Texas Race Photos

11 Wednesday Mar 2015

Tags

Austin Marathon, Braunfest 5K, runforapurpose 5K, Shoes and Brews, Twisted X 5K

I think I’m finally starting to lose my double chin. I know this because race photographers continue to think upward angle shots are a good idea. Amateurs. I shouldn’t complain over a free race photo, but then the registration fee was a bit pricey for a little 5K with no road closures. I still can’t get over all the 5Ks around Central Texas. There are over a half dozen each weekend in the Austin metro alone. A baker’s dozen if you expand the radius to New Braunfels and the surrounding hill country. Apparently you can’t have an event without a 5K. I couldn’t find any tenable 10Ks. The Twisted X 5K is the only one that provided race photos. I like this one because it shows me finishing ahead of my buddy Ken. He passed me at two miles. I can assure you that was not part of my race plan, but racing him for the final mile was priceless.

I already posted my only photo from the Lakeway Runforapurpose 5K, which I ran a week before the Twisted X 5K. They took awards photos, some of which they posted in the Austin-American Statesman. I’ve been unsuccessful at finding my photo so here is a pic of the runner who beat me, 24 year old Jimmy Ivey. This race posted age graded results, and by that measure, I beat him. But then Ken beat me with his age graded time, in fact he came in first. This race was memorable, if not for being the first time I raced with Ken in 30 years, for the monster hills. My thighs are still sore.

The Braunfest 5K took photos of us receiving our medals, but never made them available. Doesn’t matter, this picture of me standing with Letty in the post run beer tasting tent is better anyway. That was a big beer morning. The most unique thing about that race was that they served chicken wings afterward, with an outstanding selection of hot sauces. With beer of course. Before 9am. New Braunfels is a very German town.

I have tons of photos from the Austin Marathon. This is me, smiling of all things, just after crossing the finish line. I’ve never finished a marathon feeling better. Austin puts on a fun run. I don’t know how many girls along the route yelled at me to “run boy blue!” Not very original after the third time, but consistent enough that I got the message. Next time I’ll try to wear contrasting shorts. The most unique shout out was from a group of girls standing at mile 13; they asked me if I was Kevin Bacon. They were serious. In case you’re young, he’s an aging actor 4 years older than me. I didn’t take it as a compliment, but was surprised by it nonetheless. Maybe he’s also a runner known for wearing monochromatic outfits?

The Hills of Lakeway

01 Sunday Mar 2015

Posted by Ed Mahoney in Running

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Tags

Farmers Insurance, race results, runforapurpose 5K, SWT, Texas State, West Virginia Tech

Kenneth Hausman is a college running buddy I met at Texas State. Meeting up for this run is his idea. He shows up in his Chariots of Fire sweats a half hour before the start and we warm up together.

There’s a reason they call it the Hills of Lakeway. I might be from Colorado, but I typically train on an extremely flat trail. This morning’s 5K has a couple hundred feet of elevation change in three miles. Unbelievable. The first two hundred yards are flat, then the course drops, sometimes steeply, for the next half mile. Ken takes the lead from the start but we settle into a three man lead pack with twenty-four year old Jimmy Ivey. Jimmy ran Cross Country for West Virginia Tech and works now as a diesel mechanic for Caterpillar in Austin.

Mostly downhill, we run the first mile in 6:38, almost identical to the start of my 5K yesterday in New Braunfels. We chat the entire time, because Ken, an insurance agent and serial entrepreneur, is a talker. Ken and I quiet down once we start up the next hill. Jimmy continues talking and doesn’t appear to be breathing, so we sense we’re in trouble. As the hill begins to steepen, Jimmy gains some separation. A half mile later, he has 20 seconds on me. I’m able to count this from where we turn around at the half way point.

I chase Jimmy after the turn as it’s downhill again, but he increases his lead. I hit mile two in 7:08, again almost identical to yesterday despite the extreme hills. Mile three though is brutal – a half mile climb. I’m breathing like a race horse on the back stretch and lactic acid burns inside my thighs. I’m not going to catch Jimmy, he continues to increase his lead. I run mile three in 7:31 – a half minute slower than yesterday’s third mile. I cross the line in 21:58, 39 seconds behind Jimmy. For the second day in a row, I place second overall. Always a bridesmaid. Kenneth finishes a close third.

We feel pretty good because not only did we both finish in the top three, but there are no other fifty year olds in the top 20. We celebrate our demonstrated vitality with breakfast tacos at Rudy’s BBQ on 620 – a quarter mile past the 2222 intersection. Another cold and wet race on a rainy Central Texas weekend. Not bad running weather, although not comfortable for standing around afterward. I’m showered, warm and dry now. Kenneth is talking about another 5K next Saturday down in Kyle.