24 Hour Fitness Elliptical Machine Marathon: Funny!

Waverly's TAKS Results

This week, Waverly received her Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) tests results back. Her results last year allowed her the opportunity to take the ACT through the Duke Talent ID program.

She met the standard in Reading, Mathematics and Writing and her performance in the Mathematics and Writing were commended. (In Math, she missed just one of 48 items. In the Writing, she got 37 of 40 answers right and her written composition scored a 3 out of a possible 4 -- meaning "generally effective".)

I looked at the statewide results out of curiousity. [I am pulling numbers from the section marked, "All Students Not In Special Education."]

88 percent met the standard in Reading while 80 and 93 percent of the students met the standard in Mathematics and Writing, respectively. The commended numbers were 32, 20 and 35 percent for each category.

74 percent students met the standard on all three sections while just 20 percent of seventh graders were commended on two tests (like Waverly).

The girls outperformed the boys as the young ladies met the standard 90 percent (Reading), 80 percent (Mathematics) and 96 percent (Writing). The boys were 86, 79 and 90, respectively.

Asian students were the highest performers with percentage standards of 96, 95 and 98, while Caucasian students followed with percentage scores of 95, 90 and 96 percent in the three subjects.

Listening to: "Teach Your Children Well" - Crosby, Stills & Nash

Finally: A Decent Race Day Picture!

Yes, that is me heading down the stretch at today's David's Dream Run 5K. Bill typically knows that I don't like my picture taken; however, I have to say that I'm pretty pleased with it!

...

Bill said I had the best "running" form [thanks Quarles for the correction there] among Katy, Karen and Ken below. I think it isn't hard to have bad form when you can barely get your foot off the ground. ;)

...

Of course, the best race picture is any one with a pretty woman who just happens to be running along with me. (I wonder why there's not many of them that exist ... lol)

Seven Hills Running Club members Ken Johnson (VP), Karen Felicidario, Katy Lampson (Secretary) and Sara Lange.

David's Dream Run 5K Race Report

I ran the David's Dream Run 5K this morning at H-E-B on Market Street in The Woodlands -- the last leg of the Montgomery County Triple.

Speaking of the Montgomery County Triple, 14 runners ran the Conroe Family YMCA Trail Run 5K, Run The Woodlands 5K and this morning's race. Almost everyone that finished the three races were members of The Woodlands Running Club. The complete list is as follows:
1. 51:49 - Jacob Mazone (17:30, 17:12, 17:07)
2. 59:07 - Joseph Mazone (18:15, 23:28, 17:24)
3. 71:14 - Stephen Smith (24:10, 22:48, 24:16)
4. 73:58 - Randy Bradley (25:04, 24:25, 24:19)
5. 74:03 - Ryan Bradley (24:40, 24:33, 24:50)
6. 77:02 - Scott Mayer (28:16, 25:52, 22:54)
7. 80:30 - Katy Lampson (26:31, 26:52, 27:07)
8. 83:58 - Jeff Paul (28:18, 27:58, 27:42)
9. 85:07 - Ron Longtin (28:38, 28:03, 28:26)
10. 86:42 - Sara Lange (28:26, 28:53, 29:23)
11. 104:04 - Ken Johnson (34:55, 34:28, 34:41)
12. 116:50 - Missy Yut (39:32, 38:54, 38:24)
13. 117:07 - Tarrah Mayer (36:23, 45:20, 35:24)
14. Evan Guy (49:42 first two races; No chip time on DD 5K)

Rick Cook had made up the awards and had four with pine cones. The plan was to go with the first male and female overall and masters. We basically were able to do this for the men. But with Liz Berry and Debbie Tripp both not running the event this morning, we had no masters runners in the women's division.

Therefore, we went with the fastest two in both the men's and the women's. The men, of course, turned out to be the same -- Jacob Mazone and his son, Joseph. The women were Katy Lampson and Sara Lange - both representing the Seven Hills Running Club.

Jacob and Stephen Smith are now the only two who have completed the Triple in the Spring '07, Fall '07 and now the Spring '08.

Eight of the 14 completed the Fall '07 Triple -- including the younger Mazone, Lampson, Longtin, Lange, Johnson and Yut.

How did my race go today? Not too bad. It got plenty hot in the latter two miles and the time showed a little bit; however, I wasn't too disappointed.

The splits looked like this:

Mile 1 -- 8:59.97
Mile 2 -- 10:10.57 (19:10.54)
Last 1.1 -- 11:14.52 (30:25.06)

It was my 10th 5K of the year, and my second fastest. There was a day when everything was typically in the 29s, with an occasional 28; however, my focus -- obviously -- has been geared toward the longer events. It was a 15-second improvement over last Saturday (with a marathon underneath my legs in between.) I'll take it.

How did my past and future TIR teammates do?
Katy Lampson, Huntsville - 27:07
Karen Felicidario, The Woodlands -- 29:09 (If I had worked a little harder ...)
Ken Johnson, Huntsville -- 34:42

How did my TIR opponents do?
Scott Mayer, Spring -- 22:55
Stewart Comrie, The Woodlands -- 26:35
Michelle Comrie, The Woodlands -- 28:28
(Tarrah Mayer, Spring -- 35:42; Scott's wife)

Anybody in the "idiot" category today? Yes, The Woodlands' Stan Zapf. What was this guy's crime? He started late - evidenced by his 47-second chip differential - and where he should have been with a stroller. (Basically, race directors need to take these off the course - or somebody needs to contact these races' insurance carriers, which could invalidate their coverage. I may resign my position with HARRA and start causing hell for some of these races and/or start a blog and publicly ID'ing runners who do this and wear headphones. These are clear safety issues.) He was destined to make up time. So what did he do? He ran on the outside of the traffic cones, at one point in the first half mile by impeding traffic. Of course, he had a stroller -- so he was running with a kid in it! Could you call this child endangerment? I could make a case for it. It is just plain stupid -- for what, a 5K?

College Park High School girls cross country and track coach Andrea Kaylor, 26, won the women's event in a time of 17:33 while Anne Kate Solversen, 50, of The Woodlands was runner-up in a distant second of 22:13. (Kaylor still looks like she could be in high school.) Kaylor's last big race was her second place finish at Run Thru The Woods on Thanksgiving where she finished behind Flower Mound's Melissa Cook, but defeated The Woodlands' Kim Hager. [It was good to see Joseph Mazone not get chicked by Andrea! She was right behind him at about mile 2.]

Richard Mac Namee, 41, won the Masters division i 19:16 -- a week removed from finishing fifth overall in the Sprint division of the Capital of Texas Triathlon in Austin last Saturday.

It was good - for the third time in four weeks - to see my friends from the Houston Striders -- Frank Halter, 54, and Pam Paling, 40, from The Woodlands. Frank crossed the finish line just before Stephen Smith, to finish with a gun time of 24:20, but Stephen edged him on chip time. Pam was just outside of her top three in age group with a time of 26:07.

It is always, always good to see The Woodlands' Jeff Westergren, 62. He finished in 25:40 today and he is one of those many, many individuals who encouraged me as I was getting started in 2003 during those many Run The Woodlands 5K.

Woodlands Fit was well-represented today as director Rich Cooper, 43, finished in 26:01. Jeff Paul finished in 27:43. (I had Jeff and a couple of others in sight in the first mile, but they finished stronger than me.) I'm sure that there were others.

Bill Dwyer's good friend William Banes is becoming pretty consistent -- 29:10 last week at Run The Woodlands and 29:11 today at David's Dream Run 5K. (Now, if we could just work on Bill on the race course!)

I could write - and analyze - forever. Therefore, I'll stop. For those of you who read the blog that I saw out there today, it was good to see you!

Listening to: "Gunpowder and Lead" - Miranda Lambert

June 8th Half Marathon in Temple

Hmmm ... this might be a very interesting way to get half marathon number 50!

It is the Community Wellness Half Marathon on Sunday, June 8th at Lions Park in Temple. The race begins at 7 a.m. and it is only $15!

If I can't arrange things to go and do the God's Country Marathon in Pennsylvania next Saturday, this might be on the table.

Anybody interested in doing this with me?

When I Was 13 ...

... some of you, I know, were barely born yet. You know who you are! :)

For the record, I was 13 in 1980 (the January that the Steelers beat the Rams in the Super Bowl and a year after the Pirates beat the Orioles in the World Series.)

