Texas city that I've done an event in.

I met David and Roianne Alston, who might have been one of the few runners over 25 there. Roianne is the race director for the May 7th LRC Pacesetter Spring 5K Run & Walk in the small town of Calvert, just north of Bryan/College Station and Hearne.

In less than seven (7) hours, Run The Woodlands #128 5K!

You Must Be Joking: Which HARRA Series is Tougher?

The following question was posed by HARRA Footprints editor Doug Spence in one of the recent Jerry Smith e-mails: "Do you find it tougher to run the HARRA Fall Series with its inherently longer distances, or the HARRA Spring Series with its shorter distances but with less time between races?"

The e-mail also stated that, "A difference of opinion on this question was quite evident from the members of the HARRA Board." Ok, which Board members voted on the Spring Series?

Do the math with me boys and girls.

Spring Series: Buffalo Wallow 6K, Bayou City Classic 10K, Bellaire Trolley Run 5K, John J. Eikenburg Law Week 8K, Bayou Bash Relay (2.5 mile leg) and the LP Run (what you can run in 33 1/3 minutes). I can only cover about 3.5 miles in that amount of time so that would be 29K plus 6 miles.

Fall Series: Cross Country Relay (2 mile leg), USA Space City 10 Miler, Koala's/Luke's Locker 20K, Oshman's 25K, Houstonian Lite 30K and the hp Houston Marathon. 2 + 10 + 12.4 + 15.5 + 18.6 + 26.2 = 84.7 miles.

4 of the 6 Spring Series races are run on consecutive weeks. Big whoopie!

I'm no Sean Wade, but, hell, I do a 5K every weekend at least. Most of the HARRA members that are doing those events are logging more miles in a week and a half in training for other events (such as a spring marathon like Boston).

I think the overall problem is that the Spring Series isn't as well attended as it has been in the past, even though the Bayou City Classic 10K had an increase in participants.

And, let's face it, is HARRA's Iron Foot Award more meaningful in the spring or in the fall? Again ... just count the miles. The Fall is tougher. Why do you think I set it as a goal this past fall? Because, to me, I felt that if I could complete the entire series, including the Marine Corps Marathon in the middle of it all, I could call myself a real runner!

If HARRA wants more people to do the Spring Series, up the ante! If you achieve the Iron Foot Award in the Spring, you can earn free registration at one of the Warm-Up Series races. And the race directors of the three events would agree to absorb those equally (i.e. if 42 people qualified, then each race would provide 14 free registrations.)

Weekly Workout Information

After running 11 miles on Sunday with fellow Strider Lynlee Linke at Terry Hershey Park as part of a larger group of Striders, I basically took the remainder of the week off.

Monday and Tuesday, I just didn't feel like running while in Albuquerque and Wednesday, I drove out to hospitals in Clovis and Tucumcari to review registration procedures before driving back late that afternoon. I was up at 4:30 a.m., on the road by 5 a.m. and eventually got back to the hotel room at 7:20 p.m. and went right to bed. (I did see, however, a long trail along Tramway Blvd. going north and south after exiting on to it from I-40 instead of taking it all the way to I-25 before going north to the hotel. I also measured the distance I ran last week going up and down Tramway Blvd. -- 3 miles each way.)

When I got home this evening, Thursday, I went to Bally's in The Woodlands and did my first workout on the elliptical trainer in quite some time, but hammered 5.98 miles out in an hour and two minutes. (The extra two minutes came when I realized that I seemed to being going too fast a little bit too long. I use a random setting, on Level 15, meaning that I get different grade thrown at me constantly.) I felt good and feel better heading into a 5K on Saturday (Run The Woodlands #128) and then registering for two half marathons next weekend in Iowa and Nebraska.

87-year-old Tommy Mann finished Blue Bell Fun Run in 1:04:22.6

Running with a purpose--Paralyzed man, friend form unique team for Blue Bell Fun Run
By BUD CHAMBERS/Brenham Banner Press Staff Reporter
Friday, April 15, 2005 1:21 PM CDT

Col. Tommy Mann, 87 and retired U.S. Army airborne (1939-67), still has the obvious bearings of a military man. This is despite his being felled with near total paralysis from stenosis of the spine a year ago - and he continues with the positive spirit that brought America World War II victory.

After his wife of 56 years died, Mann - then an active golfer and runner living at St. Simons Island, Ga. - came to Brenham in 2001's early spring to visit his sister and quickly found a new life beginning Texas Independence Day at Washington-on-the-Brazos when Tommy met Ruth Whiddon.

Eight months later the two were married and actively making new friendships as a couple, among them then new Chappell Hill fulltimers, Jack and Julie Edwards.

Julie, in addition to her past Houston energy business background - a factor in her becoming a business and economics teacher at Blinn College since moving here - is also an avid runner, even marathons.

And though there's more than 30 years difference in their ages, Julie appreciated Jack's devotion to fitness and love of running.

So nobody was more upset than Julie about "Tommy's spinal condition ending his running" in February 2004.

And perhaps Tommy wasn't even totally serious a few months ago as Julie began preparing for the 10K (6.2 mile) race at the Blue Blue Fun Run, a fund raiser so valuable in raising funds for Brenham Cub athletics - but all Tommy had to do was mention, "I'd like to run one more time!" and Julie jumped into action to find a way for that to happen.

As a member of Greater Houston's "The Running Freaks", a well-known Texas running club, Julie had little difficulty finding and checking with an outstanding wheelchair runner as to such as "three-wheel" equipment.

Though it took the strange turn of having to be ordered from overseas, and also taking a long while to make it here, a sturdy three-wheeler was pushed into Tommy's bedroom Thursday for a photograph.

Actually with the expert help of three caregivers, especially Jernetta - but also Carolyn and Anetha - Tommy has been loaded about this "racing baby carriage" and has greatly enjoyed several neighborhood tours in the past couple of weeks.

"We had to make certain Tommy could be made comfortable aboard the three-wheeler. It's working beautifully," said a pleased Julie.

