Attempt at Trails

I went out to the park this evening to attempt to run trails with my sore leg. I ran 1.5 miles on the trails, but took the 1.2-mile shortcut back on the road (total 2.7). My leg was still hurting, but it has improved. I will still take it easy for a few days. It is a good thing that I do not have another marathon until October 9.

Memorial Day 5K

We had the club's annual Memorial Day 5K at my house this morning. The race did not start until 10 a.m., but I had to go out earlier and put out the signs and contact some neighbors on the course and ask them to lock up their dogs. Then, I directed the race. We had 46 runners. The race was followed by a cookout and everyone seem to have a good time. My good friend, Loren Sheffer of Houston, came up and ran and it is always nice to visit with him. It is a good way to celebrate Memorial Day and remember those who gave their life for our freedom.
My leg was still hurting today, so I waited until 10 p.m. tonight to go to the track and get in a run. I managed to get in a mile without too much pain.

Recovery Run

My leg was still sore today. I managed to get in a gimpy mile at the track this evening. A couple times, it felt like it was going to collaspe. I am not sure what the problem is, so I will rest it with short runs for the next few days.

Run the Woodlands 5K

Not a good race. My left leg from the calf to the hamstring hurt the entire distance and it has been burning for the rest of the day. The heat and humidity did not help, either. My finish time was right at 35:00. This evening, Marilynn and I attended a concert by international opera star, Melanie Holliday, and dinner at the Elkins Lake Country Club. Great performance and dinner.

Laps

Since I have a race tomorrow morning, I went to the track this evening and ran laps.

Steamy Trails

After a much needed heavy rain last night, the trails at the park this evening were hot and steamy. I met up with the group and we ran our usual 4.2-mile loop.

Sluggish

I spent most of the day installing an irrigation system around my house and the temperature was in the high 90's this afternoon. By the time I got around to working out at Nautilus and running, I really felt sluggish. If I wasn't a streaker, I would have taken the day off. I ran my regular 3-mile loop around town.

Different Tuesday

Typically, on Tuesdays I run trails with the group at the park. However, this evening I attended a presentation at Huntsville Memorial Hospital on gait and running shoes. The presentation was given by Melissa Keith of Luke's Locker in The Woodlands. This afternoon, I squeezed in a workout at Nautilus and a 2-mile run on the roads in town.

New Age Group

Today was my 70th birthday, so I am in a new age group. It is funny how most of us runners think of our age in terms of what age group we are in. I had a good day, even though the first half was filled with mowing and other yard work. I spent part of the afternoon in a meeting at the Chamber of Commerce helping them get a new December 3 race off the ground. Then, while in town, I stripped down to my running shorts and ran 7 miles around town. Maybe if my birthday was in January, I would have tried a 70-mile run. This evening, Marilynn and our son, Ben, took me out to dinner at the Texas Roadhouse in Conroe.

Three

It was hot and humid in Huntsville this afternoon. I went out in the middle of the afternoon and ran 3 miles on the roads in town. Nice not having to put up with heavy traffic.

David's Dream 5K

I ran the David's Dream 5K in The Woodlands this morning. There was not much to the race. No race numbers, no door prizes, no timing or awards and the race clock was set up, but not working. The course was flat and the humidity high. However, I did get a chance to visit with some friends and that made the trip worthwhile. According to my watch, I finished in 33:38.

Marathon Planning

I have already signed up for 5 marathons for the next Texas marathon season (October thru April) and I know that there some others that I plan to do. I am not sure that I will do 20 again next season, but I am considering doing the Rocky Raccoon 50-miler again in February. Today, I found out that the Surfside Beach Marathon will be on February 18, the day before the Austin Marathon. Surfside Beach is part of the Texas Marathon Triple and Austin is part of the Marathons of Texas. So, it looks like I will be doing two marathons in one weekend. I did that two years ago, but last year Surfside and Austin were on different weekends.
As for today, I ran 2.1 miles on the roads in town. Race tomorrow.

Short Trail Run

My son, Ben, asked me to go to the Sam Houston State baseball game with him this evening. I told him that I would, but that I would be late. I met up with the group to run trails at the park at 6 p.m. and the game started at 6:30. I cut the trail run to 2.7 miles and by the time I got home, showered, ate and got to the game it was 8 p.m. The game had moved rather quickly and it was already in the 8th inning. So, short run and short game.

Regular Three

I ran my regular 3-mile loop on the roads in town this evening. With university classes over, the streets are relatively quiet.

Crowd at the Park

We had a nice crowd at the park this evening. We all ran the 4.2-mile loop on the trails.

Was this Arbor Day?

While I had the auger rented over the weekend, my wife had me digging holes everywhere. This morning, I returned the auger and then planted 15 trees. Now, she wants me to add another section to the garden. This non-running stuff is tiring. Lifting was a little difficult at Nautilus this evening, but my 3-mile run on the roads in town afterwards was comfortable.