But I certainly didn't have my own health club membership. However, as of this evening, as part of her birthday last Friday, Waverly is the proud new recipient of a one-year Bally Total Fitness membership.

She went with me this evening and did 30 minutes on the elliptical machine (the one without the sticks) and another 30 minutes on the recumbent bike while I ran an hour on the treadmill.

She gets two free visits with a personal trainer with her membership, and I bought three visits for $129 myself. I need to get smart in a lot of different areas (strengthen my core and I want to build some upper body muscle and work off this flab that is left in the middle), and I guess I feel like if I pay for it that I'll be more inclined to stick with it.

I think I'll run David Dream's Run 5K tomorrow and support Montgomery County events and the Montgomery County Triple.

Surfside Marathon: Valentine's Day 2009

I just got the e-mail from race director Daryl Beatty, the race director of the BARRA-directed Surfside Marathon, and I've now signed up for my 3rd marathon of the '08-'09 marathon season.

So far, the other two are the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon in San Antonio and the Chevron Houston Marathon.

"The first 400 registrants will get the early registration rate, and we are notifying you, our previous participants first before we publicize the opening of the registration," said Beatty.

The e-mail pointed out the following points:

1. The date will be Saturday, February 14th, 2009. And since it is Valentine's Day, we will have a special "couples" division this year.

2. New for this year, we will have 5 year age groups in any division with 10 or more runners. 10 year age groups in others.

3. People were divided on expanding the field, so we will cautiously expand by only about 10%. Our goal remains quality. We filled very early last year.

4. We will probably try chip timing again this year, and give somebody else a shot at it. (That is our "improvement" goal this year.)

5. Otherwise, we hope to keep it an enjoyable, low key event!

Hopefully, I'll see everyone there in February -- one week before Austin, two weeks before Cowtown and four weeks before the Texas Independence Relay.

Listening to: "Lost and Found" - Randy Rodgers Band

Live from KCI ... Rather MCI

The airport here in Kansas City is known as "KCI". However, if you go to try and make a reservation using that three-digit airport code, you won't be coming here.

Kansas City's three-digit code is "MCI". Like the old phone company. Remember then?

As I'm sitting here in the terminal waiting on my 5:00 p.m. Continental flight home (for those of you who want to stalk me ... I'm teasing), I had some guy walk up to me, serious as can be, and asked, "Do you coach for the Texans?"

"Sure, me and Gary Kubiak," is what I wanted to say, but, of course, I said "No, I don't."

With the proliferation of professional sports team gear, anybody can dress like a team employee. But let's face it, do you think I *really* look like a coach for an NFL team? Yeah, right.

The other funny thing that I saw was a T-shirt with this on the front:

"Leavenworth Penitentiary: A Gated Community"

Finally, for today's dose of humor, I received the following in my company e-mail from the folks in our Houston office. Yes, I'm going to rush and sign up for these:

Option A: Tuesday, June 17th, 6:30 to 9 p.m.
STEAK 5 WAYS -- Keep in mind: steaks are not always off the hoof. This high stakes menu includes: Carpaccio of Beef with Wasabi Crème Fraîche; Pan-Seared Tuna Steaks on Warm Green Beans, Garlic & Tomato Salad; Dry-Rubbed New York Strip Steak; and Sliced Beefsteak Tomatoes. $60.00 per person

Option B: Saturday, June 21st, 6:30 to 9 p.m.
WINE 101 -- Practice the art of swirling and sniffing. Master the three components of tasting wines – beginning, middle and finish. You’ll hone your skills on these six wines, learning to identify their basic characteristics: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Riesling. A light dinner will be served before the tasting. $70.00 per person

Option C: Wednesday, July 2nd, 6:30 to 9 p.m.
SUSHI 101 -- Learn to make: Miso Soup; California Roll; Handrolls; Mason Maki ( a Sushi specialty roll with Hawaiian Albacore Tuna, Yellowfin Tuna & Soy Vinaigrette); and Shrimp Tempura Roll. $65.00 per person

Yes, I know that I'll get slammed for being a stereotypical, neanderthal and culturally insensitive male, but I'll surely crave your attention forever. :)

And finally, I learned this in the parking lot of the Embassy Suites Wednesday night ... from the hood of a U.S. Border Patrol vehicle in Overland Park, Kansas. Wednesday was the 84th birthday of the federal agency. My question though was: "What border were they trying to protect there? The Kansas/Missouri border?"

Listening to: "Easy Come, Easy Go" by George Strait

Al Lawrence to Speak at HARRA Summer Celebration

HARRA has scored another coup in getting another local Houston great to speak at its annual Summer Celebration on Saturday, June 7 at the historic Heights Fire Station on 12th at Yale Street.

The Olympic bronze medalist in the 10,000 meters at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, Al Lawrence has been a fixture in the greater Houston running scene for nearly 50 years and will speak about his experiences and the evolution of distance running in the Houston area during that time.

A year ago, 1972 Houston Marathon winner Danny Green - aka The Woodlands High School boys track and cross country coach Dan Green, who trained with Al in the late 1960s and early 1970s, spoke at the Summer Celebration after back-to-back years of nationally recognized speakers in Bart Yasso and Jeff Galloway.

Listening to: "Please Be San Antone" - Sunny Sweeney
(Hmmm ... this could be the theme song for many Rock 'n' Roll - San Antonio runners.)

Montgomery County Endurance Athlete of the Year Awards

Bill Dwyer and I have kept this under wraps now for awhile; however, we're going to be moving forward with it under our Friends of the Running Community, L.L.C. banner.

It is the 2008 Montgomery County Endurance Athlete of the Year Awards.

Even though neither one of us live in Montgomery County, we both are doing things - and love doing them, by the way - to attempt to contribute to the growth and success of running and multisports in the County through 1.) my writing for the Courier, 2.) Bill's coaching under various entities (Team in Training, Luke's Beat Program, Woodlands Fit and perhaps Power In Motion soon) and 3.) our involvement in The Woodlands Running Club.

We will create a nomination process for late November and early December that will take into account an athlete's performances from January 1 to that point of the year. (For multisports, it will be complete, while runners' body of work will basically be complete at that point.)

We will gather together a host of media panelists to decide the winners from a list of semifinalists. (Bill and I may pare down the list of nominees to semifinalists; however, we will not have a vote because of the many constituencies that we are accountable to.)

Our plan includes an award ceremony at Town Hall Texas on Saturday evening, January 13, 2009 -- one week before the Chevron Houston Marathon and its affiliated events.

We've extended an invitation to Chevron Houston Marathon race director Brant Kotch to be our guest speaker.

We plan to recognize individuals in the following categories:

+ Road Racing (Youth, Open, Masters, Veterans; Men and Women - 8)
+ Ultra/Trail Running (Open, Masters, Veterans; Men and Women - 6)
+ Multisports (Youth, Open, Masters, Veterans; Men and Women - 8)

+ High School Track and Field (Boys and Girls - 2)
+ High School Cross Country (Boys and Girls - 2)

+ Coach of the Year (Running/Multisports - 1)
+ Volunteer of the Year (Running/Multisports - 1)

We won't necessarily shun a sponsor or sponsors, but we will not commercialize these awards. This will be about the athletes, not local businesses. The ideal situation would be is if we had somebody come up to one of us and said "How can we help?" Then we would make sure that the business would certainly get appropriate recognition for their contribution.

We basically don't want to put ourselves in a position that a club or a group would have an expectation that we would choose one of their athletes because of a contribution. That's why neither one of us wants to have a vote.

Otherwise, we've already scoped this out and feel that it is something that we can fund between the two of us.

Listening to: "Lucky Arms" - Jason Allen (Great lyrics ...)

July 4th! Rodney Hayden in The Woodlands!

Even though Rodney's been in town a couple of times since the Texas Independence Relay, I didn't have the prospect of seeing him perform without any of my family around. (Seems I've turned others in my family into bigger fans than me!)

Sometimes it doesn't pay to let a good secret get away!

Anyway, hoping that Rodney might have been playing Gruene Hall this weekend (instead of Thursday night when I'll be in Kansas City), I did find out that Rodney will be performing at the 11th annual Red, Hot and Blue Festival in The Woodlands on the Fourth of July!

Now if The Woodlands would wisen up and create a Fourth of July race in the morning so that we didn't have to drive to parts known and unknown to run. :)

Oh ... Rodney is also putting together the 1st annual Rodney Hayden Music Festival in McCoy, Texas on Saturday, July 26. One guy on the dance card I heard last January at the River Road Run (12-mile) in New Braunfels - Jason Allen. I think I'll have plans to be there!

