Congratulations to Rick and Kim Cook!

Here's welcoming Katie Grace to the world!

Go see DirtRunner's blog at http://dirtondirt.blogspot.com/ to see her picture and read the brief ultra bio!

New! New! New!

On the RunHouston Chronicle blog, I shared with everyone earlier about the new ultramarathon scheduled for July in Fort Worth -- the El Scorcho Run.

Here are some other new things that I'll be communicating more on shortly:

1.) New Marathon - Davey Crockett Bear Chase, Groveton, TX, April 12, 2008

It will be Texas' 14th road marathon and is being organized by Steve and Paula Boone in conjunction with the Trinity County Chamber of Commerce.

2.) New Marathon Series - Texas Marathon Triple

Run the Texas Marathon in Kingwood, the Surfside Beach Marathon and the Seabrook Lucky Trails Marathon and you'll get a shirt and a racing jacket from Puma.

3.) New Half Marathon - Angie's Half Crazy! Half Marathon, UH-Clear Lake, April 6, 2008

Race director Angie Binetti heads up Bay Area Fit. Information for a story on the RunHouston Chronicle blog has been requested from the organizer and sponsor(s).

We Are: Penn State! Dane Rauschenberg Adds Blog!

You may remember Dane Rauschenberg as the gentleman from Arlington, Virginia who ran a marathon on every single weekend of 2006.

Of course, Dane is a Penn Stater and has created his own blog (with a pretty unique name) called the "DaneGer Zone".

Dane is running the Old Dominion 100 Miler in Fort Valley, Virginia next weekend.

I think, though, he was getting his training tips from DirtRunner.

You'll just have to read for yourself; however, for somebody to pull off the logistics to run a marathon every week every weekend last year, I assume that there is the intestinal fortitude to run - and finish - a 100-miler.

We'll find out in less than 7 or 8 days! :)

Race For The Pennant 5K Notes / Stats

Timed Finishers

2003 (1,737), 2004 (1,642), 2005 (1,171), 2006 (1,342) and 2007 (1,092 - all-time low)

Overall Winners

Men's
2003 - Charles Kamindo, 21, Nacogdoches, 15:09.0
2004 - Sean Wade, 38, Houston, 15:17.9
2005 - Sean Wade, 39, Houston, 15:22.8
2006 - J.P. MacHemehl, 22, Sugar Land, 15:01.7
2007 - Sean Wade, 41, Houston, 15:04.8

Women's
2003 - Kate Gorry, 20, Houston, 17:43.3
2004 - Kimberly Schultz-Hager, 32, The Woodlands, 17:32.2
2005 - Tanya Wright, 23, Houston, 17:41.1
2006 - Lauren Smith, 15, Lake Jackson, 19:16.4
2007 - Dawn Domaschk, 26, San Antonio, 17:47.6

Top 10 Times

Men's
15:01.7 - J.P. MacHemehl, 22, Sugar Land, 2006
15:04.8 - Sean Wade, 41, Houston, 2007
15:09.0 - Charles Kamindo, 21, Nacogdoches, 2003
15:12.0 - Sean Wade, 40, Houston, 2006
15:12.3 - Cole Dailey, 23, Houston, 2006
15:17.9 - Sean Wade, 38, Houston, 2004
15:22.8 - Sean Wade, 39, Houston, 2005
15:23.3 - Luis Armenteros, 30, Houston, 2003
15:26.3 - Jose Lara, 27, Houston, 2003
15:28.7 - J.P. MacHemehl, 23, Sugar Land, 2007

Women's
17:32.2 - Kimberly Schultz-Hager, 32, The Woodlands, 2004
17:41.1 - Tanya Wright, 23, Houston, 2005
17:43.3 - Kate Gorry, 20, Houston, 2003
17:47.6 - Dawn Domaschk, 26, San Antonio, 2007
18:01.8 - Jackie Rzepecki, 34, Houston, 2003
18:08.8 - Kira Abercromby, 33, Clear Lake, 2005
18:26.9 - Megan McCoin, 22, Houston, 2004
18:51.4 - Caroline Burum, 37, Houston, 2003
18:55.3 - Clarie Greiner, 30, 2003
18:57.9 - Melissa Henderson, 32, Houston, 2007

How Did Non-Mont. Co. Triple Finishers Do Today?

Race For The Pennant 5K

Althea Caldwell, 46, Spring, 36:48 (Luke's Locker Beat participant)
Lee Harlicker, 37, The Woodlands, 17:23 (TWRC, Second to John Yoder)
Donna Ryals, 43, Spring, 36:37
Joseph Sibley IV, 32, Spring, 25:12

Combat Triathlon, Texas City

Gena Alvarez, 40, The Woodlands, 1:31:53.7 (TWRC)
Delia Akers, 47, Tomball, 1:31:41.2

Run The Woodlands 5K #178 Race Report

It's a shame for the reason why it takes me so much to remember what RTW number that we're on ... but that situation is in the past and it's time to press forward!

Today was fun. So much so that I didn't even run the race!

Oh, don't get me wrong, I should have. (Even after I did 50 minutes on the elliptical trainer last night at Bally's after flying to Columbus, Ohio and back through Detroit all day yesterday.)

But, I wanted to watch and, as a result, I volunteered. Of course, it wouldn't hurt me. (Run The Woodlands 5K should really become a The Woodlands Running Club event. TWRC is out there every race putting up its resources. Today's crew included Mick Long, Cathy Steele, Andrew "Lost" Perry, Rick Cook, Monty Lynes, Bill "They Don't Allow You to Walk in the Water" Dwyer and myself -- all TWRC members. Rumor is that Monty took over 300 pictures that will go up on the Run The Woodlands SmugMug site.)

Why did I watch? I thought that the women's race was going to shape up a little differently than what it did.

I knew that Team Timex professional triathlete Kim Hager was going to be doing the event, even after posting an excellent 4-hour, 48-minute half Ironman effort at Ford Ironman Florida last Sunday. However, some pre-race notes that I had said, "Just don't expect anything much faster than a jog."

I saw Coach Dan Green's wife, Lisa, who Kim beat by a little over four (4) minutes last October at Ten For Texas, there for the first time in awhile. (I had no knowledge of where Lisa's fitness is right now.) But I thought that it might be incentive for Kim ... however, the real incentive was really former Westfield HS phenom Nicole Jones' course record of 18:25. (Hager ran 18:37 two weeks ago.)

I also saw my good friend from the Bay Area Running Club, Vera Balic, who has been bouncing back from an injury that took her out of one of her favorite events - the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon.

Well, it never really materialized into a race as Hager, on the second loop of the Barbara Bush Elementary parking lot, was already tucked in behind five (5) former The Woodlands HS cross country runners as she hit the sidewalk on Crownridge.

Leading that pack (shown above courtesy of Bill Dwyer) was University of Arkansas harrier Jon Norris, 22, who won the race in 17:04. Spring masters runner Jacob Mazone, 44, who has won about every thing north of Spring Creek since the first of the year, followed in 17:15. Former The Woodlands HS cross country runner Daniel Zainfeld, 21, who finished fourth at the Bearathon Half Marathon on March 3, 2007 in 1:23.11, was just two seconds in front of Brian Perriman. Zainfeld was third in 17:38.

Hager (shown above in her new Newton shoes) with fifth overall in her record-breaking time of 17:56.

