Muddy Down in Da Bayou

John Cook and I drove down to Houston this evening for Stage 5 of the Tour de Bayou. We met up with Leslee Cade and Brian Zemlica. After all the rain and flooding in Houston this week, the Ho Chi Minh Trail (near Memorial Park) was what we expected - muddy. In some spots, we had to run through mud and water over our ankles. Obviously, the above photo was taken before the race. They announced that the race was 4 miles, however, Leslee's GPS said 3.84. In any case, my time was 43:53.

Road Run

I parked at the track this evening and then ran 3 miles on the roads around town. My loop included Montgomery Road, where I ran into Adrienne Langelier. We had a nice visit.

Humid

Darn, it was humid today. I had to go to a dinner with Marilynn this evening, so I was not able to run trails with the group this evening. Instead, I ran the Avenues 5K course this afternoon.

The Nice Thing About Being Retired

It sure has been easier to maintain my running streak after I retired in 2005. Before that, I had to face whatever weather was available after 5 p.m. and had to run in towns all over the state. In fact, I have run in 103 Texas cities and 76 counties. I also made a few out-of-state and overseas trips (Germany, Okinawa, Japan and Korea) while working for the state, but somehow always got my run in. Heavy rain was correctly predicted for later this afternoon. So, I went out at midday in a pair of new shoes and did a 3.2 mile loop around town. Today makes 6 years and 4 months on my current streak.

Sunday at the Park

Hans, Chris, John, Phillip, Jason and I ran the outer loop at the park this morning. There were lots of runners, bikers and hikers at the park this morning. This included Seven Hills Running Club member, Karen Felicidario, and a group from The Woodlands. We ran into Karen when we finished our loop and she had already done 16 miles with breaking a sweat. It was good to visit with her a while. And, congratulations to Misty Baugh for finishing the OKC Marathon today in 5:08:36 (PR).

Spring Fling 5K

We had a nice crowd for the Seven Hills Running Club's Spring Fling 5K this morning. I got there early and put out the signs, ran the race and then took down the signs. It is a tough course and it was particularly humid this morning. I ran a 35:02, almost a minute slower than I ran the same course a couple months ago. Jerry Flanagan won my age group. I'll sure be glad when he hits 70 next year and gets out of my age group. After the race, some of us had breakfast at the Cafe Texan on the downtown square. It is suppose to be the oldest continually operated restaurant in Texas. The group included Brian Zemlicka, Leslee Cade, Andie Ho, Darren Grant and my son, Ben.

Late Day Run

I had to go up to Tyler today for a funeral and did not get back until late this evening. My knees were killing me from kneeling 30 minutes for a Rosary, a one-hour Mass and having to stand up seven times during Mass. When I got home, I went over to the track and ran a mile.

Change of Routine

When you run everyday, you have to change the routine sometimes. So, I went out to the park this evening and ran 3 miles on the park roads. When I got down to the loop by the lodge, I ran into Mariah, who was spending time at the park with her 4-year old neice. We had a nice visit. Tonight, we had our quarterly Seven Hills Running Club meeting at the Rodeo Mexican Restaurant. It was good seeing and visiting with everyone. Congratulations to Curtis Barton, who was elected Treasurer to replace True Cousins. True had to resign due to work reasons.

Felt Like Summer on the Trails

I went out to the park this afternoon and ran Marisa's Course, which is 3.5 miles. It was in the 80's and humid and felt like summer. I had to get back to the house for a 5:30 meeting this evening.

Two in Town

I had a busy day and sandwiched in a 2-mile run around town this afternoon. Ben and I went to the Sam Houston - Baylor baseball game tonight (Sam won). I did not eat dinner until nearly 10 p.m.

Trails, Again

We ran trails again at the park this evening. It was Curtis, Phillip, Andrew and Karen, Mariah, Mary, Ron and Mary Ann, Josh, Jason and myself. We did the 4.2 mile loop. Nice weather - not too hot, yet.

Sunday Trail Run

The group met this morning to run trails at the park. There was standing water in spots, but for the most part, the trails were in good shape. The water was running over the first bridge south of the Nature Center and I had no choice but to get wet. The rest of the group took a different way back and stayed dry. I ended up running the regular outer loop, which is 6.8 miles.

I Wimped Out

I got out of bed at 5:30 this morning to head for Brenham for the Blue Bell 10K. I checked the weather forecast on the Internet and it showed severe thunderstorms for the start time and for the duration of the race. They even had a red border around the forecase. So, with the heavy storms there and enroute to Brenham, I decided not to go. I later checked the race web site and they said they were delaying the race one hour. Then, I thought about going until I checked the forecast again and they extended the severe thunderstorm warning through the new starting time. So, I wimped out and did not go. I was assuming that the race would be cancelled or rescheduled. However, later in the day, they posted the race results. Adrienne was the female winner and my fellow streaker from The Woodlands, Vince Attanucci, was there. Also, Karen Fowler from the Seven Hills Running Club was there. Then, I was really upset with myself for not going. Addrienne sent me an email this evening saying they changed the course to an out and back and it rained during the whole race. Just as she was finishing, a new storm came through and there was more lightning. Of course, I would have still been running a long time after she finished and would have been caught in the new storm. Oh well, there is next year. I did go out and run around Huntsville this afternoon after the rain stopped. The course ended up being 3.7 miles. After I got home, I ate some Blue Bell.

