do (run) while (date < 20070528)

May 21 through May 27:

MON	TUE	WED	THU	FRI	SAT	SUN	TOTAL
	5 mi	3 mi		3 mi	10 mi		21 mi

Astros Race for the Pennant 5K

During the drive towards downtown this morning, what was on my mind was getting fluids (water and GU) into myself and hoping that fluids (coolant and tranny) were staying in my car. I had replaced a leaking radiator on Friday, and while it certainly seemed simple and within the skill set of this DIYer, I was just paranoid that I had forgotten something simple yet important that will lead to another leak or just cause the whole vehicle to undergo nuclear fission.

(I know some of you are wondering why I'm eating energy gel for a 5K. I had a multipack with "05/07" stamped on them and don't see why I should keep them past their prime. And sucking down a GU has become a psychological signal to my body that it's time to run.)

We arrived safely at Minute Maid Park with all fluids in man and machine topped off and ready to go. I went straight to packet pickup, while Christy headed over to the race-day registration table. She's a definite non-runner who decided to take the plunge and try walking the 5K course. (Brave, brave Christy!)

Numbers pinned on ... chip on shoe ... it's "Go Time!" So much for my plan of arriving early and getting a gentle warmup jog....

While the starting pack was just breaking up, I struck up a conversation with a couple of other guys as we noticed a rather tall kid ahead, whose hips were seemingly at my chest level. From the angle I had, he resembled a younger version of Bill Walton, the former Blazers/Celtics center. His effortless strides were obviously making good use of the long legs. As he pulled away. I joked that, "he'll be able to lean across the finish line from the two-mile marker!" The rest of the first mile was rather uneventful, winding in a loop around a few downtown blocks. I walked through the first water stop, then picked up the pace again.

Mile 2 had us doubling back past the stadium, where I got a high-five from the Astros' long-eared mascot Junction Jack. (It was thoughtful of him to sit out the race. Who could hope to compete against a rabbit?) This part of a 5K is tough for me because I'm starting to feel the wind drain from me, and it's too early to get into finishing-kick mode. So naturally this is the time for "great legs chasing" as Scottydog from the RunnersWorld forums likes to say. Good choices abound, and eventually I locked on to the back of a lady with a ponytail in a wonderful shade of brown. She's wearing an OKC Memorial Marathon finisher's shirt in a sharp shade of green. "She must obviously know what she's doing," I thought to myself. I managed to hold pace behind her until I walk through the Mile 2 water stop.

It was time to U-turn for the return to the stadium. Harrisburg Street runs under railroad tracks just east of downtown, and I yell out a "Yay gravity!" on the first half of the underpass. On the other side of the tracks I start struggling, and I'm passed by an older gentleman who turned to me and said, "The hills are tough, aren't they?" Yup. After emerging back to normal ground level, I gathered what was left of myself and started my final push. A few blocks later I reached the vehicle ramp that will lead me down into Minute Maid Park's left field where the race ends.

As I plunged from daylight into darkness I thought back on this larger running journey I've taken. Two years ago, I got my first taste of a 5K on this course as a 250-pound newbie who needed 46 minutes to huff and puff to the finish line. This year I'm happy to report that I met the clock somewhat sooner than 46 minutes, and I'm not wearing cross-trainers and a cotton T-shirt either! After returning my timing chip, I marched up into the stands, grabbed a couple of drinks and left the stadium to seek out my walking friend on the course. A few blocks away I heard someone call my name, so I turned to see MightyTortoise from the RunnersWorld Beginners forum on her home stretch to the finish. I returned the greeting, then continued jogging the course in reverse.

I tracked down Christy near the back of the pack and walked with her to the finish. Back inside the baseball stadium I struck out during the door prize drawings, but I did get to say hello to MightyTortoise again. So along with Bharat, I've had the pleasure of meeting two RWBF forumites in person now. I hope everyone else has enjoyed their spring.

Finally, Go Astros (who are closer to racing for the division cellar instead of the pennant)!

