Nearly 500 participants found their way to Minute Maid Park this morning to run a 5 miler. There is nothing better than running when it is sunny and 43 degrees, so the omens were good. First of all congratulations to blogger Sam Rodriguez, who followed up his eleventh place Buffalo Wallow run last week with a fourth place finish today in a blistering 27:36. Being caught up in my own race well back in the pack, I forgot that he was running today.
I saw Sarah taking pictures at the start and finish. I must admit I cringe at most of my race pictures, however it is not the photographers fault if I look deranged, distraught or disheveled. The only one I ever liked is on my blog. That photo was taken at the Houstonian Lite 30k in December and purchased from Karen Thibodeaux. I did not get to meet fellow HRB'r Jen. Sarah said she finished so no blogger was left behind. There will likely be a good turnout for the Rodeo Run, so I'm sure I'll meet some more club members there.
Running a road race felt good today and a lot easier than last week's cross country run. A number of folks are running a marathon or half marathon on the beach at Surfside today. I wish them well, running on sand is a workout and a half.
As for my race, I guaranteed a PR and I got it. I expected to run the first mile in 9:00 and the remaining four in 8:30 for a 43 minute result. I started well back in the pack, so there was going to be a large time differential between my chip time and my gun time. Then I forgot to start my watch at the beginning, so I was guessing as to my splits. I believe I ran the first mile in about 8:30 and decided to step it up some. Next thing I knew I hit the four mile mark and they called out 32 something. I thought to myself that finishing in under 40 minutes was tantalizingly close. So I pushed it. As I hit the last 50 yards I saw the gun time clock and knew I was not going to break 40 minutes gun time. I pushed it anyways and it turns out my chip time was 39:58. I felt great.
On the ride home my nano shuffled to Journey, which is appropriate for how I felt about running today.
Working hard to get my fill,
everybody wants a thrill
Payin' anything to roll the dice,
just one more time
Some will win, some will lose
Some were born to sing the blues
Oh, the movie never ends
It goes on and on and on and on
Don't stop believin'
Hold on to the feelin'
P.S. Hey Christine, the Mizuno gloves I received for Xmas saw their race debut today.
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4 comments:
you rock! the gloves were not my purchase, just the nano - and don't think that i don't know what CD you got that journey song from ;) hold on to that feeeeeling
Great job, Joe! Heck of a run!
(And I'm glad that I read your blog before heading off to la-la land as I had missed Sam in the results!)
Joe- congrats on the PR!
Great job on the race, and way to get under 40. That's an awesome feat.
Thanks for noticing my time...somehow, they discovered my alternate identity, "Samir Rodriguez" when posting the results.
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