Claiming to be a runner

Claiming to be a runner in Houston without having ever run the loop in Memorial Park is something like saying you like to travel without having ever left your state. This is what I decided this morning as I ran in Memorial Park for the first time with my tri training group.
With Mom in tow, we headed to the park and arrived just past 7:30. There were people everywhere! I mean, there had to have been more than a thousand people out there — running, walking, pushing strollers, walking dogs, biking on the road. My mom and I were both incredulous. “Are you sure there’s not an event going on this morning?” she asked. “I don’t think so!” I replied. “This is crazy!”
We managed to get a good parking spot next to the tennis center, and I headed off to do somewhere between the suggested 4 or 6 miles while Mom started her walk. I felt confident I could handle 4 miles, but felt that 6 might be a bit much for me since I haven’t run more than 5K in the past few months. In the end, I settled on 5 miles, starting from the tennis center, running to the 2.5 mile marker, and then turning around and heading back in the opposite direction.
The first 3 miles went pretty well, with a 1-minute walk break each 10 minutes. I neglected to write down my splits before resetting my watch, but I think I covered the first 3 miles in ~33:00 or 11:00/mile. The last 2 miles were a totally different story, as the wheels started to come off, I began to overheat, and the walk breaks became more frequent. By the time I finished in 57:40, my average pace had risen to 11:32/mile.
Nonetheless, I got in the distance and really enjoyed the Memorial Park loop. I was actually a little surprised I didn’t see more people that I recognized — I did see Erica, and watched Sean Wade and Luis Armenteros zoom past me (Sean twice; Luis was with him the first time but not the second). It was a fun morning, and I’m thinking I may make a habit of trying to make it to the park once a month or so for a change of scenery. I really wish it was closer to where I live!
After the run, we went to Tri On The Run for a bike and shoe clinic. The Brooks rep giving the shoe clinic gave a lot of information about shoe materials, fit, and shape, which I found very interesting and informative. I currently wear Brooks’s most popular shoe — the Adrenaline — so I got her stamp of approval. 😉
From there it was back to Clear Lake (after a stop at Starbucks and the Kolache Factory, the two places that flank the Tri store!), where I hopped in the pool for my scheduled 20-minute easy swim. Last Monday when I did my 800-yard workout, it took me 20:30, so I just did that workout again — 200 warmup, 4×100, and 200 cooldown with drills. I was the only one there, and the pool felt especially nice since I was still a little icky from running!