Run Down

It was sometime late in the afternoon.

A group of friends had gathered, eager to celebrate the day. The 5K we all raced had been over for hours. There were beer and brats, burgers, babies and stories of running glories and failures being passed around the room. I sat on the couch. Tired and full, I dozed in and out of consciousness, too much banana pudding for my own good. Somewhere between inflated high school track records and a speaker phone call to a distant friend, some advice was being handed out. The group, many of whom were newly ordained into the running world that morning by an exhaustive and hilly race around the Ballpark in Arlington, seemed eager to take it all in.

I struggled to keep my eyes opened, yet yearned to close them. My mind was cloudy, but the words rang clear.

"If you keep training the same way over and over, don't expect to get different results," a voice said.

I reflected on my time, how I ran, how I've been running. All routine. My times haven't been changing. It hasn't really gotten all that much easier. Last week's relay marathon made me think I was getting somewhere. A week of poor training and a tough run today made me feel like I was back at square one.

You can run 5K's every weekend, Michael, and maybe you'll get really good at that. Nothing else will change. Focus on the goal, the ultimate goal. The goal is not to squeak out a medal because there was less than three people in your age group.

This isn't about times, really. This isn't even just about running anymore. It about making a change in your life. About finally following through on something. It's about dedication. Self discipline. Principals you've marginally committed to but have yet to fully embrace. Are you really in this for the long haul?

Beach to Bay

I ran in my first marathon yesterday. Sort of.

Saturday was the Beach to Bay Relay Marathon, where teams of six runners complete a 26.2 mile course in 4 mile sections. The course goes from the beach on North Padre Island, across the causeway bridge to the mainland, through the naval base and up Ocean Drive to the Corpus Christi bayfront. I had the third leg. The leg nobody really wants to do. The bridge leg.

I totally conquered that bridge. Let's recap:

I was very apprehensive at first. I was a late addition to the team (one of about 5 teams from the Caller-Times), and I didn't expect to get much of a say in which leg I would run. I really didn't want the third leg, but as the date came closer I kept thinking how cool it would be run across the bridge. I lived on Padre Island for the first five or so months I lived in Corpus Christi, and I always looked forward to crossing that bridge. It was my time to focus, relax and take in the sights on the bay. It only lasted about 3 and a half minutes, but it was often my favorite part of the day. Why wouldn't I want to run across it?

Race day finally came and I was nervous. I was unsure how I was going to react to the incline of the bridge. My running has been fairly regular the last month, and I got a pretty good 4 mile run in Wednesday, making sure to include some steep hills into my route. I'm pretty bad with hills, and I was worried this would be the Capitol 10K all over again.

The logistics of the race also worried me. Even though I wouldn't run until about 8:30 a.m., I had to be up by 5:30 a.m. to make sure I at the parking lot in time to catch my shuttle.

With 1,705 teams, that meant 1,705 people at each hand off spot. At about 6:30 I boarded a packed bus that took us right across the bridge we would have to run over. The ride only added to the nerves and anticipation.

The hand off spot was slightly chaotic for a while, and it seemed like no one was in charge. Exactly how and where this hand off would occur was a bit of a mystery until some race volunteers finally started getting things in order. The good news was the weather was fantastic. Cloudy and cool, the high for the day would only be about 82.

Obviously I brought my camera along with me. I knew I would have a little down time, and I really wanted to play with the awesome new Nikon D300 I bought a couple weeks ago.

My plan was to bring the camera with me, and get some pre-race and early hand-off photos. When my teammate arrived to hand me the relay baton, I would hand her my camera bag and run my leg. This was on top of our team's pre-race hand off plan. All of us had our cell phones with us, and we were all suppose to call the person two legs ahead of us once we completed our race. So when the first guy finished the first leg, we would call me and let me know the second leg runner had started. That's when I would put away the camera and start my stretching and 'other' final preparations for the race.

The plan was flawless, so of course it failed miserably.

The race started at 7 a.m. When I didn't get a call by 8 a.m. I started getting worried. The first three legs are all 4.37 miles long, and I was told our first leg guy was the best on the team. Surely he would be done by now. I tried calling the second leg runner, Allison, but it turned out the number I had for her was not her cell phone, but her office number. Balls. I don't know why I didn't just call the first leg guy, Thomas. I'm sure at the time I had a good reason, something about not wanting to call if he was still actually running or trying to catch his breathe of something. He'll call eventually, I thought. Give him a few minutes to recoup, get some water, whatever, he'll call.

Meanwhile, I started in on the 'other' pre-race preparations and got into the bathroom line. A lot of third leggers had already taken off by this point. The lines were still long, but not as bad as earlier. I was literally next in line when my cell phone started ringing. The conversation went something like this:

"Michael, where are you?" a female voice huffed and puffed. It was Allison. I freaked out.

"Are you here already?" I asked, panicked and praying she would say she just started her leg and that Thomas was mute and without the use of his thumbs.

"Yes, where are you!" Oh my dear lord. Not only did I really have to pee, but I hadn't done any stretching or warm up at all. She continued, "I'm in the chute, I'll come to you, where are you at?"

In the bathroom.

"No I'll come to you!" I said. "Meet me at the front of the chute. I'll head that way." The port-o-potty door opened, I dashed in and out and made me way to the exchange area.

It was packed, people were lined up all around the chute with runners going in and out. Several had batons in the air screaming for their teammate. It was madness. I tried calling her back, but there was no answer. Get back, one volunteer barked as I entered the chute on my phone. I'm looking for my teammate, I barked back. I called again and again getting only voice mail until I finally spotted her.

