Career Half Marathon Finishes To-Date

2:09:58 - 3/18/06 - Wheatfield Half Marathon, The Dalles, OR - 24
2:12:06 - 1/29/06 - 12th annual 3M Half Marathon, Austin, TX - 23
2:12:26 - 1/28/07 - 13th annual 3M Half Marathon, Austin, TX - 31
2:15:31 - 1/27/08 - 14th annual 3M Half Marathon, Austin, TX - 45
2:16:38 - 4/30/05 - 37th Drake Relay On-The-ROADS Half Marathon, Des Moines, IA - 14
2:16:58 - 4/3/05 - Big D Texas Half Marathon, Dallas, TX - 13
2:18:12 - 5/19/07 - Fargo Half Marathon, Fargo, ND - 34
2:18:38 - 2/17/08 - Run The Line Half Marathon, Texarkana, TX - 46
2:18:51 - 5/1/05 - 28th annual Lincoln National Guard Half Marathon, Lincoln, NE - 15
2:18:53* - 3/5/05 - 3rd annual Baylor Student Foundation Bearathon (12.85 miles = 2:16:14.4), Waco, TX - 12
2:19:04 - 6/11/06 - North Olympic Discovery Half Marathon, Port Angeles, WA - 26
2:19:17 - 7/15/07 - Presque Isle Half Marathon, Erie, PA - 38
2:19:18 - 11/23/08 - 27th annual Ole Man River Half Marathon, New Orleans, LA - 53
2:20:10 - 4/5/08 - Eisenhower Half Marathon, Abilene, KS - 48
2:20:13 - 9/7/08 - 11th annual Sioux Falls Half Marathon, Sioux Falls, SD - 52
2:20:38 - 10/15/05 - 27th annual Huntsville Half Marathon, Huntsville, TX - 20
2:21:09 - 11/20/05 - 6th annual Motive Bison Stampede, Austin, TX - 21
2:21:29 - 9/26/04 - Buckeye Half Marathon, Akron, OH - 8
2:21:41 - 10/2/04 - Texas MedClinic Helotes Half Marathon, Helotes, TX - 9
2:22:44 - 3/25/07 - Mercer Island Rotary Run Day Half Marathon, Mercer Island, WA - 32
2:23:18 - 4/29/07 - Oklahoma City Memorial Half Marathon, Oklahoma City, OK - 33
2:23:25 - 10/9/04 - 26th annual Huntsville Half Marathon, Huntsville, TX - 10
2:24:05 - 8/18/07 - News and Sentinel Half Marathon, Parkersburg, WV - 40
2:25:05 - 2/24/08 - Armadillo Dash Half Marathon, College Station, TX - 47
2:25:30 - 4/9/06 - Prince George Roadrunners Hart Half, Prince George, BC - 25
2:25:45 - 6/17/06 - Carrabba's Classic Half Marathon (Wet), San Antonio, TX - 27
2:26:47 - 5/20/07 - Apple Blossom Half Marathon, Hastings, MN - 35
2:27:00 - 4/6/08 - Go St. Louis! Half Marathon, St. Louis, MO - 49
2:29:02 - 6/25/06 - Scotiabank Vancouver Half Marathon, Vancouver, BC - 28
2:29:17 - 10/13/07 - 29th annual Huntsville Half Marathon, Huntsville, TX - 43
2:29:25 - 10/21/06 - 28th annual Huntsville Half Marathon, Huntsville, TX - 30
2:29:34 - 8/1/04 - 28th annual Chicago Distance Classic (Warm), Chicago, IL - 7
2:29:41 - 4/3/04 - Capital City Half Marathon, Columbus, OH - 4
2:29:42 - 3/7/04 - Little Rock Half Marathon, Little Rock, AR - 3
2:30:39 - 11/17/07 - Tyler Half Marathon (Hilly), Tyler, TX - 44
2:31:13 - 6/19/04 - Carrabba's Classic Half Marathon (Hot), San Antonio, TX - 6
2:31:13 - 12/12/04 - Swamp Stomp Half Marathon (Pacing Duties), Lake Charles, LA - 11
2:31:28 - 10/1/05 - Texas MedClinic Helotes Half Marathon, Helotes, TX - 19
2:32:29 - 8/19/06 - News and Sentinel Half Marathon (Hot and Hilly), Parkersburg, WV - 29
2:32:34 - 1/18/04 - Halliburton International Half Marathon, Houston, TX - 2
2:32:42 - 5/8/04 - Indianapolis Life 500 Festival Mini Marathon (Warm), Indianapolis, IN - 5
2:37:42 - 8/5/07 - Prude Ranch Races Half Marathon (Elevation), Fort Davis, TX - 39
2:38:37 - 10/7/07 - 31st annual Pamby Motors Half Marathon (Hot), Ridgefield, CT - 42
2:38:39 - 10/6/07 - Grete's Great Gallop (Hot and Hilly), New York City, NY - 41
2:41:53 - 8/20/05 - News and Sentinel Half Marathon (Hot and Hilly), Parkersburg, WV - 18
2:43:07 - 8/24/08 - Hottest Half Marathon (Hot), Dallas, TX - 51
2:43:45 - 6/18/05 - Carrabba's Classic Half Marathon (Hot), San Antonio, TX - 16
2:45:29 - 7/4/07 - 28th annual Lander Half Marathon (Elevation), Lander, WY - 36
2:49:04 - 6/8/08 - Scott & White Community Wellness Half Marathon (Hot and Humid), Temple, TX - 50
2:50:52 - 11/1/03 - White Rock Half Marathon (Hot), Dallas, TX - 1
2:50:59 - 8/13/05 - 28th annual Big Brothers Big Sisters Half Marathon (Trail at Elevation), Flagstaff, AZ - 17
2:54:07 - 1/15/06 - Aramco Houston Half Marathon (Pacing Duties), Houston, TX - 22
5:41:10 - 7/7/07 - 2nd annual Leadville Trail Heavy Half Marathon (Unreal Elevelation, 15.4 miles), Leadville, CO - 37

