Bayou City Classic 2009

I ran Bayou City Classic Saturday morning. Andrea, Tori and Gwen walked it. Jakeb sat it out this year because he had spring break plans that had him out of town.

When I woke up Saturday morning I was cold. I had felt like I may be getting sick and I was a little tired. The combination of all of those factors made me want to dress warm. I put on a long sleeve cotton shirt with a tech shirt over it. I put on tights and shorts and brought my gloves along. I was warm by gosh and I was not going to be cold during the race.

We got there about 45 minutes early and sat in the car for a while. When we finally decided to get out the wind was brutal and I thought I had made a good decision by wearing all of the layers of clothes. People around me were just in shorts and shirts and were shivering at the start. But not me, I was warm and comfortable … until I started to run.

The crowd started moving and I took off at a good pace. I felt like I could run a good race, maybe not as fast as last year but it would be a good time. Then I started sweating. I had to take off the gloves. I hit the first mile in 7:45 and thought to myself, “Tommy you are stupid. You are wearing way too many clothes and you know better.”

So slowed down. I watched the people around me run. I ran for fun and a t-shirt. And I finished in 49:22.

Immediately after finishing I started shivering. So after getting a t-shirt, a Saint Arnold’s spring bock and a breakfast taco I went to the car and changed into warm dry clothes.

Tori came across the finish around 1:20ish and Andrea and Gwen finished a little later.

I am glad I ran. It is the first time in a long time I did not push myself to finish as fast as I possibly could. It was a cold hot cold day.

Texas Independence Relay 2009

Jakeb and I had a great time running the Texas Independence Relay. I feel the same as last year where there is so much I could write and yet I could never fit it all in. Here are some highlights though:

I ran with some good people. This race makes you so stinkin exhausted and delirious that you have to have some laid back people to make it through two sleep deprived days without killing each other. It was really good to hang out with old and new friends and to meet even more people I only knew from reading their blogs - like Jessica.

Everyone ran hard. You run not just for yourself but for a team of people who are counting on you to do your part.

Last year Cassie and Manny were on my team but I did not feel as if I knew them very well because the were in the other van. This year our team rotated vans and it was good to be able to hang out with everyone. Cassie you make a great captain.

Jon is an organizational genius. TIR for two teams of bloggers would not happen without him. He puts together personalities that gel and sets up who runs what legs by knowing every runner and the way they run so well. Jon you amaze me and I appreciate what you do.

It was good to talk to Wes on the way up to and back from the relay.

The highlight of the whole weekend was running with my son. Everyone was very complimentary of Jakeb and it made me proud that he is my kid. For Jakeb’s take on the weekend check out his blog.

I hate that we will miss this event next year since we will move to Singapore. I really appreciate Jon slotting me in the last leg and letting me run to the finish. It means more than it would otherwise.

Texas Independence Relay

Jakeb and I are running the Texas Independence Relay this weekend. We will run a lot, sleep very little, hang out with old and new friends and be exhausted at the end - but glad we did it.

100 miles for the children of Segera

My friend Jason is running the Rocky Raccoon 100 miler next weekend. I know that running a hundred miles has been on Jason’s radar for a while. We have run a couple of trail runs together and he totally digs them. Jason and I view life through a similar lens and trail running and trail runners fit both of our personalites. Jason is running 100 miles because he is made for it. But that is not all.

Jason is running a hundred miles next week for something much bigger than himself. He is running 100 miles for the children of Kenya and the Segera Mission. Jason’s wife has been on a mission trip to Kenya and this fall a group of kids came to our church to sing as part of the Daraja Children’s Choir of Africa. The Culverhouse’s opened their home for some of the girls from the choir to stay with them. This was the catalyst for Jason to want to run 100 miles for something bigger than himself. Every mile he runs will earn money to go towards the needs of children in Segera.

Bright Point is the organization that is facilitating sponsorship of children in Segera and this is from their web sight:

... In early January, Culverhouse and his wife returned from a church-sponsored Cambodian mission trip where they led a hair academy for members of the Leveasar village. “I just can’t describe the feeling we got from the people there,” he said. “There is something about meeting a real need. There is no greater feeling that going somewhere to make a difference in someone else’s life and having them give back more than you gave to them. Yes, we gave them a life skill and provided equipment for them to start a career, but they gave me a dose of reality – a clear view of respect, pride and love.”

He says it is the same feeling he gets when he sees the smiles on the faces of the Kenyan children his church helps support. “Just like the kids in Cambodia, when given the opportunity to be educated, these kids take it seriously,” he said, linking to two mission experiences together. “When Jennifer and I taught in Cambodia, you could hear a pin drop during class. The students wanted to work through breaks and lunch so they could learn as much as possible. They know that the only hope for them is a relationship with Christ and an education.”

So it is for the children of Segera. “If we continue to wait for someone else to do something, the loss of these beautiful children will continue,” he said. “I know the only hope for them is for someone to step into the gap and be the hands and feet of God.”

I am pacing Jason through 12 miles in the middle of the night. It seems like a drop in the 100 mile bucket but I know it will help him make progress in that journey. The same goes for the help that these kids get. Sometimes what I can do seems miniscule but it helps another human make significant progress in their journey through life.

If you would like to read more about Jason’s 100 miles – or possibly donate – or possibly sponsor a child in Africa long-term check out one of the links below:

Jason's story

Bright Point's web site - Click "Jason 100"

Picture from the Houston Half Marathon

Houston Half Marathon 2009

Jakeb and I ran together the whole way. We ran about half of the race with Wes, Jenny and Dan (Jenny’s dad). At the water station after the 5-mile mark I told Jakeb to get some Gu ready and we both ate some and kept running. After the 8-mile mark Jakeb said “Dad I have to stop!” He went over to the other side of the road and puked the Gu back up. We waited a while and when he felt better we took off. Even though puking took some out of him, he did a good job of running hard.

Jakeb and I ran almost all of our long runs together and we did not use Gu at all. I know better than to try something new on race day. Gu doesn’t bother me so I assumed it would not bother him. Oh well you live and learn.

Our whole family participated in some way this weekend. Anna ran the kids run Saturday morning and did a great job. Tori did the half and walked/ran and finished in 3:07. I think she is thinking about running one some day. Andrea walked/ran and finished with her sister Gwen in 3:18. Gwen’s husband (my brother-in-law) Mike ran the half in somewhere close to/under 2:20.

Mine and Jakeb’s splits by my watch are below (unofficial of course):

1 - 8:31
2 - 8:02
3 - 8:03
4 - 8:33
5 - 8:18
6 - 8:17
7 - 8:28
8 - 10:08
9 - 8:26
10 - 8:22
11 - 9:03
12 - 8:59
13 - 8:24
13.1 - 56
Total - 1:52:37

2008

Total miles 1350.

PR’s:
3:55:13 - Houston Marathon
45:45 - Bayou City Classic 10k

In 2009 the running is sure to be choppy working in Houston and with a move overseas. Jakeb and I are running the Houston Half-marathon in a couple of weeks. Jakeb also wants to run a trail run before we move. I plan to finish the year with a marathon in Singapore (again with Jakeb). We will see what happens. The year never turns out quite like I expect.

More alone than usual

I ran four miles this morning. Bundled up against the cold I flipped through the shuffle to find music that was fast and turned the volume up to LOUD. At about the mile mark I noticed that something seemed different. It was definitely colder but that was not it. Then I realized what it was.

