FILA Relays

4 x 2.5 Miles: 3rd Place Overall in 48:45.90The Odd Foursome: Alan Hedengren, Rudy Rocha, Gabriel Rodriguez, and James Menze

This past weekend we headed up to Austin, Texas, to participate in the FILA Relays, after being invited to form a team by FILA Director of Running, Paul Perrone. So, we scrounged up our best team possible, and headed out to the Capital of Texas. "We" consisted of my wife Perla, my daughter Madelyn, and my teammates Rudy Rocha and James Menze... all crammed together in my wife's 2002 Volkswagen Jetta GLS.

Now, before I go any further, let me clarify that my entire family is basically made up of teachers. My mom is a teacher, my sister is a teacher, my older brother was a teacher, my wife is a teacher, Rudy is a teacher, and James is a teacher. I was even a substitute teacher for a brief period of time, but soon found it did not suit my personality. Now, imagine spending three hours with a 3rd-Grade Bi-Lingual Teacher (Perla), a Behaviour Specialist Teacher (Rudy), and a World AP History Teacher (James). I should have brought my favorite pillow. There is only so much teacher lingo I can take: "does your AP establish communities within the ARD program or does the TASK really emphasize group behavioral learning.." or something like that for three hours of teaching discussion. Oh, how I wish Madelyn could talk more...

Anyway, we arrived in Austin to meet our 4th team member, Alan Hedengren. At first, we had scheduled Menze to lead off based on his experience, but Menze's apparent lack of fitness (he did sport the largest beer belly of the group) urged us to place Alan lead-off, as Rudy was still suffering from a form of lead-off depression since A&M. And Alan did not disappoint. His combination of speed and endurance, as well as intelligence played a huge role in the performance of our team. Following the lead group through the first 1.25 mile loop in 6:02.20, Alan came back with a solid 6:14.50 for his second loop (12:16.70) in 4th place to completely energize the team. Hedengren had delivered a stellar performance and now it was up to our wildest card in the deck: James Menze, Coach of Clear Lake High School and 40-mile/week fartlek runner extraordinaire, to run 2nd and attempt to hold our position.

James Menze for those of you unfamiliar with the Aggie alum, has quite a resume. A 14:40-5000m runner, Menze is to Austin what Rudy is to Houston- the man is known to everyone! We couldn't go one second without someone yelling, "hey, Menze!" James has won the Austin Capital 10K, among other races, but his complete and utter dedication to his coaching has left him a bit out of running shape, but has made him one of the best coaches in the state. Anyhow, Menze attacked his leg with such ferocity and effort, that it is plain to see why he is such a motivation for his athletes. Menze ran as hard as he could given his fitness level, plain and simple. Covering the first 1.25 mile loop at 5:13 pace (6:15.15), James then set off on the ever-important 2nd loop and produced and excellent effort, finishing in 6:20.80 for a total split of 12:35.95- and proceeded to puke his guts out after handing off to our workhorse, Rudy Rocha, for the third leg.

Now, what can I say about Rudy. The man is a machine. He went out quite conservatively, and by now was in no-man's land, but he worked his way up the field, splitting 6:00.75 for his first 1.25 mile loop, and then ran a very strong second lap to move us into third place with a closing loop run in 6:07.50 for a total split of 12:08.25, the 7th fastest total time of the day. And he did this after being cramped next to a baby-seat for three hours and entertaining a 2-year old for most of the trip. His job now done, and done well, a very pumped Rudy handed off to me for the anchor, giving me a good 5-10 second lead ahead of the "Kenyan" team. Could I do mine?

What to do? I now had a 20-40 meter lead over a very motivated Kenyan, and only god knows how fast he is.. so, should I hammer the first loop and try to disappear on him, or should I run conservatively, expect that he'll catch me, and then make a race of it? I almost opted for #1- go hard the first loop, but I didn't totally commit, but managed to hold him off for the first 1.25 miles with my 5:44.75 (4:47 pace) split. (I would later learn that the Kenyan, Bernard Manirakiza, would split a gut-wrenching 5:19.85 split! for 1.25 miles in his chase- an amazing 4:26 pace per mile). Anyhow, I think I was too tense, too anxious of being caught that I wasted too much energy and when the Kenyan caught me, I could not react. Once he gapped me, he kept that gap as I tied up a little the final kilometer and closed in 6:00.25 for a total of 11:45-the 3rd fastest combined time of the day. But it was not enough, as the Kenyan stormed past me and held me off for 2nd place overall with a 6:05.25 final circuit for a total time of 11:25.10- the day's best total time. I was quite disappointed with my performance and thought I should have been stronger on the 2nd loop, but perhaps I had fatigued myself too much running across the fields for 40-minutes cheering on my teammates before it was my turn. Anyhow, we finished 3rd Overall and were quite pleased with our performance, as it we had made the trip worthwhile and made the medal stand.

Madelyn congratulating the Kenyan on beating Dad...

Other highlights of the trip included our morning long run around Town Lake. James led Rudy and I on the legendary course as we ran in a torrential downpour and lightning storm, got to see the Texas Longhorn Cross Country Team, including Leonel Manzano, and James just surprising us with his running ability.

The ride back home was more teacher-talk, but we escaped healthy and motivated to resume training hard and continue on with our personal goals, whatever they may be. The FILA Relays were definitely worth the trip and we hope to return next year and perhaps claim the crown.

Madelyn opening her stride as she grows...