Country Songs to Run By!

I see articles, blog entries, etc. all the time about what songs are on a runner's iPod, CD player, etc. However, I never see any country music songs! (And I must admit there aren't that many good "running songs" either by words and lyrics or a beat.)

I've got a bigger list on the laptop at home, but here are four (4) that always stick out in my mind:

1.) "How Bad Do You Want It?", Tim McGraw -- This is the first cut on his current CD, "Live Like You Were Dying," that has been out since last summer. I swear that it should be the perfect finish line song! (You may have heard it a little bit during either the NLCS or World Series coverage on Fox.) The chorus goes like this:

How bad do you want it?
How bad do you need it?
Are you eating, sleeping, dreaming
With that one thing on your mind?

How bad do you want it?
How bad do you need it?
Cause if you want it all
You've got to lay it all out on the line

2. "Run", George Strait -- Other than being the most obvious titled running song there could ever be, this is actually a song that is kind of relaxing - although not twangy - and gives (to me, at least) a little bit of imagery of soaring. It is off the "Road Less Traveled" CD. The song's prominent line that makes you think that the finish line is calling you to it:

Baby run, cut a path across the blue skies
Straight in a straight line
You can't get here fast enough

Find a truck and fire it up
Lean on the gas and off the clutch
Leave Dallas in the dust
I need you in a rush
So baby run

3. "Ready To Run", Dixie Chicks -- Another classicly titled running song. The first track on their sophomore CD, "Fly", it was also a big part of the Julia Roberts' movie, "Runaway Bride". And as much as I wouldn't be disappointed if they never recorded another CD, it is an song with an upbeat tempo that figuratively should get you ready to blast off the start line. The song's key tag line is:

Oh yeah
Ready, ready, ready, ready...ready to run
All I'm ready to do is have some fun
What's all this talk about love
I'm ready to run...I'm ready to run

4.) "Runnin' Kind", Merle Haggard -- One look at Merle Haggard and you'd probably think that the words "Haggard" and "running" were about as far apart as the east is from the west. This song is cut out of the same ilk that the earlier Strait song is.

I was born the runnin' kind
With leaving always on my mind
Home was never home to me at any time
Every front door found me hoping
I would find the back door open
There just had to be an exit
For the runnin' kind

Other songs for various reasons will pop into my head while I'm running. One recently was during the Rocky Raccoon 25K in Huntsville last month. Earlier in the morning, I had met race director Paul Stone, whose full-time job is with the Palestine Herald Press. Stone, however, was originally a sportswriter - a skill set that I have in my bag of tools.

Just released about three weeks before the event was Gretchen Wilson's new CD, "All Jacked Up". The last song is one titled, "Not Bad For A Bartender." It's a song, written by Wilson, that talks about her meteoric rise in music being not too bad for a bartender, which she did during her climb to the top. So I started singing to myself on the trails, "Not bad for a sportswriter ...!" When I crossed the finish line, I walked back by Paul and said, "Hey, not bad for a sportswriter, huh?" :)

Tuesday Night Run: Bloomington, Indiana

I broke down.

I invested just under $3 at Wal-Mart for a hat and a pair of gloves and ventured out in 32 degrees weather at 10:30 p.m. to get in a 6.95-mile run in 1:17:38 for a 11:10/mile pace. (If I had wanted to spend $6 for a hat, I could have had a nice Nascar hat with the numbers of my favorite driver. Do you ever think that they'll eventually convince Danica Patrick to switch one day from the IRL?)

One of the individuals who commented on yesterday's run is also a recent addition to Houston's running bloggers. Her name is Barbara Boone and her blog can be found at http://blog.barbaraboone.com/. Barbara stated that she is an IU grad and is the only one that may appreciate the following detail of the run. :)

I headed back west out of the hotel, crossing over State Road 37 and venturing to Liberty Road before turning south. (The bank clock tonight was a bit different. It wasn't 49 degrees. It was 32!) The plan was to go as long as I could without overdoing it - or until I got too cold (whichever came first.) Nice and easy, but log some miles.

I headed south on Liberty Rd. all the way to Bloomfield Rd. - where there sits a "Steak and Shake" restaraunt that I've eaten at a couple of times including earlier that evening. (I get the Chili 5-Way!) The night before, I headed back to the east to do a loop; however, I wanted to run something different. I couldn't head west on that stretch of Bloomfield Rd. to get to Curry Pike so I turned back around, went north to Constitution, took a left until I came to Curry Pike.

Somewhere around here was 3 miles and I wasn't completely comfortable. Not so much from the cold. With the hat on my head (not fashionable, by the way) and the fleece zipped up around my neck, my glasses started to fog up because of the heat that I was generating around them. You have to pay attention enough at night to watch for oncoming traffic, but the last thing I want to do is to run - and can't see!

Once I got on to Curry Pike to head north again, my plan was to get to Jonathan Rd. and head back towards the hotel. Across the street from Jonathan Rd. is the GE Applicances plant. However, once I got close to it, I felt the sluggishness in my legs begin to wear off and began to stroke it some (for me, that is.) I ran north all the way to Vernal Pike, turned back to the south, ran to Jonathan Rd., took a left (heading east) and then ventured back to the hotel.

I was soaked and although I probably could have gone a little bit longer, I want to stay healthy too! The course, overall, was primarily flat with a slight bit of elevation change on both Liberty and Curry Pike but nothing like any of my previous runs in the former land of Bobby Knight!

6.95 miles, 1:17:38, 11:10/mile pace
http://www.harra.org/Route.asp?MapID=675

Week -- 12.79 miles, 2:23:27, 11:13/mile

Congratulations Carol Young!

It seems like every time I get on the Internet, I come across yet another runner from the greater Houston area that has a running blog.

Carol Young, a member of the Galloway Houston Runners Group, completed her 12th career marathon on Sunday in Seattle with a personal best of 6:19. Check out her blog at http://www.carolsmarathon.com/ and offer her a word of congratulations!

Monday Night Run: Bloomington, Indiana

My running last week was fairly easy, including the 10.3 miles that I did on Sunday with Waverly. (Make sure that that comes out right. The miles were important, but they were tougher for her than me. And if they weren't tough for her, she's sandbagging on me!)

I normally don't run on Monday nights because it is a travel day and I've probably run a race (or two) on the weekend; however, I had a very constructive comment made to me about the frequency of my runs per week as it related to me maintaining or improving my fitness. (I'm listening!)

I've got all kinds of things at play in my life right now. Therefore, dealing with some of those, it took me until 11:10 p.m. to get out the door and start my run. I decided to mix things up a little bit and headed another way once I got out on 3rd St. here in Bloomington, Indiana. (I stay at a Towne Place Suites that is situated along what I would consider to be a Farm-to-Market Road in Texas. A little like FM 1960 used to be before they went to three-and-three lanes. Therefore, nowhere I run is optimally safe. I have to keep a constant look out for cars; however, I love running late at night because most times I can run right in the middle of the lane on the street.)

In the first mile, I passed a bank clock that said 49 degrees. (Much better than the last bank clock temperature that I saw while running -- 68 degrees coming off the Pulaski Bridge in NYC at mile 13.5!) It felt colder because there was a good steady wind.

I packed to run in the cold this trip. I had on track-like sweat pants as well as a short sleeve technical shirt covered by a long sleeve race shirt and my XL "Love the Half" finisher's fleece which was zipped up around my neck. I'm not a big gloves person so I use socks to cover my hands. (Although tonight, I may have to relent as it was 36 degrees out at 1:15 p.m. this afternoon.)

During the first 2.5 miles, there is only a 40-foot elevation loss (even though a good bit of it seemed like a very slight incline.) Just after mile 3 on what becomes 2nd St., I climb 85 feet in elevation gain over the next .8 miles. The only time that I walked (other than to stop for traffic lights and oncoming traffic) was just short of the top of the hill. Really burned me up because I ran over the Verrazano-Narrows!

I would redeem myself in a little bit as the course dipped back to 773 feet (the elevation comes from the HARRA map tool) at mile 4.4. After a half mile slow climb back to 805 feet above sea level, there comes a fairly sharp hill that gains 50 feet in elevation. Needless to say, that one I ran.

Good run. I felt relaxed and kept it nice and easy even though I got some good work in.