Pre-Rain Run

I needed a day off today, so I went over to the track this morning just before it started raining and ran one mile+. Tomorrow is the Blue Bell 10K in Brenham. As of now, the forecast is for 100 percent chance of rain at the starting time. I don't mind the rain as long as there is no lightning. I guess if it starts lightning, I'll just run next to a tall person.

Tour de Bayou

I went down to Houston this evening with Hans, John and Karen to run the Tour de Bayou #3. The tour is run on 5 consecutive Thursdays in the fall and in the spring along the bayou east of downtown Houston. Even though Hans has been running it for 13 years and John at least a couple years, this was a first for me and Karen. The entry fee is cheap (free). Number 3 was somewhere between 4.5 and 4.7 miles on grass and asphalt trail with some short steep hills. I forgot to keep track of my time, but I am sure it was fast. They will adventually publish the finish times. I ran into several friends, including Scott Bounds, former SHRC member and Huntsville City Attorney and Ben Harvie, current SHRC member. The Tour de Bayou was a new experience. And, when you run every day like I do, it is important to find new experiences.

Crowd at the Park

We had a big crowd for our trail run at the park this evening. As I recall, it was Hans, John, Chris, Marisa, Mary, Andrew and Karen, Jason, Ron and Mary Ann, Phillip, Curtis and Mike. I ran 6.5 miles and I think most did about the same.

Four at the Park

I had a busy day and ended up with enough time to run 4 miles at the park this evening before going to the Sam Houston baseball game with U. of Houston (Sam won 11-2) tonight. The trails are in good shape after the recent rain.

Avenues with Mary

Mary Sweeten and I ran the Avenues 5K course this evening, followed by a couple laps at the track. Mary's goal is to run the Texas Marathon in Kingwood next January. I have no doubt that she will.

Happy Easter

The group was suppose to run trails this morning at 9:30 a.m. I'm not sure if anyone showed up. If they did, they got wet. At least the rain surely put out the remaining fires from the controlled burn and settled down the ashes. I ran a 2-mile loop around town this afternoon. Tomorrow is the 13th. I suppose it is time to start doing my taxes.

Back to the Smoky Park

Lavonne and I went out to the park this afternoon and ran 11.9 miles. The park is still smoking from the controlled burn a few days ago. Since there is nothing for the animals to eat in the ashes, they must have all left the park. We sure did not see any. Lavonne is training for the Hog's Hunt 25K on May 16 and I guess I am training for the Polish Pickle 5K on June 27.

Smoky Run at the Park

A bunch of us met at the park this afternoon to run trails. The group included Hans, John, Curtis, Phillip, Ron, Sarah from Germany, and Marisa. About 12 feet into the run, I tripped on something and took a hard fall on my already-sore knees. No falls after that. They just completed a controlled burn of most of the park and some trees were still smoldering. There was still plenty of smoke. We ran 6.2 miles.

Sluggish

After my first workout at Nautilus in about 2 weeks, I ran a 2.9 mile loop around town. I felt sluggish. I suppose it was due to the humidity after running in dry New Mexico and Arizona.

Bataan and Beyond

Marilynn and I just returned this evening from our trip to New Mexico and Arizona. We also made a side trip to California, just across the state line from Yuma, Arizona. We left on March 27 and drove to Van Horn, TX, where we spent the night. The next day, we drove up to Las Cruces, New Mexico. We met up with Hans and Linda Jaeger and John Cook. We visited the veterans memorial park in Las Cruces, which includes a statue to honor those soldiers who died during the Bataan Death March during WWII. We then drove to White Sands Missile Range, east of Las Cruces, to pick up my packet for the Bataan Memorial Death March Marathon. Hans, John and I ran the marathon the next day, along with 5,000 + others. It was the most difficult marathon I have run. The elevation (nearly a mile) contributed to the difficulty (I even got a nose bleed during the race). The rest of the difficulty was due to deep sand, wind and the trek up and around the mountain. Luckily, the temperature was relatively cool. I finished in 6:26:42 and placed 347 of 952 in the civilian males (light) category. Light means that we did not carry heavy backpacks. Hans, Linda, John and I had a good time hanging out in Las Cruces and checking out the local eateries.
On Monday morning, Marilynn and I drove out to Yuma, Arizona. Our daughter, Mary, and her Marine husband, Eric, and their chidren, Phillip and Emma, live in government quarters at the Yuma Marine Air Station. We stayed with them. Our youngest, son, Timothy, is a Marine and is stationed at the same base. He lives in the barracks. We spent a great week with our family there. All my runs were on the base. The temperatures got up into the 90's during the day, but cooled quickly in the evenings.
We left for the drive home yesterday. We stayed in Van Horn last night and drove back from there to Huntsville today.