Pope John XXIII Fun Run

Even if this race didn't have high "cherrypicking" potential for awards, I'd still run it. The course around Pope John XXIII High School in Katy is off-pavement along the banks of Mason Creek and is good for some mud-puddlin' fun. We're finally in the heart of the spring racing season and Mother Nature had served up a morning with partly cloudy skies and temps in the 60s Fahrenheit.

After the starter's pistol sounded, I had trouble finding a rhythm. Up ahead of me was a man who I imagined to be in my age group, so I locked on him as a target and was able to pass him before the first mile was done. Soon after the first mile, I felt some discomfort so at the water stop I washed down a simethicone tablet. Alan Silvestri turned 60 years old yesterday, and I had his suite from Forrest Gump in my head with me during the rest of my run.

On the return leg, I was focused on running towards the red brick building in the distance. I was doing my best to refrain from checking my Forerunner during the last half of the race. Without my fancy watch to tell me my position, I managed to surprise myself, because I suddenly noticed that the school had appeared on my right side. I had been targeting the wrong red brick building! The very last part of the course sent runners through a zigzag chute and across the 50-yard line of the football field to the finish line. If I had been paying more attention at the time, I would have been able to also see my finish time on the scoreboard clock in the end zone.

I remember small fields of competitors when I was here in '07 and '08, but the turnout felt even lower this time. The school's small parking lot was only half full of cars. But I can't control who does and who doesn't show up, so now I'm three-for-three in bringing home hardware from PJ23:

Mile 1 -- 10:20
Mile 2 -- 11:00
Mile 3 -- 11: 20
5K elapsed time per Garmin Forerunner 205 -- 33:43
2nd place, men's 30-39 age group