Striders

The Houston Strider crowds are getting larger on Wednesday nights. Maybe everyone senses the start of marathon training in the air?

Today's run was from the aquatic center to the polo grounds while looping Memorial Park. I arrived at the park at 6:30 pm and assumed it would be a tough run due to the heat. Just sitting at the picnic table stretching, I was sweating. Oddly enough though, the heat disappeared after the first 1/2 mile. The majority of the run is in the shade, the humidity was relatively low, and the overall temperature was... ok. Not to bad for late June running weather in Houston, Texas.

The most remarkable thing about tonight's run was the people I met. Strider/HRB'er, Steve Bezner was in attendance. I have read and followed Steves blog for several months, so I feel like I know him... kind of. We have a few things in common, weight loss and running. Only time will tell if my success story will be as extreme as Steve's! I also met and ran with long time Strider Francisco. Hmmm, where to start? Well, here I go. If Francisco isn't a running coach, he should be. Francisco pushed my pace to a new level and he knew what to say and when to say it. He didn't talk about form or mechanics, rather he made comments like "Hold this pace and think about how great you will feel when you finish". Everything clicked tonight. I am still analyzing what the repeatable positive factors were. Francisco and I are similar in height, which made it appear (to me) that we were matching strides. Of course, I know he's a distinguished runner and he was slowing down to match MY STRIDE. I don't know how to write about tonight's run. Things seemed different, but better, way better than normal. The mental part of tonight's run was perfect. No negative thoughts, no concern for aches and pains, just running. I never asked for any help, yet Francisco knew exactly what I wanted to do. On the return trip from the Polo fields I was having problems holding the faster pace, but through his encouraging words I was able to finish the distance and feel great about it. This was one of those runs where I didn't want to stop. I'm not sure if he's out there reading this in cyber-world, but I want to express my appreciation for his time and effort to help a new runner. Francisco is a runner to model after! Someday, I hope to find my place as a runner and help people as he did for me today. It's been said before, but it is worth repeating, Strider Nation Rocks!

*Tonight's average pace was one second faster than my 10k PR!*

Activity: Group Run
Mileage: 5.76 miles
Time: 53:51 - 9:21 per mile pace
Splits:
9:33
9:34
9:22
9:42 - didn't stop my watch when walking over the RR tracks
9:08
6:32 (0.76 mile)
Location: Memorial Park
How I Felt: 10