Quarter Marathon

Mariah and I did one loop of the Huntsville Half Marathon course (6.55 miles) this morning. I have to admit, while running in the morning (we started at 10) is unusual for me, the cooler temperature felt good. Mariah did well and she is a good running partner.

Back to the Park

I met up with Curtis and Phillip this evening at the park. I ran three miles on the road, while they ran trails. Mariah was there also, running a different course. She and I agreed to run the 6.55 mile Huntsville Half course tomorrow morning.

Recovery Run

I did yard work for much of the day and then ran a one mile recovery run at the track this evening.

Beat Up

I went out to the park this morning to run trails. I ended up doing 13.7 miles. I don't know what it was, the race yesterday, the heat today or the fact that I have not run trails much lately, but I fell hard several times. While I have three cuts on my leg and knee, I feel beat up.

Fall Fun Run 10K

It's early Sunday morning, so I am late blogging. I have been watching the Houston-Texas Tech game and it was just over. I ran the club's Fall Fun Run 10K this morning. The course was out and back on Veteran's Blvd. It was hilly and hot. I was getting use to that cooler weather we had early this week. We had 28 runners, most doing the 10K, but some the 5K and some the 1-Mile race. I ran the course in 1:12:33, slow but about 4 minutes faster than last year.

Well, I did it.

I signed up for the Austin Marathon today. It will be held on Sunday, February 14. I had already signed up for the Surfside Beach Marathon, which will be held the day before. I have never done back to back marathons, so this will be my challenge for the year. I'm committed now. I took the day off and ran a mile at the track this evening. I will run the club 10K tomorrow morning on Veteran's Blvd.

Easy Day

I accepted an invitation from Coach Bill West at Huntsville Intermediate School and gave a talk on running this afternoon to his 6th grade PE class. That was fun for me and I hope they enjoyed it. Hopefully, it will inspire some to take up running as a sport. I had asked for some advice from my friend, Donna Crocker, on how to best communicate with them. One of her suggestions was that I show them some medals. I brought a few marathon finisher medals and they seemed to enjoy looking at them. As a grand finale, I brought out the huge 2 1/2 pound Texas Marathon finisher medal from last January. They applauded the medal and everyone of them had to put it around their neck before I left the building. I invited them to participate in the club run this Saturday and hopefully some will.
We had a light group at the park this evening, just the hard core runners who don't care about the possibility of rain. It was me, Hans, John, Curtis and Jacob. There was no rain during our run. I did 3 on the roads, while the rest ran trails.

Nine in Town

I cannot believe this 60+ degree temperature today. I ran all over Huntsville this afternoon and the course turned out to be 9 miles. I even ran past my old house and the yard looked terrible.

Empty Park

The park was virtually empty this evening. I ran 5 miles on the park roads with no traffic to contend with. After the rain today, it was much cooler and that felt good.

Losing Weight

I decided to lose some weight before running a bunch of marathons this year. I started two weeks ago and have lost 10 pounds down to 198. Obviously, I feel better, but there is a loss of strength. I needed to do a long run today, but decided to do five miles instead because of the heat. During the run, I started getting dizzy, so I walked a bit and cut the run to four miles. I'm not sure how far to go with the weight loss, but I think at least below 190. I was 184 for years before I retired from the Army in 1984. I was 159 when I came home from Vietnam in 1968. Even though I was a heavy smoker back then, I did get in some runs when I was back at the base camp. The 120 degree temperature helped keep the weight down, also.
I received my quarterly newsletter from the U.S. Running Streak Assn. (http://www.runeveryday.com) today. I moved up a couple spaces on the streak list to 144 nationally. My friend, Vince Attanucci of The Woodlands, is 145 - and will stay behind me.

St. Anthony's 5K

I did a short run in Huntsville Friday morning and then drove to Wylie (northeast of Dallas) to spend the weekend with my son, George, and his family. On Saturday, George and I ran the St. Anthony's 5K, a race put on by his church. George was 4th overall and 2nd in his age group. I ran a 33:10 and came in 2nd in my age group. I did beat a few other runners, including a lady pushing triplets in a stroller. I got back to Huntsville late this evening and ran a couple miles in town.

Soggy Day

Now, we seem to be getting too much rain. It let up this evening just in time for our park run. I ran about 3.5 mile on the park roads, while the rest of the group ran trails.

Routine Day

I worked out at Nautilus this evening and then ran a 2.9 mile loop around town.

Texas Marathon Triple

I received an email today from Steve and Paula Boone, directors of the Texas Marathon in Kingwood on January 1, telling me that the Texas Marathon Triple (TMT). The TMT began two years ago and provided recognition to runners who completed the Texas Marathon, Surfide Beach Marathon in February and the Seabrook Marathon in March. Puma has backed out of awarding a jacket, but the three races will award a special T-shirt and camp. I have completed the TMT the last two years and am signed up for all three races again this year. I will have to start of "Series Streak" list. I have also completed the Texas Marathon Challenge the last two years. This is any five Texas marathons in a year. I also plan to do the Marathons of Texas (White Rock, Houston and Austin) this year if they decide to continue with the program. The real challenge will be doing Surfide and Austin the same weekend. I had better start training. I met up with the group and the park this evening and did the 4.2 mile trail run with them.