Before the actual three-wheel competition equipment arrived, Julie had started rumors in her Chappell Hill area neighborhood "by practicing with a baby buggy and three big sacks (150 pounds) of deer corn."

Some fellow runners from "The Running Freaks" club, good county area friends (including a runner or two), enthused fellow members of St. Peter's Episcopal Church - and even a van on loan from Appel Ford - will all among the key elements in "making this thing work," according to Julie.

The 6.2 miles that Julie Edwards will be pushing Tommy Mann in the three-wheeler will commence at 8 a.m."

If these so-called good friends are situated in the right places to help us on the uphills, I hope we can get this done in about an hour," she said.

Meanwhile, Julie said she also has an EMS friend.

She said with a laugh, "He'll be standing by."

It wasn't certain whether she meant "with ambulance" or not.

A Houston Area 5K You May Never Hear About ....

I'm not posting this information to indicate that I support this event, it is just that my wife picked up this flyer at a Health Fair. It will be interesting to find out what kind of turnout that they have.

It is the 2nd annual Trot for TOMAGWA, to be held on Saturday, May 21, 2005 at 8:30 a.m. at The Heritage Retirement Community, 1221 Graham Drive, Tomball, TX 77375. The flyer states that "this event benefits TOMAGWA - a non-profit family practice clinic that provides quality healthcare to low-income families in the Tomball, Magnolia and Waller areas. This community event is a 3.1-mile run/walk for casual walkers, family fitness fans, and serious runners alike."

If you don't have the flyer, it is going to be tough to sign up. Registration fee is $25 up to May 16, 2005 and $30 after. Ouch! If you are interested in more information, you can contact them at: TOMAGWA, 13414 Medical Complex Drive, Suite 1, Tomball, TX 77375.

The Houston Striders that weekend will be hosting the 3rd annual Run With The Wolves 5K. I'll be in Corpus Christi participating in the Beach to Bay Relay with a group of Houston Striders (John and Ryan DiMarco, Juan Arrieta, Nicolas King and Jason Peterson).

hp Houston Marathon

Within the last two weeks, I received the official results book from the hp Houston Marathon. It's nicely done, lots of good pictures and some good writeups; however, it is time for the marathon that has billed itself as the most technologically advanced to make two (2) moves that the Marine Corps Marathon has.

The first would be to produce the results book in a CD format. I have no idea how much money that the Houston Marathon spends to send it to approximately 12,000 finishers; however, I have to imagine that it would be much cheaper to create a CD and mail it with the second move -- a personalized finisher's certificate.

I've done two marathons. I have two finisher's certificates.

Which one is better? The Marine Corps Marathon.

Why? Because it has my name, my chip time (5:39:06), where I placed (13,000th of 16,399 total finishers, 1,504th of 1,730 males in my age group and 8,199th of 9,699 males overall) and my halfway split time (2:32:04).

And the results CD and the finisher's certificate came in the mail together. So what that I had to wait awhile? I'd frame my MCM finisher's certificate any day before I would the hp Houston Marathon.

Radcliffe wins London in 2:17:42!

(The following information is from the Flora London Marathon's official website.)

London certainly belongs to Paula Radcliffe. Her record in the Flora London Marathon is three starts, three wins, three world records!

Having asked to be paced through the half marathon mark in 68 minutes, 30 seconds Paula in fact dispensed with pacemaker services in the fifth mile and passed halfway alone in 68:27. For once Paula failed to run a negative split but came home in the third fastest time ever for a new women-only marathon record of 2:17:42, improving the record she set in the 2002 London by 74sec - despite losing around 15 seconds when stopping in the 23rd mile to relieve stomach problems. Only Paula’s two world records set with male pace makers are faster.

Radcliffe’s intentions were clear from the start. Slotting in behind the pacemakers – Leah Malot (Ken) and Restituta Joseph (Tan) - Paula ran the first mile in 5:03 and had clear road behind her. After 7 minutes of running, however, Joseph dropped off the pace and provided a target for Susan Chepkemei (Ken) – second behind Radcliffe in last year’s New York Marathon - and Margaret Okayo (Ken). Behind these two the world class field was already well strung out.

The downhill third mile was run in 4:58, despite which Okayo and Chepkemei were towed back to Radcliffe by Joseph. The 5 kilometre mark was reached by the leaders in 15:47 (which prompted the BBC’s computer to predict a 2:11:52 finish). The string of stragglers behind included China’s Sun Yingjie, one of only four women to run under 2:20.

During miles five and six Radcliffe made some slight but significant surges and she reached the Cutty Sark going away from the two Kenyans. At 15km she had a lead of 28 seconds over Okayo who in turn was 19 seconds clear of Chepkemei. Interestingly, in fourth place – 1min 30sec minutes down on the leader was Constantina Tomescu-Dita, better known for her blitz-starts than caution.

Paula’s miles from there on averaged around 5:15 as she ground out a relentless pace towards The Mall. Tomescu-Dita closed on the Kenyan duo and at halfway, which she reached in 1:10:15, was only 15 seconds adrift of Okayo and two in front of Chepkemei and on schedule for a three minute improvement on her personal best.

By 30km the Romanian had moved into second, 1:24 ahead of Okayo. Five kilometres later Chepkemei again passed Okayo and that is how it remained for the rest of the race.

Paula’s drive to the finish continued into the 23rd mile where she suddenly swerved to the side and stopped. The watching tv audience must have thought: Is this a repeat of Paula’s Athens disaster? However, 15 seconds later Radcliffe set off again. Explaining the incident after the race, Paula said, “I had stomach problems at around 16 miles and I should have ‘gone’ before I did but I didn’t want to resort to that in front of thousands of people”.

Thus comforted, Radcliffe continued pushing against the wind, completely unaware of her four-minute-plus lead because of the crowd noise: “They were so loud in places I thought I would be deafened”.

