10 for Texas

This is the second time I've run this race, and it's definitely one of my favorites. Very well organized, not too big, and a really nice spread at the post-race party. This year, they were handing out beer (Shiner, Tecate, and Heineken), buffalo nachos, breakfast tacos, Chik-Fil-A sandwiches, and tons of other stuff like smoothies that really didn't interest me. If I'm going to replenish my carbs after a race, I'll take a beer over a smoothie any day.

Anyway, it was a really nice day for a race. Started in the high 50s and ended around 70. Perfect Houston fall weather. I felt bad for the people who decided to wear the race shirt during the race. They're long-sleeve Saucony tech shirts, better for running in January than October. By the time they got to the finish, most of them were beet red in the face and looked quite overheated.

My goal for the race was to finish in under 1:30 (9 minute pace). I want to run San Antonio between 4 and 4:15, so this was a good test to see how I could do holding that pace. Turns out I was way too conservative. I ran the first few miles right around 9 minutes, started to pick it up about halfway through, and kicked it in for the last couple miles. I think I would have been better off had I started with 8:50s and moved up slowly from there instead of having the big drops that I did. Good learning experience, and knowing I still had plenty in reserve at the finish makes me feel more confident about San Antonio. Assuming I don't overdo it with the tequila while I'm in Cancun at the end of the month.

Today was the first time I ran in racing flats, courtesy of Brooks, one of our In Flight sponsors. What a different feel they have from my regular running shoes. I could barely feel them on my feet, and while they don't have the same cushioning as my Asics, that didn't seem to matter. Not sure I'd want to do 26.2 in them, but a half certainly wouldn't be a problem.

Disneyland Half Report

What a great weekend vacation! Running a half marathon isn't exactly most people's idea of a vacation, but that was only part of what we did. Enjoying the beautiful weather, riding the rides at Disneyland, eating and drinking well, and seeing an old high school friend all made up the rest of our time in LA. The trip didn't start out very well though. We were flying on US Air, and we learned very quickly why our first class seats with them cost the same amount of miles as coach on Continental – lousy service and old planes. The flight attendant was beyond lousy. No drinks before we took off, only one in the air during a flight of about two and a half hours, and a bag of chips or a package of crackers to eat. Definitely a far cry from the excellent service Continental provides. Our short, 50-minute flight from Phoenix to Orange County was much better. That flight attendant was on top of her game and gave us wonderful service.

As an aside, the Orange County airport is quite a nice place. One of the prettier airports I've ever been in. From the hand-rolled tissues behind the faucets in the restroom to the eight separate security lines and x-ray machines (I'd never seen TSA screeners with an empty line), you can definitely tell it sees some high dollar travelers.

Saturday, we got up and went off to pick up our race packets. Tried to take advantage of the free shuttles running from the hotel to Disneyland, but when a bus the size of a car rental shuttle showed up to get the 30 people waiting it line, we decided to drive instead. Packet pickup was a breeze. We were done in less than 10 minutes, including separate stops to get bibs and then shirt/goodie bag. We stuck around longer to do some shopping and eventually left with a new pair of Asics, two pairs of flip-flops, two pairs of post-run slides, and some Sweaty Bands for Heather.

Lunch was at the Mexican place in Downtown Disney. Our waiter knew we were from out of town because we were the only people sitting outside. Apparently, 85 and sunny is too hot for the locals.

Saturday night, we drove up to Little Tokyo to have dinner with one of my good friends from high school, James Richards, and his wife Linda. We've been in email contact for a while, but hadn't seen each other in 15-20 years, and it was great to meet her and catch up with him. Lots of good conversation about yoga, LA, and our life as expats in Russia. I wish we could have stayed longer, but we had to get back to the hotel to rest up before that pesky race the next morning.

Race day started out great, aside from the 345am alarm part. A bus showed up right when we stepped outside the hotel doors, so we were plenty early for the start. Even after walking to bag drop, hitting the porta-potties, and sitting around waiting for the corrals to open, we had 30 minutes to kill before the race started once we got in our corrals. I sat on the curb and watched all the bemused faces of people reacting to my costume. Thankfully there weren't any Marys there ready to unload on me for daring to be so frivolous while they were racing. 

On our way to the corrals

Yes, Mary, I ran the whole race dressed like that. :)  The first portion of the race took us through the California Adventure park as well as Disneyland itself. There were lots of characters to take pictures with along the way. Since I didn't take any during Goofy last year and was only running this for fun, I tried to take as many as I could this time without having to wait in line too long while doing so.

Unfortunately, I missed out on the one I really wanted. The line for the Star Wars stormtroopers was about 15-20 people long when I went by. That was too much time to stop so early in the race. I made do with waving at them with my wand and continuing on my way, enjoying all the sights, sounds, and cast members out there cheering us on. One thing Disney does right is getting hundreds of their employees out there all the way along in the parks. 

