do (run) while (date < 20070430)

Workout log: April 23-29
MON: 3.5 miles at near 5K pace in a new pair of Saucony Grid Omni 5 Moderates.
TUE: (rest)
WED: 4 miles run, 2 miles walk. The Omnis are not going to work. Will the trusty Phoenix into battle Saturday. They're not dead yet -- but I need to figure out what I'm going to wear when they are!!!
THU: (rest)
FRI: (rest)
SAT: 3 race miles at Running for the Arts 5K.
SUN: (rest)

TOTAL: 11 miles running

APRIL 2007 TOTAL: 46 miles running, 40 miles on the bike

Running for the Arts 5K

Back to racing on the roads! Before the gun went off this morning, I promised myself that I would refrain from looking at my Garmin until after mile 2. After coming close to throwing up during Resurrection Run, I am more determined to actively listen to my body when it comes to pacing. There's a right time to push harder, and there's a right time to "keep a lid on it." It's just as Luke Skywalker demonstrated while barreling down the trench in his X-Wing in Star Wars: Getting a feel for what is correct is even more important than seeing what the instruments are telling you -- except I didn't drop torpedoes into the mall at the end.

Near the end of mile 1, a woman in front of me suddenly stopped and turned around. I let out a "Whoa!" and spun around her like a running back dodging a tackle. Memo to race participants: If you are going to do something other than going forward, LOOK FIRST! She probably doesn't check her blind spots when driving earlier.

Hearing the volunteer calling out the two-mile split ("19:33") made me feel really good because I knew that I was realistically headed for a sub-30-minute time if I kept my pace. On the return leg towards the mall, I focused on the "Sears" sign on the side of the building. I imagined myself as an unstoppable bowling ball that was going to crash right through that sign. I think it worked, because at no point did I feel like I was going to burn out early. In that third mile I managed to pass a few people and don't remember anyone passing me.

The result wasn't a PR -- which for a 5K is still 29 minutes flat from last November's Prostate Cancer Run -- but I'm still quite content with it, considering that the weather is warmer now. Elite masters runner Sean Wade happened to be doing this event as well. On his blog, he describes his 14:51 run as a "rust buster." Nice.

After the awards ceremony, I continued my search for the successor to my Saucony Grid Phoenix. (It was so unselfish of the mall to host this event, which just happen to conclude with a few hundred people at their entrance at 10 a.m.) A quick visit to Foot Locker only reinforced my impression that this store doesn't cater well to runners. I had a little more luck at Sun and Ski Sports. I did short test drives of the New Balance 767 and the Asics Gel 1120. I ended up taking the Asics home. My only concern now is that they might be lacking a little snugness in the heel, but otherwise they seem fine. I hope they end up proving themselves with some miles on the road.

Because the second mile featured eight 90-degree turns in a span of a just a few tree-lined blocks, I don't really trust the GPS-reported splits, but here they are anyway:
Mile 1: 9:23
Mile 2: 10:04
Mile 3: 9:14
Last .09 mile: 0:59 (10:42 pace)

Event: Running for the Arts 5K (28 April 2007)
Location: Memorial City Mall, Houston
Result: 29:41 (Garmin Forerunner 101)
Benefits: Spring Branch Education Foundation

do (run) while (date < 20070423)

Workout log: April 16-22:
MON: 2 miles running, 4 miles walking on street (not feeling good!)
TUE: =null=
WED: 6 mile jog, feeling better today. Breaking in a new pair of Saucony Grid Hurricane 8.
THU: 3 mile run. The Hurricanes need to go: Way too stiff for my needs, like running on a balance beam, must be for people with really flat feet!
FRI: =null=
SAT: =null=
SUN: 5 easy miles on street, back in 2nd pair of Grid Phoenix for now.

TOTAL: 20 miles on foot

Zappos.com should be delivering a pair of Grid Omni tomorrow, crossing fingers and hoping they'll work out.

do (run) while (date < 20070416)

Another workouts posting, covering April 9 through 15. As I said before, feel free to ignore. :)

MON - 3 easy run miles on street
TUE - =null=
WED - 20 bike miles on Hershey/Bush Park trails
THU - 10 bike miles on Oyster Creek trail
FRI - =null=
SAT - 3 race run miles on muddy trail at Safari Trail Fun Run 5K
SUN - =null=

TOTAL: 6 miles running, 30 miles biking

Safari Trail Fun Run 5K

In the battle against workout boredom, the best weapon is variety. Today I ran a 5K race out in Katy, which wouldn't be unusual for a Saturday morning, except the "Safari Trail" wasn't the usual three-mile romp through urban or suburban streets.

