Spindle Tree parkrun / Vintage Park New Year's Day Classic 5K Race Report

Happy New Year!

This is going to be an honest post, but not a negative one.

My weight is up, specifically in my midsection.  It's been up before and I have gotten it down.

I knew it, but David Reynolds' pictures today at the Vintage Park New Year's Day Classic 5K confirmed it.

Cameramen with excellent equipment captures much.

I'm just going to have to work to get it down; however, I need to do more then what I have been.

Back in the day, I used to blame it on how much announcing I was doing, but I can't that excuse anymore.

It is, however, how much time I'm spending in front of a computer working on private and parochial high school athletics stuff.

I had injured my knee in the summer of 2021 while trying to complete the Great Virtual Race Across Tennessee.

From April 25 to June 24, I ran or brisk walked 314.21 miles.  

I haven't been over 100 miles in any month since the June 25 - July 24, 2021 time reporting period.

I got close - 94.72 and 92.77 miles, respectively - this last spring and early summer (April 25 - June 24, 2022), but if I split last year (December 25 - December 24) into two halves there was a marked difference.

With just 675.74 miles running and brisk walking, 428.37 of those came in the first six months.

So, time to get busy.

I ran the Spindle Tree parkrun 5K on Saturday morning and the Vintage Park New Year's Day Classic 5K today.

The times weren't what I would have liked for them to be, but they are what they are.

My time in the Spindle Tree parkrun 5K was 35:19.93 with loop times of 11:18.36, 11:37.53, 11:45.80 and 38.24 on the final section.  The loops are just slightly over a mile long.

I ran the race five times this year and this is how they compare:

12/31/22 - Spindle Tree parkrun 5K (Magnolia, TX) - 35:19.93 // 11:18.36 - 11:37.53 - 11:45.80 - 38.24

06/04/22 - Spindle Tree parkrun 5K (Magnolia, TX) - 34:59.49 // 11:00.76 - 11:36.00 - 11:46.35 - 36.38

04/16/22 - Spindle Tree parkrun 5K (Magnolia, TX) - 33:57.07 // 10:35.59 - 11:06.23 - 11:41.37 - 34.68

02/12/22 - Spindle Tree parkrun 5K (Magnolia, TX) - 33:38.35 // 10:35.90 - 11:07.11 - 11:22.68 - 32.66

02/05/22 - Spindle Tree parkrun 5K (Magnolia, TX) - 32:51.71 // 10:22.14 - 10:58.55 - 10:58.75 - 32.27

Again, work to be done.

As I mentioned in my Facebook post, a special thank you to the volunteers, which included run director Catherine Green (coach Juris Green’s wife), Isobelle Hatrick (who spearheaded getting parkrun back going in The Woodlands) and Randall Ivins.

Catherine had told me that Juris was running with one of their daughters at the Texas Marathon's half marathon race.  I would miss seeing them, of course, but I asked for her to wish them well for me.

Great to see, of course, Vincent Attanucci and Alan Hedengren, who both ran.  They have run Spindle Tree 16 and 11 times, respectively.

I've done 19 career parkruns in nine different locations, and hope to, in my travels, run in different parkrun sites again.

People had commented that I should write a book about a lot of my experiences, but I certainly could on some of the drama that has taken place over the years in the running community.

What did I say above?  Positive, not negative, right?

I wasn't able to make Ron Stitt's race a year ago since I had worked the Texas Marathon in Kingwood since 2010 for Steve and Paula Boone.

Once they made a decision not to be lead on the event anymore (as they have transitioned it to the Knights of Columbus), it was an opportunity for me and Waverly to step back from our roles as race announcer and National Anthem singer.  We were recognized at last year's event and appreciated it.

Knowing that another race was started for New Year's Day a number of months ago, I reached out to Ron to see how his numbers were.

We had a good conversation, as always, and as a result, I decided to go out and run today as a show of support to Ron and his team.

I arrived on-site around 7:45 a.m., went inside Fleet Feet Sports to get my packet (but not without seeing Daniel Braden) and Lina Fuentes was working it - from Willie's The Woodlands Marathon team, but Becky Nesbitt was there too.  

I got a great first hug of the New Year from her.

Shortly thereafter I saw Bill Dwyer and Ron, Josh Rivas and David Reynolds, the race photographer.  (I offered him money, in jest, not to take pictures of me as I knew they probably wouldn't look great.)

Paolo Biagi and Tammy Grado, from Bill's Volte Endurance Training group got there, and I think Tammy was surprised I was running.  So was I!

I went down and said "Hello!" to Donnie Artley, who was timing the race for Run Houston Timing.

And then prior to the race starting, I saw Nora Wilson, Dee Akers and Steve Sievert and was intentional in going and saying Hi! to each one of them.

The race started and things went OK.  The weight and how it is positioned on my body keeps me from going more than about three quarters of a mile without needing to walk, going 60 steps before running again.  I've accepted that that is the way that it is going to be until I can work it off again.

Becky was manning the intersection directing runners and I engaged with her coming and going.

I also saw Dave Rainey, who's a unknown legend in our running and triathlon communities here in the greater Houston area, as I finished.

My time was 35:42.45 with splits of 10:46.63, 11:28.84, 11:53.07 and 1:33.91.

The last tenth of a mile seemed off.  I asked Tammy and she had 3.15 miles and said that she tried to run every tangent and there weren't many to run.

If you adjust the time for the extra .05 miles, it would make the time 35:13, which would be in line with Saturday's effort.

Waiting for the awards, I saw Dawn English, who competed at Ironman Hawaii this past October.  She was the overall women's winner for the females.  Tammy had won the masters division.

Later in the day, I hung out with Bill at The Woodlands Running Club Sunday Night 5K that he hosts the first Sunday of every month.

Ken Johnson and Curtis Barton were the only two who had come out.

More next month, I suppose.

For me?  I'll try to find something to run next Saturday, depending upon where I'm going to catch some basketball games at.

I already have a race in College Station that's a target for Saturday, January 14.

Appreciate your support, friendship and interest.