The Jog'r Egg Nog'r 15K and 5K

Once again, I raced in the 2011 Jog'r Egg Nog'r 15K and 5K Run and Walk. The race took place on December 17, in White Rock Lake, Dallas, Texas. Like last year, I chose to run in the 5K race. This was a www.whiterockracing.com race, so check out their site for the results and more photos. The event sponsors were Run-On!, Baylor Sports Care, Davis Creative, Costco, and others. Oak Farms Shepps Dairy generously donated the egg nog, which everyone enjoyed. The finish line was at Norbuck Park. I arrived at the event, and parked close to the finish line, then warmed up with a brief jog. After that, I walked up a trail to the starting line, which was about half a mile away at the corner of Peavy and Van Dyke. Both the 5K and 15K races started together at 9:00 AM. The starting line was overlooking the beautiful White Rock Lake at the majestic skyline of downtown Dallas; the view was amazing. I was excited to get started since there was a downhill right at the beginning. Everyone got off to a fast pace as we ran down the steep downhill. It was about 40 degrees at race time. This was the only race in the Dallas area, and so all of the top local runners ran. There were 930 registered runners. All participants received a free long sleeved technical shirt with registration. After the fast start, I just tried to keep it going. After the turnaround we ran on a trail and then continued on the sidewalk. Finally we made our way back on to the pavement and headed toward the finish line at Norbuck Park. I finished in the time of 24:36 (a 7:55 / mile pace) for a 4th place finish out of 11 in my age division, and 116 out of 511 men. Also running in the race were Nan Ross, who recently got married, and Nicole Vela, who I trained with in the Run-On 10:30 pace group for White Rock races. Both ladies finished at the top of their groups. This is the only race company that gives out awards to the 5 fastest runners in about half of the age groups. So I received a coffee cup mug as a 4th place finisher. Place     Bib#     Overall     Time      Pace                                                             4/11     5645  126/511    24:36    7:55/ mile I run to raise awareness for prostate cancer and to benefit my community. www.runningforacause.tumblr.com