Tuesday Stationery Bike

I had to get back to doing something. The pain in my right hip has begun to subside, but I know that it is coming from my back and hips being out of whack.

Therefore, I got an hour in on the stationery bike at Bally's just to loosen things up.

While I was there, I saw two people that I knew but they didn't see me and one was going out (The Woodlands Running Club member Thomas McHale - another Penn Stater) and the other coming in (Scott Haney, who attends the same church that I do) before I had a chance to say something to either one of them.

So what in the world is going on?

+ We have the David's Dream 5K in The Woodlands on Saturday - the last leg of the spring version of the Montgomery County Triple. (Last I heard, Bill is running it.)

+ Rick Cook is back home from doing over 50 miles on the course of the Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run on Saturday and Sunday. (When I talked to him late Sunday night, as he was getting ready to head to the Sacramento airport, he sounded great.)

+ Congratulations to Sarah for taking the Athena division at the Combat Triathlon in Texas City on Saturday. She rocked her closest competition by almost 9 minutes, burying her in T1 and the bike!

+ Diboll's Jeremy Webb, 26, grabbed second at the same event in his age group -- and 22nd overall. [Jeremy is Edwin's friend and maybe one of our future TIR teammates. Any status, Quarles?]

+ Did you know that Academy of Country Music New Male Vocalist of the Year winner Jack Ingram was a 1989 graduate of McCullough High School? The things you learn reading the Courier -- other than my column, of course. [And it will always be McCullough to me ... and not TWHS.]

+ At Sunday's CapTex Tri in Austin, The Woodlands' Claire Andrews, just 14, continues to kick butt and take names. She finished third overall in the Sprint division -- behind 17-year-old Clear Lake resident Jeannette Wacker. [Folks like Lance Armstrong were doing the same type of thing at their age. Right, Katy?] Wacker's father, Roger, 49, won the masters in fourth place overall -- one spot over The Woodlands' new arrival to town, Richard Mac Namee. Houston's Anne Ekern, who races about as much as our good friend, Lisa Tilton-McCarthy, took second in her age group.

+ At Bolder Boulder on Memorial Day, The Woodlands' Jim Braden, 72, was second in his "single" age group with a 10K time of 54:24.

+ Our own Joe Carey, aka "Gramps", was 44th in his 52-year-old single age group with a PR-setting time of 48:53. Joe's wife, Gerlinde, finished in 1:15:44.

+ Ms. Flicka, aka BARC beer wench Veronica Hoge, was 23rd in her Bolder Boulder debut with a time of 48:26 in the 38-year-old category. She was joined on the run by Gary Johnson and BARC president Carwyn Sharp.

+ HARRA At-Large Board Member Bruce Mansur, who I believe is still recovering from an injury, finished in 55:08.

+ Bill has come out with Deer Tracks (The Woodlands Running Club) for the month of May -- just in time (before the end of the month).

+ The Bay Area Running Club has just come out with their April edition of "Bay Area Running & Fitness" and it is their Texas Independence Relay newsletter. [I think you all need to go check out Joe's report! Pretty funny!]

+ Other good newsletters include Bayou City Road Runners (May), Houston Striders (May) and the Houston Masters Sports Association (May).

It's 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday night. I may update this later in the evening!

Vacation Spoils San Antonio Participation

No, not the San Antonio Rock 'n' Roll Marathon in November., but rather the Carrabba's Classic Half Marathon in San Antonio on Saturday, June 21.

I was hoping that it was going to be Father's Day weekend, when Waverly would be in Pennsylvania with my parents on the first of her two vacations.

I realized that I forgot about this half marathon in the two-issue feature that I'm doing for Runner Triathlete News in August and September about Texas' half marathons. And how could I? I ran it for three straight years -- one year was a scorcher and the other was in a downpour.

2006 -- 2:25:47
2005 -- 2:43:57
2004 -- 2:31:13

It is hotter than can be, but it is a well produced event and a good atmosphere. And I was hoping to have made *that* one half marathon no. 50!

However the morning that this race will be run, Waverly and I will be headed to California to begin a week's vacation.

Vacation? Yay! Not being able to run this race? Bummer.
And you can't beat a half marathon for $24.

America's 15 Most Visited Memorials

This list comes courtesy of ForbesTraveler.com. How many have you seen?

1. Arlington Cemetery, Washington, D.C. (I've been there. Waverly hasn't.)
2. World War II Memorial, Washington, D.C. (Wasn't open yet when Waverly and I did a spring break trip through D.C.)
3. Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C. (Waverly and I have both been there.)
4. Korean War Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C. (Ditto for Waverly and I.)
5. Gettysburg National Military Park, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania (Same trip for Waverly and me)
6. USS Arizona Memorial, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii (I saw it in 1988 when I went to the Aloha Bowl with the Houston Cougars football team)
7. Valley Forge National Historic Park, Pennsylvania
8. Minute Man National Historic Park, Concord, Massachusetts
9. Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, Ga. & Tenn.
10. Fort Sumter National Monument, S.C.
11. Vicksburg National Military Park, Miss.
12. Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine, Md.
13. Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, Va.
14. Guilford Courthouse, National Military Park, N.C.
15. Shiloh National Military Park, Tenn. & Miss.

Med-City Marathon Costs / More Notes

I'm sure that there are a handful of you - and you're part of a small group that have access to the blog - who wonder what kind of money I spend when I go do a marathon like I did on Sunday.

When we were in Pearland last Sunday, I asked Sarah what she paid for her bike (knowing that triathlons can be an expensive proposition.) When she told me, I thought to myself, "Hmmm ... I can pay the entry fee for about 14 to 15 marathons." :)

I meant to do this breakdown when I went to do Oklahoma City last month, but here goes:

Pre-Saturday
$5 - Continental fee to book the reward travel (AMEX)
$60 - Med-City Marathon race entry fee (AMEX)
Saturday
$2.50 - Toll road fees from house to IAH (AMEX)
$8.19 - Lunch at Papa John's in IAH ($)
$10.01 - Dinner at Bilotti's Italian Villa in Rochester, Minnesota (Visa)
$10.09 - Tylenol and sundry travel items at HyVee in Rochester (Visa)
Sunday
$91.69 - Marriott Courtyard (Visa) - included $4 parking fee
$6.08 - Lunch at McDonald's in Rochester ($) - could have stopped and eaten better, but I was hurting and wanted to get moving towards the MSP airport ASAP
$22.99 - Gas at Marathon in Richfield, Minnesota (Visa)
$27.73 - Advantage Rent A Car (Amex)
$2.60 - Snack/Drink in MSP ($)
$12.00 - Parking at Parking Cents lot at IAH (AMEX)
$2.50 - Toll road fees from IAH to House (AMEX)

It cost me $261.38 to get in marathon No. 19 and state No. 12.

I could have used some of my Marriott points, but I gave about 80,000 of them to my Dad for my Mom, daughter and two nieces to use next month when they go to Pennsylvania to visit my grandparents. However, Marriott was running a discounted price in an e-mail that I received during the week. Otherwise, I could have done it all for about $170.

The dinner that I had at Bilotti's was well worth it. (I also had water too.)

I, of course, try to get an economy car when I travel now. The Dodge Caliber SX got 27.4 miles to the gallon. Sure wasn't as sexy as the Mustang that I drove to Fargo and back to Minneapolis last year, but sometimes practicality beats the "cool factor" most of the time.

How could they keep the marathon entry fee at $60? Well, the entire back half of the marathon didn't need to be run on a single road at all as it was on the Maywood Trail.

These Marines ran the half marathon carrying a USMC flag. My Dad would have enjoyed seeing that. (Read the story here.)

They were officially calling it a "breezy, muggy but overcast" race day. It was cool compared to what I had run in on Saturday morning. The winner did a cartwheel at the finish line! (See it here.)

And finally, Post-Bulletin columnist Gregory Sellnow finished in 5:08:03. I didn't know there was a media division. If so, I might have pushed through the pain a bit more. :)

9th on Seven Hills RC Marathon Leaderboard

Make that a tie for ninth - with 21 marathons or ultramarathons - with one of the classiest and most-talented runners you'd ever want to know -- Ben Harvie.

