The Best of 2008: Happy New Year!
This will appear in The Woodlands Running Club's January 2009 edition of "Deer Tracks" --
Most of you who know me know that I do some crazy things, but you know what? I support our sports and I'm having fun doing it. (And that's the goal isn't it?) 2008 has been a busy year and I just never realized how busy it was until I did a little tabulating. Here's what I uncovered:
51 - Races run, which includes a marathon DNF, 6 marathon finishes, 11 half marathons, a 50-miler, an adventure race and a 203-mile road relay.
42 - Minutes in which my Texas Independence Relay team beat Bill's team
28 - Days representing the longest stretch that I didn't run a race in (from April 26 to May 24 and July 26 to August 23).
26 - Texas towns that I started or finished a race in (Kingwood, Houston, The Woodlands, Austin, Huntsville, Texarkana, College Station, Fort Worth, Aledo, Pilot Point, Dallas, Temple, Centerville, Lampasas, Milano, San Marcos, Odessa, Alpine, Marathon, Lufkin, Pearland, San Antonio, Conroe, Willis, Livingston, Corpus Christi). This doesn't include running through Nassau Bay (during the Resurrection Run 5K) and Gonzales, Flatonia and Wallis as part of the Texas Independence Relay
23 - 5K's, including six Run The Woodlands 5Ks
20 - Additional races or triathlons that I covered as a member of the media, performed public address announcing duties or cheered on friends (and total strangers).
6 - States run in other than Texas (KS, MO, OK, MN, SD, LA)
5 - Marathons or half marathons that I ran a 5K race the day before
4 - 5K's in less than 48 hours (April 17-19 in Fort Worth, Aledo, Pilot Point and Dallas)
3 - Races that I paced friends in (two 5Ks and a 10K)
2 - Races in the same day (December 13 in Willis and Livingston)
2 - Organized bike rides
2 - Triathlons attended to watch friends compete in their first triathlons
My five best races - from a performance standpoint - were as follows:
1. Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon, April 26 - 5:08:30 (Best marathon of the six finishes.)
2. Austin Runners Club Decker Half Marathon, December 7 - 2:19:29 (Hilly course that came two weeks after running the same time on a completely flat course in New Orleans.)
3. 3M Half Marathon, Austin, January 27 - 2:15:31 (Two and three minutes, respectively, off the times of the last two years, but two weeks after a mediocre Houston Marathon performance.)
4. Rocky Raccoon 50 Miler, Huntsville, February 2 - 13:46:21 (The time isn't necessarily pretty, but not too many people cover 50 miles in one swath of time.)
5. Super Cooper Heart Run 5K, Lafayette, LA, November 22 - 29:02 (It's been too long since I had been in the low 29s.)
My ten (Ok, 11) most memorable moments included:
1. Waverly running the last three miles of the Chevron Houston Marathon with me (after she worked Andy Stewart's Finish Line Sports mile 23 water station).
2. Putting on the Montgomery County Triple 5K at Barbara Bush Elementary on Saturday, November 29 and having the event's runners contribute up to $250 towards the Hagemeister Research Fund.
3. Passing Bill during leg 23 of the Texas Independence Relay to put our Battling Bloggers of The Texas Republic team in the lead for good.
4. Finishing the Rocky Raccoon 50 Miler. (Bill's comment after the race, "You just ran from like Huntsville to Spring.")
5. Doing the "We Are ... Penn State" cheer as I crossed the finish line of the Ramp Romp 5K at Kyle Field on Saturday, February 23 only to be met with a collective groan from the Aggies' Men's Lacrosse team.
6. Finishing The Woodlands Adventure Race in Bigfoot costumes (winning Best Costume, of course) with Bill Dwyer on Labor Day.
7. Doing public address announcing with Sunny 99's Dana Tyson at the Light The Night Walk in The Woodlands (as well as P.A. duties for the Davy Crockett Bear Chase in Groveton, the Huntsville Half Marathon and Run Thru The Woods on Thanksgiving.)
8. Manning the near mile 8 water stop of Ten For Texas with fellow club members Bill Dwyer, Holden Choi, Karen and Emma Felicidario, Debbie Tripp, Waverly Walk and her friend, Natalia.
9. Being in attendance for the first triathlons of two of my Texas Independence Relay teammates, club member Katy Lampson of Huntsville and Cassie Mondragon of Houston.
10. Pushing John Laskowski at the end of the Armadillo Dash Half Marathon in College Station on Sunday, February 24.
11. Watching as many as possible of our club members - including John - finish their Ironmans in Arizona (in April and November) and Florida over the Internet.
My challenge to each of you who run a race in 2009: Please contribute at least one race report for Deer Tracks!
