2008 St George Marathon

Well, St George wasn't as good to me this year. Last year I ran what I felt was the perfect race setting a huge PR and finally qualifying for Boston. The weather was perfect, I was in great shape and I had one of those days you dream about where running just felt easy. That was not the case this year.

Race day greeted us with a strong headwind and a good soaking rain. The rain started on the bus ride up to the start and really didn't stop that much until I was done running. The temps were in the low 50's to start which wasn't too bad. Sadie, Tara and I rode the buses together up to the start where the race organizers set up small bonfires to help keep the runners warm. Everyone at the start is either waiting in one of lines for the toilets or standing around the fires.

The cool thing for me is that my predicted finish time qualified me for elite runner status. I had access to the elite starting corral which has it's own fires and restrooms. While Sadie and Tara waited in the long lines for the "regular" toilets, I excused myself, strolled over to the fenced off elite area and had my choice of clean porta-potties with no lines. I thought about just sitting in there until the race started to stay dry. I didn't know about the elite perks last year until the start, so I was happy to take advantage of it this time.

My race plan was the same as last year, but with a lower goal: sub-3:00. At mile 7 I should be ahead of pace so that I could slow a little through the next 5 miles which are mostly uphill. At the half I wanted to be around 1:30 or even a minute or two slower. From that point the course goes screaming downhill and I felt like I could go faster than MGP (6:52). Last year I had a 4 min. negative split and felt like I eased up towards the end. This year I wanted to see what I could do if I pushed it.

Just before the start it seemed like the rain picked up a little. The gun went off and we took off running into the wind and rain. My first two miles were slow (7:10, 7:19), but I wasn't too concerned. It was dark, I was trying not to run into anyone and a little uphill. I started trying to draft off other runners as much as I could.

The next three miles started the first good downhill section and I tried to get into a good rhythm. Looking back, I think this is where I lost my goal. Miles 3-5 only averaged 6:59. Seven seconds slower than MGP. I needed to be a little faster here to make up for the first two. Miles 6-7 were better as we descended into Veyo (6:40, 6:41), but that's where the uphill section starts.

The longest, steepest hill on the course is at Mile 7 coming out of Veyo. It's about 1/2 mile long and feels like some of the steeper sections of Scenic Dr. I knew I would be slower for the next 5 miles as we climbed out of the valley, but I was more off pace than I intended. I felt like I was working, but the wind kept beating on me and my shoes were getting heavy. My mile splits were all between 7:41-7:19. I didn't know exactly how slow I was, but I could feel it slipping away.

I crossed the half at 1:34:45, ten seconds faster than last year but with a lot more effort. My math skills were a little off at this point and I told myself I could still break 3 hrs if I ran the 2nd half 4 minutes faster (just like last year). That made me feel better until I realized I couldn't add very well. I really need to negative split by 8 minutes. That didn't sound very easy, but I told myself to give it a shot. I really had nothing to lose. I started down the hills and made a big effort to pick up my pace.

Mile 14 was only 7:07. Uh oh. Mile 15 was 6:49. Better but not enough. Mile 16 was 7:07 and I knew I was in trouble. I gave it one last good effort over the next couple miles but all I could get was two 6:55 miles. My right foot was bothering me, I was soaking wet, I was sick of Powergel and I'd had enough. My sub-3:00 goal was out the window so I decided to slow down and try to enjoy the rest of the race. The area around St George is very pretty and I tried to soak it all in.

I kept up with my splits though and I was still averaging around 7:30 mile. I was more relaxed than I had been before and going down some sweet downhills. I just wanted to finish. The 3:10 group blasted by me around Mile 20 and I just watched them go. I just wanted to break 3:15 and extend my Boston-qualifying through 2010.

The funny thing was at Mile 24 my total time was 2:53:25 and I could see the 3:10 group getting closer. They had been completely out of sight before, but I was gaining on them. I realized with a little effort I could still beat 3:10. I picked it up a little and started reeling them in. I turned the last corner and they were about 30 yards ahead. I started chasing them down. They beat me to the line, but I was focused on the clock. I was running as hard as I could through the finish chute and staring at the numbers. I crossed the finish line as the clock changed to 3:10.

Official finish time of 3:09:46.

I have to be happy with that time. It took me 5 tries to break 3:10 in a marathon and now I had just done it on a bad day in bad weather where I had backed off the pace with 8 miles to go. It wasn't what I wanted, but it was a nice consolation prize.