Career Marathon Finishes To-Date

4:47:32 - 2/19/06 - 15th annual Freescale Austin Marathon, Austin, TX - 7
4:55:08 - 1/16/05 - hp Houston Marathon, Houston, TX - 2
5:03:02 - 3/5/06 - 4th annual Little Rock Marathon, Little Rock, AR - 8
5:08:30 - 4/26/08 - Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon, Oklahoma City, OK - 18
5:13:37 - 2/5/06 - 41st annual Mardi Gras Marathon, New Orleans, LA - 5
5:14:59 - 1/14/07 - Chevron Houston Marathon, Houston, TX - 12
5:16:18 - 3/4/07 - Alpharetta Marathon, Alpharetta, GA - 14
5:18:37 - 1/13/08 - Chevron Houston Marathon, Houston, TX - 17
5:22:19 - 1/1/08 - Texas Marathon, Kingwood, TX - 16
5:25:38 - 12/17/06 - Jacksonville Bank Marathon, Jacksonville, FL - 11
5:26:07 - 12/2/07 - Tucson Marathon, Oracle, AZ - 15
5:35:48 - 5/25/08 - Med-City Marathon, Rochester, MN - 19
5:39:06 - 10/31/04 - 29th annual Marine Corps Marathon, Washington, DC - 1
5:39:55 - 2/11/06 - 2nd annual Surfside Beach Marathon, Surfside, TX - 6
5:40:01 - 1/1/06 - Texas Marathon, Kingwood, TX - 4
5:41:06 - 11/7/05 - 36th annual ING New York City Marathon, New York City, NY - 3
5:43:12 - 2/18/07 - AT&T Austin Marathon (PD), Austin, TX - 13
5:44:56 - 4/22/06 - Fiesta de Albuquerque Marathon, Albuquerque, NM - 9
5:45:17 - 11/16/08 - Rock 'N' Roll San Antonio Marathon, San Antonio, TX - 21
6:07:30 - 10/18/08 - Marathon 2 Marathon, Alpine to Marathon, TX - 20
6:08:53 - 11/5/06 - City of Trees Marathon (Back), Boise, ID - 10

27th Annual Ole Man River Half Marathon Finish Picture

(Picture courtesy of Waverly Walk)

27th Annual Ole Man River Half Marathon Race Report

I almost decided to sleep in this morning, but I'm glad - especially through the first 8 miles - that I decided to run this half marathon, the 27th annual Ole Man River Half Marathon, presented by the New Orleans Track Club. You'll see why ...

"Chip" Difference - 21.71
Mile 1 -- 10:16.96
Mile 2 -- 10:13.37 (20:30.33)
Mile 3 -- 10:09.55 (30:39.88)
Mile 4 -- 10:25.95 (41:05.83)
Mile 5 -- 10:25.93 (51:31.76)
Mile 6 -- 10:24.88 (1:01:56.64)
Mile 7 -- 10:22.51 (1:12:19.15)
Mile 8 -- 10:35.06 (1:22:54.21)
Mile 9 -- 10:51.32 (1:33:45.53)
Mile 10 -- 10:37.04 (1:44:22.57)
Mile 11 -- 11:01.82 (1:55:24.39)
Mile 12 -- 11:50.65 (2:07:15.04)
Mile 13 -- 11:03.78 (2:18:18.82)
Last .1 -- 59.81 (2:19:18.63)

You read that right, 2:19:18.63! Third fastest of 9 half marathons this year and I ran this on nothing in my system - well a Mountain Dew and a candy bar at 8 p.m. - since last evening at about 6 p.m. (and dinner). We tried driving around the City Park area and there was nothing open to grab anything. [I'm sure I could have picked up something on Bourbon Street.] I probably could have waited to leave the hotel at 7 a.m., got some food at the continental breakfast here at the Spring Hill Suites but I didn't want to be rushing to get ready.

The temperature was just under 60 degrees at race start. The course in and around City Park (see map here) was pretty flat, and the NOTC does a great job with its races. The only knock was that the mile 5/10 water stop ran out of cups on the return trip. Great finish inside Tad Gormley Stadium on its track.

I ran really relaxed and strong through the first seven miles. Mile 8, which included a turnaround on the out-and-back portion of the course, started to see a little bit of a slide.

I thought I was going to get done in after mile 9, but I bounced back in mile 10 to drop the time.

However, miles 11 through 13 weren't fun as I could feel the fatigue and a little bit of pain in the right hip start to set in.

I tried to a plus/minus system on how many people I passed or got passed by and I think I was at +18 before entering the stadium and getting dusted by a cute woman - after I talked to her on the way out of the stadium after the race. As she passed me, like she was doing the 200, I muttered "showoff"! My line of talking with her (Erin) was to find out if she had her headphones turned up as she blew by me. (I was hoping that she didn't really hear me.)

Time to get a bite to eat, do something here in New Orleans before making the drive towards Jackson, Mississippi this afternoon.

A really good running weekend - better than last weekend!

The Super Cooper Heart Run 5K/1M Race Report

Deep in the heart of coon ass ... I mean ... cajun country: Lafayette, Louisiana!

Waverly and I participated this morning in the Super Cooper Heart Run. The race raises funds for the Cooper Life Fund, which is a nonprofit organization created with an objective to develop methods of raising money for charitable heart organizations. John and Ashley Fontenot founded the organization after their son Cooper was born in 2004 with a congenital heart defect. Cooper spent many weeks in the hospital and when he was only 9 days old, he endured several hours of open-heart surgery. He is alive and well today because of great medical care and because of intensive cardiovascular research.

Perfect weather for running this morning -- somewhere between 38 and 45 degrees at the start and finish. The race fees were fair -- $20 for the 5K and $10 for the 1-mile (which is what they will be for the January 31, 2009 Bill Crews Remission Run 5K at Carl Barton, Jr. Park in Conroe.)

Since Waverly is running the 1-mile with my niece, Haylee, on Thursday at Run Thru The Woods, we both felt it would be a great idea for her to get a mile in on the roads. For not having raced in awhile and just going out there and running, Waverly did great!