Behind her in the women's race was 12-year-old Shelby Hayes, who beat Green by six seconds with time of 21:14. Green's third place finish of 21:20 was easily ahead of Balic (22:06) and The Woodlands Running Club's Sharon Morin with a 22:47.

There were 13 finishers of the Montgomery County Triple. Their finishing times and places as follows:

2. Jacob Mazone, Spring, 17:15

19. Stephen Smith, The Woodlands, 21:36

28. Randy Bradley, The Woodlands, 23:57

40. Paula Stiles, The Woodlands, 25:12

43. Heather Tromanhauser, The Woodlands, 26:00

50. Kim Driver, Montgomery, 26:46

51. Mike Mendeck, Conroe, 26:55

56. Anne Pattengale, The Woodlands, 29:13

58. Cody Ferguson, Montgomery, 29:37

63. Susan Meyer, The Woodlands, 31:58

65. Debbie Tripp, The Woodlands, 32:35

66. Corinne Laird, The Woodlands, 32:55

67. Lori Eubanks, The Woodlands, 33:25

It was good to see some people I haven't seen in awhile, including Spring's John Soul, who finished in 21:29. I also got a chance to meet fellow TWRC member William Blount for the first time today as well.

Texas Independence Relay teammates Dave Smart and Karen Felicidario finished in 25:07 and 29:48, respectively.

One of the best stories of the morning, before breakfast with Bill, Debbie, Andrew, Monty Lynes and his wife, Alana, came after Bill introduced me to Alana. (I've seen her results for quite some time. She's a talented runner.)

I noticed in the results at the Boston Marathon this year that she was listed as a native of Canada. So, of course, knowing that my friend, Vera Balic, and frequent RTW winner Rachel Guenther are both also from Canada, I asked her where and she said, "British Columbia."

You can see where this is going. I asked, "Where in British Columbia?"

She said, "Some place that you've probably never heard of. I was actually born in 100 Mile House, but last lived in Quesnel (pronounced Qui-nell)." And I responded, "On the way to Prince George." (I failed to add the "Eh".)

She was kind of surprised and so I went on to tell her that I had made the drive north almost 800 kilometers last April to run a half marathon there with the Prince George Roadrunners.

It was really a good day!

Saturday, May 26 Workout

66 minutes, treadmill and 30 minutes, stationery bike, Bally's The Woodlands
Start at 4.0 mph, add .1 mph every 5 minutes, stop at 5.2 mph

TIR Trash Talking has begun!

Oh, boy! This is going to be fun!

Waverly and I went to a social that Luke's Locker in The Woodlands put on for a number of individuals in the running community here on the far north side of the area. It was a mixture of a number of different groups and constituencies.

Here's just a sampling of who was there this evening:

+ One of the city's best female veterans runner, Nancy Prejean.
+ Lou Wilson and his wife, two-time Ironman Nora Wilson.
+ The Woodlands Running Club president David Wadsworth and his wife, Jeanette.
+ Husband-and-wife speedsters Buck and Kerry Snyder.
+ TWRC members Carlos Ortegon, Anne Leoni and JoAnn Blakeley.
+ USA Triathlon All-American and Tri One-O-One race director Dana Lyons.
+ Store employees Andrew Perry (and his wife), Tara Wilson and Cathy Steele.
+ Team Timex professional triathlete Kim Hager.
+ Luke's Locker Beat participant Althea Caldwell (and her husband).
+ Montgomery County Quad recipient (on Saturday) and TWRC member Debbie Tripp.
+ Jim Braden's wife, Karen. (Jim is already in Colorado and getting ready for Bolder Boulder 10k on Monday.)

There were many others. (Perhaps Bill will send me an e-mail and I can update this post.)

Thanks to Mike Lucas, Susie Schreiber and the staff for having everyone in the store for a couple of hours after closing time this evening. We really had a great time!

By the way, our team has added its 12th team member. She is Karen Felicidario from The Woodlands, a neighbor of the DirtRunner himself, Rick Cook. (Her signing up to run with all of us shows that Rick has positively rubbed off on her!) That makes Christy Gonzales our first alternate!

I can't disclose the members of Bill's team yet until they are official; however, two of their team members - and speedsters - were at the social this evening and the trash talking has already begun! One of them doesn't like to run in the dark and the other - well, how can I say this - got lost during a trail run in Coldspring this past March.

Once the Texas Independence Relay produces its manual with leg distances and all, we'll have a group outing for both teams! (This will most definitely be after Cassie gets back from Japan.)

One of the items up for discussion is that the TIR will allow teams to mix up the order of the runners as long as everybody runs their appropriate number of legs.

I'm going to lobby heavily - and I think Bill is actually in agreement with me - that we'll follow the traditional methods that the first runner would run legs 1, 13, 25 and 37. The second runner does 2, 14, 26 and 38 and so on. (But I'll check with our team consultant for guidance on that!)

We had a good laugh as I told everyone that we'd be telling our team not to worry about falling behind by 8 or 10 minutes as their two speedsters opened up a lead as we'd just make it up on Bill's leg! (Seriously, though, Bill is doing the Capital of Texas Triathlon on Monday in Austin and we're all pulling for him to do well. I did tell him that he couldn't walk in the water.)

Day trip to Columbus, Ohio tomorrow. Run The Woodlands 5K on Saturday morning and likely, a 12-mile TWRC club run on Sunday morning.

Former HRBers team up for Texas Independence Relay!

On March 1-2, 2008, a team, tentatively running under the name of the "Houston Running Bloggers", but subject to change, has paid for and will compete in the 40-leg, 200-mile Texas Independence Relay from Gonzales to the San Jacinto Monument.

The team includes the following individuals:

Jon Walk (TWRC), Edwin Quarles (BARRA), Cassie Mondragon (Striders), Holden Choi (Striders), Sarah Graybeal (BARC/Striders), James David Dykas (HoustonFit), Joe Carey (BARC), Keith Kelleher (CLFC), Jessica Alexander (Striders), Dave Smart and Barbara Boone (ChampionsFit).

I have an invite out for a 12th team member as well as a first alternate. When I have a commitment on the 12th runner, I'll add the name here.

Erin Foley (ALRC), whose schedule will not allow her to participate, will serve as our official TIR consultant.

We will be participating in a Texas Tough Throwdown challenge against a team that will be led by Bill Dwyer that includes participants from The Woodlands Running Club, The Woodlands' Luke's Locker Beat program and from Team In Training - The Woodlands.

The team is pretty evenly matched by looking at average 5K times. Their team has a couple of speed burners (17-19 minute range), but Bill put a wide range of a 5K time (which I won't list) in his e-mail for him. :)

I'll work with Bill at some time during the summer to have a TIR dual team social, especially if we knew when/if Jay/Joy Hilscher - co-founders of the event with David/Muna Mitchell - were going to be in the greater Houston area.

Spring 2007 Montgomery County Triple Update

One race to go in the Montgomery County Triple - this Saturday's Run The Woodlands 5K!

