Steamy Evening

After a much needed rain this morning, it was hot and steamy at the park this evening.  I ran 2 miles on the park roads, while everyone else ran trails.

3.3

After Nautilus this evening, I ran an unplanned course on the roads in town.  It turned out to be 3.3 miles.

Went to Bryan

I had to drive over to Bryan, Texas (50 miles) this afternoon for an appointment.  While there, I had dinner at my favorite Mexican restaurant, the Coco Loco.  I missed the run with the group at the park this evening, but I did get to Nautilus for a workout and then laps at the track after dark.

Memorial Day 5K

My wife and I hosted our Seven Hills Running Club's annual Memorial Day 5K at our house this morning.  The race started and finished in front of my house and was followed by breakfast fixed and served by my wife and two other club members.  We had 82 runners and a lot of family members.  Beautiful weather and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.  There was virtually no traffic on the course and no dogs.  However, one runner made the wrong turn and ran an extra mile or so.  It did not seem like Monday, but this evening, I worked out at Nautilus and ran 3 miles on the roads in town.

Getting ready for tomorrow

Tomorrow, we are having the club's annual Memorial Day 5K starting and finishing at my house, with breakfast afterwards.  So, I spent most of the day getting ready.  I expect that we will have at least 75 runners.  I finally got around to running this evening.  Ran 2 miles on the roads in town.

Stayed Home

Since I planned to get up at 4:30 this morning to make the 75-mile trip to downtown Houston for the Race for the Pennant 10K at Minute Maid Park, I went to bed at 11:30 last night.  My normal is 12:30.  I woke up at 2:30 a.m. and could not go back to sleep.  At 4:30 a.m., I got out of bed and then changed my mind several times about going down.  In the end, I stayed at home for fear of falling asleep at the wheel on I-45.  I was really looking forward to the race, but felt it was not worth of risk of driving sleepy.  I went back to bed and slept for an hour or so and took a couple naps on the couch during the day.  At 5:30 this evening, I ran 5 miles on the roads in town.  It was hot, but the humidity was low.

Resting Up

Since I have a 10K tomorrow morning in hot downtown Houston, I rested up today.  I went to the track this afternoon and ran laps.  Gotta get up early tomorrow.  Ugh!

No trails for a while

I am still trying to rebuild the strength in my hamstrings and have decided to stay off the trails for a while.  While I much prefer running trails, I hate to take a chance on tripping on a root and re-pulling the hamstrings before they are stronger.  I plan to be back on the trails in the fall.  So, I ran 2 and a half miles this evening on the roads at the park, while the group ran trails.

Birthday

Today was my 71st birthday.  No big deal; it doesn't even put me in a new age group.  My son and I drove over to San Marcos in south central Texas this morning for Sam Houston State's first game in the Southland Conference baseball tournament.  Sam was the number 1 seed and lost to the number 8 seed.  However, it is a double-elimination tournament, so it is not over for Sam.  On the way back, we stopped in Caldwell, Texas to get gas.  At this particular station, gas was $3.36, cheaper than the other stations.  When I pulled up to the pump, a guy came out and started cleaning my windshield.  My first thought that it was a guy off the street trying to make a buck.  Then, I realized that he worked for the station and was cleaning everyone's windshield.  It has been many years since a service station attendent cleaned my windshield.  Of course, I remember the days when gas was 19.9 cents a gallon.  I would pull up to the pump in my 48 Chevy and get a dollars worth, which would last me most of the week.  Back then, you were not allowed to pump the gas yourself.  They did it, cleaned your windshield and checked a bunch of other things on your car.  My, how things have changed.
It was later than usual, but I worked out at Nautilus this evening and went to the track after dark and run laps.

