Splits (I ::heart:: Garmin):

Mile 1 - 13:17 (Verrazano Bridge)
Mile 2 - 11:29
Mile 3 - 11:26
Mile 4 - 11:24
Mile 5 - 10:57
Mile 6 - 10:22
Mile 7 - 10:27
Mile 8 - 10:46
Mile 9 - 11:17
Mile 10 - 10:28
Mile 11 - 11:11
Mile 12 - 11:16
Mile 13 - 10:14
Mile 14 - 11:17
Mile 15 - 12:38 (Queensboro Bridge)
Mile 16 - 13:36 (Queensboro Bridge)
Mile 17 - 10:11
Mile 18 - 10:32
Mile 19 - 11:37
Mile 20 - 11:59
Mile 21 - 12:01
Mile 22 - 11:49
Mile 23 - 11:05
Mile 24 - 11:35
Mile 25 - 11:50 (cramp)
Mile 26 - 11:45
Mile .2 - 9:33
FINISH! - 5:05:45
Avg pace: 11:39
Avg HR: 156

2006 Houston Marathon Time: 5:45:55
Avg pace: 13:12

PR of 40 minutes!!

*********************

The New York City Marathon was absolutely incredible. Going into this race, I told myself this would be my last marathon - finally, I could stop running and get my evenings and Saturday mornings back. But the second I crossed the finish line in Central Park, I wanted to do it all over again. (as it turns out, I am - the Houston Marathon on 1/13!) And as for my super shocking, “where the hell did that come from” 40 minute PR, I attribute it to the awesome weather, the screaming crowds and the kick-my-ass SMART training program. But who cares about PRs - I beat Katie Holmes! woohoo!

Pre-Race (Friday):

My first agenda item after arriving in New York was to pick up my race packet and bib from the Expo. After wandering around Times Square with my friend Abe, searching for the non-existent Expo shuttle, we ended up walking to the Javits Center.

When we arrived, the Expo was buzzing and packed full of runners. The butterflies in my stomach went into overdrive (and would continue until I heard the beep of my chip crossing the starting mat, two days later). Even Abe, a non-runner, was impressed. We took some pictures, gazed at the race course video, then wandered up and down the aisles checking every booth for free samples of food. The back of the Expo was filled with Asics branded Marathon gear, and of course I plopped down some alot of money for obligatory souvenir gear.

Afterwards, we took the marathon shuttle back into Midtown. Sitting behind me were two guys - one from Paris, the other from Orlando - who tried making small talk. Below are my favorite parts of their conversation:

Orlando Guy: What other marathons have you done?
Paris Guy: Mostly in Europe. My last one was the Amsterdam Marathon.
Orlando Guy: Amsterdam? Where is that?
Paris Guy: It’s a the capital of The Netherlands.
Orlando Guy: Netherlands? Where is that?
Paris Guy: Holland. Netherlands. You know, dutch people. Van Gogh.
Orlando Guy: Is that near France?
[silence]
Orlando Guy: So, are there tall buildings in Paris?
Paris Guy: Yes, we have many tall buildings.
Orlando Guy: Wow! I should go there someday.

(more…)

This will be my quickest race report. Ran the Cross Country Relay with Sarah, Randi and Margo. Our team was called Stride-Hers. We had a mini competition about who was going to be the slowest. I was the last leg, “D”. The first mile out was OK, but on the loop back my throat started feeling dry and scratchy. I don’t have allergies, so I think it must have been dust from the trails. The only thing I was anticipating on the course was the killer hill at the 1.5 mark. Got to it…and had to walk up it. Finished the last .5, and crossed the finish. I had bumbled up my Garmin, so I have no idea what my time was. I’m guessing 23 minutes for the 2 miles.

Afterwards, Margo gave each of us a bar of dark chocolate. That makes her the best Cross Country Team Captain ever.

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: Downtown (race route map) Distance: 13.1 miles Chip Time: 2:56:29 First Half: 1:23:24 (12:39 pace) Second Half: 1:34:05 (14:27 pace) (!!)
So, here’s my first race report in quite a while. I think my last one was back in April for the Astro’s Race for the Pennant 5K. While the weather at this Sunday’s Half was hundreds times better than the Pennant’s, I also finished this race not too happy with my results. *sigh* Plus today, Extra Strength Tylenol is my friend today. Prerace: Got to the race site just after 6am. There were already huge crowds hanging around the club tents, and lines forming at the portapotties. Ahh, the familiar pre-race scenes. At the chip pickup, I saw Keith, Edwin , Jon and Vic! There were a lot of reasons I was looking forward to this race (my first Half, getting back into running, etc) - but seeing fellow running bloggers was definitely on the top of the list. The pre-race energy was pretty exciting. We stood on the curb, and I started scanning the crowd….and at the other end of the street, up popped Holden’s head! I waved hello, then started looking for my sister. Eventually, I turned to my left and realized that we had been standing 6 inches apart, trying to find each other! Pretty funny. Anyways, after the National anthem and the gun, we were off. (more…)

Time: 40:44.6
Pace: 13:08/M (TERRIBLE)

My last race for the summer: On June 10th, I ran the Houston Pride 5K. Ok, “ran” might be a pretty generous description, since it was hot and miserable. It was the first 5K I’ve ever walked in - pretty discouraging. The volunteers at the mile markers were hilarious, though - the woman at the 2nd mile marker kept screaming, “WHO’S YOUR NUMBER? WHO’S YOUR NUMBER?” like Who’s Yo Daddy? Even the cops were cracking up. Anyways, I felt so discouraged about the race that I took a week off from running, and decided that I’m officially done with races until October. I’m still running, just no more races.

[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.

(more…)

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.

(more…)