The first race of my

The first race of my two-races-in-one-day Saturday went better than expected this morning! This morning was Race for the Cure, and believe it or not, this was the first time I’ve ever done this race. With 21,000+ runners, it’s got to be the biggest race in Houston. There were so many people that I actually felt a bit claustrophobic when Debbie, Curt, Sara and I first arrived.
We started more or less on time, and it took Debbie and me about 3 minutes to cross the start line. I was determined to take it easy, to save myself for the 2 miles I’ll be doing in a few hours at the HARRA Cross Country Relay, and Debbie quickly pulled ahead. I could see her just ahead of me until mile 1, but I stopped for a sip of water and poof, she was gone.
I hit mile 1 in 10:40, and that was after stopping for water. I was a little surprised to see the mile go that quickly, since I’d consciously kept myself at a pace that felt comfortable. I chalked it up to a good first mile and didn’t speed up. I knew that we’d be turning around soon and heading back in via Allen Parkway — right into the sun, and the day was definitely heating up.
(Tomorrow’s October! Where’s autumn?)
I never saw the mile 2 marker, and by the time my footpod was reading 2.3 miles, I was sure I’d missed it even though the foot pod measures long. I took a second quick walk break up the “hill” and re-started at my good pace. I was breathing hard, but not uncomfortably so. It was getting really hot though, and I was starting to overheat a bit. I told myself to just keep running and not stop!
Suddenly I saw the mile 3 marker. I looked at my watch, which read less than 29:00 — immediately, I knew the mile 3 marker was not correct, and even commented on it to the runners around me. “Whoa, that’s not in the right place!” Despite the misplaced marker (which was located at what was probably ~2.7 miles), the finish line still snuck up on me. It was about a tenth of a mile closer than what the course map had shown. Fortunately, I could see it about a tenth of a mile out and sped up.
I finished in 32:24 for an average of 10:23 per mile. Since most of my runs in the past few weeks have been at 11:00 pace or worse, I was surprised — and happy! I would worry that I wore myself out for tonight (and maybe I did — it remains to be seen), but I really never felt like I was pushing too hard.
So, a very good race for me. Here’s hoping I do as well in the cross country relay tonight! I’m shooting for anything under 22:00 for the two miles.

Astros lost to the Braves, Cardinals won against the Brewers. Magic Glow Skull is tired — he was flickering fiercely during the end of the game as the Astros bought the tying run to the plate, yes, flickering with the effort of helping the Astros win. Alas, after six days of success, he needed a rest. Hopefully he will be back and raring to go today!