Location: Memorial Park
Distance: 3 miles

• Right after our meeting, Minh and I got to Memorial Park around 9:45pm.  I've never started a run that late, and I was glad I wasn't alone…..it was pretty deserted, and a little creepy. 
• We talked big about doing 6 miles…..but ended up doing only 3.  We did run to the HARRA-marked trees next to the golf course to make it an even 5K.  I felt out of gas again.  
• I like the morning/evening setup, though I'm not sure I can realitistically keep it up all the time.  

Location: UT Gym
Distance: 3 miles

• I was supposed to put in 7 miles on Wednesday, but I couldn't make the SMART Club Run.   So, I decided to experiment with splitting my miles like I did on Saturday.   I was going to put in 3 miles in the morning, then 4 miles at night after my dragon boat meeting. 
• Did 3 miles on the treadmill.  Nothing interesting to report. Thank god for iPods. 

[photo courtesy of Louis Aulbach.  Click the photo for a cool article about the Waugh Bridge bats]

Location: Memorial –> Waugh Bridge
Distance: 5.3 mi

• We did our warmup from Memorial to the corner of Shepherd/Memorial, then Chip explained the workout: 5×180s, looping around Waugh and back to Blossom, then recovery jog back in. 
• I ran with Maureen, whose watch battery sadly died in the middle of the run.  So, we did our 180/3 minutes by guesswork.  Matt kept looping back to check on us, which was really nice of him. 
• On our return run, Bessie ran back with us while Matt left to prepare the Gatorade for everyone.   She ran behind me once, and I told her I knew the way back because I felt bad she might be holding back on her workout because I was so slow.  She said it was OK since she and Matt ran 15 miles the day before.  15???  wow. 
• I don't know why, but I felt out of gas the whole run.  It wasn't particularly hotter or more humid than usual. 
• While we were doing core (which I forgot to grab my mat for…oops), my sister walked up with her dog, Nesta.   She was there to run with Nesta, saw my car, and came to find me.   I hadn't seen Nesta for more than 6 months, so I yelled NESTAPOO!!….in the middle of core, in front of everyone.  Of course, I didn't realize I was yelling this stupid word until after the 4th or 5th time.  So embarassing. 

Location: Somewhere deep in suburbia (Sugarland)
Distance: 5K Time: 30:47 (PR!!)

Most of Sunday I didn’t feel great, and even considered skipping the race…..except that I had already paid my registration fee. Damn those online registrations. As June said later that morning, pre-paying the entry fee locks you in. So, at 5:45am, I headed out. The race was somewhere deep in Sugarland, 2 exits past Highway 6. I think this is the furthest down 59 I’ve ever been.

Parking was crazy, so people started getting creative with parking spaces. I think I ended up in a fire lane with 30 other cars.

Saw a bunch of Striders. FortBend Fit was out in big numbers - makes sense, since this was their turf. Lots of families too. Chatted briefly with Vic, June and Bill before the race. Everyone started setting their watches, and I realized I couldn’t remember the last time I raced without a watch. I just told myself to use this race as an easy run, and just get some miles in for the day.

Mile 1:

• I heard someone yell, “Ready, set, go!”…and we were off. I kept telling myself not to go out too fast, to remember how I lost steam by the end of Saturday’s TLT. But, the energy of the race kept me at a strong pace (strong for me, at least). The humidity was getting to me, and I was really looking forward to that first water stop. As I got to the first mile marker, the volunteer called out “9:53″….what? Did I run my first mile under 10 minutes? For me, that’s fast. I figured it wouldn’t last, and just kept going.

• The second mile took us along a semi-shaded street, so it was only “really humid” instead of “really disgustingly humid”. By this time, I could feel - and hear - myself breathing really hard. I didn’t realize it at first, until someone gave me a look of concern. I guess that’s the price I pay for chain smoking 10+ years - sounding like a dying frog during a race.
• I grabbed a cup from the water stop and poured cold water on my head…..ahhhh. 40 seconds later, it turned into warm water on my head. Ah, Houston in September.
• At the 2nd mile marker, the time was 10:21 (I think). That seemed to make more sense to me, though I told myself not to give up….I was already 2/3 done and 1 mile was nothing. Less than the usual 2-mile warmup with SMART, so I could try to see how fast I could go the last mile. Besides, it would all be over soon and I could return to my chilly, air-conditioned car.

