Bellaire Trolley Run 5K

Well, Waverly and I were going to run this together this morning.

But as we were leaving Spring and turned on to Interstate 45 to head south, a line of thunderstorms blew through that put driving at serious jeopardy for a time.

Instead of taking a chance at things, especially as we watched transformer after transformer blow along the freeway from lightning strikes, I decided to turn it back around and head to the house.

Best wishes to those who didn't have similar conditions to get through and were able to make it there safely and compete - regardless of the weather.

World's Largest Races!

Running USA, on its web site at http://www.runningusa.org/, has listed the top races in the world from 2005. They're as follows with individuals that I know that have done some of these races:

1 - 52,393 - Peachtree 10K, Atlanta, Georgia, USA, 7/4/05 (Sarah, Sean)
2 - 52,000 - JPMorgan Corp Challenge, 3.5 Mile, Frankfurt, Germany, 6/2/05
3 - 50,336 - Sun-Herald City to Surf 14K, Sydney, Australia, 8/7/05
4 - 50,158 - Cursa El Corte Ingles 11K, Barcelona, Spain, 5/22/05
5 - 44,000 - HSBC Round the Bays 8.4K, Auckland, New Zealand, 3/20/05

6 - 42,391 - Celestial Seasonings Bolder Boulder 10K, Boulder, Colorado, USA, 5/30/05 (Joe)
7 - 40,012 - Lilac Bloomsday Run 12K, Spokane, Washington, USA, 5/1/05 (Sean)
8 - 38,011 - BUPA Great North Run Half-Marathon, Tyneside, Great Britain, 9/18/05
9 - 36,856 - ING New York City Marathon, New York, New York, USA, 11/6/05 (Erin, Edwin, Keith)
10 - 36,257 - Vancouver Sun Run 10K, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, 4/17/05

11 - 36,000 - Stracittadina 5K, Rome, Italy, 3/13/05
12 - 35,260 - Flora London Marathon, London, Great Britain, 4/17/05
13- 34,727 - Revlon Run for Women 5K, Los Angeles, California, USA, 5/7/05
14 - 32,951 - LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon, Chicago, Illinois, USA, 10/9/05 (Erin, Christy, Jill, Jan)
15 - 32,000 - Flora Women's Mini-Marathon 10K, Dublin, Ireland, 6/6/05

16 - 31,263 - Albertson's Bay to Breakers 12K, San Francisco, California, USA, 5/15/05 (Sarah, Jen, Sean)
17 - 30,382 - real Berlin Marathon, Berlin, German, 9/25/05
18 - 28,765 - Paris Marathon, Paris, France, 4/10/05
19 - 26,000 - Revlon Run for Women 5K, New York, New York, USA, 5/30/05
20 - 25,575 - Goteborg Half-Marathon, Goteborg, Switzerland, 5/21/05

21 - 25,028 - OneAmerica 500 Festival Half-Marathon, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA, 5/7/05 (Barbara)
22 - 25,000 - EDP Lisbon Fun Run 4K, Lisbon, Portugal, 3/13/05
23 - 24,261 - Honolulu Marathon, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA, 12/11/05
24 - 22,000 - Nike Dam tot Dam 10 Mile, Zaandam, Netherlands, 9/18/05
25 - 21.297 - Zevenheuvelenloop 15K, Nijmegen, Netherlands, 11/20/05

I've been fortunate enough to do two of the races - No. 9 (the New York City Marathon) and No. 21 (the Indianapolis Mini Marathon) - and on Sunday, April 15th, I'll get a chance to add No. 10 - The Vancouver Sun Run 10K!

Drop me a note and let me know if you've had the chance to take on any of these events!

Mercer Island Half Marathon Race Report

I've lost count, but I think today's Mercer Island Half Marathon - located just east of downtown Seattle - was my 32nd since my first one on November 1, 2003 in Dallas.

Gun Time - 2:24:16
Chip Time - 2:22:44

Yes, the course was hilly, but consider how else I handicapped myself.

Got little sleep, but it wasn't by design. I tried going to bed at 10:30 p.m., knowing that I was going to have to get up around 3 a.m. Not sure that I got to sleep until just before midnight. I shut the alarm off at 2:50 a.m.; however, for some reason, I didn't get up until 3:50 a.m.

I knew that it would take 2 and a half hours to get to where registration would begin at 6:30 a.m. I thought when I woke up late that I would be - well - out of luck; however, when I got online quick, I realized that the race didn't start until 9:15 a.m. and that registration closed at 9 a.m. (I can't imagine volunteers sitting there two and a half hours in the cold to do that. Incredible.)

I think what woke me up was that I was dreaming that I was getting ready for a race and I was taking clothes off. Rather, I was getting warm. Guess that must have been the covers in the bed. :)

I started to head south and before I get to the U.S.-Canada Border, there is an accident on Highway 99 near Surrey, BC and they have the road shut down completely. I have no clue on how else to get to the Border. I ask the RCMP officer and they route me to Highway 10, turn right on King George Highway and then go back to 99. Simple enough. Except when I begin to go south on Highway 10, after about a 1-mile U-turn, there is another accident and a detour that took me some time to find my way to Highway 99 again.

[I later found out while driving back to Vancouver that the accident was caused by a Mustang travelling north in the southbound lanes. What if I had left when I had planned? Hmmm ...]

I eventually made it to Mercer Island at about 7:45 a.m., parked and was seeing nothing but a steady rain. I've run in rain before. I just don't like to start in it. The walkers were getting underway at 7:30 a.m. God bless them. I can't see myself walking that far (to start with.)

I decided to set the alarm on my cell phone, put the seat back and try to sleep until 8:45 a.m. to see what the weather was going to do. I figured the worst that I would be out was the gas money if I didn't run because of the rain.

About 8:15 a.m., I woke up, ran down to the area to register, which was covered, and stewed around for about 10 minutes before finally decide to "just do it." (No, that comment was not sponsored by Nike.) And then, as it was raining before the start of the race, I was thinking, "I can't believe I just paid what I did to run this thing."

So here I am. I haven't run at all, except for maybe on the treadmill the first week home from Alpharetta. I had not done any exercise at all from the second swim that I did in Florida. Let's see that was over a week ago. So what do I do to see if I'm ready? I put myself through a hard hour and a half workout on the elliptical trainer yesterday afternoon - finishing at about 4:30 p.m. The calves were a little sore, but cardio-wise I felt great.

Yes, I know what you're thinking, "That's a recipe for disaster." I e-mailed Rick Cook and Bill Dwyer, told them I was going to go and that anything under 2:24 would be miraculous. I assumed that the course would be hilly, but there was no elevation chart on the race's web site. (I might not have gone on one hand, but I probably would have because I needed to get out of the city.)

The race time temperature was in the mid-40s and probably never got over 47-48 even though the sun came out a little bit in mile 12. But by then, I was already spent and not surprised.

I felt like I had eight really solid miles, despite a killer set of inclines in mile 2 (or maybe 3.) I almost thought they had transported mile 20 in Alpharetta to Washington state. They did. In two pieces. Some there and the hilliest part at the beginning of mile 13. Insane.

The course actually winded around Mercer Island to the south and the course itself was a winding road. If it was certified, it would have been the toughest course to certify because of all of the curves. And even if you tried to run the tangents (in the right hand lane of traffic, which was open), the road was very cambered.

The course also had some elements of Tacoma's Sound to Narrows 12K.

Mile 1 -- 9:52.69
Mile 2 -- 10:16.06
Mile 3-4 -- 21:17.38
Mile 5 -- 10:26.93
Mile 6 -- 11:04.25
Mile 7 -- 10:22.38 (began to think that I was as nimble as the Striders' John Yoder and was running strong.)
Mile 8 -- 10:45.94 (this was a big downhill, but it sucked a lot out of me. I ran it hard and fast, as they said Bill Rodgers would do on downhills. Yes, I wasn't on drugs thinking I was running it like Rodgers. Let's face it you have to dream.)
Mile 9 -- 10:45.27
Mile 10 -- 11:16.11
Mile 11 -- 11:17.05
Mile 12 -- 12:43.09
Mile 13 -- 11:30.79
Last .1 -- 1:06.17

Mile 13, after a steep uphill, was pretty much downhill to the finish line, which was nice. However, both of my calves were cramping. The inside muscle on my right thigh was tender. And back in mile 12, I was completely gassed.