It's been almost three years since she trained for the half and it was then that she put down a 10:20-something or 10:30-something mile. We talked about her running in control so that she didn't walk at all (which she said that she didn't do.) Her plan was to see what her half mile split was and then try to beat it on the way back. And she did!

Half mile out -- 6:00.08
Half mile back -- 5:59.26
Mile -- 11:59.34

After the 1-mile was finished, there was less than a 15-minute wait until the start of the 5K.

The course was an out, do a loop in a subdivision, come out of the subdivision, take three left turns and a loop in another subdivision and back through the first one. The course map, from the local Cajun Road Runners Club, is here.

This was a really well-administered race. The course was pretty much completely flat with lots of straightaways, except for the loops in the subdivisions. And a course like that usually yields pretty good times.

How about 29:02.66? Actually, I'm not stunned, and I don't think the course was short.

I ran a really good race. The weather, of course, was to my liking, and the three marathons (including the one DNF) may have paid off a little bit.

Mile 1 -- 9:15.51
Mile 2 -- 9:23.85

I have to admit that I was a little surprised to hear the guy say 18:38 at the mile marker, but I was doing the math in my head and I'm thinking, "Hmmm ... that's 28 through the first three."

I also remembered what Bill has repeated Kim Hager saying before, "It's a race. Its supposed to hurt." That kept me from giving in during mile three even though I may have felt like it.

Mile 3 -- 9:32.37
Last .1 -- 50.93

I ran the tangent - right before the mile three marker - across the blocked off intersection while people hugged the outside right hand side of the street (with traffic). And I also thought that I was going to throw up as I came close to the finish. Guess that means I was running hard -- or had a bagel too close to the race!

Total -- 29:02.66

My chiropractor didn't want me running hard this weekend, but the adjustment I'm sure helped some. We'll see about tomorrow.

Thursday Heading In To The Weekend

I had a spot on the underside of my left foot where a mini-blister developed after San Antonio, but it wasn't as painful as the ones that I obtained after Odessa and Marathon.

So it kept me from doing anything until Thursday night when I got back in to town.

Last night, Waverly and I made our usual trek to Bally's.

I spent 45 minutes on the treadmill and another 15 minutes on the elliptical machine. She worked out on the stationary bike and said that she ran 20 minutes on the treadmill.

She's running with my niece, Haylee, on Thanksgiving Day at Run Thru The Woods for the 1-mile run. (And I will break my 5-year Turkey Day streak to do public address announcing.)

I think that we have plans to run the Jingle Bell Run on Sunday, December 14 together.

This weekend, we're going to do a little traveling, sight-seeing and a little running for me.

We driving to Lafayette tonight, staying there, and I'm going to run a 5K there in the morning. They have a 1-mile run that I'm going to see if she wants to do.

Then we'll press on into New Orleans. We may go to the Old U. S. Mint and the National World War II Museum and whatever else on Saturday and Sunday.

There's a half marathon at City Park on Sunday morning that is being put on by the New Orleans Track Club, and then we'll eventually make it in to Jackson, Mississippi to watch the Ironman finishers from Arizona.

Waverly will be with me two days in Jackson and then we'll start making the drive back to Houston after work Tuesday evening.

Should be fun, a little different, and a chance to get away a little bit!

Texian Road Warriors vs. Battling Bloggers of the Texas Republic

Texian Road Warriors

Gena Alvarez - 2:15:09 at Rock 'N' Roll San Antonio Half Marathon (PR!)
Greg Alvarez - 2:00:32 at Rock 'N' Roll San Antonio Half Marathon
Paula Stiles - 1:20:41 at Ten For Texas
Doug Stiles - 1:17:37 at Ten For Texas (I heard this guy's an Ironman ....)
Doug Spence - Last race (Chicago Marathon)
Bill Dwyer - DNF Rock 'N' Roll San Antonio Half Marathon
John Laskowski - 1:29:52 at Ten For Texas (.... and so is he.)
Scott Mayer - 2:06:14 at Rock 'N' Roll San Antonio Half Marathon
Delia Akers - 2:27:40 at Rock 'N' Roll San Antonio Half Marathon
Stewart Comrie - 1:55:54 at Rock 'N' Roll San Antonio Half Marathon; 1:25:05 at Ten For Texas
Michelle Comrie - 2:14:33 at Rock 'N' Roll San Antonio Half Marathon; 1:31:15 at Ten For Texas
Juliee Sparks - Last race (to the hospital soon to deliver her second child)

(Yes, you saw that right. The Comries did a "Jon Walk special" - two long races on back-to-back days. Well done.)

Battling Bloggers of the Texas Republic

Edwin Quarles - Did not race (last race: HMSA Classical 25K)
Joe Carey - Did not race (last seen cycling, volunteering at 10-Miler and Half Marathon, writing eBARCer ... just being an overall Renaissance man)
Cassie Mondragon - Did not race (last race: HMSA Classical 25K Relay)
Sarah Graybeal - Did not race (last seen getting engaged!)
Tommy Stunz - Did not race (last seen running four miles at Terry Hershey Park)
David Smart - Did not race (last seen working on his swimming)
Keith Kelleher - Did not race (last seen chasing a Ph.D.)
Katy Lampson - Did not race (last seen feeding deer and kids)
Holden Choi - Did not race (last race: Rocky Raccoon 25K)
Karen Felicidario - Did not race (last seen handing out water at Ten For Texas)
Adrienne Langelier - Did not race (last race: 3rd open female at HMSA Classical 25K)
Jon Walk - 5:45:17 at San Antonio Marathon

Norman Langwell, Jr. - Did not race (last race: Rocky Raccoon 50K)
Erin Foley - 1:08:32 at Ten For Texas
Christy Gonzales - 2:43:10 at Rock 'N' Roll San Antonio Half Marathon
Barbara Boone - Did not race (last seen blogging "...the fastest I've run in a month")
John Maloney - 1:07:41 at Ten For Texas
Manny Mondragon - Did not race (last race: HMSA Classical 25K Relay)
Becky Spaulding - 2:27:15 at Rock 'N' Roll San Antonio Half Marathon
Jeremy Webb - Did not race (last seen getting married!)
Ken Johnson - 5:48:07 at Rock 'N' Roll San Antonio Marathon
Jessica Alexander - 1:57:15 at Rock 'N' Roll San Antonio Half Marathon

San Antonio Marathon Expo Pictures of Me

Ken Johnson and me (Photo courtesy of Bill Dwyer)

Bill Dwyer and me (Photo courtesy of Kristin Collins)

Fast Battling Blogger at Ten For Texas

Erin Foley - 3rd overall female

Fast Battling Blogger at HMSA Classical 25K

Adrienne Langelier - 4th overall female (3rd open women)

Some San Antonio Marathon Expo Shots

Ron and Karen Berglund of Kingwood - and readers of this blog!

