Seabrook Trails Day One

I had a GREAT run today, 2nd best time for a half marathon EVER! 2:38:34. Even with it being warm out, 60+ with 100% humidity and a decent chance of rain. In fact it did sprinkle quite a bit but the clouds never let the sun thru so it didn't get any hotter as the day went on.  The trails are awesome, crushed granite. The warning that the trails are narrow is very correct, they are not meant for large crowds of people. When the race gets on a bit and the faster runners take off and the slower runners slow down the groups of people thin considerably. Yes it's a looped course but the nice thing is when you start the second loop is starts from a different point which kind of varies the course a bit. Now on to the problems. I got a huge blister on my little toe. I have never had a blister in the shoes I wore so I thought it quite odd, that is until I went to re-lace them for tomorrow. I had put the wire ties for the timing chip on in such a way that cause my laces to tighten up on me. AH HA! no wonder. Sometimes the smallest thing can make a big impact. Today I ran 1 mile to 1 minute intervals but with this blister I am going to have to walk more. I think day #2 will be 4:1 intervals.

Here's me at the beach, because that's what you do when you're in Seabrook for the weekend. 

Ok, more about these two races and pictures in my next post.

Seabrook Weekend

The Seabrook Lucky Trails Marathon weekend is upon us!!! I am so excited! This year I am running the half marathon on BOTH DAYS!! That's right this girl is running back to back halfs! The excitement starts today! Packet pickup! Check out this swag.

2 bibs, a hat, tech shirt, socks and blinkies for my shoes!

These are my season ending (winter) races. Spring starts next week and with only a handful of races until summer I am going to get out there are give these two my all. Fanaticly this will moon me up to Jupiter!! WOO HOO!!

Bayou City Classic

Still having a slow running week because of the cold weather. Thankfully it has finally past and I had the Bayou City Classic to get me back in a runner's mind. The race is put on by HARRA which is the umbrella group for the Houston running community. This is the only race 100% put on by HARRA so there is a really good turn out. I like to think of it as Houston's answer to SF's Bay to Breakers only there is no Bay or Breakers and I have yet to see a naked runner but it still has that groovy vibe to it. It is really more of a traditional kind of race, packets consist of bibs and sponsor flyers, nothing more. Sadly for you bling whore's there are no medals, but you do get a tech finisher shirt (and one year maybe they'll have them made more true to size but they do run small).

You also get a really tough race. After the first mile around some buildings downtown you head out down Allen Parkway which is rolling up and down to Sheppard and then more up and down and up to the finish. Water stops are plentiful but if you require more than water for a 10k I would advise you to bring your own. The 5k starts after the 10k and then merges into the 10k about the 8k mark and about 1/4 to the finish they separate the road so each had it's own finish line. Spectators are pretty nonexistent but they do have dj's along the route, this year Other Brother was blasting some of my 80's favorites in 2 places. My goal for this race was to finish before the slowest centipede. As they all past me I figured my goal would have to be just to finish but after the turn around I saw that there was still one behind me and then I came across a lady who was part of another that it seems left her behind and then when I came to the last two turns I found the rest of her centipede and booked my butt past them. I finished in a new 10k PR time of 1:10:24.  Tips for next time, parking - the garage @ Bagdy and Rusk yellow section, just a short walk up the stairs and you are within a block of the start and finish lines. For the finish stay in the street and walk to the next enterance into the park, this allows you to get past the running club tents which are now crowded and puts you right next to the tents for your finisher shirts. Food is plentiful but the lines are long however the band makes it an easy wait.

Up next Seabrook Lucky Trails weekend. Wish me luck. 

GU Energy Labs

If you run you know what GU's are, for those of you who don't they are different flavors of goo that provide carbs in packets that are easy to carry. They can be hard to digest but most runners use some sort of GU while doing longer runs. GU Energy Labs is having a promotion where if you buy boxes of 8 or 24 of their Salted Caramel (tastes like burnt butter) and find a "Golden Yeti" you win a box of 24 and a chance to win a trip to San Fransisco (going home for 3 days and 2 nights would be nice) but anyways. I FOUND A GOLDEN YETI!! Thank you GU for fueling me into the summer.

