The Life and Times of Sam Luna

  Race Reflection Switching gears from the intensity of mile racing to the hour-long grind of multisport isn't something the body adjusts to overnight. I’ve been on the bike for a couple of months now—not chasing new power records, but building consistency and control. For this race, I had one simple goal: stay in Zone 4 and keep everything under control. 🏃 First Run – 0.45 mi (2:41, 6:02/mi) The first leg was short—a 0.45-mile dash—barely enough room to create separation. My plan was to keep the heart rate low and conserve energy. I settled into the lead group with one other runner. At the turnaround, I put in a small surge to create some distance before transitioning. A smooth, efficient T1 followed, and I was out on the bike. 🚴 Bike – 11.78 mi (32:25, 21.8 mph avg) The course was flat but mentally demanding, with three 180-degree turns and a climb over the 288 overpass. I didn’t press early—just found a rhythm. Around mile 8, I was caught and passed. Rather than respon...

  Race day at the World Masters Indoor Championships in Gainesville, Florida , was electric. There’s something special about lining up with the best Masters runners in the world—athletes with grit, experience, and no shortage of speed. The 1500m – Strategy & Execution Going in, I knew most of the field had seed times faster than mine . But that didn’t intimidate me—it motivated me. My plan was simple: Go out with the pack. Hold on. Respect the calf. Once the gun went off, I settled in at the back of the lead group . Right away, we were rolling— sub-5 minute mile pace from the jump. I recognized a few of the names around me, and after a couple of laps, a gap started to form between the front group and the rest of us. Another runner and I worked together to bridge the gap—we traded positions briefly, and I managed to hang on for a few more laps. Eventually, I found myself in that familiar place: no man’s land . Now it was just about survival . Don’t get caught. Stay composed. ...

It’s easy to write about a race when everything clicks—but this year’s road to the World Masters Indoor Championships in Gainesville, Florida , came with a few potholes. Back in February, I ran a strong indoor mile at UH, clocking a Masters PR of 5:01 —a full 2.5 seconds faster than the year before. I was feeling confident and fired up. But the very next week, things took a turn. I strained my calf , and in classic runner fashion, I pushed too quickly to get back to training . That decision backfired—what started as a minor strain became a deeper setback, and I knew I had to hit the brakes. I started seeing Dr. Jaime Aparicio   for physical therapy and rehab . Over the next four weeks , I traded intervals and long runs for: Aqua jogging sessions (yes, it’s humbling but it works), PT weight training , and A renewed focus on mobility and mechanics . During that time, I shifted my mindset. Instead of panicking about lost fitness, I leaned into the process: Ran data analys...

  I’ve really enjoyed Masters racing over the past couple of years, so I was excited to hit the track again for the mile at the Yeoman Fieldhouse at UH. Coming into the race, I felt strong —training had been solid and consistent, and I was ready to see what I could do. I had a good warm-up : a couple of miles of jogging, some strides , dynamic stretches, and 4 x 150m ramp-ups to 4:50 pace to get the legs firing. Race Plan & Execution They ran the mile in two heats , and I was in the second. My goal was to go out at 4:58 pace , hold that through 1009m , and then kick it up a notch . Once I started hearing my splits, I knew I was just a touch off pace —but I didn’t panic. At 809m , I still felt in control and started gradually picking it up. Navigating Traffic & The Final Push I was getting back on track when I hit lapped traffic , which forced me to run most of the penultimate lap in Lane 2 —this ended up being my slowest lap . Despite that, I closed strong , crossing t...

This year marked Sarah’s twelfth Aramco Half Marathon, and it was a special one—it was Chloe’s first half marathon! Since Chloe qualified for Corral A , we all got to start together, which made the whole experience even better. We had a blast the night before, laying out all our race gear and making sure we were ready for the big day.  With an incoming Enzo cold front , we knew race day would be chilly —temps feeling like the 20s and plenty of wind to keep things interesting. Race Morning – The Early Grind Alarms went off at 4 AM , and we were up and fueling for the long run ahead. Once we took care of the essentials (yes, emptying the bladders is a must), we headed downtown, following our usual race-day routine. A quick walk from the Toyota Center garage to the GRB Convention Center landed us in the middle of thousands of nervous and excited runners. This was the moment it hit Chloe—this was a BIG deal. The night before, over our traditional pre-race dinner at Ciro’s , we came ...

Gobble Gobble! So we have a running family!  I was pretty excited when we got the call from our oldest that she decided she wants to run the Aramco Half Marathon with us in January. My mind also immediately realized that she will be placed in a different Corral. So we took a look at the requirements for an "A" corral on a certified course: Qualifying Time Standards for Front Corral Seeding Gender Age Group Marathon Half Marathon 10K 10 Miler Male & Female OPEN (all ages) 4:00:00 1:52:55 0:51:08 1:25:06 I looked around online and found the Houston Turkey Dash put on by our friends over at the Houston Run Co . They have a 10k that was just USATF certified, so while she was on her Thanksgiving break we decided we would run the 10k and go for the qualifying time. Race morning was pretty windy with a cold front that had just blown in that morning. I felt like from her training she would be able to nail a 7:50-8 min pace based on her past runs. Of course when the gun went off ...