Sore Toes

A couple of my toes are still sore from the marathon yesterday, but otherwise I feel fine. I wrote my column for the paper tomorrow, worked out at Nautilus and ran laps at the track.

Houston Marathon

I intended to get up at 3:45 this morning, but I woke up at 3 and could not go back to sleep. I got down to Houston at 5:30 and hung out at the Four Seasons Hotel lobby until 6:30. Then, I made my way over to the start line for the 7 a.m. start. We had periodic light rain during the marathon, but no lightning. Even though my socks were wet, luckily, no new blisters. The temperature and humidity was relatively high and I had to work on staying hydrated. There seemed to be more spectators on the course than I had ever seen in Houston. With a lousy weather forecase, that surprized me. I finished in 5:47:26, a couple minutes faster than my last two marathons. That was my 15th Houston Marathon finish. Now, I have to mentally prepare for the 50 miler next Saturday.

Frost Your Fanny 5K

Our Frost Your Fanny 5K here in Huntsville this morning turned out not to be so frosty. I ran in shorts and a short sleeve shirt and was very comfortable. My time was on the very hilly course was 34:39. A bunch of us had breakfast afterwards at the Cafe Texan on the downtown square. I plan to get up at 3:50 tomorrow morning and make the drive to Houston in the rain. The marathon starts at 7 a.m. and it looks like we are going to get wet. I put some "New Skin" on my healing blister from the rainy marathon 2 weeks ago. In light of my 50-miler six days later, my goal tomorrow is not to get any new blisters.

Houston Marathon Expo

I ran laps at the track late this morning and then drove down to Houston for the Houston Marathon Expo. On the way, I had lunch in Conroe, ran some errands in Conroe and went to Luke's Locker in The Woodlands to buy more Electrolyte capusules. At the expo, I picked up my race packet for the marathon on Sunday and visited with Ed Thompson, Chip LeDuff, Loren Sheffer, June Harris, Lance Phegley, Jon Walk and some other friends that I ran into. I also bought three pair of running shorts. The latest forecast for Sunday is 30% chance of thunderstorms. Gosh, that's down from an earlier 60% forecast. High temperature 70 degrees. So, things are looking better.

Signed up for the Gusher Marathon

I signed up for the Gusher Marathon in Beaumont on March 12. That means that I have registered for 8 of my 9 remaining marathons (or longer) this season. Last year was the first year for the Gusher Marathon and I have read and heard of a lot of problems. Hopefully, they will be fixed this year.
I met up with the group at the park this evening and ran 4.2 miles. I still keep trying to imagine running 50 miles on the trails at Rocky Raccoon Trail Run 6 days after this Sunday's Houston Marathon. It's a challenge and we all need challenges.

Couple Miles

I went out for a run on the roads in town. Got a late start and had to go somewhere this evening and ended up running only 2 miles.

Missed Yesterday

I ran yesterday, but my computer crashed and I was not able to blog last night. I got my computer in and out of the shop today, but I am still having some problems with it. Hopefully, it will hang in there for a while.
The group returned to our Tuesday routine at the park this evening. We ran 4.2 miles on the trails.
The Houston Marathon is this Sunday and the weather forecast shows a 40% chance of scattered thunder storms. Ugh.

Sunday Park Run

I met up with the group at Huntsville State Park this morning and ran 7 miles. It was cold and dry and the trails are in good shape.

Run the Woodlands 5K

I ran the Run the Woodlands 5K this morning. This race is held twice a month in The Woodlands, about 45 miles south of Huntsville. I finished in 32:08, which makes it my fastest 5K in over a year. I guess the best way to train for a 5K is by running a bunch of marathons. The Houston Marathon is only a week away, followed by my first 50-miler 6 days later. I am getting a little apprehensive.

Track

I ran 1.5 miles at the track this evening before working out at Nautilus.

Sam Houston National Forest

I met Don Ortloff at a trailhead in the Sam Houston National Forest down near Coldspring this afternoon and we ran trails for two hours and 10 minutes. It was in a pretty remote and dense area, but the narrow trail was in good shape. This was an area where there have been bigfoot sightings, but I have to report that we did not see anything, not even a squirrel.

