Summer/Fall Race Reviews

It's been a good long while since Hog's Hunt. Alright, let's do a quick rundown of the races since then.

Dad's Day 5K (00:22:42 @ 7:17 min/mile)  - It was hot, but I was curious what I could do at race pace. The sun and heat were definitely an issue, but I kept a strong pace, mostly in the low 7's. In the second half, I could feel my concentration slipping and my pace slowing, but some encouragement from fellow runners help pushed me over. The camaraderie between runners, even on short runs like this, is awesome. This one runner's words really stuck in my head on this run. As I slowly passed by her, she said "good job. keep going. keep passing people. you got this."

Montreal Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon (01:51:06) - Great weather in a beautiful and charming city. I had planned to run it based on how I felt that day. I wasn't sure if I was going to really race hard or just shoot for a solid run. With the cool weather that morning, I was really starting to feel like a PR was in the works, but I caught myself really slowing down on the hills in the last 3 miles leading back into downtown Montreal. I didn't finish as a strong as I would have liked either, but it was still in the neighborhood as far as time goes. As a side note, this is where I decided that the NB Minimus shoes weren't ideal for racing. They were fine for most of the race when I was keeping a shortened stride, but they didn't offer enough support on my finish where I like to extend my stride and kick harder. My feet really felt the effects.

Rocky Raccoon 50K (07:04:42 @ 13:39 min/mile) - This was going to be a low expectation fun run ultra marathon with friends. It was totally that, although I did hit a rough patch in the last miles. Even so, it's tough to beat running in the woods with your friends.

San Antonio Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon (01:49:25 @ 8:21 min/mile) - Unseasonably warm, but I wanted to really race hard in this race. Instead of starting in the 1:50 pace group, I decided to start with the 1:45 pace group this time. I was hoping that would carry me along far enough to put myself in a good position at the end of the race. The strategy paid off for the most part. The only time I noticed my pace slowing was between miles 8 and 10 when I was really feeling the sun on my face. I was most happy about how I finished this race, I wanted to get myself within striking distance of a PR. And I accomplished that, but I fell just shy of beating it. I knew with the warm weather I had to dial back my expectations so this was clearly a win. Maybe in favorable conditions, I'd be writing about a new best, but I'm definitely proud of this run.

Splits          Pace
5K             08:10
10K           08:22
10M           08:37
Finish        08:12
Avg Pace   08:21

As usual, my wife has been a rock star supporter through all of this. :)

2012 Hog's Hunt 50K (My First Ultra Marathon!)

Running the Hog's Hunt 50K (31 miles for those of you who hate the metric system) was nothing short of enlightening. I think this may be the closest to "zen running" I have ever been. It wasn't exactly easy. Those last 3 miles were pretty tough and I tripped several times, but I was floored by how beautiful it was just to run in bare nature. I've done very little trail running up until this point, but I can easily see myself falling in love with it. I've long heard of the unique sub-culture that exists among trail runners. I saw that first hand at this race. There were about 100 runners in total doing the 50k. About 15 of them were friends from the running club I'm in. I think runners tend to be really nice people in general, but trail runners are on a whole other level of nice. I loved how home-grown and organic the event felt. There weren't a bunch of corporate logos adorning my bib. Instead, my bib was a white sheet of paper with a red "35" painted on it. There wasn't a loud band at every mile or raucous spectators at every turn, but there is something definitely special about this race. I finished my first ultra distance marathon in 6:39:52, but who really cares. It's about "zen running".

2012 Texas Independence Relay

This was our fifth year running the relay and like every year we welcomed a few new faces to the team. Due to planning issues with the Gonzales Chamber of Commerce, the first several legs of the TIR were changed. This meant we all started in Bastrop, which turned out to be a great thing. The first several legs ran us through Buescher State Park, which despite being severely damaged by the recent wildfires, was still awesome to run through. The event was also held nearly a month later than usual, so it was much hotter than we were accustom to. Nevertheless, the team ran incredibly finishing in 30 hours and 9 minutes.

2012 Sugar Land Half Marathon

I had one real goal for this race and that was to help my brother get a fast enough time to qualify for the 2013 Chevron Marathon. In that effort, the race was a resounding success. Not only did he smash the qualifying time goal, he bested my PR by a whole 18 seconds.

I think the most memorable moment for me was right in the middle of the race around mile 7. We were running side by side the entire way. He must have noticed that I was losing speed even though I did not realize it myself. He asked if I was alright to which I replied shortly "yeah". I knew that I was starting to feel some fatigue. The weeks of only light training was making me feel rusty. He then tells me to increase my turnover and to stop dragging my feet. I responded by straightening out my form and speeding up. Now this wouldn't have been very significant if it wasn't for the fact that he had never given me any coaching advice before. Up until this point, it had always been me coaching him. I guess I just felt proud of him in that moment because I knew he had finally caught up to me.

(Also, I tied my PR again finishing at an official chip time of 1:49:12.)

2012 New Orleans Rock 'n' Roll Half (FR)

Ninjas in Paris...err. New Orleans.

2012 Surfside Half Marathon Recap

Ever wonder what it might be like to run through a hurricane? That pretty much sums it up.

2012 Chevron Houston Marathon Recap - PR!

Let me start of by saying last weekend was an amazing weekend for running. Not only did I get to watch and cheer on the elite athletes in the Olympic Trials, but I managed to finally break my old marathon personal record by nearly 10 minutes. All the long hours spent in training had finally paid off. I keep saying this season has been the most enjoyable season of training I have ever gone through. A huge part of that is the fact that I've been training with a running club for the first time ever. I love it so much, I can't fathom ever going back to training solo. I've met an entire new circle of awesome people who love the sport. The experience helped finally push me passed the running plateau that I thought I had reached. I feel faster than ever before and I can say with supreme confidence that my best is yet to come. That alone is a great feeling.

Official chip time: 4:10:27

Glorious.

As always, a very special thanks to my beautiful wife whose limitless support and patience allows me the luxury of running.