The Seven Hills Running Club leaderboard looks like this now:

+ John Slate - 62
+ Bill Dwyer - 54 (It'll be fun to see him get No. 55 in San Antonio)
+ Hans Jaeger - 42
+ Ken Johnson - 36
+ Marvin Dittfurth - 31
+ Jerry Flanagan - 25
+ Ray Alexander - 24
+ George Stewart - 22
+ Ben Harvie / Jon Walk - 21
+ Doug Dretke - 18

I thought about going to do God's Country Marathon in Pennsylvania in two weeks, but I have to get my hip situation taken care of first - and then see how my work schedule is going to be since I'll be working on two projects (in Jackson, Mississippi and Kansas City, Missouri.)

I put in a call to a good friend of mine this evening, John DiMarco, while I was sitting on the plane in Minneapolis. I wanted to see where he was at. After St. Louis, he had completed 12 marathons in 11 states, and unfortunately had a DNF this month in New Jersey. His next marathon will be the Deadwood Mickelson Trail Marathon in South Dakota in the next two weekends, I believe.

I think I may look for back-to-back half marathons again to do as well.

Med-City Marathon Additional Race Information

Gun time: 5:36:18
Chip time: 5:35:48

Mile 1 -- 10:09.87 (add 6 seconds; didn't get watch started in time)
Mile 2 -- 10:59.22
Mile 3 -- 11:24.55
Mile 4 -- 10:46.51
Mile 5 -- 11:12.98
Mile 6 -- 10:36.08
Mile 7 -- 11:21.97
Mile 8 -- 10:52.50
Mile 9 -- 11:10.87
Mile 10 -- 10:55.91
Mile 11 -- 11:30.69 (had a little bit of an incline)
Mile 12 -- 11:24.78
Mile 13 -- 11:58.48 (walked a bit to get a Larabar in me)
Mile 14 -- 11:35.46 (8:55.55 - saw the mile 15 marker reversed and 2:39.91)
Mile 15 -- 11:31.15 (2:47:37)

Through here, I was still having a pretty good race. If I could have held this, it would have been like Oklahoma City.

Mile 16 -- 12:46.01 (at this point, I was gassed)
Mile 17 -- 13:22.84
Mile 18/19 -- 28:14.98
Mile 20 -- 15:31.61 (spent and every step hurt because of my hip)
Mile 21 -- 18:54.13 (this *had* to be long)
Mile 22 -- 16:45.34
Mile 23 -- 16:03.07
Mile 24 -- 16:40.72
Mile 25 -- 14:35.07 (started to stretch and shuffle)
Mile 26 -- 12:58.22 (more)
Last .2 -- 2:19.45

One guy that I spoke with at the start said that he had just finished a 150-mile race. I said, "McNaughton?" He acknowledged that I was correct. I explained to him that I was a member of the Ultra listserv until they went on a Dean Karnazes bashing spree last year.

He said that he was doing the Last Great Race this year, which is Old Dominion, Western States, Vermont Trail, Leadville Trail, Wasatch Front and Angeles Crest. I asked him what his name was and he said, "Allan Holtz". He's 58 years of age and he was 8th of 13 that finished 150 miles -- 15 ten-mile loops. (He finished in 4:33:40 today.)

I got passed late in the race by 50 States Marathon Club newsletter editor Lois Berkowitz. I thought it was her, but just verified it in the results. (She completed the course in 5:29:55.)

One guy that I passed in the first two miles (and hoped that he didn't come back and catch me) - after a little research (yes, I can find anything online) - was 2005 Badwater finisher Carl Hunt, 57, from Roxbury, Connecticut. When I saw him, he had a tattoo on the middle of the back of his left calf. It said, "Ironman finisher." The one on the right was, "Badwater finisher."

Pretty darn cool. (Today, he finished though in 5:58:45.)

I spoke with 36-year-old Brigitte Syhakhoun, 36, of Rochester, between miles 22 and 24. She was doing a little walking. It was her first marathon ever. She wanted to beat Katie Holmes' time at the ING New York City Marathon (5:29-and change). I told her that if she did, she was going to have to start clicking off 12-minute miles at the mile 24 marker. (She finished in 5:34:16.)

Hometown Rochester resident Pete Gilman won the half marathon in 1:10:21. (He was a U.S. Olympic Men's Marathon Trials qualifier.)

Med-City Marathon Initial Race Report

I finished. Marathon no. 19 and state no. 12; however, an approximate 13 miles within 72 hours of today's start wasn't smart -- even on the "MOD" program.

As a result, I had my worst marathon finish of four this year - with a 5:36 (5:35:42 but I didn't clear yesterday's 5K for about 10 seconds or so after crossing the mat) - as I started to hit the wall at mile marker 16. Lots of living up to my last name and it is "go see the chiropractor on Tuesday" (that I didn't get to see on Friday).

The weather was good. (A local said the weather this time of year is a crap shoot.) It primarily stayed cool and that was in between 60 and 70 with a breeze the majority of the time. No rain, as advertised. (It looked pretty ominous at the start.)

The first eight (8) miles weren't as bad as advertised, but the back half wasn't flat either.

If you're a nature lover who has that incredible talent of wrapping your arms around the beauty of the earth while you run, this marathon is for you.

If you need lots of people around, avoid this one! The last 11 was a long out and back that I thought was going to make its way to either Wisconsin to the east or Iowa to the south.

They use the Chuck George (president of the New Orleans Track Club and RD of the Mardi Gras Marathon) method of marathon course setup: run you right by the finish line before they send you out for the back half!

Volunteers were wonderful. A couple of water stations (mile 6 specifically) were in front of the mile markers - always a little challenging (for me, at least).

That's it for right now.

Marvelous Minnesota: Here in Rochester

Working in the (healthcare) consulting field for my career, I *can* live anywhere.

Even though I'm a native Pennsylvanian, I've primarily been in Texas since November 1976 and love it in the Lone Star State. However, I could very, very easily live here - Minnesota is beautiful - three or four months of the year in the summer time.

I can't imagine (and perhaps don't want to) what the winters are like, but it is just absolutely gorgeous here. Rght now, at about 7:35 p.m. Central time, it is 70 degrees and 38 percent humidity. Absolutely wonderful!

There is a severe weather warning in place for tomorrow afternoon and evening, but race day should be nice. The start of the race, at 7 a.m., will be greeted with a forecasted temperatue of 60 degrees and increasing to 75 degrees by my projected finish time.

This isn't the Mayo Clinic, but St. Mary's Hospital in far west downtown Rochester.
This view is from my 5th floor room at the Marriott Courtyard.

Run The Woodlands 5K #201 Race Report

"If you show, you must go" are the immortal words of The Woodlands' Vincent Attanucci.

I went, but promised not to overdo it heading into tomorrow's marathon in Minnesota. (Actually, Vincent pointed out that the race will keep my legs fresh for the flight later this afternoon.)

I'm pleased with the effort considering a.) I ran an hour on the treadmill last evening and b.) it was 83 degrees with 85 percent humidity. I finished in 30:39.79. I could have pushed it, but I woke up this morning with some cramping in my left calf. I wanted to make sure that I was able to do well tomorrow.

Mile 1 -- 9:24.02
Mile 2 -- 10:06.56
Mile 3 -- 10:16.22
Last .1 -- 52.99

I didn't really feel as taxed as I could have been; therefore, I'll take it. I'll say this, those times last month where I did four in three days were about the same, but this one was easier.

My aim is clearly marathons and half marathons now. So I do the 5Ks for the social aspect and to push a little bit. If I wouldn't be leaving in a little bit to fly to Minneapolis, I might have run this harder.

Before the race, we told people about the Montgomery County Triple and had a good show of hands of runners who were at RTW specifically for that. I wanted to make sure that we recognized our veterans with it being Memorial Day Weekend, but I didn't do it with as much reverance as it could have been done. Those of you who are veterans who read my blog, please accept my apologies.

I've talked with Waverly about using opportunities like Run The Woodlands to practice on singing the National Anthem, but she got very nervous this morning and started to cry.

What's a Dad to do? Walk over, put my arm around her waist, and sing it with her. :)

What was even more cool is that everybody sang it! That was a special benefit this morning, I hope, for everyone.

