Thanks for the Great Race!

I can't begin to tell you how blessed I feel that we have this team of runners which has such a great time doing the TIR. Maeve, who could be on any number of faster teams, likes our non-competitive nature. Yet we all know there is a racing streak in each of us. I love the way Jonathan leaves it all out on the course, and his dad too. Thank you, Steve, for waiting until race weekend for the ultimate stress test of your healing heel. How about Holly? Most improved! I think Holly and the rest of us all took to heart what was required to meet our goal of sub 30 hours. I figured the greatest improvement in pace had to come from us mid-packers, but was amazed to see even Alan, Maeve and Jonathan tightening up their lines. And thanks to the newcomers Arturo and David, who learned on the job how this works. It was great having your contributions!

Thanks to Liz (let it go, that you got turned around on the trail, in the dark; you're one of our most reliable runners and this team would not be complete without you), to Dorian and Fred, to Marie. I think it was only Dorian and I who saw Fred come in racing another runner, spilling his guts in the spirit of team and competition. Wow! And then to see everyone with such a good spirit of sportsmanship, congratulating the runners around them, both from our team and others. I think we've got it right in terms of chemistry and I'm counting on all of you being back next year. Imagine it: a little over three years ago, few of us knew each other and now we have friendships which come into full blossom each time we reconvene. I hope that is as meaningful to you as it is to me.

Brenda, the Wrunner Wrangler, thank you for all you do for the team. You might not log even a mile, but this team would be lost without you. I know I wouldn't have the time to manage the details like you do and I'm not sure I would have your patience when your brother keeps asking you to do the impossible. "Let's just look at one more rotation," I say. You say "no mas" and then you surprise me with the next solution.

And bless everyone for the tough assignments so well accomplished. Most of you knew we were battling several sets of special scheduling needs and everyone took their leg assignments mostly without a whimper. This is a tough process and Brenda and I both thank you for rolling with the sometimes unconventional punches. Believe us when we say it was the only way and that it was all for the good of the team. Thank goodness for Fred's well made argument for the Sealy motel stopover and for the fact Fred, Dorian, Maeve, Jon and Marie were willing to double up on some legs within one active cycle of each van. This beyond the call of duty was what enabled it all to fall into place. Now, next year let's hope there will be fewer hoops we have to jump through. It would be great to have everyone with us from start to finish, though I have a feeling Maeve's track meet will probably always be something we will just have to live with. Thank you, Maeve, for the compressed 4 legs you ran for the team.

It was all worth it. We realized our sub 30 hour goal with a finish of 29 hours, 42 minutes, 48 seconds. That's an 8:48 pace. Congratulations to everyone for a weekend well run.

BTW.....I will be calculating our total expenses over the next several days and will communicate the final divisions by week's end. Oh! Also check out the post I wrote to my iExerciseRadio blog. Click on the link on the right side, or browse to iexerciseradio.blogspot.com.

Doubling Up

In the previous post, Brenda mentioned some runners having to double up within a van cycle, i.e. run a leg, rest while the rest of your van-mates run, then run another leg before getting the more substantial rest afforded when your van goes inactive. Those of us who are veterans of the TIR know this is just a variant on what we are already doing, that is running three, or even four, times within a 30 hour span. The up side of Fred and Dorian pulling two legs within one active phase of van 1, and of Jon and Maeve doing the same later in van 2, is that you get that lift of knowing you're halfway done. In fact, as things work out, you are at that point 3 quarters of the way home - only one more leg to go. I won't sugarcoat it any beyond that. The bottom line is that our quartet of Fred, Dorian, Jon and Maeve who are pulling 4 legs each are allowing the rest of us to invest a bit more into our lesser mileage spread over 3 legs. Actually, when you look at the grand totals, the triple leggers in some cases are the mileage masters. Liz will log 20.63 miles and Arturo 18.85. What this tells me is that every runner on the team is making a substantial contribution. Your captain wants to thank you all.

They say "the road to Hell is paved with good intentions" and I have had the best of intentions these past weeks of running some daily doubles in order to emulate the field experience of the TIR. I should have done it last week, but only on Wednesday did I finally do a double. It actually felt pretty good to log a 4 miler in the morning and then a 7 miler late in the evening. I will strive for another 5 miler Thursday morning, testing my anticipated mileage of 16.87 this weekend. I'll take Friday off. I know we all have our methods of preparation, modified by the realities of jobs and other obligations, but I doubt any of us runs as varied a schedule as Arturo, who works for Mexicana Airlines. He recently gave me a glimpse of his routine (which I imagine is anything BUT routine), saying he would be in Mexico City, running at altitude, and a few days later in Vancouver, I assume running through the crowds of the Olympics' final weekend.