The following 31 individuals ran both the YMCA Trail Run 5K in Conroe and the David's Dream Run 5K on Market Street in The Woodlands the past two (2) Saturdays:

Althea Caldwell, Spring
Anne Pattengale, The Woodlands
Buck Snyder, The Woodlands
Candace Minchew, Montgomery
Cody Ferguson, Montgomery
Corinne Laird, The Woodlands
Cory Ognisty, The Woodlands
Debbie Tripp, The Woodlands
Delia Akers, Tomball
Donna Ryals, Spring
Doug Stiles, The Woodlands
Frank Halter, The Woodlands
Gena Alvarez, The Woodlands
Greg Alvarez, The Woodlands
Heather Tromanhauser, The Woodlands
Jacob Mazone, Spring
Joseph Sibley IV, Spring
Kara Stockton, Montgomery
Ken Hardwick, Norman, OK
Kim Driver, Montgomery
Lee Harlicker, The Woodlands
Mike Mendeck, Conroe
Pamela Chapman, The Woodlands
Pamela Paling, The Woodlands
Paula Stiles, The Woodlands
Randy Bradley, The Woodlands
Ronald Longtin, The Woodlands
Scott Farrand, The Woodlands
Stephen Smith, The Woodlands
Susan Meyer, The Woodlands
Tammy Conatser, Willis

Andrew Perry ran the first race without a chip and we're suspecting that there were a few individuals who showed up in the race results from last week's David's Dream Run 5K as "unidentified" that ran in Conroe as well.

If they said they ran both (and run Run The Woodlands 5K on Saturday), they'll be recognized.

As far as my column for the Conroe Courier on Sunday, I'll be writing about the winning Middle School Division Girls team - the "Dashettes" - from The Woodlands who recorded the fastest time in that division since 1994 when three teams that year went 3:03:18, 3:11:42 and 3:17:44.

Happy 12th Birthday to Waverly!

It is really just hard to believe that Waverly is 12 years old today.

I remember holding her first at a little after 3 a.m. twelve (12) years ago, and running a little over two (2) miles around the track at Knox Junior High with her last night is special too - just in a different way. (I had to edit the previous sentence because her birth was the most incredible moment and I had written that running with her Tuesday night was greater. It wasn't.) But the incredible things that she has been able to experience so far in life isn't extravagant by any means, but I would describe them all as "unique" and "special".

I don't keep track (isn't that a surprise), but she wiped out Dad's achievements in the 6th grade with all A's and one B.

She did a half marathon at the age of 10.

She sang a solo less than two weeks ago at school. (Oh, my plan was to share the video with you here; however, before I could get over to my parents and help my Mom get it off the recorder, she accidentally taped over it. My Dad, who was in Pennsylvania to see his parents, wasn't the most happy individual.)

She's had the opportunity to do so many things, but the most remarkable thing is that she's a very good, well-respected young lady.

I did help Bill Dwyer exact a little fun and embarrassing revenge last night. Waverly helped coordinate with Gena, Debbie Tripp and Kim Hager the surprise birthday event at Run The Woodlands 5K #169 on January 6th for not only me, but also Bill after she overheard him talking about his birthday the week before at track night.

I called Bill with enough time for him to positively, of course, embarrass her in front of the Luke's Locker Beat programs folks as well as Kim Hager's tri group. Many in both groups already know Waverly. Once everybody was done with their track workouts, everyone sang "Happy Birthday!" to her.

We're taking her out to eat later tonight.

She and I did our usual thing. Walk one time around the track, in the outside lane, to warm up and cool down, and then eight (8) laps.

She did the eight (8) laps in 26:51.20, which was 2.217 miles (3,568 meters) for a 12:06/mile pace. We only ran it hard the last lap. (I told her that Ken Johnson, president of the Seven Hills Running Club, who shares her birthday today, was expecting her to run on June 9th in the competition against The Woodlands Running Club at Run The Woodlands.)

I just tried to have her run steady (and we carried on a conversation most of the time) and these were her splits: 3:11, 3:25, 3:26, 3:25, 3:26, 3:31, 3:26, 3:02.

I then added another 1.108 miles (4 laps in lane 7) in 11:24.19 for a 10:17/mile pace.

I had done 50 minutes on the stationery bike late Monday night at Bally's after the weekend of back-to-back half marathons.

Apple Blossom Half Marathon Race Report

State #15. Check.

But it didn't come without a little of self-inflicted drama - and the fact that it was getting close to me missing the start.

I read the directions on the web site of the Apple Blossom Half Marathon, located in Hastings, Minnesota, as well as doing a Mapquest search on it. Mapquest returned something like 20 miles and 25 minutes. Well, of course, never believing that, I decided to leave the hotel at 6:15 a.m. for an 8:00 a.m. start.

Instead of looking at the Hertz map that I had, I looked at one online that said to take state highway 77, which was down Interstate 35E, to state highway 55 and then go east. (Well, writing this report, I can see on the map that highway 55 is NORTH of me - instead of south.)

I don't know where I ended up at; however, a cute blonde standing outside of a Marathon gas station (that she worked at) smoking a Pall Mall gave me directions to "go up 3, until you get to 42 and it turns into 55 and takes you right on into Hastings." (I know it sounds like a country and western song.)

She was right. I made it there, while running low on gas (a quick $10-12 drip - enough to get a couple of gallons in), and registered at 7:40 a.m. (maybe 7:45). I caught the school bus, with everyone else, out to the start - at another park - where all three events (the 5K, 10K, and the half marathon) headed off in different directions at the sound of one gun!

Today, it was even cooler and just as windy as it had been in Fargo the day before, but at least it didn't rain. (If the forecast had called for that, I would have brought gloves. It was the only thing that I probably didn't plan for - and it got cold. Which, from a running perspective, isn't a bad thing.)

The event was very down-to-earth and was experiencing its 22nd running this year. However, the mile markers left a LOT to be desired even though they had more than enough water stations (only one - hmmm, maybe two now that I think about it - with Powerade) staffed by a lot of very friendly people.

Mile 1 -- 10:17:66
Mile 2 -- 10:48.17 (this had an uphill)
Mile 3 -- 10:31.22 (here was a good bit of the downhill)
Mile 4 -- 11:49.56 (huh?)
Mile 5 -- 8:24.20 (51:50.81; alright 4 was long and 5 was short)
Mile 6 -- 14:50.51 (1:06:41.32; it took 22 years for the course to get off this much?)
Mile 7 -- 11:02.93 (1:17:44.25)
Mile 8 -- 11:07.15 (1:28:51.40)
Mile 9 -- 10:26.09 (1:39:17.49)
Mile 10 -- 12:26.41 (1:51:43.90; 9 was short and 10 was long. Why? Because I opened up a lead on four other runners during this mile and I was running my hardest of the race.)
Mile 11 -- 11:15.56 (2:02:59.46)
Mile 12 -- 11:56.91 (2:14:56.37)
Mile 13 -- 10:40.26 (2:25:36.63)
Last .1 -- 1:09.71 (2:26:46.34)

This course had about as much roll to it as Washington County near Brenham - and it just kept coming and coming. A couple of places we actually went off the asphalt country roads and on to some gravel roads. (That gave me good practice about running in a straight line to stay on where one of the tire treads had been. Why? There was no gravel there!)

I've done a number of other races like this. Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio (half marathon) and Battleground, Washington (10-miler) are two that came to mind while out on the course. Very tranquil and scenic. Just you the cows and the apples!

I wasn't disappointed in my time given that 1.) I had run a half marathon yesterday, 2.) the course was hilly and 3.) it was long.

I almost caught a guy and his daughter and I knew from the first two miles that he had a Garmin 201 on. When we crossed the finish line, me right after them, I asked him what he had for distance and he said 13.22 miles.