5.84 miles, 1:05.49, 11:16/mile pace
http://www.harra.org/Route.asp?MapID=669

HARRA Fall Series Updated Team and Club Standings

With two races remaining - the Houstonian Lite 30K on December 11th and the Chevron Houston Marathon on January 15th - in HARRA's 2005 Fall Series competition, the race to determine the Team and Club champions could go down to the wire. Here are the standings, forwarded by HARRA president Tom Stilwell via vice president of clubs, Roger Boak:

HARRA Fall Series TEAM Standings
1.) 192 - Bayou City Road Runners
2.) 175 - Houston Striders
3.) 174 - Tornados Running Club
4.) 138 - Terlingua Track Club
5.) 102 - Al Lawrence Running Club
6.) 87 - Bay Area Running Club
7.) 65 - Houston Masters Sports Association
8.) 63 - Houston Harriers
9.) 33 - Houston Fit
10.) 19 - Finish Line Sports
11.) 16 - PTI
12.) 12 - Fort Bend Fit
13.) 4 - Runner's High Club
14.) 2 - Galloway Running Club
15.) 2 - Kenyan Way

HARRA Fall Series CLUB Standings
1.) 332 - Houston Striders
2.) 306 - Bayou City Road Runners
3.) 220 - Tornados Running Club
4.) 152 - Terlingua Track Club
5.) 122 - Al Lawrence Running Club
6.) 97 - Bay Area Running Club
7.) 69 - Houston Masters Sports Association
8.) 65 - Houston Harriers
9.) 47 - Houston Fit
10.) 20 - Fort Bend Fit
11.) 19 - Finish Line Sports
12.) 16 - PTI
13.) 4 - Runner's High Club
14.) 2 - Galloway Running Club
15.) 2 - Kenyan Way

December Reader Participation

The holiday season is upon us. Less than four (4) weeks until Christmas and 48 days to the Chevron Houston Marathon and the Aramco Half Marathon or as Waverly calculated this morning before school - 1,152 hours as of 7 a.m.

I'd like for each of you that read this blog on a regular basis to consider participating in the following exercise sometime in the month of December.

I'd like to know 1.) what your top 10 events were in 2005 and this may be a combination of how you performed as well as how the event was managed (use whatever scoring system you would to rate these!), 2.) what one person - or more than one, if necessary - inspired you to achieve more this year or to perservere or endure more as a runner and 3.) what are some of your goals for 2006.

Please send me an e-mail at walksports(at)aol.com when you've had the chance to complete this - and there is absolutely no rush!

Thank you - the reader of this blog - for making my running year much more enjoyable and the enormous number of friends and acquaintances that I've made as a result of putting it together for all of our mutual benefit!

What's Ahead?

For me, a lot hinges on how well I do Saturday morning at the Fitness Solutions Jingle Jog 10-Miler in Pearland. If I have a good race, I'll probably sign up for the 18th annual Houstonian Lite 30K, which is scheduled for Sunday, December 11th in Sugarland and then potentially do the Texas Marathon on New Year's Day in Kingwood.

Actually, after doing 10.3 miles earlier this evening with Waverly, I'm hoping that I can use these last four (4) upcoming long runs with her to work on my pacing for the Texas Marathon, if I choose to do it. (Obviously though, I don't want to be doing a 14:14/mile for that - a 6:13 marathon; however, I do want to find the place that I can go longer at a steadier pace.) Isn't that the magic bullet that we are all striving for?

Waverly Caps Off Weekend With 10.3 Miles!

The schedule said 9 miles. Therefore, our target running time was 2:15 or 15 minutes per mile. (I don't want to set a target for Waverly any faster than that given that this is the first time her legs are handling this distance.)

Waverly and I ventured out at approximately 6:40 p.m. and started on our normal 2.1-mile loop course but added two stretches to it that would take it close to four (4) miles - almost exactly the same distance that Lance Collins and I had run Thursday night.

After we were done, I got in the truck and measured it to be 4.1 miles! Therefore, two (2) 4.1-mile loops and one (1) 2.1-mile loop equals a whopping 10.3 miles! (Actually, I thought that the 4-mile loops were going to be under and that the additional 2.1 would put us a shade over - not 1.3!)

Waverly ran/jogged about 90% of the first loop, 80% of the second loop and about 50% of the last loop. Not shabby at all! She did great! Here are what the time splits looked like:

Loop 1 (4.1 miles) -- 57:11.61 -- 13:57/mile (1:45.78 break to take on fluids)
Loop 2 (4.1 miles) -- 58:53.95 -- 14:22/mile (1:59.66 break)
Loop 3 (2.1 miles) -- 30:29.15 -- 14:31/mile

Total (10.3 miles) -- 2:26:34.71 -- 14:14/mile

The only drawback is that Waverly's right ankle has been bothering her of late and that flared up before the last loop. She put some ice (actually some nice packets that Steve Schroeder gave me) on it once she got back inside.

Earlier on Saturday, I completed a rainy Run The Woodlands 5K #142 in 29:21.51 while Waverly did so in 40:48 - her 3rd best of 12 career 5Ks. (She's four RTWs away from being the youngest member of the event's 10-race club.) Doing so allowed the two of us to be part of 43 career runners to do the Thanksgiving Day 5-Miler in The Woodlands and Run The Woodlands 5K on the same weekend. My time splits were as follows:

Mile 1 -- 8:55.83
Mile 2 -- 9:37.77 (18:33.60)
Mile 3 -- 9:53.36 (28:26.96)
Last .1 -- 54.55

Final -- 29:21.51 (9:28/mile)

Actually though, this was one race that I could have done better.

I was a little gassed after a fast first mile. When I hit the mile 1 marker (blue dot!), I needed to take a quick walk. Debbie Tripp, who I frequently run close to or with in these races, passed me at the mile 1 marker and she knew that we both nailed a fast first mile.

I immediately came back and passed her, but she held tough. We stayed with each other like Tergat-Ramaala through the 1.8-mile spot where I took a couple of steps advantage, but she refused to yield. Even though I was on a close to PR pace, there was a twinge of humidity in the air, mixed with the rain, that mentally influenced me to simply back off at the mile 2 marker. I took another walk break and she opened up what proved to be a 17-second advantage at the finish (29:04 to 29:21). I really missed an opportunity to attempt some race tactics for over a mile and I never had the energy to kick to try and close the gap as Debbie usually starts slower and finishes off fairly solid.

Unfortunately, I think that I did this on Thursday at the mile 3-mark of the Run Thru The Woods 5M when I registered a 9:21/mile pace. To be honest, I think I was spoiled with the weather of the weekend before when I posted two really good races in the 10K in Missouri City and the half marathon in Austin.

In closing, congratulations to Vera Balic of the Bay Area Running Club, a good friend of a good friend of mine, Shelley Stephenson, who registered a 1:41:17 half marathon earlier today in the Harris Direct Seattle Half Marathon. Balic, who bypassed the Chicago Marathon earlier last month because she didn't feel as if she could do it as well as she wanted given her training, ran the half today with incredible consistency -- 7:45/mile in the front 10K and 7:43/mile in the back 6.9 miles, according to the event's web site.

Turkey Day Event Stats!

In Houston (by overall finishers) .....
First Choice ER Run Thru The Woods 5M - 1,328
TXU Energy Uptown Turkey Trot 5K - 1,032
TXU Energy Uptown Turkey Trot 10K - 857
Sean Scroggins SNB Turkey Trot 5M - 497
First Choice ER Run Thru The Woods Kids 1M - 419
Cinco Ranch Turkey 5K - 205

Across Texas (by overall finishers) .....
Dallas YMCA Turkey Trot 8M - 3,838
Austin Thundercloud Subs Turkey Trot 5M - 1,767

What initially piqued my curiosity was what I thought the depth of the field at the Run Thru The Woods 5M was. When I just took a look at the number of runners posting gun times of under 6 minutes per mile, there were 27 while there were just 22 at the TXU Energy Uptown Turkey Trot 10K. Here are the rankings:

Run Thru The Woods 5M - 27 (2.03% of the entire field)
TXU Energy Turkey Trot 10K - 22 (2.56%)
Sean Scroggins SNB Turkey Trot 5K - 10 (2.01%)
TXU Energy Turkey Trot 5K - 19 (1.84%)
Cinco Ranch Turkey 5K - 3 (1.46%)

Dallas YMCA Turkey Trot 8M - 43 (1.12%)
Austin Thundercloud Subs Turkey Trot 5M - 27 (1.53%)

Which is the strongest field? Do you take it out to 6- or 7-minute milers to determine the depth of the quality of the field? Or just simply the more number of faster runners make it a tougher race?

HRBs Turkey Day Weekend Update

Dallas Turkey Troy 8M
Edwin Quarles 57:45.2 (time is listed as 57:50.55; chip difference is 5.35 seconds)

Run Thru The Woods 5M
Rick Cook 39:16.6
Dave Smart 46:46.7
Jon Walk 48:21.3 (chip) 48:23.34 (watch)

TXU Energy Uptown Turkey Trot 10K
Scott Effner 39:20.0
Manuel Mondragon 58:38.8
Cassie Cowan 1:02:27.2
Jennifer Kim 1:04:05.3
Sarah Graybeal 1:06:29.7
Erica Smith 1:20:45.8

Friends of HRB!
Lance Collins, Sean Scroggins SNB Trot 5M, 31:01.1, 5th in age group
Steve Schroeder, Dallas Turkey Trot 8M, 53:11.4

(Lance and I got in what I hope to find out to be a little more than 4 miles this evening here in my subdivision. I can't "google map" the streets where I live because most are new since the last set of maps were done. Lance is a fellow Spring HS graduate (him '81, me '84) whose parents live on the other side of Interstate 45. He had a chance to meet my wife, Gena, and check out, as Jennifer Kim put it, "Chateau de Walk." We had a good run that lasted 44:14. I wasn't running at 5K or 10K pace but slightly behind it. I was still fairly conversational the entire time. We share a passion for the sport that many of us that congregate around these blogs, as well as race courses, do. I had a great visit and appreciated him dialing back the pace a little bit. It's the first time in two months that I've run twice in the same day; however, I'm all the better for it!)