Bill talks with Steve and Paula Boone

Ken Johnson and Ray Boytim

Water Stop Pictures: Ten For Texas

Bill inspecting the 200 pre-prepared cups of water and Gatorade.

Lots of smiles and lots of laughter all morning.

The reason why we were doing it: to help promote the Montgomery County Endurance Athlete of the Year Awards.

A New Talent for Waverly?

Saturday morning, Bill and I, Karen Felicidario and her daughter, Emma, Waverly and her friend, Natalia and Holden Choi manned the ~mile 8 water stop during the Ten For Texas race.

Once Ten For Texas had to change their date and Bill and I both knew that their numbers were going to take a major hit, we decided to take a leadership role and reach out to the race that we would put on a water stop. (We had hoped that we would encourage more to do so although our team of eight did great! I think we're figuring at that water stop that about one person per 100-125 runners is appropriate.)

As I've said before, since we decided to reach out, I wanted the last water stop - for multiple reasons. At that point, the field is stretched out so from a pure water stop perspective you're not getting crushed by runners.

Additionally, that separation allows you to see how the race has pretty much developed -- and it is a great time to cheer people on.

I think everyone had a LOT of fun and I know that there were people that were coming in to the stop with smiles on their faces. I was up front cheering runners on and taking pictures. I was also telling them "water in the front and Gatorade in the back." Of course, some - including a certain Luke's Locker store manager - were wearing headphones and couldn't hear you even with a bullhorn. [I think running shoe store employees should be leaders as it comes to following the rules of a race. Just my opinion.]

For Waverly and her friend, Natalia, it also allowed for them to claim two hours and 45 minutes of volunteer credit.

Rock 'N' Roll San Antonio Marathon Race Report

Bill and I were up shortly after 4 a.m. as our plan was to leave for the shuttles at 5:15 a.m. I just couldn't see, however, why we couldn't leave for them at 6 a.m. With that decision made, I tried to sleep a little bit more but that really didn't happen.

We met Russell Meyer and Debbie Tripp in the lobby of the Red Roof Inn where we were staying. Russell agreed to take Bill, Debbie and I as close to the start area as we could get. Getting out of downtown proved to be a little bit of a challenge and at one point we were headed east on Interstate 35, which is where we saw a long line of traffic trying to get off to go to the AT&T Center to catch one of the shuttles. Luckily, we were on the feeder road and were able to make a U-turn over the overpass and head back to the west.

We quickly pulled out a map and where did we end up? In the parking lot of a washateria ... right at the starting line!

The three of them ventured out to survey the scene. (Elite was still going over with volunteers about how the corrals would work just under an hour from the scheduled start.) Meanwhile, I stayed in the car and tried to stay warm.

I got out at one point - when I saw a police vehicle pull up past the start line and got runners out - and saw Governor Perry being interviewed by one of the local San Antonio TV stations. (It is at these areas where I watch, listen and learn how different events and organizations handle different things. I thought the public address announcer was a bit hokey and damnit, it should be a Texan - not someone talking about soccer from over the pond. No offense to my British friends, but this is a Texas event!)

As things were getting closer to the 7:30 a.m. scheduled start, I made my way over to the other side of where the corrals were.

I talked to John Hill of Kingwood before the race. He was in great spirits hoping for a sub-2:40. (Which he got ... barely!) I saw Sean Wade and Luis Armenteros, and then a few minutes later, I was at the start line watching the elite runners come out - including Liza Hunter-Galvan of San Antonio and Brian Sell. Shortly after this, I turned to my left and up walked Chevron Houston Marathon race development director Steve Karpas.

We had a really good conversation. He then jumped into the corrals (and was standing by Doug Schroeder.) A few minutes later, I saw Texas Independence Relay co-race director Jay Hilscher.

Before I began to move back and get in my appropriate corral, I saw Governor Perry get down on one knee and visit with a couple of the wheelchair athletes - one with the C.A.F. and the other with the Warrior Rehab Project. He appeared to be very genuine; however, and oddly enough, he has a little "W" to him. (Alright, no chortling, Anna!)

As I moved back to my start area, I saw Joe Martinez from Montgomery. I stopped and visited for a little bit. During this time, you could tell that buses were dropping people off at the back of the corrals as people were streaming as quick as they could to get to their appropriate corral.

I saw Bill at about corral 15. I was continuing to chide him as to whether he was going to jump in or not. (He did. Check his blog later.)

I stood in corral 19 with Missy Graham-Baugh and her friend, whose name I do not know. Missy was doing her very first marathon and was a bit nervous. My advice to her was: to have fun!

In the corral, I had somebody ask me about how I got a blue bib number. My reply was "because I'm special." (A day earlier, I was claiming to be a "maverick" wearing my USA 10-Miler shirt at the Ten For Texas water stop.) Seriously, those that registered the first weekend or at last year's marathon got special blue bibs in the 40,000 and greater range. It meant a very, very short line at packet pickup!

Mile 1 -- 10:32.41
Mile 2 -- 10:39.97
Mile 3 -- 10:22.40
Mile 4 -- 10:53.80
Mile 5 -- 11:08.71
Mile 6 -- 10:47.96
Mile 7 -- 11:12.79
Mile 8 -- 11:04.15
Mile 9 -- 11:22.23
Mile 10 -- 11:28.50 (1:49:32)

I was really feeling pretty good about things and then my left leg started to bother me. As I started into mile 11, I realized that I could make a choice to finish for the day and do just the half. I really, really didn't want to do that because my time for that would have sucked - and it would have meant that I wimped out.

