Frost Your Fanny 10K

It's nice to be able to run some of the club's monthly races after directing those races for years. I ran the Frost Your Fanny 10K this morning. With the cold temperature, the race lived up to its name. The course is two loops of the Huntsville 5K course, which starts and finishes at the HKC on campus. Tough hills. I finished in 1:13:20.

4.2 Mile Trail Run

John, Andrew and Karen and I met up at the park and did 4.2 this evening. As we finished, Mariah and Mary were just finishing a shorter run. John was going back to the park at 7 p.m. to run in the dark with Phillip and Curtis.

Avenues 5K, Again

My Marine son, Timothy, came in from Yuma, AZ last night. I picked him up at the airport at 11:30 p.m. I have a lot of jackets, but I happened to wear my Texas Marathon Triple jacket. Getting off the same flight from Phoenix was Jerry Fuqua, who use to own a running store in Houston and now works for Puma. Jerry was at the Seabrook Marathon last year and was the guy who presented me with my Texas Marathon Triple jacket. Maybe it made his day by getting off the plane and seeing one of his jackets being worn. I had a short visit with Jerry before Timothy showed up. Timothy and Ben went to Nautilus with me to work out this afternoon. Later, I went to the track and ran the Avenues 5K course. Nice cold weather.

Good News from Aggieland

I received an email from Texas A & M Rec Sports this afternoon informing me that the Ramp Romp 5K at Kyle Field is back on. A couple months ago, they told me that the race was being discontinued. That's good news, since this is one of my favorite races. The only change is that it will be held in November, rather than February. The race starts on the track at Kyle Field, goes one mile around campus and then up and down all three sets of ramps at Kyle Field and then finishes on the track.
Hans, John, Andrew and Karen, Ron Davis and I ran trails this evening. Ron took a hard fall and his knee hit a root a little over a mile into the run. It was bothering him, so he turned around and went back. The rest of us did a 6.2 mile loop.

Track Run

I needed a break today, so I went to the track this evening and ran laps.

Trails, Again

After a workout at Nautilus, I met up with Hans, John, Curtis and Andrew and Karen this evening at 5 p.m. to run trails. I ran 4.3 and got in not long before dark. I have not seen a deer while running at the park in a long time. When I started running at the park about 15 years ago, I would see them frequently. On many occasions, they ran across the trail in front of me and scared the dickens out of me. I know the deer population in the U. S. has increased dramatically over the years. Maybe the increase of runners and bikers on the trails have kept them out of the park.

Outer Perimeter Trail

A bunch of us met at the park to run trails this afternoon. I ended up running a little different route than the others. I ran the outer perimeter trail, which circles the park. It turned out to be 8.8 miles. With no rain in Huntsville for weeks, the trails are very dry and it is starting to get sandy in places. Even Amy's crossing is dried up.

RTW

This morning, I decided to break my daily retirement routine of sleeping in and went down south to run the Run the Woodlands 5K. The first time I ran that race was on June 12, 2004. Today was my 35th time to run it and I finished in 33:39. I'm sorta getting to know the course. The race is held on the 2nd and 4th Saturday of every month and is in it's 8th year. Click here for their web site. John Slate from the Seven Hills Running Club was also there. Jon Walk was policing the course on his bike and we had a chance to visit for a while. This afternoon, I received an email from Ryane Broussard, a former club member who moved to Louisiana. She finished the Houston Marathon last Sunday and started a blog. Click here to visit her blog.

Amy is Back

The trail group this afternoon turned out to be me, Hans and Amy. It was Amy's first time out in a while, so we did 4.5 miles. Amy did well, and yes, she ran barefooted.

Avenues 5K

I met up with Mary Sweeten, Mariah Reynolds and Vinessa Mundorff and we ran the Avenues 5K. Perfect weather and nice run.

Mostly Roads

Thank goodness that this is the last week the park will be closed for hunting. It opens again at noon this Friday. Anyway, I ran 4.6 miles on the roads and then .5 with Mary Sweeten at the track. She committed herself to running a marathon in 2009. Maybe Lavonne will make the same committment. Let's make sure they do it.

