It's Independence Relay time in Gonzales: Stage set for inaugural running event in county

By GREG LITTLE/publisher@gonzalesinquirer.com

The stage is set and the players are cast.

All that remains is the firing of the cannon shot early Saturday morning.

The inaugural Texas Independence Relay is all set for Saturday morning in Gonzales. The event will feature relay teams traversing a course from the historic museum in Gonzales to the San Jacinto Monument east of Houston.

The event is being organized to commemorate the unique history of independence in Texas. Runners from all across America are scheduled to participate in the event and each one of them - along with their support teams and some with friends and family members - will make Gonzales their first stop.

That could translate into an nice economic impact for the city and county.

"That is one of the reasons for all of our tourism," said Bob Burchard, one of the organizers of the race. "We have a story to tell and it can be economically beneficial for us."

Gerri Lawing, economic development director for the city, said the economic impacts will be diverse. Whether it's someone spending the night in a motel, others shopping downtown and many eating at a restaurant, it all adds up.

Burchard said one of the goals of this year's event is to hopefully do it well enough the race organizers will want to make it an annual race in Texas.

"We want to build it, increase it," said Burchard.

He said the eventual goal is to build all of it around Texas Independence, which is celebrated annually in Gonzales.

In fact, this year that celebration is today with various activities around the city. On the heels of that will be a pasta dinner provided for the runners tonight at Victoria College.

Lawing said 375 runners have signed up for the dinner.

"That's amazing in itself," said Burchard.

The reason, he said, is because Gonzales cannot accommodate that many people, meaning some are staying elsewhere in the area but coming in for the dinner and then coming back the next day for the race.

Mayor Bobby O'Neal will present a key to the city to Jay and Joy Hilscher, the race organizers.

It was the Hilschers who first approached local officials about this concept of putting on a Texas Independence Relay. He wanted to showcase the history of the state as the theme for the race.

Burchard said it was a natural fit to start the 203-mile race, which has 40 legs, in Gonzales. Runners will go through Gonzales, Shiner, Flatonia, Schulenburg, Weimar, Columbus, Eagle Lake, Simonton and La Porte as they wind their way to the San Jacinto Monument.

Gonzales was chosen as the start because the first shot of the Texas Revolution was fired here in 1835 and it finishes at the monument in Houston because that is where Texans overwhelmed the Mexican army in a surprise attack six months later.

The race will begin in front of the historic museum on Smith Street. The museum will be open at 7 a.m. Saturday for visitors.

In front of the museum, city workers have installed two large poles where a 25-foot by 40-foot Texas flag will hang at the start-finish line.

Lawing commended city workers for getting the museum grounds cleaned up and in pristine condition for the event.

Organizers also have a large Come and Take It flag which will be displayed near the museum.

"We are ready," said Lawing.

Both Lawing and Burchard had nothing but praise for the many volunteers who will be doing everything from organizing parking to serving breakfast tacos to simply filling in where needed.

"We could not do this without all of the wonderful volunteers," said Lawing.

Also during the day, residents in the area will be hearing cannon fire as runners leave the starting line. The first shot will be fired at 6 a.m. and then periodically throughout each hour of the day as runners leave.

The story behind the firing of the cannon is an interesting one, as well.

Burchard said a man named Joe Snow from White Oak will be firing the cannon. Snow became associated with Gonzales in a unique way.

A few years ago, one of his children graduated from Texas State University, so they came to south Texas for the graduation. On the visit, they went to the Bob Bullock Museum in Austin and saw all of the information about Gonzales and what it means to the history of Texas.

According to Burchard, Snow said something to the effect that he could make a cannon which resembles the First Shot cannon and he wanted to know where Gonzales was located.

Snow contacted local officials about his idea and used his metal working craft to make the cannon. He's been at the past couple of Come and Take It celebrations, even putting the cannon in the parades. He also takes it out to the Cost area where the first shot was fired. There he fires a ceremonial shot to signify the beginning of the Texas Revolution.

Snow enjoys firing the cannon so much that Burchard contacted him when the race was being organized and convinced him this would be a great opportunity to fire the cannon a whole lot in one day. He's bringing five pounds of powder, which should be enough to fire for the entire event.

Another aspect of the event organizers are hoping comes to fruition is getting some of the runners and their families back to Gonzales for a visit. Lawing said all of the historical information has been sent to each team entered into the event.

She noted that many of the runners will be from Texas and hopes they will be intrigued by Gonzales and plan a day-trip or more to this area.

"The project is appealing to all arenas of the community," said Lawing.

Copyright © 2008 The Gonzales Inquirer. All rights reserved.

Texas Independence Relay gives city chance to shine

By GREG LITTLE/publisher@gonzalesinquirer.com

The stage is set for this weekend's first ever Texas Independence Relay race which will start in Gonzales.

The main portion of the event will take place throughout the day Saturday in Gonzales. The relay teams will begin running from the museum area, head through the downtown and back up St. Louis Street on their way to San Jacinto, near Houston.

Teams from as far away as New York City and Los Angeles will be participating in this event.

Gerri Lawing, one of the people helping organize the race, said she is hoping the people of Gonzales welcome the runners and their support teams with open arms.

"This is an exciting event," said Lawing.

She said making sure everyone feels welcome is a key element because it is possible this could become a permanent event in the state of Texas.

The event was the brainchild of Jay Hilscher of Houston. Hilscher wanted to craft an event which would showcase the history of the state of Texas. Since Gonzales is the birthplace of the state, he decided the race should begin here and end at the San Jacinto Monument in Houston, where Texas Independence was sealed.

Hilscher contacted local officials about the possibility and since that time it has evolved into a major event for the city and Gonzales County in general.

Lawing said she feels it is important that local businesses and individuals show their support for the race by painting their windows, making signs, displaying flags and in any other method which shows they are welcome in the community.

There is a welcome banner which will be displayed for all of the runners to see. Also, Lawing said she is looking for a group of people who might be interested in decorating the backstops near Apache Stadium to welcome the runners and support teams.

Parking is going to be at Apache Field and a shuttle will be operating all day long to take the runners and their teams to the starting line area. The shuttle is also for visitors who want to come into town and watch the race, do some shopping or have something to eat.

Some of the runners and their teams will be coming in the evening before and will be treated to a pasta dinner at Victoria College in Gonzales.

The bulk of the event, however, will take place on Saturday when the runners are dispatched starting at 6 a.m. and continuing throughout the day.

A local team from Gonzales will be leaving the starting line at 7 a.m. The team is named Defenders of the Cannon.

Many volunteers are being used for the event, doing everything from making breakfast tacos to helping with parking. If you are interested in volunteering, call city hall or the chamber for details.

Lawing said officials are hoping this event is a big success and race organizers will consider making it an annual affair starting in Gonzales.

Here are some facts about the Texas Independence Relay:

+ Team from farthest away is New York City and the team captain is a graduate of Texas A&M.

+ Colorado Running Company is an all women's team from Colorado Springs. They are considered the fastest team running in the Relay and many predict they will finish first.

+ This is a 24-hour a day run. Runners will be running throughout the night on their way to Houston.

+ Not only is there a team from Gonzales entered, there is also a team from LaPorte, which is the final destination for the race.

+ Many teams will be coming into town with the race vans decorated and ready to roll. One team is being called "Team DQ," and they will be donning ice cream cone hats throughout the race.

+ There are two solo runners. One will leave the start line in the week hours of Friday morning and the other will leave at 6:45 a.m. on Friday.

+ A team of four will leave the Museum start line at 6 p.m. on Friday and another team of four and one of two will leave at midnight Friday.

+ There are three police departments which will be represented in the race - Los Angeles Police Department, Austin Police Department and the Fort Worth Police Department. (It should be noted here the Gonzales Police Department has been instrumental in the local preparation and planning of the event, including the logistics. The Gonzales PD Bike Patrol will be supporting and assisting throughout the day on Saturday.

+ The Texas National Guard has a team in the race. Here's a statement from that team:

"The Texas National Guard Marathon Team is running to represent our Texas military forces and family members by participating in the inaugural Texas Independence Relay. This historic race is composed of 40 relay legs of various lengths totalling 200 miles.

"Our team will run in remembrance of the sacrifices made by our forefathers long ago, for those serving today and with a view to remain vigilant for those sacrifices to come in defense of liberty.

"We remember the valiant efforts of our fellow "Lone Star" warriors who paved the road to independence and remain committed to the principles of protecting our freedoms."

