Planned Races

I met Chris and John at the park this evening. I ran two miles on the roads, while they did about the same on the trails. Phillip was already there and he had done a longer run. Here is my race plan for the next few months. I'll probably add some others, but these are for sure.

November 8 - Rocky Raccoon 25K
November 15 - Kats for the Cause 5K, Huntsville
November 16 - San Antonio Marathon
November 22 - Cannonball Run 5K, College Station
November 27 - Run the Woods 5 Miler, The Woodlands
November 29 - Leftover Turkey 10K, Huntsville
December 6 - Sunmart 50K
December 13 - Willis Wildkat 5K (400th race)
December 13 - Jingle Bell 5K, Livingston
January 1 - Texas Marathon, Kingwood
February 14 - Surfside Beach Marathon
Late February - Ramp Romp 5K, College Station
March 7-8 - Texas Independence Relay
March 14 - Seabrook Marathon
March 29 - Bataan Death March Memorial Marathon - New Mexico

Can't Beat the Weather

Great weather for running today. I went to Nautilus this evening and then on to the park for a 2 mile run on the roads. I was tempted to slip over to the trails, but I'll save it for Rocky Raccoon on November 8.

Voted Today

I voted today and I hope everyone else is smart as I am and vote the same way. I worked out at Nautilus this evening and then ran my 2.7 mile loop around town. Then, Marilynn and I went out to dinner tonight to commemorate a marriage streak of 41 years.

Lazy Day

Besides mowing my yard (on my riding lawn mower), I didn't do much today. This evening, I went to Nautilus and then ran laps at the track. I had no blisters from the marathon yesterday, so I felt fine. Back to the roads tomorrow.

Replacement Marathon

Since I wimped out and did not make it to the M2M last Saturday, I did the Miracle Match Marathon today in Waco. It is billed as the toughest marathon in Texas. The temperature was fairly cool for the first half and the hills were not so bad. Then, the hills strike and the temperature got into the 80's. These are really steep and some of the downhills were so steep there was no way to run down. It was up and down from about mile 14 to 24. I did the first half in 2:47, so I had ideas of finishing well under 6 hours. It didn't work out that way. I finished in 6:03:52, which was good enough for first place in my age group, hence two medals. My hamstring never bothered me during the race and I did not get the sharp pains in my right knee that knocked me out of the M2M. I had just the usual sore and stiff knees. I ran into fellow SHRC member, John Slate, at the start line. He ended up 2nd in his age group.

Shiitake 5K

Ben and I went up to Madisonville this morning to run the Shiitake Mushroom Festival 5K. Nice morning for running. I ran a 33:26. Several other Seven Hills Running Club members were there, Sara Seale, John Burick, Robert Duncan and Jerry Flanagan. Sara and Robert were the overall winners. They changed the course this year. Rather than an out and back on the roads, it was a single loop and most of it was on a dirt road through the woods.

Tapering for a 5K

I'm running the Shiitake Mushroom 5K in Madisonville tomorrow morning, so I ran a mile at the track this afternoon. The weather should be nice.

Club Meeting

I went to Nautilus and ran earlier than usual today, because of the Seven Hills Running Club meeting at the Junction Restaurant this evening. I did my 2.7 mile loop around town. Because of the cooler temperature and low humidity, I wanted to keep running. However, I had to get home, shower and then get to the meeting. We had a smaller than usual crowd at the meeting, but there was no shortage of quality people. News from the meeting is on the Latest News page of the club web site.

Back to the Park

I met Phillip, Hans and Chris at the park this evening (Wednesday). While they did their usual 4.5 mile trail run, I did 3 on the roads. SHRC member, Keelie Hughes, was biking on the road and I stopped and visited with her a few minutes. My plan is not to step foot on the trails again until the Rocky Raccoon 25K on November 8. This will be my 8th straight Rocky Raccoon 25K, so I will risk my hamstring for that. In any case, it will be a good training run for the San Antonio Marathon the next weekend. Marilynn and I are looking forward to a weekend in San Antonio. She lived at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio as a kid, when her dad, an Army colonel, was stationed there. I was also stationed at Fort Sam Houston as an Army private in 1961. San Antonio has always been one of our favorite places to visit.