Don Drewniak: Happy Thanksgiving!

Run The Woodlands 5K was always (and is still) a "grass roots" race.

And today, we employed a little "grass roots" advertising!

Even though Bill Dwyer took this picture inside the Cynthia Mitchell Woods Pavillion, I stood with the sign 25 minutes before Waverly's race at the main intersection and wished runners "Happy Thanksgiving!"

While I was doing the 5-mile event, Waverly stood in the middle of that same intersection with the sign! And after this Saturday, it will be the Houston Running Bloggers 5K #2 on Saturday, December 10th as part of Run The Woodlands 5K #143.

First Choice ER Run Thru The Woods Race Report

We trotted ... and we ran.

We got to the First Choice ER Run Thru The Woods 5M event early, as always. I had a chance to see a lot of people before the race that I knew. They included: Bill Dwyer, Mike Mendeck, Jeff Sharp, Mark Gonzales, Pam Paling, Frank Halter, Bill Rowe, Rick Cook, Robert Duncan, Ken Johnson and I got a chance to meet Bill Thompson from Conroe (I had seen his page, linked here, a few times) as well as two women that Bill was helping walk through their first 5-mile event.

Waverly and I did a warm up run all the way over to the Luke's Locker store and back. For about 25 minutes, I stood on one (1) of the main corners with a poster board that Waverly made for the Run The Woodlands 5K on Saturday. (Ann Leoni passed by and stated, correctly, that the poster board probably cost less than the $1 RTW entry fee.)

This is the third straight Turkey Day run that I've done and while I love it, one thing that I think I've noticed is that there are a lot of folks running who don't do races regularly. And I say that because Waverly and I both know to start towards the back and we both had to dodge a lot of smaller kids (4-6 year olds in her run) and adult runners/walkers.

I saw fellow Strider Jeff Sharp and his stepdaughter, ahead of me but not too far, dodging runners all the way past the 1-mile mark. It wasn't until we went over Interstate 45, up the feeder road and off towards Oak Ridge High School that I was able to run with a bit of ease. (Lesson for next year? Move up on Thanksgiving Day.)

Waverly did super; however, I think that the course was short. (C'mon folks, how hard is it to measure off a mile?) The winning times last year were in the mid-to-high 6's for boys and low 7's for girls - maximum age of 12 years. They were in the low 5's for the boys this year and mid 5's for the girls.

Gun time for her was approximately 10 minutes and the chip time was 9:44.

On the 5-mile run, my stopwatch time was 48:23.34. I was at the mile 3 mark in 28:02.94 and the last two (2) miles were 10:35.53 and 9:44.81.

Mile markers were basically ineffective and/or non-existent in this race. If you looked at the map on the event web site, http://www.runthruthewoods.org/, there are no mile markings at all. It just shows you what streets you'll be running on.

I never saw any marking or sign at mile 1. I heard somebody call out "9:35" and I thought to myself, "Ok, I was almost two minutes from crossing the start line. That means I just did a 7-plus mile? No way." (Looking at the USATF certification map done 5 years ago, the '1' marker is on the other side of Interstate 45.)

Mile 2 was no better. On the side of Oak Ridge HS, there are two big "O/R" red and blue paintings on the street. Just beyond the second one read, "Mile 2 RTW." I couldn't hit my watch because it was covered up by my shirt; however, the gentleman that was calling out the times (though not clearly audible) was standing close to the water stop in front of the high school (which is where he was supposed to according to the certification map.)

Mile 3 was right on the money and had a clock. So that is the first time that I hit my watch.

Mile 4 was almost all of the way up the up ramp of the exit. Again, spray painted on the street; however, I thought they had clearly visible signs last year. I talked to Craig Calmes after the race and he thought mile 4 was off or long. It was long. If you looked at the certification map, you couldn't tell for sure where mile 4 really was - whether it was supposed to be on the feeder road (which is where I think it was before) or where they said it was today.

So 48:23.34 was a 9:41/mile effort. 9:21 per mile in the first three and 10:10 per on the back two. After having two excellent races last weekend, I'm not going to cry too much over spilled milk on this one. I felt pretty good for the most part, but I felt my quads being a bit sore starting just before the mile 3 marker.

Sean Wade won it all. He avenged his loss from last year and defeated another young guy (he lost to 23-year-old Adam David last year), Andrew Cook from Flower Mound, who finished second. I met Sean after the race. Nice guy. We didn't talk too long, which was fine. He was talking to Luis Armenteros.

Statistically speaking, this was event #138 and #58 this year. It was the seventh 5-mile/8K that I've done. (Yes, I know that the 5-mile is just a tad bit longer.) It was an event record for me (49:45.1 last year) and the second fastest 5-miler that I've ever done.

After the race, I visited with Mike Mendeck, Ken Johnson and Craig Calmes. I saw and said hello to Tom Pinney and Lou Wilson as well before we headed home. (There appeared to be a good group from Seven Hills Running Club out, but I didn't get a chance to stand around and visit too long.)

I'll break down the results and give a "Who's Who" rundown later this evening or when the results are online! And if you need to burn those calories off from later today, please come out Saturday and do Run The Woodlands 5K #142 at 8:00 a.m. in The Woodlands.

Happy Thanksgiving!

It's 5:15 a.m. and I'm a few minutes from going in and getting a shower before waking Waverly up and heading up the road to the First Choice ER Run Thru The Woods 5M / 1M Kids event today near The Woodlands Mall. This will be the first event that I've run (other than Run The Woodlands 5K) in each of the three years that I've been running.

I've made a couple of additions to the web site. They are as follows:

Event Logs: Waverly Walk Jessica Alexander Cassie Cowan Holden Choi
All-Time Houston Marathon Warm Up Series Winners
First Choice ER Run Thru The Woods 5M Results (2001-2004)

I told Waverly that she'll have a chance this morning to meet one of the best runners in the city in Sean Wade. Sean came up to The Woodlands last Thanksgiving and was defeated by 23-year-old Adam David. When I was at packet pickup Tuesday evening, it was hard not to notice "Wade" a few lines above "Walk". I e-mailed Sean and asked to see about saying "Hello!" after the race. (I really didn't get a chance to see who else was going to be there. Run Thru The Woods will probably have about 2,000 runners participate this morning. It's a community-like event and I anticipate seeing a lot of my friends and great people.)

Again, Happy Thanksgiving!

Moving Up In The World ...

My goodness, what a surprise! I made it in another of Lance Phegley's Inside Texas Running photo galleries! (And it actually is a decent picture of me!)

http://www.insidetexasrunning.com/other/hmsa25k_pix2005.html

Ten (10) pictures are in the Gallery and they include one of Bayou City Road Runners' top female runners, Bonnie Jo Barron, and former HARRA president and Houston Strider Steve Shepard. A couple of Houston Harriers are there as well as a picture of a Finish Line Sports member and a Tornados member.

November 2005 HARRA Board Meeting Recap from Tom Stilwell

Before reading any further, I'd be remiss if I didn't say the following: "If you live in the Gulf Coast area and are not a member of HARRA (the Houston Area Road Runners Association), please consider doing so to support running in our area."

You do not have to be a member of a running club, such as Bay Area Running Club, Clear Lake Fitness Club, etc., to join HARRA. However, if you buy just two pairs of shoes a year, the 10% discount (on non-sale items) that you receive at any of the five (5) running specialty stores (20% at Andy Stewart's Finish Line Sports) will pay for your annual HARRA membership.

After each month's HARRA Board Meeting, which is held on the 3rd Monday of every month beginning at 6:00 p.m. at the Memorial Park Club House next to Beck's Prime, HARRA president Tom Stilwell provides a brief written summary (not to replace the official meeting minutes) to board members, club contacts and interested parties. I posted an excerpt last month here in this blog. The summary went out today on Jerry Smith's e-mail list, which is a member benefit. Therefore, I wanted to wait until that either happened or it had been a few days even though I've been given an OK from Tom to communicate anything from the summary that I thought might benefit you -- the rank-and-file runner!

+ Peter Tyler reported that the Memorial Park Conservancy and volunteers from Harra had finished the pathway from the Arboretum to the Equestrian Tunnel. He also reported that the conservancy plans to update the bulletin boards at Memorial Park to include more useful information, i.e. maps of the park. If you have any suggestions for the contents of the bulletin boards, please contact Peter Tyler at peter@memorialparkconservancy.org.

