One more running event weekend...

Just a couple of more days and we'll be off on the last (?) of the running events for early 2008. It's the inaugural Texas Independence Relay!! And since we are the first officially registered team in event history, hopefully we can make it a good one. Here's the brief skinny:
-200+ miles stretching from Gonzales, TX to San Jacinto, TX.
-12 Runners
-3 Support Team Members
-2 Vans
-Loads of fun and adventure!

I'll post the weekend details when we get back. Hopefully we'll come back with those phat medals and a boat load of great memories. Wish us luck!

Austin Half Marathon Recap

So I finally got to bed around 12:30 AM. After what seemed like a brief sleep, I found myself lying restlessly in bed. The alarm rang at 4:45 AM and I rolled out of bed. I didn't feel completely rested but I felt ready. I kept with my usual morning training routine and had a peanut butter sandwich, a half banana, and some juice (actually some mineral water since I had no juice with me). We parked in a parking garage about 5 blocks away from the starting line. I didn't mind the walk, but my poor wife had to endure the distance on her bum knee (she's such a trooper!). I had arranged to meet up a couple of friends prior to the start of the race. We started moving to our starting corrals around 6:40. The starting system wasn't done in waves like the Houston marathon so I was expecting a lot congestion for the first several miles. The race went well. The hills were definitely a challenge, but the course was fun to run on. My only real gripe was that the water stations weren't set up to be on both sides. Because of this there was always a lot of people cutting across to get to the side where the water was being handed out. The setup just made for more slow down and bottlenecks. All in all, it was a very enjoyable race that I'd love to do again. I finished in 2:02. Not too bad. I was trying to keep my expectations low since I was expecting the hills to be a challenge. And they certainly were. I chuckled every time the supporters would cheer us on by saying "Keep going runners! It's all downhill from here." The runners next to me would grumble and say things like "oh, I've heard that one before..." I kept telling myself to treat it as another training run. As the race progressed, I just couldn't resist the thought of smashing my previous half marathon times. I didn't exactly smash them, but I did improve from them.

I need to send a special thanks to my loving wife who subjected herself to the chilly weather and the constant walking. I love you!

Also, great job Rigo and Sheila! It was Rigo's second half marathon and Sheila's first. They both did incredible.

Austin Half Marathon!

After a rough weekend last week, we're in Austin preparing for the Austin Half Marathon. I'm pretty excited to run it since it's the very first time running an event outside of Houston. And what better place to do it then our lovely state capital. I'd like to talk more about it but it's getting late and I need some rest before my 4:30 AM wake up tomorrow. Wish me luck!