Rodeo Run 10K Race Report

This race report is eerily similar to the Jingle Bell Run.  Met Liz down in the lobby and off we go to the rail.  Riding the light rail is always an interesting experience.  We arrive a bit later than anticipated and begin looking for Active Houston and The Icehouse runners.  Of course we find neither.  Oh well.

We line up directly under the 7 minute pace banner, only to hear the people around us discussing to “hopefully keep a 9 minute pace”.  It’s too late/crowded to move up much.  This start isn’t going to be pretty.  It does not help that the late arrivers are walking up the middle of the corral back to where they think they should be.  The first mile is like a game of Frogger, or maybe Pitfall, with constant dodging of walkers.  Mile 1 7:27 pace and lot of energy wasted weaving in and out of traffic.  One day I’ll learn to not have expectations of actually racing these big in town races.  At about the first mile mark I drop the thoughts of sub 46 minutes, and aim for a 7:35ish pace.  It’s finally starting to clear out when I hit the 5K timing mat 22:58.  Seems like sub 46 is still a possibility.  Shortly thereafter I start falling apart mentally.  My motivation for enduring the pain necessary is low.  A couple of times I caught myself “coasting”, but noticed when I did my pace was still a respectable 7:40ish pace.  I finished in 46:35 (7:29 pace),  388^th overall (out of 6310), and 54^th (out of 447) in my age/gender group.  Next up:  Sub 1:40 attempt 1 at the Woodlands Half-Marathon.

Notes:

• Bag drop was very well organized
• Light Rail is now my preferred way of getting to these downtown races.
• They needed to block off the start and force people to enter the corral from the sides
• I need to move up closer to the start line.
• Post race vendor tents were a mess.  Between the 5K and 10K starting at opposite ends and the sheer number of people it was difficult to get to the water/food tents.
• Watching a bit of the parade is always fun.
• First race I haven't bumped into someone I know.  Even finding Liz afterwards was tough.
• After Hogs Hunt I need to focus on getting my weight down.

Hot Chocolate 15K Race Report

As with all race reports, let’s start with the weather.  When we arrived it was a windy 50 degrees, which made for a chilly walk to bag drop off.  Luckily, bag drop off was indoors and plenty warm.  Unfortunately an hour or so later when we made our way to the starting line it was a windy 44 degrees.  Oh and I tripped jumping the barricade getting into the starting coral.  I thought I only hurt my pride until someone pointed out my left hand was dripping blood.  It really wasn’t that bad but I was bleeding like it was.

The first couple miles I was working a bit harder to maintain my goal pace than I thought should be necessary.  Only at the 5K mark did I realize we were running slightly uphill the entire time.  The 5K split was 23:33 (7:36 pace).  Right where I wanted to be, but working harder than I should have.  Just outside of the mile four water station was a pretty big hill (for Dallas standards) and my pace suffered accordingly.  Hit the 10K split at 47:13 (7:37 pace).  I felt pretty strong going into the final 5K.  The end was a bit tricky mentally.  At mile 8 you enter the fairgrounds, but it feels like you are done.  I constantly felt the end was just around the corner, even though my gps clearly said I had a mile to go, only to be disappointed.  I finished in 1:11:04 (7:38 pace).  Good enough for 173^th overall (out of 3759 finishers) and 20^th (out of 171) in my age/gender group.

Couple things of note:

• My little sister finished in an impressive 1:26:17 for her first ever race.  With even 5K splits and all!  I’m so proud of her.
• Gatorade in a cut doesn't feel good at all. 
• The little Dallas hills are going to be the flat sections of TransRockies, I really need to get better at hills.
  
• Treadmill hill intervals seem to be helping with recovering  on the flat / downhill sections. 
• I was right at my goal half marathon pace for this race, but there is no way I could have kept it up for another 3.8 miles.
• I’m only down 7 pounds; I need at least another 7-10 to make sub 1:40 possible.  I don’t think 3 weeks is enough time.
• Surprisingly, hot chocolate and bananas dipped in chocolate fondue both make great post-race treats.
• Not sure how I'm going to "race" the 10K; go all out, or practice half-marathon pace. 
• I really need to find my old race results, this may be my fastest 15K. 