Finished

The 10 x 12 storage building is finally finished. Tours available upon request.
I went to Nautilus this evening, but I was relunctant to work my knees. That was probably what caused my problem last week. My knee hurt less today and the antibiotics are working on my sore throat, so I feel somewhat better. I increased my running distance to 3 miles this evening.

Easing Back In

I was lucky and got an appointment with the doc this morning. He put me on decongestants and antibiotics. My knee seemed to be feeling better, so I did make an issue of that problem. I went to the track this evening and then ran 2 miles on the road from there. So far, no problem. I'll do more tomorrow.

Another Day Recovering

My knee felt better today, but I kept my run to a mile at the track this afternoon. My sinus problem also felt better today, but my fever did return tonight. Maybe I can see my doc tomorrow and get some antibiotics. I'm tired of laying around.

Idle Saturday

I kept thinking about M2M this morning and wishing I was there. Congratulations to Hans and Jon, who both finished. I had a fever all day from the sinus problem. It is in my throat and it is hard to talk or swallow. I ran laps at the track this afternoon and iced my knee tonight. I'm sure it will get better in a few days.

No M2M

I went to the track just after midnight last night to get in my Friday run. I felt a sharp pain in my knee a couple times, but it was tolerable. When I got home, I iced it and told Marilynn that we were good to go early this morning. I went to bed, but was awake most of the night with trobbing pain under my right knee cap. I took some Tylenol about 4 a.m. and was able to sleep a few hours. Then the pain woke me up again. There is no way I can do the Marathon 2 Marathon tomorrow. I was really looking forward to the experience. And, I have no idea what I did to cause the knee problem. Now, my challenge is to keep the streak going. Good luck to Hans and Jon at M2M.

Frustrated

A couple days ago, my allergies started acting up and my throat is sore and my sinuses stopped up. I get it every year and have learned to live (and run) with it. This evening, I went to Nautilus and did my normal workout and then went to run a mile at the track. After the run, I started getting sharp pains in my right knee (besides the normal pain in both knees). I have been icing it and wondering what the heck I did. I am suppose to leave early tomorrow morning for an all day drive to Alpine for the marathon. Now, I don't know. My thinking now is to go get my Friday run in after midnight tonight and then see what happens to the sharp pain in my right knee. I would sure hate to drive all the way to Alpine, start the marathon and then have to DNF. So, if I don't blog tomorrow, that means I went to Alpine.

Two at the Park

The group met at the park this evening. It was Hans, Phillip, Curtis, Marisa, Chris, Josh and I. We got started late, so they all did 3 miles on the trails and I did 2 miles. There was a light rain that tapered off during the run. The weather is looking good in west Texas for the Saturday marathon.

Tapering for Saturday

I went to Nautilus this evening and then did my 2.7 mile course in town. Since I have the Marathon to Marathon this Saturday, I will do about the same tomorrow and even shorter runs on Thursday and Friday. The forecast for Alpine (starting town) on Saturday is a low of 48 and a high of 71 and a 20 percent chance of rain. Sounds good.

Back to Normal

I was busy most of the day working on post-race stuff. A lot of it was sorting out the race results. Some runners ran without their chip, at least one lost their chip, some runners did not report their age or sex and the chip timing company keyed in two females as males. So, we are still trying to sort out everything and it will require some mailing of awards to some runners.
My body felt like it was back to normal today. I suppose that running everyday facilitates quicker recovery from long runs. I worked out at Nautilus this evening and then ran my 2.7 mile course around town. I felt good. When I got back to the track, I ran into Amy, who had just finished a run on the track - barefooted, of course.

Early Post

You may have noticed that virtually all my posts are late at night. This one is early. I have to leave at 9:45 p.m. to go down to the airport to pick up Ben. He has been out in Yuma, AZ the last few days visiting his sister Mary and her Marine husband, Eric, and his Marine brother, Tim. His flight gets in at 11:30, so it will be a late night.
Between football games, I went over to the track and ran laps this afternoon. Tomorrow, I have a lot of race stuff to pack up and haul over and put in our club storage building.

