Friday, March 26, 2010

The Race That Wasn't - Bearathon 2010


DILO_March_2010-01979
Originally uploaded by cmiked
It rained on Saturday of the Bearathon. It started about an hour before start time. It stopped about the time the race should have finished. We sat around a lot. We were told it was still on. And then it was canceled. I'm disappointed but they couldn't control the weather. So it looks like my Spring season ends with 0-3 half-marathons in 3 months. It's golf season now anyway and I haven't swung a club since October. I need to get out there. We have a golf get together at the end of April in California.

In better news, my weigh-in today brings me down (or up) to minus 23 pounds since the 01.01.2010. I'm still working. I still have 27 pounds to go for my realistic goal. We'll talk about the crazy goal at a later date.

As far as training goes, I'd like to run in the Route 66 half in November and maybe try for a full by January so from here I plan to double my Saturday run and maybe double one of my weekday runs.

Edit: I forgot to add to the disappointment of the cancellation of the Bearathon.  We had both our boys and my in-laws all set to run the 5K.  I can't believe we were able to get the Craine's out in the cold and the wet.  But they were there ready to run, too.  They are planning to do the Komen 5k in April, so I hope that works out for them.

Monday, March 15, 2010

Dallas Rock 'n' Roll 1/2


Dallas Rock n Roll 1/2
Originally uploaded by cmiked
2010 is in its third month and I have completed three half marathons. Each one I have set a PR. Each one the recovery time has been less. I've lost 20 pounds since the first of the year. I seem to have hit a plateau right now but I didn't gain anything over vacation.

The race: This was my first from the Rock 'n' Roll series. They do a wave start, each corral has a separate start. I don't know why, it meant that my clock time was some 20 - 25 minutes off my actual time which means I have to keep up with my splits. There were Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders at the starting line and it was a pretty big party. I started out way too hard. I was running a little over a 10-minute mile. I tend to average a little under 14-minutes per mile.

We ran down through Dealey plaza and past the "Grassy Knoll" which is now clearly identified as such by a large yellow sign. Looped aroiund and headed back into downtown toward Turtle Creek.

Turtle Creek was a nice run, lots of huge houses in a park like setting. I recall hearing a girl say that she was from Dallas and had no idea that place existed. Turtle Creek led to Highland Park and the SMU area before turning on Mockingbird and crossing over Central Expressway. We came down Skillman through the "M" streets where my sister used to live. Then down to Swiss Ave.

Swiss Avenue was lined with more gorgeous houses, for those that don't know the Dallas area. Just shy of mile 10, a lady, Jenny was her name, heard my watch beeping and asked what I was running. Her watch was not functioning properly. I said a 1:1 and she asked if she could pace with me the rest of the race, so then we were 2.

Around mile 11, we caught a friend of Jenny's and became 3 for the final 2 miles. About mile 12 we were talking about how we were almost there when a third lady said she hoped it was ok if she joined us, that she was running out of gas. So the four of us came into Fair Park together. Low on gas. HOT! It had gotten up to the mid-70's.

Amy, who had finished som 30 minutes earlier, had found my mom, sister and the kids and they were hanging just about the 13 -mile mark and their cheers gave me the boost I needed to finish strong.

I sprinted the finish line and waited for the ladies to finish. We congratulated each other then went our separate ways. Kelly came in a short while later. She was not DAL as she feared. There were plenty behind her.

My time was 3:02:48, about 4 minutes faster than Austin. The Dallas course was MUCH flatter than either of the other courses. Very few hills and what there was were gradual inclines. It was a good race.

Next up, Bearathon (another half) in Waco this Saturday. Then we're done for a while.