Copyright © 2008 The Gonzales Inquirer. All rights reserved.

And They're Off in Gonzales!

I talked to Jay Hilscher a little bit before noon on Friday and he said that Christopher Rampacek and Scott Eppelman are indeed both underway to have started the Texas Independence Relay.

The first of what will prove to be many great stories is that Eppelman was asked at his hotel if he needed a ride to start the line and it was said that he told the Good Samaritan that "I've got it covered."

As you might guess, Eppelman ran to the start line -- even though it was just three-quarters of a mile! He wanted to make sure, I guess, that he got in the 207 miles that has ended up on the inaugural medal lanyard.

Run To Rodney: The Texas Independence Relay

I'm running tomorrow and Sunday to get to the San Jacinto Monument to hear Rodney Hayden play after we're done running 203.67 miles from Gonzales.

Man, we've been talking about this for almost nine (9) months and we're now under 24 hours from starting our run! Of course, Coppell's Scott Eppelman has already started and I assume that Dr. Chris Rampacek has too. (I believe Dallas' Rochelle Frazeur was a scratch.)

I'm really hoping this all goes well for Jay and Joy Hilscher. They are such great people and they've thrown their heart and soul (soles too!) into this. This event, I believe, will never have a "corporate feel" to it - even with their presenting sponsor, Luke's Locker.

It's too bad that J.D., Barbara and Jessica won't be able to complete the journey with us, but we're looking forward to Tommy, Katy and Adrienne doing their best and have a blast with us this weekend.

We made a last-minute leg switch that makes our projected time to finish go up from 31:07 to 31:14. Joe will now be running the short leg 8 and I'll be taking on a few more miles in leg 10, but this is being done to ensure Mr. Carey can make all three legs at his projected pace. (That's still about 30 minutes ahead of Bill's team's projected pace.)

I still think the story of this team is pretty incredible. We have runners from Pasadena to Lufkin, Huntsville to Lake Jackson and many points in between. It's hard to believe that the first "Blogger" gathering was almost three summers ago at Run The Woodlands 5K. Jessica, Vic, Sam Rodriguez, Sarah, Edwin and I'm not sure who else was there, and then we had a bigger group in December 2005.

We've had some great times together and this weekend will simply add to it!

If you're reading this, it is because you're my friend and while you may disagree with me and some of my opinions and viewpoints, you'd never stab me in the back!

P.S. -- Bill, after being wiped out all week, I got in a 40-minute progression run on the treadmill last night, picking up the pace every 5 minutes. Take your Durango hat with you. Mine's already in the van. It will look good on the post-race pictures with Rodney!

A Battling Bloggers of Texas Republic Logo

Courtesy of 12-year-old Matthew Felicidario .....

Armadillo Dash Half Marathon Race Report

This might have been one of those races that I shouldn't have done. I registered though the day before while we were in College Station so it was "race on" for me.

I didn't think the course was as tough as Huntsville, although it certainly had its challenging points. But what made it most difficult was a stiff headwind that we faced from before mile 10 to just after mile 12 as we ran on the feeder lane just east of Highway 6 (Earl Rudder Freeway).

Ken Johnson, Hans Jaeger and John Cook rounded out the Seven Hills Running Club lineup. The day before, Hans, 60, a retired HPD officer, had been quoted by KBTX during their story on the 17th annual Ramp Romp 5K. It can be seen here. (You have to understand that Hans' is a character, but is great to have as a friend. He told me this weekend that there were three races that he'll never do again -- Houston, Sunmart and Surfside.)

I'm beginning to learn a lesson about race courses and their pre-race descriptions.

If there is no description of the course (and no elevation chart), assume that it has some roll to it somewhere. If it is said to be hilly, expect that it is probably tougher than you might have thought. In fact, the only courses that I know that are basically pancake flat are the United Space Alliance 10-Miler (minus a little overpass before the mile 9 marker) and the Beneeezy Purple Monkey 10K in Alvin.

This course probably had a little bit more roll to it than what I had faced the Sunday before in Texarkana. It was cool enough that I wore my "Happy Valley" (Penn State) t-shirt over my technical shirt and I'm glad - later on in the race because of the cool, brisk wind - that I did.

This was another pretty well-done race. I don't think that any of the water stops were right on top of the mile markers. There was a mile marker just before mile 9, but somebody warned me to say that the marker wasn't marked. (All of the others were with a very tall pole in a potting plant bucket.) This mile marker, though, was painted on the ground (in addition to all of the others.)

There was more than plentiful police support and most of them were friendly, except for a couple of Bryan PD members. It was excellent. Sure we were running alongside of Highway 30 (the road to Huntsville) and Highway 6, but every major intersection was manned with law enforcement.

Post-race had plenty of water with plentiful amounts of bagels, bananas and oranges. The only ding is that there was only electrolyte replacement twice on the course.

Here is the damage - basically known as splits:

Mile 1 -- 10:22.41

I thought about running with Ken like I did one time at Run The Woodlands 5K, but for some reason I passed on the idea. I could tell though after this mile that it was going to be a long day.

Mile 2 -- 10:38.02 (21:00.43)

Grabbed some water before mile 2 and making a right-hand turn on Highway 30. Came across the strangest sensation shortly thereafter. I smelled what I thought was cigarette smoke, but I didn't see any spectators along the highway.

Maybe after we passed mile 2 (or just before), I see this shorter gentleman - running with a backpack - and all of a sudden there is a billow of smoke that comes up over his head. I'm thinking to myself, "I've heard of this before, but I've never seen it."

Mile 3 -- 10:32.60 (31:33.03)

The time was OK if I was content for a 2:15 half marathon and if I was able to hold it, but we were going slightly uphill and into the sun. Additionally, I could never seem to get my breathing under control and it had nothing to do with Mr. Smokey.

Mile 4 -- 11:08.09 (42:41.12)

The rough day was confirmed with this split. Also getting confirmed is that Mr. Smokey wasn't just stopping to take a puff of a cigarette, it was a cigar and it was pretty much down to the bottom! Maybe he was smoking it before the race and thought that it started at 8 a.m. instead of 7:30 a.m. and wanted to finish it. I was stunned.

Mile 5 -- 10:52.88 (53:34.00)
Mile 6 -- 11:05.68 (1:04:39.68)
Mile 7 -- 11:11.03 (1:15:50.71)
Mile 8 -- 11:46.10 (1:27:36.81)

I finally got my breathing under control, but it didn't improve my time at all. I felt very bloated the night before and still into the morning after eating Mexican food Saturday night. But as I passed the mile 8 marker, my spirits perked up somewhat.

I saw a Texian Road Warrior!

While Jay Hilscher of the TIR said it best that I'm not one of swiftest on my feet, but I am competitive. I met John Laskowski two weeks before after a Run The Woodlands when Bill and I was at Luke's Locker taking our picture for the TIR website. John was one of the two replacements for Andrew Perry and Kim Hager. He is one of Kim's triathletes and he was walking.

I knew from two weeks before that Bill was trying to keep John in zones 1 and 2, relating to his heart rate. Therefore, he was doing this half marathon with the same approach. I figured this, but I thought to myself as I went past him - and not saying a word to him - that he was definitely in zone 1 here!

Mile 9 -- 10:55.78 (1:38:32.59)
Mile 10 -- 11:04.69 (1:49:37.28)

You could see that I started to improve a little bit until I hit the wind in mile 10, which was alongside Highway 6. But all of the time, I was trying to fight it so I could say that I took down (lol) one of the Texian Road Warriors.

Mile 11 -- 11:31.40 (2:01:08.68)
Mile 12 -- 11:41.16 (or 11:57.13) (2:12:49.84)

These two miles were tough and that tall sign in the potted plant was at one spot for mile 12 and the painted number on the road was in another. If the mile was really at the painted spot in the road, then the second time applies for the mile split. I also know that during this stretch I was still able to pass quite a few runners. I'm actually guessing about 12 or 13.

They were just withering away in the headwind. One gentleman, who I saw after crossing the finish line, thanked me for giving him a target after I passed him in mile 12. He had an Operation Freedom Iraq t-shirt on and I made sure that I thanked him for his service to our country.

Last 1.1 -- 12:18.62 (or 12:02.65) (2:25:08.46)

Well, the last mile or so was interesting. I'm running along and thinking about how I'm going to give Bill a little bit of a razzing that the Bloggers got one of his Road Warriors - who should had finished 20-30 minutes ahead of me!