I look forward to this reunion of our band of runners and the opportunity to renew friendships while cultivating new friends. Happy running and see you all in Gonzales for the big weekend.

Meet Y'all At The Hotel

The hotel reservations in Gonzales are at the Sleep Inn and Suites. The address is:

Sleep Inn & Suites (TXA93)

2138 Water Street, Gonzales, TX, US, 78629

* Phone: (830) 672-1888
* Fax: (830) 672-1884

This is on the North side of town.

See y'all on Friday Night!

Are you Ready?

The race notebooks are completed, I have a few van decorations done and I am trying to get a few extra zzz's before Friday. Not having much luck with the last item, but looking forward to another driving marathon.

When you see the van driving/assignments, it will look like Van 2 is taking a leisurely drive through the countryside. Although Van 2 does have it kind of light the first day, the new "thought" behind the hotel stopover in Sealy, TX has both vans testing their runners. This will be the first time that we have assigned some runners to run two legs without the van having downtime. This doesn't mean back to back legs, but it will definitely test endurance. For example, when Van 1 goes active at 6:00 pm on Saturday evening, it will do a haul of 8 legs. With only six runners in the van, that means that two "unlucky" runners will be running two legs. That falls on Dorian and Fred, the younger of the Van 1 bunch. This 8 leg stint is what will give van 2 the rest they need for their long haul, which starts after midnight on Sunday. Van 2 will be short a runner or so, but they also have a few younger legs than Van 1. The task of running two legs without the van going into a "rest" falls on Jonathon and Maeve. Of course, this gives Van 1 some needed downtime and rest. Whew!

All I can say is: Power to the runners! Y'all will need it.

See y'all on Friday!

TIR Rules Against iPods

Our individual attitudes towards running with or without ipods varies. I, for one, almost always run with tunes channeled into my ears. Of course, for training it is a moot point whether we do or don't as long as we remain alert to what is going on around us. Race policies vary while the reasoning for ipod bans are also varied. Generally I hear from race directors that it is an insurance issue, though I've never bought fully into that since we almost always sign a waiver relieving the race sponsors of any liability. More certainly, the various overseers of our sports of running, cycling, swimming and triathlon come down consistently against the use of ipods, iphones, portable radios, etc. during races. Some contend that these give competitors unfair advantage, though I have failed to find that particular power song which will enable me to run a 2:30 marathon. Given the popularity of ipods and the recent innovation of Nike+iPod systems, many race directors simply look the other way. Such is not the case of the TIR. As we learned the first year when we were supposedly penalized for Denise's ipod infraction (I don't think that penalty was ever officially assessed), the TIR seems serious about using ipod police to enforce their rules. For your information, here is the official notice which was sent out to team captains. I would encourage all racers to become familiar with the ipod rules as well as the other rules of the race. Thank you.

Here are the rules of the event. Please convey them to your team. We've received clear and ample feedback suggesting that we handle the enforcement of the rule prohibiting running with Ipods differently. So, this year, we will be implementing a "3 strike" approach. There will be an Ipod SWAT team roving the course. When they see someone wearing headphones, they will stop the runner, confiscate the device (which will be reunited with its owner at the finish), and the Team Captain will be called to be informed of the violation. The consequences of the second infraction will be the same, except this time a 60-minute time penalty will be added to the team's final time. The "3rd strike" will result in the team's disqualification. Please make sure that your team is well aware of all the rules and how Ipods will be handled.

Less Than One Week

OK runners. We're getting close, probably not a bad time to begin anticipating the weather we might encounter on race weekend. For now the extended forecast varies only slightly from Gonzales, in the west, to Houston, to the east. It looks like running temperatures ranging from mid 50s to lower 70s. Rain seems to be a possibility, though only ranging from 30% in the west to 20% as we get nearer to Houston. Let's hope winds will not be a factor.

Whether it rains, or not, it's probably a good idea for us each to pack a second pair of shoes. Of course, a spare pair of socks, or two, is always a good idea too. Everyone will want to bring a change of running clothes. We will hope the Saturday night stopover motel will have plenty of hot water for showers. Brenda has already requested extra towels.

Everyone will be responsible for their own special clothing needs. If you don't think it'll rain on you, don't bring rain gear. I doubt the weather will require any cold weather garments, though I am sure we are all pretty good at making sure we've got layers. Like last year, everyone will get a long-sleeved team shirt. This is not something most would want to run very far in, but a lot of our runners put them to good use last year as a pullover after running night time legs. I encourage everyone to run with a hat and to use sunscreen when appropriate. We should have plenty of reflective vests for night legs, but if you have a system you use at home go ahead and bring it. I will try to have an assortment of head lamps and flashlights for the night hours.

