Two Trips to the Park

This morning, I met up with Jennifer Burton and Dawn Rodgers from Spring at Huntsville State Park. They are putting on the Orphan Hope Trail Marathon at the park on February 11. I walked 6 miles of the course with them to talk about course marking. It rained off and on, but fortunately the temperature was in the 70's. They have nearly 400 signed up and it is shaping up to be a good race.
After working out at Nautilus this afternoon, I went back out to the park to meet up with our group. I ran 2 miles on the park roads, while the others ran various trail distances.

Resting Up

I spent most of the day resting and relaxing. However, I did workout at Nautilus this evening and run laps at the track.

Miracle Match Marathon

Yesterday, I helped with the club 10K and 5K and then ran laps at the track. About 2 p.m., I drove over to Waco for today's Miracle Match Marathon. Because of the hills from mile 14 to 24, it is billed as the toughest marathon in Texas. I have run it twice before, the last time 2 years ago (finished in 5:49:12). Some of the hills are so steep, it is dangerous to run down them. I finished today in 6:43:39, which by default was good for 1st place in my age group. It is a well-organized marathon. Nice race T-shirt, finisher medal, finisher jacket and age group award.

Laps

I ran laps at the track this evening. One more short run tomorrow and then off to Waco for the marathon on Sunday.

Slight Deviation

I met up with the group at the park this evening. I had intended to run 2 miles on the roads, but ended up running 3 miles on the trails.

In Keeping with the Plan

In keeping with my plan, I did another short run today. This evening, after a day of storms and heavy rain, I ran 1.5 miles on the roads in town this evening.

Park Roads

I met up with the group at the park this evening and ran 2 miles on the park roads while they ran trails. I plan to do short runs all week and make progress on the hamstring before the marathon on Sunday.

Resting and Healing

With the marathon coming up on Sunday, I am going to rest the hamstring this week. It was worse today, so I went to the track this evening and ran laps.

Short Trail Run

I went out to the park this afternoon and ran a 2.3-mile loop on the trails. It was 80 degrees and a hiker told me that he saw a snake on the trail. He said that it was a "Diamond Head," so I am not sure if he knows what a snake looks like. It's January and it is suppose to be cold

River Road Half Marathon

I ran the River Road Half Marathon in New Braunfels, Texas this morning. You could not ask for better weather conditions, clear, low humidity and temperature in the 50's and 60'. The race started at the River Road Ice House and went out and back on River Road (along the Guadalupe). The first mile was a steep downhill and then it was relatively flat all the way to the turnaround point. I felt strong and comfortable the entire race, except the hamstring hurt with every step. My time at the turnaround point was 1:25 and I finished (including the steep uphill climb for the last mile) in 2:59:15. That was good enough for 2nd place in my 70 and over age group.

Here in New Braunfels

I ran laps this morning and then drove to New Braunfels (north of San Antonio) for the River Road Half Marathon tomorrow morning. It will be a good test of the hamstring for the Waco Marathon next Sunday.

Last Week the Park is Closed

This is the last week is closed for controlled hunting. Next week, it's back to the trails on Tuesday and Thursday. The group met up this evening for a run in the avenues. I ran the hilly Avenues 5K course with Bill. Nice weather today and it is suppose to get up to 75 degrees tomorrow.

Slow Recovery

My foot felt better today, but the hamstring does not seem to be improving. My friend, John Pontikas, recommended that I take L-Glutamine Powder and Arica Muscle Rub. I bought both at the GNC store today and started taking them. Maybe that will help. I had to go to Houston this afternoon to pick up my wife from the airport, so I ran laps at the track before leaving.

Foot

I woke up this morning with severe pain in my right foot. It had eased enough during the day that I was able to run laps at the track this evening.

Roads Getting Busy Again

The students are getting back into town after the holiday break. So, there is more traffic on the roads in town. I got started late and ran a 2-mile loop on the streets around the campus.

Houston Scratched

I skipped the Houston Marathon this morning. That will give me two more weeks to heal the hamstring before running the Waco Marathon on January 29. I had several friends run the Houston Marathon or Half Marathon and, for some, it was their first marathon. Congratulations to all.
I went out to the park late this morning and ran 3.5 miles on the trails.

Seven Miles

I got up relatively early this morning and drove down to Bush Airport to pick up my brother-in-law and bring him back to Huntsville. He arrived an hour late and it was afternoon before we got back to Huntsville. I took a nap and then went out to the park and ran 7 miles on the trails. Nice cool weather, but there were a ton of bikers and hikers on the trails.

