Klein Bearkat Bash 10K/5K Race Report

Congratulations to my daughter, Waverly, for getting under 42 minutes! A photo taken by her mother, Gena, from behind after she had crossed the finish line shows the clock time as 41:58!

Her previous 5K times for this year are as follows:

1/16 - Houston Press 5K - 43:26
3/26 - Run The Woodlands #126 - 44:13
8/13 - Run The Woodlands #135 - 43:18
8/27 - Run The Woodlands #136 - 42:43

She got an extra thrill in that she defeated one of her school teachers at her school, Sandra Bellmore. Mrs. Bellmore had gotten her by a couple of minutes at the Houston Press 5K in January, 41:30 to 43:37. (Yes, the marathon adjusted their times once again as Vic Kaiser had indicated at breakfast two weeks ago.)

The Bearkat Bash is special to me because it is the first race that Waverly and I did together two years ago. And it felt a little odd to pass her on Saturday morning, but I really believe, as a parent and as a newer runner, that she needs to figure out how to challenge herself to complete the distance. And she has done that the last two times out! (And please understand that I think that it is an accomplishment just for her to get out and try when others don't. However, we also have an agreement as Dad and daughter and that is that "we start what we finish.")

I'll talk about my running later because it kind of sucked - 1:04:31.92 on my stopwatch!

Organizationally, the Bearkat Bash encountered two problems on Saturday. One didn't matter to me although I heard there was a lot of griping about it and the other did (but it shouldn't have). The first was the start of the 10K and 5K together! The starting lines were different because of the different distances, even though they shared the same finish line.

All of the pre-race materials suggested a staggered start -- 7:00 a.m. for one event and 7:05 a.m. for the other. And the way it was listed, one would have thought that the 10K would have gone off first and the 5K next.

I thought this for two reasons: 1.) to warn Waverly that, with her finishing the 5K in over 40 minutes, she would be passed by the fastest 10K runners as she approached the finish (so look out!) and 2.) that I would be passed at the start by about half of the 5K field (who would run 25 minutes or better).

One thing organizers did this year was to give the student groups, such as the Bearkadettes (drill team), bib numbers that were in the 1,000 range and had them start in a separate lane to the right of the runners. I think that there were still a lot of folks towards the very front that they still had to contend with them. (If the event is to be participatory for those groups, give them a 7:15 a.m. start and give them a time that they have to be done by - such as 8:00 a.m.)

The number of the students, I think, contributed to the second problem: the storage of cups on the second go around at the mile 2/5 water stop. After I passed the mile 5 marker, I was motioning towards the students at the water table for a cup; however, they said that they were out. What was I supposed to do? Chug-a-lug? [I know that I'm ultimately responsible for my own hydration, but it's kind of frustrating still.]

You ask how do I think that the student walkers contributed? If they didn't estimate well or all of the student walkers passed the first stop but got something at the second stop on the 5K, then there is likely to be a shortage (which affects those that are doing the double-loop 10K).

My splits, you ask? Ugh! It is really a weight and lack of preparation issue on this one. Plus, in hindsight, my head wasn't in this one at all. The travelling has also become a challenge. Before April, I really had a pretty good regiment down of how much and often I ran but I know the heat is having a little bit to do about things as well.

Mile 1 - 9:41.20
Mile 2 - 10:32.68 (20:13.88)
Mile 3 - 9:41.07 (29:54.95)
Mile 4 - 10:41.48 (40:36.43)
Mile 5 - 10:57.89 (51:34.22)
Mile 6 - 10:50.67 (1:02:24.99)
Last .2 - 2:06.93 (1:04:31.92)

Good event. Good people organizing the event. Decent location. (Close to home, for one.) Flat course (and certified).

The Who's Who Report: One of the first people that I saw was Karen Thibodeaux, who always treats Waverly so well. It will be exciting to see the "down the finish line" stretch that she got of Waverly. I'm going to have to buy one from each of the other two years as well ..... Shortly after I got the opportunity to meet Steve Schroeder and Lance Collins - two (2) new readers of this blog. I had seen Lance at more races than I had Steve, but Steve asked me how much speedwork I was doing and Lance pointed out to me that the cooler weather allowed me to work harder, longer ..... Most interesting license plate in the parking lot? "Do 26.2" ..... Lindsey Tlustos, Ken Johnson and Robert Duncan made the journey down from Huntsville and the Seven Hills Running Club to do the 10K ..... Houston Striders doing the 5K were Lynlee Linke, Carole Flad and Juan Arrieta. All of the spouses were in attendance as well: Joe, Doug and Yissel. I had to leave to go to pick up results for Run The Woodlands 5K, but Lynlee's youngsters were participating in the kids' 1-mile race ..... Waverly said that Ben Tucker finished in the 54-to-55 minute range. It was his fourth race in 8 days like me ..... I spoke to Clint Sherrouse of the Conroe Elite team and he said that Andrew Perry won the 10K overall and that their team took 5 of the first 8 overall places.