As the week ahead revs up and speeds along, let's communicate with each other our travel plans so we know when everyone is getting into Gonzales. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone; hopefully we will all arrive at a time when we can go for a bite to eat. I have just assumed there's little interest in the Friday night dinner and bash the TIR is throwing. If I have misjudged this, let me know and we can make some reservations for whomever is interested.

Leg Assignments and Mileage Summaries

It's finally here. I am assuming David Horne is going to join us. Everything seems promising. Thus, here are the leg assignments. I am blacking out phone numbers and email addresses, but am leaving sizing information on shirts and socks. Please check the sizing info for accuracy. Click on the chart for a better resolution. Thanks.


Here you can check your total mileage and some estimations based upon my best guess on your 10K times.

Texas Independence Relay Updates

Texas Independence Relay Updates

2010 Shirt

Our slogan this year of "What'cha Got Left?" is part of the design of our 2010 shirts. This will appear on the back of the shirt:

T minus 4 Weeks

Although we are still scrambling for our 12th runner, details are now beginning to fall into place. I have heard from Steve that he is logging miles, still cautiously but also with a degree of optimism. Also, we are nearing a rotation scheme which will allow for the special needs of several of our runners. Thanks to all who have responded to my request for feedback. This is invaluable in properly planning the logistics.

Starting Line Song
This is something new for this year as Jay and Joy Hilscher continue to finesse the TIR. The first two years they simply blasted out a somewhat random handful of starting line songs, along with randomly calculated firing of the cannon. (I thought I had gotten a pretty good recording of the cannon blast last year, only to find the level was too high. I'll try again this year.) For the 2010 running, we have been invited to request a specific song for our race start. I have asked for comments and suggestions regarding an appropriate song for the Mid-Texas Symphony team and am only now getting some feedback. Here are some ideas:

Bruce Springsteen: Born to Run
Asleep At the Wheel: Miles and Miles of Texas
Bee Gees: Stayin' Alive
Rimsky-Korsakov: Procession of the Nobles
Saint-Saens: Bacchanale from Samson and Delilah
Sousa: Daughters of Texas
Beatles: Sgt. Pepper
Ginastera: Malambo (Danza Final) from Estancia

Please vote at the poll on the right side ----->

Recent Race Results

Not even considering anyone's training mileage, members of the Mid-Texas Symphony running team logged some pretty good race mileage over the past couple of weekends, totalling 78.6 miles. Dorian and Fred Ramirez both ran the Chevron Houston Marathon on January 17th, while Liz Pittel and James Baker ran the 3M Half Marathon in Austin on January 24th. Fred ran a 4:32:17 in Houston, while Dorian turned in 4:53:36. In Austin, on a rather windy early morning, Liz ran 2:06:18 and I ran a PR of 2:08:51. I'm letting my sneakers cool off for a day or two before getting after it again with the TIR now less than 6 weeks away. I hope everyone's training is going well and I look forward as always to our team experience on the roads of Texas.

We are still short one runner, preferably a female to maintain our 50/50 balance. Any leads would be much appreciated. I am also giving consideration to this year's team shirt. Anyone want to nominate a favorite color? My plan for a 2010 slogan is based on that spectacular sprint finish which Alan turned in on his final leg of last year's race. "What'cha got left?"

The topic of training for the TIR has been discussed previously and I believe we could conclude a consensus that integrating multiple daily runs into our overall regimen is invaluable. I never get around to doing this as much as I intend, but with still a pretty good lead time we all might consider setting aside a day or so each week for two 4 or 5 mile runs. This, of course, will give you a feel for the race weekend experience of running 3 or 4 legs within a (less than) 30 hour span. Hmm....maybe we should also carry our smelly running clothes around in the car as preparation for the 6 sweaty runners in a car experience of race weekend.

Brenda the Wrunner Wrangler has mapped out preliminary leg assignments which I will publish here in a few days. We are also still looking at reserving a few motel rooms along the route which the team can use for mid-race showers and a short napping period. Brenda predicts there would be a potential 6 hours down time per van, focusing the rest area in Sealy. I think this is probably a very good solution which will allow us to avoid the congestion of the gymnasium experience, but I would love to get some feedback. Thanks.

All for now.

Please Welcome Arturo Aldama

I just received an email confirmation from Arturo Aldama that he will be joining our team for the upcoming TIR. That is great news! Arturo is a very good runner and also has a great enthusiasm for classical music. Please join me in welcoming Arturo to the Mid-Texas Symphony running team.

