river road run
official race photos
the first race of the new year, and i head south to new braunfels, toobing capital of texas. it was here where a 12 mile run was held, an out-and-back along the scenic guadalupe river.
the weather proved to be rather cold (~35F) and humid (~100%), which made for an eerie fog that engulfed the river and the surrounding tree-lined banks.
i was pleased to see san antonio runner matt karns at this race; i met him last year at the endurathon 25k outside of san antonio. we had a great race then; i hoped to have another one today with him in the mix. we were catching up at the start line (matt mentioned plans for a 100 mile run in march), when the race director nonchalantly sent the race running with a verbal call.
and we're running! a small pack of us assumed the lead, and i was happy to see that three others start to siginificantly pull ahead by mile 1 (eager as i was to run, i was in no shape to truly lock horns with anyone for 1.5 hours). matt and i became the second "pack," and whether knowingly or not, we picked up the pace with successive miles.
by mile 4, i felt i was on the razor's edge of too fast. but as sugar land taught me, that edge can very much work to your favor. especially in an out-and-back race that gently declines on the return trip. unsure of what to expect from matt, he fell back by mile 5, and i was alone with the scenery. i took notes of the course, and as previously mentioned, knew that one could really fly on the return trip if they had the stamina.
and i was able to do just that. even as fatigue sets in, you simply force your legs to turnover quicker when you have a 1 mile stretch of gentle downhill in front of you. i dug deep on the final mile in hopes of dropping a 610; i was quite surprised to see 601 at the finish! [more on this topic later...]
post-race, i came to discover that matt was from erie, pa--just a little over an hour from my hometown. turns out that we have a lot of races in common from back when we both lived there. small world, indeed.
plenty of sausage and snacks were available during awards. i received a locally-crafted scented candle for my finish, a nice departure from the standard award. i was hoping it'd be some custom scent in honor of the race ("unlaundered socks?" perhaps "regurgitated electrolytes?"), but alas: my office now smells like chocolate mint.
by departure, the sun brough the temperature to the high-50s for a gorgeous sunday afternoon. aside from the course measurement error (seriously, how do you screw up an out-and-back?), it was a fine morning for a race. both on and off the course, surprised were found down by the riverside.
[...]
i REALLY didn't expect this finish time: i'm only running 25 miles/week, none of which are structured workouts. however, i have been swimming 2-3 times a week. have i mentioned how fantastic swimming is? i can swim a relaxed quarter-mile with ease; a half-mile isn't much more trouble. never in my life did i ever think i would say that; that might be the reason why i'm so drawn to it.
the data's antecdotal/correlational at best, but there sure seems to be a connection with my swimming and how i'm feeling on the roads. (1) i'm getting more cardio without the pounding, (2) my hips, core, and shoulders are getting a workout that they could never get on the run, and (3) my diaphragm feels stronger from having to constantly exhale into a more viscous environment. this observation is quickly maturing from "curiosity" to "revelation," and it's fantastic. if only my sinuses would build up a greater tolerance to being submerged (*sniff*).
1:13:42 (4th overall, 1st 30-34M, 618/mi)
=======
628 620 612 605 627 529* (1st half, 37:02)
---* 1146 --- 1229 624 601 (2nd half, 36:40)
* short 0.15 miles
the first race of the new year, and i head south to new braunfels, toobing capital of texas. it was here where a 12 mile run was held, an out-and-back along the scenic guadalupe river.
the weather proved to be rather cold (~35F) and humid (~100%), which made for an eerie fog that engulfed the river and the surrounding tree-lined banks.
i was pleased to see san antonio runner matt karns at this race; i met him last year at the endurathon 25k outside of san antonio. we had a great race then; i hoped to have another one today with him in the mix. we were catching up at the start line (matt mentioned plans for a 100 mile run in march), when the race director nonchalantly sent the race running with a verbal call.
and we're running! a small pack of us assumed the lead, and i was happy to see that three others start to siginificantly pull ahead by mile 1 (eager as i was to run, i was in no shape to truly lock horns with anyone for 1.5 hours). matt and i became the second "pack," and whether knowingly or not, we picked up the pace with successive miles.
by mile 4, i felt i was on the razor's edge of too fast. but as sugar land taught me, that edge can very much work to your favor. especially in an out-and-back race that gently declines on the return trip. unsure of what to expect from matt, he fell back by mile 5, and i was alone with the scenery. i took notes of the course, and as previously mentioned, knew that one could really fly on the return trip if they had the stamina.
and i was able to do just that. even as fatigue sets in, you simply force your legs to turnover quicker when you have a 1 mile stretch of gentle downhill in front of you. i dug deep on the final mile in hopes of dropping a 610; i was quite surprised to see 601 at the finish! [more on this topic later...]
post-race, i came to discover that matt was from erie, pa--just a little over an hour from my hometown. turns out that we have a lot of races in common from back when we both lived there. small world, indeed.
plenty of sausage and snacks were available during awards. i received a locally-crafted scented candle for my finish, a nice departure from the standard award. i was hoping it'd be some custom scent in honor of the race ("unlaundered socks?" perhaps "regurgitated electrolytes?"), but alas: my office now smells like chocolate mint.
by departure, the sun brough the temperature to the high-50s for a gorgeous sunday afternoon. aside from the course measurement error (seriously, how do you screw up an out-and-back?), it was a fine morning for a race. both on and off the course, surprised were found down by the riverside.
[...]
i REALLY didn't expect this finish time: i'm only running 25 miles/week, none of which are structured workouts. however, i have been swimming 2-3 times a week. have i mentioned how fantastic swimming is? i can swim a relaxed quarter-mile with ease; a half-mile isn't much more trouble. never in my life did i ever think i would say that; that might be the reason why i'm so drawn to it.
the data's antecdotal/correlational at best, but there sure seems to be a connection with my swimming and how i'm feeling on the roads. (1) i'm getting more cardio without the pounding, (2) my hips, core, and shoulders are getting a workout that they could never get on the run, and (3) my diaphragm feels stronger from having to constantly exhale into a more viscous environment. this observation is quickly maturing from "curiosity" to "revelation," and it's fantastic. if only my sinuses would build up a greater tolerance to being submerged (*sniff*).
1:13:42 (4th overall, 1st 30-34M, 618/mi)
=======
628 620 612 605 627 529* (1st half, 37:02)
---* 1146 --- 1229 624 601 (2nd half, 36:40)
* short 0.15 miles
hey there, i came across this post when i was looking up matt karns. well, it grieves me to say, but he passed away recently, the morning of June 11th. He was the director of Physical Therapy in our Healthlink facility in San antonio, so we found out (employees with the baptist health system) today. he certainly did alot for the baptist health system, and has left a lasting impact on those who knew him and heard of him.
Posted by
Anonymous |
10:52 PM
adam a.
please, please reply to my email address:
rich (aht) alumni (daht) cmu (daht) edu
Posted by
OHF |
11:00 PM
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