Mile 11 -- 12:35.95

So I soldiered on. It was about at this time that I began to see runners coming the other way. As I passed the mile 24 clock, I saw that it was 2:33 and change and I didn't see John Hill and Jay Hilscher, which was a good thing.

Mile 12 -- 11:49.99
Mile 13 -- 11:57.80 (Half way was 2:27:13)

During the next two miles, I saw a lot of runners from the greater Houston area and that kept my mind off of how much my leg was hurting. I saw Wilmer Bustillos and Fernando "Paco" Garza. What's insane is that Garza won Rocky Raccoon 50K eight days earlier and Bustillos was second in the 25K just a week before. Unreal.

Matt Berman with Fort Bend Fit and Matt Wright with the Houston Striders were the next two that I saw. Lee Harlicker with The Woodlands Running Club was starting to cramp and was walking. (He ended up with a 3:09.) I also saw Ian MacDougall of TWRC. (Actually at the one water stop, I leaned over to cheer him on.)

Somewhere in that stretch was HARRA president Anna Sumrall Helm. I didn't realize that she was running with Jen Brown. Anna was looking good, moving fast. Before I reached her, a pace team leader was telling a guy, "You're on a 3:08:50 pace. So I knew that she was close to her 3:10 goal." [So in that one spot were three people on the HARRA Board!]

I later saw Leno Rios and Doug Schroeder before the course split off.

Mile 14 -- 12:59.32

This mile was getting to be pretty painful so when I got to the mile marker, I said it was time to brisk walk it as fast as I could. I did the math at 15 minutes times the number of miles remaining to figure out where I would be close to.

Mile 15 -- 14:29.72
Mile 16 -- 14:58.96
Mile 17 -- 15:22.22
Mile 18 -- 14:53.10
Mile 19 -- 14:32.14
Mile 20 -- 14:41.48

I did fine for six more miles then there were times where I had to hold my lower left back/hip to relieve some of the pain.

Mile 21 -- 16:13.09
Mile 22 -- 16:02.88
Mile 23 -- 16:56.65

Missy Graham-Baugh caught me in here. I think she hesitated about circling back and I told her to finish her race. This was her first one and that should be her total focus: to get it done. She did!

Mile 24 -- 16:39.80 (Missy's friend got me here.)
Mile 25 -- 16:25.83
Mile 26 -- 12:41.21
Last .2 -- 2:38.67

Yes, when I got to the mile 25 marker, I figured the sooner I got to the finish the sooner it would be over. And yes, I ran up the hill -- if it is what you call running at that time. But I didn't walk it!

I saw John Isgren shooting at the finish line. (John shoots for Lance Phegley and raceshots.net) So I pulled up my shirt so he could get my number and tried to put together a good strong effort to give him a chance for a decent picture. Then I had a little fun ... I cheered all the way in, "We are .... Penn State!"

I talked to Jessica Alexander, Dana-Sue Crews (about Bill's 3:32 finish) and Jay Hilscher (a 2:38 and $500) on the phone while I waited for Bill to make his way over to the Red Roof Inn (or where I eventually met him at.)

Bill and I stopped at Schobel's in Columbus for dinner and then got tipped off by fellow TWRCer Althea Caldwell that there was an accident in Sealy. I called Waverly, she got online and we got a re-route (kind of like a jet) to go through some old TIR country - Eagle Lake, Wallis, Simonton, Fulshear and then we turned back north up to Brookshire (where some of the Tour de Donut route was).

Brief Rock N Roll San Antonio Report

I was at a comfortable 1:49:32 at mile 10, which is just under 11 minutes a mile. A little faster than where I wanted to be, but I was feeling good.

Then my left leg (upper front part of the calf), where the hamstring comes up and connects to your butt and left hip all started to take a beating. Mile 11 was my first plus 12-minute mile (12:35.95); however, as I cheered on a bunch of runners from Houston (as the course at that point was a true out-and-back), I was able to take my mind off of things.

I passed through the halfway point at 2:27:13, which I was OK with. Double it, add a 10-12% slide (14 to 17 minutes) and I was looking at between 5:08 to 5:11. I couldn't get quite comfortable.

I had 5:45:31. They credited me with 5:45:17. If I look at it from the Odessa to Marathon to San Antonio perspective, it is an improvement.

However, I really think that I was in better shape than this time.

I'll have to get in to see the chiropractor on Friday to get things realigned and do a re-set to see if I'm even going to try Kingwood on New Year's Day.

(It is likely that Memphis on Saturday, December 6 is now out. And no, no Sunmart!)

Here are some other marathon results (I should be in bed):

2:38:24 - Jay Hilscher, 34, Round Rock (TIR co-race director and winner of $500!)
3:11:08 - Anna Sumrall Helm, 42, Houston (Wow! Nice job for HARRA's President)
3:56:25 - Jim Braden, 73, The Woodlands (74.5% age grade)
4:37:44 - Steve Boone, 59, Humble
4:57:00 - Paula Boone, 42, Humble (nice job from Paula!)
5:18:52 - Karen Berglund, 57, Kingwood
5:22:49 - Ron Berglund, 61, Kingwood (Ron, she got you again!)
5:39:24 - Debbie Tripp, 52, The Woodlands (ugh, she got me!)
5:39:28 - Misty Graham-Baugh, 32, The Woodlands (she passed me between 22-23 on her debut marathon)
5:48:07 - Ken Johnson, 67, Huntsville (an improvement from Waco)

And some half marathon results:

1:08:18 - Sean Wade, 42, Houston (wins the masters)
1:09:56 - Luis Armenteros, 36, Houston (seventh overall)
1:55:54 - Stewart Comrie, 41, The Woodlands (ran Ten For Texas on Saturday)
1:57:15 - Jessica Alexander, 28, Austin
2:00:32 - Greg Alvarez, 40, The Woodlands
2:01:28 - Rick Ryals, 49, Spring
2:14:33 - Michelle Comrie, 39, The Woodlands (ditto as Stewart)
2:15:09 - Gena Alvarez, 41, The Woodlands (PR for one of Bill's team members)
2:43:10 - Christy Gonzales, 35, Spring
2:55:34 - Donna Ryals, 44, Spring

Will add more later! Well done to everyone!