Most mornings I probably pass 20 to 50 cars. People inside are sleepily making their way to work. This morning on my whole run I only saw five cars or so. I ran on Willow Drive and Yaupon – normally busy streets – today no cars. I crossed Oyster Creek Drive twice. Usually the intersections there have multiple cars at them, even at a little after 5 am. But not this morning.

Last week Dow Chemical announced that they were going to idle some production plants and shutdown others completely. They told both contractors and direct employees to go home until January 5th. Some have vacation and will get paid while they are off. Some have no vacation and are out of luck. Some will come back on January 5th to resume work. Some will go home and get a phone call later that they are no longer needed.

I know that Dow is a business in the business of making money. I know that times are hard. But it seems heartless to send people home during the holidays.

I was a Dow contractor until May of this year. I am glad I am not there anymore. I didn’t see it coming. I am not that smart. I left because of restlessness and a desire for the adventure of living overseas. I got the benefit of returning to the best company I have ever worked for.

Although I often run alone, I ran this morning more alone than usual. I ran hard and mad and sad.

Routine

This morning I planned to run a hard five miles listening to loud fast music while bundled up to lessen the bite of the cold. I was really looking forward to this morning’s run but I am disappointed to say it never happened.

Before I go to bed I have to make sure everything is ready for me to run in the morning. My schedule is tight and if I don’t get stuff together I will end up leaving late for work. My pre-bedtime routine includes making coffee. The first destination after my feet hit the floor in the morning is the coffee pot. It is not the restroom my body requires first, it is a sip of heaven. To get that sip first thing the coffee machine has to have water, freshly ground beans and a timer set to 3:52am. Never set the time for a number with a multiple of 5 – that is so overdone.

Second I go upstairs and find what shorts, shirts and socks I am going to run in and throw them in a pile in front of the closet. Not a neat pile, but a messy pile of tech material that is convenient to find grab and put on.

Next I find my iPod if I am going to run to music. Some mornings I intentionally leave it at home.

Last I set my alarm for 4:10am and go to sleep.

If I plan a run and don’t the reason is usually because of a lack of motivation, being too tired, or being too sore or injured. But I always at least get up and make an attempt to get out of the door.

This morning I didn’t run because I apparently forgot the last step of my pre-bedtime routine. My alarm didn’t go off. I woke up at 5:10am without the help of the alarm clock. It is quite possible that I needed the rest, but I am disappointed that I didn’t get to run.

Who says that being in a rut is a bad thing? Being in a rut keeps me out of the ditch.

Too tired not to run.

The last couple of nights have been late nights. Driving a little over an hour to and from work is starting to get to me. My brain is fried and my body is tired. I feel like I might be getting sick. All together it makes for a good excuse to blow off running.

The only reason I am posting this is so I can say in a public way that after work today I am going to park the car at Terry Hershey Park and run. It will be good for me and tonight I will sleep well.

Update: I ran four, about half of it on the bike trails at THP. It was fun and I am glad I did it.

TIR redo

Even though I changed jobs in May it wasn’t until the first Monday in October that I had to start driving to Houston. Running in the morning is not really feasible unless I am willing to get up at about 3:00am. Even for an early riser like me that is too early.

I leave for work at 5:10am and I am done at work at around 4:30 or 5:00pm. Long before I started driving here Andrea suggested that I should find a place close to work to run and maybe let the traffic clear out before I start my drive home.

As soon as work is over I change into my running clothes. My office is in Park Ten near I-10 and Highway 6. As I thought about where to run I had an epiphany of sorts that I should run where I ran last year for the Texas Independence Relay. Terry Hershey Park is just south of I-10 and a couple of miles from where I work. I ran the 6 plus mile leg of the relay in Terry Hershey Park and it was my favorite of all of my relay legs. Plus afterwards Jose stopped the van for Kolache Factory so it was a memorable morning all together.

A couple of weeks ago I stood and stretched on the same spot where I stood and waited for Edwin to finish his leg through George Bush Park. I ran two miles out and two miles back in a place that was both scenic and strangely familiar.

Running in Terry Hershey Park reminds me a bit of running around Town Lake in Austin (without the lake and the hill country scenery). I normally run alone so it has been motivating to run on a trail with so many people either walking or running or riding their bikes to stay fit. It is very different from running in Lake Jackson mostly alone.

Perspective

I used to think I ran in the dark. That was before, when I ran beneath streetlights and the houses lining the streets had porch lights with electrons coursing through their filaments.

I stepped off of the curb not knowing if my foot would land on concrete or fall into the abyss of a hole someone dug during the night without my knowledge on the corner of Sycamore and Center Way. I pushed the play button on my shuffle and the ominous tones of the song Elusive by Scott Matthews rang through my ears.

She’s a gambler spinning wheels
The poison victim but look of steel
The coldest heart you’ve ever felt
The coldest hands you ever held

The beginning of the song is the solitary sound of the strumming of just the E string, D-tuned to give it a lower tone. My breathing was already labored and my stride was choppy.

Something starts hitting me in the head and for a minute I think it is raining. What is strange is that the rain is dry, not wet. Slowly and a little painfully I come to the realization that I am running through a cloud of mosquitoes.

The moon is only a quarter of its luminous self; there is a lack of street light. The low tones of Elusive worked together with the mosquitoes and the dark to make the whole run and my attitude oppressive.

She’s elusive and I’m awake
Finally real there’s nothing fake
A mystery now to me and you
Open my eyes and I’m next to you
She said my destiny, lies in the hands that set me free

I turned the corner onto Oyster Creek and there was a light in the distance. U2’s God’s Country came on.

Desert sky
Dream beneath the desert sky
The rivers run but soon run dry
We need new dreams tonight

My eyes adjust to what little light there is and I have to watch my step and run between limbs. Sometimes I weave into the grass to avoid downed trees. There is no rhythm to my run but the work of it is changing my mood.

Sleep comes like a drug
In God’s country
Sad eyes, crooked crosses
In God’s country

As I leave the trail and pass downtown there is power and the light seems a bit unreal. The side walk is clean and straight. I get to the place where I think less about running and my mind wanders more.

The turn from Circle Way to Center Way reveals porch lights in long rows meaning the people inside are cool. It gives me hope even though I know when I step into my house it will be hot.

I am reading What is the What, the story of Valentino Achak Deng, one of the lost boys of Sudan. As I think about a hungry child running in the dark from death by a lion or the hand of a heartless human being, I wonder what I, running in the dark for my health and pleasure, have to complain about. Sara Bareilles’ song Many the Miles plays in my head:

There’s too many things I haven’t done yet
Too many sunsets, I haven’t seen

Boring

I was told recently that my running blog has become boring. Not that it was interesting when I wrote regularly but since I have not written in a while I guess it has no chance to be anything but boring. The truth is that since I got a new job I have been a bit apathetic about things such as blogging.

I will not try to catch up. I think it is better to just start where I am and see if it lasts.

Hurricane Ike blew through our neighborhood and we are still without power. It has not been all that bad because the weather is cooperating. For the last two mornings I have gone out to run at 5am. It is a good thing the moon has been bright because the neighborhood is dark without the street lights. Even with the moon there is enough debris lying around that I have to really pay attention to where I step so I don’t twist an ankle for the hundred millionth time.

Since the power apparently will be off for a while I am sure I will get to see (or not) what it is like to run without a source of light at all. Maybe I should just close my eyes and barrel ahead.

