On Saturday 4/11/09, we ran in the Estates of Clear Creek 5K Fun Run/Walk (which was actually 5.23km, according to the map below, provided by the race coordinator). My coworker Linda lives there and she invited us out for the run. Liz and I finished together in 29:28, making it the fastest 5K(ish) run that either of us has done. We came in 6th and 7th, according to the people keeping time, though they weren’t sure which of us was 6th and which of us was 7th. Aww yeah!
After the race, Linda made pancakes (which were excellent; thanks again, Linda!).
The team was Linda (a coworker of mine) – 500m swimming, Viroj (our boss) – 10.8 miles cycling, and me – 3 miles running. However, due to today’s weather, they cut the swimming portion (something about whitecaps in the lake), so the race was run 3 miles/bike 10.8 miles/run 3 miles. Linda hadn’t brought her running shoes, so I did both of the running legs of the race. I’m not sure what my times were, but I know that they were decent considering the cold wind blowing in my face and the fact that I couldn’t feel my toes for the first half of the first three mile run. I’d like to someday do a triathlon myself, and so would Liz.
Here’s a video Liz took of me crossing the finish line:
And here’s our team plaque, 2nd place!
And finally, here are the pictures that Liz took before, during, and after the race.
I’ll add more pictures when I get them from Viroj. I’ll also update with our completion time when I see the official results. [Pictures updated]. We finished in 1:57:55, though I don’t know our splits because (I’m guessing) we didn’t have the chip on our ankles (both Viroj and I carried it in our pockets).
Liz and I have some more races planned; stay tuned.
This morning, we ran in the Klein High School Bearkat Bash for the third year. I finished in 30:21 and Liz finished in 30:27; both of us improved quite a bit over last year’s time of 31:43. And now we have new personal records!
Also, due to the fact that my birthday is on Tuesday, I managed to “win” first place in my age group (I wouldn’t have placed if I were in the 30-34 age group, but I’m still 29 for the next three days). Technically, the overall winner (who finished in 15 minutes and change) is in my age group, too, but they don’t allow duplication of awards. And to be fair, he and I were the only male participants in the 25-29 age group. But it’s still a major award and I won, to paraphrase “The Old Man” from A Christmas Story.
We ran in the 2007 Chevron Houston Marathon on 1/13/2008. Liz finished in 5:31:01 and Steve finished in 5:50:05. It was a lot of fun! There’s more to come regarding how the race went, but for now, here are our results. (The “pictures” links don’t work yet, but they should by this Friday. They work as of Wednesday 1/16/2008.)
We went today and picked up our packets (bibs, t-shirts, etc.) at the Marathon Expo. Now it’s time to eat a high carb dinner and go to bed. We have had a pretty relaxing day and a relatively relaxing week, training-wise (which is the goal, according to the training program we’re using), so now we’re ready.
Beginning at 7am, ABC-13 in Houston is going to feature live coverage of the race. They are also going to show a finish line recap on Sunday night at 10:35pm. If you happen to be in Houston or get Houston TV, you could/should watch for us, if you were so inclined. Regardless of where you are, if you would like to watch us cross the finish line, check out the “live finish line cam.”
If you’re interested in the course we’ll be running, here is a map. If anybody would like to track our progress during the marathon, click here and fill out the necessary info. to receive e-mail/text messages as we cross various milestones along the course. Our last name, of course, is “Myles,” hah.
We want to again thank everybody for their support, both those who donated to the ACS on our behalf and those who have given us kind words of encouragement. We’ll be thinking of you as we run tomorrow.
The marathon is next Sunday, and we’re both excited. We did our last long training run today, 9 miles. That’s not that long, considering, but the program we’re doing calls for tapering off on the lengths of the runs in order to ensure that runners have adequate energy and rest before the marathon. This week, we have two three-mile runs and a three-mile walk; that’s probably going to be one of the hardest training days of all, I think, since now we’re used to running much greater distances than that; it will be hard to slow it down to a walk and not go very far.
We have to go pick up our race packets and our bibs on Friday or Saturday this week, then we’ll have fun at the Marathon Expo.
Thanks to everyone who has donated, we’ve brought in more than $1500 for the American Cancer Society. We really appreciate your support of us and of the ACS. (By the way, it’s not too late to donate if you’re so inclined.)
Liz came across this video the other day; it’s pretty inspiring, I think. It’s called “No Excuses,” and it’s about how there are, well, no real excuses for not doing something when you put your mind to it. It focuses on doing something physical, but this really applies in all areas of life. (Incidentally, it’s a Nike commercial. Nike may not be your favorite company, but the message is still good.) Check it out:
Yesterday, we ran our longest distance to date (and ever, really); 16 miles. It wasn’t too bad. In fact, our legs hurt less today than they did after our previous longest distance ever of 14 miles (at the end of week 8).
Tomorrow, we start week 10. We’re looking forward to running in Lubbock this week due to the possibility of lower temperatures and the extreme likelihood of drier air.
Thanks again to everyone who has donated to the American Cancer Society on our behalf; we really appreciate it. If you’d still like to donate, click here.
Training is going well. We’re still doing the program in the The Non-Runner’s Marathon Trainer. This was week #3, so we completed 17 miles this week.
Yesterday, we bought new shoes. I got the New Balance 607 Shoes:
and Liz got the Asics Gel Kahana Trail Running Shoes:
Our new shoes are a lot more comfortable than the old ones (which were themselves very comfortable before we had run several hundred miles in them). The new ones are like running on clouds. Okay, not quite that comfortable, but they feel good.
This morning, we got up early and went to the park to do our long run for the week (7 miles this week). The run was fun and quick, and naturally, I stepped in dog poop in my brand new shoes. Why was it on the running trail? Oh well.
Liz finished in 34:40.9 and Steve finished in 34:41.5. It was a fun run; we both really enjoyed it, even though it was noticeably harder (due to the less-flat terrain) than the 5K we ran a few weeks ago. This really helped us get into the mood for the marathon, since it was kind of like a mini-version of marathon day, with a lot of spectators and a very party-like atmosphere.
As the guy (who happened to work for Watermill Express) at the water booth afterward kept saying, “thank you, Watermill Express!”
“The woods are lovely dark and deep, but I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep, and miles [and myles] to go before I sleep.” – Robert Frost
. This was week #3, so we completed 17 miles this week. 