Lo and behold, at about the mile 12.8 spot, here came John. He's about 6'5" and he's got a long stride. I made a tactical error. If I had let him go by me and perhaps not pushed as hard, I could have quietly held on and then mounted a later push. I did speed up at the Ramp Romp on Saturday to keep a guy of similar proportions behind me. I didn't have it today, but I challenged him too early.

I sped up and so did he, and I just couldn't hold it. I had nothing in the tank.

John ended up beating me by 48 seconds (2:25:09 to 2:25:57; gun time) although I still had him in sight as I turned off of Highway 30 into Veterans Park. He told me after we finished that he ran into an issue where his bladder was full - and never saw a port-a-pottie that the race organizers said would be on the course! He said at the water stop before the mile 9 marker he talked to a homeowner who let him "go" in the bathroom in his house.

We walked over to the post-race where I talked with the winner Juancarlos Vielma, saw Troy Grimes from Bryan-College Station (and forgot to mention that I saw that he was starting to work with Galloway their in the Aggieland area) and then he was sitting next to somebody that was from the greater Philadelphia area that was surprised to see a "Happy Valley" t-shirt.

After the race, Waverly and I walked around what is known as the American History Mile Trail. Every twenty feet, there were bricks for every year from 1776 to (we got to) the 1950s and it featured significant American, Texan and Brazos Valley history. It was actually pretty neat and it gave me an opportunity to quiz Waverly a little bit on things - even though she hasn't studied American History yet.

All in all, it was a good trip, but I didn't run as well as I might have hoped to.

Keith Kelleher Proof of "Running" Life

We're all looking forward to see Pasadena's finest, Keith Kelleher, this weekend during our run of the Texas Independence Relay course.

In performing some of my HARRA duties, I needed to check out the Clear Lake Fitness Club web site. While there, I was reading the story of club member Terry Frank doing the Kemah Bridge loop 20 times - for an approximate total of 39 miles!

When I clicked on the link for the full story, there was Keith as part of the team accompanying Terry on her last loop!

Ramp Romp 17 5K Race Report

Today was the day to have some fun in Aggieland at the Ramp Romp 17 5K, which is held annually at Kyle Field. (I, of course, was wearing my Penn State running shirt!)

I did not step out on the grass for the fear of a hundred corps of cadets coming to draw their sabres on me like they did SMU's cheerleaders (from back in the 1981).

The Ramp Romp 17 5K is put on by the school's Department of Recreational Sports. (I might add that they did an excellent job in every way, shape and form.)

Starting with a 3/4 run around the "track"-like surface that surrounds the football field, we exited Kyle Field for almost a mile before entering the circular-looking ramp that goes up the southeast corner of the stadium. Somewhere up the 17 ramps was the first mile marker and I hit that in 10:56.46. I figured I'd make it up on the downhill.

Once you reached the top, you'd run 100 yards to the NE ramp and run down it.

You'd repeat this process on the not-as-tall North End Zone ramps, followed by running up the SW ramp, 100 yards to the south and then back down the SW ramp.

Once you came off the final ramp, you then ran approximately 250 meters to the finish on the east side of Kyle Field.

Just before I crossed the finish line, I hollered, "We are ..." And after stepping across the finish line and pressing the button on my watch, I proudly said, "...Penn State." There was a collective groan from the Aggies' Men's Lacrosse team that was helping the event out before their 1 p.m. contest against TCU.

Waverly was close to the finish line and heard it as well. It was completely worth the drive!

After I finished the race and got a bottle of water, a cute, young television reporter with KBTX asked if she could interview me. I said, "As long as you get the Penn State logo on TV." She said that she was from Lancaster County and that she asked me because of my Penn State shirt. I told her that I was born in Altoona and was from Tyrone.

She asked me a couple of questions, but I did reply that if Coach Darnell would have had the football players running the ramps that they wouldn't lost to Penn State in the Alamo Bowl.

I suppose I'll find out later tonight when my e-mail box is full if it made it to air or not. :)

Always good to gig the Ags!

Thursday Night Treadmill

Just widening the advantage over Mr. Dwyer .... another hour on the rolling piece of rubber late Thursday night.

Nice and steady. Felt like about a 10:20 pace - which is better than the 10:40 pace that is on the TIR Pace Predictor. :)

Is pulling out the old orange HRB banner like invoking the old "Luv Ya Blue" days?

Hmmm .... TIR Has Some Competition

Well, well, Texas is going to get a second relay it seems.

The folks at Myomed Ragnar Relay are going to be putting on a relay the weekend of October 24-25 that will start in San Antonio, go through the Hill Country and finish in Austin. The page for the Texas relay is here. The word's been out for about 9-10 days and I'm surprised that I haven't heard anything about it.

Always good to have a little competition out there, I suppose.

Figuring that the vibrant running community in Austin has been left out of the Texas Independence Relay, because it heads east away from the state's capitol, the thought must be that they'll be able to capitalize on the market as well as leverage a.) the increased build-up that will be taking place for the new Rock 'N' Roll San Antonio Marathon and b.) travel options for out-of-state teams to fly into either San Antonio or Austin.

However, this is right in the thick of the fall marathon season and the question that I have is: Will this run on the same weekend as the IBM Uptown Classic 10K? (But come to think of it, Ragnar has its date set for a Friday and a Saturday while the Classic is typically on a Sunday.)

I certain my friend, Mr. Rauschenburg, will be able to tell me. ;)

Wednesday Night Treadmill

After walking from the Marriott Courtyard here to Barnes and Noble to pick up a copy of Sports Illustrated (no, not the swimsuit issue) and the Economist, I came back and got on the treadmill for an hour.

I need to repeat the feat tomorrow night after not doing anything for the last two evenings.

I had a post up a little earlier that I pulled back to draft mode because I wasn't sure exactly how it would come across. I think I need to preface it before I put it back out there. Over the past three years, Bill Dwyer and I have become pretty good friends and I feel like we've been able to get some things done - with some help - and will continue to do lots more.

We are continually giving each other a hard time, but we do it in complete fun. We both revel in it. And yes, I tease him mercilessly about getting back into the running game, and he will. And when he does, look out! As I've said before, Bill's got wheels. It is just the endurance that'll be put to test next weekend. However, I have this sneaky feeling Bill will be ready.

We trade e-mails back and forth constantly. Trading bits of information. And so on.

We've even established a business with the state of Texas. It is simply known as "Friends of the Running Community, L.L.C." It came about when we were pushing the Montgomery County Triple and Run Thru The Woods race director Roxanne Davis asked how to describe who was behind the effort. She simply put on their web site that it was an effort by friends of the running community - which is true.

We felt like we had an absolute coup of an event that started as an idea late last spring and that was to bring Bill Rodgers to The Woodlands to race Jeff Wells 30 years after their legendary duel in Boston. It would have been a 10K on the roads before the start of the Nike South High School Cross Country meet in October; however, Bill's friend, legendary marathoner and Distance Hall of Fame member Greg Meyer, wanted Bill to attend an event in Michigan that the folks that put on the Crim 10-Miler were putting together.

We could not get a road course approved by Montgomery County before Meyer kept pushing Rodgers to go to Michigan, and we were reluctant to send Bill his $3,500 fee - in advance - until we got the course approved.

We wanted to do something that was "cool", but also to honor Jeff Wells, The Woodlands cross country and track coach Dan Green (who turned 60 yesterday) and really provide an event that was over the top for the high school cross country runners. Bill had agreed to run the Open Race on Friday night and we were to have them speak to everyone that evening, appear in a running specialty store on Saturday afternoon, attend a TWRC social that night and then do a community run on Sunday morning (for all runners to attend) before flying back to Boston that evening.

But it was really Meyer that was pushing Rodgers. Bill is the nicest big name guy that you'd ever want to get to know. There had been many mornings here in Pasadena that I'd have been up for a little bit and I'd get a call from Bill Rodgers. One conversation, he said, "Yeah, I saw Sean (Wade) in Bermuda last week. He's really running well." And I pinching myself thinking, "I'm talking to one of the great all-time marathoners."

Other opportunities will come our way, and we'll have fun doing them.

And that is how we got into the Texas Independence Relay!

Now if you didn't understand all of that, you might think that the post that I'll put up some time on Thursday sounds a tad bit overconfident. It really isn't. It is just the type of humor and razzing that Bill, Rick Cook, Doug Spence and I give each other via e-mail. We occasionally pull others into the fray - like Andrew Perry or Kim Hager - dependent on the subject matter. The bottom line is that we're having fun. Something that some of the "serious runners" may never understand.

