3rd annual Wills Wildkat 5K Race Report
This race (the Willis Wildkat 5K) is put on by a really great guy, Willis High School cross country coach Dana Fossmo, and it supports the Willis High School cross country program.
I've made it out each of the three years now that it has been run. The first two years, the race started and finished at the Anchorage Marina in Willis. The race was originally scheduled to start there this year (now renamed the Palm Marina), but within the last month there was a change in location to the Stow-A-Way Marina. It seemed like we were closer to New Waverly than Willis.
I signed up on Monday, after I wrote about the race in my column in Tuesday's paper.
Waverly went with me and I took my road bike with me to ride a little bit before and after the race. I probably didn't help my chances much last night by running an hour on the treadmill, but I was behind in physical activity during week. However, I felt pretty good as I got started. Plus the 15 minutes of biking out around Lake Conroe before the race didn't seem to hurt me at all.
We started at the front of the C0rinthian Point subdivision and ran the entire race within its confines. Nice, tough course. Really, really nice weather. I wore a short sleeve shirt, but ran with my gloves on the entire time.
I'm trying to map the course because Fossmo said that it was like 3.05 miles. We crossed the main road and made a loop at one point; however, I can't see it on the Google Maps at all.
I ran a pretty good race - nailed every single tangent where I could and passed a few people doing so - with a time of 28:45.14. If it was .05 of a mile short, then my time would be in the 29:10-29:15 range which is still pretty decent for me right now.
Early in the race, I thought I was running a little bit of the course from last Sunday at the ARC Decker Half Marathon in Austin. Ugh!
Ken Johnson (33:57) and True Cousins (34:40) from the Seven Hills Running Club were there and the Mazones - Jacob (16:17), Joseph (16:28) and Ben (18:33) - represented The Woodlands Running Club.
On the way north, and before I got off at an exit to get something in my stomach, there was an Explorer-type vehicle that had a 140.6 sticker on it that I passed on I-45 North before I got to the College Park Road exit.
After I went by it, the vehicle tried to speed up to stay with me. I thought to myself that it was a little odd. I let the vehicle and its driver pass me, but I ended up passing it again on the left. I asked Waverly if she recognized who it was and she said that she didn't.
There was a little bit of jockeying, like a race, for awhile, but nothing dangerous. At one point, the vehicle tried to let me in, but I'm having problems with a turn signal light and I wasn't sure that they'd see me trying to signal (if it wasn't working). Therefore, I let them go on.
I recognized an attractive woman wearing a Lonestar Multisports singlet on, but I didn't know who they were at all. If they're attractive, that's an almost guarantee that I can't keep up with them ... :)
After the race, and after I got in a little bit more of a ride while the kids race was going on, she introduced herself as fellow TWRC member Dr. Kristi Chandler. It turned out that she was the driver coming up the freeway because she asked if I lived in The Woodlands - largely because of the TWRC window decal that I have on my truck!
We talked for a bit and it turns out that her sister, Kellie Anderson, (or maybe sister-in-law ... but there was a resemblance), who she ran the entire race with, is the daughter of the owners of the Marina that we were running at! However, Kristi said that she wouldn't have known about the race unless it was in "Deer Tracks". (Bill: Kristi ran 25:31.)
Of course, Coach Fossmo feted me twice - once at the start and once at the awards ceremony for being with The Courier. I had one of the best triathletes in Montgomery County walk up and introduce himself - 59-year-old Michael Dwyer. He only finished in 19:14!
He told me that next year, of course, he is "aging up" and will look to one of three Half Ironmans - St. Croix, Virgin Islands, Kona or Buffalo Springs - to try and qualify for a spot at Kona in October. It will be fun to see if he makes it! It's awful flattering for people to walk up and introduce themselves like that, especially when they are such talented athletes.
Waverly and I left right about 10 a.m. so we could drive back to Spring, shower, and make the trek to Livingston.
I've made it out each of the three years now that it has been run. The first two years, the race started and finished at the Anchorage Marina in Willis. The race was originally scheduled to start there this year (now renamed the Palm Marina), but within the last month there was a change in location to the Stow-A-Way Marina. It seemed like we were closer to New Waverly than Willis.
I signed up on Monday, after I wrote about the race in my column in Tuesday's paper.
Waverly went with me and I took my road bike with me to ride a little bit before and after the race. I probably didn't help my chances much last night by running an hour on the treadmill, but I was behind in physical activity during week. However, I felt pretty good as I got started. Plus the 15 minutes of biking out around Lake Conroe before the race didn't seem to hurt me at all.
We started at the front of the C0rinthian Point subdivision and ran the entire race within its confines. Nice, tough course. Really, really nice weather. I wore a short sleeve shirt, but ran with my gloves on the entire time.
I'm trying to map the course because Fossmo said that it was like 3.05 miles. We crossed the main road and made a loop at one point; however, I can't see it on the Google Maps at all.
I ran a pretty good race - nailed every single tangent where I could and passed a few people doing so - with a time of 28:45.14. If it was .05 of a mile short, then my time would be in the 29:10-29:15 range which is still pretty decent for me right now.
Early in the race, I thought I was running a little bit of the course from last Sunday at the ARC Decker Half Marathon in Austin. Ugh!
Ken Johnson (33:57) and True Cousins (34:40) from the Seven Hills Running Club were there and the Mazones - Jacob (16:17), Joseph (16:28) and Ben (18:33) - represented The Woodlands Running Club.
On the way north, and before I got off at an exit to get something in my stomach, there was an Explorer-type vehicle that had a 140.6 sticker on it that I passed on I-45 North before I got to the College Park Road exit.
After I went by it, the vehicle tried to speed up to stay with me. I thought to myself that it was a little odd. I let the vehicle and its driver pass me, but I ended up passing it again on the left. I asked Waverly if she recognized who it was and she said that she didn't.
There was a little bit of jockeying, like a race, for awhile, but nothing dangerous. At one point, the vehicle tried to let me in, but I'm having problems with a turn signal light and I wasn't sure that they'd see me trying to signal (if it wasn't working). Therefore, I let them go on.
I recognized an attractive woman wearing a Lonestar Multisports singlet on, but I didn't know who they were at all. If they're attractive, that's an almost guarantee that I can't keep up with them ... :)
After the race, and after I got in a little bit more of a ride while the kids race was going on, she introduced herself as fellow TWRC member Dr. Kristi Chandler. It turned out that she was the driver coming up the freeway because she asked if I lived in The Woodlands - largely because of the TWRC window decal that I have on my truck!
We talked for a bit and it turns out that her sister, Kellie Anderson, (or maybe sister-in-law ... but there was a resemblance), who she ran the entire race with, is the daughter of the owners of the Marina that we were running at! However, Kristi said that she wouldn't have known about the race unless it was in "Deer Tracks". (Bill: Kristi ran 25:31.)
Of course, Coach Fossmo feted me twice - once at the start and once at the awards ceremony for being with The Courier. I had one of the best triathletes in Montgomery County walk up and introduce himself - 59-year-old Michael Dwyer. He only finished in 19:14!
He told me that next year, of course, he is "aging up" and will look to one of three Half Ironmans - St. Croix, Virgin Islands, Kona or Buffalo Springs - to try and qualify for a spot at Kona in October. It will be fun to see if he makes it! It's awful flattering for people to walk up and introduce themselves like that, especially when they are such talented athletes.
Waverly and I left right about 10 a.m. so we could drive back to Spring, shower, and make the trek to Livingston.
posted by WalkSports.com | 5:05 PM
1 Comments:
Nice run Jon!
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