In the finish area I finally started feeling cold. It could have been the ice cream sandwich I was eating, but more likely because I was soaking wet. After a quick picture with my sandwich I set off to find my bag with dry clothes and wait for Sadie and Tara to finish.

Six Days To Go

Race week has finally arrived and with it, all the little phobias you get before a marathon. I'm paranoid that I'll catch a cold from someone, so I wash my hands about 100 times a day. Anyone that coughs or sneezes near me makes me want run away. I take little baby steps when I get out of bed so that I don't stub my toe or run into anything. Any little tweak or twinge in my legs immediately becomes something to worry about. I guess this is normal after you train for months for something you only get one shot at. I've run enough of these now to know that these are all normal thoughts, but it still doesn't relieve the paranoia that much.

We have a few more runs to do this week and then Sadie and I will be off to Utah on Thursday. I'll spend the next three days getting my projects at work under control so that I can be gone for two days, hydrating, getting my clothes ready, and hopefully sleeping.

The weather forecast is showing pretty cool temps at the start, warming up to near 60when I should be finishing. We could have some pretty good winds in our face or across us though. It probably won't be as perfect as last year, but it should be just fine for a fast race.

Silicon Lab Marathon Relay

Sunday was the Silicon Labs Marathon Relay and once again Team Mac was there to race. I was on a team with Aaron, Travis, Stuart and Jeff competing in the Open Men's division. We also had an Open Women's team and a combo team. Our team came in 10th overall and 4th in our division (8 secs off the podium). The girls dominated and won their division.

Since St. George is getting so close, Mac had me run one of the 5k legs. I had planned to run hard without hurting myself. 13 days out from a marathon is not a good time to go injure yourself. I kept telling Jeff he was going to have to run extra fast to make up for my leg. Apparently, I'm in pretty good shape because I ended up running 5k in 18:49 (6:03/mile) according to Run-Far's time for my leg. That's a PR by 35 seconds. It felt good to run like that without feeling like I was on the edge.

I'm still amazed by people that don't run the tangents in races. What part of the word "race" do they not understand? The object is to finish as fast as possible, which in my mind means running the shortest distance the course gives you. I saw so many people running wide around curves or following the lanes like they were in a car.

6 Months

Six months ago today something pretty great happened.

A Lot of Running

Today marks the end of two of the highest mileage weeks I've run and I'm happy to say that I'm still feeling strong.

Last week I ran 62 miles which was a new personal high. In the past I've always felt like I started to break down when I approached the mid-50's, but last week I felt great the whole time. I was very surprised considering it came on the heels of racing the Zilker Relays and running the Nike Human Race 10k pretty hard. The week was capped off with a 20 miler on Sunday that I ran with Travis. We made up a route that included Mt Bonnell, Balcones and Barton Hills and we both felt strong enough to drop down to MGP in the last few miles.

This week was our peak week and Mac had us scheduled for 70, but that included a 5 miler on Friday that I decided I wasn't going to do. Sixty-five miles would be enough with a 24 miler on Saturday. I didn't feel near as good this week as I did last week. My legs started hurting and I was feeling the normal aches and pains that I feel during peak weeks.

Tuesday we did 6 mile repeats at 30secs below MGP. Two were on the track, two were on the trail, and two were on the grass at Zilker. I managed to keep them all below 6:20/mile with a couple at 6:00/mile. At Zilker we ran into a little trouble because some guys playing soccer decided to use Mac's cones for one of their goals. When Mac ran over to take his cones back, this one loser soccer player got mad and started getting in Mac's face about disrupting their game. His argument was that we shouldn't leave cones on the field and if we did, he was going to use them if he wanted to. He couldn't get it through his small little brain that they were not his cones and that they were marking our course.

Saturday was my longest scheduled run of the season. We did 24 starting at Gateway and ending at the Rock. Due to the different distances everyone was running, I did most of this run by myself. I figured it would be a good character builder. I felt pretty strong for about 20 miles and then just had to gut out the last 4. Part of that was heading west up Enfield from Lamar into the strong winds that Ike gave us. I was definitely slower the last 4 miles, but still managed to average 8:04/mile for the whole run. That's just about right where I wanted it.

I sure thought today's 8 miles was going to suck, but I really didn't feel too bad. I was a little tight for 1/2 mile, but ran pretty well for the rest of the time. It was great to finish knowing the worst was behind me and having set a new personal high (65 miles). I've never felt this healthy 3 weeks out from a marathon, so I'm hoping it's a sign of good things to come.

Tiger walks on water

Nice shot, but unfortunately he's going to have to add a stroke for grounding his club in the hazard before he hit it.