And if people can only find the one thing that they like about me is my daughter, I have no problem with that! :)

Road Warriors Meet Sunday at Goose's Acre

Yes, they have to do it the old-fashioned way: in person ("to go over logistics for the relay")!

That's what I love about the Battling Bloggers (and, yes, that includes Katy and Adrienne who don't have blogs.) They've got the virtual blog thing going for them.

Nonetheless, I expect us to nail down all of our logistics electronically and then, of course, make it happen on Race Day. They didn't have Mapquest in those days, but we've formed a good cohesive group over the last three years out of cyberspace -- so why start the real meetings now?

The Road Warriors have the luxury of living all in the same general area: Spring and The Woodlands. (There is, of course, the renegade out in the boonies -- Delia in Magnolia.) Don't get me wrong: I like my stomping grounds. But as Jay said in his write-up, I think that our geographical diversity is part of what gives us our moxie! Look at us: Edwin in Lufkin, Katy and Adrienne in Huntsville, Keith in Pasadena, Tommy in Lake Jackson, Holden, Dave and Karen in The Woodlands, yours truly in Spring, Cassie in Houston and even though they have Houston addresses, I put Sarah and Joe in Clear Lake.

We even have our own Deaf Smith. In fact, he has the same initials -- Dave Smart.

See Dave was at the Luke's Locker Beat practice in The Woodlands Tuesday night and got a chance to steal -- err, see -- some signals from their 11 team members. Deaf, I mean Dave, reported: "I saw Bill tonight at the Beat practice, and asked how his TIR team was coming along and he responded with "we're going to kick your butts"."

Well, well, wasn't that how the Texas Revolution got started? Something about "Come and Take It!"? I've even heard that they're bringing a flag with them to Gonzales. Now wouldn't that be like taunting the bull with the red cape?

I'm sure my co-captain can tell us some stories about some of those alphabet divisions, plus I think the Road Warriors forgot to do a little quick research into what our new graduate student addition is studying: psychology. Meaning the attempts won't work! :)

In the meantime, I'll just write off a few more accounts - I'm approaching a quarter of a million in late charges - and wait for the next press release from our esteemed opponents.

The Twists and Turns of the Battling Bloggers

The first bit of news is the announcement of Jessica's new blog -- http://austintriathlete.blogspot.com/.

You would think in an area that had that many strong triathletes, that that blog address would be taken already. Guess they're all busy training and competing.

Back to the Texas Independence Relay, I don't want people think I'm taking this all too seriously.

We've had some interesting twists and turns along the way, and for various reasons, we've lost J.D., Jessica and Barbara. (We did lose Joe for awhile, but the running Gods have given him some days back to run with us on the TIR.)

In the meantime, we've added Katy Lampson and Tommy Stunz. We could be back at full strength soon.

Katy wrote Monday night:

May I ask Adrienne Langelier? She is a member of 7 Hills and is very fast. She won the half marathon in Huntsville last October, and she just placed as the top female at the Surfside Marathon the weekend before last. She is 25, a graduate student at SHSU, and seems to be an enthusiastic runner. I also think she is the type that would go with the flow, and do whatever you needed her to do - the easy going type. Let me know and I'll extend the invitation.

So I replied back and told Katy to "go for it". (And this means I'm able to delete that e-mail out of my inbox.)

Tommy chimed in on Tuesday morning:

My son Jakeb could run with us. I do not know if you are interested in having someone who is not an adult.

Jakeb is 14 and will be 15 on March 18th. His 10k pr is 10 seconds slower than mine. He set it last year at Bayou City Classic (approx 48 minutes). We have been training together lately for Hog's Hunt and I think he could handle 3 legs of short to medium distance.

It is totally your call. I did mention it to him to see if he thought he could handle it and he said he thought he would do okay and said "it sounds like fun." I told him it may not be an option at all so not to get his hopes up.

Like I said if you would rather not I am fine with that as is Jakeb. I wanted to offer it up as an option.

I told Tommy that I had given a green light to Katy to extend the invitation. Otherwise, we'll add Jakob. For the record, and I also told Tommy in an e-mail early this morning that - based on who was on our team - I had no problem on having Jakob join us if things worked out. (Another e-mail I can delete. That's 29 out of what came in today.)

I was really ready to go with 11 runners, but the idea of having an additional person that could replace Jessica's speed - or improve upon it - is to build the cushion that we have of making the cutoff without any problem.

Tommy told me he was good with whatever, but this comment was typical of our entire team: "I haven't really tried to understand the rotations and van switching as of yet. My plan is to show up with a back pack full of my stuff and go where I'm told to go and run when I'm told to run and have fun in the process."

And as I was preparing this blog post on Tuesday evening in a WordPad document, Katy responded and said that Adrienne accepted the invite ... and with that, I re-did our spreadsheet and e-mailed the entire team what I hope will be our last version.

This all wasn't how I planned it last summer; however, it's working out.

But we still have to get to Gonzales to implement the plan!

And ... I won't rest easy until I see who shows up for the Road Warriors when we get to Gonzales. In good-natured fun and competitiveness, I will NOT be surprised to see Andrew Perry, Rick Cook or Kimberly Hager.

Area runner battles Parkinson's, raises funds

In what I do, I, unfortunately, learn a lot of things that would fall under the category of "running industry drama". And because of how I learn of the information, usually with confidences protected, I can't go into too much detail about them.

It is why good journalists earn and maintain respect. But, on the other hand, there are great stories in the world of sports and I get to learn of those too.

This week's Conroe Courier column, which is already online and will appear in print today around Montgomery County, is about 43-year-old Paul Brundage of The Woodlands.

He and his two boys ran the Montgomery County Triple this past Thanksgiving Day weekend. They are pictured here.

I had a chance to get to know Paul a little bit this past August out in Magnolia where Waverly and his younger son, Alex, were running at the same middle school track meet. But it wasn't until I received an e-mail from his wife, Vicki, on January 29, that I learned that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.

Once you've finished reading the column and looked at the picture on the MCT blog site, I would invite you to go to this link and watch some of the coverage from one of Austin's TV station on Sunday. They'll lead with coverage of the two Americans who finished 1-2, but then they'll talk with Paul's son, Kyle.

You'll be glad that you took the time to do so.

TIR Countdown: 11 Days!

It is really hard to believe that it is getting so close to race day!

Yet, unfortunately, we are back at 11 runners.

Barbara's son on Friday broke his femur from his hip to his knee and has had to be immobilized in a cast that covers his leg and protects his pelvic area and lower midsection. But the good news is that a couple of pictures that Barbara posted on her blog found him smiling!

Therefore, as any good mom would do, Barbara just couldn't justify being away from home that much - and we all certainly understand and appreciate that. (As I told her, if it were Waverly, I'd be doing the same thing.)

So the dilemma: Add a 12th runner or go with 11?

For the time being, we're going to go with 11 runners.

It could change, though, if I have a runner that would significantly help us (and that's a possibility based on one e-mail that I received) or if we have a runner who won't hurt us in meeting our time goals - to make the downtown cutoff by 12:30 p.m. on Sunday.

With 11 runners, seven (7) runners run four legs and four (4) runners run three legs to get to 40 legs. The only person's miles that are a little out of whack are Edwin's with 25.01, but I'm going to play with possible combinations throughout the week on this 11-person setup to see what I come up with.

Cassie, Sarah and I are going to take the three shortest distances and Joe will be in that group too with just three legs that equal 16.57 miles. His legs are spaced an equal 12 legs apart (10-22-34).

Where I have a little bit of advantage over the other teams (not that we'll compete for a win in the Open Mixed division) is that I've done the course before. Therefore, I can suit my team's legs based on how I know the course is.

After leg 35, which is the captain's leg that goes from Memorial Park into downtown, here is where our team will be mileage-wise per runner:

Edwin (19.7), Tommy (19.64), Katy (17.59), Jon (16.69), Joe (16.57), Sarah (15.62), Holden (15.57), Karen (14.87), Cassie (14.33), Keith (14) and Dave (13.54)

At this time, I'm electing to pull the trigger with Karen, Keith, Dave, Holden and Edwin - with Edwin getting the honor of running the last leg.

However, we'll have some flexibility in that if Tommy, Katy, Sarah or Joe are feeling a bit more fresh-legged than any of those five: we can change. (Only Cassie and myself will have run 4 legs at that point and can't run anymore.)