In The Mall, Paula came home to more delirious cheering, one minute and fourteen seconds faster than her women-only world record. “I knew I was in good shape for this race,” she said, “I was approaching (2:15) shape but the day wasn’t perfect. It was definitely windier than 2003 (when she set her world record). In New York I was winging it but I definitely feel I am capable of approaching (2:15) again.”

Now Paula will see how she recovers before she decides what event she will go for in the World Championships in Helsinki. Asked which one, 10,000m or marathon, she would prefer to do if her recovery is all she hopes, Paula said, “I would like to do both. I would love to win a world track race and I would love to win a world championship marathon”.

Constantina Tomescu-Dita was surprised and delighted by her second place and lifetime best of 2:22:50: “I was hoping for a place in the first five and a fast time." Asked if she now feels she can beat Paula she replied, “No way!”

Susan Chepkemei: “I thought I would give Paula a race but it was not possible. I slowed when I saw how fast she was running, I run how my body tells me.”

Blue Bell Fun Run 10K Race Report

I think the song goes, "Blue Bell homemade ice cream: the best ice cream in the country." And I can tell you that three ice cream bars after running a tough 6.2 miles at the Blue Bell Fun Run is almost worth the drive to Brenham!

It almost made me forget about how miserable I felt like I ran on a challenging course with a lot of long inclines, but the bottom line is that I had a great time seeing all of the people that I have come to know through running. Therefore, be forewarned that this may be a long race report!

First, my running. 1:02:44.7 was my chip time in another event that was timed by RunFar out of Austin. My stopwatch was 1:02:44.09. It was my slowest 10K of 2005, but the toughest course, and it was the slowest since my 1:02:56.24 at the 25th annual Hopewell Challenge in Hopewell, New Jersey on September 25, 2004. However, that course might have been just as tough if not tougher than this one.

My splits looked like this:

Mile 1 -- 9:07.06
Mile 2 -- 9:33.91 (18:40.97)
Mile 3 -- 10:34.13 (29:15.10)

So I knew I was off my 5K pace, but again I ran hard through a couple of inclines in the first two miles so no surprise that I slowed up in mile 3.

Mile 4 -- 10:39.60 (39:54.70)

This mile marker was at the top of a bit more steep incline (but nothing like the Bearathon in Waco) and the water stop was at the bottom before the mile marker. I passed this one up because if I'm having to walk at all during an event, I'd rather do it after I get to the mile marker.

Mile 5 -- 9:59.45 (49:54.16)

I ran awhile with, but couldn't stay up with the cute blonde with Texas emblazoned on the back of her shorts. Yes, I admit. I noticed!

Last 1.2 -- 12:49.93 (1:02:44.09)

This was a 10:42 pace, but half of the last 1.2 was the longest incline of the race. Even the downhill to the finish line at Brenham High School didn't seem fast (and I had to put on the breaks Wednesday night going down Tramway Blvd.) And I even had a high-five from a local law enforcement official that remembered me from running a cross country race in Brenham on September 11, 2004 out at Brenham State School. Incredible!

This event races money for Brenham High School athletics and the kids and the coaches that worked this event really, really did a nice job. Late registration was easy, everybody was polite and were glad to see you there. There was music playing ahead of time and the public address announcer that interrupted from time to time did an effective job. (This is something I would really enjoy doing!)

The only downside to this event was that the pre-race restroom lines at the gymnasium were long and there weren't any port-a-potties at all, especially near the start line which was on Business 38 a good walk from the high school. Many men were seen going to take care of business behind a church building that appeared to have been vacant for quite some time.

Congratulations to John Yoder of the Houston Striders who won his 4th overall and 3rd straight Blue Bell Fun Run 10K in a time of 35:09.2. The 34-year-old Katy native was competing in his 11th straight Fun Run. (82-year-old Austinite Jim Southard, who finished 3rd in male 75-and-over age group, was recognized by race director Earl Hathaway for having taken part in all 27 Blue Bell Fun Runs.)

I had the pleasure of meeting another early bird (I got there at 6:30 a.m., two hours before race time) Allen White, 60, a HARRA member from Houston. We had the chance to visit quite a bit before the race and he used the event as a training run for Cincinnati's Flying Pig Marathon in two weeks. Allen is an humble man because when I asked him how he did he failed to inform me that he finished 2nd in the 60-64 age group in a time of 53:51. Some other HARRA members seen at the event were Spring's Suzy Seeley (BCRR), who was second to Caldwell's Becky Shirley in the 45-49 age group with a time of 44:43.4, and Sugar Land's Audrey Christiansen (FLS), who finished 5th in the 40-44 age group with a 50:41.8 effort.

Just in front of Audrey in that age group was Run The Woodlands regular Ann Leoni, who was 4th with a time of 48:48.6. Ann and Debbie Tripp, who placed 3rd in the 5K 45-49 with a time of 32:25.9, were there with both of their mothers as they were heading out after the race for a day of shopping. Both Ann and Debbie are two of the 25 members of the Run The Woodlands 20-race club. Ann leads the way with 74 and Debbie has done 39 of the event's 127-race run.

Speaking of Run The Woodlands, back on March 26th, Carol Steele, 45, from Houston, passed me around the mile 1 marker and beat me by 36 seconds (28:52 to 29:28). She did it again. I joked with her at the start line about it and like before, I got ahead of her, but she caught me between the mile 2 and mile 3 markers before finishing in 1:00:58.8 (just under two minutes ahead of me.)

As expected, there was a host of runners from the Seven Hills Running Club in Huntsville and it's always good to see what I would consider my third group of running friends (besides those at Run The Woodlands and the Houston Striders). 57-year-old Conroe native Hans Jaeger finished 6th in his age group with a time of 56:17.3 while his frequent running partner, 51-year-old Tomball resident Ray Alexander, was just over a minute ahead of me at 1:01:39.3. Club president Ken Johnson, 63, finished in 1:10:15.6.