The Olympics

We've been enjoying watching the Olympics the last few days. The pictures have been pretty awesome in HD, especially the Opening Ceremonies. I guess we're going to be staying up late since all the swimming finals seem to be between 10-11PM.

Here are few things we've seen that I think are funny:

1. After the U.S. won the 4x100 relay last night, Garrett Weber-Gale called France's relay team "The Frenchies".
2. Hearing the theme from Baywatch being played during the beach volleyball matches.
3. After one of the gymnasts wipes out on their dismount they still have to stand back up and raise their hands like they are saying "Ta DAAA!".
4. This just in: Did you know that Dara Torres is old and has a couple kids? I just wanted to make sure everyone was aware of that. The TV guys never mention that.
5.

(to be continued)

Moonlight Margarita Run

Mac had us all run the Moonlight Margarita Run tonight as our Thursday night workout. Most of the group showed and seemed to run well.

My goal was to run as close to 19 minutes as I could. I've only previously run 2 5k's in my life, so I'm still figuring out how to approach them. It's hard to start slow enough where you have something left for the finish, but fast enough that you aren't losing too much time in such a short race.

I lined up with Chris and Aaron at the start and we were probably a little bit farther back than we should have. It didn't matter too much because the road opened up really fast and we were able to get going. I was trying to hold back but it was hard to judge how fast we were going. The three of us stayed pretty close together until Chris ran past us just before Mile 1. The first mile was 6:05 which was right where I wanted to be. I wanted to hold that pace and then try to pick it up the last mile through the finish.

I pushed a little up the hill on Cesar Chavez and then made the turn-around. Chris stayed about 30 yards ahead of Aaron and me. I missed the Mile 2 split but felt like I was still moving pretty good. I was breathing and working hard, but still felt pretty good. About the time we were passing the track at Austin High I started my push to the finish. I ran over one of the speed bumps and pushed off on the backside to get a little boost. I was gaining on Chris a little, but not enough to catch him. My Mile 3 split was 12:45 (for Miles 2 & 3).

I finished in 19:30 (6:15/mile). That was good enough for 14th overall, but only 8th in my age group. Once I got home I figured out I was 6 seconds off my PR at the Bun Run last year. Not bad for a 90 degree, evening race after working all day (I'm sure I can think of some more excuses). It was a good workout.

I figured out after the race that I must have started out fast and slowed down into my 6:05 first mile. I then held the pace that I was doing at the marker. That's why the next two miles were slower than I thought.

Congrats to Sadie for setting a new PR by 46 seconds. I'm proud of her for running so well.

(I also just found out that it was 103 at the start of the race)

Watches

I've been a little running-watch deficient lately since my trust Timex Ironman went kaput a few weeks ago. Sadie gave me that watch for our first Christmas together . It's the first watch I had that I could store my workouts in so that I didn't have to erase them each day. I got in the habit of keeping my previous marathon mile splits in it until I ran the next one.

I wore it pretty much every day until a few weeks ago when the strap finally broke. I thought it would be an easy fix until I realized that the strap and watch were basically all one piece. You can't just go out and buy the replacement strap. You have to mail it off to Timex and have them replace it for you. I managed to hold it together for a couple months with a combination of dental floss, super glue, and electrical tape, but it all finally came apart. At about the same time, the watch started acting up when I got sweaty during a run. I had recently changed the battery and I guess it must not be sealed perfectly. I took that to mean that it was time for a new one.

For my birthday, Sadie gave me a sweet new Garmin 405. It's a cool new toy to train and run with, especially on long or easy runs, but it doesn't quite work well on some of our track workouts. Mac has us do a lot of workouts where we stop for our recovery. A lot of the time my Garmin goes into sleep mode because it's inactive for too long. Then I have to restart it and acquire the satelites again before I run. It works, but it's just a little easier to have a standard watch on those runs. Plus, I can't really wear my Garmin to work. I have a couple dress watches that I don't like to wear to work either, so I really needed a new Timex.

Check out my new watch. It's the same model as before, but it has the regular brushed chrome case instead of the blue one. 150 lap memory and hopefully an improved band.

Entering A New Age Group

Dang, it's been a long time since I posted anything.

Well, today is my 35th birthday, so it should be an eventful weekend. I just had lunch with Sadie, my mom and my boss, Larry at the Iron Cactus. This evening Sadie and I are going to dinner with my Dad and Marta. Tomorrow we may go downtown to see the annual fireworks show the city has every year in my honor. On Saturday we're going up to the winery and out to dinner again in Marble Falls.