And I only have two runners - Edwin and Keith - having to change vans the entire trip.

This can all change today or tomorrow; however, if it does, it won't be a bad thing.

I turned in our projected time last week - using conservative 10K paces - as 31:53:42 with a projected start of 7:45 a.m. This would put us in downtown Houston by 11:42 a.m. (48 minutes before the cutoff) and at the Monument at 3:38 p.m.

Bill had e-mailed me this morning saying that he turned in his with 31:47:57 - and he hasn't put his strategy into trying to get Andrew Perry free from having to work at Luke's - the race sponsor - that weekend since the store manager now isn't running.

Right now, with the same conservative 10K paces, we're at 31:40:14 which changes the target times to 11:37 a.m. and 3:25 p.m., respectively.

But, if he springs Andrew free, which isn't likely, I do have to say that one of my favorite George Strait songs goes like this:

You've got to have an ace in the hole
A little secret that nobody knows
Life is gamble, a game we all play
You need to save something for a rainy day
You've got to learn to play your cards right
If you expect to win at life
Don't put it all on the line for just one roll
You've got to have an ace in the hole

The question is: Will that "ace in the hole" be a magical 12th runner? I suppose we'll just have to wait and see. :)

Continental's motto is: "Work Hard. Fly Right."

Ours will be: "Run Hard. Have Fun."

The TIR website said about us, "So, the bantering and “pressure” has been mounting ever since. The time is nearly at hand in which the question of who has moxie, toughness, and Texas Pride will be answered."

Well, we do. Of course.

Run The Line Half Marathon Race Report

I really, really liked this event. Very, very well done. The police departments from both cities supported it extremely well. I hope that the event didn't lose too much money and/or that they had good sponsors. This event deserves to grow. They did a lot of the little things right.

One of the neat things was that they had the mayors of both cities present and they both fired a shotgun in the air to get the race started. Gotta love deep East Texas!

Mile 1 -- 9:34.67
Mile 2 -- 10:01.84 (19:36.51)

What was I thinking? I know better and I found out real quick that I'm not in my PR-shape at this distance. (Ok, maybe not any distance at the moment.)

Mile 3 -- 10:31.28 (30:07.79)
Mile 4 -- 10:42.90 (40:50.69)
Mile 5 -- 10:49.78 (51:40.47)

Miles four and five left me wondering, "They said this was flat." The course was well-paved with a mix of a trail, blocked off streets and a park around miles 7-9. [The guy was calling a mile time at the corner before mile 4 - where the water stop was at. More on that later.]

Mile 6 -- 10:56.94 (1:02:37.41)

We had just crossed over from Arkansas into Texas at this point. They had plenty of volunteers on the course. In fact, there might have been more volunteers than runners. I signed up the day of, obviously, and I was bib number #135.

Mile 7 -- 10:13.19 (1:12:50.60)

We went under a train tressel (nothing like the one near downtown Brenham during the Blue Bell Run) and then after a little bit into Spring Lake Park.

Mile 8 -- 10:59.80 (1:23:50.40)
Mile 9 -- 10:13.01 (1:34:03.41)

Out of the park, got the water stop coming and going (passed the one up between mile 7 and 8). Gatorade going in, water coming out. Had finally started to feel a little relaxed around mile 7, but that didn't last forever.

Mile 10 -- 9:15.09 and 1:21.68 equals 10:36.67 (1:44:40.18)

You're probably wondering, "What in the heck happened here?" As I may a right turn and then a left turn on the local streets, a gentleman called out a time as I turned left. I asked, "Is this mile 10?" He said, "Yes." Even though I didn't see a mile marker. I looked at the 9:15 split and said to myself, "Well, then it is short." Sure enough, it was down the street.

They did something that I personally don't like. Their water stops were right at or - in some cases - just before the mile marker. In fact, I hate that. And I know that I blew off two because of that, including one at mile 11. Oh, the mile 10 water stop had Hooters girls there. Who knew they had them in Texarkana? They weren't dressed for work though. Darn.

Mile 11 -- 11:02.04 (1:55:42.22)
Mile 12 -- 10:50.31 (2:06:32.53)

Mile 12 is the only part the contained - and not even a full mile - State Line Avenue: the theme for "Run The Line". However, I wouldn't let the slight misrepresentation keep you from running this event. It is very well done.

Mile 13 -- 11:10.57 (2:17:43.50)
Last .1 -- 54.82 (2:18:38.32)

I saw somebody write in a race report that Rocky Raccoon - i.e. Huntsville State Park - was sneaky hilly. That's how I would describe this course. You can see the slight inclines; however, your legs really feel them. And the fact that I didn't have any Tylenol in me and that I haven't been running the roads a lot made me physically hurt.

The temperature stayed in the upper 40's to low 50's, but the winds at time made it feel a little bit cooler. Alright, it is 11:12 a.m., time for a shower and to start making the drive back to Houston.

Welcome to Texarkana

It's almost 7 p.m. and Waverly and I are here in Texarkana for tomorrow's Run The Half Marathon. We didn't really run into any bad weather driving up here; however, the area is supposed to get some pretty good rains through the night.

Hopefully they won't have to invoke the "Chicago clause"! This is from the Texarkana Gazette newspaper this week: "The marathon will be run if there is light rain and may be delayed by heavy rain. In the event of inclement weather, it will be canceled, and registration fees are nonrefundable." Thank goodness I haven't registered yet and am here on reward travel.
The event description is as follows: "The course will run through both cities of Texarkana and a portion of the reace will actually be on the Arkansas-Texas Stateline--hence the name Run the Line. The course is pretty flat and will go through two city parks and on city streets with traffic blocked off. Proceeds from the race will go to the Partnership for the Pathway, which is a non-profit, all-volunteer organization working to build a safe walking, running, and bikiing trail system in the Texarkana area."

We'll see how things go. I was going to get out and run a 5K today somewhere (and maybe have gone to hung out at the Austin Marathon Expo), but I was pretty beat and slept until around 11 a.m.

I've hit the elliptical machine every day for an hour since last Thursday except for Saturday (when I did Run The Woodlands), Monday (which was a travel day out to California) and today.

The temperature is supposed to be 44 degrees at the start of the race and not get any higher than 50 -- my type of running weather. My goal is to beat the 2:15 that I ran at 3M just three weeks ago.

Evening Update: This sad note about one of my all-time favorite movies, "Smokey And The Bandit" -- (According to wikipedia) The movie was filmed primarily in Georgia in the cities of McDonough and Jonesboro. The scenes in Texarkana were filmed in Jonesboro and the surrounding area, and many of the chase scenes were filmed in the surrounding areas and in McDonough. Nonetheless, I'll run a little bit of the course tomorrow with the following lyrics in my head (no iPod for me - old school here):

East bound and down,
loaded up and truckin',
we're gonna do what they say can't be done.

We've got a long way to go
and a short time to get there.
I'm east bound, just watch ol' "Bandit" run.

Keep your foot hard on the pedal.
Son, never mind them brakes.
Let it all hang out 'cause we got a run to make.

The boys are thirsty in Atlanta
and there's beer in Texarcana.
And we'll bring it back no matter what it takes.

George Carlin's Rules for 2008 (NRC)

New Rule: No more gift registries. You know, it used to be just for weddings. Now it's for babies and new homes and graduations from rehab. Picking out the stuff you want and having other people buy it for you isn't gift giving, it's the white people version of looting.

New Rule: Stop giving me that pop-up ad for classmates.com ! There's a reason you don't talk to people for 25 years. Because you don't particularly like them! Besides, I already know what the captain of the football team is doing these days --- mowing my lawn.

New Rule: Don't eat anything that's served to you out a window unless you're a seagull. People are acting all shocked that a human finger was found in a bowl of Wendy's chili. Hey, it cost less than a dollar. What did you expect it to contain? Lobster?

New Rule: If you need to shave and you still collect baseball cards, you're a dope. If you're a kid, the cards are keep sakes of your idols. If you're a grown man, they're pictures of men.

New Rule: Ladies, leave your eyebrows alone. Here's how much men care about your eyebrows: Do you have two of them? Good, we're done.

New Rule: There's no such thing as flavored water. There's a whole aisle of this crap at the supermarket, water, but, without that watery taste. Sorry, but flavored water is called a soft drink. You want flavored water? Pour some scotch over ice and let it melt. That's your flavored water.

