2007 Austin Half Marathon - Feb. 18th

It was a cold but beautiful weekend here in Austin for the 2007 Austin Marathon. After the fireworks and the national anthem this morning around 6:50am, the race of 11,000 runners got started. I love running in Austin...they have so many bands along the road side, lots of good places to eat & shop, and the people are wonderful. The hills around Austin can be challenging especially after you have been running for a few hours. After circling the state capital over bright sunny skies, I crossed the finish line in 2:40:45. I felt a little light headed after the race over so i headed straight for the food, drink, and chicken noodle soup tent. I met a a lot of people along the race. Saw some very interesting costumes too. Most of us were dressed very warmly because of the chill in the air. After the race we hung out at the finish line to watch a few of the runners cross the finish and then headed to 6th street for some food. I want to thank my brother Scott for coming to Austin with me to support me during the race. Hope all the Houston Blog runners did well. :D



Sunday - Feb. 18, 2007 - 7:00 a.m.
Place: Downtown Austin, Texas
Distance: 13.1 miles
Time: 2:40:45
Pace: 11:26 per/mile
Calories: 2241
Temp: 43 degrees
Humidity: 25%

Distance workout today - Feb. 11th

I got up early this morning and went to Memorial Park to do some distance running. I increase my overall distance to 7+ miles today. I felt pretty good miles 4 through mile 7. My body, legs and feet all seem to be in good shape even after the run. That is a good sign. I am learning not to drink as much during my runs as i have in the past. It just slows me down. I think if i hydrate around mile 3 and then again around 7 or 8, that my mile splits will be faster. I know as the race gets further that i will hydrate a little more often. I think on my tuesday run i will go for a nine mile run and then thursday a 12 mile run. Then on friday...pair my running down to a 3 to five mile run before i head over to Austin on Saturday.


Sunday - Feb. 11, 2007 - 9:38 a.m.
Place: Memorial Park
Distance: 7.75 miles
Time: 1:21:32
Pace: 10:31 per/mile
Calories: 1253
Temp: 51 degrees
Humidity: 69 %

Friday's Workout - Feb. 9

I went to the fitness center again today and did a 45 minute power run. I worked with my trainer and did some strength condition on my legs and stomach crunches. Part of my trainings is to burn off fat to make me lighter. The other half is working on my strength and condition for my run in Austin. I do 3 days of running a week and 2 days of strength/condition work. I am hoping to get out to memorial park this weekend and do some extra distance runs. The weather has turned a little bit cooler and its been drizzling some too. I better bring my rain gear for the run.

Feb. 9, 2007 - 10:14 am
Place: Fitness Center
Distance: 3.37 miles
Time: 45:02
Pace: 13:20 min/mile
Calories: 545
Temperature: 54 degress

Austin Half Marathon - Signed Up!

I signed up for the Austin Half Marathon today. I will be staying with a friend who lives in austin that weekend. I invited my brother Scott to come along with me for support in the race. Hope to see a few of the Houston Bloggers there. Im starting my training for Austin today...that gives me about two weeks to prepare. . Good luck to everyone.

The New Nike Plus

I recently bought the new nike plus. If you haven't seen it or heard about it...its AWESOME. Its a chip (cost $29) that sincs up to you ipod nano. You put the chip on or in your shoe. The using your ipod nano and the nike software that downloads to you ipod, you can have live read out from your ipod of your pace, distance, time and even calories burned. Whats cool about it is at anytime while your running you can just touch your ipod and it will read out all your information. I also reads out to you every five minutes too. Also you can have your "Power Songs" set up ahead of time and with one touch of you ipod...you can switch from just your regular list of songs...to your powersongs to give you that boost. Once your done with the race, you just connect your ipod nano to your computer and it automatically uploads you run to your nike account and gives you a graphic detail of your run. I can not tell you how much this product has improved my runs, helped me keep track all my imformation and kept me going. On the nike site, you can challenge other people too. It's so cool. I was always hesitant about technology before....but his is what i call the perfect running companion. I showed a few of the runners i run with....and they were like OMG....i need one of those. All i can say is Apple and Nike have hit a homerun with this little gadget :)


Feb. 7, 2007 - 9:26 am
Place: Fitness Center
Distance: 3.65 miles
Time: 45:18
Pace: 12:24 min/mile
Calories: 590
Temperature: 68 degrees

2007 Houston Marathon - Jan 14th

Its been a few weeks since i finished the houston half marathon. I think im fully recovered now. I finished the 13.1 miles in 2:38:18. Thats a new personal best for me. The first 5 miles were the toughest because my legs were just getting warmed up. Between miles 5 through 8 my pace picked up and i was feeling good. At mile marker 8, i ran into my support group (Alison, Scott, and Travis). By the turn around at mile, 9 i could feel a little soreness in my legs but i just took a few of my powergels and walked for a minute while i hydrated. After that it was just mind over matter. I had to push myself the rest of the way even though my legs were telling me otherwise. Once i got downtown near mile 12 or 13 i new i was getting close to beating my time from last year. So I pushed myself even harder. Once i had the finish line in my sites i was so relieved. As i got closer and saw my time, i could see that it was going to be very close...lets than a minute difference than last years time. So i kicked it into high gear the last quarter mile.

Official Stats:
Place: Houston Marathon
Date: January 14, 2007
Distance: 13.1 miles
Time: 2:38:18
Pace: 12:13 min/mile
Calories: 3600
Temp: 48 degrees - start, 60 degrees - end.
Humidity: 79%