Saturday: My Life As A Bandit (I Hope That Doesn't Make It on TV)
I felt so ashamed. I even covered my head so I wouldn't be noticed. And since the sun wasn't out, nobody would have to worry about the reflection coming off of my dome anyways. :)
All joking aside, I ran this morning with Strider/HRBer Jennifer Kim as Houston Fit staged its annual 21-miler beginning at Memorial Park on the south side of the park that included three (3) loops of the trails at Eleanor Tinsley Park, which is bounded by Sabine, Memorial, Shepherd and Allen Parkway.
I have no idea if things got started on time at 5:30 a.m. nor did I care what time I finished. I was really just out to log the miles for a long run. And it was cold and wet ... and then some.
The run out to the bridge that crosses Memorial Drive at Jackson Hill Park was nice and easy. Jen and I talked much of that time and then we began the first of three (3) loops heading west towards Shepherd before heading back east on Allen Parkway.
Parts of the trail was covered in water. Other parts were cakes of mud. Wet cakes! I slipped twice. It really was becoming unsafe and after people had done one loop, when they made it to the midway point of the second loop, runners were being routed back in the same direction.
Basically, I did the run out to Jackson Hill, two (2) full loops -- I had to abandon Jen because of an upcoming commitment -- and the run back along Memorial Drive to where the truck was parked.
I met blogger Bob Entwhistle, who did the Sunmart 50K last Saturday in Huntsville. Jen introduced me as the founder of the Houston Running Bloggers. That was kind of her, but I just see myself as the chief agitater!
Speaking of Jen, I think Bob said it best to her, "Jen, you are a real trooper to be out here today." I couldn't agree more, especially after how she was feeling after last Sunday's 30K in Sugar Land. I specifically went down there today to run with her. Yes, I needed the miles, but I need to also slow it down a little bit and I knew that she needed to also find a steady pace.
We talked about a number of things. When I asked her how she felt compared to last Sunday (other than being wet and cold ... well, freezing), physically she said she felt fine. She asked me what my one tip to a new marathoner would be. (Very insightful question I found.) I told her that, since she has documented in her blog that the clock was going to be a concern and the always uncertain feeling about completing the first marathon, she should find somebody during the race that she could talk to as long as possible.
I didn't set out to do that last year; however, I chatted with a gentleman from mile 4 to the halfway point and it was a major help. (And that is other than running the course during the Striders' Longest Long Run and running that with a good steady experienced runner in Whitney LaRocca.)
Before I had to leave, I made sure that she was going to be able to hammer it out (which I knew the answer was going to be, "Yes".) However, when my wife and daughter made it to Memorial Park at about 9:15 a.m., Waverly said that they saw Jen almost to the turnaround at Sabine and that made me feel good that she was going to complete more mileage today than she did last Sunday with a better frame of mind!
Now ... why was Waverly coming to Memorial Park? (Didn't she have a basketball game today and that we were going to run there tomorrow?)
Well ... I had to keep this under wraps until it happened; however, we were interviewed today as one of 5-7 stories that KTRK-TV ABC 13 will use leading up to and part of its Houston Marathon race day coverage. Waverly was excited and nervous as we were interviewed. They also filmed us crisscrossing the trail while running in front of the Tennis Center about 5-6 times.
The angle was the fact that Waverly is 10 years old and running the half marathon!
Some of the other stories included 1.) a grandfather (Lee Miksch) and his grandson that will be participating on race day, 2.) a grandmother who I didn't get the complete uniqueness of her story (Julia Pittman), 3.) a woman who has lost over 100 pounds and will be doing her first half marathon, 4.) a gentleman from Houston who runs marathons completely attired as Elvis and 5.) a piece with the foot doctor, Dr. Jeffrey Ross.
The public relations person that we were working with told us that Channel 13 tries to let her know when certain stories are going to run. As soon as I know, I'll let all of you know.
Enjoy the rest of your Saturday. Waverly and I get 11.6 miles tomorrow!
All joking aside, I ran this morning with Strider/HRBer Jennifer Kim as Houston Fit staged its annual 21-miler beginning at Memorial Park on the south side of the park that included three (3) loops of the trails at Eleanor Tinsley Park, which is bounded by Sabine, Memorial, Shepherd and Allen Parkway.