Latest: Quick Update

Things have been busy here.

Finished the Rocky Raccoon 25K (ran 15.5) on Saturday and attended the HMSA Classical 25K (biked 18 or so) on Sunday.

I'm finishing up the material for the December edition of Footprints for Inside Texas Running. That's a little stressful getting the last few club reports edited and written.

I've been so busy that I didn't get a column written for The Courier on Tuesday. I just was so pressed for time that I didn't want to do a crappy job on it - even though Iron Star was Sunday and Ten For Texas is Saturday. When you're strapped for time, it compromises the quality.

We're trying to get the permissions necessary from Barbara Bush Elementary to hold the last race of the Montgomery County Triple at the school and do a Run The Woodlands 5K in reverse. (Bill and I have engaged a little help.)

Where have I been? Getting set up in Facebook land. I think this is how you ward off getting older. I've posted a lot of the pictures that I've taken at the last many events there.

Mr. Dwyer and I are getting prepared to run the last water stop at Ten For Texas this Saturday morning before we head off to San Antonio. If you can help out, please join us. So far it is Bill, myself, Waverly, her friend Natalia, Debbie Tripp, Karen Felicidario and her daughter Emma and Holden Choi.

Work has been busy. Writing policies and procedures and I've begun to manage the Medicaid unit for a manager that has gone out on leave for three (3) months. Am mired in approving time off! That is why I'm normally a consultant. :)

Oh, yeah, I'm actually running San Antonio on Sunday.

Waverly and I are going on the road next weekend and she is going to spend two days in Jackson with me before Thanksgiving. I may try to find an event or two to run in outside of some sight seeing.

We've sent information out on our Montgomery County Endurance Athlete of the Year Awards and have received a couple of nominations so far. Roberta MacInnis and Lance Phegley will help vote on it and I have about five to six more media invitations to make. Brant Kotch will be our guest speaker on Saturday, January 10. We're excited about this.

I think that's it for the moment. Back to writing the steps to bill managed care accounts.

HMSA Classical 25K Pictures

Two Mondragons and a Guy or E=MC2 (Cassie Mondragon, Evan Guy and Manny Mondragon)

Edwin Quarles coming in for the finish. He said he was only good for the first 10 miles today.

Adrienne Langelier taking home the third place overall female. Well done!
(And hit the Chevron Houston Marathon qualifying standard time; however, winner Lea Carruthers will get the invite.)

Bill Dwyer, Stephen Smith and Edwin Quarles all angle to see Adrienne's hardware.

Waverly at Rocky Raccoon 25K

The time flies by so quickly ...

By the way, she'll be singing the national anthem on New Year's Day at the 10th annual Texas Marathon in Kingwood.

Rocky Raccoon 25K Photos

Holden Choi is all smiles as he finishes Saturday's Rocky Raccoon 25K in Huntsville State Park.

Ann Leoni, Kristin Collins and Kellee Heffner of The Woodlands Running Club with their finisher's awards.

50 States Marathon Club's Paula Boone

The majority of Seven Hills Running Club participants: Karen and Andrew Husband, John Loftus, Ken Johnson, Jon Walk and Holden Choi.

“Toughest 10k In Houston” Announced To Benefit Ike Charities

Kemah, TX -- The Clear Lake Fitness Club (CLFC) and the Bay Area Running Club (BARC) have announced a benefit race that will be held on Sunday, November 23, 2008 at 8:00 a.m. The race will start on the Kemah Boardwalk and include two loops of the Kemah Bridge, making it the “Toughest 10k in Houston”. All proceeds will benefit the American Red Cross and the Houston Food Bank.

"We want to give back to the agencies who supported us in our time of need," says Clear Lake Fitness Club president Robby Sabban.

Several members from both running clubs sustained major damage to their homes.

“While short notice, the race will have all the usual trimmings including t-shirts, awards and computerized timing," said Jay Lee, co-owner of On The Run, who will handle race management duties. "We hope to make this race a fixture on our local calendar.”

A unique aspect of the race will be the use of the Kemah Bridge, a popular hill training destination in the area.

“Our club is about supporting races," says Bay Area Running Club vice president Veronica Hoge. "We are excited to share our secret weapon, the Kemah Bridge, with all of Houston.”

Registration for the “Toughest 10k in Houston” race is available at active.com at this link.

Because Help Is On The Way?

By : Cassiano Travareli
Submitted 2008-11-07 17:36:34

Who decided the winner of the 2008 U.S. presidential election? The foreclosed homes.

In the presidential elections of the year 2000 and the year 2004, seven of this year’s ten largest foreclosure states voted for the Republican candidate while only three of them voted Democratic. This year, which has been marked by an avalanche of foreclosures, eight of the largest foreclosure states gave their votes to Obama, the Democratic candidate.

The difference in number of electoral votes won by Republican candidate George Bush and Democratic candidate Al Gore in the year 2000 and Democratic candidate John Kerry in 2004 and the difference between votes won by Obama and McCain in 2008 present a significant reality.

In 2000, the ten largest foreclosure states delivered 97 electoral votes to Bush and gave 87 votes to Gore and in 2004, gave 87 votes to Kerry. In 2008, the same ten largest foreclosure states delivered 159 electoral votes to Obama and only 25 votes to McCain.

The ten states with the largest number of foreclosures in 2007 were California, Florida, Ohio, Michigan, Georgia, New Jersey, Indiana, Arizona, Colorado and Nevada, arranged by number of electoral votes. In 2008, the only changes are the inclusion of New Jersey and the removal of Texas from the top ten.

