Katy Trail 5k

Most of the races I run take place early in the morning, usually on a Saturday. Thursday May 13, 2010 I ran in the Katy 5K, night race that takes place in the middle of the week. The money generated from the race is used for upkeep and improvement of the legendary Katy trail.

A full day:

I had a full day ahead of me before the race. In the morning I went to see Dr. Justin Lee at USMD Prostate Cancer Center, and got a good report on my PSA. I took the opportunity to get a picture of me and Dr. Lee together (see attached). After that, me and my younger son, Edward (an SMU graduate who is looking for a job by the way... just throwing that out there for you potential employers) and I attended a Texas Rangers game. It was a frustrating, but entertaining game, and I felt bad that we had to leave a bit early since the game was still tied in the ninth inning. Normally, we'd both be there cheering the Rangers to victory even if it was a 19 inning game, but if I wanted to get to the race at a decent time, I needed to get a head start (after the race, we found out that the Rangers had won in the 12th inning!).

Before the race:

The starting line was in Reverchon Park, 3505 Maple Ave. and Turtle Creek Blvd. Attached is a picture of me at the starting line. There were about 5,500 pre-registered runners, but only 4,462 actually ran. I guess the rest just wanted help the Katy trail (or perhaps the free food and beer in the sponsor area after the race had something to do with it, I don't know).

After spending 3 hours in the sun at the baseball game, my son and I got to the race location and were lucky enough to find a parking place across the street from the park. I knew there were alot of runners at the race, and that it would be difficult to get pictures of me running, so we took a few pictures in front of the starting line to simulate me running the race (see attached). Before the 5k, they had a children run (I think it was half a mile) and a skate race. Eventually, the race began at about 6:30pm.

The race

I started 5 or 6 rows back to let all those fast runners get in front. I had run the Butterfly Boogie 5k at this same location (although that was a 10k), so I knew that the first half of the race was on the street and the second half on the Katy trail. I took off at a fast pace to start the race, but many people passed me up anyway. I just said to myself "run your race and do your best", which is what I did. After a few turns, we came to the long hill to climb. Some people stopped running at that point, but I kept running the best I could. Finally I got to flat ground again, but I had lost alot of energy. That hill definitely took it's toll, as did the humidity, which made it difficult to breath easy. I tried to make up time on a few small downhill runs.

About half way through the race, It was on to the Katy trail which is really beautiful. Unfortunately, the trail is alot smaller than the street, especially with so many runners. It was pretty congested, but I did my best to navigate the trail. I noticed that at certain points in the trail there was a lower trail to the left made of softer material for running. When I came to one, I used the lower trail until it ran out then had to go back on to the regular trail. I did this about 5 or 6 times. Many runners did the same thing.

After the 2 mile mark I started to pass up alot of runners. I just kept on going, but was pretty tired. Finally I could see the finish line, a giant yellow inflatable thing, way ahead. I didn't have much left but I ran hard to the finish where I knew my son was there to take a picture of me. I raised my arms up in victory and tried not to look too tired. At the last minute,a lady ran in front of me, and so my son got a picture of her face and a good shot of my arms. Well, we tried, but there were just too many runners to find me to take my picture. I'm glad we were able to get those shots before the race.

The picnic area

After the race, me and my son went to the picnic area. I had no idea it would be so huge. There were many sponsors (maybe 50 or more) giving away free food, drinks, coupons, and discounts. The lines were long, but everyone had a great time listening to the band play. I don't know their name unfortunately, but they were good. I even received a massage which is always great after a race.

My final line 55-59:

Bib Chip Time Gun Time Division Place Overall Place Age Men Overall Total Pace

4332 28:34 28:37 23/62 1354/4462 58 947/1952 9:09/m