| Location: Springtown,TX,USA Member Since: Feb 02, 2009 Gender: Male Goal Type: Age Division Winner Running Accomplishments: Firsts:
- First marathon - White Rock, Dallas, December 2005 (4:01)
- First BQ - St George, 2007 (3:20)
- First Boston - 2008 (3:30)
- 1st Place Clydesdale - Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon - 4/2007
- 1st Place Ultracentric 6-Hour Champ 2007 - 38.75 miles
- 1st Time Leading Pace Group, Cowtown '09 (3:39:41)
- 1st Place Overall, Porcupine Promenade 5K (20:10) - 4/2011
- 1st Trail Race. Grasslands Half Marathon. 1st Overall Masters (1:53) - 3/2013
- Leadville LT100 MTB '16 - on a mountain bike, but the toughest challenge, so far!
Marathons Run (27):
- Dallas White Rock ('05, '07,'09,'14)
- Chicago ('06, '08)
- OK City Memorial ('07)
- St George ('07,'09,'11)
- Waco Miracle Match ('07)
- Ft Worth, Cowtown ('08, '09,'10,'11,'12,'13,'15**)
- Boston ('08 '09*, '10, '13)
- Park City ('08)
- San Antonio Rock 'n Roll ('08)
- Steamboat ('09)
- Utah Valley ('10)
- Houston ('12)
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* - PR
Ultras (3):
- Ultracentric 6-Hours ('07 - 38.75 mi)
- El Scorcho 50K, Ft Worth (('08, '09)
PRs:
- 5K - 19:27 (6/2008)
- 10K - 41:49 (5/2008)
- 15K - 1:04:14 (9/2011)
- Half Marathon - 1:33:12 (1/2011)
- Marathon - 3:19:47 (Boston 4/2009)
- 50K - 4:35:53 (7/2008)
Short-Term Running Goals: Keep injury-free.
2016 Races
Ft Worth Cowtown Half Marathon Long-Term Running Goals: Be age-group competitive for many years!
Have fun running!
Make some great friends along the way! Personal: Married to the same wonderful woman since March 1988. 3 adorable kids.
Look for me at www.facebook.com (I'll be your friend) Favorite Blogs: |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 67.80 | 52.10 | 119.90 |
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| Brooks Ravena Miles: 54.60 | Saucony Miles: 65.30 |
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 5.00 | 2.00 | 7.00 |
| Another beautiful day for running. On vacation this week, getting some work done around the house and running errands. Ran 7 miles at noon. Out into a strong breeze, but heading back was effortless. I'm running the Bold in the Cold Half marathon on Saturday. The temperature should be mid to upper 40s at race time. Sounds good to me.
AP: 7:38 (the last two miles with the wind, and mostly downhill were 6:32 and 6:28)
57F, S15, sunny
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| Brooks Ravena Miles: 7.00 |
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| | Comments(3) |
| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 1.00 | 4.50 | 5.50 |
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Lunchtime run w/ Darin. Another great day for running.
60F, S10, Sunny
AP: 7:20 |
| Brooks Ravena Miles: 5.50 |
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| | Comments(1) |
| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 0.00 | 13.10 | 13.10 |
| Bold in the Cold Half Marathon. As I still feel like I'm not 100% after taking some time off after SGM for my right calf to heel, I just wanted to run a solid 13.1 - shooting for about 1:40 (7:38/mi). The weather was perfect this year. About 45F at start, a little breeze from the north and cloudy. I started off in the middle of the pack. This required a lot of zig-zagging and heading off road briefly to avoid walkers and people jogging 4 across...grrr. The first mile was about 8:00. A little slow, but was probably good to get warmed up. I slowly increased my speed to about 7:30/mi for the next few miles. It felt good. I ran with some friends briefly. There was a 15K and 1/2 marathon running at the same time, and mostly on the same course. The last 2 miles seemed very tough. I had about a 7:30 average pace, but slowed considerable in the uphill sections. I even walked through the last aid station with 1.5 miles to go. With one mile to go, my running buddy Dave passed me. I had nothing left to try to hold him off, or even try to stick with him. I finished in 1:39:28 (about 10 minutes faster than I ran at the White Rock half last month). I'm happy with my results and didn't push it too, too hard. Next week at the Houston full, will be quite a challenge. I'll probably try to hold 8:00-8:30 pace there and treat it as a long training run. |
| Brooks Ravena Miles: 13.10 |
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| | Comments(2) |
| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 2.00 | 2.00 | 4.00 |
| Ran 4 miles in the drizzle today at lunch w/ Darin. Felt pretty good. 45F, W10, drizzly AP: 7:38 AHR: 145
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| | Comments(5) |
| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 2.00 | 2.00 | 4.00 |
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Brrrr. It was about 33F with a 20 MPH wind from the west. Ran w/ Darin. On the way out it felt great (tail wind). On the way back, it was a bit of a struggle -- needing to lean forward a few times.