Texas is a curious observation. Its ranking in foreclosures in 2008 has moved down to 24th, from a high position of ninth in 2007. Texas, which supported Bush in the years 2000 and in 2004, also supported McCain in 2008.

Following are some of the significant results of electoral voting, based on figures from realclearpolitics.com:

* In 2000 and in 2004, Nevada gave its 5 votes to Bush. In 2008, it gave its votes to Obama.
* In 2000 and in 2004, Florida gave its 27 votes to Bush. In 2008, it gave its votes to Obama.
* In 2000 and in 2004, Indiana gave its 11 votes to Bush. In 2008, it gave its votes to Obama.
* In 2000 and in 2004, Ohio gave its 20 votes to Bush. In 2008, it gave its votes to Obama.
* In 2000 and in 2004, Colorado gave its 9 votes to Bush. In 2008, it gave its votes to Obama.

Source is here.

Seven Hills Running Club member killed Friday

Published: November 03, 2008 10:53 pm
Huntsville man dies after struck by car

By Matthew Jackson
Staff Reporter

A Huntsville man died Friday morning after being struck by a car while jogging on an Interstate 45 feeder road.

John Burick, 74, of Huntsville, was reportedly jogging against traffic on the north-bound feeder road of I-45 when he was struck head-on by a Ford F-150 pickup truck.

The accident occurred at around 10:55 a.m. on Friday, according to Huntsville Police Officer Calvin Blackshear, who filed the initial report on the accident.

Burick was transported by ambulance to Huntsville Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Shortly after the accident, Officer Scott Bennett, a member of the accident reconstruction team at HPD, was called to investigate the scene.

According to Bennett, the terrain in the area of the accident may have been a contributing factor.

“There are quite a few hills in that area,” he said. “It’s possible that the driver didn’t have very much time to see the jogger as he came over a hill. According to him, he tried to move to the other lane, but there was traffic there, and he couldn’t slow down in time.”

Burick’s body has been transported to the Dallas County Medical Examiner’s Office for an autopsy, the results of which are still pending.

Also pending are blood test results on the driver of the pickup truck, though Bennett noted that blood tests are routine for this kind of accident.

“We’re waiting on the blood tests, but we have no reason to suspect foul play,” he said. “It doesn’t appear that the driver was intoxicated on any substance. From what we can tell so far, it was just an unfortunate accident.”

(Note from Ken Johnson, November 3)
SHRC Members:

Arrangements for SHRC member, John Burick, are as follows:

Visitation at the Sam Houston Funeral Home, 1700 Normal Park, Huntsville, from 5 to 7 p.m., Tuesday, November 4. Rosary follows at 7 p.m.

Funeral at the St. Thomas Catholic Church, 1323 16th St., Huntsville, at 10 a.m., Wednesday, November 5.

(Note from Ken Johnson, November 2)
SHRC Members:

I just returned from 3 days in Dallas to find that Seven Hills Running Club member, John Burick, was struck and killed by a vehicle in Huntsville while running on Friday morning.

Pending obituary at: http://www.funeralplan.com/samhoustonmemorialfuneralhome/obits?id=147660.

John was a neighbor of mine for over 20 years and has belonged to the club for about that long. He was one of the nicest people you would ever want to meet. In fact, I ran with him at the Shiitake Mushroom Festival 5K a week ago.

I will notify everyone just as soon as arrangements are made. Please keep Rosalie and his family in your prayers.

Battling Bloggers Team E-Mail Today!

Subject: Second TIR Battling Bloggers Team Paid!

I hope this brief message finds everyone doing well.

I just wanted to let you know that I did pay for our second team on Friday, October 31. I also have received a couple of checks here recently and I will get them deposited this weekend.

We have one opening, and I've got an invite out and one query in the queue to join our teams.

A synopsis of what we've all been doing:

+ Niki covered more than 65 miles this weekend at one of the newest and gnarliest 100-milers, the Cactus Rose in Bandera. (Dirtrunner, aka Rick Cook, also did the same.)
+ Norman, Edwin, Jessica and Holden all did the Houston Half Marathon. Manny and Cassie teamed up in the Relay and Joe Carey volunteered.
+ Erin ran the United Space Alliance 10-Miler well and is close to breaking 20 minutes in the 5K again (at the Great Pumpkin Run). Please remember that Erin is the RD for the HARRA Just For Kids Fun Run and if you can help her in any way, whether it be before or during Race Day, I'm sure she would appreciate it.
+ Jeremy got married a couple of weeks ago.
+ Ken finished the Miracle Match Marathon two weekends ago.
+ I finished Marathon 2 Marathon the weekend before that.
+ Adrienne and Norman ran the Huntsville Half Marathon ... Adrienne defended her title. Karen and her daughter volunteered for the race.
+ Norman is the new president of the Seven Hills Running Club while Ken continues as vice president.
+ Joe, Cassie, Manny and I all got in for MS150.

Some of you we haven't heard from in awhile. Drop us a line, let us know what you've been up to and please continue to look forward to the second weekend in March. If for some reason that you cannot run the race, please let me know as soon as possible.

I think Holden and Ken are doing Rocky Raccoon this weekend. (Norman e-mailed to say that he was running the 50K at Rocky Raccoon. Wow! It will be his longest run ever.)
Adrienne is running the HMSA Classical 25K downtown on Sunday. I'll be at the latter and not sure if I'm going to run the former or not.

Perhaps we can set a time for a group get together the weekend of the Chevron Houston Marathon.

Thanks,

Jon

It Now Can Be Revealed!

When June first posted her note about getting her bib number for the ING New York City Marathon, I sent her one back about it and about joining our Texas Independence Relay teams.

The following was on October 16th:

82% of the runners with that bib number break five hours.
46.5% break four hours.

And don't go singing George Strait's "Oceanfront Property" while reading those figures either ... ;)

I just hope it stays cool for you. Both times that I've run in New York City, it has been warm (the '05 NYC marathon and a half marathon last October.)

June's reply was this:

OK, thats funny that you know (figured out) that percentage. [June, I'm good with numbers but I'm NOT that good! That was me being a smart ass.]