Camping & Rocky Raccoon Volunteer Report

Originally I had planned to drive up for my noon to 6pm Rocky Raccoon HTRex aid station volunteer effort and drive back later that night. Then I went to a foam party with my improv peeps.  It turns out Joe is moving to LA in a month or so and we were discussing one last camping trip.  A couple of drinks later and the master plan was hatched.  We arrive Friday night, setup camp, and began the weekend of fun.

I’m finding volunteering at the races is a ton of fun, and a lot more hard work than it appears from the outside.  Trying to keep the food and drinks ready for the runners as they come in waves is challenging.  Just when you think you have things under control the next wave of runners comes through and you’re behind again.  I ended up staying until about 7:30 ending with traffic duty.  HTrex did a great job, everything was very well organized.  As a volunteer it is great to be able to shout out a runners request and be told exactly where something is, or on the odd occasion the request cannot be met.  It’s always great to hear things like “This is the best aid station” by many many runners. 

Joe went to Sam Houston State and is very familiar with all that Huntsville has to offer.  We headed to Zach's Bar & Grill for a beer (or two) and some fried pickles.  I know going out to dinner at a restaurant isn’t camping but this was a going away trip for Joe and he really wanted to show us some of his favorite local spots.  Joe wasn’t lying, the fried pickles were amazing.  We headed back to camp and smores were for desert.  

Overall it was great trip.  Remarkably I didn’t run at all while I was there.   If I don’t run the 50 miler next year (something I told myself I would never to again), I am definitely volunteering again.  I’ll make a  whole weekend of it either way.  I really want to see how crazy it gets out there at the midnight to 6am shift.  Next up Hot Chocolate 15K with my sister.  I can’t wait!

January in Review

It’s been a bit since I’ve had anything noteworthy to write about.  Although my MacBook’s hard drive going belly up certainly didn’t help any.  Still need to figure how I’m going to get the last couple years worth of photos off of the old hard drive.   I’ll just give a one month update on how the year is going so far.

Running

This month has been all about running.  I only missed one day of running this month.  Amazingly, I ran no races this month.  Volunteering at the Houston Marathon with Team RWB was a great experience despite temperatures in the low 40's and rain. I did manage to log 218 miles.  Longest run was 16 miles, shortest run was 3 miles, and 8 runs over 10 miles.  Good enough for third place in the HTRex 2013 Challenge.  I’ll make up for the lack of racing next month as I prep for my first sub 1:40 half-marathon attempt.  Hope to run the Ghirardelli Chocolate Run 15K and the ConocoPhillips Rodeo Run 10K at a low 7:30ish pace.  I am really looking forward to running the Chocolate Run with my little sister.  With all the racing and tapering for the Woodlands Half my mileage will be quite a bit lower this month.  I’m shooting for 150 or so miles.  I signed up for the TransRockies race (gulp).  Right now I’m in the three day solo run, with an option to do the second three days.  Hopefully, I can find a partner and switch over to the six day team run.  May do the MS150 again this year, but it is the weekend after the 50K which has me a bit nervous.

Vacations

Nothing new to report.  I may have the opportunity to go to Japan around Thanksgiving.  I need to book my plans for my other vacations and be done with it.

Work

Nothing to report here.  I still show up, they still pay me.

Personal Development

Started four separate books but didn’t finish any of them.  Flatland is a really good book, but it’s not light reading despite being super thin.  I have not signed up for salsa lessons yet.  More than likely it will be on the back burner until after the 50K.  We had a surprisingly great improv show at ComedySportz.  My expectations were low, but my team pulled it out and won the match.  Next show will probably be a farewell show (at the White Swan?)  for Joe as he’s moving to LA at the first of March. 

Social

This has probably been the most dramatic change.  With the exception of the Foam Party, which was a blast, I really didn’t go out much.  It's odd to be rooting for not having any dates.  Although to be fair I have been sort of (casually?) dating this woman since the end of October, but that's over now.  I held to my plan and have started doing more things with a core group of new/old friends.  It really has been nice.

Next up Camping/Volunteering at the Rocky Raccoon 100 Mile Trail Run this weekend.