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
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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.