New Rule: Stop screwing with old people. Target is introducing a redesigned pill bottle that's square, with a bigger label. And the top is now the bottom. And by the time grandpa figures out how to open it, his ass will be in the morgue. Congratulations, Target, you just solved the Social Security crisis.

New Rule: The more complicated the Starbucks order, the bigger the asshole. If you walk into a Starbucks and order a 'decaf grandee, half-soy, half-low fat, iced vanilla, double-shot, gingerbread cappuccino, extra dry, light ice, with one Sweet-n'-Low, and One NutraSweet,' ooooh, you're a huge asshole.

New Rule: I'm not the cashier! By the time I look up from sliding my card, entering My PIN number, pressing 'Enter,' verifying the amount, deciding, no, I don't want Cash back, and pressing 'Enter' again, the kid who is supposed to be ringing me up is standing there eating my Almond Joy.

New Rule: Just because your tattoo has Chinese characters in it doesn't make you Spiritual. It's right above the crack of your ass. And it translates to 'beef with broccoli.' The last time you did anything spiritual, you were praying to God you weren't pregnant. You're not spiritual. You're just high.

New Rule: Competitive eating isn't a sport. It's one of the seven deadly sins. ESPN recently televised the U.S. Open of Competitive Eating, because watching those athletes at the poker table was just too damned exciting. What's next, competitive farting? Oh wait, they're already doing that. It's called 'The Howard Stern Show.'

New Rule: I don't need a bigger mega M&Ms. If I'm extra hungry for M&Ms, I'll go nuts and eat two.

New Rule: If you're going to insist on making movies based on crappy old television shows, then you have to give everyone in the Cineplex a remote so we can see what's playing on the other screens. Let's remember the reason something was a television show in the first place is that the idea wasn't good enough to be a movie.

--- Sorry, I couldn't resist! JW

TIR Countdown: 16 Days!

I can't say how much that I have a great team -- the Battling Bloggers of the Texas Republic - for the Texas Independence Relay. Not in the sense that we're going to win the whole thing, but just the cooperation that I've received in making this a quality effort for all.

However, we've had one more roster change!

Jessica Alexander is moving to Austin the weekend of the Texas Independence Relay and will not be able to participate with us. Her last local race for awhile will be the Park to Park Run next Saturday, February 23. One of the original Houston Running Bloggers, we'll miss having her around the greater Houston area ... but we'll continute to see her continual improvement in her running and triathlon abilities from afar in the Austin-area.

While I considered a number of options that I'll keep private (my team already knows though), the best option that presented itself was this one involving a runner-turned cyclist-turned swimmer whose running was starting to come back around after an injury. Work could still throw him a curve, but we'll know for sure in a few days whether that's the case or not.

Nonetheless, I look forward to Mr. Joe Carey giving us three solid legs for about 15 miles. It is good to have Joe back on the active roster with us.

Our 10K paces look like this -- Edwin (47:30), Tommy (50:00), Dave (52:00), Joe (52:00), Holden (54:00), Keith (55:00), Karen (56:00), Katy (57:00), Barbara (58:00), Cassie (62:00), Sarah (63:00) and myself (63:00).

I built in a little bit of time into Edwin (30 seconds), Tommy (minute), Dave, Keith and Barbara - for various reasons. Dave's is a cushion, but Keith is a little bit of an unknown and Barbara has indicated that she's not quite where's she been with her training. This takes a little bit of the pressure off.

I upgraded Holden and Karen's because they'll be running four shorter legs. I kept Katy's about the same since she'll be running two weeks after doing the Austin Marathon on Sunday. I upgraded Cassie's by a minute because I know she'll rise to the occasion (especially if I pull out orange and run in front of her.) Sarah's is right at where she ran a couple of weeks ago and I don't even consider Surfside in the equation. And I think I'll be under 63 myself.

Our "running" legs (since I have some literal/figurative folks on my team) are as follows:

Legs 1-6 - Jon, Edwin, Karen, Holden, Keith, Tommy (Karen gets to run with the boys!)
Legs 7-12 - Cassie, Sarah, Barbara, Katy, Dave, Joe

Legs 13-18, 25-30 - Cassie, Karen, Holden, Tommy, Sarah, Dave
Legs 19-24, 31-36 - Jon, Edwin, Keith, Barbara, Joe, Katy

Our departure schedule - other than anybody that may want to go to Gonzales themselves - is shaping up like this:

Leaving from Jon's - Jon, Edwin, Karen, Dave, Holden, Katy (and possibly Barbara)
Leaving from Cassie's - Cassie, Keith, Joe, Sarah, Tommy (and possibly Barbara)

Manny and Jose will be our drivers. They're going to need to focus on getting to the next exchange as quickly and as safely as possible. When one runner finishes, they'll need to maybe towel off quickly and then immediately get to the next exchange.

Marathoner, Soon-To-Be-Ultramarathoner

One of my former co-workers at IMA Consulting, Inc., Rob Jones, of West Chester, Pennsylvania was one of the individuals who influenced me to start running. He came down to Houston to run in 2001 and finished 17th overall (16th among the men) in 2:51:21. (It was the first year that there wasn't prize money and Chris Ciamarra from Pittsburgh was the winner.)

Rob's a little guy, but most importantly, he's a good friend and has encouraged me through the years. His marathoning history since then looks like this:

1/14/01 - 2:51:21, age 32, Houston Marathon, 17th overall, 16th male
10/13/02 - 2:57:27, age 34, Steamtown Marathon, 35th overall, 33rd male
10/19/03 - 2:50:12, age 35, Chesapeake Bay Bridge Marathon, 7th overall, 6th male
4/19/04 - 3:44:16, age 35, Boston Marathon (he finished ... in the medical tent with the heat)
6/19/04 - 2:50:29, age 36, Grandma's Marathon, 75th overall, 66th male
11/21/04 - 2:43:36, age 36, Philadelphia Marathon, 45th overall, 40th male
4/17/06 - 2:50:05, age 37, Boston Marathon, 421st overall, 400th male
6/16/07 - 2:49:19, age 39, Grandma's Marathon, 112th overall, 103rd male
2/10/08 - 2:57:20, age 39, Bank of America Tampa Marathon, 13th overall, 11th male

Grandma's he told me that he backed off due to the heat this past summer and you'll see in a couple of e-mails below that Tampa was a training run.

When I sent my race report to him from Rocky Raccoon, here's what he wrote back:

Congratulations on finishing a 50 Mile Ultra!!! I’m excited to receive your email. You’re the only person I know that has done one of these things.

Interestingly, something has inspired me to start running ultras too. Perhaps is testing physical & mental limits, or perhaps stupidity? Nonetheless, I’m curious about your training methods, nutrition during the race, sodium intake, etc… I’ve been infatuated with going longer for the past several months; I plan on competing in the 50k National Champs next month in NY. In fact, I’m running the Tampa Bay Marathon next weekend as a long training run (3 weeks out). I plan on running my first 50 miler this summer. I’m looking at Mohican (in Ohio) &/or White River (in WA). I also have the JFK 50 in my agenda & planned to run ROCKY RACCOON, for my first 100 Mile race next February!

I’ve watched on the videos on Western States, MMT, Tahoe Rim, Anton’s Indulgence, etc… I’ve also read many blogs about these races. Despite all my years of running, I never knew this running sub-culture existed. I love the purity these events offer, the ground breaking training ideas, and the connectedness of the runners.

Anyway, congrats and I look forward to hearing/learning anything you’re able to share with me. It would be great if we could plan ahead & do one of the races together in the future!

Fast Recovery,
Rob

So certainly, I watched with great anticipation this past weekend for the results from Tampa. I noted to him that the "only two women to get you down there are both now OT qualifiers" and that the "only one registered for the USATF championship for the 50K in March is Michael Wardian - who, of course, led the first 10K of the Olympic Trials." His response was as follows:

Thanks for the email. Tampa worked out to be a great long run for me. I was curious to see how I would feel without tapering and averaging about 65 miles per week. Generally, I felt decent. Not a lot of zip, but felt strong and ran a very consistent race with a 1 minute negative split. Assuming my training and racing goes as planned, I’m looking at something in the 2:40 range at Boston.

My 50K race in March is questionable now, because I have a wedding to attend the night before (my niece). It’s killing me because there’s not a ton of 50k’s or any ultras on the east coast. Needless to say, I’m in a no win situation.