They gave away a very nice wicking shirt, which will come to me by mail for all of the race day registrants. (Fargo also gave away a draw bag and a nice long-sleeved wicking shirt, albeit black. Not too good for Houston except in the winter.)

Good trip, all in all!

Minnesota Sunday Morning Pondering

It's just a couple of minutes after 6 a.m. here in Eagan, Minnesota, the home of coming-out-of-bankruptcy Northwest Airlines.

This is one of these mornings that I say to myself, "Why am I doing this when I could just as easily sleep all morning?" Perhaps you can tell me!

Surprisingly, I feel pretty good physically as I get ready to do half marathonon back-to-back days for only the second time ever and the first time since April 30-May 1 in Des Moines, Iowa and Lincoln, Nebraska.

I started to thinking this morning if there was a "50 States Triathlon Club." (I honestly don't think so because not every state has an Ironman.)

That led me to wonder if there was somebody that was going around checking off Ford Ironmans around the world. I'm sure that there has to be somebody that is.

I do believe reading in an issue of Runner Triathlete News within the past year that Houston's Yen Nguyen finished an ultramarathon in all 50 states.

As we were in the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport and walking away from the gate, Lou Wilson, Tony Allison and myself were talking about back-to-backs and that Tony said that he did back-to-back marathons once and Lou said he did as well and would never again!

But Tony talked about Bill Dwyer commenting to him once - as Bill had done 50- and 100-milers back in a day - that back-to-back marathons was just a 50-miler with an extra long break in between!

That's why I get along with Bill so well as he so very well puts a positive light on anything!

Fargo Half Marathon Race Report

This may be a little abbreviated as it is 12:15 p.m. and I have a 1 p.m. checkout here at the Marriott Courtyard in Moorhead, Minnesota.

I stayed out on the course to see Dick Beardsley finish the marathon; however, I think he either ran the half - opposed to what others said - or he dropped early.

I did stay out long enough to The Woodlands Running Club vice president Tony Allison complete his 77th marathon in 26 states in a time of approximately 3 hours, 50 minutes. (I saw Lou Wilson right at the start of the race and then I was off. I know that he tries to stay on a 12-minute per mile pace early on and was even going to go back to a run/walk possibly.)

In the half marathon, I'm actually pretty happy. I finished in 2:18:16 (my watch time, which should equal the chip time) and that is just off of my 2:17:30 goal. I think I walked once - at the mile 6 marker - other than coming out of a water stop. (Wait, maybe one more time at mile 12.)

Mile 1 -- 10:20.76
Mile 2 -- 10:12.11
Mile 3 -- 10:20.58
Mile 4 -- 10:18.72
Mile 5 -- 10:04.41 (51:16.58)
Mile 6 -- 10:23.63
Mile 7 -- 10:42.24 (stiff headwind and up the side of the levy ... maybe the highest point in all of Fargo)
Mile 8 -- 10:30.78
Mile 9 -- 10:52.41 (more wind)
Mile 10 -- 10:40.06
Mile 11 -- 11:33.81 (walked a little longer out of the water stop, but not that long)
Mile 12 -- 10:33.09 (would guess 11 was long and 12 was short)
Mile 13 -- 10:30.71
Last .1 -- 1:13.02 (the "Hook 'em Horns" salute might have cost me getting under 2:18!)

Total -- 2:18:16

The temperature yesterday afternoon at 4:00 p.m. was about 88 degrees. At 12 noon, just having checked at weather.com, the temperature is 49 degrees and feels like 43 with the wind.

It was great for me. I'm feeling my fitness coming back. I worried a little bit about my right foot early in the race and my back didn't give me any problems. (Not sure if that is the Advil doing its job or just that I really pulled something and things have settled back into the right place. As long as I'm not hurting with every step, not sure that I care.)

I had a good strategy early on and it actually caused me to feel like I was going too fast. I found the best looking runner on the course (well, maybe just actually a very good physique, let's say)and followed her for as long as I could. She was running with two friends. I saw her off at a little bit of a distance at miles 7 and 8 and then lost them from there.

The only negative of the entire event was the traffic control getting into the Fargodome this morning. The community and volunteer support for this event was absolutely incredible. There were people everywhere cheering everyone on!

Tomorrow is the Apple Blossom Half Marathon in Hastings, Minnesota.

Friday Arrival in Fargo, North Dakota

Well, I haven't made it across the state line yet to Fargo as the Marriott Courtyard in here in Moorhead, Minnesota.

And it is hot here! Unseasonably for this time of year. If it were going to be cold, I might have considered running the marathon tomorrow as I understand that the course is as flat as a pancake. (Driving in across Interstate 94, it reminded me of the first time that I ever drove north on Highway 6 from Marlin toward Waco - nothing but green for as far as you could see.)

The Woodlands Running Club, though, tomorrow will rock Fargo as three "state chasers" are here to check North Dakota off of their list.

When I got to the gate, lo and behold, who did I see? The venerable and ageless wonder Lou Wilson. He will be chasing career marathon #79 and state #32 in the morning.

We are joined by TWRC vice president Tony Allison, who I believe is at 75 marathons and 25 states. Gary Van Kuiken is the club leader with 43 states.

I won't make the official leaderboard for the June issue of "Deer Tracks" in the marathons as you have to have 10 states - just like joining the 50 States Marathon Club; however, I will move to 15 states of half marathons and be second in the club to Patrick Morein.

Patrick is on the cusp of completing the Half2Run.com requirement of 25 half marathons in 25 states. By completing the Cincinnati Flying Pig Half Marathon, he got to his 24th state.

He will hit his goal next weekend at the Mad City Half Marathon in Madison, Wisconsin and then will join fellow TWRC member George Roffe at Grandma's in Duluth, Minnesota to go to #26. (George will be doing the marathon in June.)

Entering this weekend, Patrick is tied for 3rd in the Half2Run.com competition with 24 states. There have been two (2) completers -- Ira Gardner of New York, NY (42) and Eileen Fannon of Atlanta, GA (33).

I'm tied for 11th with 14 (13 states and 1 Canadian province) and am third in Texas behind Georgetown's Pat Neff (19) and Rockwall's Maggie Mount (17).

It's 3:10 p.m. Central time and I'm off to the Expo to register. More pre-double race weekend notes later this evening!

Wednesday, May 16 Workout

I may supplement this with a short run this evening after Waverly and I get back from the Astros game versus the San Francisco Giants; however, I got in an hour on the elliptical trainer (5.01 miles) this afternoon.

Saturday, May 12 Recap: Two 5Ks and More

This past Saturday was fairly busy, but fun. It sort of went like this:

1. Run The Woodlands 5K, Barbara Bush Elementary, The Woodlands, 8:00 a.m.
2. YMCA Trail Run 5K, Conroe, 9:15 a.m.
3. Egg and I, post-race breakfast with Waverly, The Woodlands
4. Write my weekly Conroe Courier running column at home.
5. Drop Waverly off at my Mom's so they could go to the Astros game together.
6. Attend the HARRA Picnic at Memorial Park from 5 to 7:30 p.m.

The YMCA Trail Run 5K was the first leg of the spring version of the Montgomery County Triple, but some people were thinking about the Quad - doing both 5Ks on Saturday morning.

Well, I'll be in Fargo, North Dakota (where it won't be as cool as I hoped it would be) this coming Saturday, but two 5Ks in one day sounds like my kind of fun.