Hot Half

It was early to rise this morning to get everything loaded in my truck and be at the starting point for the Huntsville Half Marathon & 5K at 5:45 a.m. It was my first time running this race since 1996. I started directing the race in 1997. It was a hot and humid morning in Huntsville. I took on a lot of fluid and a couple electrolyte capsules during the race. I finished in 2:46:08 (4 of 6 in my age group). The heat really made it a tough race. I kept thinking about the marathon next Saturday in southwest Texas and trying to convince myself that the lower temperature and dry air would make it tolerable.
It was great that so many of our club members from the south (including Kemah, Spring, The Woodlands and Conroe) were up working as volunteers. A special thanks to Bill Dwyer and TWRC for loaning and delivering 250 traffic cones. This made the course much safer for the runners. Congratulations to our own Adrienne Langelier for repeating as the female winner in the half marathon and to Lavonne for finishing her first half marathon. When I turned the corner to head for the finish line, Norman, Lavonne and Kolton Allen were there to join me to the finish line. I appreciated that. Kolton is 9 years old and came over from Lexington to run the race. He, along with Norman, were the two selectees for the Fit Texan Award for 2008.

Tomorrow Will be Over Soon

Putting on races is a lot of fun, but it always a relief when the things over with. I have been handing details all day and then we did packet pickup this evening from 5 to 8. It was Niki, Robert Duncan, Lavonne and I. Since then, I have been entering entries into the data base, boxing up T-shirts and stacking up stuff to load on my truck early in the morning. I may be too tired to run the race tomorrow - but I'll do it.

Resting for the Half

I didn't get much sleep last night. I was awake thinking about all the stuff I had to do to get things ready for the Huntsville Half Marathon on Saturday. It would be easy if I just could only run it. I went through a long list of places I had to go, things I had to buy and things I had to do. Finally squeezed in a 2-mile run on the road. While running through the campus, I got stopped by a girl that worked on my hamstring at the doc's office. We had a short visit and I recruited her as a volunteer road guard on Curtis' committee. When I got back to the track, I also recruited a guy who use to work for me when I worked for a living. Then, I met Curtis and Phillip (now two less volunteers short) and we drove the half marathon course and checked and marked all the mile markers. After that, we had the packet stuffing party at my house. Thanks to Marilynn, Lavonne, Phillip, Kathy Cook and all the Langwells, we got it done in a couple hours. I have a lot more to do tomorrow. Looks like the weather will be nice on Saturday, but maybe a little on the warm side.

Back at the Park

I ran 3 miles on the roads at the park this evening, while Hans, Curtis, Marisa, Chris, Curtis and Phillip ran trails. Amy finished up a run on the trails by herself and we visited her for a while.

Last Nail

I put the last nail in my new storage building today and started puddying in preparation for painting. If I have to say so myself, it is looking good. Finish photo forthcoming. After going to Nautilus this evening, I ran 3.7 miles around town. Ran into Adrienne and we visited briefly.

Late Posting

I have been working on Huntsville Half Marathon stuff and did not realize that it was after midnight. I only ran laps at the track this evening, anyway.

15.6 Will Have to Do

I ran 15.6 miles on the roads at the state park, starting about 10:30 a.m. That will have to do for my long run before the marathon on October 18. I usually like to do 20 before a marathon, but with the heat and sore hamstring and knees, I had to settle for less. Hopefully, it will be cooler and less humid out in southwest Texas.

New Out of the Box

I took a new pair of running shoes out of the box and started breaking them in this evening. Obviously, they felt stiff and I only did two miles on the road. The Marathon 2 Marathon is two weeks away and I need to get them broken in by then. I'll probably do my long run tomorrow in the old shoes and then switch to the new ones entirely. Since Niki is directing the Huntsville Half on October 11, I plan on running it. I have not run it since I starting directing it in 1997.

Something Different and a PR

To do something different, I went down to The Woodlands for the 7 p.m. Nike South Cross Country 5K put on by The Woodlands Running Club. Since it was getting dark, they changed the course to the lighted area around the football field, which shortened the course. SHRC and TWRC member, Bill Dwyer, was in charge and we had a nice visit. He estimated the course to be a 4K. I ran a 24:41, so it was certainly not a 5K. Since I have never run a 4K, this would make it a PR.

Sorta Like Yesterday

Today was sorta like yesterday, except that I did my 2.7 mile loop in town.

Off Day

After working on my storage building most of the day, I worked out at Nautilus and then ran laps at the track. The cooler and dryer air is nice.