Stealing the show, though, was 71-year-old True Cousins who took first place in his age group with a time of 31:18.3. Huntsville's Chris Wilson, 55, took 3rd in the 55-59 age group with a time of 23:44.2.

I've commented before about Galena Park ISD athletic director Ed Warken, who was a football coach at Spring HS when I graduated in '84. I had the chance to see Ed for the first time today in quite awhile. He finished in 1:04:53.9 which is impressive as his last two 10Ks were the ConocoPhillips Rodeo Run in 1:09:56.1 and the Bayou City Classic 10K in 1:05:51.5. Nice job Ed!

And, finally, there's the HBU connection.

I'm standing beyond the finish line talking to Coach Warken and I notice a young lady cross the line in a blue Houston Baptist University women's basketball T-shirt on. Thought to myself, "Hmmmm .... Just don't see too many of those in Brenham unless they belonged to Velencia Kuykendall's family (a sophomore on this year's 36-3 team who is from Brenham)."

In fact, I hadn't made it to my first ice cream sandwich when I spotted her and told her as much. I asked her if she played for the Huskies and current coach Shane Brown. She said she did and I asked her her name and she replied, "Shawnaka" and I said, "Holland." she went, "No way," surprised that somebody knew who she was. We had a great conversation after she had improved on her ConocoPhillips Rodeo Run time of 1:05:43.5 with a mark of 1:04:02.7 on Saturday.

I'm planning on a training run on Sunday morning, April 17th. If I don't do that reasonably well, I may scratch my participation in back-to-back halves the weekend of April 30th-May 1st. We'll see.

B5: No, not the vitamin!

If you've ever looked at my list of results, you'll notice that for some odd reason I put the type of shoe that I ran in. I bought my fifth pair of Brooks Beast running shoes since November 2003 today at the new Luke's Locker store in The Woodlands.

They were $109.95 shoes minus $11.00 for my HARRA discount, plus $8.16 in tax and the total came to $107.11. I know that I could probably buy them cheaper either via mail order, but the expertise that I get is invaluable.

The last few weeks, I've been moaning a bit here that my running has seemed to be getting harder. I think I found at least part of the problem. I'm a heelstriker who also overpronates. (The Beast has the support for that, but a look at the tread still showed that I'm overpronating even with that shoe.) I was suspicious that a lot of the pain in my right knee (which was on the back of the knee to the inside and underneath my kneecap in the front) wasn't necessarily due to overuse, but that it was time for a new pair of shoes. Wow, was this ever confirmed!

I had worn the outside part of the right heel almost down to the gel! Compare it to the firmness of the new shoe and it is no wonder why I was hurting. We'll see how the next run goes.

Note -- I removed the "must be a blogspot member" to post restriction for the time being. So if you liked to post comments before in the past, it is open and available to you. (Therefore, if you are a regular reader and haven't posted a comment before ... please do so now!)

How 2,876 finishers become over 3,500 runners!

Early this morning, I was looking for the results of all Texans in marathons held across the country last weekend. As I was reviewing the times of finishers of the More Marathon in New York City, I noticed a glaring Mitch Albom-like error in the story on the magazine for women's website.

(Mitch Albom of the Detroit Free Press is being rung out to dry through the national media when he wrote a column that indicated a couple of former Michigan State basketball players were seen at the Final Four wearing the Spartans' colors. It turned out the they were going to be there, their plans had changed and the column, written a day or two before its intended publication, didn't get changed before it made it to black and white.)

Emily Frye and Neha Gandhi's story starts off like this: "Over 3,500 women from 45 states and 7 countries crossed the finish line in Central Park, New York City, on Sunday, April 10, in the second annual MORE Marathon for women over 40."

The story teaser is even more tantalizing: "Why 3,500 women ran 26 miles on a cool April morning, and how they did it."

Dig deeper, go to the next page and bring up the results, which are part of the New York Road Runners web site, and you will find that 254 women finished the marathon, including Austin's Tania Roberts, 56, who was last in a time of 6:38:25, and another 2,622 conquered the half marathon. Most notably, Austin's Carmen Troncoso, 46, who finished 3rd overall in 1:19:06 almost four minutes better than Colorado's Colleen De Reuck (1:23:04). Quite a turnaround from Houston in January when De Reuck finished 5th in the Aramco Half Marathon in 1:14:05 while Troncoso languished behind by more than seven (7) minutes, 1:21:47.

But the bottom line is: 3,500 women didn't run a marathon. 254 did. In fact, 3,500 women didn't even finish an event. I don't have a problem with triumphing the accomplishments of anyone (it is what I do here), but don't misrepresent the actual numbers to appear larger than life.

An Albuquerque Climb!

If I decide to do the Blue Bell Fun Run 10K on Saturday in Brenham, I'll be ready for the hills after this Wednesday evening. Tonight, I did something a little unique -- for a Houstonian, that is.

I decided to run, then walk, run, then walk (you get the idea) 40 minutes up Tramway Blvd. on the north side of Albuquerque, just off I-25 North and near the Sandia Casino. Tramway Blvd. takes you to the base of Sandia Peak, which reaches 10,378 feet in elevation. Tramway Blvd., from the Casino to the Tram House of the Sandia Peak Tramway, is basically the course to World's Longest Tram 10K (alternatively known as New Mexico's Toughest 10K). [This event is held on Sunday, May 22, 2005.]

That race starts in the parking lot of the Casino, which is at 4,900 feet in elevation. [The Tram House is at 6,500 feet!] Last May, 76 took place in the event with the winner covering the 6.2 miles in 42:18.1, a 6:49/mile pace.

Let me testify that I was nowhere near it! In fact, I'm guessing I might have only done three miles up and then back down. Because it was got dark faster than I thought, I stopped at 40 minutes because it was going to pitch dark headed down the road (and I didn't wear my reflective vest). There was a '4' marker that looked like a mile marker. I made it to there in 19:50.80. (I'm guessing I started somewhere between 2 and 3. '2' was at the Interstate.) And at 40:01.10, or 20:10.30 beyond that, I turned around.