Of course I trained for a 4:30, but I know I wont get it there due to the terrain (thats more of a Houston goal). BUT, I am shooting for 4:59:59 ... but havent advertised that to anyone, except for you now.

That 4:59:59 would be a 34 minute PR :o)

I will let you know about TIR.

4:55:55 trumps 4:59:59! Congratulations!

Tour de Donut (28 Miles) Event Report

I joined Cassie and Manny for Tour de Donut, a 28-mile supported ride that started (and ended) from in front of Sun & Ski Sports at the Katy Mills Mall. The pink route below is where we went this morning:

I did find a group of people who procrastinate worse than runners: cyclists. Oh my goodness!

I was running late myself, but the packet pickup line at 7:40 a.m. (ride started at 8 a.m.) was at least 100 deep and the registration line was a good 30 deep. Or maybe running clubs and organizations have gotten smarter and said that "we're doing it this way, and tough if you don't like it."

Cassie and Manny let me use their air pump to make sure my tires were at the right pressure (120, I believe). Not sure how much you can talk about regarding a bike ride.

My new ride is a good one. I was able to peddle hard and rest quite a bit.

Cassie said that Manny and I kept the pace up and helped her to her fastest bike ride ever - 15.6 mph on her bike computer. (Manny had 15.7 mph.)

Before the first right hand turn on the map above, I realized that I had gotten ahead of them. So I stopped and waited for them - about six and a half minutes. When they came around the corner on to FM 359, they told me that Manny had a flat coming off the bridge that we took over Interstate 10 from the Katy Mills Mall.

There was a stop at about 10 miles and 20 miles. We stopped at both. Got fluids, a couple of cookies and a banana at one of them. They had donuts, but it was sponsored by Shipley's. And I just won't partake of Shipley's because they were raided for hiring illegal immigrants (and the President ended up admitting to it.)

About half way between the second stop and Katy, Manny had another flat.

It sounded like a gun went off. Luckily, there was a Sun & Ski Sports crew riding by within a minute of it happening and he had a tube to fit Manny's bike. Manny changed it, and we got back on the road towards the Mall.

So 28 miles. Much easier, obviously, than the 20 miles I did on the neighborhood cruiser last Sunday morning. I had a good time and I have an open invite to go and ride with them on a regular basis on their 34-mile route in the same vicinty.

Pearland Area Runners Club Monster Dash 5K Race Report

The options for races around town were fewer and far between than most other weekends. I even considered making a road trip to either New Braunfels (for the Wurst 5 Miler) or Henderson (for the Thundering Sneakers 10K); however, as the evening went on last night, those plans went out the window. Well, at least, the Henderson one did.

I had the alarm set for 3:30 a.m., but the snooze won and I settled on the Pearland Area Runners Club Monster Dash 5K at the Silverlake Athletic Club in Pearland.

The Pearland Area Runners Club is one of our HARRA-affiliated clubs and Cassie Dimmick has worked really hard to take advantage of the opportunity to put their club report in Footprints.

Their club did a very good job at putting on today's event.

The course was certified (TX08028ETM) and PR-friendly. It had one turn coming and going; otherwise, it was a straight shot with an incline before the 1-mile mark going out.

That being said, I ran the whole way and got back under 30 minutes for the first time all season! Yay! Cutting out soft drinks for two whole weeks (with a small glass of Dr. Pepper late last evening) and eating sensibly may just indeed have paid off. :)

The temperature was probably in the low 60s and to me it wasn't very humid at all.

If you pull up the results online, you'll see that the gun time is posted, which is 30:16.4.

However, I was 22.48 off the starting line for a net time of 29:53.96! I didn't get my watch stopped as I stepped on the timing mats at the finish. Therefore, I had to back into this.

Mile 1 -- 9:35.81
(Felt like I was close to overdoing it, but thought this was better than a 9:0x)

Mile 2 -- 9:27.17
(I really didn't "know" this split because I had hit my watch at the turnaround, but I could see that it was 19:25 gun time less 20 seconds and 19:05 sounded good to me.)

Mile 3 -- 9:55.12
(I didn't feel that I was struggling too much to keep from walking; however, there were a number of kids who would run, stop and walk, run, and so on. I thought to myself, "If you'll just keep it steady..." I realized that I was then talking to myself. I also saw 29:20 on my watch, and knew that I'd have to hustle to make it under 30 "chip time".)

Last .1 -- 55.86
(Nothing blazing like last week's finish, but a solid effort towards the line even though three of those kids found another speed and passed me. Oh well.)

My good friends from The Woodlands and the Striders, Frank Halter and Pam Paling, were there. (Pam's brother lives in Pearland about a mile away.)

I saw Frank first on his return trip (of the out-and-back course). He finished second in his age group behind PARC's Bill O'Neill in a time of 23:45.6. Pam was next. The women's leader (Ann Wacker) was way out in front, but I watched closely to be able to tell her that the runner immediately in front of her (steps ahead) was the second female!

She kicked it in and took second place overall by 26 seconds in 24:47.4.

Brace yourself. After that, there wasn't anybody else that ran the race that I knew!

I did get a chance to see Roger and Ann Wacker, two very good triathletes, in action for the first time ever. Roger was ahead on the way back when I passed him; however, he ended up losing to 45-year-old Steve Morell by 8 seconds. Roger is 49.

We stayed around for the door prizes, watched Frank and Pam pick up their etched glasses as age group awards, and then we drove all the way to The Woodlands to have breakfast at Egg & I. (The wait at the IHOP in Pearland was pretty brutal.)

No sooner had we gotten back out on Highway 288. I had a text from Edwin telling me that he had finished a 10-miler in 6th place overall and 4th in his age group. (Wish he would start blogging about his races again.) I asked him where it was at because I didn't see it in ANY calendar.

He said that it was hosted by St. Patrick's Church in Lufkin and that he had found out about it Monday. And I'm wondering why I didn't know about? LOL

The remainder of the afternoon? I've been tracking Montgomery County's seven men that are competing at Ironman Florida in Panama City Beach, Florida.

A good day!