This still leaves us one runner short in replacing Brian and Denise. Holly's sister will not be able to run with us, so let's all continue to seek one more female runner. I have sent an email appeal to Shelly Campbell, an accomplished triathlete and important coach in the region. It would be great if Shelly would run with us - we could all learn so much - but I'll be happy as well if she can recommend a good runner for us. In the meanwhile I encourage each of you to check around and see if you might help find our 12th runner.

I ran a 6 miler last week in the rain, partly because I had been a couple of days on the road and was antsy to pound some pavement, but also to explore the remote possiblity we might run out of the dry running we've had so far with the TIR. I don't really own any wet weather running gear, but I found an old windbreaker I bought many years ago which proved serviceable. Under the windbreaker I wore a couple of layers of good wicking t-shirts, a long sleeve worn over a short sleeve. My cotton sweat pants are far from state of the art, but they functioned. It was socks which proved to be my best tool. Puddles were frequent and deep. There was no avoiding getting my feet wet. But the socks, the nice Sock Guy socks which the TIR passed out in the first year, proved to be extremely effective at wicking moisture away from my feet. My Nikes also did a pretty good job of shedding water on the run. The point of all this, of course, is a reminder that come race weekend we should always keep an eye to the weather and, if necessary, pack several pairs of good wicking socks and maybe even a spare pair of shoes.

Continued happy running all. I am off to Austin this weekend to run the 3M Half Marathon. Liz will be there too. It's a great course and the 3M goody bag is still very generous. Wish us luck and good weather.

Oh yeah! We are all still cheering the good news from Steve that he is once again allowed to extend his distance and the agressiveness of his workouts. Take that(!) Achilles tendon.

2 Months to TIR 2010

I got my first poke of the season from Jay and Joy Hilscher, race directors of TIR, reminding team captains that this year's event is 8 weeks away. Let's all make certain we have our calendars marked. The 2010 TIR is the weekend of March 6-7. As with last year, I would like to make this blog our principal point of communication, though I will continue to send out emails to remind everyone of the essentials, but mostly to nudge you to browse over to this blog for the fullest updates.

As you all recall (I sent out an email when I got the news), Brian and Denise Renaghan have relocated to Germany. In fact, I got an email just the other day from Denise saying Brian is training to run the Rome Marathon. Good luck to Brian. The bottom line here is that we need to fill those two vacancies in our roster. Holly's sister is interested, though not confirmed. I am courting a San Antonio runner to join our little band and he is interested but, like Holly's sister, has not yet cleared his calendar so he can make a firm commitment. Arturo Aldama is from Mexico, where there is a great running tradition. He lives here in San Antonio, works for Mexicana Airlines and is an experienced marathoner. Arturo is not a musician but he's an avid fan of classical music. Let's cross our fingers that both he and Holly's sister can join us for this year's race.

Now would be the time to let me know if any of you are uncertain of your own availability. Steve has been rehabbing his sore Achilles. Let's all cross our fingers that he will have his mileage up by early March. Just let me know, Steve, and we can adjust your mileage to suit your situation. And Maeve, can you let me know if we will need to bend our runner rotation to accomodate your schedule, as we did last year? I can't tell you how important it is to me that we keep the team together. I also think carrying the full complement of 12 runners works to our advantage.

Here's the roster I am counting on for 2010:

Liz Pittel

Dorian Ramirez

Fred Ramirez

Steve Hager

Jon Hager

James Baker

Holly Murphy-Brackin

Marie Pekarik

Alan Pekarik

Maeve Goetz

????Holly's sister????

????Arturo Aldama????

Last year we went with runner/drivers, but this year Brenda, the Wrunner Wrangler, is hoping to be back on the physical scene as driver of Van I. How about Van II? Alan, are you cool with the same arrangement as last year? You rented a van in Houston and I rented a van in SA. Of course, with Brenda back with us (and if you choose to have a dedicated driver for Van II) I will need to shop for the next size up van. Last year's vans carried a driver and 5 passengers fine, but I'm not sure they would work for 7 total.

Something new I am proposing for this year is that we procure a couple of motel rooms which we would use as a place to stop for showers and naps Saturday night. This would be instead of using the gymnasium at Wallis. I need a show of hands from those who would like me to seriously explore this option. I have talked to a runner from another team who reports the motel room option as their preference. If we decide to go forward with this logistical adjustment I will ask Brenda to determine what our options might be and how we can make the best use of this logistically. This will push our individual costs slightly higher but I believe it might well be worth it.

