A Long Trip To and Through the Bayou City Classic

I left my Singapore hotel at 7:30 pm Thursday, Houston time and arrived home at 9 pm Friday night. Although I did hit the hotel fitness center three times, I had too much good food on this trip and added 5 pounds to my running weight.

Up at 5 am Saturday and off to the Bayou City Classic, feeling bloated and not too fast. Can't believe jet lag is the issue, more likely the abnormal meal intake of the past 48 hours. The weather is not my favorite, in the 70s and humidity is somewhat high. Oh where is that cold and rain of the Rodeo Run.

Did the weigh in for the Clydesdales race, tipping the scale at a hefty 220 pounds (ouch). This qualifies me for the 211 to 226 pound grouping, which I expected, but not the 215 predicted. Took off at the gun like I would challenge my personal best set two weeks ago. Did the first two miles in 15 minutes. Overheating. Gasping. Dowsing myself with water. Hit the half way point at about 25 minutes and threw the towel in. Alternated walking and running. My colleague says running is mostly mental, if so I cracked under the pressure. He is somewhat correct, but a large person like myself overheats relatively easily, so there is a physical factor involved. Could I have done better today? No doubt. I should have started out the first two miles in 16 minutes instead of 15. I should have fought harder mentally and jogged with no walking.

A friend came up alongside of me with one mile to go and pulled me home. His presence gave me the adrenaline I needed to finish running with no walking. Chip time posted as 54:07, almost 5 minutes slower than my Rodeo Run 10k. No excuses. Initial posting showed me as second place in the 211 to 226 pound Clydesdale group. Final posting on the board showed me as third place. In spite of a difficult run, could I have actually placed?

Awards ceremony. Another name announced for 3rd place in my category. Race organizers say Clydesdale results are messed up, wait around. Seems the other name is a female and is not a master, so she should not be in this category. So after a while, they give me a plaque for 3rd place, 211 to 226 pounds, Clydesdales - Masters. Official results posted tonight states third place in the Open category, but any plaque is fine by me as I won't be seeing any more. It is hard to believe 54 minutes wins anything in my age group. Next year I will be in the more competitive 190 to 210 pound weight classification I am sure! Or perhaps I should beef up before hand and go for the gold.

I saw several of the Houston Bloggers and enjoyed free St Arnolds brew after the race. Congratulations to Jessica, who won first place in the Fillies Open category. So it looks like the Houston Running Bloggers walked away with at least two plaques from the Bayou City Classic 10k.