Hike at the Park

Marilynn, Ben and his girlfriend, Sasha, and I went hiking in the park this morning. I haven't done that for years. Of course, that does not count for a run. I showed them the mushroom and took a photo, which I inserted below. We drove Sasha to the airport this evening and did not get back until about 7 p.m. I went to Nautilus and then ran laps at the track.

Big Mushroom

A bunch of us met at 1 p.m. today to run trails. Late this morning, I received an email from Natali saying she and Rachel were running late. I told her that I would wait for them. John, Chris, Curtis, Phillip, Ron and Mary Ann Davis, Josh, Andrew and Karen, Mariah and Brian Loft went into the park at 1, while I waited for Natali and Rachel. At 1:30, Mary Sweeten showed up. She and I waited another 10 minutes and went on into the park. We ran 4.1. It was good to see her back on the trails after a long absence. We ran into a couple park rangers and they told us about a large mushroom growing inside a hole in a tree. It is along the road that runs south from the Nature Center. They showed it to us. Very interesting. I went to Nautilus (Natali and Rachel work there) later this afternoon. They were out of town today and did not make it back in time to run.

Marathon Spectating

I got up early and drove down to the Houston Marathon to participate as a spectator. Standing for hours was really tiring. I positioned myself about three blocks from the finish line. I saw most everyone I knew who was running and even got a chance to photograph some. Congratulations to everybody who ran. I went to a couple stores on the way home. I got home late and had just enough time to go run laps before going to a cookout.

Trails, Again

The weather was so nice today, I could not resist running trails again at the park. I did the 6.8 mile outer loop again, except I reversed the direction. I don't want to get too consistent. Felix was also running trails and we visited for a few minutes out on the west perimeter trail.

Trails and Expo

Bambi killing at the park for this week ended at noon today. It was about 39 degrees at noon and Amy was not able to make it to the park for our run. So, I ran the 6.8 mile outer loop alone. Curtis got there at noon also and was going to run 16+. Hans, John, Natali and Andrew and Karen got there at 1 p.m. and I am not sure what course they ran. I did see them on the west perimeter trail. After running, I went down the Houston Marathon Expo, bought 3 pair of running shorts and visited with a lot of friends. At 7 p.m., Marilynn, Ben and his girlfriend met up with Jon Walk and a bunch of others at the Spagetti Warehouse for dinner.

Club Meeting

We had a nice crowd for the quarterly Seven Hills Running Club meeting tonight. It was a potluck dinner at the new fire station and the food was great. Norman did a good job of setting it all up; however, he would not let us slide down the pole (actually, they don't have one). I ran my 2.7 mile course in town this afternoon. Just after starting, I ran into Norman and his daughter, Chantel, and ran with them about 2 miles. Chantel and I did real well and Norman was able to keep up with us.

Extra Time on my Hands

I took my computer to the shop this morning and got it back this afternoon. It works so much faster now, I will have all this extra time on my hands. Norton is gone forever. A group met at 4:30 this evening at the track to run the hills in the avenues. I ran some of the same course they ran, but then looped around the campus. I ended up running 3.6 and then went to Nautilus. I met Amy (barefooted) at the track and we are going to meet at the park to run trails at noon on Friday.

Busy Day

For being retired, I was busy today. I did make it to Nautilus and to the track to run laps. My computer has really gotten slow. It's clogged up with something. Norton is lousy. I'm taking the computer in to the shop tomorrow and get it cleaned out. So, I'm not sure when I will be back online. Hopefully, it will be later tomorrow.

New Shoes

When I find a pair of shoes that I like at the right price, I go ahead and buy two or three pair. Since I usually go through five pair a year, my stock does not last that long. I took my last pair of Asics Fortitudes off the closet shelf this afternoon and met up with the group to run the hills in the Avenues. It was Hans, Chris, Karen, John, Ron and Lavonne. I ended up running 3.4 miles. The new shoes should get me through March, so I need to look for a good shoe deal.

