My less-than-21-mile 21 miler...

Bright and early this morning was the annual Houston Fit 21 miler, the final big run/test before the Houston Marathon in January. This is quite an event, with surrounding Fit groups join us and the two water/food stations go all out with decorations and entertainment (thanks volunteers!). And the runner turnout was pretty decent. Nice to see so many people sticking with it this late in the game.

Since I ran San Antonio before Thanksgiving, and as noted in previous posts, have not been diligent with my training lately, my goal this morning was to run 13-18 miles. Despite the humidity and resulting fatigue, I managed to run what I think was between 16-17 miles. I "think" because my watch ran out of battery power at mile 15.22, and I was about 2.5 miles from the finish. Yes, this irritated me greatly, because as everyone knows, I like to know exactly how far I've run and at what average pace. But what did get recorded by my watch showed an average 9:15-9:30 pace, which I am very pleased with. I took it easy at the start, pushed myself when I was up to it, and did alot of walking (for me) today, and since I stopped my watch when I walked, I probably ran/walked close to 18 miles today. But I will never know, will I?? Stupid watch batteries, but I digress...

I can say without a doubt that today was the warmest and most humid "21-miler" I've run. I hate to think what the Marathon will be like if these type of conditions are present that day. It got me thinking about the previous 21-milers I've run. My first one in 2004 was great. We were still running three loops along Buffalo Bayou back then, and the weather was clear and sunny and cold. Great run that day. In 2005, it was about 38 degrees, with a hard rain and some sleet mixed in. Awesome :/ And because it had been raining all week, there was mud everywhere (still on the Bayou route), and we had to modify the route to avoid the huge mud pit under one of the overpasses. A ton of people called it quits early on this run, but I ran the whole 21 and thought it was kind of funny. I mean, we were so cold, and couldn't feel our hands, feet, faces, that things got humorous when we tried to put on chapstick or hold a cup of water. Needless to say, that run is now infamous. I can honestly say I have zero recollection about the 2006 run, but I know I ran it and it must have been uneventful. I think that is also the year we changed to route to run the Rice and Herman park loops. Last year, which was 2007 in case you are having trouble keeping up with my trip down memory lane, the run was moved to Sunday morning because of severe weather on Saturday. Thankfully, that severe weather brought with it a great cold front and made for perfect running weather. Last year's 21 miler was probably my favorite.

Kudos to all of the runners who ran today, many of whom looked a heck of alot stronger than I did. I got to run with Dennis for a while, and he was having a great run, and I saw Kathleen out there too. Joe and Danny were great on bike patrol, and thanks to Joe for relieving me of my annoying fuel belt. You see, for years I wore a belt for my water bottles, which affectionately became known as my "Bat Belt." This year, I made the transition to a hand-held water bottle, which I love, because the fuel belt never quite stays in place around the waist/hips. Well, I left said hand-held water bottle at my parent's house over Thanksgiving and forgot to buy a new one here, so I had to kick it old school, and it sucked. I think the belt started annoying me at about the 300 yard mark, and I was finally able to get rid of it at mile 4-ish. That was a relief. Stupid water belts, but I digress...

Today also marked the first time my nose ran faster than I did...Stupid sinuses, but I digress.