Weather for Houston on Saturday (Trials) and Sunday (my marathon) are looking excellent. About 40F with 6MPH wind. Because Houston is very flat and there won't be a lot of wind, I'm going to try for negative splits. I'm thinking of going for about 3:30 -- starting out the first 10 miles at about 8:20s, then next 10 miles at 8:00s, then see if I have anything left for the last 6.2 miles at about 7:40s. Well that's the current plan, and I'll have to see what the day brings. I need to save myself for pacing duties at the end of February at Cowtown...so, I'm not going to push it too hard.
AP: 7:45
33F, W20, sunny | |
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| | Comments(2) |
| | Race: |
Houston Marathon 2012 (26.2 Miles) 03:29:40 | | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 26.20 | 0.00 | 26.20 |
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When I signed up for the Houston Marathon a few months back, I only did it because it was to be held on the same weekend as the 2012 Olympic Trials. This is the first time that both the men's and women's competition for the three spots to represent the US in London, were to be held in the same city at the same time. And it was just the carrot I needed to sign up for Houston.
I hitched a ride with my friend John for the 4 hour drive to Houston. John, who was planning to run his second marathon, BQed on his first attempt.
Houston was my 22nd marathon. I was going to Houston with little expectations (or pressure) for my performance. I had already BQed for Boston 2013 at St George in October, so I had that monkey off my back. My next important race is at the end of February where I'll be pacing the 3:40 group for the 4th straight year at Cowtown in Ft Worth.
On Saturday, John and I woke up early to go watch the Olympic Trials. The men started at 8:00 made a 2.2 mile loop which went right past our hotel. It was awesome! I took literally hundreds of photos from various spots along the route. I'll have to weed out the bad ones and post the rest sometime. Watching these elites of the elites is something I'll never forget. Very cool!
 - Near the start of the trials
- mini-1_Trials2.jpg (110.18 KB) Not viewed yet
 - Past midway point
- mini-1_Trials7.jpg (165.91 KB) Not viewed yet
My buddies, Dave, Tom, and Tom's wife Anne arrived Saturday afternoon. Along with John, and his daughter (who is studying at Rice University) went to dinner at a nice pizza joint. Dave and I shared a large Chicago-style, deep-dish, spinach and garlic pizza, and lots of water. We were stuffed.
After dinner, I prepped my clothes for the morning, climbed into bed and watched Tebow lose to New England...and drifted off to sleep around 9:00ish.
Up at 5:30, walked about 3/4 mile to the Convention Center, took a few photos, and dropped our bags. It was game time!
My plan was to run about 3:30, while keeping an eye on my heart rate. In many of my marathons, I get caught up in the moment, feel great, and run way to fast, way too early..then crash and burn. As Houston was going to be flat, it would be a great place to try this experiment. I was planning to keep my HR in the low 140s for the first 10 miles, then upper 140s for the 2nd ten miles, then if I had anything left I would finish in the 150s.
The weather was perfect on race morning. about 40F, very little breeze, partly cloudy skies. I wore shorts, short-sleeved shirt (I had forgotten my singlet --thanks John for the loaner!), running cap, sun-glasses, and gloves. The race started precisely at 7:00. As I took a last minute stop at the POPs, I started way at the back of my wave and crossed the starting line around 7:05.
The first few miles were slow as planned. I spent a lot of time on the sidewalk, or running around slower runners. I crossed the 1st mile marker in about 8:45. Not bad...HR was around 136. I picked it up slightly from there, and enjoyed the ride. I didn't look at my pace again until the half split (1:45:03). Right on schedule.
I came up behind my buddy, Tom Murray at around 5 miles (I think, it's all a blur). We must have started close together as our overall paces were only a few seconds apart. We chatted for a bit, tried to run together briefly, then I lost track of him.
The crowd support was very impressive. There were very few spots along the route where there weren't crowds of people, cheering, holding signs (my favorites with "This is a Boring Parade!" and "GO ").
Houston runs a simultaneous half and full marathon. There are separate starting lines, then they merge at around mile 2. The half marathon turned off at around mile 9 -- things got quieter for a little while.
A mile after the split we went by Rice University I saw John's daughter, standing all alone cheering on the runners. I gave here a quick sweaty hug then kept going, just as Tom passed by. I ran with Tom for a few more minutes...as we got doused by a priest with water shaken from a Rosemary branch...then I said out loud "Did I miss the Half Marathon turnaround?" I guess I sounded convincing, as another runner asked if I was serious. I still had my sense of humor near the half-way point -- I knew I'd have a good day.
I lost Tom again around mile 14, as we climbed an overpass (the only real hills on the course). Pretty soon my buddy, Dave came up behind me. I was surprised. He was going for 7:40s and I was sure he was a few minutes ahead of me. Dave had to make a pit stop, and let me know he was feeling tired. I just kept with my plan and steady pace, and soon lost Dave.
