For $18 per mile, this better be good

Last weekend was the date for the Sugar Land 30K. I wasn't going to be participating, but since that was the last race in this fall's "Warm Up Series" before the Houston Marathon, I was reminded to go ahead and submit my switch to the Aramco Half. The drag in San Antonio had me convinced that 26.2-Ready wasn't going to happen this year. I'm still at a better place than stuck-on-the-couch, though, and that's the important thing.

"U-S-A . . . U-S-A . . . U-S-A . . . U-S-A . . ."

So, considering last year's deferral, I will be at the start line of a $235 half marathon in one month. I certainly hope to have a non-sucky run for that money. On the plus side, during the same weekend I'll be making myself available as a volunteer for the Olympic Trials Marathon, and the opportunity to be even a small part of some elite athletes' Road To London is something I'm looking forward to just as much. 

Home Run 10K

Having nothing to do with baseball, this morning's event could have been called the "Home Away From Home Run," but no one bothered to consult with me when they picked the name of this second annual fundraiser for Ronald McDonald House Houston.

Arriving late, I heard the horn sound when I was still a block away from Sam Houston Park. The start line was dismantled by the time I reached it, so there won't be any chip time data on me. But this is no big deal since I wasn't really running for time anyway. The Home Run is "only" a 10K, but since this would be the longest distance I've done since getting Rocked in San Antonio, I fully geared up and went out with a long-run mindset.

A refreshing breeze made the humid skies pleasant to run under, and after a loop in and out of Midtown, it was time to grind out the back half of the course on the rolling pavement of Allen Parkway. On the Allen Parkway out-and-back, I took opportunities to cheer on the race leaders on the home stretch. (Whenever I do this in a race, some of the other participants around me seem genuinely surprised; I guess they'd rather tune out of their surroundings and keep their mind on their iPods.) After the last U-turn I picked up a couple of impromptu running buddies and chatted a little about running and our volunteer connections with RMH. That helped the last couple of miles go by much quicker.

Upon my return to the shadows of the downtown skyline, I was delighted to find some great treats from sponsors at the postrace, including food from Holmes Smokehouse and Creative Crepes (Nutella crepes, yes!). The House's mascot is a Labradoodle named "Mogie," and all finishers went home with a dogbone-shaped medal. I'm sure I can find space on the Christmas tree for this one.

I've always appreciated the 10K distance and was sorry to miss out on the first Home Run last year. Not only is the benefit cause a good one, but the race event itself was really well done. This one is certainly a worthy addition to the Houston runner's calendar.






The splits:
Mile 1: 10:26
Mile 2: 11:02
Mile 3: 11:53
Mile 4: 12:28
Mile 5: 11:48
Mile 6: 12:03
Last .2 mi: 2:40
10K Elapsed Time: 1:12:18 per Garmin Forerunner 205

Trifigura Home Run website:
 http://www.rmhhomerun.com

I'm thankful . . .

• For remaining employed in a time of heightened economic uncertainty.
• For the FCC's opposition to the AT&T/T-Mobile merger that has no upsides for the customers or the employees of either company.
• For having comfortable housing in an area with beautiful neighbors.
• For the contents of my kitchen, where my biggest complaint is that I have run out of space in my freezer for any more yummy things.
• For opportunities to go and make a difference for others.
• For the nineteen thousand pageviews at Houston Running Calendar last month. (Whoa!)
• For the organizers and volunteers that make all those running events happen.
• For the CyanogenMod team whose firmware has made my Nook Color a much more interesting device.
• For the knowledge that there will be a season 5 of Mad Men.
• For the cessation of wildfires (for now) and for the firefighters that have been keeping our homes safe.
• For being able to sleep in this morning, run my own one-man Turkey Trot with the treetops, come home and write a 351st post to this blog.

. . . and much more. Happy Thanksgiving!

Chase After A Cure one mile (give or take a few hundred yards)

Technically speaking, if today's run was a race, I won.

I've never tried a one-mile event, so when I heard about the Chase After A Cure on the University of Saint Thomas campus, I thought it might be fun to try. I wasn't expecting a USATF-certified course, but during my warmup, I couldn't help but notice that my Forerunner was counting the cone-marked path short by nearly a quarter-mile. Oh well.

The race director was an MBA student hosting this fundraiser as a class project. Her start line instructions could be distilled into three words: "Follow the cones." The course was an short out-and-back surrounded by a larger loop, laid out functionally in what is known as a "lollipop." When we were sent forth from the back of the athletic center, the two young guys in front of me reached the end of the "lollipop stick," glanced both ways and then exchanged puzzled looks before taking a left turn on the sidewalk. Everyone else followed suit, except for me. I'm certain that I was the only one -- aside from the RD -- that got a look at the arrows on the course map pointing to the right.

So as I proceeded clockwise around campus, I got a chance to wave hello to everyone following the loop the other way. The attendance was roughly thirty and most were walking. I wasn't the first one to return to end of the "stick," but I was the first one back who had followed the course correctly. I slyly suggested to the RD to try directional arrows or signs at her next event.

There was a real winner today, of course -- the Children's Neuroblastoma Cancer Foundation -- and I hope this project puts that young RD on the path to an A in the classroom.

Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio 1/2 Marathon

Along with the soreness in my heel, I'm now home with real lingering doubts as to what I can do in Houston in January. On Sunday, November 13, I made my RnR return in San Antonio, and the race toasted my expectations.

Acknowledging that I'm still working on my comeback to running, I had registered a few months ago with an anticipated finish time of 2:45. For race morning, that placed me in corral 26, close to the back of the 30,000 participants, so I didn't cross the starting line until after 8 a.m. I knew it was going to be a warm morning, so I had to balance two concerns -- not going out too fast due to the heat and knowing that I should try to cover as much ground as I could before the fog lifted.



The fog dissipated by the time I hit the 10K point, and I found myself in increasing difficulty. I remember this part because the RnR organizers had planted a large inflatable guitarist balloon figure that straddled San Pedro Avenue. I made it under okay, but I saw people behind me get a surprise obstacle as the breeze caused the figure to dive and crotch-bounce the pavement, blocking all lanes.

The last half of the race had me heat-bothered and hurting more than expected. I'm sure some of my problem was taking on this course on sloped pavement after logging just about all my training miles on trails here in the Houston flatland. But that doesn't explain why I only consumed half a package of GU Chomps when I was consuming a package and a half during long runs of similar length. Looking back, perhaps I should have taken one of those little packets of margarita salt from the volunteers at the start area. I could have been running calorie-rich, but electrolyte-poor.



There were a fair number of spectators along the course, but I really could have used more cowbell. The most memorable signs I spotted were "My Mommy Is Faster Than Your Mommy" and "FART!" which came at the right moment to crack me up. I did my best to acknowledge the cheering and otherwise have a good time of things with the people around me. Yelling "Watch out: heavy man being acted upon by gravity!!!" while passing people on a downhill hasn't gotten old for me yet.

With a lot of walking and stopping to stretch my aching achilles, I was heading for my personal worst finish time for a half marathon. I gathered myself for one final push to try and finish under three hours, but was unable to do make that happen. After humbly accepting half marathon finisher medal number ten, I plopped my butt onto the Alamodome parking lot with some HEB-supplied snacks as headliner Vince Neil gave us "Dr. Feelgood," "Girls, Girls, Girls," and other Mötley Crüe tunes that I'm sure the under-30 crowd imagined were playing on the wagon radios during San Antonio's cattle drive days.



I did have an excellent weekend overall, though. Being able to get a downtown hotel really did make the expo and race morning logistics a breeze. I feel fortunate not to have been one of many participants to have needed medical attention. I even read that one runner died.

I'm counting a burger from the original Fuddruckers restaurant and a little historical sightseeing in downtown San Antonio as a great start in "active recovery." After this race, however, and knowing the Houston Marathon course has a lot more pavement waiting in a couple of months has me seriously considering a switch to the half distance. I really am learning how to do this stuff all over again.


The Splits:

Mile 1 - 11:15
Mile 2 - 11:13
Mile 3 - 11:37
Mile 4 - 11:46
Mile 5 - 12:24
Mile 6 - 11:56
Mile 7 - 12:52
Mile 8 - 12:37
Mile 9 - 14:04
Mile 10 - 14:47
Mile 11 - 16:32
Mile 12 - 20:26
Mile 13: - 16:31
Last .1 - 2:47
Half marathon elapsed time - 3:00:45 per Garmin Forerunner 205, 3:00:41 chip time

Run With The Saints 5K

A near-frosting front blew through town recently, and before next weekend's half I thought it might be a good idea to have a "race rehearsal" in cool/cold conditions. So this morning I dropped in on an event I've never done before, the Run With The Saints 5K at John Paul II Catholic School right here in the upper Buffalo Bayou neighborhood.

For the first time since the end of the Summer of Fire, I pulled a C9 shirt from the long-sleeved side of the closet and when I arrived at the school, I literally warmed up for a mile with a jacket on. By gun time things were aligned perfectly -- I was warmed up, the temps hung in the mid-40s and there was plenty of residential shade and no wind on this flat course.

After the first mile of weaving through walkers and telling half a dozen kids about their untied shoes, I was able to settle in with my breathing and let the legs go on auto-pilot. I let my mind wander to thoughts of oven-warmed brownies in mile two and visualizations of a banana split with mango ice cream in mile three.

When I reached the finish line, I noticed we had been tricked! The entrance to the finish chute was the exit driveway to the parking lot, with a "DO NOT ENTER" painted on the pavement. We'll never be saints if we're flagrantly disobedient, right?

But hey, I've got my first sub-thirty 5K since 2009 and it feels like a thin slice of heaven.

The splits:

• Mile 1: 9:39
• Mile 2: 9:37
• Mile 3: 9:36
• Last .1: 0:49

5K elapsed time: 29:39 per Garmin Forerunner 205

Houston Texans Running of the Bulls 5K

While waiting in the "bullpen" for this morning's race to begin, a surprising thought entered my head:

I am on the attack today.

Yesterday, I went out to prove that I wasn't too sick to finish 3.1 miles, and did it. And today, I felt better than I did yesterday. So, I could say that I felt ready to take this one by the horns.




I looked over the crowd that had come in for today's race, and it was much bigger than the one that showed up for the Battle Red Run the Texans hosted in 2006. Not Rodeo Run large, but there were easily as many people here as at the last Astros Race For The Pennant 5K I was at, so the Texans' event marketing people must have stepped up their game recently.

We were told to expect the sound of a cannon blast to signal the start of the Running of the Bulls 5K, but I guess there was a firing malfunction and we were sent forward without much fanfare at all. As planned, I attacked the first mile way more aggressively than I did yesterday. I did my best Arian Foster impression, weaving and cutting around many, many people for that entire first mile. I found myself amused at passing numerous walkers for that entire first mile. In the end there was only a one minute discrepancy between my chip time and gun time, so I can only presume that they must have started the course early.

The Bullpen Pep Band that plays at Texans home games was out to play for us next to the Mile 1 water station, and I gave them an enthusiastic wave even though I couldn't quite make out the number they were playing at that moment in time. Mile 2 of this course features two crossings over Kirby Drive using the pedestrian bridges that lead out of Reliant Stadium. My inner nerd became the motivator during the bridge crossings, as these were the on-the-spot mantras I muttered to myself over the bridges:

Uphill: "Potential, potential, potential, potential. . . ."
Downhill: "Kinetic, kinetic, kinetic, kinetic. . . ."

I was even feeling better than expected in Mile 3, and I'm pretty sure I passed more people than passed by me. I still feel a little discouraged when I can barely keep up with some of these long-legged ladies and gentlemen that appear to be merely walking enthusiastically, though.



The finish line was through the north tunnel. Although a 20-yard "red zone" and end zone were marked on the pavement, I was really hoping to end the race on some of the actual turf used during games in Reliant Stadium. Surely they grow spare squares of the stuff, right?

Even though I struck out during the door prize drawings, I still came away with my fastest 5K in more than two years, and that's no bull.

The splits:
Mile 1: 9:13
Mile 2: 10:09
Mile 3: 9:59
Last .1: 1:43
5K Elapsed Time: 31:05 per Garmin Forerunner 205

Official race results:
Chip Time: 31:00
Gun Time: 32:01
Placing: 77th in M35-39 AG

Run to Cure HD 5K

Friday afternoon found me being dragged down by what I believe is a head cold. Even with a medication-assisted night's sleep, I wasn't exactly feeling 100% when I showed up at Oyster Creek Park to take on this morning's Run To Cure HD. I registered the requisite brain malfunction when I arrived and realized I had left my timing chip at home. No problem, really, since I'm rarely in danger of being within sniffing distance of a podium finish.

I had my trusty Forerunner 205 GPS to record my race, and it was secured with the replacement Velcro strap I ordered from Garmin after one of the eyelets on the original "watchstrap" broke, It's not stylish, but the Velcro worked really well to stop the device from bouncing around, just as it did with the original Forerunner 101.

This wound up as a tightly spaced race, as we were doing two out-and-backs on a narrow asphalt trail that was not closed to the public during the race. It's a good thing that the turnout for this was only a few hundred people or else we'd have problem with runners weaving into others' path. I kept up a pretty good pace during mile 2, "drafting" behind a woman mimicking a rollerblading motion with her stride.

In the final mile, the beginning of the final leg-in was marked with a line of white tape and some college-age volunteers were there marshaling runners to touch the line before turning around. I decided to play this up even further by asking if I could not just touch the tape line, but if I could caress it, stopping and bending over to give it a nice patting. That got a nice whoop-and-holler response.

We may be slow in the back of the pack, but we have more time to have fun on the race course!

And now, it's off to bed for me: I'll be taking on another 5K in the morning.

The splits . . .
Mile 1: 10:37

Mile 2: 10:39
Mile 3 11:17
Last .1: 1:24

Elapsed 5K time: 33:58 (per Garmin Forerunner 205)

Houston Running Calendar re-launch

My other blog project has been a simple, yet comprehensive, list of upcoming races and fun runs in the Houston area. I'm moving it to a custom domain name of its very own. So http://houstonrunningcalendar.blogspot.com is changing to http://www.houstonrunningcalendar.com.

Thanks to everyone who's been giving me positive feedback. Update your browser bookmarks!

Octoberfast dreaming

Tonight I ponder both where the training time has went and how the remainder of training time will be coming prior to race day in January. The Houston Marathon Kick-Off Party came and went a couple of weeks ago and we're at the point of the year where the long runs will be served mostly in increasing helping sizes.

I feel like I'm ahead of the curve as I stretched out for 16 miles this past weekend. Yes, I was very exhausted by the end, but I was pleased to see that the body recovery was a snap, compared to previous long runs where I'd be working out soreness for more than a couple of days. It was a humid morning, but partly cloudy with temps that stayed under 80F through mid-morning. I was breaking in a new hydration belt -- the Nathan Speed 2 -- and it felt really good to have that pair of 10-ounce bottles around my center-of-gravity instead of 20 ounces sloshing around together as usual in my handheld Amphipod.

Fueling this season's PR distance on Saturday were Black Cherry Clif Shot Blocks, Blueberry-Pomegranate GU Chomps, and a MP3 playlist with nothing but albums from the band Cake. Cake gave a great show for their Houston fans recently as headliners of BestFest in Midtown. One thing I hadn't noticed until that night is that their songs don't vary too widely in tempo. So a nothing-but-Cake soundtrack was actually useful in keeping up a decent running rhythm.

Endurance is building, but I'm still concerned about speed. If Marathon Sunday was tomorrow, I wouldn't be ready for the 13:45/mile pace needed to finish in the 6-hour limit. I'm hoping speed will come around with cooler weather and more training time. Meanwhile, this week I'm dialing back the distance this weekend for at least one short race, so here's a toast to finding some Octoberfast in my glass!

Just Run for a Just Cause 10K

I began the morning by slicing a fingertip with one of my fingernails while tying the drawstring on my shorts.

Yup, that's the kind of pro runner I am.

After applying a Band-Aid and muttering, "Who does this!?" a few times, I was on my way to the Just Run for a Just Cause at Kingsland Baptist Church in Katy. I just wanted to give myself a little test to make sure I haven't forgotten too much about race execution.

I'll generously grade myself a D-plus for this one. The course is a semi-shaded 5K loop on suburban concrete. I would be circling it twice for 10K distance. The first loop went by in about 32 minutes. This was way too easy, so of course I immediately hit trouble in the form of lightheadedness and a feeling that control of my breathing was slipping away. I think I can put the blame on any combination of the following causes:

• A little too much caffeination before the race.
• An arcing sun dialing up the mid-morning temperature to almost 80F.
• Pushing the pace too fast too soon.
• More than the recommended daily allowance of running skirt sightings.

I decided that the smart thing to do was to slow down before I gave myself a lovely case of heat exhaustion. So I completed my second loop at long-run pace, basically keeping myself in line behind a guy sporting excellent facial hair and a finisher shirt from the Cowtown Half Marathon. With the power of Cowtown Soul Patch leading the way, I trundled back into the church parking lot in a total time of about 1:11, which is totally acceptable versus laying myself out on a random curb with my heartrate skyrocketing.

This run was a benefit event to fund aftercare for women rescued from human trafficking operations. The shirts given to today's registrants were created in a factory that gives these rescued women jobs outside of the sex trade. They sport a unique design, with the race name on the back and signatures of some of the workers on the front.

Today was the race debut of a new pair of shoes, the Asics Gel Phoenix. Interestingly enough, years ago I was in "shoe love" with Saucony's Grid Phoenix which was discontinued, so it's a wonderful happenstance that the competition also picked up the "Phoenix" moniker years later for mild stability running shoes. They even have the nice wide toebox that had been a Saucony hallmark.

So I'll close this report with a question: Before I run away with the stupid-injury crown, what is the wackiest race day injury you've had that had nothing to do with running the race itself?

The splits:

Mile 1 - 9:59
Mile 2 - 10:31
Mile 3 - 11:20
Mile 4 - 11:20
Mile 5 - 12:40
Mile 6 - 13:10
Last .2 - 2:30
10K Elapsed Time - 1:11:32 per Garmin Forerunner 205

Ever call in an order for "wildflowers" and have "wildfires" show up instead?

The other morning, I woke up listening to the update on Tropical Storm Lee and had a really good laugh when I heard that the tropical storm watch area stopped at Sabine Pass. It's like the weather knows exactly where the state border is located. Houston, normally gifted generously with moisture from the Gulf of Mexico, continues to be hit with the Texas Drought of 2011.

It's been so dry that my neighborhood reservoir caught fire twice this past week. When the air has been just right this summer, I can still catch a whiff of ashes from a fire that burned about a hundred acres just after Memorial Day. During this morning's long run, I got a look at a small pumping base the fire department has set up to fill up their tanker trucks with water from Langham Creek in case another flareup appears.

The run itself was a wholly impromptu affair with a lot of unplanned sidetracking to check out how the flora and fauna are faring. The 11-mile Garmin track resembles a rough sketch of an amoeba. I'm continuing my experimentation with fueling, and after last week's Sport Beans, today's choice was an old friend, Vanilla Bean GU Gel. I can't exactly say I enjoy eating them, but the packets are very compact and they still digest readily.