I'm really surprised how I came away with those 11's in mile 10-11.

If I hadn't gotten lazy, even though I can really say that I was needing to recover from the Alpharetta Marathon, I could have run this better. Don't take this as me beating myself up over it because I'm not. My weight is up a little bit. I know it because I can feel it in my clothes. Therefore, I need to work to get it back down. I read recently that for every extra pound that you carry that it slows you down two seconds per mile.

I was doing the math walking back to the car and I really could give Rick some fits if I got down to what he weighed. What's incredible with me is that my weight, even if down a little bit, is still up because of the muscle in my legs ... BUT I still have a lot of mid-section muscle (and not in a good way.)

The guy who won the Sunmart 50-Miler this past December lives up here. His name is Greg Crowther. I don't know what his half marathon PR is; however, he ran this course last year in 1:09. Incredible. He would have been in the 1:05-1:06 range in Houston, maybe a minute less.

[Well, multi-time Seattle Marathon winner and an excellent ultrarunner named Uli Steidl won the race in 1:06 and change. Even more incredible.]

I had a good time. Challenging, but a good race all things considered. I know that there are all kinds of people who would have never tried to do what I did. But they also have different goals than I do.

It is still hard though being away and not doing a race with a friend.

Saturday, Mar. 24 Workout

I've been a bit lazy here lately; however, life and work has done a number on me recently.

It's late in the afternoon here in Vancouver, British Columbia. I just finished up an hour and a half on the elliptical machine (EFX 524 ... more of a stepper) watching Ohio State defeat Memphis as well as the beginning of Kansas and UCLA game.

The first half hour, I did an interval routine and then for the hour, I started out with crosstrack of 16 and incline of 12, went down one on each every five minutes until I got to 30 minutes in and then stepped back up -- finishing as hard as it was when I started.

So, that'll be enough for me to go run the Mercer Island Half Marathon tomorrow down in the Seattle area. Right?

We'll see how things go. I really don't expect much. Anything under 2:24 will be miraculous for not having run at all in over two weeks. The textbook would say though that I'm completely recovered from the marathon that I did three weeks ago in Alpharetta, Georgia. (What's crazy about my life these days is that *that* seems like about six weeks ago.)

But, yes, I know, the textbook also doesn't say, "Well, hey, let's just go run a half marathon for something to do!"

I suppose I could go run 13 or more miles around the Vancouver area, but what fun would that be. Sure, I'd get a workout, but I may not push myself as hard as I'd like.

Besides, I need the motivation - especially proving naysayers wrong. :)

Two Running Community Updates

I'm breaking the dormancy for two important reasons -- the passing of Houston Striders member Ralph Collins and the illness of a child of a member of the Sugar Land running community.

1.) Dr. Bob Hoekman and Joan O'Connor both sent me e-mails containing the following message sent by the Houston Striders' Barbara Shepard to their membership:

Dear Striders,

I have some sad news to report. Our fellow Strider, Ralph Collins, passed away on Sunday morning, 3/18. All of our hearts go out to his dear wife, Yong. Ralph has been a member of the Houston Striders for many years - not only volunteering wherever he was needed, but he also served as a past Strider President and a PIM Coach.

In rememberance, Yong will be holding a party to celebrate Ralph's life. it will be this Friday, March 23rd at 6:00 pm at 6442 Rutgers, Houston, 77005, which is the home of Yong's dear friend, Clair Liu.

They will be serving Ralph's favorite drink, favorite food and playing his favorite music as well as just...remembering Ralph.

We hope to see you on Friday.

Barbara

Dr. Bob added the following: "For those of you who knew Ralph. He was a tireless volunteer for HARRA both in PIM and the CPR/AED team. He will be missed."

