I don't know why I signed up to do this race, I guess originally it was because Cassidys imaginary boyfriend, Ben Harper was playing afterwards and I figured we'd both go. Now I'm her ex, and Ben is still her beau. And so it was I showed up anyway. I took the bus downtown with Tune, after checking my dry clothes bag, went and found the 9-minute mile mark and figured I was good. Then the crowds got bigger and bigger and bigger. A race which was too big to have strollers and dogs, their words, had a woman in front of me with a cart with a cooler on it.

I walked over and told an official with a race radio, his response was "I can't do anything about it now". And so it was that once we started I spent the first mile and a half negotiating around various walkers, people with buggie etc. I hate that, theres no way they could have done 9-minute miles. I can forgive the 80-something year old woman who was a good 2-mins across the start line before me, she was trying to run; I can also forgive the guy with an artificial leg who I didn't catch until 12-minutes in at 11th and San Jacinto, but where did all those other bozzos come from?

But then who was I to talk? Somewhere up on Red River, around 2.6-miles, I went to pieces. Either from frustration about the start, the heat, or who knows what. I walk/jogged the next 2-miles, getting in the way of those behind me(oh the irony) and was actually thinking about quitting when I heard that familar Austin/Texan/Mexican brogue, it was triathletebigo talking to someone behind me. I ran an even last 2-miles with Oscar, up on congress cruisergirl was out on her pedicab and cheared us on, and I was over the finish line, 1:05:35. 10-mins slower than I'd like but done. Afterwards I grabbed my dry clothes, looked for Tune and missed her, changed, tried to buy a drink but couldn't as I didn't have ID and no one had soft drinks, and decided I'd only be envious if Ben was good, so went home.

My heart rate sums up my race, stressed out, worn out and finished. I did most of the first 2-miles at over 90% MAXHR. Will I ever learn.

Splits: 8.13, 8:34, 9:47, 14:28, 10:51, 10:28,