+ Officer J. Roberts with the Houston Police Department gave an update on safety at Memorial Park. Memorial Park and Hermann Park are the only two parks in Houston with dedicated officers on site. From 11 p.m. to 6 a.m., there is one officer on site, at other times there are up to 3 officers on site as well as the mounted patrol.

The Houston Police Department is actively investigating the recent attack on a runner at the park, and welcomes any reports of suspicious behavior or activity seen by any runner.

Officer Roberts also noted that thefts from parked cars is on the rise again at Memorial Park. He emphasized that you should not leave valuables in plain site in the car, and that you should not hide you car keys in your gas cap, on your tire, or under your bumper while you are running. If you see any suspicious activity at the park, non-emergency reports can be made to 713-884-3131, and emergency reports should be made to -911.

+ Randy Carlson reported that he had turned in the track dimensions to Steve Costello, the president of the Memorial Park Conservancy. Mr. Costello is supposed to evaluate the proposed dimensions and determine whether a full track can be positioned in the same general area as the existing track.

+ The next major trail to be built at Memorial Park will be along Crestwood. It was discussed that this would be a good project for the Tornados. The timing of the work would be in January after the marathon. Tom is going to contact the Tornados about the project.

+ The 30K race requirements were discussed. Andy Stewart furnished written responses to HARRA's requirements and submitted the name of his medical team to Dr. Bob Hoekman.

+ The 20K was briefly reviewed. Everyone thought it was a successful race.

+ The 25K was reviewed. In general the heat caused excess consumption of fluids beyond any prior year's experience at the 25k. While water remained on the course, two of the three stations did run out of Gatorade. Two people were transported to the hospital with heat related issues, and one person went to the hospital with an ankle injury after stepping off of a curb during the set up of the race. Everyone is reported to be doing well now.

+ The Just for Kids Run (managed by the Memorial Park Running Club) is set up for this weekend. They have more than 400 entrants already, more than prior years. They have 60 volunteers scheduled for the event, but always welcome additional help and volunteers with the kids on race day.

+ The ROTS / Club Competition is complete through the 20K and will be posted to the website shortly. The 25K results will be posted just after Thanksgiving before the 30K.

+ Brian Malarkey at Kirksey Architects has prepared a draft drawing of the proposed water fountain in River Oaks. In order to comply with ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) requirements, we will have to build a ramp up to the proposed water fountain site, and this will necessarily entail putting a cement or brick plaza around the water fountain. Final color drawings and a Photoshop rendition of the site are forthcoming.

+ The Resolution Run proposed as a joint project between the City of Houston, Memorial Park Conservancy, and HARRA has been downgraded from a formal event to an informal event. The event will be formally planned for next year. This year, Doug Earl will be leading runners and walkers in the park starting at 11:30 p.m. on December 31. There will be a drawing for two Southwest Airlines plane tickets at 12:30 a.m. To be eligible, you must have walked or run for at least 30 minutes.

+ Chris Rampacek will be hosting a New Year's event at the Post Oak YMCA. The event will be a 12-hour relay on the track. The event starts at 1 p.m. on Dec. 31st and finishes at 1 a.m. on January 1. Packet pick up is Dec. 30 from 5-9 p.m. and December 31 from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m., both at the Post Oak YMCA.

+ Membership is currently up to 1,520, 13 more than last year.

+ The treasury has been paying for the Kids Run, but the net income for the year is up from the same period last year.

+ The website usage has doubled, and Geoff Guenther plans to enter the site in the RRCA competitions.

+ The VVIP and Member Discount programs are working well. VVIP will plan a kickoff for the Spring like the Fall Party in the Park.

+ Power in Motion successfully completed its season.

Hope you have a very happy, peaceful, and safe Thanksgiving!
Tom

What's On Your Wrist?

I'm not real big on watches. Once I pick one, I usually stick with it until it dies.

I was reading a serious, yet lighthearted post on Rick Cook's blog, Geaux Running, about his Timex Ironman watch dying. (Psst ... Rick, I'm sure you didn't see Penn State passing LSU in the BCS this week. JoePa's back and PSU football is fun again!) Anyways, it's a good read from a guy who is passionate about his running!

The Striders' Steve Shepard would always be surprised during the latter part of last year that I would wear my dress watch while I ran. I, of course, knew that a "real runner" has a watch that can do all sorts of fancy things such as splits, etc. I didn't feel like I was there yet although I was definitely making strides.

Before the Houston Marathon, I was doing some shopping with some Christmas and birthday money and was looking for one of the Garmin GPS units. I had read a lot of nice reviews, but was kind of unsure about the foot piece as well as how reliable it was up in my part of town (with a lot of trees ... well, for now.) When I went to Luke's in The Woodlands, one of the saleswomen (I know her to see her but I don't know her name) actually talked me out of it.

I languished until right before the Marathon; however, I bought a Timex Ironman watch and I haven't been happier since. It worked wonderfully during the Marathon (and since) and I was able to see and recall exactly what the time versus the amount of perceived effort (and allowed me to start analyzing where and what I was doing.)

The dress watch? Well, it's still in my laptop bag for work.

Waverly posts a 1-mile PR today of 10:42.91!

Each year, Waverly's school has a mile run in the spring as part of their overall physical fitness program. And in the fall (or early winter), they do a "practice" mile run at Meyer Park in northwest Houston near the intersection of Cypresswood Drive and Stuebner-Airline.

Her fifth grade class was the first group to do their run this morning at 8:35 a.m. So Waverly and I got there at about 8:15 to 8:20 a.m. and we got out there and ran to the 1/4-mile post just to see what her pace was going to be like. We covered it in 2:29. (We walked back and what I should have done was a slower pace going back to see what 3:00 or 2:50 was going to feel like.)

Her times last year were 11:56.96 (in January) and 11:36 (in April). So I set a target for her last night of 11:00. I felt that this was reasonable and the idea was to try and go 3:00, 2:50, 2:40 and 2:30 in the four (4) quarter mile splits. So when we got there and she did the first one in 2:29 as a warmup, I thought like she'd be able to handle it.

Before we started, I checked with her P.E. teacher, Mrs. Young, to find out what the targets this year were for a 10-year-old girl. The "presidential" time was 9:19 and the "national" time was 11:22. I knew, unless she got hurt on the path, that she'd make it without a problem.

As I mentioned in January's report (which also was the first time Cassie ever posted a comment on the blog), all of the kids go off like gangbusters. Some treat it seriously and do well and there are others who could finish it a minute or two sooner yet they just aimlessly walk parts of it, etc.

Waverly went through the first quarter mile at 2:29.60. I'm thinking "hmmm ... a bit fast". (In the truck coming home, I'm also thinking "hmmm ... wonder who she gets that from.") I made the comment to her that she did great and had some time in the bank.

The next quarter mile she handled pretty steady, but took a quick walk break before the halfway point and logged a second quarter mile of 2:48.21 for a half mile time of 5:17.81. (I remembered a time that there was no way that I could do this!)

Quarter mile #3 was a bit more of a struggle. Not sure if she was gassed or not, but she walked a bit more and posted a split of 2:56.02. (We put off her 8.5 miles on Sunday because I wanted her legs to be completely fresh so she could do well here at school!)

Then with a little bit of a push from Dad, she focused and cranked off a 2:29.08 split (the fastest of the four) for a finishing time of 10:42.91! (For new readers to this blog, you need to know that Waverly's between 5'2" and 5'3" and probably 120 pounds perhaps.)

1/20/05 -- 2:53.34, 3:02.99, 3:12.10 and 2:48.53 -- 11:56.96.
11/22/05 -- 2:29.60, 2:48.21, 2:56.02 and 2:29.08 -- 10:42.91.

Last year, at the Anadarko Run Thru The Woods on Thanksgiving Day, she did the mile in 13:30.5. (Dad remembers it was really cold last Thanksgiving - although not the 28 degrees it was on Christmas Day - and she didn't take to it real well!)

(Dad, meanwhile, ended up getting three loops in of 1.33 miles for a total of 4. Even though I took yesterday off, my quads are still a little beat up from the weekend. So I'm not sure what else I'll do today or tomorrow before Turkey Day's Run Thru The Woods 5M in The Woodlands. I have two targets. My course PR is 49:45.1 and my 5-mile PR is 47:06.7 (Park to Park Run in February). And unlike Park to Park and Saturday's 10K in Missouri City, you have to cross the 45 overpass twice! But I think Dad's done enough hills here recently to handle it!)

Evening addition: After picking up our packets at the YMCA in The Woodlands, I went to Bally's and did 30 minutes on the elliptical trainer (2.67 miles) and 30 minutes on the stationery bike. I was going easy on the trainer, but I also began to get light-headed. So I got some water, got back on to try another 30 minutes and I found that I couldn't get more than about 3 minutes in without wondering whether I could finish it or not.

RunTex.com's Motive Bison Stampede Race Report

Motive Mastered by Rzepecki and Malakwen

Sunday, November 20, 2005

http://www.runtex.com/NewsView.asp?key_m=468

That the Motive Bison Stampede Half Marathon course is a monster is a given. But when the overall winners of the race—Nicodemus Malakwen of Kenya and Jackie Rzepecki of Michigan—declare it the hardest race they’ve ever run, you know Motive is one tough mother.