The Dallas White Rock Half Marathon

For my third half marathon I chose the the 42nd Metro PCS Dallas White Rock Half Marathon. The event took place on Sunday December 4, 2011. 8:00 AM at Fair Park in Dallas, Texas. I know, I'm just a little late in posting the results here, but I will try to be more timely in the future. In any case, the event benefitted the Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for children, with 1 million dollars being donated to the worthy cause.  There were 13,000 registered half marathon runners and 6,000 registered for the full marathon. There were also 5,000 five-person relay teams that pre-registered for the event. As a bit of motivation, there was a $25,000 total marathon purse, with $5,000 awarded to the overall men and women's marathon winners respectively.  The race was covered and televised by the ABC affiliate, WFAA channel 8 from 8 - 11 AM. Something interesting happened when I picked up my bib #, chip timer, and shirt on Friday morning at the sponsors expo at the automobile building in Fair Park. Many of us runners were asked to write a message on a sign with the title "Why I Run the Rock". Additionally, we were recorded on video saying a few words about why we run. Channel 8 ran our videos on a few big screens along the race course, as well as a selection on the live broadcast.  I had recorded the video on my DVR, so after the race I looked at the recording and was surprised to see my video on TV. This video was later included in a series of YouTube videos. My brief video is on video #3. Check it out here. There were just too many sponsors at the event to mention here. Check out their web-site: www.runtherock.com for the full list. You can also view the race results too. Arlington High School student, Virgilio Martinez, who ran the last 2 miles of a 16 member boy and girl high school relay team, passed and defeated the Kenyan marathon winner. There were over 300,000 spectators along the race course, cheering the runners as we ran. It was great.  I arrived early and parked behind the automobile building. This is where I, and other runners, gathered together before the race. This was the first race that I've run where we were assigned a corral to line-up before the race.  Because there were so many runners, it took me about 8 minutes just to reach the starting line. If you think that sounds bad, just keep in mind that the last runner crossed over the starting line in 38 minutes. At this point it wasn't raining, but that would change soon enough. The race-time temperature was about 42 degrees. It was basically impossible to pass the other because of the thousands of runners on the course.  At about 1 1/2 miles into the race, Teresa Nichols ran up beside me for a minute. Teresa is a member of the awesome Run-On training group that I run with (10:30 pace). I told her to go on ahead of me. I was doing my best, but wanted to pace myself for this long race. My favorite racing store and training location, Run-On!, had several tent locations along the course handing out towels to everyone. Thank you Run-On! There were also several bands playing music while we raced.  At about 3 miles into the race, it started raining. But thanks to a suggestion from my son John, I was prepared. I brought a bottle of Rain-X at AutoZone and put it on my glasses. It worked very well, keeping the rain off my glasses. Thanks John. From mile 5.5 to about 9, I had to face my worst enemy, hills. This is where I slowed down my pace. A little past the 8th mile, the marathon runners turned left, and I followed the other half marathon runners to the right. The good news is that the rest of the course was pretty flat except a few spots. My plan was to increase my pace at the 9th mile (after clearing the hills).  There were timing mats placed at the 5K, 10K, and 15K marks. My 5K time didn't register, but my 10K time was 54:08 and my 15K time was 1:23:47. I crossed the finish line the time of 1:57:16, a 8:57 / mile pace, and a new half marathon PR! I finished 1993 out of 9,675 half finishers, and 1371 out of 4057 men. There were an impressive 5616 women finishers. Great job ladies. I placed 15 out of 90 in 60-64 age division with my coach Tom Mason. This was amazing race to run in.  With all my health problems, I never thought I could run long distance races like this half marathon. Thanks to Run-On!'s training for the past year, I feel like I am able to run at my best potential. Special thanks goes to Jennifer Kimble and all the Run-On! coaches for keeping me in great physical shape, as well as USMD Prostate Cancer Center in Arlington, TX for keeping me healthy and cancer free.  I trained and ran my races the best I could. I wanted my little brother Jimmy to be proud of me and hoped he would try and exercise a little. He was a diabetic like me and our father, and he had several minor strokes and other severe health problems. In April of 2011, he passed away just 6 days after his 54th birthday. I believe that I am blessed to be able to run. Do yourself a favor and make today the day you begin your love of walking and running for your better health. If I can do this, you can too. Just start slow, and anything is possible. Place   Bib       Overall      Men Overall  Chip Time   Pace 15/90  20795  1989/9667    1369/4051      1:57:16      8:57 I run to raise awareness for prostate cancer and to benefit my community. www.runningforacause.tumblr.com