This course takes runners on the trails along Mason Creek behind the John Paul XXIII High School campus. Since it rained last night, the trails were dotted with mudpits. I already knew there were good times ahead.

The school mascot is a lion, so I'm pretty sure that's where the "safari" in the race name originates. I didn't see any lions in Katy today, however. Perhaps the cow mascot from race sponsor Chik-Fil-A scared them away? I've noticed that those C-F-A cows are a pretty aggresive breed of livestock....

After the starter's pistol sent us on our way, I quickly discovered that the key to trail running is to always stay alert; there are no chances to "zone out" whatsover. In most road races, runners with their heads hanging down may be interpreted as exhibiting "defeated" body language. (I know I've been a good example of that more than once!) But in a trail run, looking down at the ground is just plain smart. There were sections where I had to make quick decisions on my approaches, picking lines that stayed on grassy areas. In some spots, there was little choice but to go right over the mud. Having off-roaded in Katy a few years back in the CR-V, I knew this mud was hard-packed, yet very slippery. Using a rapid-fire staccato step to maintain balance, it was a challenge to maintain some semblance of my usual 5K pace while avoiding any embarrassing stumbles into the creek.

A headwind during mile 3 on the return leg to the school helped to ensure that no PR was going to be possible today. Coming through the finishers chute, PJ23's cross-country coach Arland Nichols asked me what I thought of the course. "That certainly was diferent," I responded. "Factoring in the degree of difficulty, I'm giving myself credit for four miles today."

But overall, this was literally a fun run. Unsurprisingly, turnout was small, less than 100 runners. The competition was so limited that I actually managed to pick up my first age-group medal ever. Having my name actually called during the awards ceremony for something other than a door prize will probably be the source of a lot of self-amusement this week.

The organizers hope to make it an annual event. I think they should start promoting it as "The Houston Area's Muddiest 5K." (Are there any other contenders?) In fact, if it's dry next year, they should go ahead and deliberately water down the trails.

The splits.....
Mile 1: 9:40
Mile 2: 9:57
Mile 3: 10:51
Last .11: 1:08 (9:58 pace)

Event: Safari Trail Fun Run 5K (14 April 2007)
Location: Pope John XXIII High School, Katy TX
Result: 31:38 (Garmin Forerunner 101), 3rd place male age 30-34
Benefits: Pope John XXIII High School athletics

rnd(20070410)

Random stuff today:

The Boston Marathon coming Monday. A (formerly) 438-pound guy from Wisconsion wants to run/walk the course as a "bandit." Hilarity is inevitable.

* * *

I think I've got my "next running goal" thing figured out. I have the sub-30-minute 5K, so the next logical goal is to try to pick up a 60-minute 10K. That would mean finding a way to squeeze 3 minutes off my PR from the last Turkey Trot. There is an opportunity coming up at the Pearland Pear Run on May 12. I just hope the weather isn't too warm by then.

* * *

It Sure Smells Like a Bug To Me: I filed my tax return this week. Like a good geek my intention was to file 100% electronically, just as I have for the past 10 years or so without any problems. But the software I was using kept rejecting my return, telling me that the 2005 Adjusted Gross Income figure I was submitting (to help authenticate my identity) did not match what was submitted last year. I was somehow expected to correct this before re-submitting. This perplexes me, since this number was automatically imported from the 2005 version of the same software. How could I have made the mistake here? I can't believe that I'll actually have to visit the post office this week to mail a signature form. I may as well ride a horse there.

* * *

American Idol comes on Tuesday nights. I've had class on Tuesday nights. For the first time since the show made it's debut, I feel just fine about not watching. I'm not even recording it. It's a bit liberating to realize that I don't really care who wins now, especially since I'm enjoying the non-winners' albums even more than the winners'. Even Kelly Clarkson's second album was way more interesting than the mish-mash of stuff they had her record immediately after winning season 1.

do (run) while (date < 20070409)

Well, Runner's World magazine for May 2007 landed in the mailbox this week. As if the publisher was directly responding to my thoughts from Wednesday, it turns out that this is the Motivation Issue. Nice. No more excuses for slacking.

One of the listed nuggets of motivational wisdom was to post your workouts to a blog. Well, that sounds great, and I'll give that a try. (The blog is here, after all.) But I can only imagine that those posts will be inevitably boring for other people to read. Therefore, gentle reader, you have my blessing if you want to escape these "do . . . while" loop posts from here on out.