Empty Streets

I spent all afternoon digging holes with an auger and planting bushes (42 to be exact). This was one of those days I did not feel like running. However, I went into town this evening and ran a 2-mile loop around the university campus. With school being out for the summer, the streets were almost empty.

YMCA 5K Trail Run

I could not believe how cool it was this morning. Perfect for running the YMCA 5K Trail Run 30 miles down I-45 in Conroe. Maybe it was a combination of the short run yesterday and the cool temperature this morning, but I felt good. Finished in 31:35, which is actually my best 5K time in nearly 2 years. And, the race was all cross country or on trails. This afternoon, I rented an auger to dig holes for about 50 scrubs I am planting in my yard. I got 30 holes dug and I am exhausted tonight. I will have to do the other 20 or so tomorrow, so I can return the auger to the rental place first thing Monday. I need to get in a good run tomorrow to rest up.

Yard Work and Short Run

I did yard work today and then ran laps at the track. Race tomorrow.

Day Late

I was going to post last night, but the system was down. In any case, I ran 4.2 miles with the group on trails yesterday. We had a good rain yesterday afternoon, but the trails were in good shape.

Streak Story

There was a story on Yahoo News today about streakers and the U.S. Running Streak Assn. (I am member #23). Click HERE for the story. There are some amazing runners out there.
After working out at Nautilus this evening, I ran 2 miles on the roads in town. There was lightning and a few drops of rain, but that was it. We have had none since April 26.

Signed up for the Houston Marathon

This morning, I signed up for the Houston Marathon next January. It will be my 16th Houston. It is the only race I know of that gives a entry fee discount to active duty and retired military. Back to the trails this evening. I met up with the group and we ran 4.3 miles.

Record Temperature

Its was 96 degrees today in Huntsville. That beats a record for this day of 93 degrees set in 1967. Guess it is going to be a long hot summer. And, so dry. This evening, I ran the same 3-mile course on the roads in town that I ran yesterday.

Hot Sunday

The temperature was well up into the 90's today. After mowing my yard (the few blades of grass that grew in this drought) this afternoon, I went into town and ran 3 miles on the roads.

A rest day is a shorter run

I decided to rest today, so I ran a short 1.5-mile loop on the roads in town.

Dodging Traffic

I did a 3.9-mile run around town this evening in the 5 p.m. traffic. Seems like every driver is talking on a cell phone. You really have to run defensively. I often think of my runner friend, John Burick, who was struck and killed while running the streets here in Huntsville a little over 2 years ago.

Tour de Bayou, Stage 5

Jocelyn, John and I went down to Houston this evening and ran the 5th and final stage of the Tour de Bayou. The course was almost all rough trails around Memorial Park. I'm not sure what the official distance was, but someone said that their GPS showed 3.3 miles. I tripped on a root and took a hard fall. Skinned up my knee, but I will survive. I think my finish time was about 42 minutes.

Putting the Bug up for Sale

While this has nothing to do with running, I have decided to put my 1974 bug convertible up for sale. Tough decision. I bought it about 13 years ago and restored it. I just don't drive it much anymore. I have owned a bunch of bugs over the years. My first one was a 62, which I bought while in the Army in 1963.

I put on a new pair of running shoes out of the box today and did a 2.3-mile break-in run on the roads in town.

Texas Marathon Triple Dinner

I ran laps at the track this afternoon before driving down to Houston for the Texas Marathon Triple Dinner. This was a dinner for all 40 runners who completed the 2011 Texas Marathon in Kingwood, Surfside Beach Marathon in Surfside Beach and the Seabrook Marathon in Seabrook. I have done it all four years. We had a great time visiting with each other and we received our Texas Marathon Triple T-shirts and caps.

Unplanned Route

After working out at Nautilus this evening, I went to the track and then ran an unplanned routes on the streets in town. I ran past the downtown square, around the prison walls and the old Texas Prison Rodeo arena and then through the SHSU campus. The route ended up being exactly a 5K. The cooler weather today will surely not last long.

1,000th Posting

This is my 1,000th posting since I began this blog on April 19, 2008. Many of my running friends were blogging back then and most have since abandoned their blog for Facebook. While I have a Facebook page, I seldom post anything on it. It is useful for locating and keeping up with friends. For the most part, my blog entries are short and only serve as a log of my daily runs. I have made it a point to run and blog every day. I have missed blogging a few days, but that it when I have been on the road. My blog must be the most boring blog in the system; I cannot imagine why it gets the readership that it does. For me, it is a source of motivation. It forces me to be accountable for my running and achievement of running goals. Maybe somewhere along the way it influences others to run and run on a consistent basis.
This evening, I made the 45-minutes drive down I-45 to The Woodlands and ran the Sunday Night 5K. I finished in 33:25.