Just for fun, I'll leave the next few choices up to the audience:

GU Chomps vs. Clif Shot Bloks -- between those two, which should I take with me on the next long run? (The other, of course will be used on the one after that.)

And, what's your favorite stowaway on-the-run energy source that I should try next?

A South Coaster's advice for the Irene After-Party

It's a little late to write about hurricane preparedness, but as a resident of Houston with memories of Hurricane Ike still pretty fresh, I'll offer the following pointers for those who will be digging out of the aftermath of Irene shortly.

• If you remembered to "run from water, hide from wind" then you're likely alive to read this. It's going to be a costly hassle, but you'll have great stories and some of you are going to enjoy the post-storm days as an extension of summer vacation.
• Houses with landline telephone service and DSL might suddenly become the communications hubs of the neighborhood.
• If you were one of those who were prepared enough to get a generator before the storm hit, congratulations! Be considerate of when you're using them, though, or else risk having your street sound like a motocross competition all night long.
• You may be cleaning up "street salad" for days.
• If you see a downed cable of any type in the street, flag the area to warn others, but don't attempt to play Crocodile Hunter and attempt to touch it or "move it out of the way." They can have nasty bites.
• If you believed the story that taping your windows had any kind of real protective effect you'll be scraping residue off the windows until the next hurricane shows up.
• Your radio airwaves will feature law firm commercials targeting insurance companies until . . . well, I'm still waiting for Ike-related stuff to stop.
• If you think the real estate "bubble" has taken value off the top of your house, you haven't seen anything yet.
• Consider having a general contractor on retainer now, or be prepared to wait in line for one to fix your house later.
• If you've ever had thoughts of changing careers to construction, you're in luck!

Stay safe, East Coasters. When you're done playing with the storm, would you mind sending what's left to drought-afflicted Texas? Thanks!

Spirited Thirteen

It wasn't my first time to pass the spot, but this morning I was on foot in Cullen Park on my long run and finally noticed a small cemetery tucked into the thick vegetation beside the trail less than a mile away from Barker-Cypress Road. A historical marker identifies the spot as being in use since antebellum days. The plots are surrounded by a fifty-foot square of chain-link fence, so I wasn't able to get a close look at the markers themselves, especially to satisfy my curiosity about the headstone where a medal appears to have been left very recently.

All the other times I've taken this path I have simply wheeled by on the saddle of my bicycle, so once again having my feet on the ground reveals details missed when being occupied with riding or driving. Before moving south to present-day Interstate 10, the town of Addicks was actually located in this area until the Corps of Engineers built the dam and created the reservoir for floodwater containment. I find it a little haunting to see the burial sites left behind.

And now I have another reason to refrain from going for any late-night runs on this unlit trail!

The run itself went reasonably well. I learned my lesson from Sunday and brought some extra get-up-and-go in the form of Extreme Sport Beans. (There was nothing wrong with the beans, but I think product names like this are an unfortunate "Generation X" legacy of the 1990s. The word extreme should not be allowed on any packaging unless it's accompanied by a frank medical warning that what's inside actually pushes the boundaries of what is considered edible.) My total distance was thirteen miles at my usual snail-like pace, with the last two mostly walked as the heat index had uncomfortably escalated past 90F.

What's your favorite not-so-extreme use of the word extreme? And have you recently noticed any sights in your neighborhood while running that someone in a car would surely miss?

A Six Weeks Report With The Nook Color

When I was "on the shelf" with a summer cold last month, I decided to distract myself from my otolaryngological misery by splurging on a Barnes and Noble Nook Color, my second e-reader.

What this new gadget brought is a larger rich color screen, a decent CPU, and a Nook Apps store from which I made ezPDF my first purchase. This will be perfect for the illustration-heavy tech reference material with which I'll cuddling up in the coming months. B&N pre-loads the Nook Color with a rudimentary PDF viewer, but ezPDF will likely save you two bucks worth of your time very quickly the first couple of times you flip back and forth through a long document.

I suspect that the big reason why B&N won't officially support the full Android Market on this device is that the thought of millions of Nook Color devices with the Kindle app installed gives them the creeps. B&N-centric features are configured to inspire loyalty to the retailer. Not only does the built-in Wi-Fi give access to purchase and download "Nook Books," but if the Nook detects that it's connected to a hostspot in a brick-and-mortar Barnes and Noble store, it can download any Nook Book in full and unlocks it for reading for up to one hour per day. So there's a little prodding to get out of your cozy reading chair at home.



Nook Books are EPUB files, but with a DRM wrapper unique to Barnes and Noble and only readable on their devices. Because I want the option of enjoying novels on either one of my e-readers, I will actually be staying away from buying from BN.com unless one of these factors is true:

• It's a title that greatly benefits from the larger color screen.
• It's a BN.com exclusive.
• BN.com offering the Nook Book version significantly cheaper than the counterparts being sold by Sony, Kobo, or Google Books.
• It's a Nook Book title enabled with LendMe that I predict other Nook oners will enjoy.

So far, it's turned out to be less of a substitute for my Sony Reader Pocket Edition than it has for my netbook PC. I am keeping both e-readers around. The Nook Color has capabilities that runs circles around the Sony RPE, but it also weighs a pound and isn't very pocket friendly, unless we're talking about a cargo shorts pocket. For most of my for-fun reading, I'll choose to pick up the five-ounce e-ink screen that is happy to go weeks between charges and promises not to distract me with any icons in a notification bar.

Incidentally, Barnes and Noble launched a new version of the e-ink Nook this summer, and it looks like a winner to me. I test-drove the "Simple Touch Reader" in a store and the weight and shape had good feel for a reading device. I would have given it serious consideration if I was shopping for another e-ink device.

12 miles, done. In your face, August.

I did walk a lot this morning, and I finished my distance fueled by nothing but gumption and a fantasy of double fisting Klondike Bars while riding dolphins in a sea of chocolate milk. But a dozen miles is a dozen miles.

I was able to fill my Amphipod at least five times with the fountains along the trail, so hydration isn't a problem. I'm just at the point where I ought to plan on packing some gels/beans/cantaloupes with me so I can kick in those energizing carbs when I need them.