Today I made the Houston Marathon Course Map my computer wallpaper at work. I need to be reminded that I am supposed to be training for a half marathon in January.

Run on …

Firecracker 4 2008

The whole family ran the 34th annual Firecracker 4 here in Lake Jackson. This is our third year to run it together. I've run it a few times alone.

Anna repeated as "women’s" champion of the 2-mile walk. Andrea and Tori finished close behind.

I ran 31:21, over a minute more than last year’s time. Jakeb finished less than a minute behind me.

We saw a lot of friends and had a good time as usual.

King's X XV

Thursday is normally my day off from running. Most Thursday mornings I go eat breakfast with a friend but this morning was he and his wife’s anniversary so we didn’t eat together. Instead I ran.

I probably should have rested but last night I downloaded the newest record (although it is really just a bunch of digital 1’s and 0’s rather than vinyl) from King’s X – one of my favorite bands. The place I am best able to really listen to music is when I run and I couldn’t wait to get out and hear the new tunes.

I like XV, especially the song Blue. This collection of songs is way more upbeat and less dark and cynical than King’s X has been lately. They are still very honest in their writing. I think I will like it. It is good to run to. Even though my legs are sore, running was worth it this morning just for the music.

8 things about me

8 really random facts …. because I was tagged by Adrienne:

1. I am a ‘what you see is what you get’ kind of guy so I doubt anyone will read anything here that surprises them much.
2. I believe there will be Mexican food in heaven.
3. If I was told to pick anywhere in the world to live it would be the hill country of Texas. I’ve seen some cool places and would like to see even more but there is no place on earth quite like Texas.
4. I cannot stand for there to be any white on my fingernails so I cut them often and short. Some assume I bite my fingernails but do not. It comes from being the son of a mechanic and hating anything under them – especially grease.
5. I most often just want to know the bottom line so I have a hard time with people who over-explain things or repeat themselves (I heard you the third time …). This makes me less relational so I need to tolerate it more.
6. I am a tight wad.
7. I am mostly a happy loner.
8. I feel out of sorts when I don’t have a book I am currently reading.

I am not going to tag anyone because being a loner, everyone I know has been tagged already.

Sluggish running and news

I have been running but running has not been the focus of my life lately. I think my body has not fully recovered from Rocky Hill. The legs felt sluggish on my five-miler Friday morning and I was just altogether tired. This morning I ran three miles at a decent pace and I felt better.

Last week I accepted a new job. My first project is relatively close to home. My second project is in the office in Katy and has the potential to eventually send our family to Singapore. My running will suffer no doubt but I hope I can keep it up to at least a moderate level.

Who needs a week off?

I decided to take a week off after running Rocky Hill. I just didn’t want to run a long way for a long time. But yesterday I thought, “I am feeling pretty good. My legs are not that sore.” So this morning I woke up and stretched and ran three easy miles. I couldn’t help it. I couldn’t stay away. Please don’t hate me because of my addiction.

It felt good to move after a couple of days of rest. My day is better when I run.

Rocky Hill Ranch 50k

We got to Rocky Hill Ranch at 11:30 p.m. Friday night. The band was jammin at the saloon but we were prepared for that to be the case. We parked near the start/finish and Jason, Jakeb and I stretched our sleeping bags under a canopy we had set-up, put ear plugs in our ears and tried to get some sleep. The band played until about midnight and all was silent so that was good.

The moon was full and bright enough to where I woke up a couple of times wondering who had left the lights on. The temperature sank to the mid-forties and I woke up a couple of times wondering who forgot to turn on the heater. Then at 4 am I heard a loud voice screaming for people to line up. It was the race director giving last minute race instructions to the fifty-mile runners who opted for the four o-clock start time.

I was tired and sore from lying on the ground. I closed my eyes and tried to sleep but around five I couldn’t lay there anymore. I got up and sat with Jason and Jakeb in the car until it was time for Jason to start.

Jason lined up for the fifty-miler at 6am and Joe, the race director, gave last minute instructions. This time I was awake enough to listen. He talked about how insane the first mile was with the up-hill climbs up Fat Chuck’s Demise. The runners took off and I started getting ready for the 50k/25k start at 7am.

Jason came back a little more than 30 minutes later from the 3.5 mile out-and-back that the 50 mile course took. He said “You’re gonna love it. It is crazy fun up and downs.” I found out later that Jason is a masochist.

I lined up with the runners that were left and listened to the pre-race instructions for the third time and Joe screamed go and we went. Slowly. Climbing and walking. Staring at my feet and climbing. After a mile things flattened out a bit and I got to the meat of the course. Rocky Hill is by far the most challenging course I have ever run. My mentality was to run slow, take walk breaks and be patient. Towards the end of the first loop I was questioning my decision to run 50k and trying to figure out how to motivate myself to keep running once I hit the start/finish.

About a half a mile from the end of the first loop I saw Jakeb on his mountain bike. He asked how I was doing and said that Jason was only 5 minutes ahead. I left Jakeb and about a quarter of a mile from the turnaround saw Jason as he started out on his next loop. There was my motivation - to catch Jason and run some with him.

Jason is a much faster runner than I will ever be. He qualified for Boston by breaking 3:10 a couple of years ago at Houston but I knew he was conserving energy to run the whole 50. It was energy I didn’t need so I picked it up a bit and really pushed myself back up Fat Chuck’s for my last loop. I would pay for it at the end of the race.

I caught Jason about four miles into my second loop. It was mile 19.5 for me, mile 24 for Jason. We ran together until the next aid station and I was scared that I would either slow him down or push him to where it would mess up his race so at the next aid station I ate some tortillas stuffed with ham and cheese and took off alone.

This section was the most difficult for me because I was alone and I walked more than I had hoped for. The last aid station came and went and all I could think of was “forward motion”. The lack of training and sleep were catching up and I felt like I was plodding, not racing.

I finally hit the finish in 6:18:09 by my watch. Rock Hill is a tough course and I only ran 15.5 miles at Hog’s Hunt for my longest training run. Normally I would have run a couple of 24 milers followed by some 10’s the next day. So I am happy to have finished.

Jason came in just a couple of minutes behind me and took off for his last loop. I was amazed to watch him come in and have the strength to take off for another loop starting with the steep pain from Fat Chuck. Jason finished in 11:35 just a couple of minutes slower than his Sunmart 50 mile finish. To me that was better than a PR.

50k with wicked leathers

About a month ago I got an email from Jason. Jason ran 50 miles at Sunmart in 11 hours and something and his email stated that he wanted to run 50 miles in under 11 hours and Rocky Hill Ranch would be his last chance before the end of the summer.

I thought to myself, “Go Jason!”

Then in the next line he said he didn’t want to go to the race alone and me and the other guy he sent the email to were the only two people that he knew that were currently running enough mileage to finish one of the races. There is a 50k and a 25k race that same day.

I gave it a lot of thought … about 2 seconds worth and told Jason that if the family calendar was clear that weekend I was in. I checked and things fell into place nicely for me to run. Jakeb is going along for moral support and to ride his mountain bike.

The responsible thing to do would be to sign up for the 25k. I could run that one in my sleep. But as EQ has stated on his blog, you only live once so I did the irresponsible thing and signed up for the 50k. I am not trained for a 50k. I will not finish it well but I will finish.

Jason and I made our plans. Due to his son’s evening baseball game we will not leave until 8:30pm. We plan to drive to Rocky Hill Ranch, set-up a canopy and fall asleep in a field under the stars, wake up the next morning semi-rested and run a long way.

