A Good Day for a Parade

It was warm and humid and sunny, perfect weather for the Veteran's Day parade; not very good for a 25K race. I started out aggressively for the conditions and crashed pretty hard. Hobby Airport had 66 to 74 degrees with the dewpoint in the mid-60s. That's not really bad and I felt decent the first loop. But when I hit the incline toward Shepherd on the second loop, I just gave up. Probably my biggest weakness is not pushing a race when conditions get tough. When I know a good finishing time isn't possible, I can't find much motivation to still run hard for a good place. I just give in to all the negative thoughts and excuses. I did that again today.

On the return leg of the first loop, I heard a thunderous explosion. It was a hotel in the Medical Center I used to be able to see out my window when I was in college. It reminds me of my performance on the second loop:


The first three Fall Series races don't predict much for the marathon:

USA 10-Miler
1:04:08, 77.3% age graded, 549 Purdy Points
3:00:47 projected marathon

Strider's Half Marathon
1:23:58 (watch), 78.4% age graded, 575 Purdy Points
2:57:03 projected marathon

HMSA 25K
1:43:22, 76.1% age graded, 543 Purdy Points
3:01:51 projected marathon



Maybe I'm slower because of my big fat gut

Picture by Cindy





Pictures by Mark


This guy needs to check his rinse cycle: