Quick Catch Up

I have been really busy lately and have not been able to blog much, so here is a quick recap. Last Saturday I did the Inaugural River Rush 5K to benefit the River Parks Authority. I forgot the camera and did not get any pictures, so just stare at the logo.
The run started at 31st & Riverside and headed north to Houston and turned back on the River Parks trail. The weather was a little crisp, but great for a race. I started in my usual spot up front and settled into a nice pace with the second lead group. I was leading the second group, but I was unsure of my pace, I have got to get a Garmin. I missed the 1K marker and finally hit the 2K mark in 7:35. Not too much further we turned on the trail and headed home. I could look back and see that Malcolm McCollum was closing in on me. The group I was with was pacing me pretty good and I did not feel bad. I hit 3K at 11:32 and 4K at 15:28. Somewhere in the next K Malcolm came flying past me and I could not match it. He finished at 19:13 and I hit the tape at 19:23. 13th Overall and second in my age group. I got beat by some guy from Britain. Oh the shame to be beat by a guy with bad teeth. The results can be found here.
Also over the weekend some good friends headed north to the Heartland 100 miler in Cassoday, KS. Cassoday is home to the Prairie Chicken capital of the world and nothing much else. We have been there several times when we lived in Kansas. Kathy Hoover did her pacing duties to help someone finish their first 100 miler. The Energizer Bunny, Randy Ellis, who just keeps going and going completed another 50 miler. This is after he did the Leadville 100 in August. He is such a great inspiration. Trail Zombie had a good run at it, but had to give up the ghost for the day. That happens, but we live to fight another day. Sounds like they also had the best crew possible from Tulsa. Results are here.

The bid daddy of Triathlons, The Ironman Championship took place in Kona last Saturday. Craig Alexander and Chrissie Wellington repeated as Men's and Women's champion. Chrissie pretty much controlled the entire race, but Craig was 9 minutes down to Chris Lieto off the bike. Craig is such a great runner that he caught Chris with about 4 miles to go and won again. Such a stud! Several people from OK completed the race and Coach Rob had a couple of athletes from Tulsa Iron in the race. They both finished strong and I am proud to be a part of the team.

Sammy Wanjiru went after the Marathon record in Chicago on Sunday, but failed to beat Haille's world record, but set a course record by 1 second. He went through the half in 1:02. I wish I could run that fast. He is the reigning Olympic Marathon champion and will be a force to reckon with for some time to come.

Tomorrow is the Woolaroc 8k outside of Bartlesville, OK. This was a ranch set up by the Phillips oil family and is supposed to be a great spot to visit. We get in free with the run and it ought to be a great way to spend the morning. The course is supposed to be really hilly, but it should be good training for the Tulsa Run in 2 weeks. I have been doing a race every weekend in preparation for it. I really want to get under 1 hour for the Tulsa Run, but I am not for sure if I can do it with all the hills, but I am going to give my all. I will get a full race report this weekend and hopefully remember to bring the camera.