February Recap

On 2-16 I ran the Run the Line Half-Marathon in Texarakana TX and AR. The hook for the race is that the state line dividing the 2 states run down center of Texarakana. The race starts in Texas and after a few minutes you are running in Arkansas for 6 miles and then you cross back into Texas and as the route loops around it takes you to the finish line in Arkansas. I LOVED IT!! Only...well for you small race lovers this is perfect. For you semi-trail runners this is for you. For you 'I love to run hills' this is for you. BUT for you back of packers it may be a bit of a head game. First off this year only 619 people ran it but that did not make it a small race. No aspect of what a runner needed was left out. Water stops were every 2 miles, which is a bit further than most races but not a issues for those who bring there own. There were also porta potties at most stations up to I want to say mile 8 but I could be wrong, I stopped looking for them once I hit the one at the half way mark. Which was great and well stocked with things other than water, I couldn't help but grab an orange, fresh orange while running is a big bonus. Just before 8 was also a GU stop. They even had an official chocolate stop stocked with Hershey's miniatures. The course in Arkansas was a paved path along a bayou until mile 4 and then out into a neighborhood. As is wound into Texas there came the biggest hill in the race but not the last hill. After mile 6.5 it felt to me as if the race was now being run in a camp ground, only it's not, this is a beautiful well planned neighborhood with lots of trails and open space. My only true problem was that I have been running in Houston and have not had a true hill workout in some time, so the up and down of this little neighborhood was really hard on my pace. The course does come to this point where you can see it seems like the rest of the run is all down hill. At mile 12 it turns out on the Stateline where you get to run around a post office that is literally in the middle of the road. Once you round the post office you can see the Justice Building that was at the starting line, just a few blocks and your done. The volunteers were absolutely GREAT! The last half of the course was winding thru, left turn, right turn, left turn and there were no less than 3 people at each turn making sure no one goes off course, I have been in bigger races that would have just left you to figure out the signage on your own. Ok, now for the back of the pack issues. This is a 3 wave start race, any one 3+ hour finish time can opt for a 30 minute early start, and then there is the usual faster runners who start when the double shot guns sound and then a 3rd wave for everyone else. So for me what happened was about 200 yards into the race I was the last woman and there was a gentle man about 50ish running about 10 feet behind me and behind him, the sag wagon. He said something to me that help calmed my nerves,  "they are already out there, you get to pass them on your way in". Which was really kind of an odd feeling. By mile one a lady from BGR dropped back to chug her 5 hour energy, she was #1 at mile 2 the first water stop, a couple stopped to use the porta potties, #2 & #3, so slowly I passed after about 8 people I stopped counted and just started going. I guess that was a better mental game than the opposite, starting early and then having all these people pass you. I really enjoyed this race and will keep it in mind as a will do again in a few years. It will be interesting to see how this one grows.

I also ran the Buffalo Wallow - 6k - Spotts Park Houston. First off it wasn't a 6k but it was more than a 5k and they let us know that at the start. There was no start timing, only when you finished but with only 36 runners it wasn't like your time was compromised. It was 3 loops of the park with a water stop at the start so you passed it twice. Very HILLY, equal ups and down with 2 good climbs each loop.
Pros: You get your hill workout and for $16 bucks I got a pretty decent hat (that wasn't white, I'm afraid to wear the white ones). No t-shirt
Cons: Parking, this has to be where all the inner loopers get their hill workout and there were tons of groups not just running in the park but running the clover leaf's on Memorial and cross-fit groups too which made parking hard but the streets around the park seemed accommodating. I did end up walking about 1/2 mile.
 It was the first in the HARRA Spring series and this year I am scheduled to do all but one, I think, the Law Week 8k would be tough to fit in but I know what I am missing from having run it last year so not too disappointed about it, not to say it's not a good race, only it does violate my "No race from the previous year" rule.

The weather has kept me pretty much in doors only logging in 75.95 mile for the month. Look ahead in March I have the Bayou City Classic, which I am anxiously wanting to run having missed it last year and it rained the year before so I have something to prove this year. Also coming up is the Seabrook Marathon weekend in which I will being running the half both days. 

Tax Return Blow Out

I got my tax return and just blew out my bank account buying races and hotels for races. Added to my list so far is the entire Bridge Series and the FLS Sugarland 30k. I have also put money aside for registration for the my winter marathon, still deciding between Houston and Baton Rouge. I am so excited about the fall/winter season and winter 2014 isn't even over yet. I am also getting really excited for the Run the Line Half this coming weekend in Texarakana. The weather is looking to be pretty perfect for it. Fingers and toes crossed!

January recap - February begins

Finished off January running the Houston Wellness Project's free 5k. It was my second time running it and I think I am going to try to make it to all 12 of them this year. For February I signed up my youngest daughter to run with me. Since they are run on part of an open trail that allows for multiple ins and outs I have parked at one of the other ends of the park and ran 2.5 miles to it and then the 2.5 back to round the complete run at 8 miles. I am very happy with this route and think I might use it as a back up 8 mile route for when summer hits. Most of the trail is shady which it the real bonus here. Ended January with 84.31 miles. My legs are tired. Also earned myself a spot in the Half Fanatics Asylum. #6208 - that's me!

MRTT medal and swag

On to February. Started the month with back to back races. First up was the MRTT winter virtual. About 20 or so from my local chapter meet up and ran various routes thru town. I was going to run early but ended up going out with the 7:30 group and ran 6.45 miles. I really felt good since the weather has kept me inside during my mid-week runs and finally it was just perfect to enjoy a run. Even earned a little swag and a cool medal for our social paced efforts. I can't stress enough if you need a good running partner, this group is the way to go. So much support and dedication to the run, it's just amazing. SO that was Saturday.



On Sunday I ran the Brazos Bend Keep On Truckin' Half Marathon. This one was a little more complex for me. First off other than running in the bayou I haven't done much trail running, so that itself was a challenge. Then the weather, which hasn't been real stable lately, played havoc on me. When the races started it was 64 with 99% humidity and by the time I finished it was 44, windy, and rainy. I at least did myself right and set my expected finish time for 3 hours. Mentally I really would have set myself up for failure out there if I had set it any sooner. For the first few miles there was no doubt that 3 hours was happening but then on the way down the hill when the weather changed it really became an issue of if 3 was really going to happen. The course was a little long but it was beautiful. And even with soaked and blistered toes I did happily finish with a bit of whining at 3:02:57. The race itself was freeish, you have to pay to get into the park, $7 an adult, and then there is a mandatory $10 donation that goes back to the park but provides you with a meal after the race, and that is it. All this grandeur and on trail support for $17. Best buy I have come across in a long time. They do a second one in October and I think I might find a way to add it into my training schedule.


So far for February, 19.86 miles and it's only the 3rd. Up next is the Run The Line half in Texarakna.