2.) Finish Line Sports member Nina Jannetti provided us with the following update:

One of the members of our running community, Bonnie Simmons, and her husband Brent, experienced a tragedy last weekend. Their youngest son Spencer, 14 years old, suffered a severe head injury, and is in critical condition at Memorial Herman Hospital in the Medical Center. The best way we can all help Bonnie, Brent and Spencer right now is to:

A.) Donate blood in honor of Spencer Simmons, Memorial Herman - Texas Medical Center, NeuroTrauma ICU.

The closest address is: 4949 Sweetwater Blvd., Sugar Land 77479, Phone: 281-313-1122
http://www.giveblood.org/donorcenters/sugarland.htm
To schedule your appt online:
https://www.eblooddrive.org/index.cfm?group=op&bbsid=10&step=2

B.) Send Spencer an encouraging E-card which Bonnie will read to him:

Go to https://secure1.mhhs.org/egreeting/egreeting.html
Enter hospital: Memorial Hermann - Texas Medical Center
Enter room number: NTICU, Pod B, Bed 8

C.) Keep Spencer in your prayers.

Blog To Be Dormant

I'm taking an extended break from many activities as there are many stresses and situations that I'm dealing with. They, unfortunately, are more mentally draining than physically, but they take time away from doing many of the things that I get enjoyment from.

To those of you who are my friends or who are long-time supporters of what I've done, thanks. Your genuineness means a great deal to me and is greatly appreciated.

There are battles still left to be fought, but they'll be done another day at another time.

"HoustonRunning" Yahoo NCAA Tournament Pick'em

We have 11 participants, including myself, in the "HoustonRunning" Yahoo NCAA Tournament Pick'em. After the first day of the tournament, Doug Spence finds himself in the lead after having picked 15 of 16 games. His only miss was Xavier's win over BYU.

Rick Cook and myself find ourselves in second place after selecting 13 of 16 winners - with both of us having missed on Duke and Gonzaga. However, my selection of Duke could be more devastating as I had the Blue Devils upsetting UCLA before losing to Kansas.

Four chose 12 winners. Three picked 11 while Edwin Quarles, who could get some help from his high school's basketball coach, Tommy Penders, the son of University of Houston head coach Tom Penders, is pulling up the rear with 10 wins.

Trash Talking

I got word today from Coach Bill that trash talking is back in style. (Yes, I saw the Clydesdale comment and no, some people don't have the copyright on the term.)

With that ... Waverly and I saw a race T-shirt at today's Astros game in Kissimmee versus the Florida Marlins. And we both deduced that it was a race that Rick Cook could not enter.

The race's name here in Orlando, Florida? The "U Can Finish 5-Miler".

Then There Were 32 ...

For those of you who love the stats that came with this blog, I know that you've been neglected ever since the Chronicle "RunHouston" blog got started. Well, here's an update for you!

32 runners have run the first three events of the HARRA Spring Series. They are as follows:

Alice Keelin, 57
Bonnie Jo Barron, 45 (BCRR)
Bruce Mansur, 53 (BCRR)
Christopher Harris, 48 (BCRR)
David Magness, 27 (NONE)
Delores Dunham, 51
Donna Whitney, 52 (BCRR)
Gerardo Mora, 40 (HMSA)
James Leonard, 53
Janet Sutton, 51
Jenn Mitchell-Jackson, 34 (HS)
Jennifer Brown, 30 (TOR)
Joe Carey, 51 (BARC)
Joel Chapa, 45 (NONE)
John David Hutsell, 61 (HS)
John Hedengren, 29 (BARC)
John Yoder, 35 (HS)
Kathleen Mahon, 52 (BCRR)
Kevin Regis, 47 (TOR)
Maria Thompson, 46 (HS)
Mark Conran, 47 (BCRR)
Mark Fraser, 50 (BCRR)
Matthew Nicol, 44 (BCRR)
Pony Peterson, 41 (HS)
Rich Fredrich, 49 (TTC)
Robert Brown, 48 (BCRR)
Roger Redding, 48 (BARC)
Scott Wonderly, 40 (BCRR)
Serai Abraham, 56 (TTC)
Sim Cuevas, 47 (TOR)
Simon Brabo, 31 (BCRR)
Tom Reed, 50 (BCRR)

No surprise that 28 of the 32 are HARRA members and that 12 of them are Bayou City Road Runners, who are known for their support of the Spring Series.

