Did Not Feel Like Running

I just did not feel like running today, so I went to the track this evening and ran one mile.

Afternoon in Conroe

Marilynn and I went down to Hans and Linda's house this afternoon to help celebrate Linda's 60th birthday. The BBQ was good and I ate too much. I took a nap when I got home and then went out for a run - only because I am a streaker. It was hard to get going, but I ended up doing a 2.7 mile loop around town.

Short Road Run

Ben and I went down to the Sam Houston-Rice U. baseball game in Houston this evening, so I did a 2-mile run on the road in town in the middle of the afternoon. Rice upset Sam 5-2.

Five Miles at the Park

We had 20 in our group at the park this evening, which we think was a record. I took off on my own and ran five miles on the park roads while the others were on the trails. I took it easy, so as not to re-injure my pulled calf muscle (I assume that is what the problem was). It was a little sore by the time I finished, but no sharp pains during the run.

Recovery Run at the Track

Kenny

Raven

Artic Fox

Tundra

My calf was still sore, so I did another recovery run today. This time at the track. I'll try a longer trail run tomorrow. I just got off the phone with my son Kenny, who is working for a few weeks on the north slope of Alaska. I am including four of the photos that he took the other day near the camp.

Recovery Run on the Trails

I met up with the group at the park this evening. I ran 1.4 miles on the trail. It started hurting (but not the sharp pain that stopped me yesterday), so when I got to the park road, I walked about a mile back to the Nature Center. I had ice in my beverage cooler, so I iced it until the rest of the group finished.

Oops

At about the two and a half mile point in the Run the Woodlands 5K on Saturday, I suddenly felt like my left calf knotted up. It was sore for the rest of the race, but tolerable. I had no problem with it during my run yesterday. This evening, I was running a loop around town and at about a mile and a half, I started getting sharp pains in the same calf. I walked back and that was painful. I iced it when I got home, but it is still very sore. Hopefully, it will be okay tomorrow. I may do "recovery runs" for the next couple days.
We had the Seven Hills Running Club's Memorial Day 5K in my sub-division at 10 a.m. this morning, followed by a cookout at my house. We had 28 runners for the race and more than that for the cookout. We had a great time. A special thanks to my old friends, Pete Cahill from Baytown and Loren Sheffer from Houston for coming up. Also, thanks to my wife, Marilynn, for all her work with the cookout.

Family in Town

We had family in today from Tyler and Wylie, so before anyone arrived, I did one of my rare morning training runs. I did a 3.2 mile loop around town.

RTW

I went down to The Woodlands this morning with Mary, Mariah, Sarah and Lori for the Run the Woodlands 5K. Curtis met us there. I ran the course in 33:34. I had a visit with Lou Wilson, who at 73 just completed his 100th marathon. He only has 5 more states to complete a marathon in all 50 states. Congratulations, Lou. Sarah and Laura rode back with Curtis and Mary, Mariah and I had breakfast at Skeeters.

Went Fishing Again

I ran five laps at the track this afternoon and then went fishing with Ben again at the park. I am beginning to think they removed the fish from the lake. No one else was getting a bite either.

Three Straight at the Park

Ben and I went fishing at the park this afternoon. We tried every bait possible, but could not get a bite. Maybe it was too hot and windy. We will try again tomorrow. I did go back to the park this evening to run trails. We had a large group, including Lavonne and several runners new to the park. We did a 4.7 mile loop. I ran most of it with Mary Turner and Lottoya Manderson, who had never run at the park. They seemed to enjoy it.

Bounce Sheets

Phillip was at the park yesterday with a Bounce sheet (the things you put in your clothes dryer) hanging out from the back of his cap. It is suppose to keep the biting horse flies and other pesky critters away. It must be my body chemistry, but I tend to get attacked and bitten by horse flies more than most. The group met at the park this evening and Phillip brought me a sheet. It emits a strong odor, but I wore it during the 4.2 mile loop and nothing got close to me, including other runners.

Trails for a Change

After a workout at Nautilus, I met up with the group this evening and ran 4.2 miles on the trails at the park. The cooler temperature felt nice.

Empty Roads

The traffic around town is much lighter, now that the spring semester at Sam Houston State has ended. It makes road running in Huntsville more pleasant. After a workout at Nautilus this evening, I ran a 3.4 mile loop around town. Less than a block into my run, Mariah and Mary honked and stopped and we had a nice visit. We are all going down to the Run the Woodlands 5K this Saturday. Anybody else want to go?