Here's a list of things that change now that I'm 35:

1. I'll be in a new age group in all my races.
2. My Boston qualifying time is now 3:15 instead of 3:10.
3. I can now run for President.
4. I'm closer to my 40's than my 20's.
5. If I was in the NFL, NBA or MLB I would be a grizzled veteran.
6. If I was on the PGA Tour I would be entering my prime.

Chad Vader

I just ran across this on YouTube.

Boston 2008 - Race Report

The start of the Boston Marathon is pretty cool. It's about 1/2 mile walk from the Athlete's Village to the starting corrals. Along the way we dropped off our clothing bags at the school buses that corresponded to our bib numbers. Everybody seemed really excited. Duane and I chatted with a guy from Austin that happened to be in the crowd with us.

Here's some pictures showing the big crowd headed for the start of Wave 1. It seemed like there were 100 buses lined up collecting all the bags.

Once we reached the starting area, Duane and I ran into Murray and chatted about the race. I had to use the restroom one more time, but the porta-potty lines were too long. A bunch of guys were peeing on the side of the library building in Hopkinton, which didn't seem to amuse the guy next door. I ended up going over there too, but used a bottle so that I wasn't leaving anything behind.

Once we got into the starting corral (#3), we met up with Ken and Thomas and got ready to go. After the national anthem and a flyover that was partially hidden by the clouds, they shot off the gun and we were off. I was finally running the Boston Marathon.

My race plan was to have as much fun as possible. I thought I could run around 8:00/mile and feel comfortable. Duane and I were planning to take it easy, hit the beer stops, take some picture and try to enjoy the race.

I knew the the start was going to be downhill, but I had no idea it was going to be so steep. We cruised along letting everyone go by as much as possible, but it's really impossible to run slow when there are thousands of people around you running fast. The first mile was between 7:30-8:00/mile including a stop to use the restroom again.

Here's a couple picture's of Mile 1. Travis us passed when we stopped to let Duane use the woods. I got some weird looks from some people when I started walking and taking pictures.

After that we settled in to a good pace for the next several miles. As much as we tried to slow down we alway seemed to be running between 7:30 - 7:44. Around Mile 6 I started feeling my Gu belt loosening. I reached down and it came completely off. It took some time to get it put back together while I was running. We stopped in Framingham to use the restroom again and I was able to secure it.

We started looking for Sadie and Jennifer because we knew they would be out there somewhere. We finally spotted them in Natick in Mile 10. It was kind of fitting because that's where I waiting for Sadie when she ran in 2006. As soon as we saw them we cut across the runners behind us to give our wives some big hugs.

Here's what it looked like.

After that we took off into the hills. It was cool running through Natick and seeing the same things I saw in 2006, but from the runner's perspective. In 2006, there was an Elvis impersonator singing in the back of a truck. This year he was Johnny Cash.

After Natick the hills began and my pace started to slow. We went from mostly sub-8:00 miles to 8:12 & 8:43. Pretty soon though we started into Wellesley and started hearing the girls. You can't help but run faster when enter that wall of noise. Check it out.

We didn't stop for any kisses, but I did manage to high-five as many as I could while running and taking pictures.

Pretty soon afterward I really started to feel my lack of training. By Mile 15 I started to notice Duane pulling away and then slowing down to let me catch up. I finally told him to stop waiting for me and to keep going. From here I was in survival mode, trying to just finish. I kept on running but really slowed down. The sun was out and I felt really hot. We were approaching the Newton Hills and I was determined to run through them. I did take the time for a video.

I knew my mom and Jim would be in here somewhere and I was really looking for them. I needed and excuse to take a break and I wanted to give them my camera because it felt like it weighed 20 pounds at this point. My back hurt, my hamstrings were tight and it felt like I was crawling. The crowds were getting huge and were really loud so I was starting to worry that I would miss them. I finally saw them between 19 and 20, ran over to see them and ditched my camera. I was so glad to see them. While I was talking to them, John from training group ran by and said hi. It surprised me because I expected him to be way down the road. I ran to catch up with and he wasn't having a great day. After a little while he started walking and I went on.

I managed to run through the big hills and make it over Heartbreak Hill. Kate was on the side of the road with a big yellow sign so I ran over to say hi. I wanted to stop for a little bit but they kept yelling at me to run. Kate joked that Lance Armstrong was just ahead of me.

