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