This race report was originally posted on my blog. Check it out for more info, pictures and info on running and triathlons: http://www.pathtotri.com/bayou-city-classic-10k/

Last Saturday was the Bayou City Classic 10k here in Houston, Texas. This is the last running race I have on my calendar before I start my journey with triathlons. My wife and I were running this race and didn’t have a specific time goal but were looking to PR and enjoy ourselves. That said, we both haven’t ran many 10ks so a PR wouldn’t be a stretch. The two 10ks I ran previously were in 51:02 and 55:55 and they were a few years ago when I just started running. I knew I’d be in the 42-44 minute range for this one.

The day before the race was an absolute nightmare in terms of pre-race preparation. We are moving into a new home so we were at the house all day painting. For breakfast we had kolaches and for lunch we had leftover kolaches and for dinner we had cold leftover kolaches. I’m not even a fan of kolaches. To top it off, we went to a good friend’s birthday party that night and I had a few drinks so I wasn’t exactly optimally hydrated. Isn’t it amazing how differently you prepare for a marathon or even half-marathon compared to a shorter distance?

Despite the poor preparation, I woke up feeling great on Saturday and we headed to downtown Houston. The weather was excellent and we got there early enough to warm-up, use the restroom and wander towards the front of the corral for the start. The race had 2,000 participants but 40% must have slept in or forgot about the race as it was pretty wide open.

The course, like many other Houston races, utilizes Allen Parkway to take you out and back from downtown. The underpasses along Allen Parkway which consist of maybe 20 feet of elevation loss then gain make up the “hills” of the course with the rest of it being pancake flat – so it’s a flat course. The race ends right at city hall where the post-race party would be held.

I should note that the race benefits the City of Houston Parks Department and is held purposefully on the same weekend as the Tour de Houston 20/40/60 mile bike race. I was hoping to do the bike event also but we had too much to do at our new home.

I started out the 10k with a 6:55 minute per mile pace with the intention of holding that for the first half of the race and then speeding up as much as I could the second 5k. I paced myself better than I ever have and came across the 5k mat in 21:30 which is just 2 seconds per mile faster than my plan.

The second 5k was definitely more challenging than it should have been, most likely due to my sub-par nutrition and hydration the previous day. As hard as I tried, I could not get myself to pick-up my pace and the further along I got, the more my stomach started punishing me. With a final sprint the last quarter of a mile, I was able to increase my pace to 6:51/mile the last 5k leading to a finish of 42:52 and a new PR.

Overall I was happy with the result and I felt like I gave it everything I had. The race itself was fun and I’d definitely run it again next year. The organization was solid, the post-race party was excellent and the race supports a great cause.

Next up is the No Label Triathlon on Saturday, March 28th – my first triathlon!