• The final mile was difficult, but also felt short. I really think it was the layout of the course - I think the turns and bends of the course made it feel shorter than it was. I turned off the shaded street and back onto the main road….and could already see the firestation. Definitely motivating.
• In the middle of Mile 3, something really pissed me off. This little kid - and I mean little….his head came up to my bellybutton - started coughing and dry-heaving and crying, saying “I can’t do it anymore, I can’t do it…”, and this man with him started saying, “Don’t stop! Don’t start crying! Push through it!” Now, I had been running near them for most of the race, and from the beginning it was clear this man was coaching this kid. I couldn’t tell if this man was his father, but he would yell, “hup! hup! come on! keep up the pace!” and showed the kid how to drink at the water stops. Although his non-stop talking was irritating (”hup! hup! hup! hup!”), he did say some useful things at first like “keep a steady pace and leave some for the end”, etc. I didn’t hear the kid say anything until the middle of Mile 3, when he started retching and crying. Now, although all the “hup!hup!”s were irritating, I really got pissed when the kid started crying, asking to stop, and the man kept telling him to keep going….and not in a “you can do it” way, but a “don’t give up now, you weakling” way. I mean, this kid was maybe 6? 7? A little young to be pushing that harshly, in a really hot and humid race. ASKING TO STOP. I kept turning around to glare, but he didn’t notice. Later, someone said a woman started to yell at him and threatened to call the cops. Ok, getting the police involved is a bit extreme, but I definitely wanted to tell this guy off. What is it with adults forcing children to race when they obviously don’t want to??

• Ok, back to the race.

• I reached a corner and saw the entrance to the firehouse, and knew the finish line was right there. Knowing the end was near gave me a burst of energy - I started sprinting up the entrance and through the firehouse. There was carpet in the firehouse, and I thought the carpet was the finish mat…..but someone shouted “keep going!!” and I saw the actual chip finish mat about 50 feet ahead….under the huge FINISH banner. duh. I don’t think I lost any time, though. I made it through the finish with an overwhelming desire to vomit. A volunteer reached down to pull off my chip, and I figured it would be pretty bad if I threw up on this poor kid’s head. ew.

I hung around and chatted with fellow Striders, picked up some water and bananas……and my free Asics socks, courtesy of the Striders!! The results started getting posted….and Ann won 1st place in her age division! Awesome! Eventually, the final results were posted, and I checked my time. I had to check twice, because I couldn’t believe it….30:47? Wait, what? I checked again….9:53 avg pace. If my 2nd mile was 10:21, I must have really booked it during my last 3.1! I was also 10th in my age group…..ok, so there were only 24 women in my age group, but god bless these small races. woo hoo!

But, Vic made a HUGE PR…..more than 1.5 minute from his previous PR, and more than 5 from his first one. I couldn’t believe it….I was speechless for a minute. And Vic seemed so casual about it - I was like, hello HUGE achievement!!! Yay Vic!!!

So, I put some numbers together:

Current 5K PR: 30:47

Previous PR: 31:30 (@ 2006 Bellaire Trolley Trot)

Average 5K time: ~ 33-34 min

Last 5K: 37:58 (@ 2007 Rockets Run)

Damn those hills and intervals and TLTs…..but I guess sweating out a liter of sweat 4-5 days a week in miserable humidity is actually doing some good! Yay SMART!!

Location: UT Gym
Distance: 4 miles

• Did 4 easy miles at the gym to bring my Saturday mileage total to 14. 
• During my morning run, I was having some problems with my right achilles tendon - it was extremely tight, and felt like it was contracting in the OPPOSITE direction from normal.  When I extended my leg at the beginning of each step, it felt fine - but from the middle to end of each step (with leg kicked back), it was almost painful.  I tried stretching it out, but it didn't seem to help.  It eventually loosened up in the middle of the morning run, but I decided to do my 4 miles on the elliptical to give my calves a break.  After 2 miles I got bored so I switched to the treadmill.  Fortunately, no problems with the calves since then. 
• I like breaking up my miles between morning/evening - though it kinda feels like I'm cheating.

[Photo from a website claiming to have photographed a ghostly orb at Bear Creek Park.  Looks like a smudge to me.  Click on the photo to read more.] 

Location: Bear Creek Park
Distance: 10 miles
Temp: low 80s?  Surprisingly cool for Houston

• Saturday morning's run was yet another Track Long Track.  The SMARTLite workout was 2 mile warmup, silly walk stretches, then 2×1200m at 10K pace, 3 mile recovery, 2×1200m at 10K pace, 1 mile cooldown. 
• Ran with Maureen and Pamela, with Barb as our fearless SMARTieLite leader.  It had rained on Friday evening, and the sky was still cloudy, creating some wonderfully cool temperatures for Houston.
• Once again, I went out too hard and fast on my first 1200m.  I really need to work on pacing myself - by the end of the workout, my intervals were identical in speed with my recovery jogs. 
• For our 3 mile recovery, Barb led us through the west part of the Park along the Sullins Way loop (I think).  Really muddy, but fun to explore a new route.  At one point, we turned a corner and a flock of about 50 snow white herons flew into the air - it was a beautiful sight.
• Although I should have done the full 14 miles, I did the 10.  Right now it's more important to me to run with a few other people than to run alone on the longer route.  I should probably start changing that approach soon, though.  
• I decided to put in an extra 4 miles later on in the evening.