Ran the Avenues

To avoid the heavy traffic on my regular course, I ran a hilly 5K course in the "avenues" this afternoon. This is an older residential area of Huntsville. All the north/south streets in this area are named avenues.

Heavy Traffic Again

Just as I was getting use to easy running on the roads, the Sam Houston State students are back in town after the holidays and traffic is heavy again. After working out at Nautilus, I ran my normal 3-mile loop on the roads in town. Thank goodness, this is the last week the park will be closed for deer hunting this season. Back to trails next week.

Miscellany

Today, I signed up for the Texas Marathon in Kingwood on January 1, 2012. It always fills up early and it is one of my streak races (races that I do every year).
Also, I received an email from the Houston Marathon today providing my bib number and wave assignment. I'm number 555 (better than 666, I suppose) and I am in the first wave. The first wave is based on veteran status (10 or more Houston Marathons). It is sure not based on my speed.
I also turned in my column on running this afternoon for tomorrow's issue of the Huntsville Item. The subject is local runners who will be doing the Houston Marathon and Half Marathon.
This evening, I ran laps at the track and then worked out at Nautilus. Surprizingly, the large blister on my toe from the marathon yesterday did not bother me and thankfully, it is not broken.

USA Fit Marathon

I ran the USA Fit Marathon in Sugar Land (south of Houston) this morning. The race was suppose to start at 7 a.m., but was delayed 45 minutes. This was apparently due to a traffic jam and not all runners being able to get to the start area. The entire course was on concrete streets. I noticed that on the back of the finisher shirt, they had the phrase, "Kicking Asphalt." I wish it was asphalt we were kicking. It was cold, windy and rainy. We started in the rain, but it seem to let up during the mid-miles but then came down hard during the last 6 miles or so. As I feared, I ended up with a large blood blister on the side of one of my toes. I finished in 5:49:39, 20 seconds slower than my marathon last Saturday. After the race, I went to my truck and ran the heater at full blast for a long time. After I thawed out, I changed into some dry clothes in my truck. I do not have another marathon until January 30, so hopefully my blister will heal by then.

Tapered

I ran a mile in my neighborhood today before the rain began. I suppose that I am fully "tapered" for the marathon tomorrow. The latest forecast is for a temperature in the 50's during the race and 80% chance of rain from start to finish. Should be fun. The start time is 7 a.m., so I have to get up at 3:45 a.m. to get to Sugar Land in time. And, for me, it is impossible to get to sleep before midnight.

Warming Up and Wet

I had breakfast this morning with my son at the Cafe Texan on the downtown square in Huntsville. Then, I spent the entire day helping him find and buy a new car. Stressful day. We made 3 trips to Riverside and it was back and forth to the bank and the insurance office. Finally got it all done about 4 p.m. Hopefully, he got a good deal. Then, I ran my 3-mile course on the roads in town. The temperature is getting higher, but it looks like we are in for a rainy weekend. The forecast for Sunday in Sugar Land is now 80 percent chance of rain. While I'm glad they removed "thunderstorms" from the forecast, it looks like it will be a wet marathon. I really do not mind running in the rain, but wet socks really increases the chance of blisters.

Continued Cold

For several days, it has been in the upper 30's or low 40's when I ran in the afternoon. While that may seem like a heat wave if you live up north, the continued cold is a little unusual for here in southeast Texas. It is suppose to get warmer in the next few days and thunderstorms are still forecasted for the marathon in Sugar Land on Sunday.
I got out for my run a little late this afternoon and I had a running club dinner/meeting at 7 p.m., so I cut my run on the roads in town to 2 miles. I probably should have kept running, because I got elected as treasurer of the club.

Half Way to Goal

My goal this year was to run 20 marathons for the Fall, Winter, Spring season. I have completed the first half and have finalized my plans for the second half. Here they are:

January 16 - USA Fit Marathon, Sugar Land
January 30 - Houston Marathon
February 5 - Rocky Raccoon 50-Miler, Huntsville State Park
February 20 - Austin Marathon
February 26 - Surfside Beach Marathon, Surfside Beach
March 6 - Little Rock Marathon
March 12 - Gusher Marathon, Beaumont
March 20 - Seabrook Trail Marathon, Seabrook
April 10 - Big D Texas Marathon, Dallas
April 16 - Hog's Hunt 50K, Huntsville State Park

I signed up for the Big D Texas Marathon today. I look forward to running it with my Fort Worth running buddy, Dee Difonzo.
The weather forecast for my marathon in Sugar Land (south of Houston) this Sunday is 60% chance of rain. I don't mind the rain, just hope there is no lightning. If there is, I will just run next to a tall person.
Today, I worked out at Nautilus and then went to the track and ran laps.

