For Whom the Dogs Bark

Purple Stride 5K Run

Recent EntriesHomeJoin Fast Running Blog Community!PredictorHealthy RecipesFlatlander's RacesFind BlogsMileage BoardTop Ten Excuses for Missing a RunTop Ten Training MistakesDiscussion ForumRace Reports Send A Private MessageWeek ViewMonth ViewYear View
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
2009201020112012201320142015201620172018
15% off for Fast Running Blog members at St. George Running Center!

Location:

Cypress,TX,

Member Since:

Oct 10, 2009

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Other

Running Accomplishments:

5K: 24:22 (March 2010); 22:33 (October 2010); 20:47 (May 2011); 21:05 (May 2012); 21:33 (September 2012); 21:23 (November, 2013); 22:31 (September 2014)

5M:  39:22 (November, 2012); 35:54 (November, 2013); 36:03 (March, 2015)

10K: 44:08 (November, 2010); 49:20 (July, 2013); 44:07 (April, 2015)

12K:  56:03 (December, 2013); 58:58 (December, 2014)

10M:  1:11:58 (October, 2012); 1:15:24 (October, 2014)

Half Marathon:  1:53:xx (London's Run 2010); 2:05:21 (Cowtown 2010); 1:37:04 (Gusher 2011); 1:42:19 (Huntsville 2011); 1:33:47 (Baytown Jailbreak 2012); 1:33:50 (The Woodlands 2012); 1:42:52 (Texas 2015); 1:49:17 (Jailbreak 2015); 1:38:34 (The Woodlands 2015)

25K: 2:01:47 (Fifth Third River Bank, May 2014)

Marathon: 5:51:35 (Texas Marathon 2009); 6:21:36 (Ogden 2009); 4:58:29 (St. George 2009); 4:13:45 (Texas Marathon 2010); 4:04:12 (Utah Valley Marathon, 2010); 5:11:14 (Hartford ING, 2010); 3:41:43 (Richmond SunTrust, 2010); 3:39:27 (Texas Marathon 2011); 3:41:46 (Utah Valley Marathon, 2011); 3:30:35 (St. George 2011); 3:41:51 (Richmond 2012); 3:49:15 (Texas 2013); 3:46:59 (Paavo Nurmi, 2013); 3:34:04 (St. George 2013); 3:49:51 (Texas 2014); 3:31:59 (Richmond 2014); 3:28:34 (Boston 2015)

Short-Term Running Goals:

3:20, 1:30, 0:20

Long-Term Running Goals:

I'm 60, there is no long term.

Personal:

I live, work and run in Houston, Texas.  I have run 17 marathons, some good ones and some others.  I prefer straight, flat, cold, sea-level marathons, still waiting for my first one.  I feel like there are more PRs out there.  When I have them, I am told it is time to dial it back, run for healthy reasons.  I'm sure that's right, and I'm sure it won't happen.

My wife and I are from the mountains of the west.  We have five kids, three granddaughters and three grandsons.  The kids and grandkids are native Texans but we are not -- you have to be born here.

As for my blog title: I run most of my miles before sunrise, sometimes hours before. On the back road of my neighborhood two hours before daylight, I can depend on a pack of mutts behind the boundary fence lighting up when they hear my footsteps. I have wondered what they wanted; but according to Hemingway I needn't ask.

Click to donate
to Ukraine's Armed Forces
Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 0.00
Race: Purple Stride 5K Run (3.107 Miles) 00:21:23, Place overall: 12
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
0.700.003.110.003.81

40F, 100%, N 15-20 mph, raining off and on.  My youngest daughter, who is starting to prepare for a half-marathon in March, wanted to run this because her favorite teacher was promoting it due to family involvement in the pancreatic cancer cause.  She has never been an enthusiastic runner and I figured she would shrink at the abominable weather, but she was up and ready to go, apologizing to me for the weather.  It's great when kids take ownership.  We drove to Reliant  Park on the south side of town, got there about 7:15 and registered, then went back and sat in the car for an 8:30 start.  Got back out at 8:15, still traipsing through puddles.  My paper-thin shoes were soaked before the race started.  I went out for a brief warm-up, got back at 8:27 and the ceremonies had barely begun.  Survivor speeches, celebrity speeches, the whole thing.  I was frigid by 8:50 when we finally started, doubt that the warmup did me much good.  The course was a series of twists and turns through the enormous Astrodome parking area, including a bridge over a street at the start and finish.  My watch actually measured the course at 3.08, which is about the right adjustment for built-in GPS inaccuracy due to running so many turns - 36 in all mostly right angles and a 180 -- I ran all the tangents very conscientiously, as the course was marked with cones for the entire length.  Lots of puddles out there and some runners lost time by running around them.  I plowed straight through, actually liked the course.  I could see what everybody was doing.  Not a fast group in the miserable weather.  I went out hard, was feeling lactatey by the first quarter, but I was committed to the pace and kept going.  My heart rate strap was on but it got too loose in the cold weather and eventually I had to let it ride on my belly.  I think I topped out a 230 bpm.

I was in 11th at one point, got passed, then passed somebody else, then got passed in the last half mile by the women's winner.  She was drafting off of me until we turned back away from the wind then passed me easily, beating me by about 5 seconds.  My Garmin splits were 6:58, 6:54, 7:00 and 6:45 for the stub.  Overall average 6:58, but lower than that when adjusted for the 5K distance.  This is not my fastest 5K time, but like the St. George marathon, today's time was within striking distance.  Feels good, 2 years later, to be challenging my PRs again.

After finishing I went back out on the course, found my daughter and ran her in.  She broke the 11:00/mile mark and never stopped, so she was happy with her efforts, though she complained bitterly about the bridge at the end.  We didn't stay for the ceremony, but I don't think they were giving out any age-group awards.  Afterward we found a good breakfast place and managed to get warmed up.

Comments
From I Just Run on Mon, Nov 25, 2013 at 16:18:21 from 67.79.11.242

Nice racing Flat! With a little speed training I bet you could easily beat your 5K PR.

Tell your daughter congratulations too!

From SonofaFlatlander on Tue, Nov 26, 2013 at 13:52:03 from 139.52.7.232

nice race report

Add Your Comment.
  • Keep it family-safe. No vulgar or profane language. To discourage anonymous comments of cowardly nature, your IP address will be logged and posted next to your comment.
  • Do not respond to another person's comment out of context. If he made the original comment on another page/blog entry, go to that entry and respond there.
  • If all you want to do is contact the blogger and your comment is not connected with this entry and has no relevance to others, send a private message instead.
Only registered users with public blogs are allowed to post comments. Log in with your username and password or create an account and set up a blog.
Debt Reduction Calculator
Featured Announcements
Lone Faithfuls
(need a comment):
Recent Comments: