2020 Weekend 2 Racing in College Station and Temple

After opening the 2020 year by running the half marathon at the Texas Marathon in Kingwood on New Year's Day and then not running a race the following weekend (as Waverly and I traveled to Fort Worth), I had the chance to get back to running races this past weekend.

Two were available logistically to me; therefore, I ran two.

My first plan was to go to Keller - in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex - to run the new parkrun 5K that was started there about three months ago. 

It was a 9 a.m. start and I could leave Spring at 4 a.m. and get there in plenty of time.

However, during the week, I saw that the Martin's Mill girls basketball team, which is located just north of Canton in east Texas, has more than a 100-game winning streak going and they were scheduled to play at home on Friday night at 6:15 p.m.

So I considered going there and then driving into the Metroplex and spending the night there.

One thing, though, was for certain:  there was a 2 p.m. 5K and 10K in Temple that was put on by the City of Temple's Parks and Recreation Department and I planned to be there for it.

The first double of 2020.

As you'll remember, a line of weather, which eventually took 11 lives across the country this past Friday through Sunday, made its way through the greater Houston area and up into the Metroplex and east Texas.

The system, which was mild Friday night in our area, ended up producing snow in DFW and at first I saw a notice cancelling the Keller parkrun, but I noticed in the 24-48 hours to follow that they had indeed run the free weekly race.

Nonetheless, I decided to heed the best weather warnings and chose to stay at home, but I had found an alternative -- and there were many.

I could have done two 10Ks, stayed at home and run a race that I had been expected to announce - the Choco Loco 10K, but there's not much more in life that I hate than running on Allen Parkway (and paying to do so!)

My travels took me to College Station to take part of the third annual Thin Mint Sprint 5K, which was put one by some local Girl Scouts in the Brazos Valley area, hosted by American Momentum Bank and run in a nearby neighborhood.

The entry fee was either $30 or $35, which netted me another tech shirt, but I quickly retreated to my car as the relatively balmy weather in Spring had turned to cold and blustery in College Station.  (Reminiscent of the 2015 edition of Texas 10 College Station.)

It was great to know that Race Day Event Services, out of Hamilton, was timing the race.  Kate Denning and her husband (I really need to learn his name) make up that company and I've said many times that one of the best things that they do as timers is that they promote the races they time through the use of a semi-regular e-mail.  As a result of that e-mail, I have run races in many new cities in Texas - which are close to them and not to me!

We were a minute or two off the mark as the finishers in the 1K delayed things a little bit, but Kate got us off to a quick start (and am assuming they did a National Anthem before the kids race).

The start of the race directed you right at the tall American Momentum Bank building and around the circle drive to the left.  A left turn at 3 p.m. and then a right took us across University Drive on our way to a winding trail that got us out to a park where the half way point was.

This was a fairly simple and almost out and back course.

The cool temperatures and the brisk wind definitely encouraged you to keep moving and it paid off.  Plus, the cold weather - for me - seems to give me the opportunity to uptake oxygen as quick as ever.

When we made the return back onto the grounds of the back and before we started around the circle to the finish, I passed a guy that had a Santa Hustle (the race in Galveston) hoodie on.

I remembered encouraging him as I passed him, but I think the encouragement caused him to pick up his pace a bit and quite frankly, I was concerned that he might pass me.

When I got to the bottom half of the circle and could see that the clock had just turned to 29 minutes (I had a little offset time from when the gun went off until I crossed the start line), I knew that I was going to have a pretty good time.

29:15 and second place in my 50-59 age group, out of 11 finishers.

I didn't stay for the awards as 1.) it was cold and 2.) I wanted to get breakfast since I was heading to Temple to run a 10K at 2 p.m.

I spoke a little bit to Kate and she told me that the race that I did in Dublin in June might be looking for an announcer.  I have to get her a quote.  It's a small race.  I may do it as I really enjoy being around her and her husband and how they manage and time a race.

I got a great breakfast recommendation from David Fuller, one of my cohorts in the Lone Star Christian Sports Network (LSCSN).  He gave me a few, but I chose Stella Southern Cafe in College Station.

I had the full order of Bananas Foster and it was really, really good.  They got the food out pretty quick because they have limited seating so I can imagine their goal is to turn the tables as quickly as they can without giving folks a bum's rush.  I wanted to get on the road; therefore, I helped their cause in a nice way.

Off to Temple it was and I got to the race site on the far west side of the city early for the Arches Resolution 10K -- so early that they were starting to set the start/finish area up.

The start and finish location are on the west campus of Baylor Scott and White Medical Center and includes a portion of the Pepper Creek Trail before heading onto some sidewalks further north and west of the hospital.

The race was produced by the City of Temple's Parks and Recreation Department and they always do a pretty good job as I ran their half marathon a couple of times that they used to produce in December.

After registering I went back to my car until about 10-15 minutes before the start. 

I then saw and chatted a bit with Andrew Wolfe with PhotoWolfe.com - a really good photographer in the central part of the state.

Right before the start, I realized that I forgot my gloves in the car and as I was running to it or back from it, the gun went off.

I started about 35-40 seconds behind the leaders, but quickly worked my way into place as quick as I could as we went straight and then made a right and a left to get to a connector path that put us on the Pepper Creek Trail.

We took a right and went all the way north, I believe, to Hilliard where we took a left to go further west, but when we went right again to go north, this is where I realized that we would race on some pathways that I hadn't before.

And that it was going to be hilly compared to Saturday morning's race -- or rather some long inclines.

I quickly got into oxygen debt in these stretches, running too fast to maintain a steady pace and then having to back off to walk, repeatedly.

I made the turnaround in 29:52 and the return in 30:04, which gave me a sub-one hour 10K of 59:56 as long as the distance was accurate. 

It felt it, but you just never know as there were no mile markers to even get a feel for things.

However, as I checked in the early part of this week (as I'm finishing writing this on Friday), it mapped by following the streets on mapmyrun.com as 6.16 miles.

I followed the race up with seeing a basketball game in my 73rd college gymnasium or arena in Texas as I watched Temple College defeat visiting Weatherford College before driving back to Spring.

All in all, it was a good day trip that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Question is:  Who wants to come along for the next one?  :-)