Just Cold

No rain today. Just cold. I worked out at Nautilus and then ran the same 3-mile course as yesterday.

Cold and Rainy

I ran 3 miles on the roads in town this evening in the cold and light rain. Felt good; no aches or pains from the marathon on Saturday. I'm ready for another one this weekend, which will put me over half way of my goal of 20 marathons this season.

Mississippi Blues Marathon

I ran the roads in Huntsville early Friday morning before driving to Jackson, MS for the Mississippi Blues Marathon on Saturday. I went straight to the race expo and immediately ran into Texas friends, Steve and Paula Boone from Humble and David Johnson from Odessa. All four of us were wearing our Texas Marathon T-shirt from last Saturday. The temperature in Jackson during the race on Saturday ranged from the high 30's to the high 40's. It was clear, but very windy and the course was very hilly. We started and finished in downtown Jackson, but most of the course seemed to be through various neighborhoods. I ran a fairly steady pace the entire race and never walked, except through the aid stations. I finished in 5:49:19. There were 665 finishers in the marathon and 914 in the half. The finisher medal was nice and the race packet included a blues music CD, a harmonica and Elvis sunglasses, complete with built-in sideburns. After the race, I drove to Alexandria, LA, spent the night and drove back to Huntsville today. It was cold and raining in Huntsville, so I wimped out and ran the treadmill at Nautilus this evening.

Tapering

Since I have a marathon this Saturday, I went to the track this evening and ran laps. J. C. was there and we ran the first lap together, then he could not stand my slow pace. That's what I like about running a marathon every weekend, no long training runs are required. I can goof off with short runs during the week. Long drive to Mississippi tomorrow.

Avenues 5K

I ran the hilly Avenues 5K course in town this evening after working out at Nautilus.

Wet Run

After working out at Nautilus this evening, I ran 3 miles in the rain on the roads in town. The park is closed for hunting during the week for this week and the next two, so no Tuesday and Thursday trail runs for a while.

Signed up for the Little Rock Marathon

Since the March 6, 2011 Collin County Marathon was cancelled, I signed up for the Little Rock Marathon for the same date. I ran Little Rock last year and enjoyed the experience, except for that uphill climb that seemed to go for miles.
I intended to run 3 miles on the roads this evening. After a half mile, a friend stopped me to talk about a race that she is going to put on in the Spring. We talked long enough for me to run out of daylight and I ended up running only 2 miles.

Sunday Night 5K

I went down to The Woodlands this evening for their monthly Sunday Night 5K. Ran it in 33:53. With the marathon yesterday, I felt a little stiff for the first quarter mile or so, but felt fine after that. After the race, I drove around for about 45 minutes or so to help look for a 14 year old girl who had gotten lost during the race. Thankfully, she made it back okay.

Texas Marathon

I ran the Texas Marathon in Kingwood this morning. I finished in 6:07:53, about 30 seconds faster than last year. The course is four 6.55-mile loops, all on a concrete sidewalk. There were over 317 runners doing the marathon and another 301 running the half marathon. The course is mostly out and back, so you get to see all the other runners. A lot of friends were running and others spectating, so it is a fun day. My friend, Debbie Tripp, was not in the race, but ran with me for a while on my third loop. Enjoyed visiting with her. The finisher medal was Texas-size. The medal for the last two years was 6 1/4 inch in diameter and weighed 2.2 pounds. It was the largest medal even given out at a marathon in the U.S. This year's medal was even larger and weighs 3.3 pounds. You have to be careful not to drop it on your foot. There were two runners running the marathon this morning, who just broke the world record for the most marathons run in a year. They ran 106 marathons in 2010, beating the old record of 105. I feel like a wimp and it was an honor to meet them.