Holiday Hustle 8K (Plano, TX) Race Report

When I started to run, I had a website, walksports.com, that I kept up with my times and then I started a blog.

It became pretty well followed and opened the door for me to eventually write for Texas Runner and Triathlete.

I’ve gotten away from the simple race (or event) report over the last couple of years; therefore, I’ll get back to my roots and discuss this morning’s race in Plano.

It was a race in my 153rd Texas city, town or census designated place and 328th community in north America.

It also became the 206th Texas city, town or CDP that I’ve put down a mile or more in.  I may chase some more today.  We’ll see when I’m done writing this, get cleaned up and checked out of my hotel here in Plano.

I had targeted the Holiday Hustle 8K, produced by the Plano Pacers Running Club and held in Bob Woodruff Park, as part of a holiday trip between Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.

Wednesday, I ran a mile-plus in five new Texas counties, taking my count to 116, and spent the last two days covering Texas private and parochial high school basketball games in Tyler and Fort Worth for the Lone Star Christian Sports Network (lscsn.com).

If I don’t chase miles today, I’m probably going to head to Ruston, Louisiana to see Louisiana Tech host University of Southern Mississippi in men’s basketball to see a game in a new arena.

I could see two good games in Stephenville, Texas, but I’ve been to the arena at Tarleton State.

Again, we’ll see.

I’ve known about the Plano Pacers Running Club since I started running in 2003.  It is one of the largest clubs in the D-FW Metroplex along with the Dallas Running Club.

They produce a monthly club run that is open to non-club members, who are charged a $10 fee.

For that, you get a well laid-out and marked course, the race is timed and there are food goodies after you finish.  (There might be awards, but I didn’t stay this morning.)

In fact, one of Texas’ course measurers Ken Ashby sets out their course so I have it on good belief that it is/was accurate from a distance standpoint.  And I hope it is/was, because I ran well.

What happens when you commit to improving your health and you drop some weight.

It was cold and windy this morning and the only negative was that the race didn’t start at 8 a.m. (i.e. on-time), but the spirit provided by club members was excellent to mitigate most of it.

You do a loop in the parking lot and then it is almost a complete out and back on the trails and sidewalks that run through and along the park.

The 8K and the 3K start together and when you get a little way in and around the lake in the park, the 3K runners turn around and head back to the finish line while the 8K runners keep going.

One of the Dallas’ best all-time veterans runners, Linda Kelly, was at the 3K turn around.  She and Ken are both Texas running legends.

I tried to not go out too hard and fast and I passed the mile one marker in 9:25.

I’ve done that a lot over the years, regardless of my weight, but now I can hold it.

There weren’t a lot of curves in the first mile, but in the second there were and knowing that Ken laid the course out I ran as many of the tangents as I could. 

I might not be fast, but I know how best to run a legal course.

Mile two came in at 9:35 for a cumulative 19:00.38 – 9:30 per mile.

The third mile included a turnaround and a long, slight incline.  The turnaround was about two-thirds of a mile in according to the pre-race instruction. 

There was also a water stop in this mile – and the beginning of the fourth mile – that you could partake of twice.  I did going out.

I remember seeing 6:25 in mile three at that turnaround, but finished at 9:33.11 for the third mile (cumulative 28:33.49).

With 1.97 miles to go (remember an 8K is not five miles exactly), I would have been perfectly pleased with a 47:30.

However, I passed a young woman around Waverly’s age or a little older and a guy who had passed me at the water stop going out.

Then came a little downhill and I started to work some.

I really didn’t think I was going faster, but everything started to feel like I was running in quick sand towards the end.

There was no mile four marker for some reason – although I suspect it might have been on the 3K turnaround sign (and was picked up), but a guy passed me – who must have been sandbagging – coming back around the lake.

Nonetheless, I kept pushing through what I was feeling and when I could see the clock for the first time I was treated to a little bit of a surprise.

It turns out that the 1.97 miles came in at 18:01.48 for a total time of 46:34.97.  Call it 46:35.

Was it a PR today?  Possibly.

In 2013, I ran the Run Free Texas 80’s 8K in Cedar Park, which was a little hilly, in 48:02.

In 2017, I ran the Law Week 8K in 49:21.

On February 19, 2005, I did the Hermann Park Conservancy Park to Park Run 5-miler in 47:06.7.

So maybe it was a PR today.

Nonetheless, I’m most pleased that I ran well.  Sure, the conditions were in my favor:  cold (and I could have done without the wind, but it wasn’t that bad.)

I ran in shorts, had two tech shirts on (one of my old Space City 10-miler white shirts with the newest Waco Stampede 10K grey tech shirt on top from this year’s race) and my black gloves from last year’s Bismarck Marathon.

Hope you enjoyed the write-up.

Stay active, have fun, find a race that you enjoy and run it and when you can, please volunteer for one or more.  You’ll be glad that you did.

Happy New Year!