| Location: Cypress,TX, Member Since: Oct 10, 2009 Gender: Male Goal Type: Other Running Accomplishments: 5K: 24:22 (March 2010); 22:33 (October 2010); 20:47 (May 2011); 21:05 (May 2012); 21:33 (September 2012); 21:23 (November, 2013); 22:31 (September 2014)
5M: 39:22 (November, 2012); 35:54 (November, 2013); 36:03 (March, 2015)
10K: 44:08 (November, 2010); 49:20 (July, 2013); 44:07 (April, 2015)
12K: 56:03 (December, 2013); 58:58 (December, 2014)
10M: 1:11:58 (October, 2012); 1:15:24 (October, 2014)
Half Marathon: 1:53:xx (London's Run 2010); 2:05:21 (Cowtown 2010); 1:37:04 (Gusher 2011); 1:42:19 (Huntsville 2011); 1:33:47 (Baytown Jailbreak 2012); 1:33:50 (The Woodlands 2012); 1:42:52 (Texas 2015); 1:49:17 (Jailbreak 2015); 1:38:34 (The Woodlands 2015)
25K: 2:01:47 (Fifth Third River Bank, May 2014)
Marathon: 5:51:35 (Texas Marathon 2009); 6:21:36 (Ogden 2009); 4:58:29 (St. George 2009); 4:13:45 (Texas Marathon 2010); 4:04:12 (Utah Valley Marathon, 2010); 5:11:14 (Hartford ING, 2010); 3:41:43 (Richmond SunTrust, 2010); 3:39:27 (Texas Marathon 2011); 3:41:46 (Utah Valley Marathon, 2011); 3:30:35 (St. George 2011); 3:41:51 (Richmond 2012); 3:49:15 (Texas 2013); 3:46:59 (Paavo Nurmi, 2013); 3:34:04 (St. George 2013); 3:49:51 (Texas 2014); 3:31:59 (Richmond 2014); 3:28:34 (Boston 2015) Short-Term Running Goals: 3:20, 1:30, 0:20 Long-Term Running Goals: I'm 60, there is no long term. Personal: I live, work and run in Houston, Texas. I have run 17 marathons, some good ones and some others. I prefer straight, flat, cold, sea-level marathons, still waiting for my first one. I feel like there are more PRs out there. When I have them, I am told it is time to dial it back, run for healthy reasons. I'm sure that's right, and I'm sure it won't happen.
My wife and I are from the mountains of the west. We have five kids, three granddaughters and three grandsons. The kids and grandkids are native Texans but we are not -- you have to be born here.
As for my blog title: I run most of my miles before sunrise, sometimes hours before. On the back road of my neighborhood two hours before daylight, I can depend on a pack of mutts behind the boundary fence lighting up when they hear my footsteps. I have wondered what they wanted; but according to Hemingway I needn't ask. |
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The Woodlands Half Marathon (13.21 Miles) 01:33:50, Place overall: 60, Place in age division: 1 | Easy Miles | Marathon Pace Miles | Threshold Miles | VO2 Max Miles | Total Distance | 0.00 | 0.00 | 13.21 | 0.00 | 13.21 |
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57F, 47%, N 11-21 mph. Pretty good race, could have been worse under the circumstances, course was a little longer than my last half, so I am putting the non-standard distance I measured solely for comparison purposes. Met Allie (a.k.a. allie) very briefly after she finished a very good marathon then had to hurry home as Wade and Linda had responsibilities (unlike me). Linda got a 4-minute PR, Wade missed his PR by a couple of minutes. Weather not a big factor.
Met Wade and Linda at 5:30 and headed to The Woodlands. It was 62F at 5:30 but the cold front was moving in and it was already down to 58F by the time the race started at 6:55, possibly colder than that at the end. Other than Linda’s big PR, and other than meeting allie, the highlight of the morning was standing in the PoP line. (Don't go anywhere.) There was a guy about 5 spots ahead of us in line who had the elite look, no body fat, ripped abs, fast shoes, compression socks -- and no shirt. By this time it was colder, with a stiff breeze, and you could see skin quivering underneath his goose bumps. Linda commented to me that he must be very fast. But something seemed off, and I reminded her that Naked Man hadn’t run yet. There were a couple of women in line between us and him and he was talking to them like old acquaintances. That notion was dispelled when his turn came and he disappeared into the open slot. One of the women turned to the other and said, “I think he is a non-door closer”. Then it was her friend’s turn because she suddenly saw one with a “green open” indicator on the door. She hurried up and opened it, froze, then started screaming. Her friend had nailed it. It made Linda’s morning, she was so relaxed she went out and ran a 4-minute PR. When she finished, the first thing she said was “I passed Naked Man in mile 5”. She is now a runner for life.
So this morning I ran pretty even splits: 7:04, 7:01, 6:58 (175), 7:08 (176), 7:12 (176), 7:14 (175), 7:09 (174), 7:15 (174), 7:11 (174), 6:56 (175), 7:06 (178), 7:12 (177), 7:02 (177) and 6:38 (180) for the stub split -- 1:33:50, which is 3 seconds slower than my last one 3 weeks ago. But the course measured long today, so my actual pace as measured was 3 seconds faster, not much but something, and more importantly it is the second time I have done it so I know it’s real. Overall 60th place (top 2%) and 1st in age division. I found myself running with a guy who probably slowed me down to some extent. He ran in the passing lane and he would eventually slow down to the point I would pass him, which would wake him up and he would pass me within a quarter mile like clockwork. Kind of like driving on the freeway. Finally at mile 10 I tired of the game and hammered out a 6:56 which broke him, he finished a minute behind me. He is the best excuse I have today for running slower than planned. I set up the weather, my left foot and my sore abs as the bogeymen, but they were all non-factors -- sometimes you have to dig a little deeper but there’s always one out there if you are persistent.
Six weeks to Boston. I have enough speed for current purposes, but definitely felt an endurance limitation this morning. At mile 9 I told myself that Boston would be my last marathon, then I changed my mind after mile 10. I am considering piling on a bunch of long runs, they seem to help the most. But I have some more travel coming up and then some vacation, not sure how it will all play out. It has been difficult to manage a consistent training schedule this year, but my wife is opposed to me quitting my job. | | |
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