Sweetheart 5K

Our Seven Hills Running Club held its annual Sweetheart 5K run this afternoon. I felt fully recovered from the marathon yesterday and ran 34:37 on the hilly course.

Cowtown Marathon

I ran the Cowtown Marathon in Fort Worth this morning. My time was 5:49:57 (4th of 6 in my age group). The weather was perfect; 35 at the start, sunny and it got up to 62 during the race. I have run Cowtown twice before, but the last time was 2002 and the course has changed completely since then. Much hillier now. At mile 11, I got dizzy and nearly fell. I walked a bit and started running again. Almost fell again. I made it to Mile 12 aid station, took a couple electrolyte capsules, a gel and lots of water and Powerade. Every station after that, I took on much more fluids. I felt okay after I got better hydrated and finished strong. I got home about 6 p.m. and went to the Sam Houston - Texas at Arlington basketball game. As expected, Sam won easily.

Ready for Cowtown

I ran 4.1 miles on the trails at the park this evening. Tomorrow, I will do a short run and then head for Fort Worth for the Cowtown Marathon on Saturday. It will be two weeks since my marathon double, so I am well-rested. The weather for Saturday looks good. I have run the Cowtown Marathon twice before, but the last time was 2002 and they have changed the course since then.

Road Run

After a workout at Nautilus this evening, I ran a 3-mile loop on the roads in town. Ben and I went to the Sam Houston State basketball game with McNeese tonight. Sam won and clinced the conference championship.

Snow Day

We actually had an inch or two of snow today. I have lived in Huntsville since 1985 and it is by far the most I have seen. Late this morning, before the rain and snow, I went to the track and got in a run. With a marathon this Saturday in Fort Worth, I will do short runs for the rest of the week, probably nothing more than 4 miles or so.

601st Blog Entry

I just noticed that yesterday's blog entry was my 600th since I started blogging on April 19, 2008. This will be 601. I missed a few days, but not many. Since I run every day, there is always something to blog about. The challenge is coming up with a title and saying something interesting. Since I am not very creative and my running for the most part is rather routine, that is hard to do.
Tomorrow, it is suppose to be cold, rainy and snowy, so the group decided to run trails at the park this evening. I did 4.2 miles and went to Nautilus afterwards.

Sunday Morning Trails

The group ran trails at the park this morning. While there were variations in the routes run by some, I did the regular 6.8-mile outer loop.

Day Off

After running 73.9 miles in the last 7 days, I decided to rest today. I went to the track this afternoon and ran one mile. Today was Boy Scout Merit Badge Day at Sam Houston State. I spoke to a classroom of scouts about my military service and answered a lot of questions. I was also introduced as a runner and I got a few questions about running too. However, most of the questions were about guns.

Added Another Marathon to the Schedule

I added the Little Rock Marathon (March 7, 2010) to my race schedule (scroll down to the bottom of this page). That will be one week after the Cowtown Marathon in Fort Worth and two weeks before the Seabrook Marathon. Yea! No long training runs needed.
I ran 4.1 miles at the park this evening and then worked out at Nautilus.

Nice Weather for Running Trails

I ran 8.2 miles on the trails at the park with the group this evening. Great weather and the trails are drying out after all that rain a few days ago.

Three on the Roads

After a workout at Nautilus this evening, I ran a 3-mile loop on the roads around town.

Marvin Dittfurth's Book

I received Marvin Dittfurth's book (I Hear Footsteps) in the mail today and have started reading it. Marvin and I have been friends for nearly 25 years and have been to a lot of races together. He lives in Midway, not far from Huntsville. For years, Marvin and I took turns being president of the Seven Hills Running Club. His book can be purchased at http://www.ihfootsteps.com/contact_us.html
I had a doctor's appointment in The Woodlands this afternoon. I dropped by Luke's Locker afterwards and bought a new pair of running shoes. I had my running shorts on under my jeans and met up with the group at the park on the way back to Huntsville. We went different directions, but Hans and I ran a 3.5-mile loop.

Recovery Day

Actually, I felt okay today. No blisters or particular pains from the two marathons this weekend. I met up with the group at the park this afternoon. They were doing 6+ miles and I opted to run a 2.7-mile loop alone. I did not stay around for the normal post-run party and went from there to Nautilus for a workout.