But that’s the challenge of Motive: getting up and over the endless series of ups and downs that punctuate the course from mile 4 ½ practically all the way to the finish at Motive HQ in northwest Austin.

Making the race on Sunday morning more palatable for the nearly 2,000 runners was the first hint of winter. Last year, it was overcast but extremely humid and warm. On Sunday, it was clear, dry and refreshingly cool (42 degrees at the start). The wind was problematical--blowing from the north at 10-15 mph which stood the runners up at various points on the 13.1-mile course.

The wind didn’t seem to slow Nicodemus Malakwen or his training partner Benson Osoro. The Kenyans bolted off the starting line and immediately gapped Kyle O’Brien of the Brooks-Hanson’s team of Rochester Hills, Michigan. “I didn’t know what the Kenyans’ strategy was going to be,” said O’Brien after finishing third, “but as soon as the gun went off, they were gone.”

Indeed. The Kenyans left O’Brien and local stud Gilbert Tuhabonye struggling in no-man’s land by themselves. Clearly, the Kenyans were gunning for T-Bone’s 2002 course record of 1:08:40 and the $500 bonus that went along with it. “I was never in it,” said T-Bone who wasn’t exactly celebrating his 31st birthday after finishing fourth in 1:11:21. “They were just too strong.”

That much was evident as the duo from Nairobi cruised through the easy first three miles in 14:04, seemingly oblivious of the series of four hills on Rain Creek starting around the 4 ½-mile mark. TruWest added a little spice to the race by offering $100 bonus to the man and woman who could climb Rain Creek the fastest.

For some reason, neither of the Kenyans were wearing a timing chip so their mile splits on Rain Creek weren’t recorded which made Phil Kochik the King of the hill. Kolchik took the $100 with a 5:46.6 uphill mile although Malakwen and Osoro probably had a faster time. The Queen of the day (and $100) went to Liz Shelton who chugged up Rain Creek in 6:16 which would have placed her seventh among the men.

Even the Kenyans struggled up Rain Creek, but still went through 10-K in 29:47. At the top of the hills, Malakwen ditched his training partner and opened up a gap that extended to nearly three minutes.

Race over. “Those hills were much more difficult than I thought they would be,” said Malakwen after finishing first in 1:04:48 which obliterated Tuhabonye’s couse record. “We train on hills all the time outside of Nairobi, but these were harder. I didn’t know Texas was so hilly.”

Neither did Jackie Rzepecki. The 27-year-old lives in Michigan but was raised in upstate New York where she trained on hills all the time. “This is—by far—the toughest course I have ever run,” she said after winning in 1:19:48, well off Lori Zimmerman’s ’02 course mark of 1:18:18. “I was very hesitant because of the hills so I went out conservatively.”

So conservatively that she was running well behind Desiree Ficker and Christine Kimbrough for the first 11 miles. Kimbrough, who won the first two races in the Distance Series, didn’t know until last night whether she could even run as her husband was on a business trip to China. But he came home just in time to watch their four children so Kimbrough could continue her exceptional fall racing season.

Rzepecki cruised a 6:34 mile up Rain Creek (11 seconds slower than Kimbrough), but once over the hills began to move. She ran a 5:42 mile between 10 and 11 and caught Kimbrough just past the 11th mile marker. Although Rzepecki faltered a little bit in the final mile (run into a head wind), she held Kimbrough off to win by 50 seconds.

Kimbrough finished in 1:20:38 with 40-year-old Charla Hisler in third in 1:21:25 and tri goddess Ficker was fourth in 1:23:38. Liz Shelton was fifth in 1:24:29 and Sara Pizzochero, on a her final tuneup run before the White Rock Marathon in Dallas, was sixth in 1:25:22.

Hisler was an easy winner in among the masters with Cindy Salazar in second in 1:28:44 and Caroline Chamness third in 1:31:28. The mature women were led by Karen Bowler in 1:40:22 and Marcia Herzik in 1:41:39.

Among the men, 40-year-old John Paladino was the fastest master (11th overall) with a superb 1:19 effort. He was followed by 43-year-old Scott McIntyre in 1:20:50 and Scott Birk in 1:20:55.

Leading the geriatrics were Corpus Christi’s remarkable Clint Mericle, 52, in 1:23:48 with 51-year-old Bill Patience next in 1:26:48. The top really old guy was your faithful correspondent (Bob Wischnia) in 1:31:59 who edged out training partner Paul Seals in 1:32:34.

Big winners of the day was the Leukemia and Lymphona Society. Motive donates all entry fees and sponsorship from this race to the LLS and before the race announced that in the six years of Motive’s title sponsorship, it has raised more than $500,000 from the race for blood cancer research.

Next up in the Distance Challenge series is the classic—the Decker 20-K Challenge on December 4th. After the tortuous twins of Pervasive and Motive, the rolling hills of Decker will seem like a mere speed bump.

Motive Bison Stampede Race Report

I wanted to do this race last year; however, I think it fell on the weekend after the HMSA Classical 25K. I know Houston Striders' Charlie Rodriguez last year ran New York City one week (4:31:32 - which was off of his Austin PR of 3:45, I think), volunteered for the 25K the next and then ran Motive Bison Stampede two weeks after NYC. He covered the tough course in 1:48:05.3.

So, you are wondering, "How did I do?" For the elevation changes of this course (you can see a course narrative here and see the elevation map here), I did well. My chip time was 2:21:09.1. (My watch time was 2:21:11.50. I love it when it is close!) And I did this after:

1.) Not getting a decent night's sleep as planned because of a family matter outside of my own house (didn't finally get to sleep until 11:15 p.m.) and,
2.) Getting up at 2-something to leave by 3:15 a.m. so that I could pick my packet and chip up by 6:30 a.m. for a 7:30 a.m. race start.)

The two first people that I see after getting out of the truck: Striders' Karen and Tim Bowler!

Yikes! It was cold and windy! I wore a technical short-sleeved running shirt with my 2003 The Half windshirt overtop. Race time temperature was 50 degrees with some good stiff winds at times - even late in the race as it started to warm up during miles 12-13.

Outside of the hills, I ran a pretty consistent race even though I was closer to 11 minutes per mile than 10. I think at this point though, given yesterday's and today's performance in this type of weather, I think I can get inside my 2:16 half marathon PR from this April on a flat course.

My splits today were as follows:

Mile 1 -- 10:06.30
Mile 2 -- 9:49:44 (19:55.74)
Mile 3 -- 10:01.12 (29:56.86)
Mile 4 -- 10:38.88 (40:35.74) -- I lost 15-30 seconds waiting for the Mile 3 rest stop to pour gatorade, which was the first stop that had it.
Mile 5 -- 10:54.31 (51:30.05) -- Included a steep downhill and the beginning part of the climb of Rain Creek. The climb started at about 4.5 miles. There were three short hills that carried over into mile 6.
Mile 6 -- 11:25.76 (1:02:55.81) -- This included a fourth hill before the mile 7 marker.
Mile 7 -- 11:33.89 (1:14:29.70)
Mile 8 -- 10:45.17 (1:25:14.87)
Mile 9 -- 10:23.58 (1:35:38.45) <-- Fastest Mile 9 of a half marathon since April 1, '05
Mile 10 -- 11:00.10 (1:46:38.55)
Mile 11 -- 10:50.62 (1:57:29.17) <-- Fastest Mile 11 of a half marathon since April 1, '05
Mile 12 -- 11:03.92 (2:08:33.09)
Mile 13 -- 11:31.46 (2:20:04.55) -- It isn't the heat that gets me. It is the sun. The sun started to come out here *plus* my quads and left hamstring were pretty beat up from the hard 10K yesterday and hills today.
Last .1 -- 1:06.95 (2:21:11.50)

As part of the "King of the Hill Challenge," the event had discussed before in a press release that I posted on this blog earlier in the week, they actually recorded your time from mile 4.5 to mile 5.5 (from the bottom to the top of the hill.) Run-Far timed it this way:

To the hill -- 45:55.7 - 10:07/mile
The hill -- 11:34.5
From the hill -- 1:23:38.8 -- 11:04/mile

Excellent event, with the exception of the first two water stops at mile 1.5 and 3. (They were not prepared at all -or- just didn't have enough lead time with the volunteer crew, which were Motive employees. They had a water station contest and I voted for the Harry Potter one. Everybody was dressed up as well as signs made for along the road with interesting crack commentary!)

One of the best medals that I've ever received. Of the 18 medals (three marathon, one 10-miler, one 30K and 13 halves), this is the only one in color! Nice simple t-shirt and a pair of event running socks! Finish line was very well organized. You got your medal handed to you and chip removed immediately. A few short steps later you received water, gatorade and a plastic H-E-B bag with a banana, animal crackers, those orange-colored cheese crackers and a Clif bar. Walk out of your shute to the right and there were bagels, burritos (1) and donuts (2). They were Krispy Kremes!