"Michael Zamora!" she was screaming into the air, scanning the faces in the crowd and looking exhausted and frustrated. I hung up the phone, bumped into a runner, and ran over to her.

"Give me your camera, have a good run!" And with that, I was on my way.


I couldn't find any specifics, but the JFK causeway bridge is about 3 and half miles long. The first part rises high above the water before coming back down, leveling out to about 9 feet above the water for the remainder of the bridge.

Despite my lack of warm up, I felt good. The nerves faded and the chaotic excitement of the hand off was pushing me forward. I made my way around the exit ramp and up the bridge. I definitely felt the incline, but it was gradual and didn't feel as steep as I expected. Maybe I was just more prepared then I thought. I kind of wish I had a camera with me, but it wouldn't have really mattered. No picture could do justice to the experience. As the ground got further and further away and the music swelled on my mp3 player, I couldn't think of any other place or any other thing I'd rather be doing. I smiled like an idiot, head turning left and right to look over the bridge until I finally reached the peak.

"Its all down hill from here!" yelled a runner from her car as she drove past in the one open lane. She was right. Before the race, I was worried about how climbing the bridge would affect the rest of my run. I told myself not to get frustrated if you have to stop and walk at some point in the 4.37 mile route. But when I got to the peak and realized the hard part was over, I knew there was no stopping me.

Me (at right), with relay team member Allison (second from left), and Caller-Times
employees Tom (right), Holly (center) and Libby, who all ran on other teams.

In the end, I finished my 4.37 mile leg in about 45 minutes. Setting my stop watch was obviously not a priority at the exchange, so I based my time on my cell phone. My last call to Allison was at 8:28 a.m., and my first call right after I made the exchange was at 9:14 a.m. That call also came after a brief post-race celebration. I was so excited when I was done. I had a fun little pop song blaring in my ears, and I just needed to dance. So I did, which I'm sure horrified the other runners. I'm surprised a medic wasn't called in to help the runner having seizures. Good times.

OFFICIAL BEACH TO BAY RESULTS:
Team: Better Off Deadline
Chip time: 4:37:10.80
Place: 1099 (out of 1,705)

By the way, the bridge has its own theme music. This song came on randomly in my car one day and seemed to fit, so now I play it every time I cross the bridge. For months I heard it at least twice a day as I went to and from work. It only seemed fitting I run to it across the bridge. For the first mile (including the bridge peak) this is what I was listening to. Its an instrumental track from Sufjan Stevens. I always referred to it as "Out of Egypt," but I looked up the full name and found it to be quite appropriate


Out Of Egypt, Into The Great Laugh Of Mankind, And I Shake The Dirt From My Sandals As I Run.mp3

Late Results

A co-worker and fellow runner sent me this photo yesterday from this weekend's Wind and Water Open 5K. I didn't even know they were taking pictures at the finish. I really don't like photos of me running, but this is definitely an exception.Look how awesome I look as I dash across the finish line. Before I get a big head I should share the picture taken just before I crossed the finish, revealing a little girl and a middle-aged woman leaving me in their dust. That kid totally passed me by during the last stretch in the sand. I swear those little kids just show up to these races to embarrass me. I should have knocked her down. Anyway, here are the late results:

OFFICIAL EPIC 5K RESULTS:
Chip Time: 32 mins, 25.4 secs
Overall Position: 117th
Male Finishers: 61st
Age Group(25-29): 6th

love/HATE

I'm in love with the New Balance "LOVE/hate" campaign they've got going. The commercials are fantastic. While running is more a love/HATE relationship for me, I can identify with the theme. This one is my favorite:



Their newest one is also great.


After looking at a few of the spots on YouTube, I ran into an old Adidas commercial I'd almost forgotten about. The commercial came out around the time I first started running a few years. I was mesmerized by the stunning visuals under the direction of Spike Jones and the great little song by Yeah Yeah Yeahs lead singer Karen O. Its still a fantastic video.


I went out to go buy a pair only to find they were priced well over $100. Who buys shoes over $100? Oh, yeah, apparently I do.

31:32 (or, Slow and Steady)

As I laced up my shoes this morning for the CASA 5K, I realized something. I have a race scheduled for every weekend this month.

I had the CASA 5K today, followed by the Wind and Water Open next weekend. The Wind and Water Open is the "official warm-up run" to the Beach to Bay relay Marathon the weekend after, where I'll be running the third leg (about 4.3 miles) on a six-person team. I'll cap off the month with the American Heroes 5K run on Memorial Day in Arlington, Texas. I actually planned my week-long vacation around that last race.

Who is this person? Certainly not me.

Today's race was a milestone. I ran the entire distance without walking. That's huge. I think the changes to my running routine are paying off. I can run 3.5 miles without walking at a 9.5 minute-mile pace on the treadmill, but that doesn't translate to the streets. I've been starting off too fast in my outdoor races, making my pace sporadic and forcing me to walk and catch my breath.

Over the last month I've consciously been trying to slow my running down. I've left the treadmill behind, and I've focused less on time and more on a steady, comfortable pace.

Something else happened today too. I'm not sure how too describe it. For the first mile or so, things were not so bad. I don't want to say fun, because running is so not fun, right? It was an odd feeling. I think I'll attribute it to the new music I tried out on my run today. My favorite of the bunch is this quasi marching-band style remix of Feist's "I Feel It All." It's fantastic.



OFFICIAL CASA 5K RESULTS:
Chip Time: 31 mins, 32.9 secs
Overall Position: 157th
Male Finishers: 87th
Age Group(25-29): 5th
Pace: 10.09