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