Location
White Oak Bayou
What Is It?
5-8k trail run
Team Name: Steve Mertz
Team Mates
None
Category
Male
Placing
I forgot to look at my number.
Official results Haven’t been found yet.
Time: 38:07
Experience
I hate running. I really hate it. But today, I almost had fun out there. If it wasn’t for the really bad blisters that I started to become quite aware of in the last 5 minutes, I probably would have had fun.
The course was 3.8 miles long, consisting of 2 laps. I did the first lap in 18:31, and the second lap in 19:35. I am pretty sure if it wasn’t for the blisters on my feet my second lap would have been just as fast if not faster, as I felt good at the end, like I could have done more. I also didn’t walk at all during this run, which is a first for me. I ran the entire thing non-stop, which was my main goal (after not coming in last!)
There were a couple of hills on the course, and they didn’t bother me or really slow me down like hills usually do. I don’t know if this is because of the hills I’ve been doing lately, or if I found a way for me to get up them efficiently.
At the start they warned us not to go out too fast, as it did seem like a long run, only because we came back to the start area multiple times during the run, and after one lap you end up feeling like “What? Another one?!” So I kept that in mind and started slow. Unfortunately, my foot pod had a dead battery in it, so I don’t know how fast I was going. Which could be a good thing as I might have either slowed down too much, or sped up too much to try to match a certain pace that I thought I should have been running.
I kept what I think was pretty much steady the entire way. At least it felt steady to me, and since I managed to stay at pretty much 10 minute miles based on time and distance, that would be a good average. It was only the last little bit where I slowed down because of my blisters.
I was able to finish strong and I did pass a couple people who didn’t end up passing me. And from where I got started in the group, very few people (maybe 8-10) passed me during the race. So I felt really good about all of that.
Multimedia
No pictures, sorry.
Final Thoughts
I had a really good race day today. Just have to figure out the blister problem and I think I will be set. My Asthma didn’t bother me at all, since I remembered to take my meds before hand. I kept my pace steady and tried not to accelerate or decelerate any more than I needed to. And when I started going up the hills, I kept my pace the same, just shortened my stride a bit, which I think really helped with my being able to handle them.
I’m kind of bummed that this was the last race of this series since I just now started to find my running legs. But there is always the spring!
Days Later… (2006/10/26)
Well, last night I was able to pop my blisters finally. I had a hot shower which softened up the calluses enough to allow me to poke through. The one that hurt the most, as soon as the pin was removed, exploded all over the place, and it was tainted red, which made things that much more messy. But as soon as I popped them and the pressure subsided, they stopped hurting.
I have new socks on order to see if they will help with preventing blisters. Other than the blisters I feel really good though, legs were a little heavy while I was out biking last night.
Everything is good though and I’m still extremely happy with my performance Tuesday. And I am kind of looking forward to doing some more running as soon as my feet heal up.
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