Finally, I believe Brenda has already made some motel reservations in Gonzales for Friday night, March 5. Brenda, can you confirm that?

OH! One more thing. The starting line organizers are inviting teams to specify a particular song or piece of music to be played when the team starts on Saturday. Consider the floor open for nominations for team song.

Happy running, everyone. I know we've got ahead of us 3 M Half Marathon and the Houston Marathon. Good luck to all of us with races between now and the TIR.

Pace Comparisons

This is just what I played with over the weekend.

Enjoy!

Beach to Bay 2009

<-Fred at the finish!

Yesterday, May 16, was Armed Forces Day, a clear indicator that there was yet another running of the Beach to Bay Relay Marathon in Corpus Christi, Texas, and there was, and Team Mid-Texas Symphony was there. It was the fourth time we have run this relay, the 34th running overall for what is now regarded as the largest running relay in the country.

It was back in 2006 that we first fielded a team of runners from the Mid-Texas Symphony. At that time, none of us had any experience running relays. In fact, none of us was at all convinced that this team thing was going to amount to anything. To our delight and surprise, we had a great time, learning lessons we hadn't anticipated about teamwork and the thrill of succeeding as a group. To varied degrees, we each still devote a lot of our energies to the individual 10Ks, half-marathons, marathons and triathlons. But since that first team experience in 2006 we have always relished the relay opportunities - the Beach to Bays and the Texas Independence Relays. If you have never run as part of a team, take it from us that you ought to give it a try.
(Fred, Liz, me, Zenna and Tony)

Each year we have run the B2B there have been slightly different personnel. Runners move away, runners aren't free or, in the case of this year, runners sustain injuries in their training. The core of our Mid-Texas Symphony team, those of us who have run all four, is Yours Truly (James Baker) and Liz Pittel. I also give credit to my sister Brenda Jackson, who has been our designated Wrunner Wrangler over the 4 years of B2B. This year's reconfiguration began with replacing Dorian Ramirez, who was running on a hot and fast women's masters team. I asked my step-daughter Zenna James if she would run with us and she said yes. Next came the misfortune of an Achilles tendon injury to Steve Hager (get well soon, Steve). This gave me the opportunity to call on Tony Hinojosa, Zenna's boyfriend. Tony and Zenna are a couple of great young people. They work as hard or harder than anyone I know going to school and holding down full time jobs at a restaurant. No wonder they have a little trouble carving out time to run. We all know how important it was early on as runners to get encouragement from already motivated runners. I am thankful for the help I have gotten and I see the encouragement I offer to Zenna and Tony as paying back, or maybe even paying forward. Glad you guys had a good time with B2B and I hope it's the nudge you need to keep running. This is a life investment we are making; besides, it's fun.


(Tony, Zenna and me)

Finally, Jonathon Hager, our fastest runner, wrote and told me he couldn't get off to run with us in Corpus. Thanks to Dorian, I was put in touch with Jennifer Hilliard, a Corpus runner. Thanks to Jennifer, I was put in touch with Carina Duffy, from San Antonio, who was looking for a team. She was a perfect fit. Thanks to everyone who helped me fill that final slot on the team and thanks to everyone who ultimately ran with us.

I love this race. There are fast runners, slow runners, in between runners, in all shapes and sizes. The race has grown in popularity such that this year there were almost 2000 teams. Of these, 1851 teams finished. We have always run in the Odds and Ends category, meaning we have 6 runners (age and sex are meaningless). There has always been such variation in our ages that we don't qualify as a masters team although we are usually majority over 40 years of age. This year we could have run as a mixed team (3 women, 3 men) but it seemed easier to just stay put in Odds and Ends. That division contained 784 teams this year; we finished in 114th place with a time of 4:07:50, putting us in the upper 17% of our division. We were 451st overall. Not bad, considering that the day was hot and super humid. Almost everyone I talked to remarked on how tough the conditions were. But as I say, I like this race, and one of the things I like a lot about it is that runners come to have a good time. They don't let the conditions sour them on the experience. That is certainly reflected by one runner I talked to. As I rode in the back of a pickup truck from the end of my leg 2 to the Flour Bluff parking lot (the official buses were a bit overburdened) the half dozen runners compared notes on how many times they had run B2B. There was a newbie and then others like me who were still relative newcomers. Not so one gentleman who said this one was his 24th, testament to the sustained lure of B2B. I'm 60 now, but I sure hope I can give that gentleman a run for his money. Let's see, Good Lord willing, I will run my 24th B2B when I am 80. How about it, Zenna, Tony, Fred, Liz? Let's keep this team running long and strong.