First Lap

I'll make no claim on your design
I will not call you a friend of mine
I cannot follow your disguise
-Treble Charger

I ran the R&B 1/2 Marathon this morning in beautiful Houston.  Whenever I run in one of these,  I need to find a friend to pace me - I'm completely unable to know how fast I should run, so I have to find someone and follow their lead.  But it isn't always easy - I eliminated Purple Tiger Pants on a matter of principle, and then I tried out Fake Randy.  He ran too slowly (and he didn't say any really funny but inappropriate things like the real Randy), so I guess he was just some bald, skinny guy who wouldn't fit the bill.  Supplement Salesman and Red Biker weren't right either.  Then I found Lavender Walker.  She was always about 10 yards in front of me and walking.  I would pass her, never see her pass me, but then there she was again in front of me - walking (and she wore a Lavender shirt).  It was really weird, but it somehow worked.  I'm sure she is blogging about the Blue Annoyance that she had to keep passing, but that's fine.

This race was organized into three laps (not running in circles as Ran Dumb Thoughts has suggested - more like really narrow ovals).  And before the 1/2 marathon started, they ran a 5k.  And I'm not sure if the 1st mile marker was for the 5k or if they just mismeasured or if they just aren't cool, but Mile Marker 1 was off by about 1/2 a mile.  Or else I ran my first mile in about 13 minutes and my second one in 5.  As I completed my first lap I thought that things were going about as well as they could be given the structure of the race, the marginal weather, and my week which had been marked by little sleep and no training.  On to the second lap ...