Carrollton Runners Mile and 5K

After my 15K Plano Pacer race I raced the next morning, Sunday November 27, in the Carrollton Runners Mile and 5K at McInnish Park in Carrollton, TX. I ran in both of the races. The 1 mile started at 7:37 AM and the 5K started at 7:48. It was about 39 degrees with 16 mph cold wind blowing. When I tried my slow jog to warm up like I always do before a race, I knew it was not going to be one of my better race days. I was very sore from my 9.3 mile 15K race the day before. MOTOACTV, a music and fitness company, gave us a free tote bag at the starting line. I left mine tied to a tree by the curb, so I could run without the extra weight. Usually, on Sunday, I run with my Run-On! 10:30 pace group for our long runs, but I knew I couldn't do another 9 miles the day after that 15K. I finish the 1 mile race in the time of 8:22 / mile pace.  Place   Men     Overall   Time   Age Grade 2/2     10/13     12/15     8:22      55.0% After the 1 mile, I went back to retrieve my tote bag and by the time I had turned around, they had already started the 5K race. I just took my time, walked to my car to put bag up, then started the race in last place. Since this was a chip timed race, my start time didn't matter; the clock started when I actually crossed the start line. I passed my 80 year old running friend Robert Cunningham and a few others. My other running friend, 63 year old Scott McKissik, also raced in the two events. He finished ahead of me in the 1 mile race. Also running the race was Dallas morning News online blogger and runner, 65 year old Spareribs LaMothe, who mentioned the Carrollton Runner Club and its Race Director Ruben Saguil on his site. My 1 mile time was 9:07. I passed the turnaround shortly after, and my halfway time was 14:17. I always try to have a negative split during the second half of the race. My 2 mile time was 18:08 (a 9:00 / mile pace), which was about 2 1/2 minutes slower than my normal 5K pace. At abut 2.5 miles I finally started to loosen up my sore muscles. My 3 mile time was 26:39 (a 8:31 / mile pace). I started to run faster the closer I got to the finish line. I finished the second half in the time of 13:18, which was a 59 second negative split. I finished the event in the time of 27:34. My friend Scott also ran a 5K at Plano the day before. I assumed he had a better time than me. There were no awards given at this very small race. The fee was only $2.00 for member and $3.00 to new members on race day. Anyways, I was suprized when I looked at the results in the Dallas Morning News paper the next morning. I had actually finished a few seconds ahead of Scott. Next, I'm going to write about my the White Rock Half Marathon which I ran early in December. Still trying to catch up on my posts. Apologies for the delays. Place    Men      Overall    Time    Pace   Age Grade 1/2       15/26      21/47    27:34     8:52      58.2 I run to raise awareness for prostate cancer and to benefit my community. www.runningforacause.tumblr.com

Plano Pacer's Turkey Runoff 15K

On Saturday November 26, 2011 I ran in a 15K race at the Plano Pacers Turkey Runoff 5K, 15K and Jr Sprint at Bob Woodruff Park in Plano TX. The race was free to yearly members and only $10 to guests. It was raining when I left to go to Plano and didn't stop until right before 6:00 AM. The temperature was just under 70 degrees for the start of the 15K and 5K which started at together at 8:00 AM. I started about 15 rows from the front and waited for the race to get started. After the first mile I looked at my Garmin to check my time. I had run it in 8:04, which was pretty fast for a first mile in a 15K race. I told myself to slow down. This was a 9.3 mile race, basically three 5K in one, so I needed to reserve some energy for the finish. I actually ran this race earlier in the year in February, so I went back to read what I had written on my blog so I could "study" the course. Because of that bit of research, I already knew there were a few small hills, and mentally prepared myself for them. My 3 mile time was 25:01 (a 8:25 / mile pace). Around the 6th mile is where the hills were, and so my pace slowed down a bit at that point with a time of 51:11 (a 9:13 / mile pace). A little farther on from the 6th mile marker was the turnaround, just past the 10K marker. There were only 2 water stops on the course, but they were set up in a way that you passed them twice. Great idea, the problem is that the cups of water were very small. I took a few of them all along the way for energy. With only 2 miles to go, I ran as fast as I could. At mile 8, my time was 1:08:20 (8:16 / mile pace) and I ran the same pace for mile 9 with a time of 1:16:36. We had to circle the pond and finish in front of the pavilion, and I finished in the time of 1:19:47 (7:48 / mile pace). They gave out nice trophies to all the award winners including the Jr. Sprint kids. I placed 2nd out of 6 in my new 60 - 64 age division; 32 out of 50 men and 37 out of 77 overall 15K finishers. For the first time ever, I scored above 70 in my age grade with 73.1. To compare, my time on this same course in February was 1:26:01, so this is a new personal record in a 15K race. Like most runners, I run faster when the weather is cooler.  Place     Men      Overall    Chip Time    Pace     Age Grade  2/6      32/50      37/77       1:19:47       8:34        73.1 I run to raise awareness for prostate cancer and to benefit my community. www.runningforacause.tumblr.com