The last 6 miles became a run/walk-athon. I should have kept my camera because I was moving so slowly. I started walking through water stops and trying to drink as much as possible. I could feel my legs cramping all over whenever I pushed too hard. Despite all of this I was still enjoying myself. I just tried to soak in the atmosphere and check out the runners and the crowds. I stopped to stretch occasionally. People in the crowd would urge me on and make me start running again. A lot of people would see my hat and yell "Go Texas" or "Hook em Horns". They all helped keep me going.

I had known for some time now that 3:30 was out of the question, but it never dawned on me until about Mile 22 that I wasn't going to beat 3:37, Sadie's 2006 Boston time. I did some quick calculations and realized I had no chance at that. I felt good about it though. She worked her butt of that year training for Boston and gave it a whole lot more effort than I did. She deserves to be the fastest Boston marathoner in our family.

The last few miles were tough and a lot of it was a blur. I remember seeing Mac on the sidelines and stopping to talk to him for a few seconds. I remember passing Fenway where my Rangers were getting kicked around by the Red Sox again. I remember thinking I needed to hustle to beat 3:50.

With a mile to go I was walking along, trying to keep from cramping up, when I looked over and saw a guy sitting against the fence with an oxygen mask on being attended to by the EMS. I said to myself, "At least I feel better than him" and figured I ought to be running. From there I ran all the way to the finish.

When I made the final turn onto Boylston I could finally see the finish. It seemed like a million people were lining the streets. I just ran and smiled. As I neared the finish line, I actually felt myself tear up a little. I had just run the Boston Marathon. 3:48.

Boston 2008 - Almost to my Race Report

Monday was a day I had been thinking about for 4 years. Every time I tried and failed to qualify for Boston made me want it even more. My Boston Marathon race day was finally here and I was ready to soak it all in.

I knew when I signed up that this wouldn't be a fast race for me. There were too many missed workouts and long runs due to our wedding and honeymoon, along with a foot injury, to put me in peak shape for a hard race. Of course, I wouldn't trade our wedding and honeymoon experience for anything, so it didn't bother me at all. Duane's training was about the same as mine because of his work, so we decided to run Boston as an easy long run and to try and have as much fun as possible.

I woke up at 5:30 AM so that we could catch the charter bus at 6:45AM for the trip to Hopkinton. There were a lot of other Austin runners there including Travis, Ken, Chris and several members of my Rogue group. We all got to talk about our plans for the race and give each other a little grief.

In Hopkinton, they take you to the Athlete's Village where everyone waits for the start. I got out to get some fresh air, use the restroom and take some pictures.

About 50 minutes before the start they called Wave 1 to head toward the start. Along the way we dropped our bags at the school buses and walked in a huge mass of runners to the starting corrals.

(To Be Continued. I want to go to bed)

Boston 2008 - The Expo

After the Olympic Trials, Sadie and I had some breakfast and headed to the Expo at the Hynes Convention Center. On the way we stopped by the marathon finish line for a few pictures.

It's kind of similar to this pic from 2006.

The Boston Marathon Expo is huge. It seems like any company that has anything to do with running is there. The first stop was to pick up my race packet and number.

It seems like I've seen this one before too.

After we got my packet, we made our way through the crowds to see all the booths. First stop was the Adidas booth to see all the official clothing. I ended up buying a jacket, a sleeveless shirt, a short sleeve shirt and new cap. My favorite hat for the last two years has been my red 2006 Boston Marathon cap that I bought at the expo when Sadie ran Boston. It was a cool feeling to get a new cap, this time in black, that had my Boston year on it.

The expo was extemely crowded, so we basically pushed our way down each aisle getting free samples and tasting food. I was glad that I wouldn't be racing hard the next day because we spent a lot of time there and used up some energy. We both love Nike clothes and bought a few hats and a shirt at their booth. Kate had called earlier to see if we would get her a Red Sox cap that they only sell at the expo. Sadie and I both got them in 2006. It's Nike's featherlight running cap styled like the Red Sox cap. We managed to get her one of the last 3 that they had.

At the New Balance booth, we ran into one of Sadie's friends, Jill, and her husband Dick Beardsley, who had the famous duel with Alberto Salazar in the 1982 Boston Marathon. They were both extremely nice, congratulated us on our wedding, and wished me luck in my 1st Boston Marathon.

Pretty soon we were tired of the expo and ready for lunch. We met up with Duane and Jennifer in the lobby and went to lunch across the street. At lunch, we all made our plans to meet up the next morning for our big race.

