Help the Homeless 5K and Walkathon

My race this week was very special to me. I ran in the Help the Homeless 5K and Walkathon at Dallas City Hall Plaza on Saturday November 13, 2010. The proceeds from the event benefit the Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance (MDHA) a 501c organization that operates The Bridge, a homeless shelter that provides emergency care, and housing for homeless people in Dallas. Run-On! outfitted a nine member dream team of homeless runners with shoes and clothes, and trained them for this special race. More than 3,000 people participated in the event. The 5K run started at 9:00AM with the mayor of Dallas, Tom Leppert making an appearance as our starter. I had my picture taken with him (and others who lined up at the starting line) by my photographer friend Jerry Glover. Jerry also took pictures of both races and the awards ceremony. Sponsors of the event were Fannie Mae, Baylor Health Care System, Tenet, Lincoln Property Company, Run-On!, New Balance, Dr Pepper, 21 HD, Jerry Glover Photography, and many more. DFW Runs helped promote this race like last week's Dallas Running Club Half Marathon and 5K. The race directors were Eric and Sharon Lindberg. DFW Runs really knows how to organize a good race so everyone has a great time. We were entertained by Local Trash a local band that uses trash cans and other "junk" instruments to create the great sound of music. They played for everyone after the race started and when both finished. They have volunteered many times at Cancer Support Community of North Texas (formerly Gilda's Club) which I am a member of, so I had already heard them play before. It's always a treat to see them in action again. My bib # was 84, which is the age of my mother who is in a nursing home with Alziemers Disease. My younger brother is on a feeding tube, and is also living in a nursing home in Louisiana. My son, a graduate from SMU can't find a job and is having a hard time right now. Running in this race for the homeless inspired me to do my best. I feel very fortunate to be a prostate cancer survivor, and to have a home to go to every night. I hope my running will inspire others to try walking and running as a way to better health. I stretched and jogged a little to warm up before the race, then lined up on the 1st row. Mayor Leppert started us and I took off as fast as I could on this very cool morning. There was no one at the mile markers to tell us our time at this race. This was mostly a flat race except for a couple of spots. The route went on Houston Street then crossed over the bridge toward Oak Cliff for a short distance to the turnaround, then the back toward downtown Dallas to the finish line. Just before the finish line, past the 3 mile marker, there was a long hill. I was low on energy and my bad hips would not let me run too fast. About 6 runners passed me up, but when we got to flat ground again I was able to pick it up again. On the final turn to the finish line I looked up and saw the timer was under 27 minutes. I rushed to the finish line to get under the time. When it was all done, I had run my fastest race in months in the time of 26:58 and received a 2nd place award for my age group. You can see the results of the race here. You can see some pictures from Jerry Glover Photography here - here - here - here - here My line: Place Bib# Men Overall Overall Chip Time Gun Time Pace 2/4 84 48/107 57/196 26:58:00 26:58:00 8:41 I run to raise awareness for prostate cancer and to benefit my community. www.runningforacause.tumblr.com

Dallas Running Club Half Marathon and 5K

I ran in the Dallas Running Club Half Marathon and 5K on November 7, 2010 at Norbuck Park in White Rock Lake. This is probably the biggest DRC event during the year. Just to show you how big it is, the DRC used 21 school busses to transport runners from the White Rock and Mockingbird DART rail stations to the race site. The event benefited the Tal Morrison Scholarship fund (TMSF) which provides annual scholarships to seniors in Dallas public high schools who participate in their schools cross country team. There were a ton of sponsors at this race, including Briefing (a division of Dallas Morning News) Sewell Subaru, Muscle Milk, Run-On!, Gordon Biersch Brewing, Cliff Bar, Koala Health and Wellness, New Balance, Community Coffee, Jason's Deli, and many more. Each runner was given a voucher for some post-race food, but I can't remember who sponsored it.

I arrived before 6:00 AM at the race site parking. I was very thankful Linda Wills, the Race Director, who saved me a parking spot since I was volunteering as well as running in the 5k race. I sat in my car for a while to stay warm; it was below 40 degrees that morning. Later, I went to the volunteer tent, received a free technical shirt, and started taking pictures of volunteers and runners picking up their bib #. I also took some pictures of sponsor setting up with all of their give-away items which they gave out to runners before and after the races.

The half marathon, which is a 13.1 mile race, started at 8:00AM, so I went over to watch the start but left my camera because the 5k started at 8:20. The music was rocking and Gregg Hall, president of the DRC, started both races. Most of the runners signed up for the half marathon, one of the longest running half marathons in the country. In total, there were 2,937 runners in the half marathon, and 325 in the 5K. Most of the people participating in the half marathon will be at the December 5th Metro PCS Dallas White Rock Marathon, and use this race as a warm up for the marathon. The winner of the half marathon was Kiprotich Kirvi of Kenya who finished in a time of 1 hour 4 minutes, 38 seconds. He won $800.00 in prize money for first place.

After the half started, I tried to warm up like I usually do. Unfortunately no one was allowed to pass the starting line, so I tried to run back in between the crowd which was starting to line up for 5k. I started this race a little colder than usual, and not completely loose. I lined up on the first row to start the race. Gregg Hall started us up one last time saying that "we are the Dallas Running Club and today we run". I am going to miss him at the start of next year's DRC races since a new DRC president, Peggy Munroe, will be taking over. Peggy has been the treasury for several years and has done a great job, as all members of DRC volunteer board do a great job.