Before the race, I watched the eventual winner, Nicodemus Malakwen from Kenya, stay out of the cold just like every one else. He was wearing what looked to be almost brand new Adidas shoes (couldn't tell the brand) and the only thing that he really did was stretch his quads where you grab your ankle and pull it back to your rear end.

Even though his legs where skinny, the definition and muscular build of his thighs were surprising for such a skinny guy.

Malakwen would take advantage of the great weather and shatter the course record of 1:08:40 set by Gilbert Tuhabonye in 2002 with a pristine time of 1:04:48.5. Fellow Kenyan and runnerup Benson Osoro, 30, also broke the course mark in a time of 1:07:36.6.

The duo, from Cary, NC, were brought in to Austin with a couple of Hanson Running Project runners (Rezpecki and Kyle O'Brien, who finished 3rd in the men's) by Freescale Austin Marathon race director John Conley.

Jackie Rezpecki, 27, beat Chris Kimbrough and Desiree Ficker to go 1-2-3 in the women's field. Rezpecki's winning time of 1:21:25.7 was three minutes off of the women's course record. It is the third race that Kimbrough, a 36-year-old stay-at-home mom, and Ficker have gone 1-2. Ficker won the Capitol 10K in April while Kimbrough won the IBM Uptown Classic 10K last month.

Locally, new Houston Strider Caroline Chamness, 40, of Kingwood, who qualified as an elite runner for the Houston Marathon at the Koala/Luke's Locker 20K ,was third overall in the Master's Division in 1:31:28.6.

Speaking of other Striders, 56-year-old Karen Bowler easily won her age group in a time of 1:40:21.3. (Easily. By almost 12 minutes.) Karen's husband, Tim, 57, covered the course in 2:01:28.0.

Today, it was my 21st career half marathon, including my 10th this year. It is the 6th fastest half marathon that I've ever done. (Huntsville five weeks ago was my 5th best.)

Other "Faces in the Crowd" included the following:

Beckner, Zoey - Humble resident and UT student, 19, was 19th overall in the women's and first in 15-19 age group in 1:34:26.2. (She recently joined the Tornados in HARRA competition.)
Birt, Jill - 8-year-old who covered the course in 2:17:24.5. (She ran Motorola in February as a 7-year-old in 3:55:03.)
Capetillo, Leslie - Texas 10K Challenge finisher from Pflugerville, 43, 2:33:27.
Gwyn, Katie - The Woodlands resident, 25, who won a few Run The Woodlands 5Ks earlier this year was 18th overall and 5th in 25-29 age group with a 1:34:10.7 posting.
Harrington, Ty - Texas State (formerly SW Texas State) head baseball coach, 41, 2:22:37.
Harvie, Ben - Terlingua Track Club/On The Run Racing Team/Kemah resident, 59, 1:32:48, 3rd in 55-59 age group.
Hoban, Brom - Austin American-Statesman running notebook writer, 51, 1:49:10.
Leonard, Popcorn - Best name in the finishers! 44-year-old male from Midland, 1:27:13.
Limbaugh, Duane and Jennifer - 31 and 29-year-old Dale, TX residents finished the course in 1:17:15 (64th overall) and 1:55:23, respectively. What do you think the over/under would be for Rush!?
McClung, Chris - 26-year-old Houstonian who races for Houston Harriers was 13th overall in 1:19:58.
McDowell, Liam and Logan - The 10-year-old brothers from The Woodlands both finished in 1:58:58.
Mericle, Clint - One of the top 50-and-over runners in the state from Corpus Christi. Winner of the 1975 and 1977 Houston Marathon. Ran 31st overall behind Ficker in 1:23:49 at age of 52.
Nelson, Merry - Memorial Park Running Club member, 48, and her husband, William, 49, finished in 2:12:16 and 2:12:17, respectively.
Stout, Calvin and Joyce - 52-year-old Brenham native and his 43-year-old wife finished in 1:53:30 and 1:59:16.1, respectively. (I've met Calvin and Joyce at a couple of races.)
Tuhabonye, Gilbert - Last year's White Rock Marathon winner, 30, finished 4th overall in 1:11:22.
Varela, Frank - Austin-area running blogger, 40, 1:41:10.

Knight Flight for Humanity 10K Race Report

Cool weather rocks! For those Houston Running Bloggers doing the Run for Tulane Med 10K on Sunday morning, here's a time for you -- 58:45.45!

Thanks to Lance Collins of the "Great River Running" team (yeah, I saw that in the 20K Relay results last night) for putting me on to this event this morning. I ran really, really well and I'm incredibly pleased! But the cool air really allows me to breathe as opposed to sucking in the humidity. Without it, I was able to blow through all of the water stops and keep moving.

This course was out in the middle of nowhere down off of Highway 6 in Missouri City just beyond Fort Bend Elkins High School was sweet! Flat as can be! The only negative is that the road had a funny camber at spots, but it certainly wasn't a big hinderance at all.

Plus I ran this race pretty much by myself after those for the 5K dropped off at their 1.55-mile turnaround. So it was a good feeling to just be able to put together a run like this without a pacer (which is what I had on the back half of my PR race, the Mardi Gras Beach Run 10K in Galveston in January).

Here are my mile splits (I pretty much hit my goal to be as close to 9:30 splits to be able to get under an hour today):

Mile 1 -- 9:10.23
Mile 2 -- 9:26.32 (18:36.55)
Mile 3 -- 9:30.43 (28:06.98)
Mile 4 -- 9:41.88 (37:48.86 - technically, a PR! - 39:42 at FWRC club event in June '04)
Mile 5 -- 9:24.12 (47:12.98 - 6.18 seconds shy of a PR from Park to Park Run in February '05)
Mile 6 -- 9:43.19 (56:56.17)
Last .2 -- 1:49.28

Total -- 58:45.45 (16.05 seconds off PR race from January '05)

The red-headed princess made the trip with me and really enjoyed wearing my NYC Marathon race jacket, which I shed before the start! I had the pleasure of watching the 5K winner, Kingwood HS' Danielle Selner sprint by on the return as well as seeing On The Run Racing's Raymond Cruz leading the 10K coming back in (and eventually winning it!)

Collins and his other "Great River Running" teammates, Brian King and Steve Schroeder, finished 2th, 4th and 5th, respectively. Anne Ekern and Suzy Seeley went 1-2 in the women's side and 6th and 7th overall.

I got a chance to visit with Houston Strider John DiMarco, who was at the high school to see his son, Ryan, play freshman basketball for Elkins in a tournament at 8 a.m.

Small group. Lots of high school kids. Great cause as all monies are going to Elkins High School's Habitat for Humanity Project. Fort Bend Fit had excellent representation (and they'll be in full force at the 30K!) The race got off to a little bit of a late start, 8:15 a.m. It only would have been bad if it got significantly warmer. Plenty of water stops. Fluids and a good food spread at the end of the event.

This one is an event worth doing again!

Waverly and I stopped and had breakfast at IHOP along Interstate 59 on the way back home. Now it is time to update the web page, get a shower, relax, watch Penn State beat Michigan State to go 10-1 and get to bed early for the drive to Austin for tomorrow's Motive Bison Stampede.

Friday Night Thoughts

You know you are an addicted runner when you have a sheet of paper with the dates of the next 12 weekends listed out!

Actually, I have to map out my work travel plans, my own running plans, Waverly's training until "Half Marathon Day" and her basketball on Saturdays through the first of February (which includes me refereeing). I got the schedule last night when I got in (and 7 of her 8 games start after 12 noon, but their season begins Saturday, December 3rd!) All of which makes life fun!

A short aside: I was looking at Waverly's pictures that Karen Thibodeaux shot at the Bearkat Bash in mid-September and realized that she has only grown maybe another half inch, but has slendered out quite a bit with all of the work that we've/she has been doing.

I thought about doing the White Rock Marathon on Sunday, December 11th; however, there is NO way that I could do a marathon, drive back to Houston and then get Waverly's miles in. However, I'm giving serious thought to doing the Texas Marathon in Kingwood on New Year's Day. On the plane ride home last night, I'm thinking "If I can do the first loop in 1:08 for 6.55 miles, hold it and then slip no more than 5% in the third loop and 10% in the fourth loop ...."

For her, since that weekend will be her biggest mileage of 11 miles, we'll probably forgo Run The Woodlands 5K on Christmas Eve to do the Longest Long Run downtown. We'll probably start a half hour early so we don't hold the mobile water stations up! I really think it will be a good thing for her to be on the course and to come back to Allen Parkway and know that she can get there and only have a couple of more miles to go. Stay tuned to see if that all plays out!

As far as the Texas Marathon goes, I really hate doing any course that has multiple loops; however, $35 for a marathon is hard to pass up and it will force me to keep pushing through the winter months (as if I was getting ready for Houston two weeks later). Therefore, this means that I "might" do the 30K on Sunday morning, the 11th (after doing the Bloggers 5K the day before in The Woodlands). I hate that course too! Three long loops! But they are a bit more scenic than Memorial Drive though.