Run The Woodlands 5K

At Run The Woodlands 5K, the first person that I see there, of course, is Bill Dwyer. He had already gone to Conroe to pick up the race packet for myself and Debbie Tripp, plus to see how long it was going to take to get there. (I heard him mention 18 minutes, but I also heard Monty Lynes telling him that it might take a bit longer.) Cathy Steele of Luke's Locker was there to run the show.

However, the event was going to be fun as two good friends were running the event -- John Yoder and Kim Hager. One of the friendliest guys in racing and his wife, Tinette, had made the trip north to The Woodlands and, well, I knew that Kim was going to run, but what surprised me was that - until a conflict developed in her schedule - she was going to do the Trail Run 5K! (I guess she probably wouldn't have got stuck in the mud at all.)

From my perspective, I wasn't going to try and go all out since I was running a second 5K in less than an hour, but also since I had only worked out once because of my foot. I didn't do too bad considering that as I posted a time of 30:31.64 (30:32, for the record.) The starting temperature was a humid 69 degrees.

Mile 1 -- 9:29.83 (I noticed that immediately the blue dots were now yellow.)
Mile 2 -- 10:05.37
Mile 3 -- 10:04.70
Last .1 -- 51.74

Before I made the first turn on to Alden Bridge, and while I was running a bit with Tim Vibrock of The Woodlands, I saw Holden Choi. He was out on a 7-mile run and couldn't race because he needed to be at a meeting in Houston for work! (I had a chance to see many of the RTW regulars that I haven't seen since January - Wayne Rutledge, Tom Hippe (who was testing out the Chi method of running), Danny Gilbreath from Houston, Jim Braden, Denise Van Kuiken and Lou Wilson, who really had a nice 5K as he finished in 27:48.)

John ran out about three-quarters of a mile to run in with his wife, who had just passed me, to bring her in under 30 minutes. (I jokingly told him after I finished that I thought he was coming out to run me in!) After chatting with a few folks, it was off to Conroe!

I got lucky and hit all of the lights pretty well. Bill and Debbie got "tripped" up by a few. The parking situation was a little chaotic at the Conroe YMCA; however, that meant that they had a great turnout - and good for them!

YMCA Trail Run 5K

Bill had warned me early that the course was pretty muddy and, as we got into the woods, that became pretty obvious. In those early stages of the race, I ran a little bit with Rick Cook's neighbor and fellow blogger, Karen Felicidiaro, before she got on her own pace (which was just a tad bit faster than mine.) I passed Seven Hills Running Club president Ken Johnson as well as Michael Kove before we started to hit the mud.

After the first mile, which was an unflattering 10:30-something, I could tell that the two back-to-back might not have been a great idea. But at that point, what was I going to do ... know that Bill and Ken were back there and let them catch me? Yeah, right. :)

At one point while we were going out, there was a small loop which brought the leaders back going the opposite direction. I saw former Caney Creek HS runner Andrew Perry on the course, but I didn't see him in the results.

My splits (they had half mile markers) were as follows:

Mile 0.5 -- 4:49.43
Mile 1.0 -- 5:44.72 (10:34.15)
Mile 1.5 -- 5:48.17 (16:22.32)
Mile 2.0 -- 6:18.59 (22:40.91; 11:06.76)
Mile 2.5 -- 5:48.10 (28:29.01)
Last .6 -- 5:57.82 (34:26.83)

In the last mile, I saw Bill Thompson of Conroe, who is a really nice guy. I enjoyed catching up with him a little bit since I believe that the last time that I saw him was at the Run Thru The Woods 5-Miler on Thanksgiving Day. With about a half of mile to go, I had to let him go on ahead of me.

After finishing the race and watching a number of runners that I knew cross the finish line, including Coach Bill himself, I introduced myself to Kent, who works for Run Wild Sports Timing. I saw Kent up in Oklahoma City on the Saturday night before the race, but hadn't met him before. We had a really good conversation and as I headed to the Pavillion to get the results for my Sunday column in the Courier, I met race director Roxanne Davis with the YMCA. We had a good conversation.

As I got to the Pavillion, I saw two of my really good friends from The Woodlands - Frank Halter and Pam Paling. Pam's a school teacher in The Woodlands so it gave me the opportunity to embarrass - in a positive way, of course - Waverly (and brag about her academic accomplishments.) Pam's always been an encourager to Waverly and I really appreciate that.

(Both she and Frank had a good day as Pam took first in her age group while Frank came in second. Winners of age group awards got a thick piece of wood with the name of the event and the award shaved into the wood. Really nice awards!)

I had a couple of people walk up and introduce themselves as they have indicated that they read my column in The Courier -- Jim Nichols from Conroe, whose son finished second overall and runs for Willis HS, and Ruth Fields of Montgomery, who was the second Masters finisher overall and who also writes for The Courier.

After that, I hung out with a number of friends from Seven Hills Running Club (which included Ken and Jan Parks), The Woodlands Running Club (including Carlos Ortegon, Stephen Smith and Buck Snyder) and the Luke's Locker Beat programs. I met one of The Woodlands' top runners, Lee Harlicker. (Bill introduced me to him.)

I joked that I'm not sure what it said that I knew all three age group winners in the 60-and-over division -- The Woodlands Running Club's Mike Mendeck, Luke's Locker Beat program participant Ronald Longtin and Seven Hills Running Club president Ken Johnson.

Mid-Afternoon

Waverly and I stopped at Egg and I in The Woodlands for a late breakfast. Since it was closer to noon, we didn't have to wait at all to get a seat. (This place is always busy. It is located off of Research Forest Drive and is on the north side of the road, just west of Interstate 45. It is on the way and back from Run The Woodlands 5K.) As we were waiting on our food, we saw Frank and Pam again.

After leaving, we got back to the house and I pounded out my column before taking Waverly to my Mom's so they could go to the Astros game together.

From there, I was headed to the HARRA Picnic in Memorial Park.

HARRA Picnic

The event had a pretty good turnout. When I got there, Erin Foley and Ben Harvie were working the check-in table. Behind the table, relaxing (of course), was Gerardo Mora. (Three fast people that I could only catch in my sleep!)

I spent a lot of time talking with Gerardo. A little bit into the conversation, Anna Helm came over as well as John Hedengren, his wife and children. John and Gerardo gave me updates on their "On The Run"-sponsored teams for this weekend's Beach To Bay Relay. (I can't tell anybody though!)

I had a chance to visit a bit with Steve Schroeder, saw Matt Wright and his wife, Bessie, Yong Collins and met Erin's husband, Matt.

I also saw, but didn't get a chance to talk to Doug Spence and Lee Greb, among others.

Just about when I was getting ready to leave, up walked Manny Mondragon, Cassie's husband, as he was finishing up a run as the two of them live close to Memorial Park. I had the chance to introduce him to Erin. He filled us in on Cassie's lost luggage in Okinawa.

The only downside to staying at the HARRA picnic for as long as I did is that I missed Jim and Karen Braden's party at their home in The Woodlands for a number of The Woodlands Running Club members. Word was that club VP (and Chevron Houston Marathon veteran) Tony Allison was the life of the party.

I'm sure I missed something somewhere. If I did, let me know!

Tuesday, May 15 Run

I'm in town and it's Tuesday night so we go to Knox Junior High in The Woodlands to run with the Luke's Locker Beat program participants (and, on this night, Kim Hager's new triathlon program members, which includes a woman, Chris Gause, who is just a remarkable story.)