Two days ago the race director sent an email saying that in an attempt to book as many activities as possible Rocky Hill Ranch is having a Bike Night. A local motorcycle shop called Wicked Leathers is sponsoring an event at the Rocky Hill Ranch Saloon with a live band and music and free RV spots and camping.

Oh great. Bikers and loud music and drunk people trying to find where they put up their tent mixed with runners trying to get some sleep the night before one of the longest races of their life. Not that I have anything against bikers or loud music or those who are drunk mixing with runners. I just think the combination works out better for the former group rather than the latter.

We could go find a hotel but if you read my last post you find in my case that may not be any better. I really didn’t know that the TIR weekend with its lack of sleep would be training for future races. This should be interesting.

Hog's Hunt 25k

Andrea and I bought a car on Friday. We got rid of our gas guzzling Durango and are now proud owners of a Toyota Camry. I’m going to miss the Hemi but I’m not going to miss the gas bill. It took forever to get the paperwork done and we didn’t get back to Lake Jackson until 10:30 Friday night. That is when mine and Jakeb’s Hog’s Hunt adventure began.

I pulled into the garage from our car shopping trip and I went into ‘let’s go’ mode. I threw the last of our stuff together and went up stairs to wake Jakeb up. We drove to a hotel on the north side of Houston and were ready to fall in bed since we had to get up early and run. There was some guy in the next room talking loudly. He never paused to stop talking. It was like he was practicing the Gettysburg Address. I thought ‘Oh great we are never going to get to sleep.’ But in about 20 minutes he stopped and the world was silent.

We woke up the next morning after what seemed to me like almost no sleep at all and drove to Huntsville State Park. We got there around 6:20 and picked up our packet and went back to the truck to warm up. It was amazingly cold for April 4th. I think it is weird that Sunmart in December at Huntsville State Park was hot and Hog’s Hunt in April was cold.

Jakeb and I wandered around before the start of the 50k and saw Karen and Katy. They took off and we went back to the truck to put on our shoes, race number water bottle and belt. We stretched for a little while and then went to the starting line where we saw Adrienne and her mom. We talked some and after some race instructions took off.

Jakeb and I were pretty evenly paced as we ran the road for a mile. My legs felt a bit dead but by the time we made it to the trails they started loosening. Jakeb ran strong the whole way. When we made it to the trails we were in single file with a group of runners and the pace slowed. Jakeb and I maneuvered past a couple of people and by the time we made it to the road in the back of the park we were running at a decent pace again. A ways down the road we started seeing the leaders coming back. Adrienne passed by us in first place in the women’s race and looked strong. She went on to win.

In the middle of the race we ended up behind a group of people who were running slower than us and we stuck behind them for a couple of miles. I think it was good to run behind them because it kept us from running too fast. I asked Jakeb how he was doing more than once and he continually said ‘I’m good.’

We made it to the boardwalks and passed the group ahead of us. I asked Jakeb if he wanted to pick it up and he said ‘Let’s go’ so we up’ed the pace into the aid station.

After downing a couple of peanut butter sandwiches and having our water bottles refilled we took off. A woman that was leaving the aid station told us that there was only about 3 miles to go so we ran a bit harder. In the last four miles I would guess we passed ten people.

In the last mile there is a hill (or two) to climb and I started walking and after a couple of steps Jakeb said ‘were not walking’ so I started running again. My kid is a slave driver.

We turned the corner and ran the power line right-of-way to the pavement at the finish. Jakeb sprinted at the end and I couldn’t possibly let him go alone so I ran with him as we laughed at each other. He finished a step in front of me. I stopped my watch at 2:30:52 - a 9:44 pace. It was a good race. I am proud of how Jakeb ran.

Jakeb just got his learners permit so he drove from Huntsville to the Woodlands. We stopped at Pei Wei on the way home and refueled. I drove the rest of the way home and had a horrible time staying awake.

You can read Jakeb's report here ... link.

Tracking mileage

Katy wrote on her blog that she doesn’t track her monthly mileage. I keep up with monthly mileage, weekly mileage, yearly mileage and shoe mileage all in a spreadsheet I created myself. It is not than I am a stat geek or anything but my personality is such that I have a feeling of accomplishment by knowing I can add another mile to the week, month, year and shoe.

I am taking off today and tomorrow to rest the legs for Hog’s Hunt and it kills me not to add data to runlog2008.xls. Below is a screenshot:

I have 102.5 miles on the GTS8's and I still like them. (see earlier post)

Jakeb and I may see some of y’all this weekend … later.

Hog's Hunt taper

Jakeb and I are ready for Hog’s Hunt this weekend. He has backed off some for a mini taper going into this weekend. We ran 12 together Friday before last and Jakeb had a really good run.

I signed up for the Rocky Hill Ranch 50k, so for training Friday I ran 11.5 with Jason Culverhouse (who talked me into RHR) and Greg Jones. We ran some roads and some single track. Then on Saturday Jakeb and I ran 8 together and I ran 2 more alone. I have not put enough time on my feet to run a 50k very well at Rocky Hill but I think I will be able to finish. The competitor in me may have a hard time taking it easy but I will try.

Here is my last week and a half of running:

3/21 – 12 w/Jakeb
3/22 – 7
2/23 – 5 (3 w/Jakeb)
3/24 – 5 (4 w/Jakeb)
3/25 – 5
3/26 – 5
3/27 – rest and strength
3/28 – 11.5 w/Jason and Greg
3/29 – 10 (8 w/Jakeb)
3/30 – 5.5
3/31 – 5 (3 w/Jakeb)

Jakeb ran some on his own during the time above. His miles alone are not listed. I ran 164 miles in March with two 42 mile weeks in a row.

Complain, so much easier ...

Jakeb has been out of town for the last couple of days turkey hunting with his Grandpa (Andrea’s dad). He was planning to run in the hill country while he was gone but I asked him about it when he got home and he said he had not ran at all. He had some lame excuse about it raining or something to that effect.

Last night I told him, “Get ready because in the morning I am dragging your sleepy rear end out of bed and we’re running three.”

So as promised at 5am I went into his room and shook him and said “Jake, get up and let’s go run.”

I heard a muffled “Uhhhhh ….” from under the covers.

I said, “I don’t think so, get up and let’s go run. While you’re at it put on a long sleeve shirt because it is a little cool.”

“Uhhhhh …”

He came down stairs griping about running in the cold and moaned as he put his shoes on. He said “ooouuuch” as we started the first stretch.

We stepped out of the house and started walking to warm up. Jakeb asked, “Can we start running now? It’s cold and I want to run to warm up.” What he didn’t say was that he wanted to start running so that the running would be over sooner.

We took off at a moderate pace running what we call the Oyster Creek route. As we moved through the run the pace got progressively faster. By the time we hit the 1st mile marker we were running at a decent clip, faster than my marathon pace. I didn’t start my watch so I do not have splits but I asked Jake at a mile and a half if he was okay with the pace and he said “yeah”. And that was it.

So we ran without slowing, on the sidewalk through the moss covered trees on Oyster Creek Drive, past an old man on his morning walk. As we turned the corner onto Sycamore a third of a mile from home I picked it up a notch and Jakeb stayed with me. We still aren’t killing it but after all of the complaining I heard before the run I was impressed.

About a hundred yards from the end of the Oyster Creek route Jakeb said “That felt awesome! Good run!”

I said, “HA! Now you see why I forced you to get out of bed.”