Sunday Splash!

Yes, I finally made it in the water. Why heck, it IS Florida!

It is Sunday evening here at the Orange Lake Resort & Country Club in Orlando. I drove my daughter, two nieces and my mother over here on Saturday from Spring. We left at 5:15 a.m. Central time and made it here at approximately 10:30 p.m. Eastern time -- and this included two sit-down stops to eat.

After sleeping in, not doing too much today (got some things done online), going and eating dinner with my grandfather (everybody else had eaten a late lunch), I made it down to the pool - outdoors - at about 8:30 p.m. I have no idea how far I went, but I surmise that I was down there for about 35 minutes. I walked off about 60 feet (so I suppose that is still 20 yards). I might have done this distance approximately 25 times -- and only once did I back and forth without stopping! Yikes!

I wasn't necessarily winded (and still am not afterwards), but I found it more to be the 1.) weight and 2.) lack of arm strength -- if that makes sense. I kept asking myself, "I've run six marathons or greater since the first of November, why shouldn't this be a "little" bit easier?" I also thought, "Sheesh ... Dana Lyons could retire coaching me on the swim!"

I'll be back to do a lot more before we leave on Saturday.

On Thursday, Waverly and I walked 4.1 miles in 1:03:35 -- the first 1.7 miles in 26:50.57 (15:47) and 2.4 miles in 36:45.09 (15:18). Just a brisk walk.

Friday afternoon, I went to Bally's in The Woodlands and hit the elliptical machine for 45 minutes doing 3.95 miles, adding something a bit different. I tried five or six times, spaced out about five minutes a part, to try and do 180 foot strikes (or strides) in a minute. If I didn't have it on the random setting, where it throws in an incline periodically, I'm sure I could have done it; however, I think all of the time I was between 1:07 and 1:14. It was tough, but something different for fun. I followed up the elliptical machine with a 30-minute ride on the stationery bike.

It is 10:10 p.m. Eastern and I'm still considering going out for a run. I've already measured off a 1.8-mile jaunt from the Villa to Highway 192 and another 1.6-mile around a set of villas.

HARRA E-Mail Announcement Coming Friday

Last Thursday, HARRA members received the following e-mail from one of HARRA's tireless supporters from the very beginning of the organization, Jerry Smith:

HARRA E-mail List Members,

Earlier this week I advised the HARRA Board and the HARRA Club Representatives of my decision to "retire", effective immediately, from my volunteer position as the HARRA E-mail List Administrator. Several factors entered into my decision among them being the fact that a new e-mail server at work is making it increasing difficult to send out messages to such a large list making it necessary to send out plus the day-to-day management of the many additions, deletions, revisions and "undeliverable" has become overly burdensome.

The List began approximately seven years ago and has grown from a list of zero members to a current list of over 1,500 members. Hopefully all of you have enjoyed the updates and the information that has been distributed and that in some way it has benefited your training and racing. I know I have thoroughly enjoyed the role and have especially enjoyed my interaction with all of you, many of whom I have never met other than via our e-mails.

At this time I am not sure what the organization intends to do as there are several options under consideration. Until then I would urge you to check the HARRA web site on a regular basis for updates and other running related information.

Best of running to all!

Tomorrow, Friday, March 9 (one day before president Anna Sumrall Helm may have to dye her pigtails blond if 20 centipedes finish on Saturday at the Bayou City Classic 10K), webmaster Sarah Graybeal will implement a new e-mail process that will allow for the organization to maintain and trigger the e-mail list from HARRA's web site.

Users will have a page that they can even unsubscribe from the list if they choose too. But why would they?

E-mails will be sent out approximately three times a month, near the 1st, 10th and 20th of the month. This will help cut down on the volume of e-mails coming through the list - and allow HARRA to provide the member benefit at no cost (on that schedule).