Boston 2008 - U.S. Women's Olympic Trials

On Sunday, the day before the marathon, we woke up a little early to watch the U.S. Women's Olympic Marathon Trials. As luck would have it, the course actually ran right below our hotel room window. Here's a picture of the leader coming by on the 1st lap.

After we got dressed, we went outside to watch the rest of it. We found Ken & Kate and were able to cheer on the 4 Austin runners. They had the course set up so that you could stay in one spot and see them all go by about 8 times. Deena Kastor ended up winning after holding back for the 1st part of the race. It was cool to see the difference after she picked up the pace. Here are some more pics:

It was a lot more fun to watch then I had expected.

2008 Boston Marathon: Pre-Race Report

Today I, Chad Jones, ran the Boston Marathon. And it hurt really bad.

I figured out that even if you run slowly, it is still 26.2 miles to the finish.

List: New Things I Ate in France

We had a great time on our honeymoon in France. I'm sure most of you have read about it on Sadie's blog . She has all the pictures.

Here's a list of things I ate in France that I had never had before.

1. Pork Terrine - I didn't order this, but the waiter brought it to me anyway. I ate it because it was easier than trying to explain it to a French guy. It kind of looked like canned cat food.
2. Pain au chocolate - the French sure now how to cook pastries.
3. Coq au vin - apparently this is an old rooster cooked in wine broth. It was really good.
4. Beef jaw - I ate this at one of our nicest meals in a small restaurant in Saignon. I knew it was beef, but didn't know exactly what it was until Sadie told me. Of course, she knew what I was eating all along.
5. Duck - this was served in a sort of pastry and was probably the best thing I ate.
6. A pizza with an egg on it.
7. Crepes - I had a couple with Nutella and one sucre citron crepe. And no, they're not little bitty pancakes.
8. Nougat - "Nu-gah" - our hotel had a basket of these little candies in the lobby along with jars of marshmallows and gummy candies.
9. Club Sandwich
10. Pomme frites - "real" French fries. mmmmmm!

Off to Boston

Well tomorrow we're off to Boston. I'm looking forward to having a good time with this race. Since I basically took a month off for the wedding/honeymoon/work as we peaked in our training, my race plan is to run an easy pace and to just try and soak up the whole Boston Marathon experience. Duane has the same plan, so we should be running together. Murray may join us too.

It's kind of nice not having a goal time. I would kind of like to keep it under 3:30, but I really have no idea how I'm going to feel at Mile 20. I just want to keep a nice steady easy pace, cross the finish line and get that medal.

We're starting in Corral 3, so we should see Ken at the start and then see a lot of the other Austin runners as they pass us by. Hopefully, for their sake, we won't see them until the end.

2008 Capitol 20,000

Yesterday was the 4th annual Capitol 20,000. Yes, the 20,000. For the last 3 years Duane, Toby, and I have run two laps at the Capital 10,000. We've been joined by some others a couple times (Sadie, Jennifer, Duane's dog Maverick).

This year's addition was the hardest ever for me since it came less then 36 hours after returning from Sadie's and my honeymoon in France and also because I had run a total of 35 miles this month. That's not exactly the best way to peak for Boston.

Toby and Dan decided to do their extra lap before the race this year. Duane joined them and thus completed the 1st Cap30k. I kept with tradition and did the race first and the easy lap 2nd.

The race was really tough due to the humidty and my fatigue. It really helped that it rained off and on throughout the race and kept us somewhat cool. Duane and I ran the race portion in 44:12. I felt pretty good the first few miles, but by the time we got to Mopac I was starting to work real hard. I slowed down a little but was able to run a respectable time considering my training. After the race, we met up with Travis for the 2nd lap. He had a good race running sub-40/min. It was pretty tough getting started again, but we took off up Congress Avenue again.

The 2nd lap is always cool because the streets are deserted, but still closed off for the most part. It's mostly people taking down the waterstops and band setups. We usually catch the last place walkers somewhere on Enfield around Lamar. Once we do that we slowly start catching the masses of walkers. By the time we get to Cesar Chavez it gets really crowded and you start weaving through everyone. It's weird to be running through a big crowd of walkers.

The 2nd lap was really hard for me. I think we were running around a 9 min pace, but it seemed much faster. The hills took a lot out of me and by the time we got to Mopac my foot was hurting. I must have laced my right shoe too tight, because the tendons on top were really sore. We stopped at water stops and took it pretty easy. We stopped at the S. 1st St bridge so that we didn't cross the finish line a 2nd time. The 2nd lap was unnofficially 55 minutes including some stops for water and loosening my shoes.

