Trail Lessons

This week I signed up for the Post Oak 50k Trail Race. Thought I should run some trails in preparation. After two consecutive days, here is what I have learned.

1. Speed on the road = nothing on the trail
2. Look down, not up, forward, left or right
3. If you choose to look somewhere besides down; STOP
4. You will trip (and possibly fall). See #2 and #3
5. You will get muddy (see shoes on right)
6. You will get wet
7. You need trail shoes (on left). I recommend Saucony Peregrine.
8. You get to practice old junior high track skills like long jump and hurdles
9. Bring a towel for the return trip
10. My dog thinks he can catch a deer. Not sure what he would do if he ever did.

Anything to add?

Weekly recap 32 total: Monday off; Tuesday 4 + weights; Wednesday 6 + weights; Thursday off; Friday 8 tempo; Saturday 6 trail + weights; Sunday 8 trail 

#TwitterRoadRace

It's only been a week since completing Houston and I feel like I haven't ran in forever. I guess this is what happens when you log 700 miles from October-January then take a week off. Well, technically I did not take the whole week off. I unknowingly competed in the #TwitterRoadRace while running in the Frostbite Series this past Saturday.

Here's how it all went down. After 3 races I was second in my age division with only 2 races to go. Just so happens this past weekend was the longest race (13.1) of the series, and I was coming off the marathon only 6 days earlier. Aimee and I arrive in Forest Park to find icy roads and very little traction. Our goal was to just complete the races without getting hurt, especially the one carrying a baby. Slick? Yes. Traction? Random at best. PR-ing half way through the race? Yes-Sir!

I finished the race in 1:28:43, slightly behind my Half Marathon PR of 1:27:17, but I couldn't have been happier. My time was good enough to keep hold on 2nd place overall in my age with one race to go. So how does all this relate to the Twitter Road Race? Well, that night I was surfing around on Twitter and followed the hash tag to Doug's blog. If you click the link above you can read all about it. I signed up, entered my 5k split from the 1/2 Marathon that morning, and Wa-lah! Isn't Twitter great?  

Weekly Re-cap 18 miles total: Monday: off; Tuesday: off; Wednesday: elliptical, weights and stretching; Thursday: 4 easy and stretching; Friday: elliptical and weights; Saturday: 13.1; Sunday: bike and weights  

What you say?

As you heard from Dustin's post, we had a great time in Houston. The highlight was D's 3:03 marathon. Just think about it...that is a 6:56 min/mile, for 26.2 miles!!  I signed up for text tracker and had my phone with me on the race so I could track how Dustin was doing. I was so excited when I got the finisher text and knew he qualified! Critter's first trip could be to Boston next April!
For the race I wore a shirt that said "speed bump" and had an arrow pointing to my belly. When I first thought of this shirt I pictured myself with a bigger bump. Even with a small bump, people still got it. It was funny to see people's reaction. Guy's would yell out "go speed bump" and the girl next to him would "whisper", "she's pregnant" and then I would here from the guy, "oh!, ha ha, that's funny." Or I would run by a pack of girls to hear a collective "awwwww". Towards the end when I was walking I got a few "congratulations!"One lady gave some motherly advice by smiling and saying, "take care of yourself".  As hard as it was to walk only halfway through the race it was funny to the reactions. One lady thought I was just giving up, waved her finger back and forth in my face, and said, "don't let them see you walking!" LOL, I guess she thought that would be motivating.
BTW...I didn't turn on my ipod the entire race! I thought I would get bored but I really enjoyed it. The race was totally different towards the back. People were more laid back and talkative. I was shocked at the number of people that would spot family/friends and stop to hand off clothes and chat a bit. That doesn't happen towards the front! You are lucky if you get a high-five. lol. It was a fun experience, and a beautiful day.
Anyways, back to the point of this blog. After every race we talk about the funny and interesting things we see along the way. I wanted to share a few of the unique signage we saw in the crowds. What you say???

"Run a better race than Perry"
"This parade sucks!" or "Worst parade ever!"
"Faster, I heard they're running low on beer"
"Chuck Norris never ran a marathon"
"your feet hurt cause you're kicking so much butt"
"Hurry, I farted"
"Hurry, Texans play at 12:00" (they had a playoff game that day)

Fun! Also, I have found a few items related to running that I really enjoy and I cant wait to share them soon. Stay tuned!

The Stars @ Night Are Big and Bright...

Back in June I was sitting in a Wal-Mart parking lot, inside a fireworks tent, and decided to enter Aimee and I in the lottery for the Houston Marathon. We knew the chances of getting in were small, but we thought it would be fun to watch the Olympic Trials and then run the Marathon the next day. Fast forward six months: I got a new job, we moved, Aimee is 17 weeks pregnant and it was one of the best trips ever!

17 Weeks; The Finish Line for the Olympic Trials 

Houston has officially taken my top spot for best Marathon. Not just because of the trails, but for the following reasons: 1) Organization; downtown start/finish with indoor gear check; fenced in corrals; easy to follow signs/directions 2) Port-A-Potties everywhere (nuff said), including inside the start corrals and after each aid station 3) Amazing volunteers and lots of them 4) Scenic loop course 5) Flat 6) Perfect weather (uncontrollable I know) 7) Finisher Shirt and Mug 8) Post race breakfast 9) It's a PR course!