Watch for more specific details on the HARRA website and in your e-mail box from announcements (at) harra.org on Friday!

And thanks once more to Jerry for his providing this service, through the company he works for, for the past seven (7) years!

Wednesday Night Run with Waverly

2.1 miles, 25:25.89, 12:06/mile, equates to 37:31 5K

Just our normal loop in the subdivision! I was real proud of her that she didn't walk a step the entire time, and she really struggled to run about a mile on Sunday. My legs were feeling pretty good, but I still was feeling dinner sitting a bit in my stomach.

On Monday at school, Waverly said she did 6 laps in 20 minutes. We talked about that being 15 minutes per mile. I shared with her that for her to reach 7 laps, each lap would have to be 2:51 or better. She won't get to try again there until the Monday after next as we'll be going to Florida on Saturday, which means that I won't be at the Bayou City Classic 10K.

In her 6th grade P.E. class, she said her teacher recommended that she be one of just three girls in that class to participate in athletics next year. Even if she didn't make a volleyball, basketball or track team, she would benefit from being in an off-season program, which would consist of running, conditioning and weight lifting.

Either way, if she's willing to make the commitment, it would be a good thing for her in the long term.

Alpharetta (Ga.) Marathon: State #9

My 14th marathon - for my 9th state (TX, DC, NY, LA, AR, NM, ID, FL, GA) - is now in the books! Paula Boone of the 50 States Marathon Club was asking me where No. 10 is going to come in at, and that all depends on whether or not I have to go back to Vancouver the weeks of March 19th and 26th. (If not, I might be targeting either Olathe, Kansas or Ellerbe Springs, NC.)

Official Time: 5:17:08
My Watch Time: 5:17:06
My Chip Time: 5:16:18

Why "my" chip time? Because the event didn't have a starting mat at the beginning of the event for only about 1,000 runners?

The Alpharetta Marathon course is one of the hardest marathons that I've done. In fact, this is how I would rank them all:

1. Alpharetta (Ga.) Marathon '07
2. Austin Marathon '07
3. New York City Marathon '05
4. Little Rock Marathon '06 (Front half a gradual incline to the half way point. Flat for another mile. A climb to 16.5, sharp downhill to just past mile 17 and basically flat the rest of the way.)
5. Fiesta de Albequerque Marathon '06 (At 5,000 feet above sea level. Otherwise flat.)
6. City of Trees Marathon '06 (Boise, ID; At 2,900 feet above sea level. Semi-significant in mile 21.)
7. Marine Corps Marathon '04 (First five miles had inclines. After that? Pretty flat.)
8. Surfside Beach Marathon '06 (Flat. Hard-packed sand hurt the ankles, but left no thigh pain. The crosswinds absolutely sucked.)
9. Texas Marathon '06 (Almost as flat as a pancake, but four loops on concrete? Ouch.)
10. Jacksonville (Fla.) Bank Marathon '06 (Flat as could be.)
11. Houston Marathon '07 (See comment below.)
12. Houston Marathon '05 (This was easier because I didn't roast.)
13. Mardi Gras Marathon '06 (More flat than Houston. No underpasses and the one overpass you pass twice isn't as high.)
14. Austin Marathon '06 (Screamer downhill course.)

A 50 States Marathon Club member from Georgia, Terri O'Leary, who I met at the finish line shortly after she came in, said that she did the White Rock Marathon for Texas and that the hills on the course on Sunday were tougher than the Dolly Parton Hills. In fact, I said that mile 20 was Dolly Parton and Anna Nicole Smith (when she was alive) combined into one.

Waverly and I drove the course Saturday night and I knew that the back half was going to be tough. Therefore, I purposedly held back a little to make sure that I had enough to go through the back half OK, but the hills were a little harder than I had expected - especially from the mile 18 marker to the mile 23 marker.

Here are my time splits (and some added commentary):

The race started in downtown Alpharetta near City Hall. While Alpharetta is its own city, I would state that it is much like The Woodlands, just layed out a lot differently. It was very cold, but, of course, I knew that going in. Waverly and I got to the race start area a little bit early. I had grabbed something to eat at a convenience store that wouldn't upset my stomach as well as some water.