Help The Homeless 5K

On Saturday November 12, 2011, I ran in the Help the Homeless Run and Walk 5K at Fair Park in Dallas, TX. Honoring Dallas Homeless Veterans, the proceeds of this event benefitted The Bridge, and Back on My Feet. The Program Director for Back on My Feet, Lea Velez, led the stretching before race aided by a large number of homeless runners and walkers from the organization and their Run-On! training partners. Race registration started at 2:00 PM, at the race started at 3:30 PM which is later than usual for these types of races. As it turns out, there was an Alzheimer's walk at the same location in the morning. There was a huge amount of sponsor support for this event, including: Orix Foundation, Walmart, Baylor, Fannie Mae, Marianne and Roger Staubach, Run-On!, 103.7 Lite FM, My Fit Foods, Cliff Bars, Poweraide, Community Coffee, and more. The fun walk started at 4:30 PM, and there was live music from a band called Emerald City afterwords. I arrived early, and took my 1 mile slow warm up jog, then took a picture with 103.7 radio and talked to the Run-On! crew. I lined up on the first row along side a few homeless runners to start the race. I took off fast, and after about half a mile I was running at a 7:07 pace. I told myself to  slow down, there was still a long way to go. We started inside of Fair Park, then went on the street outside park, eventually running back into park to the finish line. I crossed the finish line and stopped my watch at 25:07. I later checked the posted race results and it showed that I had finished in 23:31. That seemed way too fast. I asked other runners and they said their times were fast too. I spoke to the Run-On! race timer and he found and corrected the times, and listed them on the websites final results. I knew I didn't run that fast. I only want the results that I earn from my Run-On! training and my own effort. Everyone seemed to have a great time at the race. There was dancing, music, food, and all that good stuff. There were only 157 chip timed finishers but many hundred more ran and walked without the chip. It cost $5.00 more if you wanted to have chip timed, and many opted to run without it.  I finished 1st place in this, my last race in the 55-59 age division and 17th out of 157. My final time 25:06 at 8:06 / mile pace.  Place   Bib #    Men       Overall    Chip Time     Pace 1/4     364     15/71    17/157     25:06        8:06 / M I run to raise awareness for prostate cancer and to benefit my community. www.runningforacause.tumblr.com

The DRC Half Marathon

On sunday, November 6, 2011 I ran in my second half marathon race, the DRC Half at Norbuck Park in White Rock Lake, Dallas, TX. The event benefitted the Tal Morrison Scholarship Fund, and there were many sponsors, including: DRC, Run-On!, New Balance, ESP, Cliff Bar, Muscle Milk, Powerade, and many more. The first 3,500 registered runners received a long sleeve technical shirt; yellow for the men and pink for the women. I volunteered at the Dallas Run-On! store for the first morning of packet pickup, and noticed that there were more runners that registered without getting the shirt. They gave away cash prizes for the top half marathon finishers, totaling $5,000.00. DISD (Dallas Independent School District) had a shuttle service for runners that used DART (Dallas public transportation). At 7:30 AM there was a early marathon start for those that planned on finishing the race in over 3 hours and 15 minutes. The half officially started at at 8:00 and the 5K started at 8:20. There was a large food tent and the Beer Garden opened at 10:00. Looking around, I was proud to see that there was a large turnout of Run-On! runners and volunteers at the event.  Since there was no parking at Norbuck Park, I arrived early and parked across the street at Flagpole Hill. I volunteered to take some pictures for DRC, and wanted to do a good job. I took some pics before I ran my half then had to go back to my truck to get the camera again after the race (since I didn't want to run with it). Usually I like to start at the front, close to the starting line, but for this race everyone was told to line up according to pace group. I got behind the 1:50 / mile pace group which I knew was too fast for me, but I didn't want to start too far behind in such a large crowd of runners. The humidity was high, and there were tons of hills which slowed down most of the runners around me. Thanks to Run-On! Training Coordinator Jennifer Kimble, I had a good plan on how to run this race course. The first 3.5 miles were mostly flat, then there were many hills. I trained with my Run-On! coaches and 10:30 pace members to take these hills a bit more effectively. I was running at a comfortable pace, but every time I came to a hill, my pace started to slow down. The final 3 miles of the race was back to the White Rock Lake trail and then back to the finish line at Norbuck Park. It was mostly flat course but I had exhausted a lot of energy making it over those hills. At about 2 miles left, many runners started to pass me up. In a shorter race, I like to save some energy for the last mile or so but my legs just didn't want to run any faster. I just tried to keep the pace I had, and finish the race. I wanted to finish under 2 hours. Back at Norbuck Park I passed the 13 mile marker, and gave what I had left. When I crossed the finish line, the clock said 2:00:04. I was a little disappointed that I had missed my goal by 4 seconds. Theresa, who I train with at Run-On!, said that since I started further back, behind the pace group, I should have finished under 2 hours. Later, I checked the results and found that I had finished in 1:59:30. Looks like I just made it. This was by far my most challenging race so far. I would like to thank USMD Prostate Cancer Center and everyone who has encouraged me at my Run-On! training. My next half is the Dallas White Rock Half on December 4, 2011. I received my DRC 35 Anniversary Commemorative medal for finishing this half. Place     Bib #       Overall      Chip Time    Pace                25/82     1633      880/2716      1:59:30     9:10 / m I run to raise awareness for prostate cancer and to benefit my community. www.runningforacause.tumblr.com