We got home and Jakeb took and shower and went back to sleep. - My son the paradox.

I woke up this morning with a funny taste in my head

My daughter Tori and I went to a concert last night to see Ingrid Michaelson, Sara Bareilles and others I had never heard of. It was a good concert when Ingrid and Sara were singing. There are a lot of interesting stories to tell but now is not the time. We stood in the same spot for a long time and my feet and back were hurting by the time the concert was over. I fell in bed at a little after 1am.

This morning the alarm went off at 6 am and I woke up Jakeb and we ran 10 miles. We had to get out early because Andrea’s dad was picking up Jakeb this morning to take him turkey hunting. Surprisingly the ten miles turned out to be good run for me. We ran around seven miles on concrete and about 3 miles on trails. The rest of the day has been okay but if I sit still for to long my eyes want to close.

I bought a pair of Brooks Adrenaline GTS 8. I hated the 7s but I think it is because they are too narrow and hurt my feet. I bought the eights in a 2E for the additional width. I ran the 10 in them this morning and I think I am really going to like them. Ask me again what I think went I get 100 miles on them.

This week was a 40-mile week. It is good to run that many miles again.

Friday stuff

I ran 10 miles this morning at a comfortable pace. Jakeb ran the first four miles with me.

I had a root canal at 9:30. I didn't like it.

I ate Chinese food for lunch went shopping and got coffee, all with Andrea.

I went with Anna back to the dentist for her to get a cavity filled. She didn’t like it at all.

Jakeb had a birthday party tonight. He and his friends are gone now having an air-soft gun war.

Jason asked me if I wanted to run Rocky Hill on April 19th. He is running the 50-miler. I am thinking about the 50k. We would camp out Friday evening, run Saturday and come home Saturday night. I would have to take it easy but it sounds like fun to me.

More Bayou City Classic Pictures

Running

Finishing

Giving the Evil-Eye


















Walking in with my favorite woman in the world (Andrea)

Bayou City Classic Pictures

Jakeb, Tori, Peter, Mycaela

(l to r)

Mr. Evil

Andrea:
Only one number away from evil

Jakeb running

Tori and Peter
Doing something that is not running

Wilco and a 10k PR

Last night I went to see Wilco in concert. It was one of the best concerts I have ever seen. Wilco is such a great band musically and Wilco’s music makes more sense after you see them live. That’s why their CD Kicking Television is the best.

I got home at 12:30am this morning from the concert and I had to wake up at 4:30am to make it in time for us to pick up a timing chip and get ready to race the Bayou City Classic.

The weather was perfect for running but a little too cold for standing around. Andrea, Jakeb, Tori, Peter, Mycaela and I got our chips and went back to sit in the warm truck until the start. Jakeb was talking trash about how he did not know what time he would finish in but that he was going to beat me.

We got out and made one more pass by the porta-potties. A couple of kids had a video camera and saw that my race number was 666 so they interviewed me and asked about my interesting number. They thought it was funny that I was wearing red and had a goatee matching the satanic persona. That was not the last comment I got about having that race number. It was fun. I really am a nice guy but like everyone else I am capable of so much evil so the number was appropriate for one race.

The race started promptly at 8:00 and I started running. I felt really good from the start and pushed myself. It wasn’t that hardest I have ever raced but I felt like I was making myself work hard enough that I would be happy with the result.

Here are my splits:
1 – 7:16
2 – 7:15
3 – 7:11
4 – 7:34
5 – 7:27
6 – 7:45 (going up the bridge over the bayou was taxing)
.2 – 1:16

My watch says 45:47. The official finishing time on the race web sight is 45:45. That is a 10k PR by over 2 minutes beating my PR at last year’s Bayou City Classic.

Here’s how everyone else did:
Jakeb – 48:26 for third in his age group but not fast enough to beat me
Andrea – 1:34:28 walking
Mycaela – didn’t wear a chip but came in around 55 minutes
Tori – 1:19:13 walking and running
Peter – 1:18:45 walking and running

I don’t understand the difference between Peter’s and Tori’s time since they stayed together.

I think I have proven to myself that I run pretty well on a lack of sleep based on last weekend’s TIR and this morning’s 10k.

I had a nap this afternoon. It has been an awesome weekend so far.

TIR Photos

The Battling Bloggers of the Texas Republic

The place we lived for 31 hours +

The finish line is in sight

203.67 miles later ...

Me and EQ

Texas Independence Relay Epilogue

I don’t know how to write this post as a narrative without it being a short novel. I know there is no way to describe the weekend adequately in this format, or at all for that matter. So here are some words and phrases that for me describe the Texas Independence Relay:

Gonzales, new friends, competition, prologue, run, hills, heat, Shiner brewery, good and bad coffee, asphalt, run, buffets, small sometimes stinky vans (blogger 1 and blogger 2), best drivers ever, run, determination, exchange points, stories, sore muscles, painkillers, run, road kills, blinkies, “Where’s Bill’s team?”, run, sleeping bags in a field, dogs, run, 2 hours sleep in a hotel, rolling hills through the park, run, ranchero kolaches, ‘finally a Starbucks’, sleepy, downtown, run, San Jacinto Monument, epilogue, medals, pizza. FUN.

If you would have asked me on Sunday morning at 12:30 am if I would do it again I may have said ‘no’, but now that it is over, looking back it was a really cool deal and I would consider toeing the starting line in Gonzales again.

It is quite a task to get fourteen people to work towards the common goal of running and supporting a run of 203 miles over two days. It was an accomplishment we can all be proud of especially Jon Walk who did a great job of getting and keeping the team together. Jokingly I told him, “Thanks Jon for organizing this agony.”

My right calf hurts a little but otherwise I feel pretty good. I went to bed early last night and I feel rested. I am going to take a couple of days off of running and let the calf recover. This weekend is the Bayou City Classic.

Thanks bloggers for including me in TIR at the “last minute”. It was good to meet you all in person.

I may post some pictures later.

Training specifically for TIR

I ran 12 this morning. The first two miles were an out and back. On the way back in from the out I remembered I told Andrea I would go to Shipley’s to get the kids some kolaches for breakfast. So when I finished my second mile I stopped at the house, got my keys and drove to Shipley’s, went through the drive-through, drove back home, dropped the koloches on the kitchen table and went back out the front door to resume my run.

Next weekend at TIR I will run for a while and ride in a car for a while and run again. So this morning I was training specifically for the relay. Run 2 miles ride for 20 minutes and run 10 more miles. Although the running distances and times riding in a car will be a bit different.

My first two miles passed in 15:36 (too fast). I hit the seven-mile mark in 58:17 cumulative time for approximately an 8:18 pace. I turned my watch off and took it easy for the last five which I ran mostly on trails.

Tomorrow Jakeb is supposed to run eight. I think I’ll run the whole thing with him depending how I feel.

Maybe not as nice as you thought

I registered the whole family for the Bayou City Classic yesterday. Jakeb and I are going to run it. Andrea and Anna are going to walk it. Tori and her boyfriend Peter are going to finish it but I am not sure if the plan is for them to run it or walk it or a combination of both. They may not be planning to finish together I do not know.

There is nothing interesting about registering for a race except for the way the race numbers fell out.

Peter – 671
Tori – 670
Jakeb – 669
Anna – 668
Andrea – 667
Tommy – 666

Yeah that’s right folks. Some people know me as a preacher; some as a generally moral guy, but according to the Bayou City Classic numbering system I am Satan.