Other Running Blogs

I read other running blogs and am always impressed by the adventures and experiences of other runners.  Many are well-written and creatively displayed.  My blog seems to be more of a log of my daily running.  While most of my posts are short and report my distance for the day, latest pain or completed race, I think it reflects of life of streaking.  Sometimes, it is even hard to come up with a title for the daily entry.  Unless I am befallen with a serious injury or illness that keeps me from running at least a mile, I will get out and run.  That has not occurred in over two and a half years, so I will keep working on my streak and writing short reports.  Do not expect more from this blog.  If you are inspired by my consistency, wonderful.
In the meantime, I ran 2 miles on the park roads this evening, while the others ran trails.  It was very humid and even rained a little during the run.  No complaints about the rain, but got none at my house.

Feeling Good

The pain in my calf seems to have gone and  there is very little pain in my hamstrings.  And, I am careful to stretch before running.  So, at the moment, I am feeling good, even though I know that I have to rebuild strength in my hamstrings.  After more heavy yard work this afternoon, I worked out at Nautilus and then ran 3 miles on the roads in town.  School is out, so the traffic is lighter.

Recovery Run

I realize that it is Sunday, but after church I did a lot of heavy yard work, including heavy lifting.  My back was really sore and stiff, so I layed down for a while.  It was hard to get up and go run.  But, that is what streakers do; run when you don't want to.  I went to the track in town and then ran 1.8 miles on the roads.

Running Jacks 5K

I drove about 75 miles east this morning to Diboll, Texas to run the Running Jacks 5K.  Diboll is just south of Lufkin and I am a member of the Lufkin Area Pacesetters (LAPS).  The photo here is of me and my LAPS friends.  Nice course, starting and finishing at the high school track.  I finished in 36:30 and was first in my 70 & over age group (yep, I was the only one in the age group).  I was relieved that I did not have sharp pains in my calf.  With that, I will sign up for the Race for the Pennant 10K (Astros Run) next Saturday.

Friday

After doing yard work today and spraying around the house to keep the critters out, I went to the track this afternoon and ran laps.  Then, my wife, son and I went down to Spring (north of Houston) and met up with another son and my niece to visit with a very ill friend.  After visiting, we all went out to dinner.

Another switch to 2 miles

I planned to run 3 miles on the park roads this evening while the others ran trails.  I had sharp pains in the left calf after a quarter mile, so I cut the run to 2 miles.  This is getting old.  I need to get back to normal.

Signed up for the BCS Marathon

I took advantage of the early bird special today and signed up for the BCS Marathon on December 9, 2012 in College Station.  That is the third marathon I have signed up for for the 2012/2013 season.  The others are the Texas Marathon on January 1, 2013 and The Woodlands Marathon on March 2, 2013.  If my hamstrings hold up, I plan to get in 10 to 15 total for the season.
I went out for a 3-mile road run this evening, but cut it to 2 miles after that left calf started hurting.  I drank a real cold beer when I got home and iced it for 30 minutes.

Cool Evening

After a light rain much of the day, it was rather cool this evening.  I put on new Saucony running shoes out of the box, worked out at Nautilus and then ran 2 miles on the roads at the park.  It was the first time in many years that I have run in anything but Asics. 

Darned Calf

I spent much of the day over in Bryan, Texas, but got home in time for a workout at Nautilus and a road run.  The darned left calf was sore, so I only ran 1.3 miles.  Guess I will have to take it easy for the next few days.

Six Miles

After church today, I went to the Sam Houston State and Southeast Louisiana baseball game and watched Sam Houston clinch the conference title.  Really nice weather today, temperature in the low 80's and low humidity.  After the game, I ran 6 miles on the roads in the city.  I felt strong, but that left calf bothered me after a couple miles.  I'll walk a few feet and then it is okay.  I have the whole summer for it to get better.

YMCA 5K Trail Run

I drove about 30 miles to the south this morning to run the YMCA 5K Trail Run in Conroe.  After all the rain yesterday, the trails were muddy and slippery.  I took it easy, zig zagging to avoid slipping or tripping and messing up my hamstrings.  I managed to get through the course without falling.  My time was 40 minutes even.  I finished 3rd in the 65 & Over age group and at 70, was the oldest runner in the race.
After taking a nap this afternoon, I went to the Sam Houston State-Southeastern Louisiana baseball game and then took my wife and son to the new Olive Garden Restaurant in Huntsville.  My son could not make it tomorrow, so it was an early Mothers Day dinner for my wife.