1. Bryce Young - 16:54
2. Jacob Mazone - 17:12 (TWRC)
3. Ricky Lugo - 17:26
4. Jason Garcia - 17:35
5. John Rushing - 18:33 (Westside HS)
6. Cole Pilgrim - 18:55 (Keep your ear out for this The Woodlands young man)
7. David Washburn - 19:35 (Terlingua; One of Houston's top veterans runners)
8. Robert Duncan - 19:37 (SHRC)
9. Bryant Brown - 20:02
10. Bruin Bourgeois - 21:02
11. Vincent Attanucci - 21:04 (TWRC)
12. Kevin Golden - 21:07
13. Wayne Phillips - 21:28
14. Peter Dolan - 21:36
15. Skip Moschell - 21:38 (TWRC)
16. James Law - 21:46
17. Bryan Claar - 22:07
18. Greg Scharer - 22:12
19. Sarah Broyles - 22:19 (TWRC; Women's winner)
20. Tim Vibrock - 22:30
21. Luis Espinoza - 22:38
22. John Reutter - 22:42
23. Stephen Smith - 22:48 (Running on Empty; TWRC)
24. Ben Mazone - 23:27
25. Joseph Mazone - 23:28 (Oak Ridge HS)
26. Jack Hanhn - 23:50
27. George Diaz - 23:52
28. Peter Blank - 24:05
29. Evan Guy + Tessie - 24:10
30. Joe Hanhn - 24:11
31. Ann Leoni - 24:15 (TWRC)
32. Carlos Ortegon - 24:16 (TWRC)
33. Randy Bradley - 24:25
34. Colin Lue King - 24:32
35. Ryan Bradley - 24:33
36. Crisiian Sandoval - 24:34
37. Julian Diaz - 24:41
38. Richard McQuaide - 24:48 (TWRC)
39. Cheryl Pilgrim - 25:10 (Cole's mom)
40. Denise Van Kuiken - 25:13 (TWRC)
41. Gary Van Kuiken - 25:14 (Running on Empty; TWRC)
42. Scott Mayer - 25:52 (Texian Road Warriors)
43. Karen Felicidario - 25:58 (Battling Bloggers; TWRC; SHRC .... PR!)
44. Bill Adam - 26:03
45. Jocelyn Mills - 26:18
46. Robert Simmons - 26:23
47. John Dunphy - 26:28 (SHRC)
48. Kelly Barbalias - 26:38
49. Sam Dunphy - 26:40 (SHRC)
50. Katy Lampson - 26:52 (Battling Bloggers; SHRC, TWRC)
51. Karen Bowler - 27:29 (Houston Striders)
52. John Reade - 27:40
53. Tracy Claar - 27:43
54. Kim Bluth - 27:46
55. John Cook - 27:57 (SHRC)
56. Jeff Paul - 27:58 (Woodlands Fit)
57. Ron Longtin - 28:03 (TWRC)
58. Dean Barbalias - 28:16
59. Tim Bowler - 28:20 (Houston Striders)
60. Oziel Leal - 28:32
61. Sara Lange - 28:53 (SHRC)
62. William Banes - 29:10 (Bill's friend)
63. Javier Galvan - 29:11
64. Cary Schorsch - 29:28
65. Amy Livsey - 29:41
66. Mark Guerrero - 29:42
67. Liz Berry - 29:50 (Woodlands Fit)
68. Matthew McClellam - 30:26
69. Jon Walk - 30:39 (TWRC; SHRC)
70. B.J. Morris - 31:11
71. Scott Durochez - 31:22
72. Cherie Wrenn - 31:41
73. Joshua Martinez - 32:47
74. Tiffany Gross - 33:03
75. Jennifer Perkins - 33:04
76. John Yarbrough - 33:18
77. Robert Martinez - 33:41
78. Joseph Martinez - 33:44
79. Debbie Tripp - 34:07 (TWRC)
80. Ken Johnson - 34:28 (SHRC)
81. Russel McCoy - 34:59
82. Molly Field - 35:57
83. Robin Graves - 36:36 (SHRC)
84. Judy Blevins - 36:37
85. Richard Tramm - 38:02
86. Missy Yut - 38:54
87. Eden Morris - 38:58
88. Linda Simmons - 40:59
89. Jackson Gordon - 43:40
90. Gary Hughes - 43:55
91. Alicia Yarbrough - 45:19
92. Tarrah Mayer - 45:20
93. Trudy Regnier - 45:51
94. Julie Donnelly - 45:52
95. Andrea Chabert - 48:08
96. Debbie Bower - 48:09
97. Vicky Gordon - 49:21
98. Haley Gordon - 49:22

It looks like then that there are 21 still in the running for the Spring '08 version of the Montgomery County Triple.

Med-City Marathon Notes

The Rochester (MN) Post-Bulletin has lots of pre-race coverage online.

Here's a note regarding a look at the potentially daunting weather, according to a local meterologist:

From KTTC meterologist Randy Brock: Despite the chatter about thunderstorms, Sunday is looking to be a nice day, especially in the morning hours. At 7 a.m., temperatures will be around 60 degrees and it should feel a little more humid than our weather has to date.

Winds will be out of the south at 10 to 15 mph, and by 12:30 p.m., temperatures will have wandered up to about 70. Look for partly to mostly cloudy skies Sunday morning.

Thunderstorms are likely Sunday afternoon through Memorial Day morning, but by the way things look from today's perspective, Sunday morning looks great!

And this race is very adamant about no headphones:

The use of headphones on the Med-City course is not allowed. If you are observed on the course wearing headphones, your bib number will be noted and you will be disqualified. You will also forfeit coverage through event insurance.

Love this! (I do have a post forthcoming about what I would have on my iPod ... if I had one.)

And finally ... I make the Courier of Montgomery County every Tuesday, but I - the only Texan in the field - made the Post Bulletin this week too. Check it out here.

Friday Adventures on Waverly's Birthday

I wrapped up the day by taking Waverly to dinner for her birthday this evening at The Cheesecake Factory in The Woodlands.

If you're reading this and coming out to Run The Woodlands 5K in the morning, you'll be able to wish her birthday in person! She's also agreed to sing the National Anthem tomorrow!

I got back to Houston at around 5 o'clock. (Yes, that's 7 and a half hours from Jackson, Mississippi - and that includes stopping for about almost an hour just across the Louisiana-Mississippi state line.) I had to return the car to Alamo, ride the shuttle bus, get my truck out of the garage and make it home - which took me until about 6 p.m. or so.

It isn't conventional to do two days before running a marathon, but on the "MOD" training schedule, I ran an hour on the treadmill this evening at Bally's. (I didn't get anything in last night with all of the travel delays.)

I will probably do Run The Woodlands 5K in the morning - because of the "you must go" admonishment from Mr. Attanucci. (Goodness knows that I won't be trying to keep up with Katy. Instead I'll be worrying about Ken.)

It won't be the first time that I've done a 5K, got on a plane and ran a marathon the next day.

In December 2006, I ran the Willis Wildkat 5K then flew to Jacksonville, Florida for the Jacksonville Bank Marathon. (I'm better prepared, I think, for this one on Sunday. We'll see, I guess.) That was just a week after doing the Sunmart 50K followed by the Jingle Bell Run 5-Miler the next day (that I did with Waverly).

We only have one time on this earth. Might as well make the most of it! :)

Louisiana Rest Stops Have Wireless!

Greetings from Cajun Country! A miracle sign of progress here.

Yes, Continental cancelled the flight last night at about 10:15 p.m. So, it was off to pick up a rental car from Alamo, go to the Residence Inn in Ridgeland (North Jackson), and get a decent night's sleep.

I got off to a late start (about 9:30 a.m.) after having some breakfast at the hotel and then had to stop to get on a conference call for work. (And I have another one at noon, but I'll be driving for that one.) Right now, I'm located at the rest stop in Louisiana just across the state line off of Interstate 55 from Mississippi.

Looks like I'll be working next week, at least Thursday and Friday, from Kansas City. I could be in Jackson on Tuesday and Wednesday - not sure about that yet though.

Nonetheless, I'll be at Run The Woodlands 5K in the morning. I may run it, but if I do it will be slow and easy.

Mississippi Travel Fun

The plane from Houston came in to Jackson. As we were waiting to begin boarding, we were told that the plane had been ... struck by lightning!

(A pilot who was flying non-rev to Houston took a picture of it for Continental - Operations and the wing was a bit charred!)

The fact that it is a holiday weekend really makes things challenging. All of Continental's flights tomorrow are completely overbooked, and there was no way to get on any flight until tomorrow - on Delta - until about 5 p.m.