Expo

I drove down to Houston late this morning for the Houston Marathon Expo. I picked up my packet, bought some new running shorts and visited with a lot of friends, including Bridgette Collins of Dallas. Bridgette and I worked together in Huntsville back in the early 90's. Other friennds included Loren Sheffer, Ben Harvie, Mark Robinson, Chris Dunkle, June Harris, Mihaela Mullins and Ron Berglund. I watched presentations by Bill Rodgers and Joan Benoit.
I am still undecided about running the marathon on Sunday, but am leaning toward not running. It hurts just to sit on my hamstring. I intended to run Memorial Park in Houston while down there, but I needed to get out of town fast to beat the Friday evening traffic jam up I-45. I left at 3:15 and still got caught up in it. I stopped at a couple stores on the way home and it was getting dark by the time I got back to Huntsville. So, I went to the track and ran laps.

Cold and Windy

Only three of us showed up for the group run in the avenues and the other two decided that it was too cold and windy to run. So, I ran laps at the track and went home. We had our Seven Hills Running Club meeting at The Junction Restuarant tonight. Nice crowd and a good meeting. We had election of officers and I will serve as the Treasurer for another year.

Avenues 5K Course

My HS felt a little better today. So this evening, after working out at Nautilus, I ran the hilly Avenues 5K course. Tonight, Ben and I went to the Sam Houston State Women's basketball game with UT - Arlington. Sam won.

Group Run in the Avenues

With the park still closed during the week, the group met up for a run in the Avenues. My hamstring recovery has regressed and Hans had an injury also. So he and I ran a relatively flat course of 1.6 miles.

Early Start

I usually get up between 8 and 9 a.m., but this morning I had to get up at 3:45 to take my wife down to Houston for an early morning flight. And then, it rained all day. After much napping during the day, I went to Nautilus late this afternoon, ran 1 mile+ on the treadmill and then worked out.

Solo on Trails

The park was open this weekend, so I went out alone this afternoon and ran 4.8 miles on the trails.

Football Day

I ran laps at the track this morning and then spent most of the rest of the day watching three football games on TV.

Texas Prison Rodeo Arena - Going, Going

The Texas Prison Rodeo was held from 1931 to 1986. The arena is located next to the Walls Unit here in Huntsville. The arena in the photo above was built in 1951 and is now being torn down. I ran a 3.1-mile loop around town this evening. My route included the streets around the prison and rodeo arena. Only about 1/4th of the arena is still standing. The rest is a pile of concrete, bricks and steel.

Houston in Doubt

I hate to be negative, but I may have to skip the Houston Marathon on January 15. The distance would not be a problem. With this darn hamstring problem, I doubt that I could finish within the 6-hour time limit. Today, I received an email from them. It included my bib number, which is 518. Having run the Houston Marathon 15 times, I am in the first wave. That may give me more than 6 hours to finish. I will talk to them when I go down to the Expo the day before the race and then make a decision.
The hamstring was worse today, so I did a 1.6-mile run on the roads this evening.

Signed up for the Texas Marathon

Registration opened last night for the Texas Marathon on January 1, 2013. This race sells out fast, so I cannot mess around. It is part of the Texas Marathon Triple series and that series is on my series streak list. This year will be my 5th consecutive year for completing the series, assuming that I finish the remaining two, Surfside Beach in February and Seabrook in March.
Today, I ran a non-planned course around town, which ended up being 2.8 miles.

Hills

Since the park is closed for hunting this week, the group met up next to the gazebo in town and ran the steepest hills in the avenues, including up and over the highest point between Dallas and Houston. I did one loop of 1.7 miles.

Resting Up

I took a lot of Ibuprohen today and went to the track this evening and ran laps.

Texas Marathon

For the fifth consecutive year, I ran the Texas Marathon this morning in Kingwood (northeast of Houston). The course is four loops on a 6.55-mile concrete sidewalk through the greenbelt in Kingwood. Tough course and lots of trip opportunities (did one of those last year). Previous finish times:
2008 - 6:30:24
2009 - 6:06:50
2010 - 6:08:21
2011 - 6:07:53
With the hamstring problems, I figured I would finish between 6:30 and 6:45. The concrete was harder on the hamstrings than I thought. Several times, my legs almost collasped. I ran the entire distance, but very slow. I heard a spectator use the word "wobbily." There was an opportunity to switch to the half marathon during the race, but I decided to finish the full marathon. I have not seen my exact time, but it should be about 7:21. As last year, they presented the finishers with a Texas-size finisher medal (3.3 pounds). I also received a plague for completing the race 5 times.
Got to see and visit with a lot of good friends down there. Had a chance to visit with Larry Macon, 66, of San Antonio before and during the race. In 2010, he ran 106 marathons and set a new world record, breaking his own record of 104. He ran a marathon in south Texas yesterday, which gave him 113 for 2011 and a new world record. I met him last year at the Texas Marathon and also ran into him at the Athens (Ohio) Marathon last spring. I asked him if he was going to do something crazy in 2012 and he said no.