Event: Astros Race for the Pennant 5K (26 May 2007)
Location: Minute Maid Park, Houston
Result: 29:13 (chip), 29:52 (gun), 29:17 (Garmin Forerunner 101)
Benefits: Astros in Action Foundation
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PostScript (31 May 2007): I was looking over the results from this race last night and updating my race results spreadsheet. (I hope I'm not the only geek who keeps something like that.) Now that I've got three Astros 5Ks under my belt, it was interesting to see how far things have evolved:


2005 -> ~46 minutes gun time. I was registered as a walker and not chipped. Outfitted in cheap cross-trainers and a cotton T-shirt.


2006 -> 32:42.9 chip time. I'm now a complete convert to tech fabric by now, with cheap, but serviceable dedicated running shoes on my feet. Pam Gardner (#1) is the Astros President of Business Operations. Yup, she's the head honcho that brought this event together. She finishes nearly three minutes ahead of me (#222)


2007 -> 29:12.8 chip time. Discovered a love for Saucony shoes in the past year. Pam Gardner finishes about 40 seconds ahead of me.

2008 -> Assuming that I'm doing this race again, one of my goals will be to beat Pam Gardner! Pam, next year you're mine!

One more note: My local running hero, Ino Cantu, finished this year's race 99th overall (out of nearly 1100 people) with a chip time of 21:15.4. Mr. Cantu is 73 years old. I hope to be still up and running at that age.

do (run) while (date < 20070521)

May 14 through May 20:

MON	TUE	WED	THU	FRI	SAT	SUN	TOTAL
	7 mi		1 mi		3 mi		11 mi

Also this week: 8 miles on bike on June 3

Celiac Awareness Run/Walk

Today was supposed to be an "off" weekend as far as racing was concerned. But a cool front came through the area late in the week, blessing us with lower humidity and and overnight low temp of 60F or so. Bear Creek isn't really that far away, so how could I let prime running weather pass me by?

This was another small event; at the postrace, I overheard that 133 race numbers were issued, and I think a large minority of that were for walkers. I did a walk-up registration, and after I paid cash for my number and timing chip, I walked over to the table with the T-shirts and race packets. The lady behind the table had a quizzical look on her face and asked me twice what I needed. Eventually, I think I got my point across and came away with a bag. In the back of my head, though, I couldn't help but wonder if it had something to do with me being the "odd grain of brown rice in a bowl of white." I really hope that I'm actually wrong about that.

The actual run itself was just fine. The course is basically a double-loop of Goldbow Drive, which rings the picnic areas of the park. The water station was set up on the Mile 1 spot, and a handful of adorable kids were helpfully hydrating us. No PR happened this morning, but I ran fast (by CurrentlyVince standards anyway).

Celiac disease is essentially an intolerance for wheat, rye and barley, so the postrace treats featured a lot of "gluten-free" products. I'm not much of a drinker, but I did sample some of the sorghum-based Redbridge beer and I thought it had a nice crisp flavor, reminding me of cider.

Thanks to Christy for holding my camera during the race (and apparently she figured out how to snap a couple of pictures herself). Afterwards, we took in 8 biking miles on the trail in adjoining Cullen Park. Too bad the water temperatures are still a little cool for my comfort; if I could have taken a couple of pool laps, I could have called myself a triathlete for the day.

I'm going to take it a little easy this week, looking forward to next week's Astros Race for the Pennant to complete what has been a most interesting spring racing season.

The splits according to Garmin:
Mile 1 - 9:02
Mile 2 - 9:37
Mile 3 - 9:41
Last .1 - :55

Event: Celiac Awareness Run/Walk (19 May 2007)
Location: Bear Creek Park, Houston
Result: 29:17 (Garmin ForeRunner 101)
Benefits: National Foundation for Celiac Awareness (NFCA), the Gluten Intolerance Group (GIG) and the University of Maryland Center for Celiac Research

do (run) while (date < 20070514)

May 7 through May 13

MON	TUE	WED	THU	FRI	SAT	SUN	TOTAL
			2 mi		6 mi		8 mi

Pearland Pear Run 10K

Back in February, I was disappointed with a tough struggle through most of the Rodeo Run 10K, so I've had today's event in Pearland in mind all spring as a place to prove that I can still manage myself effectively through this distance. I had been worried that this weekend would be warmer than I'd like, but having 64F for an overnight low and knowing that a mostly tree-shaded course was ahead had me feeling good before the starter's gun went off.