For me, it was just a simple 4.14 miles. (Three laps in lane 6 and 12 in lane 7.) Didn't time it and Waverly did four laps in lane 7 with me at a very relaxed and controlled pace.

As always, these are just a great group of people to hang out with.

A couple of women that I featured in my Conroe Courier column Sunday were there, as always -- Delia Akers of Tomball and Gena Alvarez of The Woodlands. (Gena and her husband, Greg, will be featured in a later edition of "Deer Tracks", The Woodlands Running Club's newsletter.)

Always good to see and talk with Rick Cook, George Roffe and a long lost blogger, Dave Smart. (Dave was looking pretty good on the track doing some 400s.)

Today was a good day. I had a nice e-mail from a local runner in The Woodlands/Spring area thanking me for my coverage of them in the Conroe Courier as well as from one of the clubs commenting positively about the May/June issue of Inside Texas Running and HARRA's Footprints.

I also had a nice note from Lisa Foronda, in her new role, giving me some information about an upcoming charity 5K that is going to be held out here in The Woodlands in June. (More on that as it gets closer, but it will be much like the "Run For Hans 5K" that was held on the Run The Woodlands 5K course last November which raised almost $18,000 for the family's expenses.)

Tomorrow may be a bit more of a challenge. :)

Listening to ... Rodney Hayden: "Down The Road"

Rodney Hayden is a young country music artist from Pleasanton, Texas who just produced his third CD called, "Down The Road". This followed his first two efforts with "The Real Thing" and "Living The Good Life", which featured Rodney's songwriting on 15 of the combined 22 songs.

On "Down The Road", which hit the streets, Tuesday, May 1, Hayden wrote or co-wrote all 11 songs. (I would put him, as a lyricist, in the same class as Phil Vassar.)

We first met Rodney when he played at the State Fair of Texas before Alan Jackson played. We bought his first CD, "The Real Thing," and he took a picture with Waverly and autographed the CD for her. The title cut of his first CD, "The Real Thing", was the inspiration for George Strait - via legendary producer Tony Brown - to include it on one of his CD's and release it as a single.

I've seen Rodney play in person a number of times including at Puffabelly's in Old Town Spring as well as the Washington County Fair in Brenham and at three (3) honky tonks, one each in Bryan, Webster and San Marcos. The one night in Webster, I bought his second CD and he signed it, "To Waverly, Missed You Tonight!"

When I pre-ordered his current CD, he sent it with the following note on the CD cover, "To Waverly, Thanks For The Years Of Support. Enjoy."

He's supposed to play the "Big Texas Dancehall" in Webster, which is where I believe I saw him once before, on Thursday night. If you like excellent country music, it would be worth going to see him - and heck, you might even see me there!

On a much more important note, though, Waverly tonight at her middle school end-of-year choir performance sang Carrie Underwood's "Don't Forget To Remember Me." She was the only sixth grader to sing a solo. (There was another sixth grader that was part of a quartet.) Waverly also was named the outstanding student of her sixth grade choir class. (That makes three end of the year awards for her!)

Of course, the song is about a daughter going out on her own and contains a reference to a phone conversation with her mother. There's a line that has the daughter telling her Mom to .... "make sure you tell Daddy that I'm still his little girl..." (Well, of course, when Waverly sang that line .... this Daddy started to tear up!)

HARRA Family Picnic, May 12

Event coordinator Mark Fraser notes that "We could use a few volunteers for set-up, cooking and clean-up. People would only volunteer for a short time and could enjoy the picnic the remaining time. Let me know who can help. This is an all-volunteer HARRA event."

WHAT: HARRA Family Picnic Bring the entire family!
WHEN: May 12 from 3 to 8 p.m. Kid's activities from 3 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
WHAT?: FREE BEER, hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken and Boca burgers, plus soft drinks and water. Feel free to bring a side dish (optional but appreciated.)
WHERE: Memorial Park next to the Fitness Center/Swimming Pool. Take the loop north of Memorial Drive. At the stop sign near St. Theresa's Catholic Church, turn east on Arnot. Go one block and make a left into the parking lot.
WHO: HARRA members and their family -- it is FREE. HARRA member guests -- $5.00 admission. People may join HARRA and have free admission.
WHY: As a special benefit for being a HARRA member, you get fun activities for kids and adults. From 3 - 5:30 p.m., there is a moonwalk/slide for the kids plus games and events like egg toss, three-legged races, and Hula-hoop contests. There is a large playground area right there so the kids will have fun all day.
WHAT ELSE?: Live band starting around 5 p.m. til 8?? Dance the night away!

Testing The Foot

Progressively through the week as I walked, I continued to test my right foot to see what I was going to be able to do - or not do. (Hoping against all hope that I wasn't going to have to scratch next weekend's back-to-back half marathons.)

Towards Wednesday and Thursday evening, I was able to move quickly across an intersection with little pain as I flexed my forefoot and applied more and more pressure to the area underneath the metatarsal where the bone in pinky toe pushes up against the next one up the foot.

So ... I ended up in Bally's in The Woodlands this evening to get an hour on the elliptical machine (4.96 miles) and another 25 minutes on the stationery bike after driving today from Vancouver to Seattle and then flying home into Intercontinental Airport.

Tomorrow, I'll give things a complete test with back-to-back 5K's at Run The Woodlands 5K at 8:00 a.m. and then the YMCA Trail Run 5K in Conroe at 9:15 a.m. (Yes, we've got the most direct route there mapped out for us by "Coach Bill" Dwyer.)

The Way I See It #252

(Saw this in a meeting this morning on the side of a Starbucks coffee cup....)

The Way I See It #252

Give me world politics, party politics or small-town politics ... I'll take them all over the politics of youth sports -- Brenda Stonecipher, Starbucks customer

(This is the author's opinion, not necessarily that of Starbucks.)

I'd make it #252a and substitute running for youth sports.

Monday Update: Waverly and Injury (Mine)

First things first, Ms. Waverly!

Earlier this evening, at an Awards Ceremony at her middle school, each teacher gave an Outstanding Student Award to one of their students.

During our trip to Fort Worth and Oklahoma City the weekend before last, she told me that her Math teacher was going to be giving Waverly hers.

When I got to Vancouver on Monday, I had an e-mail from her World Cultures teacher that said that she had selected Waverly as her Outstanding Student. I had to do a little double checking to make sure that it wasn't the same one twice. However I quickly confirmed that it wasn't because her World Cultures teacher said that she wanted it to be a surprise to Waverly.

When Waverly called me this evening, as she was going home from the ceremony, she had an additional surprise for me!

In her sixth grade, they are divided into two families - Family 1 and Family 2.

Of all of the sixth grade students in her middle school Family, she was the ONLY one to have made all A's and just one B through the first five semesters. I asked her if anybody made all A's and she said, "No." Wow! (She later explained that there were four students in the other Family that got all A's and six that got all A's and one B.)

We've had Waverly in private school the last six years (K plus 1-5). Therefore, I was pretty certain that she was capable of excelling in the public school. However, to be one of the top 10-11 students in her grade is pretty impressive so I felt compelled to brag a little bit on her! (She was one of the top three of her class of 17 last year.)

Next Monday night, I get treated to see her sing a solo at a choir concert at Spring High School. (Well, this has changed too! It will be at their school, but a performance nonetheless.)

