I ran the first ever

I ran the first ever Rockets Run in 2003, when it was still at the Compaq Center and when the course turned out to be more than a quarter of a mile short. (I finished in 28:something when I’d never even broken a half hour.) After that experience, and after hearing similar complaints, I skipped the race in 2004 and 2005. Today I decided to give it another chance and headed downtown to the new race site at the Toyota Center.
Here are the HRBers (thanks for the photo Jon):

I still have a lot of complaints about the race including:
+ A 10-minute wait to get my packet (because you had to sign a waiver that probably could have been signed online when you register!)
+ A wait to get water at the finish line (not having cups pre-filled)
+ No bananas, bagels, or other standard food (instead, there was pizza, hot dogs, and Diet Pepsi that had expired in July — I took about 5 sips and threw the rest away, it was gross)
+ No posted results
+ A huge cloud of diesel exhaust as you enter the tunnel (probably unavoidable, but still icky!)
Thankfully the course was measured correctly, though the mile markers were wrongly placed. By consensus after the race, we decided that Mile 1 was long, Mile 3 was short, and the last 0.1 was long.
Come on, Rockets. I don’t know whether I’ll do it again next year. It makes me angry to pay for something that the Rockets should be able to do well. Instead, they just don’t care. That’s the saddest part — they could do it right, but they just don’t care.
If only they’d take a tip from the Astros. The Race for the Pennant is a very well-done race.
My splits were as follows:
Mile 1 – 10:13 (long, though I didn’t realize it because 10:13 seemed like a damn good pace to me!)
Mile 2 – 9:49
Mile 3 – 9:21 (short)
Final 0.1 – 1:02 (long)
Total Time – 30:25 (9:49/mile), average heart rate of 189
Obviously I’m very pleased with my race; it’s the fastest 5K I have done in more than a year. The encouraging (and frustrating) part is that I probably could have gone a little faster. Lance and Steve S (both of whom I finally met in person after the race) will cringe to hear me say this, but I never felt like I was going all out until the final sprint, which means I probably could’ve broken 30:00 if I’d pushed myself.
I ran 2.5 miles alone, then Cassie and Manny pulled up beside me. I’d been wondering the whole time where they were; I knew they were behind me because I never saw Cassie’s bright red shirt in front of me. They had to have been right behind me the whole time, and Cassie later confirmed that they were. When they pulled up beside me I told myself “I’m going to stay with them, strong through the end.” And I did. Cassie beat me to the line by a couple feet though after sprinting past me on the court. 😉
Obviously the last tenth of a mile was mismeasured. I ran that tenth faster than any other because 1) it was the end and 2) it was downhill through the tunnel to the basketball court, and yet I was only doing 10:00 pace? I don’t think so. The last tenth was probably more like 45 seconds, making Mile 3 more like 9:35.
Nevertheless, I’m happy! Half marathon next weekend. I don’t expect to match my 2:15 from 2004, but I fully expect to finish under 2:30 without too much of a problem.
OH! And mad props to Waverly, who broke her 5K PR by more than a minute! (And also earned a $100 payday from Jon; hmm, I wonder if I could convince my Dad to pay me if I break a PR…)