Easy Friday

As I do on many Fridays, I went to the track this afternoon and ran laps.  I have a 5K trail run tomorrow morning in Conroe and it may be a little muddy after today's rain.  However, I am still not complaining about the rain.

Yard Work

I spent most of the day working on my front yard, trying to reestablish a lawn devastated by last summer's drought.  With more rain this spring, it looks fairly healthy.  The problem is that I have too many healthy weeds.  I did take a break this evening for a workout at Nautilus and then 2 miles on the roads at the park.

Non-Routine Day

I got up this morning and found that my computer would not connect to the Internet nor would my house phone work.  I went to the AT&T store and found that some construction workers working on a highway project near our sub-division cut the telephone cable.  They said it would be fixed by May 12 (4 days from now).  So I had no phone or Internet all day.  I went to Nautilus early this afternoon to work out and then ran 1.7 miles on the roads in town.  This evening, I attended my wife's annual Master Gardener banquet.  It lasted 2 and a half hours.  I should have received an award for all the weeding I have to do in her garden.  The good news is that when we got home late tonight, the phone was working again.

Despite the Threat of Rain

We had a good crowd at the park this evening, despite the threat of a heavy rain.  Got a fews sprinkles, but that was it.  I ran 2 miles on the park roads, while the others ran trails.  I have decided to stay off the trails until I get the strength back in my hamstrings.

Unplanned Course

I ran an unplanned course on the roads in town this evening, even ran a couple of streets I have never ran on before.  Thought the course was at least 3 miles, but when I measured it online tonight, I found it to be only 2.3.  Oh well, another day of streaking.

Skipped a Day

You may have noticed that I did not blog yesterday.  I got up yesterday and drove 300+ miles to Baton Rouge., LA to attend my niece's wedding last night.  I did get in a run on the streets of Baton Rouge before the wedding.  Actually, it was the first time I have ever run in Louisiana.  I drove back to Texas today and went down to The Woodlands for the Sunday Night 5K.  It was my 28th time for running that race (1st Sunday of each month) and I finished it in 37:30.

Sore Calf

I have had pain in my left calf for the last few days, so I am taking it easy.  I already have enough issues with my wheels.  I ran 1.6 miles on the roads in town this afternoon.

Shoes

I had to go down to The Woodlands this evening for a family get-together, so I worked out at Nautilus this afternoon and ran laps at the track.  While in The Woodlands, I visited the Fleet Feet running store and talked to my old friend, Stan Timmer about running shoes.  I have been running in Asics Fortitude for years, because they are a nuetral shoe and are suppose to be the best shoe if you run in custom orthotics.  The problem is that the Fortitude IV's are poorly designed and quickly develop holes in the top of shoe over the big toes.  My "new shoes," which I have been running in for just a few weeks already have holes in them.  I did not have that problem with the II and III models, which are no longer available.  Since I go through 5 or 6 pairs of shoes a year, it is important that I make them last as long as possible and that I get a good price.  So, I will no longer run in Asics.  Stan sold me a pair of Saucony Progrid 4's, which is another nuetral shoe.  I'll try them.  Besides, they are much lighter than the Fortiude and I may just run faster.

Wandered around town

After working out at Nautilus this evening, I drove to the track and then started running roads, some of which I had never run on.  I checked the distance later and it turned out to be an even 3 miles.

Should have run trails

I worked out at Nautilus early this afternoon and then ran 3 miles on the roads around town.  I finished in time to attend the Sam Houston State and Texas A&M baseball game here in Huntsville.  The game started at 6:30 p.m., so I skipped meeting the group at the park.  It was a terrible game; I should have run trails.  Sam Houston, rated #21, lost to Texas A&M, rated #9, 10 to 0.  However, the good news is that my leg seemed okay today.  It was a little painful when I used certain muscles, but it was not painful while I was running.