Loop Around Town

I wrote my Running Shorts column for the Huntsville Item this morning and sent it in this afternoon for publication tomorrow. I wrote about running lingo, an idea suggested by Leah when we were running trails this weekend. Thanks, Leah. I worked out at Nautilus this evening and then ran a 3.1 mile loop around town.

Ten at the Park

There was a big bike race at the park this morning, so we were restricted on where we could run. Brian Zemlicka and Leslee Cade were just finishing up the outside loop when Leah and I got to the Nature Center. They said they had no problem with the outside loop. So, Leah and I ran the 6.8 mile outer loop. She had never run over five miles and she did well with the new distance. After we finished, I drove her back to her car and went back into the park. I ran a 3.2 mile course on the trails to give me 10 total. This was my first run on the trails in several months. Don't tell my doctor.

Bearkat Bash 5K

I went down to Spring this morning to run the Bearkat Bash 5K at Klein HS - for the 8th straight year. Cool, but very humid. Lots of rain during the drive down. I ran it in 33:18.

2,450

Today was my 2,450th consecutive day of running. To celebrate, I only ran 2 miles. Gotta race in the morning, anyway.

Flat Land Training

Us runners who run hills everyday need to run flat lands once in a while. I went down to Houston this evening for the Houston Marathon Kick-Off Party at Memorial Park, picked up my in-training T-shirt, had a couple beers, visited with a lot of friends and then ran the flat 3-mile Memorial Park loop. I did interupt my run with a stop to visit the bench dedicated to 45 year old Gary Price, the Houston Police Officer who died of a heart attack during the Huntsville Half Marathon in 1997. It was my first visit to the bench since the Houston Police dedication ceremony in late 1997. May he RIP.

Cooler, but Muggy

After working out at Nautilus this evening, I ran a 3.9-mile loop around town. While the temperature was cooler, the humidity was high. I wore a 100% cotton T-shirt, which weighed about five pounds by the time I finished the run. What did we do before they came out with tech shirts?

Empty Park

After a crowded weekend, the park was virtually empty this evening. Starting today, the group is meeting at 5:30 p.m. every Tuesday and Thursday. While the group ran trails, Leah Koester, who just joined the Seven Hills Running Club, and I ran 5 miles on the roads. We had a nice visit and she put up with my slow pace.

Groggy

I got up at 3 this morning to drive my Marine son, Timothy, to the airport for his flight back to Yuma. He deploys overseas on September 13. Then, I left at 3 p.m. to drive my daughter, Lisa, to the airport for her flight back to Chicago. So, I have been groggy all day. I spent much of my spare time today trying to talk to someone at Bank of America. I was looking at my checking account online and found that some company that I had never heard of or done business with made three drafts on my account this weekend. Bank of America does not have anyone to talk to anywhere about such things outside of normal business hours. I will be at the bank when it opens at 9 tomorrow morning. Running became a last priority today, but I did get over to the track late this evening and run a mile.

Crowded Park

I still had relatives at the house today, but I slipped out this evening and went to the park to run. It was packed. I ran a 5-mile loop on the park roads. Last Thursday when I ran the same course, two cars passed me during the entire run. Today, a hundred or so. Also, the smell of hamburgers everywhere.

Sluggish 5K

We had a big cookout at my house today and I ate too much. This evening, I ran the Avenues 5K course. I did not time my run and it's probably a good thing I did not.

New Route

I carved out a new route around town this afternoon. It ended up being 3.7 miles.

Running Schedule Off

With Timothy visiting this week and a lot of relatives coming in this weekend, my running schedule will be a little off. We had photos taken this afternoon for the church directory and we went to the Sam footfall game tonight. I ran a 2.7 mile loop around town at noon and never made it to Nautilus. I have to pick up my daughter at the airport tomorrow morning. She is coming in from Chicago. Then, my son and his family are coming in from Wylie tomorrow evening. I guess it will be a mid-afternoon run tomorrow. I'll have to figure out when to run on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Normalcy returns on Tuesday.

Was it cooler today?

I did not check the temperature when I ran at 6 p.m. today, but it sure felt cooler. It is officially early fall? In any case, I did my 2.9 mile loop around town after working out at Nautilus.

Five at the Park

We had a lot of new people in the group at the park this evening, including my Marine son, Timothy. While everyone else ran trails, I ran 5 miles on the park roads. I felt strong the entire run. It seemed cooler, at least cooler than the 116 degree temperature during my run last Friday in Yuma.