Dog Days 5K

We had the Dog Days 5K in Huntsville this morning. I put out the signs, ran the race and then took down the signs. My time on this hilly course is always bad. Today, 35:37. I would probably claim that the course is too long, but I'm the one who measured it with an engineer wheel years ago. Maybe the earth has swelled.

Day Off

It's Friday and I have a race tomorrow, so I took the day off. I ran a mile at the track this afternoon.

Small Group on Trails

We had a smaller group than usual on the trails this evening. It was me, John, Nathan, Peggy, Mary and Lara. We did the 4.2-mile loop and finished just as a light rain moved in.

New Road Route

I started running from the track this evening and ran a new route on the roads. Afterwards, I checked the course on the USATF Route Finder and it turned out to be 4.2 miles. It's funny, a new route always seems to be longer than it is.

Regular Trail Run

I met up with the group this evening at the park and ran 4.2 miles on the trails. Next week, I will have to break out of my summer routine and start marathon training. My plan is to do at least 7 more marathons, including 2-50K's, by the end of 2010. That will give me 16 total for the calendar year. Of course, this all depends on my knees holding up.

Signed up for Frankenthon Monster Marathon

I signed up for the Frankenthon Monster Marathon in Cedar Park, Texas on October 23. That will give me 3 marathons for October on consecutive weekends.
As far as today goes, I worked out and Nautilus and ran 3 miles on the roads in town. The light rain I caught at the end of my run was rather refreshing.

Three on Sunday

I ran 3 miles on the roads in town this evening. Light traffic was nice.

Run the Woodlands 5K

I went down to The Woodlands (45-minute drive) this morning and ran the Run the Woodlands 5K, a race held twice a month for the last 9 years. I finished in 33:33.

Rest Day

I needed a day off, so I went over to the track in the middle of the afternoon and ran laps. I had the track all to myself. Who else would run the the afternoon heat? Race tomorrow.

Thursday Trails

I ran 4.2 miles with the group at the state park this evening. Hot and humid, as usual.

Run with Willie

I got about a half mile into my 3-mile road run this evening and ran into Willie Fritz, the new head footbal coach at Sam Houston. He asked to run with me, but I probably slowed him down. We had a nice running visit. Nice guy and I really wish him luck with the upcoming season.

New Course at the Park

After working out at Nautilus this evening, I ran a new (for the group) 5-mile course at the park on the trails. I use to run this course with Katy a couple years ago. It was so hot and humid that I expected to see some snakes, but saw none. Maybe the other runners in the group ahead of me scared them off. At least, they cleared the spider webs. There are advantages to being slow, you know.

Signed up for M2M

I signed up for the Marathon2Marathon today. The race is on October 16 and starts just out of Alpine in southwest Texas and goes east 26.2 miles to Marathon, Texas. No turns and I am hoping for a west wind. I understand that last year, there was a strong headwind the entire marathon. In either case, it should be fun.
After working out at Nautilus this evening, I did my normal 3-mile road run in town.

Tour de Huntsville

It was a little cooler today and I waited until about 7 p.m. to run. I visited with Kayla Kolafa at the track for a bit and then ran the 5-mile Tour de Huntsville course. I was a little more careful with my hydration after my experience yesterday.

Dehydration

I am not sure why, but I got dehydrated today. While I did some yard work this afternoon, I drank plenty of fluids. At 6 p.m. this evening, I did a 3-mile road run and got dizzy afterwards. Later, I started losing vision. After drinking a lot of water, I feel okay. Guess I need to start drinking more water before and after and taking some electrolyte capsules.

Breaking a Habit

I tend to be a creature of habit. When not running trails at the state park, I tend to run the same 3-mile road course in town. This evening, I ran a different course, which turned out to be 2.8 miles. Oh well, I needed to cut back a little, anyway.

Soaking Wet

I got soaking wet this evening and it wasn't raining. After working out at Nautilus, I met up with the group at the park and ran 4.6 miles. After a couple miles, I was soaking wet with sweat, down to my shoes and socks. And, we have two and a half more months of hot weather.