Most of you who know me know that I do some crazy things, but you know what? I support our sports and I'm having fun doing it. (And that's the goal isn't it?) 2008 has been a busy year and I just never realized how busy it was until I did a little tabulating. Here's what I uncovered:
51 - Races run, which includes a marathon DNF, 6 marathon finishes, 11 half marathons, a 50-miler, an adventure race and a 203-mile road relay.
42 - Minutes in which my Texas Independence Relay team beat Bill's team
28 - Days representing the longest stretch that I didn't run a race in (from April 26 to May 24 and July 26 to August 23).
26 - Texas towns that I started or finished a race in (Kingwood, Houston, The Woodlands, Austin, Huntsville, Texarkana, College Station, Fort Worth, Aledo, Pilot Point, Dallas, Temple, Centerville, Lampasas, Milano, San Marcos, Odessa, Alpine, Marathon, Lufkin, Pearland, San Antonio, Conroe, Willis, Livingston, Corpus Christi). This doesn't include running through Nassau Bay (during the Resurrection Run 5K) and Gonzales, Flatonia and Wallis as part of the Texas Independence Relay
23 - 5K's, including six Run The Woodlands 5Ks
20 - Additional races or triathlons that I covered as a member of the media, performed public address announcing duties or cheered on friends (and total strangers).
6 - States run in other than Texas (KS, MO, OK, MN, SD, LA)
5 - Marathons or half marathons that I ran a 5K race the day before
4 - 5K's in less than 48 hours (April 17-19 in Fort Worth, Aledo, Pilot Point and Dallas)
3 - Races that I paced friends in (two 5Ks and a 10K)
2 - Races in the same day (December 13 in Willis and Livingston)
2 - Organized bike rides
2 - Triathlons attended to watch friends compete in their first triathlons
My five best races - from a performance standpoint - were as follows:
1. Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon, April 26 - 5:08:30 (Best marathon of the six finishes.)
2. Austin Runners Club Decker Half Marathon, December 7 - 2:19:29 (Hilly course that came two weeks after running the same time on a completely flat course in New Orleans.)
3. 3M Half Marathon, Austin, January 27 - 2:15:31 (Two and three minutes, respectively, off the times of the last two years, but two weeks after a mediocre Houston Marathon performance.)
4. Rocky Raccoon 50 Miler, Huntsville, February 2 - 13:46:21 (The time isn't necessarily pretty, but not too many people cover 50 miles in one swath of time.)
5. Super Cooper Heart Run 5K, Lafayette, LA, November 22 - 29:02 (It's been too long since I had been in the low 29s.)
My ten (Ok, 11) most memorable moments included:
1. Waverly running the last three miles of the Chevron Houston Marathon with me (after she worked Andy Stewart's Finish Line Sports mile 23 water station).
2. Putting on the Montgomery County Triple 5K at Barbara Bush Elementary on Saturday, November 29 and having the event's runners contribute up to $250 towards the Hagemeister Research Fund.
3. Passing Bill during leg 23 of the Texas Independence Relay to put our Battling Bloggers of The Texas Republic team in the lead for good.
4. Finishing the Rocky Raccoon 50 Miler. (Bill's comment after the race, "You just ran from like Huntsville to Spring.")
5. Doing the "We Are ... Penn State" cheer as I crossed the finish line of the Ramp Romp 5K at Kyle Field on Saturday, February 23 only to be met with a collective groan from the Aggies' Men's Lacrosse team.
6. Finishing The Woodlands Adventure Race in Bigfoot costumes (winning Best Costume, of course) with Bill Dwyer on Labor Day.
7. Doing public address announcing with Sunny 99's Dana Tyson at the Light The Night Walk in The Woodlands (as well as P.A. duties for the Davy Crockett Bear Chase in Groveton, the Huntsville Half Marathon and Run Thru The Woods on Thanksgiving.)
8. Manning the near mile 8 water stop of Ten For Texas with fellow club members Bill Dwyer, Holden Choi, Karen and Emma Felicidario, Debbie Tripp, Waverly Walk and her friend, Natalia.
9. Being in attendance for the first triathlons of two of my Texas Independence Relay teammates, club member Katy Lampson of Huntsville and Cassie Mondragon of Houston.
10. Pushing John Laskowski at the end of the Armadillo Dash Half Marathon in College Station on Sunday, February 24.
11. Watching as many as possible of our club members - including John - finish their Ironmans in Arizona (in April and November) and Florida over the Internet.
My challenge to each of you who run a race in 2009: Please contribute at least one race report for Deer Tracks!
posted by WalkSports.com | 3:07 AM
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