Off to shower and into bed before getting up and seeing Lance Collins, Steve Schroeder and no telling who else (Sarah, set the alarm!) in the morning at the Knight Flight for Humanity 10K in Sugar Land!

Weekly Workout Information

(The Woodlands, Texas; Thursday, November 17th) My plane from Indianapolis landed a little late and therefore, caused me to rush to get to the gym so I could get in a decent run on the treadmill. (For some reason, I didn't want to go outside because the runs around my house are a little boring.)

They've got four new machines at the Bally's in The Woodlands so I tried one of them. My plan was to try to go an hour, start at 5.0 mph and up it .1 every 5 minutes. Well, this one's 5.0 is a different than the other's 5.0 mph - or I just didn't have a "quick leg" night.

I went 5.0, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.2 and 5.3 for the first 30 minutes. I got off the machine, went and got some water before getting back on it for 20 more minutes. I repeated the 5.0, 5.1, 5.2 and 5.3 for the next four (4) 5-minute segments.

50 minutes. Better than nothing. I plan to try and get up early (yes, I hear you all chuckling!) and hit the elliptical machine for an hour early in the morning before doing a 10K on Saturday and half on Sunday.

My goal for Saturday, with some cooler temperatures, is to get under an hour again. It may be a tall order as I'll have to average around 9:30 per mile to make it happen!

(Bloomington, Indiana; Wednesday, November 16th) The weather here in Indiana has been crazy.

Monday night, it was cold, windy and raining.

Tuesday afternoon, tornado sirens were blasting throughout Bloomington and the hospital and all of its buildings went on "Code Black" meaning that all personnel should retreat to interior hallways.

Tonight when I walked out of the office at 5:40 p.m., it was 31 degrees and there were snow flurries in the air. It is supposed to get to 18 degrees tonight.

So ... at 9:00 p.m. Eastern, I took my long sleeve shirt (I already had a long sleeve technical running shirt on), socks to cover my hands and ventured just outside to see if it was OK to run outside. (I just had my normal running shorts.) Too cold! So it was into the cheap workout room of the Towne Place Suites here to run an hour on the treadmill. Not my favorite venue, but it had to be tonight. I couldn't go a third night without any physical activity.

What made the run most palatable though was that AMC was showing one of my favorite movies of all time, "Smokey and the Bandit."

I never really track miles when I run on the treadmill. I ran an hour and I upped the pace .1 every three (3) minutes. I started at 4.0 mph and ended at 6.1 or 6.2 mph. (Somewhere around 49 minutes I lost my ability to multiply by three!) Good run. Totally soaked. I'll see how I feel in the morning to possibly do another 30 to 60 minutes.

Nice story about New Orleans runners in NYC

Group gets great mileage in marathon
Katrina recovery message goes forth; good time had in NYC
Thursday, November 17, 2005

By Andrew Canulette
New Orleans Times-Picayune Staff writer

Daniel Simpson had competed in the New York City Marathon before, so he knew there would be more than two million people lining the streets offering encouragement.

But he couldn't imagine the outpouring of support he received as one of 24 New Orleans-area runners who ran this year's race Nov. 6 to call attention to south Louisiana's rebuilding process after Hurricane Katrina.

"It was like a 26.2-mile Mardi Gras parade," Simpson said from Houston -- his temporary home after Hurricane Katrina ruined his house in Arabi. "Everyone was cheering for us, screaming 'We love New Orleans!' We ran together for the most part and worked the crowd the whole time, jumping up and down, waving our arms in the air. The crowd was really receptive."

The local contingent was assembled by Catch 22 director Andrew Lilly, who was scheduled to run the New York City Marathon, but dropped out of the race shortly after Katrina made landfall. After some soul searching, Lilly thought running in the Big Apple would be a perfect opportunity to show the world that New Orleans' running community continues to thrive and that it wants to play a part in helping rebuild the Crescent City.

Lilly was granted permission to re-enter the race and found 23 other locals who were willing to join him at the marathon. In the few weeks between the storm and the marathon, the group trained together as often as possible.

When they arrived in New York City, they were greeted with a welcome typically reserved for the elite runners who populate the field each year.

Three days before the marathon, race organizers held a party at the finish line for the New Orleans-area runners. A chef from the renowned Tavern on the Green restaurant prepared beignets for the group, and reporters kept them busy with questions for nearly two hours. The next two days were filled with television, newspaper and magazine interviews during which the runners shared the stories of how their lives and the lives of so many others in south Louisiana have been effected by the storm.

Lilly said the reception was more than he expected.

"People embraced our group," he said. "The message definitely got across. I think just our presence on the course was message enough. But we made quite a few friends there. Everyone had something positive to say."

The majority of the group finished the race in just less than four hours. Though many of them could have run much faster times, Brandon Wingate said staying as close together as possible was more important.

"We had 'New Orleans -- Proud to call it home' on our singlets," Wingate said. "So everyone knew who we were. This is probably the most exciting thing I've ever done in my whole life."
Other Catch 22 runners in the marathon were Aimee Shuey, Darlene Burke, Erica Muller, Brendan Minihan, Heidi Melia, Keith Clement, Kevin Clement, Kirsten Feil, Leigh Ayn Drye, Junyong Pak, Patrick Melancon, Rebecca Newman, Sean Valliant, Tim Phillips, Vilma Cervantes, Jeff Nittrouer, Scott McCraw, Tom Sawyer, Bill Plunkett, Brian Jackson and Tina Abbott.
. . . . . . .
Andrew Canulette can be reached at (985) 645-2855 or acanulette@timespicayune.com

4 More Runners Punch Marathon Ticket

At Sunday's HMSA Classical 25K in downtown Houston, two (2) men and two (2) women both added their names to the list of 32 "invited runners" to the 2006 Chevron Houston Marathon.

Both of the men's winners - Ramiro Alvarado and Bernie Weber - qualified as well as both women's runners-up, Autumn Ray and Helen Grant. Autumn Ray is one of the Southwest's top female triathletes. Her 25K race report can be read here at her website, autumnray.com.

At each HARRA Fall Series race, up to ten (10) local runners could earn "invited runner" status by meeting a minimum qualifying time for their age group. On Sunday, the qualifying standard was met in eight (8) divisions: Men's Open, Men's 40-49, Men's 50-59, Men's 70-Over, Women's Open, Women's 40-49, Women's 50-59 and Women's 60-69.

However, in four of those divisions, those runners who met the qualifying standards had already earned their "invited runner" designation. Those runners included Joe Melanson (M50), Ino Cantu (M70), Eva Luckey (F50) and Nancy Prejean (F60).

One runner, 54-year-old Katy resident Steve Brammer, missed the qualifying standard by an agonizing 3.4 seconds. Brammer was second in the 50-59 group behind Orange's Joe Melanson, who qualified already because of his sub-2:50 as a Masters runner at last year's marathon. However, his 1:43:59.4 is just 3.4 seconds over the 1:43:56 qualifying standard.

HMSA Classical 25K

Ramiro Alvarado, 1:27:16.3

(Top Male Open under 1:34:13)
Bernie Weber, Houston, 1:35:21.6
(Top Male 40-49 under 1:36:27)
Autumn Ray, Galveston, 1:45:43.4
(Top Female Open under 1:47:59; Stull already qualified)
Helen Grant, Houston, 1:48:38.1
(Top Female 40-49 under 1:51:36; Burum already qualified)

Wade aims towards 40 with 14:53 5K at HBU Husky Hustle

At a minimum, by name, he's probably Houston's most recognizable runner.

He won nine (9) consecutive races this past spring, that aided him in winning HARRA's Runner of the Season Award, after going against an elite half marathon field that was racing for the USATF national championship at the Aramco Half Marathon. One of those wins - at Bellaire's Trolley Run - included dropping the best 5K time in the city in 2005 with a 14:58.

Quietly, he underwent hernia repair surgery this summer and didn't run for two months. And since then, Sean Wade has been and is steadily working himself towards February when he turns 40 years old aiming to be one of the best Masters runners in the country.

His first race back, the Komen Race for the Cure 5K held on October 1st, he finished third in 15:40 behind Gabriel Rodriguez (15:01) and Colin Wolfe (15:30).

The next day, Wade avenged his loss to Rodriguez by finishing one spot ahead of the Webster native in third overall (53:37.7 behind Jacob Rotich and Kevin Castille) at the United Space Alliance 10-Miler and kept Rodriguez out of the prize money.

Two days shy of Halloween and just under four weeks later, Wade and Rodriguez squared off again in the Great Pumpkin Run 5K in downtown Houston and Rodriguez edged the New Zealand native by 3.2 seconds (15:06.6 to 15:09.8) with a furious kick after both runners returned to Allen Parkway from Wade veering off course.