The view, though, looking back over Albuquerque was incredible. You could see Rio Rancho straight ahead (looking west), the city to the southwest and the lights of the football stadium at the University of New Mexico to the south. It was an incredible sight!

Going back down, I made it to the '4' marker in 15:31.71 (and I ran the entire way.) From the '4' marker to '3' marker (not sure if it was really a mile), I covered it in 11:00.67 and the remaining portion in 6:23.86.

Up the hill: 40:01.10 (19:50.80 / 20:10.30)
Down the hill: 32:56.24 (17:24.53 / 15:21.71)
Total time: 1:12:57.34

Going up that type of elevation change wasn't easy at all. Actually, I can't remember running for more than 3.5 minutes at a pop. As I got higher, I was stopping after 1.5-t0-2 minutes of running. It was quite an experience, but one that I'm going to do more regularly while I'm working out here.

On Tuesday, I logged a sluggish 1:08:53 (32:53.80 out / 35:59.30 back) that probably took me somewhere close to 6 miles. It was slow as I think I was getting reacclimated to the altitude and my legs were half shot. (Sunday, I didn't even get 6 miles in at Terry Hershey Park in Houston. I just emotionally wasn't in it. I was in between mile 2 and the 10K turnaround spot and threw in the towel. But the highlight was breakfast later at Le Peep with Steve Shepard, Saara DeWalt, Kalan Ickes and Lee Greb.)

I ran from the Marriott Courtyard that we are staying at, out Jefferson Drive NE to Balloon Festival Park and out Alameda as if you were going out to Rio Rancho. As I was turning around underneath an overpass, I fell for the first time ever as a runner!

I hit some type of wire that came up out from some dirt which was close to a guardrail. I landed on my elbows and hands to avoid doing a face plant, got up, brushed myself off and kept on running (before turning to head back up a hill.) For awhile, I actually felt loosened up a bit, but not the way I want to regularly do that.

Canada's Ed Whitlock bests Holland's Joop Ruter in 70+ marathon showdown

Toronto Waterfront Marathon Link on Whitlock vs. Ruter

This past Sunday (April 10th) at the Rotterdam Marathon in the Netherlands, 73 year-old Canadian, Ed Whitlock, who entered the event with the world's only two (2) sub 3-hour marathon performances for a male over the age of 70, added a third with a 2:58:40 showing to defeat Holland's Joop Ruter by over 13 minutes.

Ruter, who has agreed to face off again against Whitlock in November at Toronto's Waterfront Marathon, had gotten close to the 3-hour mark with a personal record of 3:02:49; however on Sunday, according to official reports, he cramped in the last seven (7) kilometers and came in with a time of 3:12:22.

By comparison, here are the best 70-and-over times for a male runner at each of Texas' marathons this racing season (Oct. '04 - May '05):

hp Houston: Jim Schleisman, 71, Jefferson, IA, 3:32:48
Freescale Austin: Steve Carrigah, 72, Houston, 3:59:40.0
San Antonio: Gil Zarusa Salazar, 71, Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico, 4:01:26.5
Cowtown Fort Worth: Daniel Shoff, 70, San Antonio, 4:13:08
White Rock Dallas: Koei Nakanishi, 70, Farmington, AR, 4:26:09.2
Seabrook Lucky Trails: Ray Boytim, 72, Spring, 5:19:41.9
Surfside Beach: Ray Boytim, 72, Spring, 5:28:28
Texas Kingwood: Ray Boytim, 72, Spring, 5:58:17
Big D Texas: Robert Cunningham, 73, Grand Prairie, 6:03:07.25

There was not a finisher that was 70 years or older in either the Waco Miracle Match Marathon in October or the Marathon to Marathon event in Alpine.

Run The Woodlands 5K #127 Race Report

If I felt so bad with how I ran, then why was the 29:16.68 5K on Saturday at Run The Woodlands the 1.) 4th best 5K that I've ever run, 2.) the 14th sub 30-minute 5K that I've posted as well as 3.) the 8th best overall event - of 98 - that I've ever done?

I'm still trying to figure this all out! It's baffling! I didn't feel like I ran real well and the split times kind of reflect that:

Mile 1 - 9:01.48
Mile 2 - 9:32.92
Mile 3 - 9:47.50
Last .1 - 54.78

It is the third straight 5K that I've rattled off a 9:01 first mile. I'm trying to slow down, but this is just a pace that I get into. The mile 2 drop was 31 seconds: about average.

Tom Pinney was behind me as I closed in on the mile 2 marker and asked ahead if I was on a 9:30 pace. (I think I responded that I was on a 9:16!) But I had to walk 2 or 3 times in the last mile and Tom (and Khobar too) finally passed me finishing 8 seconds ahead of me at 29:08.

Robert Leal and Pat Myers, both of Cleveland, did as well. They caught me just past the mile 3 mark.

I got a chance to meet for the first time Bill and Mindy Schroeder from Kingwood. The couple joined the Houston Striders last fall. On this Saturday, Bill, who has won 14 RTW's, finished 3rd overall behind Clint Sherrouse and Craig Calmes.

Link Added: 21 Run Salute!

In the May 2005 edition of Runner's World (on newsstands and in your mailbox now) on page 28, there is a note about Shirley Pratt, of Orlando, Florida, who is running 21 marathons in nine months and is raising $21,000 to raise money for charities that provide support for U.S. troops and their families.

The website that is chronicling her adventures is http://www.21runsalute.org/.

This weekend, she will be running in Spirit of St. Louis Marathon, which will be #17, and Boston, which she has qualified for seven times in the initial 16 marathons, will be #18.

The 21st and final marathon of the salute will be on May 28 when she completes Michigan's Bayshore Marathon. Each marathon she does honors troops from various parts of the country that she is in at that time.

On January 1, 2005, Shirley ran in Steve and Paula Boone's Texas Marathon in Kingwood in a time of 3:56:01. To date, she has completed 28 marathons in her running career!