This was the toughest version of the 20k, but I'm glad we kept the streak going.

I'm A Married Man

Sadie and I were married on Saturday. I couldn't be happier to be sharing the rest of my life with such a wonderful woman. Our wedding seemed to go just as it was planned. I was a little overwhelmed to see how many of our family and friends came to celebrate with us. I'm not used to being at the center of attention (Sadie was THE center of attention, of course), but I managed to get through our vows without messing up and was able to dance without tripping.

We tried to take it all in so that we could remember our wedding with some clarity. In the short time I have to write this, a few highlights that I remember were:

1. Our vows that seemed to go on forever. Sadie and I both got the laughs during out turns.
2. Walking in at the start of the ceremony. Everyone seemed to be staring at me since Sadie hadn't entered yet. I tried to smile and make eye contact with as many people as possible.
3. Seeing so many people from different parts of my life all in the same room. There were family members, running buddies, golf buddies, college friends, work friends and people I know through Sadie all together.
4. Our first dance. We danced to George Strait's "I Cross My Heart". I can two-step okay, but I was too nervous to try any spins or twirls. We just kept moving in a big circle and I tried to stop stepping on Sadie's dress.
5. My dance with my mom. We danced to "Rhinestone Cowboy" and it sounded like everyone was singing along and having a good time. This was one of my favorite songs when I was a little boy. There's a good back story to why we picked it.
6. The champagne toast. Duane gave a wonderful toast that nearly had me crying. I had no idea what he was going to say about me, but it left me feeling great to have such a good friend.
7. Our exit. Everyone lined up with sparklers and we ran through them to our car. It was a beautiful ending to a great night.

All in all it was a great day. It started with a round of golf with two of my college friends and teammates, Clay and Brian, along with Brian's dad Tim. The middle of the day was spent getting ready for the wedding and hanging out in the Groom's House with all the guys and my family. It finished with the perfect wedding to my new wife Sadie. The newest Mrs. Jones. She's the love of my life.

2008 AT&T Austin Marathon

Pacing the marathon, instead of racing it, was a lot of fun. This was my 6th year in a row to run the Austin Marathon, but my first time to be a pace group leader. Duane and I were the leaders of the 3:20 group and kept up the tradition of Team Mullet. Sometime in the past, the 3:20 group leaders started wearing mullet wigs during the race. Here's a picture of what mine looked like.

As a pace group leader, you really get spoiled. They gave us a couple shirts, a 1/2 zip pullover, a pair of shorts, and a pair of shoes. In addition, Rogue kicked in another 1/2 zip for helping them out on some practice pace runs. Of course, we also have the responsibility of running 26.2 miles at a certain pace. 3:20 works out to 7:38/mile. That's a nice pace for me, but certainly not an "easy run" pace.

Race day turned out really nice. It was cold at the start and gradually warmed up throughout the race. The start on Congress Avenue was nice and smooth. We ran under the fire works on the bridge and were able to get on pace pretty soon. The first couple miles were a little slow because of the crowd and the hills, but we made it all up easily on S. 1st St. In fact, we got about 30-40 seconds ahead of schedule and just held it there for most of the race. We had a really large group with us at the start and we all seemed to stay together through about 18. From there we slowly dropped some people while some others ran on ahead. By the last few miles we only had 4-5 left, but it felt good to see them finish and meet their goal time.

I felt pretty good most of the way, but started feeling some tightness in my left hamstring around Great Northern. It wasn't enough to slow me down, just bothersome enough to irritate me. The last few miles were pretty tough for both of us but we kept up the pace. Since we were still 40 seconds fast, we slowed down the last couple miles and kept urging people to beat us to the finish. You could see the pain on some people's faces when we would catch them. It would have been nice if they could have kept up with us, but normally when the pace group catches you at the end of race you're toast. It's a feeling I'm really familiar with.

The finish on Congress Avenue was really cool with some large, loud crowds. We slowed a little and yelled at the guys behind us to hurry up to beat 3:20. Duane fell in with a couple guys and pulled them to the finish. I pulled off my wig and started swing it around to get the crowd to yell. It looked like we were going to time the finish perfect, but our official finish time was 3:20:03.

This was my 12th overall marathon, 6th in a row at Austin, and my 1st time to complete the Distance Challenge. Other than St. George, it was probably the most enjoyable marathon I've run. It felt great to have people come up afterwards and thank us for pacing them, even the ones who didn't finish with us. Hopefully I'll get the chance to do it again next year.

Random Postings

I haven't posted anything in a few weeks, so ....