Healing in a cabin

During my 10 mile run on Friday I had some pain on the outside of my left foot on the bone beside my toe. It was not painful enough to stop, just painful enough to be annoying. So for the weekend I decided not to run.

I had other reasons for not running. Andrea and I had reservations for a cabin at North Toledo Bend State Park in Louisiana. The cabin was a two-bedroom loft with a kitchen, fireplace and screened-in front porch. We brought a computer, DVDs, and some good food. We cooked, watched movies and sat on the front porch and watched it rain on the lake. I didn’t run a step. It was good to get away with Andrea and it was good to take two days off from running. (The picture above is the view from the front porch.)

This morning I ran five with Jakeb. We pushed it at tempo pace and my foot didn’t hurt at all.

Running with U2

I ran 10 miles Friday morning listening to my U2 playlist to get ready for U23D. Jakeb and I went to the IMAX on I-10 and the loop and saw it Friday night after his basket ballgame. If you are a fan of U2 it is well worth it. The movie was good but the sound should have been about 10 decibels louder. U2 has got to be one of the best bands ever, especially live.

On Saturday morning I ran 8 and I left the iPod at home because I ran the first 5 with Jakeb. The internal playlist in my brain was playing U2. “God – Part II” was repeating itself … “Don’t believe the devil, don’t believe his book, but the truth is not the same without the lies he made up …”

Sunday morning I ran 3 with Jakeb and stopped at home and got the iPod and ran 5 more with U2 playing for real in my head. It is so good I can’t turn it off. I will eventually move on but I always end up coming back.

Monday and this morning I ran 5 miles and I am still feeling the effects of the marathon. I don’t think I have done what it takes to sufficiently recover so it is my fault. My runs are not the most wonderful thing in my life right now but I am covering the miles and feel good about it.

If the stars and planets align in perfect harmony I will run the Surfside half-marathon this weekend.

BTW – I don’t really prescribe in that “stars and planets” stuff.

Texas Independence Relay

I am running the Texas Independence Relay the first weekend of March. It is a 203 mile relay race that starts in Gonzales Texas and finishes at the San Jacinto Monument. I will run it with a team of twelve people most of whom already know one another. I know some of them and have read most of their blogs so I really feel like I kind of know them all even though I’ve only met three of them in person.

It is interesting that the blog world allows me to read what people write on a personal level and I feel like I know some of them better than the people at the other end of the building I work in.

I attended a conference a couple of years ago and there was a blogger’s break-out session. A group of people from all over the country that had read one another’s writing and had carried on multiple conversations over the course of a couple of years met in a room and it felt like everyone knew everyone even though they were meeting for the first time. It was for me a truly strange experience.

I read all of my blogs with a feed reader. So if someone posts something I at least skim it. I read blogs from people all over the country and overseas that have various reasons for blogging – not just running. Sometimes I read something someone has written that is so intensely personal I feel like an intruder in their personal life. But then I think, “They wrote it and put it on the internet for the world to read … I guess it is okay.”

The fifteenth anniversary of my running is coming up in May. In those fifteen years I have mostly been a solitary runner. I am completely comfortable with my own company and running has always been a very personal thing. Our team members were listed on the team captain’s blog and my name was the only one without an affiliation to a running club – and I am cool with that because that is who I am.

Even though I have for the most part been a solitary runner, during the last couple of years I have started running more with others. A couple of years ago I started running with my son Jakeb. Then last year I ran a test event for the Blue Planet Run. There were four of us that ran the night shift 10 miles each. I ran from 2-3:30 am. It was good to run with three other guys and have a common goal. Then last summer I ran one of the 5k legs of the Brazosport Relay Triathlon. Again I found that running with a team towards a common goal elevated my running to a higher level. I ran with a friend occasionally on my morning runs this past summer. I have run long runs with other friends who are training for long races like I was. I still want to run most of my miles alone but I am getting used to running with others too.

All of that to say, I am excited about being a part of a team of people who will take turns running for two consecutive days in order to cover 203 miles and have a blast doing it.

That last post was gross ...

Clearing my head - mentally and physically

I ran 5 miles this morning at a relatively quick pace. The weather was just right – 66 degrees and some humidity. I have been a little bit congested lately and there is nothing like a good run and a couple of farmer’s blows to clear the head if you know what I mean.

Planning the Journey

“…half of the joy of the journey is planning it; the other half is coming home and bragging about it.”

- Mike Moe from the book A Man’s Life: Dispatches From Dangerous Places by Mark Jenkins

I plan my journeys by surfing the internet for a good race to run. I look for just the right location, distance and type of race. I read race reports from runners who have finished in years previous. I look at maps, course profiles, weather reports and pictures of the scenery.

After a race is chosen I fill out a training schedule with the appropriate mileage and training components. I adjust for holidays, vacation and family schedules. I add races that will aid in my training for the peak race. I tweak it for days maybe even weeks until it is adjusted for optimum stress, challenge and recovery. And then I run …

On some training runs my planning is mental. I think about what the race will be like. Are there hills to conquer? Will I have rough spots? Will I have to be patient or should I push hard until I almost puke?

On most days though my planning is physical and I run so that my muscles will remember how and in the process get better at it. I run further as each workout builds on the previous to cover the optimum distance for the race that is planned so that I can reach whatever goal I have.

Lately I feel like my mooring has come loose and I am floating on the ocean aimlessly; without direction. I am not currently training for anything and it feels weird. I have no training schedule meticulously filled out in excel to indicate how many miles I should run today based on a number typed into a cell, printed out and taped to the inside of the door of the laundry room cabinet. I run on any given day based on what I feel like running knowing that I need to maintain some sort of base so I can plan another “journey” in the near future.

This morning without a plan I ran nothing. I’ll have to admit it was good to stay in my warm bed next to my wife but I am also scared on mornings like this that not running will become a habit. And that cannot happen.

Bragging about the last journey is getting old. In fact it got old after I told the story more than once. It is time to start planning for the next journey.

11 miles and a realization

I ran 11 miles yesterday morning. My plan was to run 18 but mid-way through the run I knew my legs were not going to let me go that far. I have too much residual marathon junk in them apparently.

Somewhere around six miles into the run I can to a realization. I have had a really good couple of months by my standards. I ran a 50k at Sunmart (my longest run to date) and a marathon PR in Houston. Pushing it to train for a 50-mile race in just a couple of months would be too much. I am sure I could get ready for 50 miles and I could probably finish the race but I don’t want to train to just finish. I want to run my first 50 miler well. Training for it would have been a stretch always pushing just a little too hard to get a workout in. I already felt like I was behind in my training. So hopefully there is a 50-mile race in my future but it will not be in April – maybe in the fall.

My focus this spring will be to train for and run Hog’s Hunt 25k with Jakeb. In March I am running the Texas Independence Relay with a team made up mostly of runners who blog. I may post more on that subject later.

I will keep up the miles and maintain a base but I look forward to enjoying my runs for the sake of running rather than being a slave the training schedule. Don’t get me wrong my personality is bent toward running what is inked in the calendar for today but it will be good to set that aside for while and just run.

Running again

Last week on Thursday I started getting a sore throat. Immediately it ticked me off but then as I thought about it I was thankful that I did not get sick during the days leading up to or during the marathon.

I ran Friday morning and there was some soreness in my legs that was not evident when I walked. It was not bad enough to stop but it made the four mile run more difficult than it normally would have been.