Packet and chip pickup was very easy. As I was waiting in the line to go to the restroom shortly before the start of the race, I saw Bill Rodgers. (He finished the half, at age 60, in 1:41:02.)

Mile 1 -- 10:07.63
Mile 2 -- 10:29.52 (20:37.15)
Mile 3 -- 10:30.67 (31:07.82)
Mile 4 -- 11:01.00 (42:08.82)

First significant incline and a water stop before the mile marker.

Mile 5 -- 10:49.04 (52:57.86)
Mile 6 -- 11:17.27 (1:04:15.13)
Mile 7 -- 11:06.37 (1:15:21.50)
Mile 8 -- 11:28.75 (1:26:50.25)

A right-hand turn at this mile marker would have taken me back to the hotel. A pleasant thought on a cold day (right at about 30 degrees with occasional winds.) I had these same thoughts earlier in Boise, but once again chose not to act upon them.

Mile 9 -- 11:07.63 (1:37:57.88)
Mile 10 -- 11:14.48 (1:49:12.36)
Mile 11 -- 10:59.52 (2:00:11.88)

Waverly was waiting for me about three-quarters into the mile and her plan was to run with me to the halfway point, which is where the finish area was as well. While I know anything can happen here or anywhere, we have a very specific plan to follow as it relates to her well-being (especially when we travel) and safety.

Mile 12 -- 12:00.62 (2:12:12.50)

11 could have been short and 12 could have been long because I don't believe that I slowed that much for Waverly, who had a little trouble as the last part of mile 12 had an uphill and I was maintaining a pace that was just faster than her best pace for a 5K.

Mile 13 -- 14:53.59 (2:27:06.09)

After the mile 12 marker, I had to keep my pace and momentum. I thought about just going on and not waiting for Waverly when I got to the water station before mile 13. She knew to make it to the half area and then wait for me to come in; however, I remembered that she had my belt, which Gu in it for the back half, and three (3) more Extra Strength Tylenol. So I waited a minute for her to catch up at the water station and ended up taking another two (2) to get everything together.

I was a little challenged, but we have an agreement that what happens on the course, stays on the course - and that is why Dad and daughter have a very healthy relationship.

So aside from the additional three minutes, I was basically on plan for 11 minutes a mile. Conservative. I was hoping to do 12 minutes per mile on the back half, which would put me close to 5:01, 5:02.

Mile 14 -- 11:18.42 (2:38:24.51)
Mile 15 -- 11:30.27 (2:49:55.18)
Mile 16 -- 11:37.97 (3:01:33.15)
Mile 17 -- 11:45.06 (3:13:18.21)

These miles were nice and steady and primarily flat. The end of mile 17 had an incline in it.

Mile 18 -- 13:48.01 (3:27:06.22)

I probably burned close to two minutes at the aid station half way through this mile so that I could get fluids in me as well as my second Gu.

Mile 19 -- 12:30.99 (3:39:37.21)

Semi-steady incline early in the mile and a water stop late in the mile.

Mile 20 -- 12:42.75 (3:52:19.96)

Steep downhill which I zig-zagged down and then a very, very steep uphill followed by, after a right hand turn on to another road, two staggered, but short inclines. It is one of the toughest miles - besides the Grouse Grind that I've ever experienced. I thought here though, as a positive, that I was 10 minutes ahead of my first-ever marathon, Marine Corps, at this same point.

Mile 21 -- 12:59.44 (4:05:19.40)
Mile 22 -- 11:41.32 (4:17:00.72)

Was wiped out in mile 21, but found a little strength on the downhill to drop a mile back under 12 minutes.

Mile 23 -- 13:48:12 (4:30:48.84)

Had a long incline here followed by a short incline and after a right hand turn and a little dip, there was short steep hill to climb to finish off the mile.

Mile 24 -- 16:32.67 (4:47:21.51)

At the aid station just beyond mile 23, I basically called it a day when I did the math of 15 minutes per mile for the remaining three to realize that I woould have about a 5:15 day on a tough course in not so pleasant conditions (although it was sunny the whole day.)