Once we left Disneyland, we had four miles through the streets of Anaheim to slog along before we got to the next attraction, the Angels' baseball stadium. Disney did the best they could to get lots of local high school and middle school cheerleaders and bands out there to keep us entertained. I had a blast interacting with them. There's something about a crazy guy running with a pink tutu and a blue wig that makes those young girls go frantic with squealing and shrieking and laughing, and I totally fed off their energy. My pace picked up 20-30 seconds per mile while I was going past them slapping high fives and smiling for their parents' cameras. 

Without any characters to stop and take pictures with, my focus ended up back on my running, and I gradually found myself out for more than just a fun run. I knew I'd never break two hours after stopping for pictures in the parks, but I couldn't stop myself from trying to get close. Steve was right. This was a long way to go for just a training run. I didn't go all out. I settled into a comfortable 9:15-9:20 pace and just cruised along. 

Running through the stadium was one of the coolest things I've done during a race. Coming down the tunnel, you could hear a dull roar in front of you, and once you entered the outfield, Wham! You got nailed by this huge wall of sound from all the people in the stands. The team's announcer was calling out people's names and numbers as they came in, and when you rounded the area behind home plate, you looked up to see yourself on the Jumbotron! What a great experience.

The other Jumbotron celebrating the runners

There wasn't much to see on the way back to the park. There were some wonderful Mexican dancers in traditional dress, several more groups of cheerleaders and bands, and even a troop or two of Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts, but that's about it. The only real excitement for me came right after mile 11 going through the tunnel under the highway. I saw a guy dressed like Elvis up in front of me, and I told myself that there was no way he was going to beat me. At least I thought I said it to myself until the guy next to me said "there's no way I'm getting beat by you!"

That wasn't the only time I was told I was a target for people. Just past mile 12, a guy came up to me and said his friends had been chasing me for four miles. At that point, they were about 100 feet in front of me, so I told him I was going to try to chase them down. He told me to dig deep and go for it, and off I went. I missed catching them by about 30 feet, probably because I hammed it up for the crowd in the bleachers during the last few tenths of a mile finishing chute. I finished in 2:07, not bad for a guy who stopped to take several pictures and ran the whole way in a princess costume. Even Mary might let me get away with that.

Gotta like a ribbon that matches your hair

They had better tiaras, I had better hair

Heather's wig fell off after a few miles

I even got to meet up with a few friends from one of the Disney online communities after the race. 

After a shower and Heather's nap, we went back to the park for margaritas and lunch. I wish some place around here offered up California-Mex instead Tex-Mex. The green cilantro rice was to die for, and Heather loved the vegetarian black beans that didn't have the pork or fat that they're often cooked with. 

Hydration station

Properly rehydrated, we spent the rest of the day riding rides and wandering around people watching. After a snack of wine and cheese, it was off to bed and home the next day. It's always really hard to leave such nice weather after a great weekend, made even more so by the rain and thunderstorms that we found waiting for us back in Houston.

Mickey

Since I didn't get many pictures when I ran Goofy, I'm going to try to take more this weekend. Here's the first one, taken with Mickey on my way in to packet pickup.




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Off to Disneyland

We're leaving in a few hours to head to Disneyland for the half marathon on Sunday. I haven't trained for this as race unto itself. Rather, I'm just using it as one more long run on my way to San Antonio this fall. Still, I've done what I can to be prepared. Tutu?

Check. Crown?

Check. Wand?

Check. Looks like I'm ready to go.

Alarm Fail

You'd think after 41 years on this planet, I'd be smart enough to be able to set an alarm clock properly. You'd be wrong. Er, at least you'd be wrong last night. I managed to set mine for 540am instead of 440am, making it a bit difficult to be at my training group's long run by 6. I really wanted to make this one because a) I need to get my miles up before Disney, and b) I wanted to use my discount coupon at Fleet Feet to pick up some new running sunglasses. The cheap pair of Tivolis I bought at a marathon expo last winter have broken twice on me, so instead of getting a third lens for them, I'm going to spend the extra money and get a higher quality pair. Anyone have any suggestions or recommendations?

Need Some Motivation?

Need any motivation to run, jog, bike, swim, or whatever it is you do? Look no further than this collection of thoughts. Some of them are truly inspiring.

Weight In Vain

Lazy Weekend

It's been a nice and lazy weekend so far. We managed to dodge the rain during our group run yesterday morning, but given all the rain Alex brought us last week, the humidity was still raging. Nothing like getting back to the car and having to wring out my shirt before heading home. I've taken to changing into a dry t-shirt to keep my seatbelt from getting all nasty on the drive home.


Yesterday's other only real activity was dinner at Kiran's, a gourmet Indian restaurant out by the Galleria. We decided to try it because we got a Groupon deal ($50 for $25). The food was good and so was the service, but overall it didn't "wow" us. It was if the chef held back on traditional Indian spiciness and flavor in order to appear more modern and cutting edge. We're going to give it another shot sometime and try some more usual dishes instead of the tasting menu. Stay tuned.

In other thrilling and exciting news, my iPhone 4G is on its way here. It left China on Thursday, made it to Memphis early this morning, and is "in transit to Houston" according to FedEx. I hope to have it on Tuesday so I can try out the upgraded camera and video capabilities at Mark's Inside Sports auditions that night.