Early on, my biggest strategic concern was avoiding starting out too fast. Repeating my 8:38 first mile mistake from last weekend's 5K would have made the next 5.2 miserable. I focused a lot on my stride, trying to keep it as economical as possible. "Forward only, no bounce. Forward only, no bounce" were thoughts I repeated over and over to myself.

The combination of the twisty residential 10K course and small field of runners meant that I spent much of the race being aware of only one or maybe two other runners behind or ahead of me at any given time after the 5K group split off. It was just like running in my own neighborhood, with the exception of having cops and EMS on bicycles buzzing by every few minutes!

As I crossed the finish, the gentleman that ended up removing my timing chip must have read the expression on my face perfectly. "Was that your best 10K?" he asked.

"Best EVER!" I answered back. :)

I had come in under my old PR for the 10K distance, which was 1:03:20 from last year's TXU Energy Turkey Trot. I had also lopped off five minutes from my Pear Run time from a year ago. What pleased me almost as much was how effectively I managed to find and hold pace. According to my Garmin Forerunner, my slowest mile and fastest mile splits differed by only 16 seconds. This is an area that I've struggled with ever since I started running a couple of years ago.

After taking the opportunity to use the restroom and grab a Gatorade out of my car, I noticed the last few runners entering the park on their final approach to the finish, tailed by the full swarm of the EMS and cop cyclists. Having a very good idea of how these runners were probably feeling at this point, I made a point of cheering each of them in.

I certainly would consider running this race again for a third time next spring; the event was a job well done by the Pearland Citizens Police Academy. The race packet bag contained a couple of unexpected items -- a George Strait CD and a firearm lock? Finally, I do find it amusing that despite the race's name and the grinning fruit pictured on the race shirt, the post-race refreshments didn't include any actual pears.

The splits, per my Garmin Forerunner 101:

Mile 1 -- 9:52
Mile 2 -- 10:01
Mile 3 -- 10:02
Mile 4 -- 10:03
Mile 5 -- 10:08
Mile 6 -- 10:08
Last .24 mi -- 2:17

Event: Pearland Pear Run 10K (12 May 2007)
Location: Independence Park, Pearland TX
Result: 1:02:35 (new 10K personal record)
Benefits: Pearland Citizens Police Academy Alumni Association

do (run) while (date < 20070507)

April 30 through May 6:

MON	TUE	WED	THU	FRI	SAT	SUN	TOTAL
	3 mi	7 mi				3 mi	13 mi

Sprint for Life 5K

Today I ran a 5K on the streets around the Texas Medical Center. The course route was basically triangular, starting in front of St. Luke's, going past the V.A. Hospital and Ben Taub General, and finishing at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. If you're going to be unfortunate enough to experience a medical emergency during a race, I suppose this is where you should have it. :D

With an overnight temp of 73F and humidity around 80-something percent, this was what I consider our first taste of summer. My original intention was to slow down accordingly and sustain a pace in the nine-minute-or-so range, but as the stats from my Garmin show, I wasn't very successful:

Mile 1: 8:38
Mile 2: 10:07
Mile 3: 10:17
Last .17: 1:43

I was forced to take a walk break in mile 2 to recover my breathing. After hitting the finish chute, I jogged back to the last turn and cheered my sister and brother-in-law to their finish. I didn't threaten my PR today, but I realistically don't expect to do that again until the fall. I did have a great time with my brother-in-law and sister, who live within walking distance of the finish line and invited me to come join them today. M.D. Anderson and their sponsors did a nice job with the after-race party -- live band, breakfast tacos, bagels, and beer muffins. (I didn't know there was such a thing as a beer muffin until today!)

It was a bit risky to take relatively-untested shoes out on a race, but the Saucony Trigon 4 Guide turned out to feel pretty good. There's not as much toebox room as the Phoenix and they are a bit heavier -- about two ounces per shoe. Hopefully the extra weight will deliver more support and cushioning in longer runs.

Event: Sprint for Life 5K Run/Walk
Location: Texas Medical Center, Houston
Result: 30:51
Benefis: Blanton-Davis Ovarian Cancer Research Program