50th High School Class Reunion

I went up to Tyler this weekend to attend my 50th high school class reunion, Tyler High School Class of 1959. I got in a run in Huntsville Friday before leaving, a run in Tyler on Saturday and a run in Huntsville when I got back this evening. Actually, it was a joint Robert E. Lee/Tyler High School Reunion. Back in those days, Tyler High was the only white high school in Tyler. Robert E. Lee first opened in 1959, so those who lived on the north side of Tyler stayed at Tyler High and those on the south side went to Robert E. Lee for their senior year. They built a new high school on the north side of Tyler, which opened in 1960. It is called John Tyler High School. Tyler High was closed after the 1959, but the building is still there and is being used as a daycare center. In any case, we had a good time at the reunion. There were several, including two good friends who I was in the Cub Scouts with, who had not previously attended a reunion and I got to see them for the first time in 50 years. One kept raving about my Mother's cookies and described them in detail. How can somebody remember cookies after 50 years? The weekend events started with a reception on Friday night. On Saturday morning, we had a guys only breakfast. The dinner and dance was on Saturday night. It was really good visiting and reminicsing with old friends. Bill Allen, who recently retired as the Editor of National Geographic Magazine, and I spent some time together. I did not realize that he was suppose to be on the plane that crashed into the Pentagon on 9/11 with some other National Geographic employees. At the last minute, he had to cancel his trip to resolve a problem with an article for the next issue. I also visited with Kenneth Crone. He was the real life DPS trooper held hostage in the incident portrayed in the 1974 movie, "Sugar Land Express," starring Goldie Hawn. My old girl friend, Peggy Sue, didn't make it to the reunion. Neither did my good friend, Dr. Robert Peters. Bob and went to school together from Kindergarden all the way through high school. He became totally blind in about the 9th grade. When we graduated from high school, he received his diploma and then walked off the stage into the orchestra pit. He was not hurt and we laughed about it since.
I tried to recruit some of my classmates for my Saturday run, but could not find any takers.

Busy Day

I had a busy day, but squeezed in a workout at Nautilus and a 2-mile loop around town before going to the Sam Houston-Corpus Christi baseball game with my son, Ben.

Ditto

I ran the same 3 mile course as yesterday, but did not witness any wrecks.

Knees Feel Better

My knees felt better today. I was able to work them a little at Nautilus before doing a 3 mile loop around town this evening. I witnessed a car wreck on Sam Houston Avenue. It was a fairly serious wreck, but everyone told me they were okay (thanks to air bags). I interrupted by run and provided some assistance to one of the drivers.

Back from Wylie

I went up to Wylie (northeast of Dallas) Saturday afternoon and returned to Huntsville this evening. I did a 2.3 mile road run in Wylie Sunday evening and a 2 mile road run in Huntsville this evening. My knees are very sore, but that is a long story.

YMCA Trail Run

I went down to Conroe this morning for the YMCA 5K Trail Run. As expected this time of the year, it was hot and humid and the trail was muddy in spots. I was surprized that no one else from the Seven Hills Running Club was there, except Jon Walk, who was spectating and acting like the sports reporter he is. They had nearly 300 runners, so the race is growing. I ran 34:45, a whole 10 seconds faster than last year. I was the only one in the 65 and over age group, so I got first in my age group.

Resting Up

Since I am doing the Conroe YMCA 5K Trail Run tomorrow morning and my knees were aching, I went to the track this evening and ran one mile +.

Calorie Replacement

After working out at Nautilus this evening, I ran a 3.2 mile loop around town. Marilynn and I then went to the Farmhouse Restuarant, where I had a chicken fried steak dinner. I think I more than replaced the calories I burned while exercising.

Bandera Grill 5K

Mariah and I ran the Bandera Grill 5K course in the Forest Hills Subdivision this evening. Darren Grant ran most of the course with us.

Three Around Town

I ran a 3-mile loop around town this afternoon and then went to the Sam-Texas A&M baseball game in College Station tonight (A&M upset Sam).

Short Road Run

For a retiree, I was busy today. I managed to get in a 2-mile road run late this afternoon. We met my son, Kenny, and his friend, Jenny, at the Olive Garden in The Woodlands this evening for dinner. Kenny is leaving for the north shore of Alaska on Wednesday and will be up there a few weeks.

Deep Water

I checked the forecast on weather.com early this morning and it looked like our 9:30 a.m. run would be inbetween thunderstorms. Phillip and I were the only ones to show up at the park. We did the 6.8-mile outer loop and I misinterpreted the forecast. It rained virtually the entire run and for a while, the lightning got pretty close. There was deep standing water in many places and we had to go through it. Amy's crossing was covered with water. The bridge south of the Nature Center was entirely covered with about one foot of water. In crossing, I had to aim for the other end of the bridge and try to stay on the bridge as I crossed. Phillip was up ahead of me on the west perimeter trail and ran across 4 wild hogs on the trail. They had taken off by the time I got to that point. We ran into several runners from The Woodlands and Felix was there also. Except for the lightning, it was a fun.

GRACE 5K

I went over to the A&M campus in College Station this morning to run the 1st Annual GRACE 5K, which supports the local Salvation Army. Nice race with less than 100 runners. The course was flat. I finished in 32:54, which gave me 2nd place in the 60 and over age group (yes, there was only two of us).

Day Off

My right knee was really hurting today, so I took today off. That is, I went to the track and ran laps this afternoon. Besides, I am doing at 5K in College Station tomorrow morning.