Now for the lighter side of things.

You've heard in the past about major league baseball pitchers going on the disabled list because they hurt themselves trying to tear a phone book in half. Well, I wasn't looking to dial any numbers; however, as I was getting dressed Sunday morning just before I was ready to leave the hotel in Spokane, I rammed my right foot into the hard plastic on the bottom of my suitcase.

It was one of those instances where there was like a second or two delay between knowing that I had nailed it pretty good and then the pain kicking in. When I finally checked into the Residence Inn here in downtown Vancouver last night, and took off my shoes and socks, my right pinky was red, swollen and starting to bruise.

We have a nurse on our project and she doesn't think that I've broken it, but I'm having to keep it elevated as much as I can. And, of course, it hurts a little bit to have a shoe on.

Top 25 Finishers from Texas at Bloomsday 12K

1. Sean P Wade, 41, of Houston, TX, 0:38:00
2. Travis Huskisson, 22, of Austin, TX, 0:43:19
3. Norman Swope, 44, of Austin, TX, 0:50:04
4. Darin S Helgeson, 43, of McKinney, TX, 0:57:37
5. Brooke Honnell, 26, of Dallas, TX, 1:03:47
6. Libby Davis, 48, of Austin, TX, 1:04:59
7. David Genecov, 43, of Dallas, TX, 1:11:11
8. Eva M Gonzales, 30, of Dallas, TX, 1:11:51
9. William G Whittaker, 20, of San Antonio, TX, 1:13:22
10. John C Choate, 51, of Spring, TX, 1:15:29
11. Valarie M Brittain, 26, of Houston, TX, 1:15:48
12. Jon D Walk, 40, of Spring, TX, 1:17:53
13. Eliza K May, 53, of Austin, TX, 1:20:34
14. Anna E Nelson, 24, of Ft Worth, TX, 1:21:12
15. Elizabeth A Kleweno, 28, of San Antonio, TX, 1:23:26
16. Kathy A McLean, 36, of McKinney, TX, 1:23:27
17. Amanda C Jordan, 23, of Garland, TX, 1:25:41
18. Stephanie Gay, 29, of Georgetown, TX, 1:26:32
19. Richard Gay, 59, of Georgetown, TX, 1:33:00
20. Corinda D Behler, 26, of Cedar Creek, TX, 1:38:11
21. Benjamin R Couture, 31, of Dallas, TX, 1:42:28
22. Kathleen Baird, 51, of Temple, TX, 1:42:50
23. Wendy G Couture, 30, of Dallas, TX, 1:43:34
24. Connie L Bowser, 68, of Livingston, TX, 1:47:22
25. Kathy I Barham, 55, of Ft Worth, TX, 1:49:54

Bloomsday Run 12K Race Report

I'm probably one of the few runners in America that requests a late checkout at the hotel just so I have time to blog about the event that I just ran.

When I filled out my race registration yesterday, I put down a time of one hour, 15 minutes. (I actually didn't remember my time from the Sound to Narrows 12K in Tacoma.)

Today at the Bloomsday Run 12K, under beautiful running conditions, I crossed the finish line in 1:17:57.63 for a slight PR at this distance better than the 1:18:00.96 in Tacoma last June.

Runners in Tacoma last year said that the Sound to Narrows course was much tougher than the one here at Bloomsday. The one thing that Bloomsday doesn't have is for runners to have to retrace the uphill in mile 7 that you took advantage of in the first mile. But actually, the feared Doomsday Hill - part of the last half mile of mile 5 - wasn't the worst of things here in Spokane for me. It was the hills in miles 2 and 3.

And, for me, it was the recovery from going up Doomsday Hill, which is more long than it is steep, that hurt me in mile 6 (other than getting some water.)

At 11:15 a.m. Pacific, the Spokesman Review newspaper is reporting the following on its website, spokesmanreview.com:

Kenyan John Korir, 31, pulled away down Monroe Street to edge John Yuda of
Tanzania and fellow Kenyan Julius Kibet to win Bloomsday 2007 on Sunday.

Edna Kiplagat, 27, won her first Bloomday women's race in 38 minutes and 51 seconds. The Kenyan pulled away after Doomsday Hill to win easily.

Saul Mendoza, 40, of Wimberley, Texas, won his 10th consecutive men's wheelchair race, earning the tight victory in 27:06. University of Illinois wheelchair racer Amanda McGrory, 21, won her first women's race.

I had a chance to speak with Sean Wade about 30 minutes before the start of the race. He indicated that Mbarak Hussein was in "incredible shape" and that the one individual that could make the race interesting for all of the Masters runners has been the recent performances of 44-year-old Dennis Simonaitis.

At 11:45 a.m. Pacific, Sean just reported on his blog that he was the 3rd Masters finisher in 38:00. Last year, he ran the course in 37:45.

Slowed earlier in the year by a left ankle and right quad injuries, he stated, "I am not as fit as last year. However, I did recover much better. I also had had a few more races under my belt before this race last year."

He indicated that his splits today were: 4:50, 4:48, 5:10, 5:07, 5:16, 5:17, 5:10
Last year, he said, they were: 5:01, 4:51, 5:10, 4:58, 5:10, 5:15 ,4:59

Somewhere along as I was running, I was just hoping to be able to be within 5 minutes of his splits! (But more than likely 6, actually.) What's interesting is the effect of Doomsday Hill was about the same - at different levels of ability and work ethic.

Great event. Here are a handful of my thoughts:

+ Pre-race public address announcing was horrible as far as the amount of sound. I was given a green start bib, which put me just before half way in the 40,000+ crowd. We could barely hear our National Anthem being played and, of course, it gave thousands of Americans an opportunity to be disrespectful.
+ They played our National Anthem before Canada's National Anthem. Have you ever been to a professional sporting event and heard it this way? The thought that went through my mind was subversive.
+ The Canadians, though, once again impressed when they all strongly sang their anthem. In my race report in the May edition of "Deer Tracks", the official newsletter of The Woodlands Running Club, you'll read what I heard in the crowd in Vancouver for the Sun Run 10K last month.
+ While there are medical professionals that don't believe that you really need any electrolytes for a run of around an hour, I was still surprised that water was the only fluid available during the race and immediately after.
+ Finisher's T-shirts, of course, at the end of the race. Glad to have it! (I like how they do it. To get a t-shirt, you must finish.)
+ The use of headphones didn't seem as prevalent here as they were at the Sun Run 10K and the Oklahoma City Half Marathon; however, there's a good reason why this race could join Grandma's Marathon in taking a national lead on the matter.

Alright, now for the boring part of the report - my splits!

Mile 1 -- 9:33.32
Mile 2 -- 9:52.57 (19:25.89)

Strong downhill, followed by a solid uphill. Both fairly significant.

Mile 3 -- 10:55.24 (30:21.13)
Mile 4 -- 10:17.84 (40:38.97)
Mile 5 -- 10:57.88 (51:36.85)

I slowly ran all of Doomsday Hill for but about 60 steps 70% percent of the way into the hill.

Mile 6 -- 11:07.78 (1:02:44.63)

Wasted a minute in the early part of this mile just past the hill.

Mile 7 -- 10:36.76 (1:13:21.39)
Last .46 -- 4:36.24 (1:17:57.63)

Still this amounts to a 10:27 minute per mile pace on a hilly course a day after running a 10K!