On Saturday the weather was chilly, but I put on warm running clothes and turned the iPod to King’s X Dogman and ran hard. It was a good run.

Sunday Jakeb and I ran 5 miles together on a mixture of soft stuff and concrete. Afterwards I went on alone. I was supposed to run 12 but at 10 miles I was near the house so I stopped. If I could have stopped at 8 I would have. It was a miserable couple of miles. My body was drained.

This morning I ran 5 and the first 3 were solid miles … the last 2 were a bit more difficult but not as tough as Sunday’s run. My sore throat seems to be fading but I am still tired. Between being sick and marathon recovery running hasn’t been the most fun activity in my life, but I look forward to when I will enjoy it again.

On the food and weight front, Andrea has helped me work on eating in a more balanced way. I am a carb fiend. I love a huge bowl of cereal in the morning and bread all day. I also have a weakness for anything baked sweet and gooey. Andrea showed me how to add protein and eat carbohydrates in a more natural form. I have cut out dairy, refined sugar and lowered my sodium intake. I eat 5 times a day. In the last week I have lost nine pounds. Hopefully being lighter will help my running.

Marathon Finish Video

I am in the black with my race number pinned to my shorts. I finish on the right side of the video.

My finish time on the clock was 3:56:34.

Race morning picture with Andrea

2008 Chevron Houston Marathon

The weather was perfect for a good marathon. Andrea, Jakeb, Gwen, Matthew, Mike and I parked and went to the George R. Brown Convention Center to get out of the cold. We saw a few people we knew. Wes, Jenny, Jay and Laura were right inside the front door and we hung out with them most of the time before the race. We saw Brenda who was running the half and a good friend from Arkansas Ronnie who was running the full.

After some stretching and standing in porta-potty lines I left the family to go stand in the cold until the race started. I wore shorts and a short-sleeved shirt and no gloves. I decided I would gut it out in the cold until the start. It wouldn’t have been too bad were it not for the wind. After I started running I was comfortable.

The first mile was crowded as usual but runners spaced out pretty well in the second mile and beyond. I ran too fast through 10k and decided to slow it down to a more reasonable pace for me.

I ran at an even pace through 20 miles and then slowed a little. At mile 22 my legs started cramping and I walked some but then I thought “This is not happening to me again” and started a slow jog that I could maintain. My legs loosened up and I picked it up a bit … but not much. Most of the rest of the race was a mental battle to keep running rather than run/walk.

At mile 23 the guy next to me looked over and said, “Our goal is to beat the Super Heroes.” I ran most of the day near these two guys who wore Super Hero costumes. One dressed as Flash Gordon and the other dressed as Superman. I got sick of hearing “Look there’s Superman! Go Flash!” I guess that is why they wore the costumes.

At mile 24 I was walking through the water station and as I grabbed a cup of water my stomach seized up. It was like someone was inside of me squeezing my stomach like ringing out a wet rag. I ran to the side of the street and dry heaved three times. Then as fast as it came on it went away. I’ve never experienced any kind of nausea during a race. I hope this isn’t reoccurring. I got back out on the road and headed into downtown.

I felt much better running into downtown knowing that the race was almost over. Near the finish Jake and Andrea yelled at me but I didn’t have it in me to even look over at them. I finished in 3:55:13 and beat the Super Heroes. I found the guy at the finish who told me his goal was to beat the Super Heroes and I said “You did it! You beat Superman!” And he laughed and said “Yeah.”

I finally broke four hours in a marathon. Now what?

My plan is to work for the next couple of weeks to lose 10 pounds and if my legs will let me I will start training for the Ouachita Trail 50 Miler.

Andrea and Gwen walked the half and beat last year's time by 13 seconds. That is a one second per mile improvement which is good considering they thought they would finish much slower this year.

Overall it was another good day at the marathon.

Splits:
1 – 9:08
2 – 8:25
3 – 8:34
4 – 8:48
5 – 8:33
6 – 8:35
7 – 8:43
8 – 8:33
9 – 8:39
10 – 9:09
11 – 8:27
12 – 8:59
13 – 8:53
14 – 8:42
15 – 8:37
16 – 8:48
17 – 8:46
18 – 9:03
19 – 8:57
20 – 8:47
21 – 9:32
22 – 9:45
23 – 9:20
24 – 10:07
25 – 10:16
26 – 9:09
26.2 – 1:53
Total – 3:55:13

Taper and a funeral

Marathon taper is going well.

I rested yesterday but not on purpose. I went to work an hour early so I would have time to go a funeral for the pastor of the church I went to from childhood to my teenaged years. His name was Cecil Uzzel and I knew him in typical Baptist fashion as Brother Uzzel. Brother Uzzel as they said at the funeral was a man who loved people. Much of what I know about the Bible began as I listen to him preach for all of the years I was at Emmanuel Baptist Church. He survived his own marathon as he was a prisoner of war for 41 months in Japan and survived the Bataan Death March. He was a great story-teller and the time he spent as a prisoner of war colored some of his messages and captured my imagination. He was a good man.

The day off was apparently good for me. This morning I ran 3 miles with Jakeb and then topped it off with one more alone. I felt great and could have run much further.

For inspiration this week I have been reading the race reports of runners who set some goals for themselves and achieved them in the marathon and beyond. In almost every case their mind had to be discipline to run on as their body told them it was time to stop.

I am stir-crazy as normal and I’m ready to run this race.

Looking back and looking ahead

Last year I ran 1555.9 miles. That is by far the most miles I have ever run in any given year. I averaged 30 miles per week with my longest week coming the first of November at 52 miles. That was the peak week of training for Sunmart 50k. November was also my highest mileage month with 183.

I ran the Houston half-marathon with Jakeb which was the high point of the year for me. I ran the Surfside Marathon (4:11:05). I set a 10k PR at The Bayou City Classic (47:56). Jakeb and I ran a trail race in Austin at Walnut Creek Park called The Maze. It was one of the more fun races I have ever run and gave me the desire to run more trail races. I ran a midnight 25k in July called El Scorcho (2:14:44). It was a bit disorganized but it was fun to run a race in the middle of the night. I finished the year by running farther than the marathon by finishing Sunmart 50k (5:49:15).

I started running in May of 1993 and in 14 years of running 2007 was my best year yet.

In 2008 I think I will try to keep the miles up and take the year as it comes to me. I do have a few hopes and plans. I am signed up for the Chevron Houston Marathon this month and I hope to finally break four hours. My marathon PR is 4:00:55 set at the Dallas White Rock Marathon in December 2006. I wish I hadn’t walked through that last water stop.

If marathon recovery goes well I will start training for the Ouachita Trail 50 miler. I have been intrigued by that race for a while so maybe this year will be the year I can run it.

Mixed in the training for the OT50 will be the Bayou City Classic, which our family tries to run every year. I may run the Seabrook Lucky Trail Marathon as a training run for OT50. I am most excited about training with Jakeb for the Hog’s Hunt 25k the first week in April.

After the OT50 I have no plans. In fact it is such a pinnacle experience (pun intended) for me I cannot allow myself to look past it.

Happy New Year!

Tapering again

I ran 19.5 miles last Friday. I would usually run an even 20 but I had run an out-and-back to McLean Park and over the Brazos river bridge on 2004. Then I ran back home and that portion of the run ended at the house at mile 19.5 and I didn’t think a half a mile was going to make that much of a difference to my marathon training.

