Location: Terry Hershey Park
Distance: 2 mile warmup, SMARTie Hops, 2 mile cooldown

• Made it out to Terry Hershey Park for my first SMARTie Hop workout.   All SMARTie groups (Memorial Park, Sugarland & Terry Hershey) were supposed to meet at Terry Hershey for the workout - about 15-20 people showed up in total.  We set up our 5lb weights and towels/mats in a circle by the parking lot, and then headed out for our 2 mile warmups.  I like Terry Hershey - it's clean, beautiful and the rolling hills provide a smidgen of hillwork in pancake-flat Houston. 
• I got to run with Barb, and heard about some of the behind-the-scenes work she's doing coordinating the Houston Half Marathon.  Barb said it wasn't too bad….but I have a feeling she was being modest, especially since it's the first race in the annual Houston Marathon Warmup Series so the turnout is always big.  Anyways, the 20k/Half will always have a special place with me - it was the first long distance race I'd ever done, and was a huge boost to my confidence that I could actually run (and complete) a marathon. 
• After the warmup run and stretching exercises ("silly walks" thanks Joe!), it was time to start the SMARTie Hops.  For the workout, everyone stood in a circle with Lee leading us through about 11-12 different pylometric exercises.  Don't be fooled by the funny names - these were some challenging exercises.  And our soundtrack?  A compilation of Weird Al, courtesy of Steeve.  Awesome. 
• Some of my favorite Hops: 

• Toyotas:  For this exercise, we would jump straight up, kicking our heels as high as possible.  Just like those "Oh what a feeling….Toyota!" commercials from the 80's.  
• Fast Steps: For 60 seconds, we'd run at a really high rate, making sure our feet hit the ground at least 90 times during those 60 seconds.  It probably looked like we were doing really fast shuffling up and down the path….like we were having a Baby Steps race.  I had to laugh at the people passing us, looking both surprised and slightly alarmed.
• Wall Toe Raises: This one was the hardest for me.  We were supposed to lean backwards against the fence, our legs straight but slightly angled away from us.  Then, we'd lift our toes up, keeping our heels on the ground.  20 slow "pulses" followed by 30 fast pulses.  Watching Lee demonstrate, it seemed pretty easy - lean against a fence, and lift your toes just an inch or so. woohoo. But it was MUCH harder (and painful) than I expected - my calves/shins were totally burning after just 20 slow pulses.  By the middle of the second set, I could barely lift my toes. OW.
• Maniac: This one was the BEST.  For this exercise, we'd run in place as fast as possible.  But just before we started, the music switched from Weird Al to "Maniac" from the movie Flashdance.  Ha!   All of a sudden, Steeve yells to Barb "Come on, Wifey!" and jumps into the middle of the circle, doing a pretty good job channeling the spirit of Jennifer Beals.    Apparently impressed, Vic says "Steeeve, I'm picturing you in a thong."  Hilarious. 

[youtube SXWXswNZLB4]

August in Houston, originally uploaded by escapevelocity.

Bleh.

[youtube YXRH50fvHWA]

Location: UT Gym
Distance: 5 miles

• I added an extra mile to my scheduled 4 miles since I forgot to do the 2 mile cooldown yesterday.  I wanted to do 6 miles, but I was already going to be late for the meeting. 
• Since I didn't have time to put in a full 6 miles, I decided to push myself on the 5 miles I did have time for….I did negative splits, really pushing myself at the end.  I started at a 12 min/mile pace, and ended at 9:30 min/mile.  At the very end, I cranked up the speed (for me, at least) and did the last half mile at a 9:08 min/mile pace. whew! 
• Afterwards, I did the fastest core workout ever, which probably had no benefit whatsoever. 

Ironically, the music video below is one of my favorite running songs these days.   It's an awesome song, and an even more awesome video

[youtube pv5zWaTEVkI]

Location: Memorial Park Track
Distance: 400m x 5

• Did Kenyan Relays for the first time.  I thought we were going to do the relays on the Memorial/Shepherd hill (I think I read it on someone's blog), so I was a little relieved that we were going to do them on the track….but the workout still kicked my ass.
• Kenyan Relays: In teams of 2, the first person would run 400m (1 lap) around the track.  When the first person completed a full loop, the second person would take off.  We continued this for 10 minutes, took a few minutes rest, then started again for another 10 minutes.
• From what I understood, the pace should be fast….not a sprint, but definitely a pace to push ourselves.  The goal was also to practice pacing ourselves - to be able to finish a lap at the same pace as we started.   
• I went out WAY too fast on the first loop.  I was OK until I hit the 250m mark…..that's when I knew I was trouble.  Ugh.  My partner was Hoang, a friend from dragon boating, fellow HoustonFit convert, and who is thinking about joining the Striders (YAY).   Hoang is really fast, so I always had a short rest.  Every time I'd see him turning the final 100m, I'd think, "crap! He's back already?? Next time I'm getting a slow partner."  Every successive lap of mine became slower and slower.  ugh.
• Afterwards, Hoang and I jogged back to the parking lot, chatting.  I thought it was strange that we didn't see anyone else from the group, but I didn't think too much of it.  But then, as I was driving out of the park, I saw everyone on the loop, finishing up their 2 mile cooldown….OOPS.  Crap.  That's 2 extra miles to make up tomorrow. 

In what may be filed under "Bad Decisions of the Year," I've decided to give up coffee until after the NYC Marathon.  I can't articulate the reasons clearly right now because, well, I haven't had any coffee this morning. 

But since I don't completely hate myself, I've decided to abstain from coffee, but not caffeine.  So, it's all about tea from now till November.  I made a batch of green tea last night, and put it in the fridge for some nice chilled green tea.  I've had four cups so far.  

Don’t get stuck in a hurricane without some chili, originally uploaded by escapevelocity.

Hurricane preparedness: Batteries, flashlights, water….and Wolf brand chili.

Location:  Treadmill at the UT Gym. Right under the air conditioning vent, baby.
Distance: 5 miles
Temp: 75 wonderful degrees

• Went to the gym to put in my miles on the treadmill.  Although I was only scheduled for 3 miles, I added two extra miles since I had missed most of the warmup on Saturday. 
• It was a pretty easy run, uneventful.   Slightly boring, as treadmill running tends to be. 
• Afterwards, I jumped into the pool.  ahhhh, nice.  But I only got a few laps in because the pool closed 30 minutes earlier than the rest of the gym.