Our corporate travel agency reserved me an Alamo rental car and booked a hotel room tonight because I'm not going to drive that distance tired.

But while I'm thinking about that, they've announced -- it is 8:06 p.m. now -- that they are flying a plane in from Houston; however, it may not take off from here until 11 p.m. (and get into IAH until after midnight.)

Fun, fun, fun!

Battling Bloggers Site Updated!

It has been a challenge to get the Battling Bloggers of the Texas Republic team site updated lately!

Our team member's results from last week -- Saturday-Sunday, May 17-18 -- have been posted and I still need to do the team recaps from the two weeks before.

If you have candidates for a third team, please let me know; however, it isn't going to be anything that I urgently pursue.

Long Evening Possible in Jackson, Mississippi

I was hoping to be able to get home and make it to the gym with a 5:45 p.m. departure from Jackson and a 7:02 p.m. arrival into Houston.

However, the inbound flight hasn't arrived (it is now 5:13 p.m.)

The new scheduled departure is 6:47 p.m. and incredibly, the new arrival time is 8:52 p.m.! Huh? An extra 50 minutes on a full Embraer RJ145? Not good, but what are you going to do?

I wonder if this has anything to do with it .....

One good thing though: Lindy's has its College Football 2008 Preview out!

Angelina County Ride of Silence

(Why is this story important, given that it is from Lufkin? It is about an event put together by one of Edwin's good friends, Jeremy Webb - and who I'm hoping will be the 12th member to our second Texas Independence Relay team.)

More than 75 cyclists made the 10-mile route for Wednesday night's Ride of Silence in Lufkin.

The ride, organized by Diboll's Jeremy Webb, is held in a number of cities around the United States in honor of cyclists who have been injured or killed on the roadways.

Lufkin-area cyclists joined others worldwide in the Ride of Silence, a silent slow-paced ride in honor of those who have been injured or killed while cycling on public roadways.

Webb came up with the idea for the ride not long after he was involved in a cycling accident in August 2007.

For the remainder of this story from the Lufkin Daily News by contributing writer Edwin Quarles, please click here.

Late Wednesday Night Run / 4.35 Miles

Well, technically it was a Thursday morning run - as I wrap us this blog post at 2:30 a.m. (I've had the "you're crazy" department president title secured for a long time.) Think about it though. It's never too late - or early - to squeeze in a run.

I know someone who goes out on a 5K route with their dog at 3 a.m. because it is the only time that they can fit it into their crazy schedule. My schedule is much more serene, and if I could give it to them for a little bit, I would - to give them a break.

This evening, I came back from the office and went to sleep from about 7 until 10 p.m. I walked to the corner store to get something to drink and a light snack, and came back to the hotel to work on a few e-mails.

I was thinking about that I needed to get some nice and easy short runs in before I go to Minnesota on Saturday afternoon. Therefore, it was out the door at approximately 1 a.m.

I've really been adverse to running lately on the pavement. You know, the force equation: pounds impacting on the ground. But there's really no substitute when you're going to go do a marathon soon so out I went. (Plus the workout room here at the Courtyard is claustrophobic.)

It was 75 degrees on one bank clock that I saw. Weather.com right now says that it is 73 degrees with 63 percent humidity.

As I ran out of the parking lot, I thought about some recent words a friend wrote about their running:

"I've told you before that running feels triumphant for me, and it really does. I can set goals for myself, and do things I didn't even know I could do. When I run, I live in the moment and feel everything. I keep going even though it hurts. Sometimes, I get in the zone and all I feel is pure joy. And when I'm done, I feel proud that I did what I set out to do. I just bask in the glow of God's good sunshine."

I truly believe that every one of their runs is like that. All I could hear though was the foot falls on the ground, but I felt pretty good taking on the roll of County Line Road heading east.

Ridgeland, Mississippi must not have a lot of people who have disabilities - thank godness - because those organizations that look to see if the ADA is not being followed would have a field day here. I don't like running on sidewalks, but there weren't many TO run on. And there were a good bit of law enforcement on the roads.

I was certainly hoping not to be hassled about running out on the street. (I realized too that I wasn't carrying my driver's license. Cell phone? Yes.)

My run was stalled a little bit because I'd move from the road to the grass and back again.

On the return portion of the out-and-back, I slowed a little bit and I realize that I'll need to be very, very conservative on Sunday during the first eight (8) miles of the Med-City Marathon.

My time was 46 minutes, 11 seconds for 4.35 miles over this route. Wow! I just did the math -- 10:37/pace over the hilly course. Hmmm. I'll take it. I thought it was going to come up over 11 minutes per. Maybe some of this regular work that I'm doing is paying off.

As long as everything goes OK for me on Sunday, I'll tie Ben Harvie on the Seven Hills Running Club Marathon Honor Roll with 21 marathons or longer. [But Ben has probably gained about 48 more hours of his life during those events than me!]

Later today I get to come home and tomorrow is an incredible day ... Waverly turns 13!

More on Med-City Marathon

Since I had to fax in my registration earlier this morning, I called this afternoon to confirm that they actually received it. Especially since it contained my credit card information!

Rental car and hotel (Marriott Courtyard, of course) have been reserved, and all systems are go. (Not sure if I'll run Run The Woodlands 5K on Saturday morning or not. Common sense would be "not to", but that never stopped me before.)

Of 310 marathon finishers with a half marathon split, only 18 (5.8%) had a negative split.

This was a comment about the course on marathonguide.com:

The 2007 (12th annual) edition of the Med-City Marathon featured a new and more interesting course. Although this new course is more physically challenging (first 8 miles has several hills), it is easier to "stay in the game," with its elevation changes and the elimination of the previous course's second-half section. There are plenty of aid stations and the volunteers are as good as any you will find.

If you looked at the amount of time that a person fell off in the back half of the race, the distribution went pretty much like a bell-shaped curve.

+ 55 runners had their time slip five (5) percent or less
+ 64 runners saw their time drop between 5 and 10 percent (2:29:43; 2:44:35 - 5:14:42)
+ 80 runners fell between 10 to 15 percent (2:22:55; 2:49:12 - 5:12:19)
+ 50 runners fell between 15 to 20 percent (2:16:35; 2:48:58 - 5:06:31)
+ 16 runners fell between 20 to 25 percent (2:22:45; 3:07:27 - 5:30:53)
+ 17 runners fell between 25 to 30 percent (2:19:43; 3:18:25 - 5:38:58)

I was just kind of surprised since the first eight miles are a bit more difficult than the last 18.

Never Stop Learning

You've heard the saying (paraphrased, of course) that just when you think that you're having a bad day, week, month, year or life ... look around that somebody a.) is having a rougher time than you or b.) has gone through rougher patches in their life.

In the last 36 hours, I've learned of two people that I know personally who fall into each of those categories. Both people are two of the most happy, positive and optimistic individuals you'd ever want to meet - and they're both my friends.

You'd never know what it is that they were or are dealing with because of their incredibly vibrant and positive nature.

If you missed it on Monday night, two years after being diagnosed with lymphoma, Boston Red Sox pitcher Jon Lester throw a no-hitter.

I think there's always room for all of us to possess a little bit more humility.

I know I sure need to.

The Woodlands Grey Fox

The Woodlands Running Club's Vincent Attanucci saw this grey fox during his Monday morning run on the side of Woodlands Parkway. (Thanks for sharing!)

Sunday's Med-City Marathon

I missed getting in on online registration, which closed last Friday, May 16. There wasn't a price bump. That occured on May 1 -- from $50 to $60 for the marathon!

So $60 for a marathon is something that one can't complain about!

I'm going up to Minneapolis on reward travel. Therefore, that's sweet. I'll just have to pay for a hotel Saturday night (but I think I saw that there was a Marriott property in Rochester) and a rental car to get to Rochester from Minneapolis.

I faxed in the registration form this morning, and am waiting on the confirmation that they've received it. (I have the fax confirmation, but I want to hear - via e-mail - from the RD to be sure as there is no race-day registration.)

I was hoping for cold weather, but weather.com - right now - is forecasting 81/59 and scattered thunderstorms. :(

Incredibly, this will allow for me to check off Minnesota for good as I ran a half there last year at about this time.

California-Bound in June

It's official now!

Waverly and I will be taking our summer vacation this year to San Francisco and Los Angeles; however, we hope to be at the starting - and finish - line for the Western States 100 that Rick Cook will be running in late June (28-29, to be exact).

This isn't the first time, obviously, that we've gone to spectate and support.