Regular Three

After working out at Nautilus this evening, I ran my regular 3-mile road run around town.

4.2 on the Park Trails

We had a large group show up for our trail run this evening, including three new runners. In fact, we had so many vehicles in the parking lot outside the park where we meet, a state trooper stopped and said that we were blocking the view of cross traffic. While some ran a different course, I ran 4.2 miles.

Monday

I did yard work all day, worked out at Nautilus this evening and then ran 3 miles on the roads in town. Typical Monday.

Live, Love, RUN 5K

We got up early Saturday morning to make it up and over to Diboll, Texas to run the 1st ever Live, Love, RUN 5K. Kori Estrada, a teammate of mine from the Texas Independence Relay two years ago, put on this race to raise funds for a little girl who needs a new liver. Kori did a great job and had around 100 runners. My son, Ben, won 2nd place in his age group and I was 1st in mine, with a time of 33:30. I had the opportunity to visit with Edwin Quarles of Lufkin at the race. I have known him for several years. I also met and visited with Mike Burton of the relatively new Lufkin-Area-Pacesetters (LAPS). Click here to visit the LAPS Facebook page.
After the race, we drove up to Tyler for my niece's wedding Saturday evening. We spent Saturday night in Tyler and drove back to Huntsville this evening. We stopped in Trinity and had dinner at Romo's Mexican Restaurant (owned by Tony's family). When I got back to Huntsville tonight, I went to the track and ran laps to get in a run.

Three in the Heat

I ran 3 miles on the roads in town in the mid-afternoon heat today.

Signed up for the Houston Marathon

I signed up for the Houston Marathon (January 30, 2011) today. This will be my 15th Houston. In over 470 races I have run, it is the first time I ever got an entry fee discount for being retired from the military. Thanks, Houston.
I met up with the group this evening and ran trails at the park. Even though the temperature was in the low 80's because of all the rain, the humidity was extremely high. I ran 4.25 miles and was completely soaked in sweat when I was done. I was so thirsty that I drank water after running rather than having a beer.

Breaking in New Shoes

I put on a new pair of running shoes out of the box today and ran 2 miles on the roads in a light rain.

Steamy at the Park

While the rain brought the temperatures down in the 80's (much cooler than NYC), the humidity at the park this evening was very high. I ran 4.2 miles and was completely soaked in sweat when I was done. And, we have a lot more summer to go.

Sluggish Run

For some reason, my 3-mile run on the roads in town was sluggish. I would say that it is the heat and humidity, but we have that every day. Probably a mental thing. Maybe a new pair of shoes will help. I have walked in the new ones for a few days now, so I'll start running in them tomorrow.

Sunday Night 5K

After church, lunch, yardwork and a nap, I drove down to The Woodlands to run the monthly Sunday Night 5K. As you would expect on the 4th of July in southeast Texas, it was hot and humid. I finished in 34:49, a few seconds slower than the 5K yesterday. I had hoped to do a little better on the flat course. Maybe the yardwork did me in. (Photo courtesy of Jon Walk)

Stu's Country Mile 5K

For the 15th straight year, I went up to Centerville, Texas this morning to run Stu's Country Mile 5K, starting and finishing on the downtown square. I finished in 34:42, one second slower than last year. As usual, a whole bunch of us from Huntsville were there and we met at the Town Cafe for a greasy breakfast after the race and before the 4th of July parade. Luckily, there was no heavy rain during the race. We got some in Huntsville later this afternoon.

Almost Ahead of the Rain

I saw that there was a big storm moving up from the south this afternoon. So, I decided to get in a run on the roads in town in ahead of the storm. I mis-timed it. I ran 2.9 miles, the last half mile in very heavy rain.

Ahead of the Rain

The group was suppose to run trails at the park this evening at 6. I checked the weather forecast and it said 100 percent chance of rain at 6. So, I went out to the park about 4 p.m. and ran 3 miles on the roads. As I finished, Phillip and Curtis showed up. They went out on the trails and got caught in heavy rains. I doubt that anyone else showed up at 6.