Thursday Run at 5,320 Feet!

I basically took two days off from running before logging an hour's run on Thursday morning in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

One of the two days was by choice. The other wasn't. Wednesday I didn't run because of work responsibilities, but Tuesday I didn't because we arrived late into Albuquerque from Atlanta. I think we checked in at midnight or beyond!

We were scheduled to get in after 8 p.m. Mountain time; however, because of high winds in Albuquerque as well as a line of thunderstorms between Tulsa and Dallas, we were two hours late in departing from Hartsfield as well as tacking on an hour to the flight time because of re-routing.

My co-workers and I stayed at the Drury Inn & Suites in the north part of Albuquerque at the intersection of I-25 and Jefferson. It was cool out this morning. Cool enough that I should really have had something over my hands the entire time. I ran out Jefferson all the way to Paseo del Norte.

Based on my pace, I would estimate that I got in between 5.6 and 5.8 miles. Who knows? And lately, who cares? I'm working on trying to make running easier again, not harder.

I am and will continue to be curious of any effect of running at approximately 5,320 feet above sea level, especially after reading an article in the latest Runner's World about high altitude training. For someone like me, it may make zero difference. Basically, I didn't necessarily feel winded when I got started this morning. If anything, I felt the heaviness of my quads go away as I started the return back Jefferson from Paseo del Norte.

We'll be flying in on Monday mornings and back home on Thursday afternoons; therefore, for me to log four days of running at the higher altitude, I'll have to run after work on Mondays and Tuesdays and in the mornings on Wednesday and Thursday. We'll see how it works out!

Denton's Shane Koch: 9 Marathons, 8 Straight PR's

In an edition of Runner's World within the last year, there was a profile of a 39-year-old Denton man named Darwin (Shane) Koch. If my recollection is right, Darwin, a social worker, was extremely overweight in the neighborhood of 430 pounds. By the time he was profiled in the magazine, he was down to the 280 range, had logged two marathons and was aiming to do five this running season (October 2004-May 2005).

Not only did Shane do the original five (5) Texas Marathon Challenge races, he was the only person that did all five marathons this year who lowered their time at each race. In fact, Shane completed his ninth marathon overall on Sunday at the Big D Texas Marathon and recorded his eight straight personal record. That's right! Every time out, he beat his time before.

Here is a look at his career list of marathons:

5:36:10 - 2003 White Rock Marathon (December; gun time - 5:39:29)
5:32:03 - 2004 Cowtown Marathon (February)
5:28:30 - 2004 Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon (April; gun - 5:30:34)
5:06:59 - 2004 San Antonio Marathon (November; gun - 5:07:45)
5:03:44 - 2004 White Rock Marathon (December; gun - 5:06:36)
4:55:36 - 2005 hp Houston Marathon (January; gun - 5:01:14)
4:46:25 - 2005 Austin Freescale Marathon (February; gun - 4:52:26)
4:46:12 - 2005 Cowtown Marathon (February)
4:42:04 - 2005 Big D Texas Marathon (April; gun - 4:47:18)

54:06 - Improvement in overall marathon time
45:51 - Improvement in Cowtown Marathon time
32:26 - Improvement in White Rock Marathon time

I saw Shane walking out of Tower Hall at the State Fairgrounds Sunday morning as I was heading into register for the Big D Texas Half Marathon.

However, I couldn't locate him again prior to the start of the race. Somewhere between the first and second mile marker, I caught up to him and said, "You must be Shane Koch." We chatted for a little bit and I told him that I had found out more about him from Tracy Meyers of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, who had covered private and parochial schools for the newspaper before. I told him about the Texas Marathon Challenge accomplishment this year and I think he was genuinely surprised.

What is so impressive about his accomplishment is that his current weight is not simply fat. Shane is probably 6'4" or 6'5" and he was easily distinguishable in the crowd as I came up to him from behind.

For a rookie like me, meeting an individual like Shane Koch is as equally impressive as meeting Bill Rodgers last year at the Little Rock Marathon Expo. Both have done great things with their God-given talents!

An Hour Run in Suburban Atlanta!

I meant to try and take it easy a day after running a half marathon in Dallas. But once I got out to take a walk at about 10:30 p.m. Monday night, after a minute, I felt the urge to run but not too hard.

Earlier in the day, I flew from Houston to Atlanta to start my new job with a healthcare company in north suburban Atlanta. After working until about 7 p.m., getting checked in at the Hilton Garden Inn and eating at Jason's Deli, I reviewed some materials for a 11 a.m. conference call tomorrow, got my laptop set to dial in for the first time, and actually took a short 45 minute nap.

I tried to keep the run fairly easy, but encountered a good number of hills. I ran out 30:05 and came back in 30:40 for a complete run of 1:00:45. At the pace that I was going, I expect that it was only about 5.5 miles.

I'm still concerned about what has happened to make my running seem so much more labored. I'm not sure if I put on a couple of pounds in the midsection or that it is simply time for a new pair of shoes. Maybe even a combination of both. I'm due a new pair of shoes and have a Christmas gift certificate to Luke's Locker, but I'm worried there's something more.

The last race that I've felt really good about, even though I pushed myself really hard, was the Park to Park Run in mid-February. Since then, I've been disappointed in my running.

Big D Texas Half Marathon PR! Race Report of 2:16:58!

It may not have been the smartest thing that I've ever done; however, I went to Dallas on Sunday, ran the Big D Texas Half Marathon and came home with a new personal record of 2:16:58.20. But it wasn't my best run by any means.

I'm still struggling getting completely relaxed and getting my cardio and quads into sync. More to work on though!

The tough course put together by Lewis George of Mellew Productions, who handles all of the races of the Cross Country Club of Dallas, was one that included parts of the November White Rock Half, James Thruston Racing's New Year's Day Five-Mile Run as well as the State Fair of Texas 5K. It was fairly hilly as far as Dallas and Texas goes, especially the first five to six miles.

