Bearathon Half Marathon (2011-03-19)

Bearathon Half Marathon in Waco, TX

Run (unofficial):
Mile 1 - 7:07
Mile 2 - 7:39
Mile 3 - 7:34
Mile 4 - 8:45
Mile 5 - 8:49
Mile 6 - 9:02
Mile 7 - 9:32
Mile 8 - 9:28
Mile 9 - 8:57
Mile 10 - 8:37
Mile 11 - 8:28
Mile 12 - 10:08
Mile 13 - 8:14
Time: 1:58:06
Distance: 13.88 miles
Pace: 8:30
Calories: 2027

Weather: 62 degrees, humidity 90%, winds 8.1 mph

Official:
Time: 1:57:48
Age Group: 6th out of 35
Pace: 9:00
Overall: 219th out of 972

Group Run in Allen, TX (2011-03-12)

 @ The Grove, Allen, TX

Did a group run with several folks from the Allen, TX area.  It was quiet a drive from Kennedale, but I happen to be dropping Michelle off in Sachse, TX.  The group run was organized rather quickly by  Libby.  Her friend was in need of a long run in the roads (she had been training on treadmills) before running her first half marathon, the Dallas Rock N Roll Half.  Libby, being the social running magnate that she is, attracted over 20-plus participants (via Facebook and Twitter invites) who were also looking for a local, long run. 

In the 3 years that I've been running, I've never participated in a group run.  I certainly enjoyed the social aspect; getting to know your fellow runners, learning new training methods, nutritional products, running gear, etc.

There was water/Gatorade stations provided by Libby, post-run recovery drinks provided by Honeymilk, and post-run ART (Active Release Techniques®) work from chiropractor, Dr. G from Spring Valley Spine and Sportscare.

I paired up with Keith, a local Allen runner.  Although Keith is much faster than I, we decided to pair up and keep the pace around 8:00-8:30 minute per mile.  Keith had to do another training run of 17 miles for a Run On group the next day.  For me this is going to be my long run before the Bearathon next Saturday.

It was a relatively flat course.  I usually warm up by mile 3, but not today.  I struggled all the way through the run.  Although there were some strong head winds, these were not much of a bother since we changed directions during the almost "out-and-back" course.  There were several major intersections that we had to "pause" our runs and timing devices.  I forgot to "un-pause" my CardioTrainer android app after pausing to cross E. Exchange Parkway, between mile 7 and 8.  I did not notice it until we crossed over Greenville Ave.  So I lost almost 2 miles.  Luckily Keith had his Garmin.  He clocked us @ around 1 hour and 20 minutes for the run.

If you're looking for local group to run with in Allen, TX, look up Libby and Keith.  I believe they will have several weeks of group/training runs planned throughout the week.

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Time: 1:20:12
Distance: 9.42 miles (actually ran 11 miles)

Pace: 8:30
Calories: 1363
Weather: 51.8 degrees, humidity 94%, winds 10.4 mph

All Dressed Up and No Where to Run

So I awoke up Saturday morning at 4:00 am. to my cell phone's alarm clock. It was another early rise for a half marathon race.  This time the race (the Bearathon), was down in Waco, TX. It starts/ends at the campus of Baylor University. The drive to Waco was uneventful. That is until around 20 miles from Waco I start seeing lightning.  In total, I saw 4 lightning strikes for the rest of the drive.

As I drove through the campus I see the street gutters filled with about 3 to 4 feet wide water. There seems to be a lot of run off and the gutters are barely handling it. Luckily I found a "crossing" that did not get my feet/shoes soaked.

Small gym

I headed into the gym (around 7:00) where packet and timing chip pickup, and registration was being held.  We were told that the race was not cancelled, to continue registering and picking up your timing chips. Another update was given. This time the race was delayed until 9:00, because of lightning strikes. Again we were told to continue as normal (registering and timing chip pick up).

Packet pick up.

 Timing chip pickup line.

We were given our final update aound 8:45. The race was cancelled due to "inclement weather". We were told to turn in our timing chips and to pick up our tech shirt and medal.  It looks like the announcer misspoke about the medals.  After receiving our tech shirts and no medals, some runners inquired further. They were told that there would be no medals handed out. As I and others did not hear a correction announced, I could see why this was confusing to some.

T-shirt pick up line.

 Indoor food and drink station.

As I left the gym I heard a runner count off from 10 done to 0, out loud. I turned towards his direction and see about 6 to 8 individuals cross the starting line.  It looked like they were going to run the course, on their own.  I wish I could have run with them. 

I understand the side of race management. It's not fun for them. Taking care of runners' safety is their priority. This was my first experience in which a race was cancelled due to inclement weather. I can tell you, that for my side, I was very dissapointed. After driving an hour and half, and 90 miles, the last thing I (we) wanted was for the race to be cancelled.

The rain clearing up as I drove home did not help the mood I was in. So now that I know how it feels to show up ready to run with no where to run,  I hope I don't have go through this again. At least not anytime soon.