Since my last visit to Terry Hershey Park, the county has added some convenient distance markers to the trail, spread out in quarter-mile increments. So if you forget the GPS at home, you've got something with which to measure your outing. I believe the playground and the restrooms at the Beltway 8 end of the trail are also recent improvements. Y'all have no excuse for using Buffalo Bayou for lavatory purposes now.

6 New or Improved Happenings for Houston Runners After This 100-Degree Garbage is Gone (Hopefully)

With the annual back-to-school sales tax holiday weekend upon us, I'm sure you're already looking for ways to spend the enormous pile of cash you'll be saving. Well, maybe it'll be more like another penny or three squeezed through the couch cushions, but if you scrape together enough for a race registration fee, then I can suggest a handful of notable new (or tweaked) events for which you could make space on your fall calendar:

Duck Run (August 27) -- The people that created the Luke's Locker/Baker Street Pub "beer runs" on Wednesday nights are launching this four-miler event in the heart of Katyland. For the ethanol-needy, note that the start/finish venue is a brewery. Also note that the benefit cause is Ducks Unlimited, so wearing bright orange might be a good idea if the suds are flowing a little too freely to the waterfowl enthusiasts.

Tour de Art Run (September 18) -- Originally held as a RUN@WORK Day event, this year's Tour de Art is happening on the weekend, which is likely more convenient for many of us who would not be able to participate due to conflicts with work. If you've ever had a curiosity to learn more about the public art scattered around downtown Houston, this is your opportunity. Think of it as a super-casual art gallery stroll with a tour guide jogging the group to 15 pieces scattered over five miles. The gathering will happen at 7:45 a.m. at the downtown library (500 McKinney Street) and the run starts at 8 a.m. And best of all, aside from transportation/parking downtown, this one is FREE!

Running of the Bulls 5K (October 16) -- The Houston Texans are back with their 5K event. I believe the course posted online is a new one, snaking almost exclusively through Reliant Park. (I can't think of a worse abuse of the word "park" in a Houston area place name, aside from "Deer Park" perhaps.) The finish line is now in an end zone of Reliant Stadium itself. If we could have members of the 2010 Texans defensive secondary personally welcoming finishers and joining them in end zone dances, the NFL fantasy experience would be complete.

Toughest 10K Galveston (October 22) -- In case your appetite for racing over bridges isn't satiated with the original Toughest 10K in September, the concept has been franchised to the Island. Let's hope the recently reconstructed causeway is pedestrian-friendly and the morning ocean breezes are gentle for this inaugural event. Remember, the sharks are more afraid of you than you are of them!

Run In The Park (November 5) -- The old Park to Park five-miler benefiting the Hermann Park Conservancy is being taken off the streets and relaunching as a happening totally within Hermann Park. I'm sure they will save money by not needing a score of law enforcement officers for traffic control at dozens of intersections. When the route map is released, can we hope for a path that shows off the park at its best -- perhaps right through the zoo and even across the Miller Outdoor Theater stage? Maybe the kids' choo-choo train could even be the pace car.

Texas Metric Marathon (November 13) -- The kilometer is unloved, misunderstood, and even shunned as un-American. The Houston Striders made a smart move a few years ago by trotting their tape measures out and tacking on a little distance to their tired 20K to turn it into the Houston Half Marathon. The word marathon is popular and familiar; the average American can participate in one with nothing but a free weekend, a couch, and a cable TV subscription. This fall the Houston Masters have also decided to go some extra distance with their unsexy 25K and bring the 26.2-kilometer "metric marathon" concept to Houston. Listen to how that sounds: putting "marathon" in a race title is like tearing open a packet of Instant Sexy. (Now I'm waiting for Finish Line Sports to market their 30K as the "Sugar Land 25-Percent-Off Marathon Distance Run." Everyone likes a discount!)

All these were events that stood out as I've been putting together the next month's update of my other blog project, Houston Running Calendar. What local run dates have you looking ahead? Do you know of a new or overhauled event that I didn't list that could use a little publicity? Drop a comment and run away!

Red pigtails are streamlining

Today's fresh, hot-n-juicy random running update channels the muses behind some of Wendy's ad campaigns to sell burgers over the years.

You know when it's real.

I did register for Rock'n'Roll San Antonio as mentioned previously, and it feels great to have that waypoint approaching on the calendar. It's going to be fun and I won't be concerned with any specific training for the half marathon distance, as I'll always be keeping completion of Houston 2012 in mind as the ultimate goal. Virtually no speedwork will be on the menu and the emphasis will be on long-run mileage and bringing it earlier.

Always great, even late.

Whereas a typical novice half marathon buildup might gradually introduce double-digit long runs around October, I'm taking them on now -- in the midst of the worst Houston heat wave in my lifetime. Oh, joy! But I feel like I must make up for lost time from last year, so I'm coping by trying to get significant parts of these done before dawn even breaks.

Never cut corners.
This gem of a sign was spotted at a local day.care center during last weekend's 10-miler. Perhaps they're skipping the proof.reading and passing the savings on to parents.

Where's the beef?

You won't find any in these avocado enchiladas. This weekend I dug up this recipe from Deena Kastor that was overdue for another go in my kitchen. Even if you can't keep pace with an elite marathoner, you can at least learn to fuel up like one from her website.

So, would you say "it's better here" where you're at? Or are you just feeling square?

Practicing Solo

I'm going bloggin'

After midnight
Can't get no shuteye
What am I supposed to do?
So here I'm bloggin'
After midnight
Posting for you.

Sorry, Patsy.

I started getting drowsy in the nine o'clock hour and thought things were falling into place for a restful night before an early a.m. Saturday run. But a mere few hours later, I find myself very much awake, so I'm pecking away at a running-related blog post I was planning to write sometime this weekend anyway.

I've decided against joining a marathon training group this year. The Katy Fit experiment last year was going okay up until I found myself out for the season sick. (No, I'm not blaming all those nice people for that.) Training for Houston 2012, however, I know I really want flexibility in my schedule. I can easily see a lot of long runs fitting in on Sundays instead of Saturdays. I certainly didn't need the coaching tips, which are abundant online and on my bookshelf.

With autumn creeping up on the calendar horizon, I want to solidify my weekly mileage. June certainly challenged us with the unusual triple-digit heat. (Unlike inland parts of Texas, Houstonians traditionally had an understanding with Mother Nature to have mostly "moderate" summer high temps in the mid 90sF in exchange for pea-soup-thick Gulf humidity.) And I've been dragging for nearly two weeks of July thanks to a head cold.