Mile 25 -- 13:43.52 (5:01:05.03)
Mile 26 -- 12:15.10 (5:13:20.13)
Last .2 -- 2:57.50 (5:16:17.63)

I mustered up enough strength in the last 1.2 miles to bring the times within reason. I was motivated by a pair of women to try and keep up with them - they were doing a 3/1 and I shared with them that what kept me heading to the finish was an incredible 11-year-old daughter waiting for me there.

Waverly was waiting at the mile 26 mark and she got the chance to cross another finish line with me. In fact, she has been there four of my last five marathons or more (Sunmart, Houston, Austin and Alpharetta.)

Running up hills and into a constant headwind, at times, is like running in the humidity or at altitude. I know I personally didn't help the resistance issues with my size. :)

It was shared with me though by a fellow runner that "a doc in the medical tent afterwards said that running into a wind as strong as it was last weekend takes the same energy and fluids as running on a hot day." I'd reasonably believe that.

This race was extremely well-supported by its volunteers and the police and fire departments of the towns of Alpharetta and Roswell, who kept runners safe on the course. As I approached an intersection, I knew that I was able to keep my head down and run on through because they had it monitored so well.

The race T-shirt was a long sleeved one with a nice, clever design on the front and the medal was nice and well-done, for what it's worth.

In Alpharetta, Georgia

Just getting ready to get into bed at 10:40 p.m. Eastern time. Waverly and I had a good flight over here, got a bite to eat not too long ago and we've been on the entire Alpharetta Marathon course.

If one thought Austin was tough, this course may be (and probably is) tougher - especially on the back half. The uphills on the front half are long and gentle and there are some places where you can pick things up a little bit on some rolling downhills, but after mile 11 the course gets tough in a number of ways.

Like the Mardi Gras Marathon, you have to pass by the finish area at the half way point.

At mile 15, you go on a three-mile loop that has you passing runners that are basically that many miles ahead of you. Then once you come out of it and start mile 19, those runners have just passed mile 25.

From the mile 19 marker to the mile 21 marker is insane. The downhill at the start of mile 19 is steeper than anything on the Austin course followed by an uphill that is about as equal approaching the mile 20 marker (which I missed ... but Waverly saw.)

You get some nice downhill spots between mile 21 and 25, but the question is: Will you have anything left in your legs to take advantage of them?

It'll be fun for sure. And, of course, I have no option but to finish, especially since the "red headed princess" is here with me!

Early Friday Morning Run

Wow! I even got out on the roads this morning before Barbara!

Actually, I left the hotel here in Vancouver, BC at about 1:55 a.m. Pacific and headed out for a cold-morning run. (I do have an early departure to the airport to come home.) Knowing that the forecast for Sunday morning in Alpharetta, Georgia is going to be 27 degrees, I figured it would be good to get a feel for what I needed to wear. (I had a long sleeve technical shirt with a pullover fleece-type piece. I may need to add one more light layer - dependent upon if this is any wind on Sunday.)

Weather.ca said that it was 32 degrees Farenheit and that it felt like -4 degrees Celsius or almost 25 degrees. When I finished my run and stepped inside of the 7-11, the clerk said, "Isn't it cold out?" I think we was surprised to see me in shorts and nothing on my head!

When I look at the numbers, it was a good run for me right now even though I felt like I was running in quicksand.

I was on this route and covered 6.39 miles (10.29 kilometers) in 1:07:39. Of course, all of the cyborgs playing along at home will know - without looking at the pace chart - that this was a pace of 10:35 per mile - on hills.

The way that my work schedule plays out it looks like I will be here for the 50,000-person Vancouver Sun Run 10K on Sunday, April 15. It is one of the top 10 runs in the world - if the metric that you're using for top is the number of finishers (which is what Running USA uses.)

You might even be able to call this run "popular" as well. 50,000 kind of lends itself to that.

It is when the organizers of races that have no more than about three to four hundred finishers start calling themselves one of the more popular runs in their city. That, my friends, is called "spin." Which translates to: Don't drink the kool aid!