Double Trouble 5K and 10K

My race on Saturday, October 22 was the Lake Grapevine Runners and Walkers (LGRAW) Double Trouble 5K and 10K near Oak Grove Park in Grapevine, TX.  The 5K started at 8:00 AM and then after a short rest, the 10K started at about 8:50.  They gave out a great technical T-Shirt with registration. Before the 5K race, I was able to meet Charles Clines. He did a report with pictures and results for his running website (www.clinesrunningcorner.com).  I check his site every weekend for all of the area race results. Thank you Charles.  Kenny Stice, an 18 year old cross country runner at Plano High School, and Laura Nelson, 46, of Grapevine won the RRCA Texas State 10K male and female titles.   I started on the 1st row in 5K.  I planned on running this race a little easier than a normal 5K since I was running the 10K right after.  The temperature was about 70 degrees, and there were many hills on the course.   My mile 1 time was 8:07, and my mile 2 time was 16:43 (8:35 / mile pace).  At this point, I slowed down some, but on the 3rd mile, my competitive spirit kicked in, and I started running faster.  My time was 24:41 (7:58 / mile pace).   I finished the 5K race in the time of 25:59:5, third place out of 7 in my age division, and 33 out of 78 men, and 47 out of 162 overall finishers.  Place   Bib #    Men     Overall    Chip Time     Pace 3/7     276     33/78     47/162     25:59:5      8:23   I rested a little before the 10K start, and then lined up about half way back at the starting line.  We ran some of the same course as the 5K, then got on the Grapevine trail.  These were hilly courses, not ideal for me to run fast.  I just planed on doing my best and to not run too hard.   My 1 mile time was 8:30, and my 2 mile time was 17:21 (8:51 / mile pace).  I started to slow down again, and my 3 mile time was 26:0 (8:58 / mile pace).  I was about halfway there to the finish line.   My mile 4 time was 35:23 (9:03 / mile pace), and my mile 5 time was 44:25 (9:02 / mile pace).  On the last mile, I gave everything that I had left; I even passed a few runners.  My mile 6 time was 52:47 (8:21 / mile pace), and I finished the state championship 10K race in the time of 55:15:3.  My last 10K was on January 15, 2011, the Snowman Shuffle, so it's been a while.  I finished in 4th place out of 9 in my age division, just out of the award group. I finished 32 out of 69 men and 43 out of 145 overall, and I had a new personal best 10K time.  Kenny Gardner of Plano won both the 5K and 10K in the 55-59 age division. Place   Bib #    Men     Overall    Chip Time   Pace 4/9     276     32/69    43/145       55:15:3    8:55 I run to raise awareness for prostate cancer and to benefit my community. www.runningforacause.tumblr.com