Jake's Grave

Hans, Chris, John, Phillip and I ran trails this afternoon. We did an odd course, which as about 7 miles. When we were near the spillway, Phillip took us out in the woods about 50 yards to show us a grave in a nice spot overlooking the lake. His dog had found it earlier. It was small and covered with a mound of rocks. There was a homemade grave marker with the name, Jake. We assume that it is a dog grave, but who knows?

Saturday Trail Run

Couldn't ask for better trail running weather today. I met up with Misty, Robin and Najat from The Woodlands and Spring and Natali and Rachel from Huntsville at the park this morning. We ran 12.5 miles. There was no wildlife in sight, but we did see a lot of bikers and hikers.

Back on the Trails

I met up with the group at the park this afternoon. Since I am doing 12.5 tomorrow, I ran 3.5 miles alone. The rest of the group did the outer loop. There was a young couple hiking the trail. They heard me coming and stepped to the side of the trail to let me pass. As I went by, the girl starting clapping and saying "Way to go." Maybe she thought I was racing and was way ahead of everyone else.

Road Run

I ran my 2.7 mile road course around the campus this evening. Adrienne was driving by and we stopped and visited for a while. I am really excited about her prospects at the Houston Marathon later this month. She will really do well.

Gimpy Three

After working out at Nautilus this evening, I ran two gimpy miles on the roads and one at the track. The left knee continues to improve and should be fine for a trail run on Saturday.

Easing Back

I met the group at 4:30 and ran 1.6 miles on the road and another half mile on the track. My left knee is still painful, but I figure I will be back to my normal knee pain by the end of the week.

A New Streak of Sorts

When I checked in at the Texas Marathon last Thursday, I ran into an old friend. He mentioned that he had been reading my blog and insinuated that I was regularly reporting injuries. I did report in my blog entry after completing the marathon that day that I took a hard fall on the concrete early in the race. I was able to finish okay and felt fine for the rest of the day. When I woke up on Friday, my left knee was swollen, stiff and painful. Since then, I have talken much Aleeve and iced it frequently. Since I did not want to sound like a wimp, I have not blogged for the last couple days. Anyway, my new streak is four straight days of painfully running one mile to keep the big streak alive. It seemed to be better today and should be okay in a couple days. I plan on doing 12.5 on the trails Saturday morning at 10 a.m. with Misty and others from The Woodlands and some from here.
I was pleased to see some of my almost-as-old-as-I neighbors out getting some excercise a couple days ago. He rode by my house on an ATV and his wife was following on her bicycle - tied to the ATV with a rope. For some reason, I don't think I will be able to get them to join our running club anytime soon.

Relaxing Day

I slept in this morning (well, I do that most days, anyway) and didn't do much today. I did go run laps at the track this evening and then workout at Nautilus.

Texas Marathon

I went to bed at midnight last night, but found it difficult getting to sleep. Then at 2:30, the people across the street started setting off fireworks for an hour. After that, I finally got a little sleep, but woke up at 4:30. I never went back to bed and left at 5:40 to meet Norman and drive down to Kingwood for the Texas Marathon. Perfect marathon weather! About a quarter mile into the race, I somehow tripped on the sidewalk and took a hard fall. I shook it off and never fell again. Early in the first of four loops, I started running with a Kingwood school teacher, Amy Hitchcock. She was doing the half marathon and we ran together for two loops. We had a nice visit and the time passed by quickly. My third loop was miserable and slow. I felt much better in the fourth and final loop and had a good strong finish. I never walked during the entire race, except through the aid stations. My finish time was 6:06:47 (compared to 6:30:24 in this same race last year and 5:48:07 in San Antonio in November). A photo of the finisher medal (2.2 pounds) is shown above, along with last year's medal. Other SHRC members running were Norman Langwell, Jon Walk, Curtis Barton and Edwin Quarles. Bill Dwyer was there to provide support and Waverly Walk sang the National Anthem and worked as a volunteer. Soon-to-be SHRC member, Misty Baugh, was also there providing support.