So here's hoping that things "fall" into place in the coming months. I'm thinking that a return to the 13.1-miler at Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio would be a good waypoint along the way. Surely in three years the city has figured out how to host this event since my first terrible taste of the RNR series, right?

Now it's back to another attempt at gathering some bits of sleep before putting on the shoes for . . . I don't know . . . five miles? I'm in full control of my schedule after all.

How has your summer running been? Has it been dreamy, or has it been like a fight with the snooze button?

Freedom 5K

This morning I ran my fastest 5K in more than 12 months. You'll have to take my word for it, however. In opposition to all the race day things I did right, the one detail I managed to miss was remembering to bring my timing chip.

Since you won't find me among the official results, here's the rundown from my GPS:

Mile 1: 10:06
Mile 2: 10:19
Mile 3: 10:12
Last .1: 1:19
5K elapsed time: 31:56 (per Garmin Forerunner 205)

This was my sixth time to run this Fourth of July event in Sugar Land, and I'm not seeing a reason not to come back for a seventh. The registration is relatively cheap, the tree-shaded course provides refuge from the sun, and there is a building track record of luck in the door-prize department. This year, a restaurant gift certificate rode home in the car with us.

This race report wouldn't be complete unless I document the following exchange from the last mile:

• Spectator: This is the last hill!
• Me: They always say it's the last hill!
• Spectator: Sorry, we're just inclined this way.

It's not very often that someone else is dropping the wretched pun on me. Good show, sir!

Happy Independence Day, y'all.

Lazy Hazy Crazy Days of Minecraft

The appeal of Minecraft can be difficult to describe to others. As of the current beta, players are not given an overall goal to achieve. There is a "score" being kept, but no one bothers to compare or brag, or even care what it means. In fact, I wasn't really sure why I keep coming back to my virtual block worlds until an epiphany presented itself during a recent discussion with my girlfriend:

Being in Minecraft feels kind of like my summer vacations when I was a kid.

"Good parents" today seem determined to plan out their children's time out of school. Family road trips get bookended by sports leagues, lessons, and activity camps. As a preteen, I remember having long stretches of unstructured playtime during the summer. And that playtime was outside.

Sure, we'd play some ball, but even then they were always just unsupervised pickup games among ourselves on the neighborhood streets. What really consumed our daylight hours was simply heading out exploring. Living in what was then exurbia, several square miles of surrounding forest and cattle pasture beckoned us to come out and simply pass time.

Where there was a flood control ditch, there was the chance to discover the channelization of water and the living things in it. Tromping under a forest canopy challenged our skills at not getting lost and sometimes our ingenuity at constructing a tree fort worth defending from random scraps of found lumber. And finding a large hole in the ground was an occasion to stop, peer into the darkness and wonder what dangers or even evil creatures lay within, before racing out to beat the late onset of dusk and make it back home in time for dinner.

We weren't out to "win" summer vacation. We were outside to experiment and experience. And it's in this way that Minecraft doesn't demand that you accomplish any one thing. Instead, this literal "sandbox" game invites us to come up with our goal for the day and explore everything. It's a virtual open-ended LEGO set in a time when actual LEGO sets are sold in boxes that tell children what they're supposed to be building.

P.S. If Minecraft creator "Notch" happens to be reading this: Please consider adding the ability to craft Bikes as a locomotion option in the game. And they should do wheelies too. Just sayin'. I'll even take them with coaster brakes and banana seats.

Impact A Hero 5K

Summer's in high gear now. It's the season where decisions on where to run can pivot on the number of shade trees on the course. This morning I passed up the Heights Fun Run to go to Mercer Stadium instead for the Impact A Hero 5K.

While the stretch of Austin Parkway pavement we used could only be described as partially obscured from the sun by trees, there was no obscurity as to the purpose of the event. This is an annual fundraiser for grants to wounded veterans returning from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, On their website, the group states an expectation to hit a six-year grand total of one million dollars in contributions this weekend.

I've watched this event grow way up from its early editions as a small neighborhood run at Lost Creek Park. Today at its current venue, the crowds arrived to claim overflow parking at the mall across the street. The national anthem was punctuated by a military flyover. Finishers were treated to piles of breakfast tacos from the St. Laurence KCs and barbecue from Pitts and Spitts. The Houston Texans once again sent head coach Gary Kubiak and cheerleaders to lend some celebrity star power. But the highlight of the morning is still the arrival of the veterans -- many of whom were there to wheel the course -- to rousing applause.

I'd rate my own run as mostly good. I was cruising for two solid miles, but had to take a walk break at the start of mile three because I was feeling cooked. But I really felt inadequate trying to keep up with the guy in the full firefighter gear, which included the insulating long underwear. At least that was his claim, and I didn't find it necessary to ask him to prove it to us.

In remembrance of those we have lost and in grateful tribute to those serving now -- THANK YOU.

Mile 1 --10:24

Mile 2 -- 10:25

Mile 3 -- 11:30

Last .1 --1:08

Elapsed 5K time -- 33:27 (per Garmin Forerunner 205)

Gun Time -- 34:32

Chip Time -- 33:23

Katy Sunrise Rotary 5K

After waking to a pre-sunrise alarm, my girlfriend and I were off to check out the Katy Sunrise Rotary 5K this morning. Choosing today's race was made easier with a RunHouston discount offer last month and knowing that the Houston Astros have moved their Race for the Pennant event from Saturday to Memorial Day itself.

With Luke's Locker running the show, it was no surprise to see this event executed flawlessly -- except for the starter's airhorn that had the sonic power of a dog's squeak toy.

Out on the boulevards of Cinco Ranch, I came back to the La Centerra shopping center with a pretty good 5K for me finish at this point. Here are the stats from the Forerunner 205:

Mile 1 -- 10:58

Mile 2 -- 11:05

Mile 3 -- 10:40

Last .1 -- 2:07

Now I did not punch "stop" on my Garmin promptly, so my chip time should look better than this. After crossing the finish line into the chute, I got distracted from my stopwatch by the little boy that ran into my back at full speed. Lots of kids were racing today. A couple of young girls were leapfrogging with me in the last half of the race -- they'd sprint past me . . . then I'd plod past them while they were looking at a crack in the road . . . then they would blow past me like I was standing still and I wouldn't be able catch them until a butterfly got their attention.

I wish I had that energy again.

So, how is your Memorial Day weekend?

Registered for a race I'll never run

Inspired by Mark Remy's RW Daily post about the 2011 Boomtown Run in Joplin, Missouri, I've registered for the 5K that will not be happening.