It is actually something that started at the Sugar Land 30K in December 2005 when Steve Bezner, Holden Choi and myself (thinking Dave Smart stayed around too for a little bit) waited to make sure Joe Breda and Jennifer Kim finished - aka "No Blogger Left Behind".

Since then (and I'm not bragging - just sharing how fortunate I've been), I've had the chance to see, do or be involved in the following:

+ Run with Waverly in January 2006 to her first half marathon at the Aramco Houston Half Marathon.
+ Present at the start of the 2006 Rocky Raccoon 100-Miler for Rick and Dalton.
+ (Saw the "No Blogger Left Behind" spirit at its peak when a whole crew of Bloggers ran Vic in as he finished the HMSA Classical 25k in 2006.)
+ Run the fourth loop at the 2007 Rocky Raccoon 100-Miler with Rick.
+ Run the first 9.-something miles with Bill during his last half marathon in Austin in '07.
+ (Missed Sarah's first half Ironman attempt in Galveston last March. Oops!)
+ Went to Lubbock last June to see Kim Hager compete in the Buffalo Springs Half Ironman.
+ Witness Andrew Perry's first triathlon the same day.
+ Ran the News and Sentinel Half Marathon with Cassie last August in Parkersburg, West Virginia
+ Participate in Texas' first overnight, long-distance relay - the Texas Independence Relay - with 13 of my friends
+ Witness Cassie's first triathlon.
+ Witness Katy's first triathlon.

I'm sure I'm missing lots of things in there, and if there's something that I've missed that I've done with or for somebody -- not listing it was unintentional.

Silverlake Sprint Triathlon Pictures

Cassie gives her TIR van mate, Katy, some post-race tips.

Yes, Katy, it's triathlon candid camera time by the team captain!

The three Battling Blogger Tri-Babes ... in the port-a-can line!
Quotable: "I can't believe that I just went in a port-a-can in bare feet." -- Katy Lampson

Silverlake Sprint Triathlon "Cheer" Report

Yes, it was a "cheer" report because the closest I'll get to the water is the Labor Day Adventure Race in The Woodlands.

If this blog was open to the public, some would ask, "Why would I drive all the way to Pearland to watch the Silverlake Sprint Triathlon?"

Well, because I had friends there competing -- and I had only one thing better to do this morning (and I probably should have been doing it - church.) But how could I let Edwin - drive all the way from Lufkin - cheer for our Texas Independence Relay teammates all by himself?

So Waverly and I joined him, but not before this electronic conversation this morning en route.

Jon: "Where are you? It's 5:24."
Edwin: "Bed"
Edwin: "Splendora"
Edwin: "Armpit of Texas"

After the first message, I thought to myself that I'm sure Donna really appreciated Edwin taking his iPhone to bed with him. Then when I got the second line, I really got worried. Because if the first two lines went together, I had a story!

Waverly and I got to Pearland at about 6:05 a.m. and made our way to the start area where we saw Katy running back to her vehicle (to get her bike bib number).

We saw the Striders' Frank Halter and Pam Paling from The Woodlands as well as Seven Hills Running Club's Mary Patterson before seeing Cassie and Manny Mondragon. (Frank asked me if I was competing and I just politely chuckled. Mary wanted to know if I'd swim for her. I told her basically, "Thanks, but no thanks.")

Here's the bottom line: With some swimming in the pool, I can finish a sprint triathlon. I mean I did a duathlon in the summer of 2004 to prove to myself that I could.

And yes, as she pointed out on her blog, Sarah, doing her best to maximize her time, came to the race site last (but after reading her blog post ... there was a good reason!)

Katy, Cassie, Manny, Edwin, Waverly, Sarah and myself hung out waiting for the various waves to start.

I saw and spoke with Strider/USAT official Andrea Chan before the start of the race as well as met Bill Shaw, running columnist for Runner Triathlete News and the Brazosport Facts. Bill, BARRA's newsletter editor as well, is a spry 69 years young. Additionally, I saw a friend of Bill Dwyer's through Team In Training, Miranda Mallet. (If I'm in town for the race that Miranda puts on, Bill and I are going to go run that 5K together this summer.)

I also had a chance to visit with Lance Phegley, his wife, Sherri and daughter, Lauren. (I know. You're thinking, "Who else does Jon know?") One of the best questions was from Lance to Edwin: "You drove all the way from Lufkin to watch?"

Edwin and I stood on the shore of the man-made lake as we watched Katy get started on the far left hand side of her "green wave". But after about two or three minutes, we saw a swimmer that looked like Katy veering far, far to the left. Thinking that maybe nobody would tell her, I ran over to the other shore, if you will, and after running over to it I could tell that it wasn't her.

Picking runners out of the water is pretty difficult, even when you know what the swimmer was wearing.

After awhile and many swimmers of the wave had gone by, there was Katy! She was hugging the buoy! Once I saw her go by the turnaround buoy, I ran back to the swim exit to see all three of them - Katy, Cassie and Sarah come out of the water.

Cassie, who had been fighting a wicked cough before - and during - the race, didn't catch Katy and Sarah didn't catch Cassie, but once they were out of the water and transition ... it was probably a good bet that Sarah would catch them both.

Katy had a good bit of an advantage on both Cassie and Sarah, but Sarah was not even a minute behind Cassie (and she started a wave behind her!)

So Manny, Edwin and I studied the map. I figured that I could run close to where I parked the truck (near the mile 1 part of the run) and go out there and cheer them -- and others. So I took off on a little bit of a run.

I saw all of them within the last mile of the bike, and the plan was to hold my position on the run course (close to mile 1) until all three of them had passed me.

I saw Sarah first, but I could see Katy running behind her. (Her stride is almost as recognizable as Kim Hager's - a little kick out of the right foot.) And sure enough Katy passed her!

Sarah wasn't surprised as she was expecting it, but nonetheless she was smiling - as she knew she was having a good run!

I started to run back towards the start, passed Cassie (and told her that she was a couple of minutes behind Sarah), and kept running. (I had a pretty good pace heading back and all of a sudden I see Lance's camera pointing at me! I told him that he couldn't use that for my column!)

I kept running to about two or three tenths of a mile from the finish line where Edwin, Waverly and I waited for our TIR teammates to come in.

Edwin was also there to cheer on friends from Lufkin (and potential TIR teammate), Jeremy Webb and his sister, Jennifer.

We had a great time this morning as Sarah edged both Cassie and Katy!

Sarah was third in the Athena division - and was not more than a minute out of first place! She also was quick to point out that as the two of them did more triathlons (Cassie-3, Katy-1) that they would probably end up beating her. Sarah was also happy that she took approximately a minute off of her time from the same event as last year.

Lots to be happy for and about!

Sunday Afternoon Stationary Bike

I probably got roughly two miles altogether this morning at the Silverlake Sprint Triathlon in Pearland while cheering on Katy Lampson, Cassie Mondragon and Sarah Graybeal.

However, I went to the gym this afternoon to crank out an hour on the stationary bike.

I need to remember to schedule a chiropractor appointment for Friday when I'm back into town (from Jackson, Mississippi).

Saturday Night Treadmill

Yes, the treadmill is my new best friend it seems. Lose one, gain one I guess.

I only got 50 minutes in this evening, but it was better than a zero! Kept it easy (4.3 mph), but took the incline up to 1.5. It wasn't too bad.

I left the house early this morning (about 6:30'ish) to hang out at Luke's Locker with Bill and Andrew Perry. I watched the Beat runners and I think some of Kim's triathletes take off for an approximately 7-mile run, if I was listening closely. It was a beautiful morning out to run.

I got a chance to also visit with a long-time friend of Bill's, William Banes, and met a gentleman by the name of Ed Thompson - somebody who could give me a run for my money with numbers. (Which is kind of scary!) Nonetheless, a nice, nice guy. [He was sharing with me a story his wife and a Thanksgiving Run Thru The Woods 5M from 2002 and mentioned Susan Rouse's name. So, of course, I had to go find out who his wife was. She was formerly Trudy Regnier. Wait, she still is! Both Susan and Trudy that year were fourth in their respective age groups.]

They had both recently participated - earlier this May - in the 2nd annual Heels and Hills Half Marathon in Irving. Trudy took third in her 50-54 age group with a time of 2:03:41.

The rest of the day was spent to and from Beaumont's Montagne Center on the campus of Lamar University for the first of the many Duke Talent ID State Recognition ceremonies.