Interestingly, I raced against Michael Wardian in the late 90’s. I ran a very small Ten Miler in Maryland and got beat by someone I never heard of named “Michael Wardian”. He has a ton of natural ability, and is out of my league. I’m assuming Wardian and (Greg) Crowther will battle it out assuming Crowther runs the USATF 50 Champs this year? I was hoping to compete with the 2nd tier guys running in the 3:25 - 3:35 range like Glen Redpath and Mark Godale, but again this damn wedding….

Jon, that picture is hilarious, especially the way you’re holding the shoe. After reading the information, it sounds as if you should run for President. Jon Walk vs. Hillary Clinton?

Good luck with your relay!

If we lose, I might be joining him in the 100-miler at Rocky Raccoon in February. At least I'll get to see Rick at the Seven Hills Running Club aid station. :)

Waverly to Run 1,600 and 2,400 Tomorrow

I just got off the phone with Waverly a few minutes ago and she indicated that the Twin Creeks Middle School track and field team has a practice meet tomorrow at Westfield High School with Wells and Bailey Middle Schools - two other Spring ISD facilities.

She ran a practice 1,600 today in 10:48 where she said that she ran 5:05 the first two laps then slowed down to 5:43 in the second two.

She thought she might get to do the shot put (6-lb.) when we talked last night; however, she'll do both distance events. I kind of thought things would work out this way since I figure most of the kids her age want to run the short distances and maybe don't have quite the discipline - or the concentration - to run the longer stuff.

Regardless of where she finishes or how she does, she'll benefit from the experience and will be able to say that this year she participated in three sports -- cross country, volleyball and track.

Dad, of course, is bummed since I won't be able to see her participate, but I'm happy to know that she went out and chose to be involved.

Last Two Conroe Courier Columns Online

You'll find the last two Conroe Courier running columns online for your enjoyment!

They are as follows: Tuesday, February 5 and Tuesday, February 12.

Thanks for reading!

Not A Good Sight at Run The Woodlands Today

I meant to write about this earlier, and I forgot.

J.D. reminded me of it in his blog post today about being out at Surfside and cheering runners on.

Somewhere before the 2-mile mark at Run The Woodlands 5K, a father and his two young boys passed me. No big deal. Another Dad and his young son were in front of me. (The ones in front of me, Rick, was the guy in the red shirt that you talked to as we stood talking before the race.)

Just as we crossed an intersection and right where there is a small playground to the left, the Dad turned to the second son who wasn't having a good day and said, "Well, then, just walk." (I told Waverly this evening about this and said that I had to stop and think about how I look when I'm challenging her and pushing her on the course. Therefore, it was a little bit of a wakeup call.)

As far as walking. Well, of course, been there and done that myself. But what I saw thereafter alarmed me.

The Dad and his other son kept going on ahead!

This little guy left behind could have been no more than 8 years old.

If you've done Run The Woodlands 5K before, you know that the course is on trails around a semi-circle on the street, Alden Bridge. However, the trials are shaded fairly well by trees and fences that are at the ends of people's backyards. From the point where the Dad left the other son go, there was probably about another 1.3 miles to go.

I thought to myself, after I had run past the little guy, "I couldn't believe that this Dad was doing this." Of course, in this day and age, you hate to think things BUT what if somebody had just come along and snatched the youngster.

When Waverly ran Run The Woodlands by herself for the first time in preparation to do her half marathon two years ago, her Mom - with my knowledge, of course - was waiting before the mile 1 point to make sure she saw her. And then she was there on the other side of the road as she ran.

A little overprotective? Perhaps, but better to be safe than sorry. Yes, something could happen to Waverly out there today ... but she's almost 13 not 8!

As I almost had made it to the finish, I expected to see the Dad running back out to run his boy in. However, it didn't happen. I was disappointed and stunned that I saw what I did.

I just hope that I don't ever have to witness something like that again.

And I kind of felt bad this evening that I was so selfish about my run that I didn't stop to make sure that the youngster was OK - and/or stay with him. (And could have the Dad said something to a runner or two behind all of us to keep an eye out for him? Maybe. But it sure didn't appear that way.)

The TIR Texas Tough Throwdown

The Texas Independence Relay Texas Tough Throwdown

The Battling Bloggers of the Texas Republic vs. the Texian Road Warriors
March 1-2, 2008
All the way to the San Jacinto Monument!

Run The Woodlands 5K #194 Race Report

I wasn't going to run this this morning, but Mick Long blew the horn (which is less than a couple of minutes before the start of the race) ... so I went signed the waiver, dropped my $1 in the bag and ran it!

I just couldn't resist, plus Holden came out this morning. If one of my TIR teammates came out, the captain had to run it as well! I did OK, though. Not where I'm capable of being, but I'll get there.

Mile 1 -- 9:18.49
Mile 2 -- 9:54.67
Mile 3 -- 9:57.19
Last .1 -- 52.46
Total -- 30:02.81

The difference from two weeks ago was mile 3 and then the push at the last .1 to slip under 30 minutes. The 52.46 is sub 9-minute pace. (Not that I could have held it for too much longer.)

There was a little bit of a lower turnout this week. The hit list included:

+ Rick "Dirt Runner" Cook, working the event for Luke's
+ Vincent Attanucci, who was happy that he was in the 20s - from a time standpoint
+ Paul Brundage of The Woodlands, who will be the subject of my Tuesday column in The Courier. I also got a chance to meet his wife, Vicky.
+ Kingwood's Bill Schroeder and his wife, Mindy.

Beyond that I really didn't know too many people there today. (Some of you are reading this and saying to yourself, "That's a first!)

I went over to Luke's Locker after the race so that Bill and I could take our "Texas Tough Throwdown" picture for the Texas Independence Relay website. (It should help that we took it in the race sponsor's store, right?)

When I got there, two of Bill's teammates -- Greg and Gena Alvarez -- were there in the parking lot so there was some good-natured ribbing going on. Once the happenings moved inside the store, and while Andrew Perry was ringing me up with a new pair of Asics Fortitudes, I told Rick that I had an idea for a bit of a bet for the TIR to cement our two-team challenge.

It is this: "If the Texian Road Warriors beat the Battling Bloggers of the Texas Republic, I have to run the Rocky Raccoon 100-Miler next February. But, when the Battling Bloggers win, Bill will do the Rocky Raccoon 50-Miler!"

I'll do the 50-miler again regardless and, at a minimum, I'm pretty sure that I can put together - with Bill and Rick's help - a conservative game plan to finish the 100-miler.

In the store, we saw other Luke's employees, Dawn Craig (who finished her first 100-miler last Saturday-Sunday) and my TIR teammate, Dave Smart. Also there was TWRC's Kristin Collins, Mary Kerschbaum (recent Rock 'N' Roll Arizona finisher) and store manager Susie Schreiber.

[Weekend note: Waverly, who's performing today in their Region Choir at Spring Baptist, is out for track and she ran the 100 in 20 seconds, she said, and the 400 in 1:55. Not sure that I've done it that fast in awhile ... plus she said that she threw the 6-pound shot about 20 feet. Good for her!]

One Reason to Finish Rocky Raccoon was ...

... because there was no way that I was going to mark up - with a Sharpie - a perfectly good participant sweatshirt with the letters, "D N F"! (It's a little long, by the way, but I've worn it with pride! I'll definitely do the 50 again there next year if not the 100.)

I took much of the week off and got back on the elliptical machine Thursday night. An hour. Good work out. Cardio was fine, grabbed the sticks and worked the arms a little.

May run Run The Woodlands 5K on Saturday morning.

I have a great time with my friends - and here's an e-mail dialogue to illustrate:

Rick: "Here's an open invitation to anyone who wants to run with me at the WS training runs on May 24-26. I'm going to fly in on Friday to Sacramento and rent a van and camp the weekend. I think I'm only going to run Saturday and Sunday and come home. Monday is Memorial Day. Saturday is the most important day with 32 miles of climbing on Devil's Thumb and Michigan Bluff."

Me: "You lost me on the camp part. Sort of like a twist on the Bird-MJ commercial from the Super Bowl many years ago, "Nothing but Marriott"."

Rick: "I could be talked into a hotel in Sac but I'm just trying to be as crusty as possible. I want to leave the soft stuff here in Houston. This might be my only chance at Mecca and I don't want to Rocky the race."

Me: "I understand. :) But I'm sitting here thinking to myself, "Sheesh ... he said I have to have balls to run an ultra." So I grew a pair and got 50 in ... and now you want me to camp too? You need to have ... how does Bill put it ... ahh ... the mindset."

Bill still hasn't answered me as to if he's running Run The Woodlands 5K tomorrow.

