Hope you've had a great weekend.
As I talked about last week, as I get older and have a little bit more time on my hands, the idea of what I'd like to do and what my body will reasonably allow for me to do are two different things.
If you've followed my Facebook page at all, you know that I enjoy seeing new ballparks, stadiums and arenas. Primarily minor league baseball and collegiate facilities.
There were a couple of opportunities this past weekend, but they each included a long drive and making some logistics work that would have pushed limits a little bit.
Saturday was the last of the three-game championship Series of the Pecos League where the Alpine Cowboys were hosting the Bakersfield Train Robbers at Kokernot Field.
The stadium was built in 1947 by Herbert Kokernot, Jr., whose great great grandfather was David Levi Kokernot, a Lietutenant in the Texas Revolution.
For you greater Houston area running afficianados in my audience, you'll recognize the name Kokernot.
One of Houston's first great female marathoners was Peggy Kokernot, who was at the peak of her running career in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
David Levi Kokernot was her great great great grandfather.
Saturday's game was a 7 p.m. start and the Biloxi Shuckers, 13-plus hours to the east of Alpine, were hosting a home game with a 6:35 p.m. start.
My residence to Alpine was eight hours. Six and a half was the path on Interstate 10 to Biloxi.
The two roadblocks, but good ones, were the facts that 1.) I was scheduled to run approximately eight miles with Waverly on Saturday morning and 2.) I was signed up to also run the final Outrigger's 5K On The Bay in Seabrook at 7:30 a.m.
The latter - one of the greater Houston area's classic "old school" races - would require that I leave The Woodlands by 5:30 a.m.
And that meant that we needed to start running no later than 4:00 a.m.
We have a 3.86-mile round trip route that goes from the Fleet Feet Sports of Greater Houston store in Hughes Landing all the way to the east end of The Woodlands Waterway.
It is also the place that competitors in the annual Ironman Texas do their turnaround in Barry Blanton's "Some Like It Hot" run aid station.
Two loops would make it 7.72 miles - and if Waverly wanted to take on another quarter mile to make it eight, she was going to have to get that done on her own.
We finished up at 5:23 a.m. Enough time for me to get some water from my best friend Bill Dwyer, who heads up Volte Endurance Training in Spring, and then dry off, get in the car and start driving to Seabrook.
On the end of the first loop, as we came back to the original starting point, his group of runners who are training for next month's Tunnel Light Marathon outside of Seattle were just starting their 20-miler.
I only heard one say, as we were running back in, "Is that Jon Walk?"
I chuckled and Waverly said when we made it to the turnaround that it was more like four or five that made similar comments.
Thing is, that, I'm not normally training for anything.
I enjoy running races and doing my own thing.
And while I feel very well respected from those in Bill's group who know me well, I'm not really a part of the group.
The bottom line, though, is that Waverly and I had a very good run in the humidity of the morning.
I was so soaked as we approached the Hughes Landing area that my shorts about started to fall off.
I left being excited for Waverly as she was participating in her first teacher inservice (or training, I guess) as a New Caney ISD teacher with a contract for 2018-2019 later in the morning.
I arrived in Seabrook at about 6:40 or 6:45 a.m. I parked and said, "Good morning," to Gary McDonnell, who was helping race director Jay Lee out with parking.
He was originally an encouragement to me when I did my very first duathlon - with a neighborhood cruiser - at the Webster Bicycles Duathlon at a park along Interstate 45 in La Marque back in either 2004 or 2005.
I ran an earlier incarnation of the race - Maribelle's - back in 2005.
Hurricane Ike destroyed the original bar in 2008 and Outrigger's was built on land just sort of underneath the Kemah-Seabrook Bridge.
After I got my packet from Vicki Davis, and was walking back to my car, Jay explained to me they were going to build another bridge along side the current one that was going to go right in the path of the Bar.
But just earlier, Jay asked if I would be willing to help out with awards.
I declined for two reasons: 1.) I had just stopped announcing races for Run In Texas and going on at the same time Saturday morning was the Southern Star Brewing Company 5K in Conroe and 2.) last year I stopped working races for Robby Sabban's Running Alliance Sport organization and as Jay and Robby help each other out I didn't want for Robby to have to listen to me helping Jay out.
So over the last three years, I've cut back a lot of my announcing - for various reasons.
I told Jay that if I changed my mind, I would let him know. (And I actually considered it, but I was ready to leave by the time that Jay made it back from picking up cones.)
Leading up to the race, I had the chance to talk to and see a lot of people that I haven't seen as much over the last year because I stopped working Robby's races.
I appreciated Susan Bell recognizing that I had lost some weight. We chatted for a good long awhile about a number of different topics.
Also had the opportunity to visit right before the start with Irwin Stewart and in between I engaged with Lara Allen, Dan Owen, Peter Lawrence, Jitka Newald, Jeremy Hanson and Jetola Anderson-Blair.
It was good to see Richard Campbell with Campbell Timing Systems. He really took care of me from an announcing standpoint at Robby's races and was a big part of my success.
We got started right on-time at 7:30 a.m. and I was 22 seconds back before going over the start line.
The entrance to the bar area would allow for a car to pass in each direction, but in a mass race start it seemed awfully narrow and I spent the first couple of minutes trying to find my space.
The course is a simple four turns, turnaround and four turns back to the finish.
I was a little concerned with how I would feel knowing that I had just run almost eight miles and that included my left hamstring which I've been trying to keep stretched out for the last couple of months.
I went 9:19 in the first mile. A bit fast.
It was great to see John and Pauline Nicodemus, Dennis Malloy, David Stockton, Vera Balic and Veronica Hoge working at the water stop on 2nd Street.