The speaker was former Delaware state senator and former City of Beaumont Mayor Evelyn Lord, who shared with the audience that she was 81 and just celebrated her 60th wedding anniversary. A 2005 alumni update on the Boston University web site stated this about her:

Evelyn Marlin Lord (CAS’48) of Beaumont, Tex., recently completed her fourth
term as mayor of Beaumont. A former Delaware state senator, she received the
Regional Leadership Award from the Southeast Texas Regional Planning Commission and the President’s Volunteer Service Award from First Lady Laura Bush.

And here is the link to the Congressional Record where Ted Poe recognized Lord in the House of Representatives after finishing up her fourth term at the helm of Beaumont's government.

Friday Afternoon Treadmill

First things first. I found out who the semi-hard core female runner that I saw on Sunday and Tuesday at Bally's in The Woodlands.

Her name is Rachel Lee Vanderwal, 44, of The Woodlands, who said she races about once a year (typically one of the Chevron Houston Marathon events). Vanderwal was the 6th female in her age group (30th overall) at last Mother's Day's 5th annual Mother's Day Title 9K in Boulder, Colorado with a time of 43:12, a 7:44 pace. She said she's a junior high teacher and a mother of two whose time at the gym on the treadmill is her "quiet, getaway" time.

I was on the snide the last two days with a trip to Jackson, Mississippi - and a couple of stresses (not counting a new project) to deal with.

I didn't try to makeup a day on the "MOD" training schedule; however, I went an hour steady at 4.4 mph, got some water to drink, and then stepped back on the machine for another 50 minutes at 4.5 mph. I should have pushed to a nice even 2 hours, but 1:50 looks awfully nice for a Friday afternoon.

Now, I get to shower (oops, it is almost 6 p.m.) quickly to go see Waverly sing two solos - "Good Morning Baltimore" from the musical "Hairspray" and Taylor Swift's "Tim McGraw" - at Twin Creeks Middle School's Pop Show.

I'm sure Dad will shed a few tears tonight!

8 Random Things About Me

My TIR teammates have lured me in as I normally don't do these types of things.

1. I consider myself to be a pretty boring person. Therefore, it surprises me - and sometimes overwhelms me - that God has blessed me with the hundreds of friends and acquaintances over the years.

2. While all the traveling that I do for work and to run appears very, very sexy (and has opened up opportunities for Waverly to see the country), it sometimes is a very lonely proposition - especially when I'm not one that a.) considers myself to be the life of any party and b.) sees there's no problem in dropping $20 for a few drinks. [When I see people spending $20 on drinks, I think to myself: "I can run a 5K for that."]

3. I'm a very passionate person and it will bother the heck out of me when I see a friend that is capable of doing something and doesn't - regardless of whether or I not know the reason for not achieving it. (Translated: I'll go to the ends of the earth to help you or see you succeed.)

4. In case you haven't figured it out yet, I wear my emotions on my sleeve.

4a. I'm very competitive on things that you would probably never ever know about or understand.

5. I was the first sportswriter in the nation to make former University of Houston quarterback Andre Ware - and current Houston Texans radio color commentator - a Heisman Trophy candidate in print. (I have a Heisman Trophy program, signed by Andre himself, acknowledging this, which was a gift from then UH sports information director Ted Nance.)

6. I was responsible for the creation of the Texas private and parochial high school football state rankings you see to today as well as the basketball rankings put together by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches (TABC).

7. During the third quarter of the 1979 Pittsburgh-Penn State game at Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania (not State College), I wore an Arkansas "Hog Hat" on the sideline and got on national TV.

We had just moved to the suburban Pittsburgh area after living in Russellville, Arkansas for about six months. The "Hog Hat" was a going-away present from the folks at the hospital that my Dad worked at. He knew that former Arkansas head football coach Frank Broyles would probably be on the broadcast.

When we got to the Stadium, we confirmed this by checking with the TV truck before going into the Stadium. (How did I get on the sideline? My Dad and my grandfather, for years, shot pictures for a number of newspapers around Penn State.)

The funnier story from this is that my Mom and my grandmother were at the Mall shopping while the game was going on. They were in Sears. And all of the TVs had my picture on it and I think my Mom said something like, "Mom, there's Jon" or "That's my son! That's my son!". (My Mom calls my grandmother, "Mom", as she lost her mother during the tenth grade in high school.)

8. I believe that more can be conveyed - and sometimes tense situations dissolved - through a simple touch than any other form of communication.

The Rules:
A. Each player starts with 8 random facts/habits about themselves.
B. People who are tagged, write a blog post about their own 8 random things, and post these rules.
C. At the end of your post you need to tag 8 people and include their names. (Those that shared already, thank you for doing so - and those that choose to in the future, thanks in advance.)

Waverly's Spring ISD Point of Pride Award

Waverly is pictured here with her Spring ISD Point of Pride Award that was given to her at the School Board meeting. They handled the student recognitions -- and there were lots! -- in a very classy way. (This, of course, was for her scoring high enough on the ACT in December to be recognized by the Duke Talent ID program.)

She walked across the stage and shook the hand of Dr. Ralph Draper, the Superintendent, and then four of the School Board members. (And not the one member who has been in the news with the North Forest ISD.)

She'll be recognized for this again Thursday night at Twin Creeks Middle School's Award Ceremony and then Saturday at the Montagne Center in Beaumont on Lamar University's campus by the Duke University program itself.

Sunday / Tuesday Treadmill

Sunday, of course, was Mother's Day and to all of you who are Moms -- a belated Happy Mother's Day wish to each and every one of you.

I was fortunate enough to be able to spend a good bit of the day with my Mom. Waverly and I were in church with her for the 8:45 a.m. service, then we went to my parents' house until about 1 p.m. where we had lunch.

Mom's meat loaf and mashed potatoes sent me into a Sunday afternoon lull that put me on the bed for about a two-hour nap. However, I ended up getting my lazy butt moving and made it to the gym in time to log an hour on the treadmill.

30 minutes easy (at 4.3 mph), and then bumped it .2 mph every ten (10) minutes.

Then I joined my sister, brother-in-law and two nieces with my Mom and Dad for dinner at Pappasito's on the North Freeway I-45 location.

Last night, I cut the back yard -- and didn't make it to the gym at all. (I imagine that my back yard is probably a postage stamp compared to the Lampson Ranch.) :)

This afternoon, I squeezed in 44 minutes. Yes, 44. I have to be exact. I know I could have said 45 minutes -- and you wouldn't have known the difference. (I don't have one of those fancy GPS printouts to prove it.)

When I got to Bally's, there were two women on the treadmills to the left of me.

One woman was there Sunday afternoon and she was really hammering it. Then and today! I didn't recognize her, but eventually I'll find out who she is.

The woman to my immediate left, I have to say that I've seen her before. However, I didn't want to interrupt her in the middle of her run -- plus she had headphones on. Her legs looked familiar ... but I might get myself into trouble with that statement. :)

Seriously, as she was ending up her run, she had it cranked up to 7.0 mph but she didn't look like she was going that fast.

I mean I'm slow enough that I get "chicked" by 50-75% of any field that I'm running in, but I was a little challenged that "I don't think I'm doing enough".

So the first 10 minutes were the warm-up of 4.3 mph.

The next five -- when I spotted the 7.0 mph reading -- was 4.5 mph.

For the next 27 minutes, 9 sets of three minutes each, I increased the mph .2 to start the first 3-minute spell at 4.7 mph and then .1 mph each one after that. The last one I did was at 5.5 mph.

I figured that these were longer than a 400, progressively faster, without a rest.

But I wanted to try and get to 7.0 mph. Hmmmm.

Minute 43 was at 5.7 mph. I was OK. It was tough, but I handled it.

Minute 44 was at 6.3 mph. If I had done another couple of minutes here, I probably could have gone longer than 44.

I hit the setting to 7.0 mph, realized that I might have been in over my head, and tried to run for a few seconds while grabbing the top part of the treadmill. I soon realized that this was really awkward and unnatural so I backed off of things completely.

So put me down for 44 minutes on Tuesday!

New Asics Fortitude (bought 5/6): 4 miles, 2:44 on the treadmill

Conroe Family YMCA Trail Run 5K Race Story

This link contains what I wrote about Saturday's Conroe Family YMCA Trail Run 5K in today's Conroe Courier. Oops! It is now the Courier of Montgomery County.