I ran the initial 10K in 1:02:50 and passed the halfway point in 1:06:09, a 10:06 per mile pace.

However, the back half took me 1:10:47, including the last three miles of 11:08.50, 11:13.09 and 11:06.98. Mile 10 I reeled in a 10:18.52 mile, but I couldn't sustain it to get me closer to 2:11.

Because I waited until race day to register, it was pricey for a half. But Lewis George really knows how to put on an excellent event.

The only criticism that I have is that the water stop at mile 8 (one every two miles) was long and closer to the mile 9 point than back at mile 8 and as the temperatures started to increase, it hurt me a little down the stretch. (The conditions were much like the Marine Corps Marathon: cool at the start, a very high sun with no clouds and increasing temperatures.)

Otherwise, it was a chip timed event with a timing mat in front of the finish line to allow for a public address announcer (Lewis himself for the marathoners) to call out everyone's names. Nice touch! (If anybody needs a P.A. announcer, I'd love to get into that after having done basketball, baseball and football for years.)

Like the "November" Half that George manages for CCCD, he gave out a dri-release shirt to all registrants. The post-race spread was pretty good, but was just a tad bit shy of that put out by the Bellaire Trolley Run on Saturday. Police protection on the course was also superb: something very important in a city the size of Dallas. Additionally, most of the officers were very, very supportive.

Somewhere around mile 11-12, I almost broke down. No, not physically but emotionally rather. I came face-to-face to the spot of my worst day ever as a parent back in mid-to-late September 2003.

Waverly had just run her first 5K (and still her best) at the Klein HS Bearkat Bash 5K. Three weeks later, she wanted to do another so we planned a weekend in Dallas that included a trip to the State Fair and, I think, Six Flags the next day.

During the run, she got to the point late in mile 1 that she just flat out said, "No, she wasn't going to try" or something to that effect. I didn't respond well to that. And instead of saying, "OK, honey, let's just try to brisk walk it as fast as we could," I was childish in the way that I handled it and we ended up going right back to Houston.

It is a day that I wasn't proud of and still am not. In fact, when I was talking to Waverly on the phone on the way home, I was crying because I remembered the pain from that and how I could have totally lost her respect as a father that day forever.

NOTES: I finished my 8th race of a half marathon or greater in Texas this season to currently be in second place behind Robert and Juanita Espinosa of Seguin in the inaugural "Love The Half" Challenge put on by Coppell's Paula Robertson. Those who had completed the five-race requirement were able to pick up their fleece pullover or vest.

Congratulations to Waverly at PSIA District Meet!

No running this week, just brains!

My daughter, Waverly, 9, a 4th grader who attends Abercrombie Academy in Spring, finished 2nd and 4th, respectively, in "Art Smart" (or Art Memory) and Prose Interpretation Saturday afternoon at the PSIA District 11-12A meet held at Sacred Heart Catholic School in Crosby.

By finishing 2nd in "Art Smart" behind classmate Kyla Wilcher, who placed 1st at state last year in Ready Writing and 5th in Spelling, Waverly advances to the Private Schools Interscholastic Association's state competition in Fort Worth on Saturday, May 7th.

Waverly also advanced out of a preliminary round in Prose Interpretation to finish fourth overall in the finals. Only the top two at the district level in any event move on to the state competition.

Way to go, girl!

Westfield's Nicole Jones wins 800 and 1500 at Bayou Classic

Nicole Jones of Westfield High School had one of the best outings of Saturday's 23rd annual Bayou Classsic at the Rice Track/Soccer Stadium. Just a sophomore, she won both the 800 and 1500 meters setting a meet record of 4:27.01 to finish nine seconds in front in the 1500. Her 800 time of 2:11.33 was just 0.03 off the meet record.

Kingwood HS girls' won the meet by scoring 91.33 points and led with its depth in the middle distances. Brenna Williamson took second in both the 800 and 1500 meters as a trio of Mustangs finished in the top eight of both races. They also took second in Friday's 4x800-meter relay.

Chris Jones of Alief Taylor High School had an outstanding day, winning both the 400 and 800 meter titles. His 400 mark of 48.31 was a meet record.

Bellaire Trolley Run 5K Race Report

As I've detailed here, I've been off the mark for the last couple of weeks. Therefore, I need to get back in gear but I'll be trying to do it from Atlanta and Albuquerque this week. (Running in high altitude should be fun!)

At this morning's Bellaire Trolley Run 5K, I should have been happy with my time of 29:18.9; however, I'm miserable with it as I didn't feel like I ran well at all. I feel like I've got another in PR in me, but it just isn't coming. I think, today, missing the first water stop past mile 1 hurt me a little bit, but I just couldn't drop the hammer in the end.

I started out with a 9:01.89 first mile and as much as I know that I need to slow down, the ability to do that continues to be slow in coming. The second mile wasn't that bad as I did it in 9:29.76, which put me at 18:31.65 for two miles, but I had a pace of 9:47 in the last 1.1 miles.

Very nice event -- the 10th annual, but my first time to run it -- with an excellent post-race spread and great weather. The course was full of straightaways on the city streets of Bellaire. No surprise in the winner, Sean Wade, but he won it in impressive fashion: 14:58.1, a 4:50 per mile pace. Second place went to Wilmer's Clint Bell (15:18.3), who is a former TAPPS state champion from Dallas Christian HS and ran collegiately at SMU.

Lots of HARRA members out due to the fact that it was the 3rd race in the HARRA Spring Series and lots of Houston Striders.

The majority of our Power in Motion Fitness group from last fall was there today. The star of the group has to be 54-year-old Sophie Rydin, who reeled in a time of 27:27 today. There wasn't any chip difference on the official results and her husband, Mike, was about 7 seconds getting across the line so Sophie was probably at 27:20, which should be a great PR for her!