Sadie and I will be getting married one month from today.

This weekend is the AT&T Austin Marathon and I'll be a pace leader for the 3:20 group along with my friend Duane. We'll be wearing our mullet wigs and trying to get as many people to the finish line as possible. A few guys from my Boston training group, and possibly Travis, will be jumping in to run with us as well. It should be a lot of fun.

My cat and my recliner have gone to live with Sadie as we start the merger of our two houses. I need to do some painting, install some new carpet and complete some small projects in my house so that I can get it ready to sell. I'm admittedly way behind in doing this.

Anyone looking to buy a nice 2 bedroom, 2 bath townhome in the Great Hills / Arboretum area?

Pitchers and catchers have reported for Spring Training. I'm hoping to get tickets for the Rangers-Red Sox game in Fenway while we are in Boston for the marathon.

Sadie fixed my first vegan Valentine's Day Dinner last night. Everything was very tasty, especially the Strawberry-Plum crisp that we had for desert.

If all goes well on Sunday, I'll complete my first (and probably last) Distance Challenge. They're giving out a Brooks jacket to all the finishers this year.

3M Half Marathon

I'm pretty proud of my race yesterday at 3M. Despite starting too far back and having my legs feel a little lifeless, I still managed to push through for a 40 second half marathon PR.

I didn't want to battle the traffic or parking so I decided to run from my house to the start. It's a little over a mile if you cut across a few parking so lots, so it was a nice warm up for the race. I must have left my house about 5 minutes too late because by the time I got there and dropped off my clothing bag at the bag drop, the starting corral was packed. I ended up squeezing in towards the middle, but it still took nearly a minute to cross the starting line after the gun went off.

After a slow first mile, I tried to pick up the pace but it felt like a lot more effort that it should. I ran the 1st half of the race around 6:50/mile and kept thinking this might be a bad day. I was obviously still feeling the effects from the fast 22 mile run from last weekend. Around Mile 7 on Burnet Road I decided I either needed to slow down and just run it on in or I needed to pick up the pace and actually see what I had left. I chose to pick it up and see how long I would last until I blew up. To my surprise, I kept up my faster pace all the way to the end. My last two miles were my fastest two of the race (6:22, 6:15). My finish time was 1:27:56 (6:43/mile).

I'm glad I decided to pick it up because it turned a bad race into a good one. I would have liked to run faster, but I managed to get as much out of the day as I could and still ended up with a new PR. This will be a good race to remember when I get into some tough races in the future.

List: A Few Things I Can Do This Week

Since Sadie is off in Cancun until Sunday, I realized yesterday that there are a few things I can do this week.

1. Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki sandwich at Subway with red onions and the sweet onion sauce. That was great for dinner last night.


2. ESPN on my TV 24/7.


3. Full control of the XM Radio in my truck.

I'll post more if I can think of any.

Of course, it will be better when she is back.

ARA 30K

I ran the ARA 30K on Sunday. This was the 4th 0f 6 races in the Distance Challenge. It was tough, but fun race through the hills around the Barton Creek and Lost Creek neighborhoods.

My main goal for this race was not to hurt myself. I didn't want to try and push it too hard through all the big hills and and hurt my chances of running the Austin Marathon. That is especially important now since I get to be one of the 3:20 group pace leaders now and I'll have people depending on me.

The hills begin right at the start so I just lined up more towards the middle at the start and just tried to run comfortably. Unbelievably, there were people starting up front that started walking almost immediately. After dodging them I settled in to a good rythmn. The first few miles are generally uphill and I managed to stay around 7:55/mile or better. The first major downhill was on Barton Creek Blvd around Mile 5. Sadie's dad and stepmom were out there to see me run by. I slowed down to talk to them and saw Murray running up behind me. We ended up running the rest of the way together. It made the race a lot more fun having a friend to talk to the whole time, especially on the big hills and windy parts. We kept a nice steady pace the whole time and started passing a lot of people the closer we got to the finish. Sadie was at the corner of Barton Creek Blvd and Southwest Pkwy, so I got to see her twice on the most boring part of the course.

The last couple miles have some of the steapest hills, so we passed a lot of people walking in that section. Finish time was 2:28:19 (7:58/mile). I was pleased with that pace on a hard course.

Looking at the results and our 10K splits, I was 74th overall. I had the 89th fastest 1st 10K, 78th fastest 2nd 10K, and 65th fastest 3rd 10K. I liked the fact that I was better at the end than I was at start.

Only 2 more races and I will complete my first Distance Challenge. 3M will be fun.