I raced with the same strategy I had last week. I wanted to start fast and keep it up all the way to the finish line. I took off as fast as I could. After a straight away there came a left turn up hill. I slowed down to a trot and many runners passed me by. When I finally got back to even pavement I picked up my pace again. There was a person at each mile marker telling everyone their time. When I came to the 1 mile marker, my time was 8:55. That was faster than normal, even though I had to stop to re-tie one of my shoes. I was happy with the time.

I kept running as fast as I could came to the turn-around then made my way to the 2 mile marker, where my time was 17.50. Again, I was happy with my time. With 1.1 mile to go I gave it all I had, but my feet hurt at this point. Every month, the top 3 finishers of the DRC race of the month are printed in the Inside Texas Running newsletter. I've been in the DRC for about a year, but I've never been in the newsletter. With most of the faster runners in my age division running the half marathon, I knew that this was my chance to get into the top 3. With that in mind, I was motivated to keep me running with the heart of a champion. If you want something, you have to work hard for it. Just go for it.

I had already ran this course in another race, so I knew that as I came up to it that I was at the final turn. There was a huge crowd waiting to cheer everyone on, which helped inspire me in my final kick to the finish line. Before I crossed, I glanced at the finishing time and saw that it was at 27:35. I wasn't sure if I finished in the top 3, but now I had run my fastest race in months. I was very happy with my time.

I went to my car and iced my feet and drank my after race drinks. To my amazement I found my name on the list of finishers of the 5k and I had finished 3rd place in my age group. I was so very excited. At this point, it was time for me to handle my duties as a volunteer. My assignment was to give out DRC half medals for finishers of the half marathon. There were many of us doing this since many runners came finishing at the same time. I also had my camera and was taking pictures which you should be able to see on the DRC Flickr website soon (I just sent off the discs today).

You can see the final results on the DRC website here. My line in male 55 to 59: Place Bib # Men Overall Overall Chip Time Gun Time Pace/mile 3/8 5266 48/122 73/325 27:35:00 27:35:00 8:53/m I run to raise awareness for prostate cancer and to benefit my community. www.runningforacause.tumblr.com

Four Seasons Cool 5K

I didn't plan on racing this week, but changed my mind at the last minute and signed up on race day for the Four Seasons Cool 5K and 10K on Saturday October 30, 2010 at the Four Seasons Resort and Club in Irving Texas. My Texas Rangers played game 3 of the World Series at home which I and my older son John attended. I arrived a little after 7:00am to register. There was a family run / walk at 8:00 AM, and the 5K and 10K run, which started together, began after. I stretched and ran a few laps to warm up. The weather temperature was cool this time. I lined up about 6 rows back from the starting line. When the horn sounded I took off and told myself to go as fast as I could from the start and try to finish with whatever energy I had left.   I usually try to run at a decent pace then turn it up toward the end, but this time I wanted to try and run harder at the beginning of the race. At the next street after the start there was a steep hill to climb. I lost some time there as runners passed me by, then when I was back on flat ground I started giving my all again. I passed a father who was trying to encourage his daughter, so I said to her "you are dong great sweetheart". A couple of 20 year old ladies beside me overheard and said "were you talking to me? I needed encouragement too." I told them that I encourage everyone.   I ran a little over a 9:00 1st mile pace so I tried to pick it up a little more for the 2nd mile. I got to the turnaround and headed back, and I could see people on the other side that I was ahead of, which gave me a much needed lift. I just kept going all out, running as hard as I could. I had not tried this type of strategy before so I wanted to see what would happen. I got to the 2 mile marker, then about 2 and half miles in I started to get a little winded. I kept going as fast as I could and finally made it to the home stretch. I gave it all that I had left to the finish line, passing a few runners in the process. I was very satisfied with my run and my time which was about 50 seconds faster than last week.   I also want to say a few words about my beloved Texas Rangers. Like I said before, after the race on Saturday, I went to the World Series game 3 with my son John. It was our very first World Series game to attend in person, and it was quite a spectacle. We arrived early to watch batting practice, where I took some pictures. What a game,The Rangers won thanks to some great pitching by Colby Lewis (who won 3 playoff games) and a nice home run by Mitch Moreland. The next night on Sunday, I went to game 4 with my younger son Edward (which we lost), and then on Monday went to game 5 with John. It was a classic pitcher battle between the Rangers' Cliff Lee and Giant's pitcher Tim Lincecum which ended when Cliff gave up a 3 run homer in the 7th inning. Nellie Cruz got some revenge in the bottom of the inning when he hit a home run for the Rangers. Unfortunately that was the only time the Rangers scored, and we ended up losing the game. Even though we lost the world series, I have to say what a great season it has been to watch each home game in person. The Rangers never gave up until the very last out of the game which is how they played every game of the season. That's how to play winning baseball. Me and my sons are very proud of the team, as I'm sure that everyone in Texas is. It has definitely been a season to remember! I'm attatching a picture of me and Edward with the American League Championship trophy.   My final line in male 55-59:   Place   Bib #   Overall     Men       Chip Time     Gun Time     Pace  4/8      458     81/285   58/134    28:10:44          28:12:00    9.06/m   I run to raise awareness for prostate cancer and to benefit my community. www.runningforacause.tumblr.com