Anyway, here's the first week I'm putting in the blog. This represents Sunday, March 31, through Sunday, April 8:

SUN -- 10 easy bike miles at Space Race
MON -- 3 easy run miles on street
TUE -- =null=
WED -- 3 easy run miles on street
THU -- =null=
FRI -- =null=
SAT -- 3 race run miles at Resurrection Run
SUN -- =null=

TOTAL: 9 miles running, 10 miles biking

Happy Easter from me . . . and Dr. Collins too, I suppose

To the handful of people that have found this blog: On this day, "the day that the Lord has made," I wish you and your loved ones the joy of renewal! It's the time God tells us that no matter how deep of a hole humanity digs itself into, there really is a reason to stop digging and look for a way out. "I'm here to help," He seems to tell us.

(From what we're told, Jesus was a carpenter. If He had been sent to us today, I can almost picture him working at the aisles at the local Ace Hardware. They really do seem eager to help over there....)

The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief
Francis S. Collins
2006, Free Press

My "Lenten project" was to finish this book by Francis Collins by Easter morning. Sure enough, I turned the final pages last night. Collins is the head of the Human Genome Project, and a man of Christian faith. I have always been fascinated with the relationship between religion and science in this country. Much of America seems to be of the mindset that if you "believe in science" you must deny God, or if you are a "person of faith" you are compelled to distrust the scientific method.

Collins' purpose in this book is to show that faith and science are not at odds, and we are fighting battles where there should be none. In short, Collins takes the position that revealing the workings of creation -- in the biologist's realm this is the evolution and expression of DNA -- can only bring us closer to God, which is a view which I've been leaning toward for a long time. Understanding and knowledge are gifts that have been provided to us so that we may make good use of them.

Along the way to discussing the synthesis between faith and science in his life, Collins takes the lay reader through a pretty decent introduction to evolution and the workings of DNA. An appendix at the end discusses some of the bioethical questions that confront us today. (Due to my undergraduate studies, it's mostly already-covered ground for me.)

I do have some trouble with the subtitle of this book. I don't think we'll ever be able to come up with "evidence for belief" and Collins doesn't really present such. Even he admits that belief requires a "leap" that observed facts cannot propel. Leaning heavily on the thoughts of Saint Augustine and C.S. Lewis, he does present the argument that what is revealed by science doesn't provide evidence for disbelief. To me that's an important distinction. Seeing as Collins cited Lewis so frequently in this book, I'm feeling almost compelled to get a copy of C.S. Lewis' Mere Christianity and read that author's complete work myself.

It's just too bad there's only 24 hours in a day, and I waste about 7 of them sleeping! Oh, well.

Resurrection Run 5K

I think it's official: I'm a junkie, and race adrenaline is my drug. Why else would I get up early on a holiday weekend and think that driving down to Nassau Bay for a 5K would be within the bounds of normal human behavior?

After Steps for Students got rained out, I was hounded by the unsatiated cravings for that rush that only comes from an official calling out "Take your marks!" So this Saturday morning I found myself at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, right across Nasa Road 1 from the Johnson Space Center. I registered, then set out to warm up.

Indeed, I ended up having to warm up in the literal sense of the word, as well as in the physiological sense. "Cold" running in Houston should be a thing of the past by the time March rolls around. And yet, the thermometer sat at 49F as the sun was rising on this April morning, thanks to one more cold blast from Old Man Winter. I saw a lot of runners in their long-sleeve shells and non-runners bundled in jackets and hats.

15 minutes before the main event, the Kid's K was launched from the church parking lot. I had my digital camera in hand, so I grabbed a shot of them skittering past.

5 minutes before go-time, I made the decision that I'm warm enough to shed my jacket. After a short prayer led by the church's recreation director, the announcer mentions that race weather conditions could be ideal for PR. (For the layman, PR is short for "personal record.") Yeah, I was thinking the same thing too. 50 degrees and no sun is a formula for fast times.

As the run started, I had to make a conscious effort to hold back just a little, since I have a tendency to overpace at race starts. (Maybe I need a Gentle Leader Easy Walk harness myself?) The course is quite flat, and meanders through the streets that surround the church. Everything seemed to be pointing towards my actually making PR this morning, until mile 3. Right when I wanted my body to turn it up for a final kick, a wave of nausea started in my gut instead.

Uh oh.

I've never actually "tossed cookies" on a run, and I was determined to make sure that we weren't making that kind of history this morning. So I dialed down from "smoldering lungs" pace and started playing internal relaxation messages in my head. As we re-entered the parking lot, one of the race volunteers called out, "There's a woman behind you catching up. You can't let her beat you!"

I waved back. "Let her pass," I thought to myself. "I'm fine with just keeping a lid on things downstairs at the moment, thank you very much...."

After exiting the finish line chute, a voice called out behind me, "Hey, man!" I turned around and recognized him as the big built-like-a-runningback dude that had sort of been shadowing me over the last half of the course. "Nice job holding me off there at the end."

With the nausea finally past, I was able to break down laughing, still trying to catch my breath. Actually "holding off" anyone has never really entered my mind during a race. I had to confess to him that I wasn't competing against anyone or anything but my previous PR. Sure, I'm self-conscious of my derriere just being an annoyance in the way of the better runners, but it's not as if its part of a devious strategy against them, I swear!

So my 5K PR still sits at 29 minutes, set at the Prostate Cancer Run back in November. But contrary to the sports-announcer cliche, this was one race where I was perfectly happy that I didn't "leave it all out there."

Splits....
Mile 1: 8:38 (!)
Mile 2: 9:50
Mile 3: 9:55
Last .17: 1:37 (9:40 pace)

Event: Resurrection Run 5K (7 April 2007)
Location: Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, Nassau Bay TX
Result: 30:02 (Forerunner 101)
Benefits: Crossroads at Park Place

Gentle Leader Easy Walk Harness review

I introduced my warmup partner, Mimi, to the Gentle Leader Easy Walk Harness this week. It was roughly $30 from Petsmart, so it's wasn't cheap compared to other collars and leashes. Even fancy retractable leashes don't cost this much. However, already I can see it being worth every penny. Mimi had a tendency to get really excited at the start of a walk and pull herself silly against her collar. Sure, it would serve her right if she managed to strangle herself, but I didn't want to try to explain that to the rest of the family.

This product consists of three nylon straps. The first goes across the shoulders and the second goes across the belly, resulting in an encirclement of the torso just behind the forelegs. The key ingredient is the third strap, which runs between the shoulders by crossing the dog's chest. The leash attaches to this strap in the middle of the dog's chest. When the dog attempts to pull forward against the leash, the force slightly compresses the chest strap and redirects her to the side, avoiding the usual "pull-forward-hard reflex" that happens when a dog feels a collar tighten around her neck.

The first day I fitted the Easy Walk, Mimi actually refused to budge for a few minutes after I strapped her in. She was even reluctant to move when I opened the front door! But eventually, she realized that this change to our routine wasn't the end of the world, and she has really taken to it. Just as the product title promises, she's now striding contentedly beside me without placing any tension on her lead whatsoever. Both the belly and shoulder straps feature squeeze release buckles, giving me options on exactly how to fasten and unfasten the harness. Nice job, Premier.

This is actually the second Easy Walk I got for Mimi. At first I guessed wrong and purchased the small size, but I had to exchange it as it turns out that her fit is actually is at the tightest adjustment of the medium version. The Easy Walk is available in multiple sizes and all three straps are adjustable, so just about any dog can enjoy a custom fit.

Product: Gentle Leader Easy Walk Harness by Premier
Price $29.99 (local Petsmart)
Verdict: Buy

rnd(20070403)

Random musings here. Just itty-bitty stuff -- each doesn't seem deserving of a whole post on its own:

• Major league baseball season opened this week. It's too bad the Astros have lost the first two games thanks to bullpen breakdowns, but thankfully (or not) it's a long season. If Morgan Ensberg can find 2005 again . . . if Jason Jennings Colorado performance really does translate up with a move to Minute Maid Park . . . if Adam Everett and Brad Ausmus can stop being a "black hole" in the lineup . . . (the campaign has a lot of if's) there may be meaningful games in September.
• NBA playoffs are just around the corner. I think the Rockets have enough to make trouble this year. Really.
  
• I don't know why exactly, but I find myself wanting Thomas Owen's "One" bike. Maybe it's because I'm a fan of all things portable, or maybe it's because gasoline prices are creeping up again. More pictures can be seen at the designer's website.
• I went for a jog on my usual 3-mile out-and-back near home yesterday. Maybe it's the temperatures returning to the 80s Fahrenheit, but I just felt unmotivated and lethargic sooner than expected. I think I either need to break routine somehow, or put another goal race in front of me.