Haile Gebrselassie

2:03:59 What an amazing set of 5Ks: the slowest was 14:51 and the 35K to 40K was 14:29. That's 4:40 to 4:47 per mile. I'd be lucky to keep up with him for a 400!



This is from an interesting analysis at The Science of Sport.

HARRA Cross Country Relay

The HARRA/Tornado's Cross Country Relay was my first race since July 4th. I didn't hit the right button on my watch, so I have no idea how well I ran. I know I ran it hard, because I lost my lunch a couple minutes after I finished. But I have no idea how my time compares to previous years.
I was hoping to run the third leg, but "Indio" didn't arrive until after the race started. So Abelino took the first leg, I ran the second leg and Wilmer ran the third leg. "Indio" was able to run the fourth leg. I didn't arrive very early, so even with the second leg I only ran about a half mile before the race.

With the confusion at the start, our team left the starting line in dead last.


"Indio" charging up "Jaime Hill"


More "Jaime Hill" pictures




El Presidenté



The trail near the bayou had a thick deposit of fine loose sand.






The start/finish and exchange area.

35 Years Running

Between my vacation and the hurricanes, I missed my 35th anniversary of running. I started running late in August 1973 as a 9th-grader with the Shrewsbury High School Cross Country team. I've been running ever since. There were several years when my children were young that I was only able to run once or twice a week. And I couldn't run much when I lived in a 440 foot long sewer pipe stuffed with 150 men, a nuclear reactor, a steam plant, and 16 ballistic missiles. But I'm running as much now as I was in 1973; maybe even a little faster ;)

Can you spot me in this picture?




How about the Winter Track team picture? We ran all of our races at the indoor track in Ashland (on the Boston Marathon route).

Ike Versus Week 1 of Houston Marathon Training

Most of Ike's impact on me was last week, with no running from Thursday through Sunday. I was "gun-shy" about violating the city's curfew to get my runs in before work, so this week was a gradual transition. I wasn't nearly as close to the Pfitz 18 week/70+ training plan as I was last year.


52½ miles for the week

M – 4½ miles recovery run, average pace 8:23 mpm, 72°F at 4:30AM. The nuke plant offered a hotel room in Matagorda with ELECTRICITY! [Matagorda]
Tu – 4 miles general aerobic fairly hard, average pace 7:01 mpm, 60s°F at 4AM First 60s for months!! I don't have the exact temperature because both the Clute and Angleton weather stations were still out of service for Ike [Dow-]
W – 5¾ miles, average pace 7:26 mpm, 65.2°F at 4AM [Dow/BS]
Th – 4 miles recovery run, average pace 8:54 mpm, 68°F at 4AM [Dow-]
F - 10¾ miles, average pace 7:53 mpm, 79°F at 10:30AM, sun with occasional clouds The trail is still "closed" and has several trees across it, but it's passable. [SeaC/SSTrail-BrazosRiverRoad/SeaC]
Sa – 7 miles recovery run, average pace 9:03 mpm, 82°F at nooon, sun and more humid [SeaC/SSTrail/SeaC]
Su – 16½ miles Long Run, 7:50 mpm, 76°F to 78°F starting at 9AM with the dewpoint well above 70°F [OaktoOCD-S.Oaks-RRT-Oak//SeaC/SSTrail/SeaC]

I saw three US Forest Service crews clearing trees on Oyster Creek Drive Sunday. There are over 1,000 lineman and treee clearers staying at the Lake Jackson Rec Center and Civic Center. It's a pretty amazing effort but over half the town still doesn't have electricity.

The HARRA Cross Country Relay is still on this Saturday despite Ike. I haven't raced for months, so I have no idea what I can run on that killer course. But I'm really looking forward to getting to see all of the Houston runners again after this long Summer.

Here's Monday morning's run through the metropolis of Matagorda (with a nice view of the nuke plant's cooling reservoir):

View Larger Map

IKE

18 foot storm surge






I sincerely hope our area (or any area) doesn't look like this Saturday morning.


With Ike on the way, I can't get this song out of my head.

I see a bad moon arising.
I see trouble on the way.
I see earthquakes and lightnin'.
I see bad times today.

Don't go around tonight,
Well, it's bound to take your life,
There's a bad moon on the rise.

I hear hurricanes a-blowing.
I know the end is coming soon.
I fear rivers overflowing.
I hear the voice of rage and ruin.

Don't go around tonight,
Well, it's bound to take your life,
There's a bad moon on the rise.
All right!

Hope you got your things together.
Hope you are quite prepared to die.
Looks like we're in for nasty weather.
One eye is taken for an eye.

Don't go around tonight,
Well, it's bound to take your life,
There's a bad moon on the rise.

Don't go around tonight,
Well, it's bound to take your life,
There's a bad moon on the rise.

Bad moon rising
Uploaded by unecricri

When a man collapses of a stroke, Marge Simpson tells her husband to do CPR. Homer Simpson desperately replies by singing, "I see a bad moon rising." Marge replies, "I said CPR, not CCR!"

What more can I say?

A Beautiful Weekend

After a warm, humid and sweaty Wednesday evening on the track, I woke to a nice cool (less than 80°F) and dry north wind Thursday morning. The cooler and much drier air stayed around all the way through Sunday morning. It was wonderful!
My only regret is I started my long run too late Sunday morning. Sunday had the lowest temperature in months, all the down to 71.4°F, but by the time I started my run the moister Gulf air was already heading inland. I was able to finish 13 miles at an acceptable pace, but I was hoping for 15.

This is the last week before the 18-week Houston Marathon training starts. I'm going to try using Pete Pfitzinger's 18-week 70+ miles per week plan from Advanced Marathoning.

Here's The Plan . I'm sure I'll have to make several changes to make it fit my crazy work schedule and to fit in the HARRA Fall Race Series. I think I'm ready to go, but I am worried about that first 17-miler on the 21st. Maybe we'll some even cooler temperatures by then? and Hurricane Ike will fizzle out before he reaches the Gulf?