The Boomtown Run races were cancelled in wake of the devastation that ripped the town last weekend. Instead, the community will gather at the start line on June 11 and begin a day of cleanup.

After covering their sunk costs, proceeds from race registrations will go to the United Way of Southwest Missouri and Southeast Kansas based in Joplin. And so while I won't be there, my $25 becomes a little opportunity for one running community to reach out to another.

Marathon drought busting

Going dry for two months in the spring simply just doesn't happen on the Texas coast. Thus, when a storm finally showed up, my Twitter timeline was as full of weather-related updates on Thursday as if it had snowed. So on the heels of a freezing February, there's little hope left for the wildflower season. After the Indian Paintbrush bloomed in March, there's basically been no color in the neighborhood parklands -- a paucity of primrose, an absence of bluebonnets, a scarcity of cactus blooms.

This week I've also been thinking about drought-busting -- a distance-running one. I've used my deferral eligibility to register for the Chevron Houston Marathon for the fourth time. Knowing it's the fourth time is humbling, as I've only actually made it through the 26.2-miler once. Circumstances have thwarted me in previous training seasons to the point where I will truly appreciate that second full marathon finisher medal if it comes my way in 2012. As Los Lonely Boys -- who rocked a great show right after the squall rocked our town -- might say: Tu sabes muy bien que te quiero!

So my head swims with questions about what changes I want to stir into the running recipe of my past experiences. Stuff like....

• Could simply more time spent standing at my office day job make me more fit?
• Do I really want to dabble in the "minimalist shoe" fad?
• Could I hydrate more efficiently with a Fuelbelt-type appliance versus the Amphipod handheld I've relied upon so long?
• I think I'm ready for something other than GU gel for long-run pick-me-up. So what will I try next?
• Should I be packing more country music into my long-run playlists? (The girlfriend might be tickled to know that this morning's footfalls were Chesney-fueled.)

Have you found yourself running in a groove with a new idea after years of training in a rut? Comment away....

I'll finish this post by mentioning that the Bayou City Road Runners debuted a new event last night at Bear Creek Park. Dubbed Alex's 5K, they're fundraising on behalf of the organization Autism Speaks. I arrived too late for the run, but I did make it in time to buy a plate of postrace brisket and sausage. Turnout surpassed the organizers' expectations as they had rented out the park's big pavilion, but the crowd and their cars spilled out on the grass. Good luck with future editions, BCRR!

Case Sensitive

A postscript to Monday's story about library e-books being unexpectedly deleted from my Sony Reader:

Adobe Digital Editions (ADE) is a "traffic cop" that enforces DRM embedded into copy-protected EPUB files from distributors. Customers sign up for an online account with Adobe, and the username and password are used to "authorize" a particular PC with that account.

This morning I noticed that I had authorized the two computers with the same account, but on the second one, I had typed it in uppercase letters. The authorization had worked on both machines, so obviously Adobe didn't care that the logins didn't exactly match.

But perhaps the DRM used by Overdrive (which handles e-book lending for thousands of public libraries, including mine) did actually care. To test this, I de-authorized the second PC and then re-authorized it, typing in the account name to match how I had typed it on the first.

After re-connecting my Reader to the second PC, I still got the "not authorized" message when attempting to access the copy of the library checkout on the Reader. This was expected, as Overdrive's DRM "rules" claim that only one PC -- the one that originally did the download -- can access a library checkout. But happily, the software didn't freak out and wipe them off the Sony Reader this time.

Lesson learned. But I still despise DRM.

Making the Canon LiDE 35 work with Windows 7 x64

Some of the biggest "gotchas" about upgrading from one operating system to the next are finding out that some of your well-worn hardware won't make the journey with you.

In terms of everyday user experience, there's very little difference between the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows 7. But from the standpoint of device driver support, they are two distinct OSes. When I tried to move my Canon LiDE 35 from my Pentium 4 (32-bit) PC to my newer Core i3 (64-bit) PC, I was stopped with an "installation failed" message, even though the scanner had worked just fine under Windows 7 on the old machine. Checking online showed that Canon never officially released 64-bit drivers for the LiDE 35.

I was beginning to think that a new scanner would become a wishlist item for me until a Google search turned up a 2008 online discussion indicating that this device would work with the Windows x64 driver for the LiDE 60. I visited the Canon support page for the LiDE 60 and downloaded and installed that scanner's driver software and CanoScan Toolbox application.

After installing the LiDE 60 driver, I had to go back into Windows' Device Manager and manually choose to use it, acknowledging Windows' stern warning that it may not work. But when I was done, I was able to perform a test scan successfully. (The ease with which I was able to do this suggests that Canon doesn't wish to officially update the LiDE 35 driver software mainly because of how old this model is, and not due to any technical hurdles.)

So if you have an LiDE 35 (or have the opportunity to acquire a used one cheap) don't give up on using it with a new computer running 64-bit Windows Vista or Windows 7!

This e-book will self-destruct . . . now.

Without even trying very hard, my new Sony Reader and I stumbled into the cursed fangs of the copy-protection serpent today. Last week I had downloaded a couple of e-books from local libraries via Overdrive to one of my computers and transferred them to my Reader.

This morning I made the "mistake" of plugging the Reader into one of my other computers. Sony's Reader software launched and immediately told me that it was not authorized to view the book. In addition, I discovered that both library books were erased from my Reader! (The titles purchased from e-bookstore sites appear to have been untouched.)

I was able to recover the library books (but not my bookmark notes) without much fuss by plugging back into the computer to which I originally downloaded and transferring the files again. But what if I was travelling and made this "mistake"? Sheesh.

Coincidentally, the Free Software Foundation has designated next Wednesday, May 4, as Day Against DRM. It's a campaign encouraging resistance to Big Media's abuse of fair use. One of the most blatant examples came recently when HarperCollins told libraries that they were capping the number of e-book checkouts at 26, after which they would be required to buy the book again.

The music industry is surviving just fine with iTunes and Amazon selling music files unshackled from DRM. Book publishers ought to lighten up on their customers too. Owning more than one computer does not make me a pirate.

Motorola Backflip: One Year Later

Last year, I bought a Motorola Backflip and blogged about my first impressions of AT&T's first Android phone. After a full twelve months of everyday use, these are the points that sum up my long-term user experience:

• Multitasking under Android sounds great, until a runaway app bottlenecks the already-underpowered CPU.
• The camera takes OK-looking still pictures but is no match for a dedicated digital camera.
• Attempts at shooting video at concerts result in garbled audio as the microphone seems overwhelmed.
• The reverse-clamshell design with physical keyboard is still AWESOME.
• The Backtrack has proved to be completely useless, probably because no programmers design an Android app with a trackpad in mind.
• It should have shipped with the then-current Android OS version from the beginning.