I'm probably a "no go" to go to Surfside to hang out; however, but I've gone off and driven to Fort Davis for a half marathon before too.

Rocky Raccoon 50-Miler Finishing Pictures

Not the prettiest finishing picture you've ever seen, but the 50 miles were complete! ("684", by the way, is the telephone prefix of my hometown in central Pennsylvania.)

"Deer in the Headlamp" look?

"Waverly, this isn't the right time to start asking about a car!"

(Photos courtesy of Bill Dwyer)

Rocky Raccoon 50-Miler Splits

One of the things that I wanted to do was to record the time in and out of every aid station; however, I messed up on the very first one!

If it had been cooler, I would have run a lot more in the second and third loops. However, I know of my limitations with the heat and humidity. If I would have tried to run more in the second loop, I would have completely spent myself for the third loop. The biggest surprise was how it didn't get too much cooler on the third loop.

Loop 1
Lodge to Dam Road - 49:29.37
Dam Road to Far Side - 37:29.18
Far Side to Dam Road - 37:39.23
Dam Road to 174 - 59:23.98
174 to Lodge - 39:12.25
Total = 3:43:14.01

Loop 2
Lodge to Dam Road - 57:05.56 (Burned a little time at the end of the first loop)
Dam Road to Far Side - 45:03.36 (Started to walk here with temps rising)
Far Side to Ram Road - 46:43.03
Dam Road to 174 - 1:13:26 (Ran some as there was downhill to the bridges)
174 to Lodge - 44:32.08 (Ran a majority of the last mile back to the Lodge)
Total = 8:10:04 (Cumulative)

Change of Socks and Shoes - 17:13.02 (Waverly peeled them off and put vaseline and both feet as well as socks and shoes back on; Visited with Karen as well for a little bit.)

Loop 3
Lodge to Dam Road - 1:02:04
Dam Road to Far Side - 55:28.00 (Walked slower with Becky, who was trying to see if she could avoid dropping with a bad set of blisters on her right foot)
Far Side to Dam Road - 56:51.12 (Ditto on the return. She would drop with 7.2 miles to go.)
Dam Road to 174 - 1:28:48
174 to Lodge - 55:52.74
Final = 13:46:21

To her credit, Becky was at the finish line waiting for me to make it in (and in addition to another friend that she had out on the course.) She later had this to say in an e-mail: "You maintained constant forward motion and in an endurance run like Rocky that is what it takes. Continuing to put one foot in front of the other is the order of the day."

Regarding her decision to drop: "Believe making the decision to turn in my chip was not easy but in the long run I know it was the right thing to do. If the next section of the course would not have been the rutty, rooty 4.42 mile stretch, I would have gone on VERY SLOWLY because I had enough "pop" in my legs to get me the end. But knowing I couldn't bear enough weight on my right foot to help balance myself and step over/around the roots was the clincher. The possibility of causing a potentially severe injury from tripping and falling on a root would have been more devastating."

In some post-race analysis that I shared with somebody from Austin that I know, I made this comment: "The only plan that I had for the run was to go from aid station-to-aid station. There were five for each loop. 15 in all, of course. The longest leg was 4.3 miles, three legs were 2.9 and the last was 3.6. It was basically to run a 5K or so fifteen (15) times.

"I made two wise decisions. To run with my friend as long as I could. I had to back off based on the heat and the humidity. The second was to dial it back as a result of those two things."

I took time out to introduce myself to Joe Prusaitis, the race director, and thank him for having a 50-mile event that didn't have a time limit to be able to see if I could at least cover the distance. I still am extremely appreciative about that. (I wonder if there has been anybody that has done the 50-miler beyond the 12-hour time limit and then came back and finished the 100-miler another year .... Hmmmm.)

Initial Rocky Raccoon 50-Miler Race Report

It certainly wasn't the fastest 50-miler on record; however, I covered three 16 2/3-mile loops in Huntsville (Texas) State Park yesterday, starting at 7 a.m. and finishing 13 hours, 46 minutes and 21 seconds later. A good friend of mine, Becky Spaulding from Houston, and I covered the first loop in 3 hours, 45 minutes, using a 2-minute run, 1-minute walk pattern.

As we started the second loop, and with temperatures unseasonably rising for a February Saturday afternoon, we got to the first Aid Station together, but I needed to abandon the pattern and begin walking the loop as fast as I could. I finished the next loop in 4 hours, 25 minutes (only about 10 minutes behind a hopeful goal).

With Waverly's help, I took 15 minutes to peel my shoes and socks off and switch to another pair. She - proving the love of a daughter for her Dad - lathered up my feet with vasoline, put my socks on and another pair of shoes (loosely tied to prevent blisters as your feet tend to swell over a marathon distance or greater.)

A good friend of mine, Karen Felicidario from The Woodlands had come to cheer me on for a little bit and had hoped that she would be able to run with me a little bit. Just knowing that I had a couple of friends that came out to cheer me on and/or see me finish is really inspiring (and I'm thankful.)

There was never any question in my mind that I would finish. The question was: When and in what kind of physical shape I'd be in at the end of it? (I think I have a couple of small blisters underneath my left foot.)

When I got into the first aid station of the third loop, I found my friend, Becky, sitting in a chair and spooning some hot soup out of a cup. She had a blister that was causing her immense pain. She had already spent time at the end of each of the first two loops to attend to it. (She had a kit that she could have attended to an army of people herself, although the race directors had people that were skilled at attending to them as they're common in races of these distances.)

She decided to press on to the next aid station which was 2.9 miles away. She thought about dropping from the race there, but wanted to make it back to the previous aid station. I could have pressed on, and she would have been OK with that; however, she had a plan to get through the 50-miler (and I hadn't). We had agreed to run some together when she found out that I had signed up. Therefore, I felt like I had a responsibility to stay with her on that 5.8-mile out-and-back until she made a final decision to drop. From there, it was 7.2 miles to the finish.

The next 4.3-mile section was the toughest of the five segments all 50-milers had to travel, and I was doing this loop in the dark (with a headlamp) and my body starting to feel the affects of general physical fatigue. Because I came in from Los Angeles the evening before, I had four hours of sleep Friday night. (And I can't get to sleep now!) What made the segment tough, about a thousand tree roots.

I had run 20 miles of the course last year with a good friend, Rick Cook, and had a blast pacing him through miles 60 to 80; however, I had fresh legs - and it was just above freezing. My type of running weather.

Another good friend of mine, Bill Dwyer, had taken Waverly to the 174 aid station where one of the clubs that I belong to was manning the last aid station on the loop.

I gave her a kiss and headed out for the last 2.9 miles, motivated by the fact that the two of us would get to run the last quarter of a mile together.

It is one of the two most physically challenging things that I've done - besides a 15.4-mile run (well, paid hike) in Colorado that started at 10,200 feet above sea level and peaked at 13,108 feet.

Why did I do either? To prove to myself that I could do it, and I guess to impress upon Waverly that she can do anything that she puts her mind to.

It's been five years since I ran my first race ever - a 4-miler. Never did I think that I was capable of finishing something like this. (And no I don't have any plans to try a 100-miler anytime soon!)

(Note: This was written for a wide audience of family, friends, former co-workers and originally sent via e-mail very early Sunday morning.)

29 Hours to Rocky

Am certainly 110% sure that I'm not completely ready for Saturday's adventure. :)

To be honest, there's a part of me that's scared. It is being scared to fail, to be quite honest. Why? Because there's nothing to say that I can cover this distance. Sort of a paradox, huh?

Monday and Tuesday, with everything going on, the travel, work, etc., I was completely wiped out and slept more than I normally do.

I got in 75 minutes on the elliptical trainer on Wednesday night and 50 minutes tonight at Bally's here in Pasadena, California. I've read recently that the elliptical, while it might not completely help your running, is better for your back than going and sitting on a stationery bike as it helps to stretch out part of the lower back. (Sounds good, huh?)

Last year was different. I was coming off of a good 3M Half where I ran 2:12 and then ran 20 miles with Rick in the middle of the night. (The splits say that there was a 5:07:14 fourth loop, but that means that we were going at 15 minutes per mile; however, it seems to me that in the last 6-8 miles, the pace really slowed down as Rick was realizing that it was going to have to be another day.)

I'm just hoping that I'll finish, regardless of how much walking I have to do, and that Waverly will be there when I do. :)

Sarah, thanks for your note and for the rest of you, a prayer would be kind! :)