This past Friday I ran 14 in 2:01 (8:40 pace), which is faster than I intended to run. It felt pretty good though. I’ve run 6 and 8 miles since then. My taper has a little more intensity than normal. I want to be rested enough but there have been times when I have been a bit lethargic going into the last week before the marathon so I am trying something new. Hopefully I won’t blow up because of it.

Houston is just two weeks away.

To the Track and Back to Mute Math

I am not a fan of cold weather so this morning’s 61 degree temperature was welcome. I ran a 1 mile warm-up to the track. Then at the track I ran 4x800 (3:22, 3:25, 3:28, & 3:26) with 400 recovery. Afterwards I ran a 1 mile cool-down back to the house as I listened to Stare at the Sun and Obsolete by Mute Math. Such a good groove to run to…

Wild-eyed and crazy!

I was running my 5 mile route this morning by Brazoswood High School. As I neared Slade Field three guys is an old beat-up red car screamed out of their window in my direction as they passed. It scared the mess out of me because I was in my own world listening to Radiohead’s In Rainbows. I shrugged it off and kept running.

The three wise guys (not in a biblical way of course) turned around and I heard them screaming again as they approached behind me, “You better run! We’re gonna get you.”

I thought to myself “What a bunch of bucketheads.” Then I got mad as I thought about the fact that I pass other people, both women and men running and walking in our neighborhood all the time and what if these guys had been harassing them instead of me.

They told me to run so run I did; right at them as they came towards me. I started screaming at the top of my lungs and the driver kind of swerved all over the road wondering, I'm sure, what kind of crazy guy they had decided to chase and was now chasing them back. I thought for a second about throwing my ipod at them as they went by but that would have been stupid because I don’t really have $150 laying around to replace it.

So instead I chased after them, which I knew was a race I could not win, all the while screaming at the top of my lungs “STOP!” They slowed at the stop light at Dixie Drive and Brazoswood Drive and actually pulled into the Slade Field parking lot.

I started to sprint towards them and had to run about 300 yards. As I approached them they were already near the street. I ran in their direction still yelling “YOU BETTER STOP!” - all the while trying to look as wild-eyed and crazy as possible. The driver pushed on the gas and the tires screeched as they retreated toward Lake Jackson. The old red car had Louisiana license plates.

I don’t have a clue what I would have done had they stopped. I know what I did was not that smart because one of these days something like that is going to happen to me and they will have a weapon. I just wanted to freak them out a bit and let them know that not every person running down the side of the road is an easy target for their stupid games.

Sunmart Pictures

Here are some pictures from Sunmart on Saturday.

New Template

My old template was ...well old and apparently not compatible with blogger anymore. Because I do not have time to mess with it I threw together a new template. Some day I may work on one I like better.

Sunmart

I ran the Sunmart 50k in 5:49:35, an 11:14 per mile pace. At first I was a little disappointed with the outcome but I had to remind myself that it was hot and the hills were more than I had bargained for.

The first 18.5 miles I ran close to a 10-minute pace but the last 12.5-mile loop I started fast-walking most of the uphills, which really took a toll on my overall time.

I ran with my ipod but there was a point at which I realized how different it was to run in the woods and how stupid I was being to ignore it in favor of tunes. So I turned off the music and just existed to run with my thoughts.

Physically I felt pretty good at the finish but I am sore today. I do not feel any worse than when I run a marathon.

Sunmart is a very well organized fun race. I like trail running a lot. I hope to run this race again and others like it.

This afternoon I looked up the results on-line and found out that I finished 99 out of 520 runners and 15th in my age group out of 40 so I feel better about how I did. It is all about comparisons, huh? How sad is that?

Taper Madness

I am in the late stages of my taper for Sunmart Texas Trail Endurance 50k. Typical taper stuff is going on. I am worried about whether I trained enough. I am eating too much and not running enough so I am gaining weight. My lower legs have hurt a bit which is weird because they haven’t given me any problems in training. I have far too much nervous energy that is not being burnt off by running.

The next two days I am off and Friday morning I will run two miles just to loosen everything up. And then Saturday I race. This is another first, to run more than 26.2. I am excited to race and celebrate the way of life - the running life - I am happy to live …

“Running is a way of life, and racing is a celebration of that life.” - Jenn Shelton via Riding the Wind (Anton Krupicka)

Thankful

I am thankful that I have two legs and health enough to run 14 miles on a day set aside for gratitude.

Now let's eat ... and watch football.

Happy Thanksgiving!

20 miles and weather

I ran 20 miles on Friday morning. The weather cooled down long enough for me to get my long run in and then it warmed up again. I must be doing something right.

Saturday I ran 5 on the trails and then Sunday morning I ran 5 in the rain. I really like running when it rains - especially when it is a downpour. When it rains hard I feel as if I am the only one who exists in a world no one else is willing to enter. The feeling is even more intense when it is dark. Sunday morning it was good to be isolated in the dark torrent alone with my thoughts.

Friday long run

I ran 24 slow miles. My legs were still sore from running at the track Wednesday on top of the fact that I did not do a very good job of fueling or hydrating yesterday. I did cover the miles though and today that is what counts.

Track work out

1 mile warm-up to the track, 4x800 with 400 recovery (3:30, 3:29, 3:30, 3:34), 1 mile cool-down home. The mile home was almost euphoric.

Training Normalcy

Training is going well. I ran 18 Friday morning at 8:53 pace. I've run 5, 8, 5, 5, since all between 8 and 9 minute pace. Tomorrow I will run some speedwork at the track.

Nothing extraordinary has happened otherwise. This weekend calls for 24 on Friday morning. It will be my longest run before Sunmart.

Run on …

Bid me run and I will strive with things impossible. - Shakespeare

22 Miles

8 on soft ground, 14 on pavement - 9:28 pace

I feel pretty good. Andrea and I are off for some lunch at Kim Son.

Just running and looking forward to Sumart

I’m still running.

I received my post-registration information packet from Sunmart Texas Trail Endurance Runs yesterday and I am extremely excited about running that race. The anticipation for Sunmart is somewhat different from the anticipation I feel for a marathon. This race is more about pure running than it is about time and technique. It probably has to do with the place I am in emotionally as well.

I am excited about going beyond the marathon distance for the first time. I am excited about running in the woods of Huntsville State Park. I am just excited.

I ran 18 miles weekend before last. I ran a really easy pace until about mile 11, and from 11-15 I ran with a friend from church who just happened to catch me. He was running much faster than me and I sped up a bit and he slowed down significantly and we ran a couple together. I paid for it the next day with incredibly sore legs.

Last weekend I ran 20 alone. I ran well within myself and about 8 miles were off road. I felt much better after this run.

Tuesday morning I ran at the track for the first time in a couple of weeks. I have been running tempo runs and fartlek rather than track workouts. Tuesday I ran 8x400 with 200 recovery and a 1 mile warm-up cool-down (1:44, 1:46, 1:46, 1:43, 1:43, 1:43, 1:45, 1:43).

The schedule calls for 21 tomorrow, 18 next weekend and 24 the weekend after before I begin to taper.

I read the article on Tony Krupicka in Running Times as I sat at ate lunch a few minutes ago and my mileage seems meager compared to a guy who does 200 mile weeks. I really like these quotes:

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Running sharpens the focus on life and intensifies the emotions.

Is there any better reason to do anything? (Running Times Article)

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Going running all day in our present society is completely pointless,

but there is a big difference between something having a point

and something having meaning. (Web Quote)

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- Anton Krupicka