I was racing - my version of it - so I didn't have the chance to stop and be social. In fact, I didn't take water until the turnaround.
I got there in 14:31. Of course, I'm thinking that if I could have replicated it that it would have been 29 flat. Ha!
Appreciated the shout out from Lucia Gentry, who was working that stop with Madelyn Vandewalle, as I got water from the backside of the table and moved to get back on the road as quick as I could.
I ran with Brandon Weaver a lot of the way and we saw Dale Kohn with Buddy Brown breathing down his neck as they were coming back from the turnaround.
I knew Buddy had just turned 60, but somebody behind us to the left said that Dale had too.
As I started to run back towards 2nd Street, I saw Alison Smith coming in the other direction.
She had shared with me that she's currently training for the Marine Corps Marathon and that she's been working on running consistently - without walking - even if it has meant that she has to slow down.
She was doing great.
I saw Terry Frank, one of Running Alliance Sport's board members, and I'm sure a few others, but as I turned on to Second, I saw 19:30 on my watch.
Well, it was really 22 seconds off of that and I was at 19:11, but the wheels were starting to fall off as they have for me of many, many 5Ks.
Cindy Jantkowski was just in front of me as we exited the turnaround, but after we passed the water station on Second Street I just couldn't keep up with her.
Mana Vautier and his son gave me a shout out as I was getting close to the two final turns.
I've always appreciated Mana as he had me come out and announce his Yuri's Night 5K before Robby took over the race from him. (For the record, I did announce it for Robby in 2017 too.)
As I passed the mile three mark (10:02 for that mile), it was a hard right and a "sprint" to the finish. I felt good, felt strong and made the last tenth of a mile in 47.19.
It all added up to a 30:01 finish.
I felt pretty good that I was able to post that kind of time after running 7.72 miles and driving an hour to get to the race location.
I socialized some more after the race. Keith Cotropia and Monica Montoya asked me if I had any more out-of-state running adventures planned and I shared with them how Waverly and I in September were planning on running the Hokie Half Marathon in Blacksburg, Virginia.
I also had a great conversation with Dale and he was sharing with me his story about losing 55 pounds or so over the years and how he did so by giving up sodas - and how he did it "cold turkey" and hasn't looked back since.
I had been sharing with him - and others - briefly about how I've had to modify things a good bit recently because of my blood sugar being 144 and my hemoglobin 6.6.
I'm due to get another set of labs soon.
As I meandered around a little bit, Alison wanted me to join a group picture of her friends (and some who have become mine over the last two years) - and I just really avoid the camera unless I'm taking the picture.
I did so again Sunday night during Bill's traditional start picture at The Woodlands Running Club Sunday Night 5K.
I made it back home, went and had breakfast at The Egg & I in Shenandoah on Research Forest and later joined Waverly for dinner at Cane's off Rayford later in the evening.
While I wanted to go down and run this month's Run For Wellness - Heights 5K at 7 a.m., I was a little out of steam, but I got up and made it to church on-time at The Church Project for their 9 a.m. service.
Dawn Johnson got there shortly after I did and sit on the same row as me and another of my best friends Jim and Leanne Rosser arrived a few minutes later and sat behind us.
The service was really focused on opportunities being presented to the church to assist in some church planting efforts in the future - and how that is how the Gospel spread after Jesus was here on the Earth and, of course, even today.
We learned that there are nearly 700 formalized church planting movements in the world today to share the Gospel and reach people for Jesus Christ.
I read a little, slept some, made some travel plans for the weekend of September 15-16 and then headed out to take part in the first Sunday of the month, TWRC Sunday Night 5K at Barbara Bush Elementary in The Woodlands.
As far as the weekend of September 15-16 was concerned, I had considered going out to Seattle to cheer on a number of Bill's runners that were going to do Tunnel Light, but aside from not doing group functions too well I also didn't see a college football game around the Saturday area scheduled for that late afternoon or evening.
Therefore, I elected to go with my original plan and fly to Amarillo that Saturday to see a pair of college football games at Wayland Baptist University in Plainview and West Texas A&M University in Canyon.
The game in Plainview starts at 2 p.m. and the one in Canyon at 6 p.m.
I was able to grab a $189 basic economy fare on United, which allows me even as Premier Gold member to carry a bag on the plane without penalty.
(United looks to try to make up the difference between their Basic Economy and Economy with an egregious $50 bag fee if you check a bag at the gate. Since I'm flying back Sunday morning, I can do a carry-on where I normally would check a bag.)
There was a good group at tonight's Sunday Night 5K.
Bill, Ken Johnson, Jerritt Park and Curtis Barton were there when I made it there.
One of the next to arrive was former Texas A&M quarterback Lance Pavlas, who is just a down-to-earth guy that has become a pleasure to get to know a little bit.
Volte coach Layton Gill and his family showed up. Jimmy Baker, Faith Craig and Marta Mixa were also there representing Volte as was Mayra Caamano and her two daughters, Chloe and Brooke.
Mayra ran the entire way with Chloe, who is gearing up for cross country season.
I started off a bit too strong, in 9:28 for the first mile, and it was such that it put me into a run to exhaustion, then walk pattern.
I ended up with a time of 31:37. Not what I had hoped for, but it was better than the 31:56 that I ran there on March 4 when the course was probably just 3.02 miles.
I finished up at Jason's Deli for their Ranchero Wrap and then made it back on home.
I'm already planning next weekend's adventures, which includes work as we're bringing two hospitals up early Sunday morning on new hospital information systems.
Have a great week.
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