Marathon Double - Done

My goal this year was to run two marathons in one weekend. This was the weekend and it is done. I ran the Surfside Beach Marathon (south of Galveston) yesterday and the Austin Marathon today. In Texas, there are two 3-marathon series. First is the Texas Marathon Triple (Kingwood in January, Surfside Beach in February and Seabrook in March). Run all three and you get a jacket or some other stuff. I have completed this series for the last two years. The other series is the Marathons of Texas (White Rock in Dallas in December, Houston in January and Austin in February). Surfside Beach and Austin are on the same weekend. So, to complete both series, I had to run two marathons in one weekend. I had not done this before and was not sure what to expect. I appreciate all the advice from friends. One piece of advice was to take it easy on the first marathon. The weather was ideal at Surfside and the beach was in good shape. Basically, you run 13.1 miles up the beach and then back. I ran a slow steady pace and finished in 6:12:52. Then, I made the 4-hour drive to Austin. I felt okay at the start of the race, but was in fear of hitting a wall at some point. Austin is a very hilly course. At about 11 miles or so, I really began to tire. I took some gel and electrolyte capsules and convinced myself that it was more mental than physical. At the halfway point, I was at about 2:50:00, which was about the same as Surfside the day before. That gave me a boost in confidence and I picked it up during the second half. I was tired, but the strength was there. I finished in 5:55:00. I suppose that would be called a negative split for the two races. I picked up my finisher medal for Austin and then a finisher medal for the Marathons of Texas. I get the jacket for that later.

Rain All Day

It rained all day and the temperature was in the 30's. I worked out at Nautilus this evening and could not get myself to go run in the cold rain. So, I ran on the treadmill instead. I have no idea how people can run on those things on a regular basis. I will get in a short run tomorrow and then head to Surfside Beach for the marathon on Saturday.

Getting Anxious

I am getting anxious about my first marathon double this weekend (Surfside on Saturday and Austin on Sunday). I know that it will be a mental game on Sunday in Austin. I have never DNF'd and I no intention of getting one on Sunday. I will probably hit a wall somewhere, but will it be at 2 miles, 10 or 20? A friend advised me to get hydrated this week, stop every hour and walk during the drive from Surfside and Austin and get in a hot tub Saturday night. If you have run a double and have advice, please let me know.
I ran a 3-mile loop around town this afternoon and my foot was much better.

Park Roads

I met up with the group at the park this evening, but I was leery about running trails and aggrivating my sore foot. I had reoccuring sharp pains while walking around today. So, I ran 3 miles on the park roads while the others did trails. No sharp pain. That's good.

Track Run

I took a break today and ran one mile at the track this morning. I have some pain in the top part of my left foot and am not sure what it is. It bothers me more when I walk than when I run. I am really getting apprehensive about running two marathons this weekend, especially when I see there is a chance of rain in both Surfside Beach and Austin. I really do not mind running in the rain, except for a better chance of getting blisters. I just want to see that finish line in Austin.

Added a Marathon to my Schedule

I added the Cowtown Marathon in Fort Worth on February 27 to my race schedule. Scroll down to the bottom of this page for the schedule. I figured that I would have to do those long boring training runs between the Austin Marathon on February 14 and Seabrook on March 21 if I did not run a marathon inbetween. I probably need to find another to run the first or second weekend in March.
Most of the group ran trails at the park this morning. Since the last of the Rocky Raccoon 100 milers would still be on the trails until noon, I decided to run trails this afternoon. Mary and Johnny joined me and we did the 6.8-mile outer loop. I took a hard fall with less than a mile to go and banged up my knee a little bit. I'll be okay. I suppose that most people my age break hips when they fall.

Willis Wildkat 5K

Ben and I went down to Willis this morning and ran the Willis Wildkat 5K. We both won first place in our age group (yep, we were both the only ones in our age group). I ran a 30:14, but I think the course was a little short. Someone said that their GPS measured the course as 2.9 miles. Since I have been running most 5K's is 33 something, 2.9 sounds about right. In any case, it was nice to visit with many friends at the race and meet some new ones. This afternoon, I went to a wedding and then to the Sam Houston - Central Arkansas basketball game. Sam won and is now 8-0 in conference play.

Trails

I usually skip Nautilus on Friday, but I did go and workout this evening since I missed yesterday. After my workout, I ran 4.2 miles on the trails at the park with the group. It was pretty muddy after two days of rain. That's not good for the runners doing the Rocky Raccoon 100 and 50-mile run at the park this weekend.

Same as Yesterday

I had to wait around this afternoon for a guy to come and work on my computer, so I never made it to Nautilus. However, just before dark I ran the same 3-mile course around town that I ran yesterday. Like yesterday, it was in the rain.

Rainy Run

I worked out a Nautilus this evening and then ran 3 miles around town in the rain. Then, Ben and I went to the Sam Houston - UT San Antonio basketball game. Sam won and is 7-0 in conference play.

First Run at the Park in a While

I met up with the group at the state park this evening and ran 4.2 miles on the trails. The trails are in good shape now, but it is suppose to rain this week. The Rocky Raccoon 100/50-mile race is this weekend and the trails may be muddy by then. I may go out there as a spectator after the Willis 5K on Saturday morning.

Day After the Marathon

I slept in this morning, wrote my column for the Huntsville Item, paid some bills, worked out at Nautilus and then went to the track to get in a run. When you are retired, it seems to take a lot longer to get things done. Now that I have done marathons three weeks in a row, I am trained as I am going to be for two marathons in one weekend on February 13 and 14.