I have no idea if things got started on time at 5:30 a.m. nor did I care what time I finished. I was really just out to log the miles for a long run. And it was cold and wet ... and then some.
The run out to the bridge that crosses Memorial Drive at Jackson Hill Park was nice and easy. Jen and I talked much of that time and then we began the first of three (3) loops heading west towards Shepherd before heading back east on Allen Parkway.
Parts of the trail was covered in water. Other parts were cakes of mud. Wet cakes! I slipped twice. It really was becoming unsafe and after people had done one loop, when they made it to the midway point of the second loop, runners were being routed back in the same direction.
Basically, I did the run out to Jackson Hill, two (2) full loops -- I had to abandon Jen because of an upcoming commitment -- and the run back along Memorial Drive to where the truck was parked.
I met blogger Bob Entwhistle, who did the Sunmart 50K last Saturday in Huntsville. Jen introduced me as the founder of the Houston Running Bloggers. That was kind of her, but I just see myself as the chief agitater!
Speaking of Jen, I think Bob said it best to her, "Jen, you are a real trooper to be out here today." I couldn't agree more, especially after how she was feeling after last Sunday's 30K in Sugar Land. I specifically went down there today to run with her. Yes, I needed the miles, but I need to also slow it down a little bit and I knew that she needed to also find a steady pace.
We talked about a number of things. When I asked her how she felt compared to last Sunday (other than being wet and cold ... well, freezing), physically she said she felt fine. She asked me what my one tip to a new marathoner would be. (Very insightful question I found.) I told her that, since she has documented in her blog that the clock was going to be a concern and the always uncertain feeling about completing the first marathon, she should find somebody during the race that she could talk to as long as possible.
I didn't set out to do that last year; however, I chatted with a gentleman from mile 4 to the halfway point and it was a major help. (And that is other than running the course during the Striders' Longest Long Run and running that with a good steady experienced runner in Whitney LaRocca.)
Before I had to leave, I made sure that she was going to be able to hammer it out (which I knew the answer was going to be, "Yes".) However, when my wife and daughter made it to Memorial Park at about 9:15 a.m., Waverly said that they saw Jen almost to the turnaround at Sabine and that made me feel good that she was going to complete more mileage today than she did last Sunday with a better frame of mind!
Now ... why was Waverly coming to Memorial Park? (Didn't she have a basketball game today and that we were going to run there tomorrow?)
Well ... I had to keep this under wraps until it happened; however, we were interviewed today as one of 5-7 stories that KTRK-TV ABC 13 will use leading up to and part of its Houston Marathon race day coverage. Waverly was excited and nervous as we were interviewed. They also filmed us crisscrossing the trail while running in front of the Tennis Center about 5-6 times.
The angle was the fact that Waverly is 10 years old and running the half marathon!
Some of the other stories included 1.) a grandfather (Lee Miksch) and his grandson that will be participating on race day, 2.) a grandmother who I didn't get the complete uniqueness of her story (Julia Pittman), 3.) a woman who has lost over 100 pounds and will be doing her first half marathon, 4.) a gentleman from Houston who runs marathons completely attired as Elvis and 5.) a piece with the foot doctor, Dr. Jeffrey Ross.
The public relations person that we were working with told us that Channel 13 tries to let her know when certain stories are going to run. As soon as I know, I'll let all of you know.
Enjoy the rest of your Saturday. Waverly and I get 11.6 miles tomorrow!
posted by WalkSports.com | 10:59 AM
6 Comments:
That's awesome. Finally, some quotes and comments from Waverly. That's too cool
Congrats! Your braver than me. I was in my nice warm bed this morning.
That's exciting about the interview. Can't wait to see it! Did you plug the bloggers?
RunSteve.Com
Cool! Definitely post when you know when it will air -- I'll set the Tivo!
Oh yeah -- and I second what Edwin's been saying -- when's Waverly going to start a blog? :)
way to go! way to go! Glad to see Channel 13 with the coverage. do any other stations cover the marathon or any pre-marathon hype?
Thanks so much, Jon....your company at the beginning of the run, and hearing your experiences and tips from your past runs (i.e., Marine Corps) really helped put me in a good frame of mind, and also made those first few miles fly by!!
:)
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