Last night was the final leg of the annual Tour de Bayou series, coordinated by HARRA and Runsport. Yesterday’s course was approximately 5 miles along the Ho Chi Minh trail in Memorial Park. I think it took us 70 minutes (we were about halfway through the course before I realized I hadn’t turned on my watch. great.)

This was my first year doing the Tour de Bayou. This year’s series consisted of five races held on consecutive Tuesdays from April 4th to May 2nd. Each week was a new course location, but it seems all the courses shared certain components:

• Runing on trails
• Lots of hills
• Located along the banks of Buffalo Bayou

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[photopress:bellaire.gif,thumb,alignleft] Location: City of Bellaire
Date: Saturday morning
Distance: 3.1 miles
Chip Time: 31:30
Mile 1: 10:03
Mile 2: 10:11
Mile 3: 10:17
Mile .1: 00:57
Avg/Max HR: 185/203

Yay!! It’s been a while since I last PR’d, and my only goal for Saturday’s race was to put last week’s horrible 5k time behind me. At 36:23, Yuri’s Night was my 2nd worst 5K time ever, and I felt frustrated and disappointed in myself about it all week….so I’m happy I ran a good race both mentally and physically. My finish time was a minute faster than my previous PR of 32:33 at the Rocket’s Run in January. It’s funny how minutes and seconds in a race carry so much more weight than minutes and seconds in any other part of the day.

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Tour de Bayou

On Tuesday, I left work early for the first of the Tour de Bayou series.  At 5:40pm, I hauled ass to White Oak Bayou park to make the 6pm start time.  I got to the park at exactly 6:00pm, just as the whole group had started the run.  I met up with John P, and we were off.  It was 2 loops along the Bayou for a total of 4 miles. Lots of serious hills, too…..not as tall as the hills along Allen Parkway, but they were definitely steep.  Great hill workout - I was dying by mile 2.  I liked running on the grass, but some of the downhills were packed dirt and I was worried that my shoes didn’t have enough traction and I’d end up sliding into the Bayou.  The course markers were a little confusing, and John and I missed one of the hills along mile 3.  oops.   But overall, it was a fun 4 miles and my first time visiting White Oak Bayou park.  At the finish, I saw Jessica (who probably PRd or placed in her age group….AGAIN ;)).  Next week’s Tour de Bayou Run: 3 miles in Spotts Park. 

Location: Challenger 7 Memorial Park
Distance: 3.1 miles
Time: 36:23 (This might be my *worst* 5K time yet)
Avg/Max HR:  190/201 (!!)

Traveled down to Clear Lake/Webster for the Yuri’s Night 5K Fun Run, organized (and photographed!) by fellow running blogger Sarah. Jon was also there as a volunteer.  I hardly venture to that part of the Houston sprawl, so it was nice to check out Challenger 7 Memorial Park.  Located on NASA Road 1, the park was named in honor of the 7 astronauts that died in the Challenger Shuttle explosion.

The turnout was small, but casual and laidback.  My bib number was 4! woohoo  At 8am, Sarah gave a quick hellohowareyoureadysetgo and then we were off. 

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Distance: 8K (4.97miles)
Chip Time: 53:30
Mile 1: 10:55
Mile 2: 10:53
Mile 3: 10:53
Mile 4: 11:07
Mile .97: 9:42
Avg/Max HR: 177/195

Saturday morning’s Law Week Fun Run 8K marked the return of my watch and heart rate monitor. I was losing motivation/enjoyment of running for a while, so I stopped wearing the watch/HRM in order to truly focus on enjoying running/exercising. Just running without any measurement or performance tool has helped me remember why I got into running in the first place - to keep myself healthy, to relax and because it’s fun. I never timed myself during the first few months (in fact, I rarely ever wear a watch outside of running), but I was really enjoying it. Still, I’m glad I wore my watch on Saturday.

Coincidentally, the current issue of Runner’s World has an article about training without a watch to increase/maintain motivation. Check it out.

And on to the race report:

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[photopress:bayoucityclassiclogo.jpg,thumb,alignleft] Sunday’s Bayou City Classic 10K was my 2nd favorite race to date (1st is the 2006 Houston Marathon). I haven’t had so much fun at a race - got to run with a friend, wear a silly costume, stop and chat with friends along the course, take pictures and run the 6.2 miles purely for fun.

I was a Running Nose (my Halloween costume from last year) and John was a Box o’ Tissues. The backup plan was for John to wrap himself up in yellow saran wrap and go as a Running Booger, but in the end, the Box idea came through.

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Location: From Bayou Place to Minute Maid Park
Distance: 10K
Watch time: 1:18:17 (bleh)
Avg/Max HR: 184/204 (??)

Not a great race at all. My finish time was 11 minutes slower than last year’s RodeoRun. Bleh. However, it was my first time running an official race in the rain and I have to say, it was kinda fun. I’m feeling a little sick again but hey - it was worth it.

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