[photopress:astrosracelogo..jpg,thumb,alignleft]Location: Downtown
Distance: 3.1
Chip Time: 36:26 (bleh)
Avg Min/Mile: 11:48 (bleh)
Temp: 78F, 84% humidity (bleh)

Two words: hot and humid. Ugh. I finished in the same time (+3 seconds) as the Yuri’s Night run, another hot/humid race, though I think the conditions Saturday were more uncomfortable. I didn’t bring my handheld Amphipod bottle, which made things feel more difficult (even if just mentally). At both water stops, I grabbed two cups of water - one to drink and the other to pour down my neck which cooled me down for, oh, 15 seconds.

Prerace: Got to Minute Maid at 7am, and saw June, Edwin, Keith and Sarah. It had been a while since I’d seen them so it was nice to catch up a little. I grabbed my chip and met up with Alicia (walking), John (running) and a few of John’s friends. After a few helloandhowareyous from Milo, we were off.

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Location: Allen Parkway Loop
Distance: 4.77
Total Time: n/a
Start Time: 7:20pm
Temp: 88F, 60% humidity

Nothing different about today’s run compared to Tuesday - same route, same time, some running partner, same conditions.  I even forgot my watch again, just like Tuesday.  heh.

My short term running goal is to average 20 miles per week by the middle of June, and 25 to 30 miles per week by the end of July.   The 2006 SMART Program (organized by the Houston Striders!) starts August 1st - it’s pretty intense, and I need to build my weekly mileage if I want to keep up.  Steverecommends 4 to 5 runs during the week, with a long weekend run:  4-4-4-8 or 3-3-3-3-8.  Right now, I’m averaging 10 to 12 miles per week, usually broken down as 4.5-4.5-3  or 3-3-3-3 at the most.  I guess I’ll need to switch out one of my gym days for running, and increase my weekend runs.   

Before tonight’s run, I stopped by Luke’s Locker to pick up my race packet for the Race for the Pennant 5K this Saturday.  While I was there, I bought an extra pair of running shorts, some Hammer gel (my energy gel of choice is CarbBoom, but I decided to give Hammer a try), and a NeatSeat car seat cover.  I’ve been eyeing those NeatSeats for a while, and finally broke down and bought one tonight.  They’re made of microfiber and keep the car seat clean & dry - great for the summer, when I have to drive back home all gross and sweaty after being outside.  They even come with cloth covers for the seat belt!   Anyways, I’ve tried carrying towels in the car, but this will be easier for me.  I took the very last NeatSeat they had - in fact, I got the display item with 20% knocked off.   Yay Luke’s!

Location:  Allen Parkway from Shepherd to Sabine St (following lower trails)
Distance: 4.77 miles
Total Time:  n/a
Start Time: 7:00 pm
Temp: 86^°F, 60% humidity

Ran the Allen Parkway Loop again with John, mostly keeping to the lower trails.  I had forgotten to pack my watch this morning, so I wasn’t able to time the run.   

We started from our usual location at the Jackson Hill Bridge and headed east on Memorial at a nice, even pace.  We looped around at Sabine, back to Shepherd, and then took the bridge over Memorial back to Jackson Hill.   The heat and humidity were uncomfortable, but otherwise I felt good during the run.  Hopefully, this is a good sign since one of my running goals for 2006 is to get used to running in Houston’s summer heat. 

For the summer, I’ve switched out my Amphipod fuel belt for a  handheld bottle.  The fuel belt is too bulky for the Summer’s hot weather, and I’m not covering the same distances in my long runs as I did during the fall/winter.  The handheld bottle is surprisingly easy and comfortable to carry- the strap is tight enough where I don’t have to grip it during an entire run, but not too tight where my hand feels like it’s being squeezed.  It’s also less hassle than the fuel belt - no fumbling around or rearranging multiple bottles.  At first, I was worried that it would make me feel kinda lopsided or tire out one hand/arm, but I got used to it pretty quickly.  Plus, the size is perfect for the 4-5 mile runs that I’m averaging these days. 

Location: San Francisco

Distance: 7.46 miles

Gun Time: 2:02 (took more than 10 minutes to get to the starting line….plus lots of stopping for photos…and trudging up Hayes St Hill)

Registered runners: 40,000

Estimated actual runners: 60,000 (that’s 20,000 bandits!)

Houston’s Sean Wade won the Master’s Men division (38:58) and placed 14th in the overall Men’s Division!

Today’s Bay to Breakers was SO much fun!! This was, by far, the biggest and most fun and entertaining race I’ve been in. LightningSpeed “I never run” Luna was an excellent race buddy - and this is definitely a race that’s more fun running with at least one other person. I decided to carry my camera through the race so I was able to get pictures of some of the costumes (and, er, lack thereof) along the way.

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I’ve gotten lazy about posting my runs/workouts.

Location: Allen Parkway
Distance: ~3.5?
Time: 44:16
Pace: 12:38

• Met John again for another run.  It was hot, but not as bad as I expected it to be.  We started at 6:45pm, crossed the Jackson Hill bridge and then headed east along Memorial.  John’s calf was injured from Tuesday’s mini-hill workout, so we took it easy.

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I’m going to San Francisco this weekend to run the Bay to Breakers 12K with Luna. This is the infamous race where some runners wear costumes, some runners wear normal clothes…..and some runners wear nothing at all. Yes, I’m in the ‘normal clothes’ category.

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On Saturday, I met some peeps downtown to watch the Art Car Parade.  Lots of amazing art cars (266 total), plus a Kinky sighting.  I’ve posted all my photos in my gallery.

I went running in the morning, so I missed the first half of the parade.  Fortunately, my route was the Allen Parkway/Memorial loop, so I got to run past all the Art Cars lined up before the parade. 

The Art Car Parade is organized by The Orange Show Center for Visionary Art and is apparently the world’s oldest and largest art car parade.  Anyone with an art car can ride in the parade - we saw everything from small scooters to huge buses.  Dusty Hill from ZZ Top was the Grand Marshall - how hilarious is that?  The Chronicle reports that 200,000 people came out for the parade. 

Some of my favorites from the parade:

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