I was behind Stacy Stepler, 26, a good bit of the way, had her in sight, but could never catch her as she ran a really nice pace and posted a time of 28:08.6. John Ainsworth, 51, although I never saw him on the course, came in right ahead of me at 28:46.4 while Becky Spaulding, 42, who I didn't see all day, posted a time of 31:21.4. It appeared that three other members of that group were there; however, there was inconclusive or incomplete results. There was an Amy Parker that had a time of 27:01.4 (8:43 per mile) but there wasn't any age associated with the entry while Stephanie Salyer and Lynn Stengel were seen at the post-race party but there was no official result posted for them.

Two of our coaches, Saara DeWalt and Megan Clark-Dillingham, had great races today. Saara, 32, who will be moving in the summer to begin as an assistant professor at Clemson University, clipped off a 21:27.5 while Megan, 29, who said she really had a good run, posted a time of 24:13.7. Saara's husband, Kalan Ickes, did his first 5K ever in a time of 25:05.3.

Now that the Trolley Run is over, I'm still undecided what I'm going to do about next week. Two events - Law Week Fun Run 8K and Sarah Graybeal's Yuri's Night 5K Fun Run - that I'd love to do may fall by the wayside for the sake of proximity and cost with the Run The Woodlands 5K. My indecision bumped the price on both to $25 and $20, respectively. If I don't go to Dallas in the morning to run the half marathon associated with the Big D Texas Marathon then that option may still be open for me. If I do go to Dallas, then that fate is sealed for next week.

Why a half tomorrow? I enjoy the distance and right now, I need to do well in an event again to reenergize my confidence since early February when I rattled off PR's in three of four weeks (and the fourth week I ran a sub 29-minute 5K). We'll see what happens!

798 Texans, 76 HARRA Members Headed for Boston

As of Friday, April 1st, there are 798 registrants, 76 which are members of HARRA, for the 109th Boston Marathon to be held at noon on Monday, April 18, 2005. Some other miscellaneous pre-race statistics include:

By Sex: Male (479), Female (319)

By Age Group: 15-19 (1), 20-24 (31), 25-29 (61), 30-34 (87), 35-39 (135), 40-44 (159), 45-49 (170), 50-54 (81), 55-59 (40), 60-64 (23), 65-69 (6), 70-74 (4)

Youngest Male: 18, Eric Sauerwein, Nederland
Youngest Female: 21, Laura Smith, Austin; Amie Chambers, College Station; Rebecca Fitzgerald, Ovila
Oldest Male: 73, Lorant Garban, Dickinson
Oldest Female: 63, Nilda Burgos, Kingwood

Number of Texas Cities Represented: 137

Top 10 Cities: Houston (149), Austin (116), Dallas (88), San Antonio (40), Fort Worth (25), Plano (23), The Woodlands (21), College Station (12), Sugar Land (12), Arlington (11), Irving (10)

Foreign Citizenship (46): Canada (5), CHN (1), Denmark (1), Ecuador (1), ESP (1), Great Britain (18), Ireland (3), Japan (2), Mexico (6), NED (1), PHI (1), ROM (1), RSA (2), SER (1), SVK (1), Sweden (1)

Nothing But Pressure!

Imagine the surprise when I get back to my computer after running an errand or two this afternoon, check the HARRA web site and see this blog listed on the main page! Surprised would be the word; however, I'm up for the pressure! Thanks Steve and Geoff! Actually I would love to see more runners taking just a little bit of time to share their experiences in preparation, racing or even just the camaraderie with those in the running community.

Updates have indeed been few to come this week as I've been finishing up my job as a Senior Consultant with IMA Consulting, Inc., a healthcare consulting firm based in Chadds Ford, Pa. I'll be going to work Monday morning, after four and a half years with IMA, for the McKesson Corporation, based out of Alpharetta, Georgia. I'll be working as a Senior Consultant in their healthcare revenue cycle consulting division and going to work for a gentleman named Scott Pillittere who I had the chance to work with on a project in 2001 and 2002 at Catholic Health Services of Long Island when he was with Accenture.

Additionally, my workout time has been limited this week as my wife, Gena, has been in Tennessee this week attending the funeral of her 19-year-old cousin, Renae Darden, who tragically passed away early Monday morning, March 28, as a result of injuries sustained in a car accident. I've had to keep a closer tabs on Waverly, my 9-year-old daughter, which is perfectly OK, but it altered my ability to get in a late night (or early morning .. lol) run or a workout at Bally's.

The last two days, however, she and I have put in 2.1 mile walks with our subdivision here on the north side of town. Waverly used her pedometer (one of the more inexpensive varieties) to track her steps and ironically, they wildly varied between the two days. Yesterday, she clipped off 6,299 steps while this afternoon it was only 5,008. We were moving at a little bit of a faster pace, but I didn't think it would result in a large difference in steps. We covered the 2.1 miles in 33:01.93, a 15:44 pace.

Given that, it will be interesting to see how I do tomorrow in the Trolley Run 5K (the 3rd race of the 6-event HARRA Spring Series) in the beautiful city of Bellaire. (Thank goodness it is not in the speed trap of Southside Place.) As long as I can crack 30 minutes again, I'll be happy. But I'd be more pleased with a sub 29-minute effort.

Final thought: How has the price of gas changed your running activities?

For me, I decided to forgo going to pick my packet up for tomorrow's race early to avoid an additional 50-to-55-mile round trip. Now, if I do what I plan to on Sunday, it will blow that argument out of the water. However, it makes you stop and think more exactly what you are spending to do an event in addition to the entry fee. For the same reason, I'm considering doing the local Run The Woodlands 5K next Saturday even though I get tired of the 5K's and would prefer to do the 8K distance offered by the 20th John J. Eikenburg Law Week Fun Run. (Let me back up: It is never tough to get too tired of $1 5K's.)

It's off to Bally's in a little bit to hit the elliptical trainer hard for an hour and then back to rest up for tomorrow! [Did one hour covering 5.60 miles, level 15, random ... not bad for not having done it in a week!]

Best wishes on the roads this weekend!