This past Saturday, though, Wade showed what caused Rodriguez to comment that "Wade has improved his fitness tremendously over the last month." Yes, and then some!

At the HBU Husky Hustle 5K, which had originally been scheduled the weekend that Hurricane Rita blew through the Gulf Coast, Wade lowered his 2005 city best 5K by dropping the On The Run Racing team trio of Rudy Rocha and brothers Alan and John Hedengren by more than a minute. Wade powered away to a 14:53.7 win besting Rocha, who finished in 15:55.0. (Rocha was 6th a month ago in the 10-Miler two minutes behind Wade.)

Wade says, though, that his best is yet to come as he takes aim on February.

"My goal now is to run very fast when I hit 40," he said.

What's very fast? Wade says, "Sub 14:30 in the 5K and sub 30 minutes in the 10K."

But if you haven't had the pleasure to watch the experienced racer run, you should catch him when you can.

Wade, who also serves as the boys cross country coach at Houston's Kinkaid School that finished 4th of 19 teams in the recent SPC state championships, explained, "Once I become a Masters runner, there is a whole circuit of racers around the country that I'll be travelling to."

Yet another way that Wade - and the city of Houston - will become even more recognizable.

2005 Texas HS State Cross Country Champions

The University Interscholastic League (UIL), which is the governing body in Texas for public school athletics, holds its state cross country meet at Old Settler's Park in Round Rock.

The Southwest Preparatory Conference (SPC), which is made up of 19 Ivy League-like prep schools from Texas and Oklahoma, annually runs its meet at Norbuck Park in Dallas near White Rock Lake while the state's largest private school athletic and academic body, the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools (TAPPS), held their 2005 event at Baylor's new cross country course, "Bear Run".

Boys Individual

UIL 5A - Duncan Phillips, College Station A&M Consolidated (15:19.20)
UIL 4A - Travis Fort, Cedar Park Vista Ridge (15:42.10)
UIL 3A - Aaron Brannen, Bridge City (16:09.90)
UIL 2A - Blaine Thompson, Wall (16:28.75)
UIL 1A - Cory Higgins, Clyde Eula (16:38.00)

SPC - Michael Trejo, Dallas Greenhill (15:54)

TAPPS 6A - Emilio Puente, El Paso Cathedral (16:55.20)
TAPPS 5A - David Arredondo, El Paso Lydia Patterson Institute (16:31.55)
TAPPS 4A - Eric Bautista, Red Oak Ovilla Christian (18:06.67)
TAPPS 3A - Adam Henthorn, Fort Worth Lake Country Christian (16:56.72)
TAPPS 2A - J.P. Perkins, Dallas Cambridge School (18:06.63)
TAPPS 1A - Joseph Zarazua, San Antonio Rainbow Hills (18:24.75)

Girls Individual

UIL 5A - Brooke Upshaw, Southlake Carroll (10:46.35)
UIL 4A - Kerry Seaver, Fort Worth Western Hills (11:12.80)
UIL 3A - Michelle Guzman, Giddings (11:26.15)
UIL 2A - Loren Hodges, Paradise (11:18.00)
UIL 1A - Chelsea Hermes, Lindsay (11:43.10)

SPC - Nicole Mericle, The Woodlands John Cooper School (11:56)

TAPPS 6A - Kinsey Farren, Dallas Bishop Lynch (11:45.62)
TAPPS 5A - Kristen Kellogg, Houston Christian (12:57.16)
TAPPS 4A - Kristen Terry, Tyler T.K. Gorman (12:14.15)
TAPPS 3A - Natalie Neill, Fort Worth Lake Country Christian (12:17.42)
TAPPS 2A - Carolyn Bell, McKinney Christian (12:36.32)
TAPPS 1A - Bailey Belvis, Frisco Legacy Christian (12:51.85)

Boys Team

UIL 5A - Corpus Christi King (71)*
UIL 4A - Fort Worth North Side (62)
UIL 3A - Decatur (69)
UIL 2A - Amarillo Boys Ranch (53)
UIL 1A - Sundown (65)

SPC - Dallas St. Mark's (51)

TAPPS 6A - San Antonio Antonian (41)
TAPPS 5A - Houston Lutheran South (75)
TAPPS 4A - Red Oak Ovilla Christian (30)
TAPPS 3A - Grapevine Faith Christian (41)
TAPPS 2A - Shiner St. Paul (76)
TAPPS 1A - San Antonio Rainbow Hills (44)

* tied in points with Lewisville Flower Mound, but had the lower finishing runners.

Girls Team

UIL 5A - Southlake Carroll (47)
UIL 4A - Hereford (50)
UIL 3A - Decatur (64)
UIL 2A - Holliday (83)
UIL 1A - Sundown (56)

SPC - Houston Kinkaid (48)

TAPPS 6A - Dallas Ursuline Academy (44)
TAPPS 5A - Houston Awty International (54)
TAPPS 4A - Tyler T.K. Gorman (25)
TAPPS 3A - Lubbock Christian School (40)
TAPPS 2A - Muenster Sacred Heart (33)
TAPPS 1A - Frisco Legacy Christian (32)

Motive Bison Stampede Prize Money!

Not that I'm going to win any of it this Sunday in Austin, but an interesting concept has been put into play by the organizers of the half marathon that is part of the Austin Distance Challenge. Here are two paragraphs from their e-mail blast:

"Hello runners! Yes it's true! The 2005 Motive Bison Stampede is excited to announce the TruWest Elite Challenge, which will pit American Kyle O'Brien against Kenyans Benson Osoro and Nicodemus Malakwen. These elite distance runners and Olympic hopefuls will take on the "Hills of Motive" to compete for a $500 cash prize which goes to the runner who breaks the existing course records of 1:08:40 set by Gilbert Tohabonye and 1:18:18 by Lori Stich-Zimmerman. See press release."

"Also for the first time, the Bison Stampede will feature the “King & Queen of the Hills” Award, a $100 cash premium open to every runner in the race. You know the hills we're talking about ... that one-mile long series on Rain Creek Parkway at approximately mile 4.5 of the course. RunFAR Racing Services will place a chip-timing mat at the base and the top of the series to clock every runner’s uphill split and the male and female runner with the fastest time will win a trophy and the cash bonus. Last but not least, the Team-in-Triaining Cheer Squad will be at the top to help you push through the line! We can't wait to see how this impacts race strategy!" (Bill Dwyer? Is that you? Ha! Ha! -- JW)

I wanted to do this tough half last year, but I'm not certain why I didn't go over and tackle it. I'll have to see how it measures up against the Huntsville Half Marathon. If anybody else is interested in going over, let me know! Online registration closes tonight!

New Houston-Area Running Blog and New Strider!

Doing my periodic Technorati blog search, I uncovered that Houston Striders runner Scott Effner, who finished 15th in the 35-39 age group Sunday in the HMSA Classical 25K in a time of 1:53:29, kicked off his own running blog after Sunday's race.

Check out, "On the road again ... A runner's story", at http://runnersstory.blogspot.com/ and welcome Scott to the running blog fold!

Additionally, I received the following e-mail from Steve Shepard last Friday afternoon: "Anna Saeger is a Houston Strider! Anna did her net research, came across some guy who's a member of the Striders and a Huntsville running club (can only be Jon Walk) and decided the Striders sounded like the perfect running club for her."

Anna, thanks for checking in here and welcome as a member of the Striders! The Internet! An amazing thing!

Seven Hills Running Club Website Updates

Seven Hills Running Club president Ken Johnson said Sunday on the trails at Huntsville State Park that he is busier now that he is retired than he was when he was working.

Earlier this summer, Johnson retired from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice system and recently has been updating the club's web site to enter it into the Road Runners Club of America (RRCA) annual web site competition.

Some of the most recent updates include:

+ The November 2005 edition of the club's newsletter, "Hill Peek".
+ Club Scrapbook that includes photos from the Huntsville Half Marathon, the club's Summer Picnic, Stu's Country Mile, the Polish Pickle 5K, the Hometown Heroes Run in Corsicana and the Blue Bell Fun Run in Brenham in April.

Ken also pointed out in a recent e-mail that there was a new trail run that runners may be interested in that is going to be held in Coldspring, Texas called the "Lone Star Trail Run" on Saturday, March 4, 2006.

November Issue of Stridelines Online!

In the November 2005 issue of the Houston Striders' "Stridelines", edited by Lee Baughman, are the following articles:

+ Full coverage of the Koala/Luke’s 20K as well as the Bear Creek 10K/20K.
+ Holden, Jen, Jessica and Cassie recount their 20K experiences.
+ Marathon stories from Charles Deeds (Portland), Nancy Kral (St. George / Utah), and Ted Traynor (Toronto Waterfront).
+ Aimee Solway has a nice story about running in Europe.
+ Pam Paling and friends provides thoughts on the recent Rocky Raccoon event.
+ Vic Kaiser takes the Meet the Member spotlight and submits his first column entitled "The Starting Line".
+ Holly Steadman shares some tips on avoiding germs and treating cold and flu symptoms.