I'm happy, had fun and am looking forward to next week's back-to-back 5K's and then the following weekend's trip to North Dakota and Minnesota for a back-to-back half marathon showing to register states #14 and #15.

Additionally, I'm very, very fortunate to have some of the opportunities that I do to run in some of these events and that is one of the reasons why I enjoy sharing the information with you.

For complete Bloomsday coverage, please click here.

Bloomsday 12K Rules: Gotta Love These!

Straight from the pre-race materials --

"You May Be Disqualified..."

"Again we're not kidding. Anyong who does not follow the procedures listed in these instructions MAY BE DELETED FROM THE OFFICIAL RESULTS AND DISQUALIFIED FROM BLOOMSDAY FOR UP TO FIVE YEARS. Major violations include: a) Jumping into the race along the course, b) Running with a Baby Jogger or assisted wheelchair, c) Starting before your color group is authorized to start or d) Not following generally accepted rules for the dafe and fair conduct of a running event."

Sweep Vehicle

"Those who are not able to complete the course will be picked up by a sweep vehicle. Sorry, but riding the sweep vehicle means you won't get a finisher's T-shirt."

Couple of other notes --

+ Interestingly enough, last year was the first year that Bloomsday used chip timing. Sound to Narrows 12K in Tacoma - which I did last year - still does it the old fashioned way.

+ Runners are treated with the exotic stylings of the Sisters of Selket belly dancing troupe from Coeur d'Alene. They are right past mile 4 before you go up Doomsday Hill!

+ Go here to see video of Packet Pickup and the Expo! This from the SpokesmanReview.com. (The volunteers were absolutely incredible and I got registered in less than 10 minutes!)

+ An elevation map! -- Click here!
+ And a picture! -- Looks like fun!

+ (From the event's press release) In masters competition, 2006 Bloomsday champions Sylvia Mosqueda and Sean Wade will be back to defend their titles, and distance running legend Henry Rono will return for the first time since winning Bloomsday in 1982.

+ (Also from the event's press release) This year’s wheelchair competition also promises to be hotly contested, as 2006 winners Saul Mendoza of Mexico - and Wimberley, Texas - and Shirley Reilly return to defend their titles. In addition, Bloomsday this year launches its first collegiate team competition, with strong wheelchair fields from the University of Illinois and University of Arizona vying for the team victory.

Apple Blossom Run 10K Race Report

Small town America. Wenatchee, Washington. Population: 27,856.

Today's Apple Blossom Run 10K kicked off the Washington State Apple Blossom Festival Grand Parade this morning and it really was fun, especially when the first mile and change was lined with people and pretty much all downhill!

If the course was measured accurately (and I suspect the start may have been a bit short), then I ran pretty good considering I hadn't done a thing since last Sunday in Oklahoma City.

I covered the distance in 1:01:26.98, which would be a two-minute improvement from the Vancouver Sun Run (April 15) and the Fort Worth Zoo Run Run (April 28). My cardio was fine and my legs felt pretty good. Just trying to get the two back into sync.

The splits looked like this:

Mile 1-2 -- 18:20.62
Mile 3 -- 10:15.35
Mile 4 -- 10:41.13
Mile 5 -- 10:17.41
Mile 6 -- 10:11.71
Last .2 -- 1:40.76

There was one water stop that was just past mile 3 and mile 5. It was staffed by an older couple from the back of their pickup truck. Nobody was dropping their cups in either direction so it was come to a complete stop, which accounted for a little extra time in mile 4. However, it didn't seem to have much effect in mile 6.

The temperature was a nice 62 degrees at the start of the race with a little bit of a breeze. When the breeze went away in the latter stages of the race, it felt a bit warmer.

After running through downtown, we turned off to the Apple Capital Recreational Loop Trail that runs parallel to the massive Columbia River. We passed the finish area, the 5K turnaround and went out just beyond the mile 4 marker before turning back for the approximate 2-mile push to the finish.

The majority of runners were doing the 5K. When I got to the turnaround, I knew that I only had four or five runners behind me. I passed one gentleman in mile 5. I was a little frustrated with my mile 4 split of 10:41 so I tried to bear down a little bit and get going a quicker footstrike (as I counted a 1-through-10 cadence.)

It allowed me to put quite a bit of distance on him as he was fading a little bit. I don't think that I was going just under a 9-minute pace as I did the last .2 miles; therefore, I think the course was off just a little. (I recalled the story while either running or walking back to the car that Denny Morse told me recently about Jeff Galloway coming to Houston in the late 1970s or early 1980s and telling race officials that their 10K course was off. Reportedly, Galloway was a master of his pace. Sure enough, the control stretch of 500 meters was measured inaccurately and caused the course to be short. It also affected three years of finishes at the then Houston-Tenneco Marathon.)

After the race, the only way to get back to my rental car was to walk approximately two and a half miles back to it. (And when I got there, the parade was still going strong! In fact, a certain percentage of floats hadn't left the grass staging area.) One of the more interesting things that I saw in Wenatchee, which by the way has some gorgeous scenery from the Wenatchee Mountains, was that at many schools there was a track measured off in chalk on the grass. Two things came to mind: 1.) they didn't want to pour more concrete and 2.) it is probably better on their legs.

The Kids 1-Mile Race, which started after the 5K and 10K runners went off had four different waves with a caveat that the top names would be listed in tomorrow's paper. Great stuff!

And I couldn't get away from the Aggies while in Washington state! They're everywhere!

I met this gentleman before the race who had a bright maroon Aggie golf jacket on as well as an Aggie visor that said, "Class of '61," on the side. He said that he had been in the Houston area a couple of weeks ago for his 50th high school class reunion at St. Anthony Catholic School in Beaumont. (I had said Monsignor Kelly High School, but forgot that St. Anthony was a H.S. then and competed in the old Texas Catholic Interscholastic League.)

Got here to the hotel (Fairfield Inn) in Spokane at about 3 p.m., checked in and walked over to the Convention Center and registered for tomorrow's Bloomsday Run 12K.

More on that possibly later! Houston's Sean Wade will be looking to defend his 2006 Masters title against Albuquerque, New Mexico's Mbarak Hussein.

Saturday's Apple Blossom Run, Wenatchee, WA

It is around midnight Friday night/Saturday morning, depending on how you look at things, here in Wenatchee, Washington where I just pulled into town for tomorrow's Apple Blossom Run 10K.

What I didn't realize is that this event is part of the Washington State Apple Festival! Just like the ConocoPhillips Rodeo Run, runners will start off the Apple Blossom Parade, which will feature almost 140 floats.

And, of course, this is just a stopover before going on to Spokane, Washington, about another two and a half hours east (and almost to the Idaho state line), for Sunday's Bloomsday Run 12K.

It took about four and a half hours to drive here from downtown Vancouver, British Columbia.

And looking at the local logistics, with the parade and everything, tomorrow morning will certainly be interesting. Or rather, later this morning.

Weekend of May 5-6

I think my plans have changed a little bit.

I could take the easy way out on Sunday and run the Vancouver International Marathon, but I'm not confident that I would enjoy the process of doing so (and I really wouldn't be adding another state to get to No. 10).

I may make the drive down to Washington state instead, do a 10K on Saturday morning in Wenatchee, Washington (on the way to Spokane) and then the huge Bloomsday Run 12K in Spokane on Sunday.

Long drive back to Vancouver; however, a bit more fun!