If you own this phone and haven't updated to Android 2.1, I highly recommend taking some time to visit the Motorola update site and get the new operating system. It runs smoother and sticking with the factory-installed Android 1.5 will mean missing out on some great apps.

Finally, one more tip for Backflip owners: I noticed that the phone would spontaneously reboot on occasion. This seemed to happen when the keyboard is folded out. I believe that this is caused by the battery moving around inside the phone, losing contact with its contacts. What I've done is wedge a folded-up piece of paper into the space beside the battery, causing the battery to fit more snugly into its space and preventing it from shifting around.

It'll do for now until I get the bug for the next upgrade.

Seven days with the Sony Reader Pocket Edition

This year, I felt that the time was right for me to adopt e-books as a way to kickstart a new reading habit in my life. As with other personal electronics, I wanted to get some hands-on time with the contenders. After pondering many online reviews, I spent an hour at a local Best Buy last weekend test-driving various e-ink screens from four of the big names -- Kindle, Nook, Sony, and Kobo.

I had entered the store thinking of the third-generation Kindle Wi-Fi as my first choice. But surprisingly, when the madcap page-turning battle among the endcaps had wrapped up I walked out with the Sony PRS-350SC, the company's second-generation Reader Pocket Edition.

I'm smitten with the Pocket's form factor. At roughly 4-1/8" wide it actually slips easily into most of the shirt pockets in my closet (nice dress shirts: NO, casual button-down flannel or Hawaiian print: YES) so I'm more likely to bring it with me. With a brushed aluminum frame it's really lightweight (5-1/4 ounces), with a "spine" bulge running down the left-edge that makes it easy to hold one-handed, leaving my right hand free to reach for the stylus tucked in the opposite side. Text on the "Pearl" e-ink display is suitably crisp and flicking the screen to turn pages feels quite natural. (There are also hardware buttons below the screen dedicated to page turning as well.)

Not choosing the Kindle meant forgoing advantages of the Kindle ecosystem, especially access to Amazon's vast e-bookstore and Whispersync. But the world outside of Amazon's "walled garden" has much to explore as well. Sony is a company with a history of locking in their customers with proprietary formats, so I'll give them credit for embracing the EPUB file format and Adobe's digital rights management (DRM) scheme for transferring copy-protected e-books. So far I've exercised this "freedom to shop and browse" to purchase or borrow titles from:

• Sony Reader store
• Kobo
• Google Books
• Houston Public Library
• Harris County Public Library

Not having Amazon or Barnes and Noble (which uses EPUB but their own unique DRM for copy-protection) as shopping options is a definite limitation. So is a lack of wireless capability, as the device must be loaded with content through a micro-USB cable attached to a PC or Mac loaded with Sony Reader and Adobe Digital Editions software. Finally, while the 5-inch monochrome screen is perfect for the text of paperback novels, it's not suited for larger books with illustrations, such as technical references or comics. That's an area where something like the Nook Color would be nice to have as a supplement.

A note from my test drives: I couldn't help but notice that one of the page turn buttons on the demonstration Nook (the original, not Color) was cracked at Best Buy. Previously, I saw a similar crack in the buttons on the demonstration Nook at a Barnes and Noble store. I suppose it could be just coincidence, and store demos do take a lot of abuse, but seeing this damaged my confidence in the long-term durability of that product.

With this blog post written, I'd better get back to reading. Next week my download of Helen Hollick's I Am The Chosen King will expire. Unlike a paper book checked out from the library, hanging on to this copy and paying a little overdue fine isn't an option. Welcome to the 21st century!

Pope John XXIII Fun Run

80 percent of success is just showing up.

-- Woody Allen

I admit it: As much as "winning isn't everything," bringing home the hardware from a race certainly feels like something. In previous years the fundraiser at Pope John XXIII High School has sent me home with two 3rd-place and one 2nd-place medals. Yes, I've never seen more than fifty show up for this race, but there really should be more. Katy, Texas has an active running community, online registration was just $20, and the 5K course is almost totally off the pavement in gentler-on-the-legs crosscountry style. The school may be missing out on marketing opportunities to promote the event.

After lining up behind a chalk line in the sand, the president of the booster club squeezed the trigger on the starter pistol to begin the 2011 fun run and we were bounding off into the trails hugging Mason Creek. For most of the run, I was staying on the tail of a tall, gray-haired man I referred to internally as Balding Blue Shorts. I kept my mind occupied with meditations on the citric acid cycle firing off furiously in my cells, with periodic self-reminders to keep my posture straight and my turnover rate high.

With less than a half mile to go, my oxygen debt was being met with IOUs as worthless as Japanese peso notes. I had to walk to catch my breath, and while Balding Blue Shorts left me back, I was more alarmed to get passed by another man I'm calling Ballcap Blue Shorts. Ballcap Blue Shorts looked younger and I knew that I'd be disappointed if saw him beat me out for an age group award. As much as I wanted to pick up the pursuit, though, I was depleted and couldn't catch him.

On the 50-yard line of the football field, I entered the finish chute and received a nice medal for participation. (Isn't that cute?) When the results were announced later, it was a huge surprise to find out that not only was Ballcap Blue Shorts not in my age group, but that I had actually won my age group -- the first time that's ever happened to me! To place this surprise in perspective, three years ago I finished the course more than five minutes faster, setting a 5K PR, and it was only good enough for an AG third-place that day.

So now I've come home with two more medals, which will look superb with the others hung on the tree when the holiday season returns.

One final detail to close this post: Katy is home to the corporate headquarters of Igloo, and the company supplied the coolest "bags" I've ever seen at a packet pickup. With enough capacity to hold up to 12 cans of my precious Coke Zero (after Lent is over), I have a new roomy tote for bringing lunch to work.

The weather was completely perfect for this morning's run -- sunny, temps in the 50s with moderate humidity. May all you Gentle Readers -- rulers of all the flatscreen estate you survey -- have a brilliant spring weekend wherever it takes you.

The Splits....

Mile 1: 10:33

Mile 2: 10:08

Mile 3: 11:23

5K time: 32:33 per Garmin Forerunner 205

Result: 1st Place, men 30-39