The Women's Trial Race, Meb Wins, and I thrown the Javelin 

We began Saturday by going on a 4 mile jog around downtown. It was fun to see all the final prep work for the course/trials and we also checked out Minute Maid Park, home of the Houston Astros. Next, we watched the US Olympic
Marathon Trials. Since they ran an 8 mile loop, we were able to see both the male and female runners at least 4 times each. As the race went on, Aimee and I worked our way to the finish and sat in the grandstands. The crowd was nuts and really cheered these athletes on to London. After the trials we went right into the expo to pick up our race bibs for the following day. The rest of the day was spent watching playoff football and resting.


Sunday morning we arrived downtown around 5:45 am to be in our corrals by 6:40 am before they closed them off. Aimee and I had both qualified for the "faster" A corrals which kept us up front and helps avoid too much congestion at the start. Another great thing about Houston is they separate the 1/2 and Full start areas and do not merge them until mile 2; this also cuts down on congestion. With Aimee prego she only ran a portion of the half and took several pictures along the way. Being towards the back was a new experience for her and I'm sure it was tough for her to walk most the race, but safety first there's a baby on board!

Thanks to the perfect weather and flat course, I was able to PR (3:03:20) which re-qualified me for Boston (3:05:00 for my age). My time is good for the 2013 race, but I have to wait until this September to see if I get in. In the meantime we are already looking into hotel options and so is some of our family!  

After eating breakfast and filling my awesome finishers mug, we walked back to the hotel and decided to drive down to Galveston for lunch. It was an quick 45 minute drive, all interstate, and we were glad we made the trip. We walked along the gulf, saw Galveston's New Orleans style downtown, and watched the second half of the Houston Texans playoff game. We highly recommend this race, enjoyed being part of the Olympic Trials, and are always grateful for the opportunities we have to compete and run.

Galveston and the New Orleans Style Downtown

Houston Marathon Playlist

After spending more time than needed on a playlist for this Sunday's Houston Marathon, I am finally finished. I was a little obsessive compulsive trying to place the songs with how I might possibly feel at that point in the race. All I know is this: 

1. By mile 4 or 5 I'll zone out and won't know what the previous song was  

2. By mile 15 I'll probably have skipped a song 

3. By mile 22 I won't even know what's playing 

4. If I am hearing Rage before mile 25 I have missed my goal (ala Bass Pro 2009)   

Comments on my selections? Anything I'm missing? 

On a music related topic, I just downloaded the newest New Found Glory album. If you are looking for some upbeat non-mainstream music to run to check it out. (Similar to late 90's/early 2000's Alternative/Punk) 

2012 Olympic Time Trials - Houston

This Saturday Aimee and I will get to see the top US Men and Women Marathoners compete for a spot on the 2012 London Olympic Team. These elite athletes will run a 2.2 mile loop before completing 3 more 8 mile loops around downtown Houston. Aimee and I have a hotel approximately 0.2 miles from the 1/9/17/25 mile markers and are looking forward to seeing them run.

Now you might be thinking, who would want to wait all that time before they run by again? Well, considering the men will finish the course in about 2:05-2:20 and the women in about 2:25-2:40 we won't have to wait all that long. Plus the men start 15 minutes before the women so everything will be spread out. If you would like to watch too, NBC is broadcasting the race from 2:00-4:00 pm Saturday afternoon.

The next day we get our turn at the course, only it's not looped. Aimee will be running the Chevron Houston Half Marathon and I will be running the full. We will not be on TV, but if you would like to follow us you can sign up here. Aimee is bib #22569 and I am #1533.

Long and Short race

Saturday was a Frost Bite Series race in St. Louis. Dustin ran the long (20K) and I ran the short (5K). I thought this would be a great opportunity for me to be in a race and practice taking it easy for the Houston Half Marathon coming up this weekend. I don't get nervous at races, but something about being amongst other runners in a timed event gets my adrenaline going and I almost always start out too fast. As we got Dustin lined up for his race, we asked the attendant where I needed to go for the short race. She pointed about two blocks down the street and said, "Over there where those people are running. Looks like they already started". So I immediately took off and played catch up, since I was about 3 minutes behind. I continued to monitor my watch (because of the adrenaline rush I can't tell if I'm running too hard) and I noticed that I was running 8-somethings. It felt great to get my legs going, but I had to remind myself to take it easy and simply finish the course. I ended up running in the back with many of the parents pushing strollers. It made me think, "hey, I'm kinda like them. I'm carrying a baby too!" Although I bet they would remind me that it isn't quite the same, especially when we are going up hill and they are pushing an extra 50-60lbs as opposed to my 5. LOL
Dustin did really well.  The first time I saw him he was 15th and in a pack of men. By the 12 mile marker he had pulled away and ended up 8th or 9th. Overall in the Frost Bite Series (averages of a series of races) he is in 2nd for his age category, which is fantastic particularly because he is actually training for a marathon so many races he ran in the middle of a long run of 20+ miles.  He is running better than I have ever seen him run and I am really excited to see how well he runs in Houston.
Overall there were 1,400 race participants. The races were held in forest park so the roads weren't closed. It was a bit chaotic at times with all the cars and runners going different ways for different races. It made me happy just being around all the runners. Some people like to watch professional baseball or football players, but I love to watch and be amongst runners. They don't get paid the big bucks, and few of them take home trophies, metals, or prize money but I think they are the best. Heck, they even pay to be there!
I can't wait to watch the Olympic trials Saturday!!!  I wish the best of luck to Dustin as he runs the marathon! I can feel that Houston sun on my skin already...