At the 20 mile mark I felt pretty good. A group was handing out balloons, so I took one and tied it to the back of my bib belt. For the rest of the race, I always felt like someone was right on my heels! When the balloon started to pass me I knew there was a tail wind, or I was going too slow!
My heart rate was now around 150, but I was still hitting splits around 8:00. I felt good, but decided to keep it steady all the way in, so that I wouldn't have a long recovery, as I needed to be recovered and ramped back up before Cowtown in 5 weeks.
The last few miles were wall-to-wall people. I could see the convention center where the finish was, from about a mile away. Having walked the last mile a few times in the past couple days, I knew exactly what was left. I kicked it up a little bit, got the heart rate up to about 162 and crossed the finish line feeling great! 3:29:40...a negative split!!! (my 2nd of 22 marathons run)
I collected my medal, took a photo, and waited for my buddies to come in. John had already finished in an amazing 3:20:58, Tom finished in 3:36, and Dave finished in 3:39 -- all PRs. It was an excellent day. We couldn't have asked for better weather!
 - Tom Murray, Dave Chase, Marc Elliott, John Studebaker
- mini-1_Marathon_01.jpg (118.3 KB) Not viewed yet
For our entry, we got:
Cotton short-sleeved event shirt
Finisher's Medal (shaped as a 40, celebrating the 40th running)
Finisher's technical long-sleeved shirt
Commemorative 40th anniversary glass etched mug
Hot post-race breakfast
Splits are here
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| | Comments(13) |
| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 2.00 | 2.00 | 4.00 |
| Recovery/tempo run w/ Darin at lunch. Legs felt great, so I decided to pick up the pace a little. 41F, SE 10, sunny AP: 7:27 AHR: 154 7:47 (149 bpm), 7:40(153 bpm), 7:04(154 bpm), 6:55 (162 bpm)
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| Brooks Ravena Miles: 4.00 |
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| | Comments(3) |
| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 2.00 | 2.00 | 4.00 |
| Lunchtime run w/ Darin. Started at about 8:00/mi then finished with a 6:37 last mile at 100% HR. AP: 7:38 AHR: 154 74F (Yes, 74 degrees in January :), Sunny, S7
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| Brooks Ravena Miles: 4.00 |
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| | Comments(1) |
| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 2.00 | 2.00 | 4.00 |
| Darin, Jo, and Zachary (Darin's son) came out to the house for dinner. We went for a pre-dinner, afternoon 4-miler. Took it easy on the way out then sped up on the way back. 50F, 5W, partly cloudy 8:30, 143 bpm 7:57, 149 bpm 7:26, 144 bpm 6:22, 161 bpm
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| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 0.00 | 8.00 | 8.00 |
| Solo lunchtime run. Great weather, felt good. Decided to push a few more miles than usual. AP: 7:27 7:40, 140 bpm 7:21, 140 bpm 7:33, 139 bpm 7:38, 144 bpm 7:34, 144 bpm 7:39, 146 bpm 7:30, 151 bpm 6:44, 160 bpm
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| Brooks Ravena Miles: 8.00 |
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| | Comments(2) |
| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 1.00 | 4.00 | 5.00 |
| Warmed up 2 miles. Then ran 2x 800 intervals (2:56, 3:03), took it easy for mile 4, then picked up the pace for the final mile. AP: 7:18 60F, NE 10, partly cloudy
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| Brooks Ravena Miles: 5.00 |
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| | Comments(2) |
| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 4.00 | 2.00 | 6.00 |
| Lunchtime run w/ Darin. HR strap must need a new battery - or something. HR never got about 120, until after i stopped. 51F, N10, Sunny AP: 7:38
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| | Comments(4) |
| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 14.00 | 2.00 | 16.00 |
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I slept in a little, so I didn't get to the trail until about 10:30am. Ran 8 out and 8 back. Only carried 12 Oz of Powerade, but it was plenty. Low 40s when I started felt great. AP: 8:05 42-50F, E5, partly cloudy
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| | Comments(1) |
| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 4.00 | 4.00 | 8.00 |
| Solo lunchtime run. AP: 7:39 50F, S15, sunny
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| Brooks Ravena Miles: 8.00 |
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| | Comments(1) |
| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 2.60 | 2.50 | 5.10 |
| Lunchtime intervals w/ Darin. jogged 1 mile. 800m - 3:27 (into 15-25 mph headwind) 1 minute - walk/jog 800m - 3:28 (into 15-25 mph headwind) 1 minute - walk/jog 800m - 2:53 (with 15-25 mph tailwind- much better ;) 1 minute - walk/jog 800m - 2:58 1 minute - walk/jog 800m - 3:00 jogged back good workout! 70F, S15-25, sunny
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| | Comments(3) |
| | Slow miles | Fast miles | Total Distance | | 67.80 | 52.10 | 119.90 |
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| Brooks Ravena Miles: 54.60 | Saucony Miles: 65.30 |
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