Fall '05 PIM underway

Tonight marked the beginning of the 14th (I think) semi-annual session of PIM (Power in Motion), a 10 week, adult, 5K running clinic, for new and intermediate runners put on by the Houston Area Road Runners Association. This will be my second time to attend the PIM program and I must say that I am very proud of all those involved in making this such a quality clinic. I know I haven't participated in many running clinics but PIM must be one of the best around, especially for beginners. The environment is so encourging. The coaches are great and the event tonight went on without a single hitch. It's so obvious that much work and planning went into the program. Kudos to Pam and Lisa for making it all look so easy. I know they have worked hard and it shows.

Certainly the highlight of the evening was getting to meet Cassie, one of my fellow Houston bloggers. Funny thing was that even though we had never met, I felt like we were already good friends. It was awesome to finally meet Cassie. She's really a neat person who's been through a lot this past year with her dual ITB injuries. Looking forward to running and racing a lot with Cassie in the years to come. Cassie recently joined the Houston Striders and it's great to have her on our team.

It was wonderful to see many of my fellow Houston Striders in attendance as coaches, participants, and event workers. It's been a long time but it was great to see my friend, Debbie Rodriguez. Debbie was in the Carbos group with me during the Fall '04 PIM session. Both she and her husband Charlie are runners and members of the Houston Striders. Debbie recently posted an awesome 36:46 at the Fired up 5K this past weekend. WTG, Debbie!!! We both ran the Houston Press 5K last January. In fact, we somehow found each other during the race in the sea of I don't know how many thousand people and we spoke for a bit as she was passing me. Also got to speak to my former PIM coach and all around awesome encourager, Andrea Chan. Andrea did a loop around the park before we even began the festivities. She's awesome!!! Jack Rubalcava was on hand helping with cool refreshments (water and juice) and it was nice to visit with him. Jack has a great attitude about running and is a great down-to-earth guy. Jack, too, ran the Fired up 5K (38:27). Also good to see so many other familiar faces, Steve and Barb, Rose, Doug, Juan, Amalia, Megan (I didn't recognize her at first), Pam, Lisa, and so many others. I really need to learn everybody's name.

Hey, I just realized something. I had so much fun and I didn't even get to run tonight. Dr. R sidelined me while she is working on my ankle. Still, it was a great event and even if I were unable to run at all during the whole 10 weeks, it still would be worth every dime to be around such a fine organization and to be with such good friends, especially my good friend Cassie. More on PIM in the coming weeks so stay tuned.