9.5 Miles on Allen Parkway/Memorial Loop

I woke up too late to drive to the west side and do a 10K with the Striders. I also woke up a tad too late to make it to Shadowbend Park in The Woodlands to run with Team In Training. (Although I probably should have went there to help Bill Dwyer strategize for Saturday!)

So I stuck with my original plan: head downtown, do two loops of the Allen Parkway/Memorial Loop (4.77 miles each) and hang out and watch the Fund For Teachers 5K that was being run on Allen Parkway.

I got downtown on to Allen Parkway just before they had started to close it off so I parked near the Federal Reserve Bank branch that sits just east of Channel 11 KHOU on the south side of Allen Parkway. I saw the folks from Bayou City Road Runners (led by president Joe Sellers), who were handling race management, getting set up as I started my first loop.

I did 44 minutes on the elliptical trainer last night at the gym (covering 3.79 miles on level 16, random), but I felt pretty good as I covered the first loop in 47:31.93, which would be a tad bit under 10 minutes a mile. However, I hugged Memorial Drive (approaching Shepherd) and Allen Parkway (going away from it) on the first loop as opposed to following the trail. At the pace I was going, though, I could not have carried on a conversation well.

It was just about 8:35 a.m. when I stopped and I realized that unless I morphed into Sam Rodriguez that there would be no way that I could cover that loop in time for the 9 a.m. race start. So I walked down past the Eleanor Tinsley Park parking area, watched the kids do their 1K (and cheered them on) and waited until the start of the race.

The funniest pre-race moment occurred after former HARRA president John Phillips was about through giving some final instructions and before the National Anthem, Mayor Bill White's wife was out to fire the starter's pistol to start the race -- and she pulled it early! None of the runners took off in a dead sprint; however, everyone got a good pre-race chuckle at her expense. :)

No superstars in the men's field (although I saw Luis Armenteros running the loop this morning) but the third overall finisher on the women's side was Suzy Seeley. I didn't recognize anyone in the men's field. The winner won in 17:44, I believe, and the winning female appeared to be a master's runner (named Lisa) while the runner-up was more than likely a high schooler. (Suzy could be a HRBer as she went out to help her husband, David, run in!)

I hung around and watched most of the finishers (some people just make it all look so easy) through about the 27-minute mark and then started to walk back towards the Eleanor Tinsley parking lot. While I was standing there and before Suzy went out to help her husband in, she came up to me and talked about Waverly's performance in the half marathon. :) I continue to be humbled by the people that have taken interest in my daughter. She said to pass along her congratulations - and give her a hug - until she had the chance to see her again.

I headed out to do another loop but in the opposite direction (this time clockwise). The time was 57:15.95 and while it felt a little slower, I had added a little bit more distance to it as I deviated from the trail twice and then actually duplicated at least two tenths of a mile.

I'm pleased. I'll take 9.5 miles when I hadn't done anything all week. Part of which was being a little lazy (with the travel to Alpharetta, Georgia) but I also needed to see if I was going to have any recurring issues with what on Monday and Tuesday felt either like a groin pull or a potential hernia.

I need to do a lot of work through Thursday, however, to get ready for Sunday's 3M Half Marathon in Austin. Because it is a net downhill course - and if the weather is right, I might be able to PR but I really need to stroke it this week (and take advantage of being home).