Signed up for the Mother Road Marathon

I just signed up for the Mother Road Marathon in Joplin, Missouri on October 14.  It is 7 days after the Tyler Rose Marathon, but I should be okay as long as my hamstrings hold up.  If all goes well, I will run another one the next weekend.  In the meantime, I ran 2 miles on the roads in town this evening, after doing yardwork this afternoon.

New Member of the Group

We had a new member join the trail running group this evening at the park.  Blake is a 13 year old 8th grader.  She had never run at the park but she went 6+ miles around the lake with our fastest runners.  We were impressed.  I ran a 4.2 miles course on the trails and finished at the same time the fastest group finished.  I did trip and fall running down a hill, but fortunately it was a relatively slow fall into a sandy area.  Just got dirty.

Heavy Traffic

With Sam Houston State back in session, traffic in town is much heavier.  After working out at Nautilus, I went to the track and ran an unplanned route on the roads around town.  The route turned out to be 5K (3.1 miles).

Trails Again

I ran 3 miles on the trails at the park this evening.  Thank goodness for no trips or falls and my hamstrings are still intact.  I am always apprehensive about the first marathon of the season.  My first will be the Tyler Rose Marathon on October 7.  After that, no more long training runs.  Just run a marathon almost every weekend for the season.  That's my goal, anyway.

Return to the Trails

After staying off the trails all summer to avoid reinjuring my hamstrings, I returned this morning.  Lavonne had the day off and asked me to run with her on the trails.  We met up at the park at 8 a.m. and ran 8 miles.  After we finished, I went ahead and ran 3 miles on the park roads to get in a total of 11.  Thanks for running with me, Lavonne.  Before running this morning, I weighed 202 pounds.  I drank six 16.9 oz. bottles of water during and immediately after the run.  When, I got home, I weighed 200.  That means that I lost 8.3 pounds while running.  I also tried my new Camelbak during the trail run.  Surprizingly, t was very confortable easy to use.  I never felt burdened by it.

Short Sunday Run

I plan to do a long run tomorrow, so I ran 1.9 miles on the roads in town in the middle of the afternoon heat.

Heat Wave 5K

I ran the annual Heat Wave 5K here in Huntsville this morning.  I ran a disappointing 38:35 (1st of 3 in my age group).  Last year, I ran the same race about a minute faster and that was with a freshly pulled hamstring.  It is a very hilly out and back course, but I thought I would do better.

Plowing

I spent much of the afternoon plowing my wife's garden with a roto-tiller, so she can plant her fall garden.  Hard work.  However, I took a shower and ran a short 1.3-mile road course in town.  We have a race here in Huntsville tomorrow.  I have to get up early, put out the signs and then run.

Thursday Park Run

We had a nice group at the park this evening, including 3 new runners.  I ran 3 miles on the park roads and enjoyed slightly cooler temperatures.

Oh my God, they are coming back

As I ran 3 miles on the roads in town this evening, I realized that the students are coming back for the fall semester.  That means more traffic and people talking and texting while driving, rather than watching for runners.  Gotta be careful.

Got up early this morning

I got up early this morning and drove my wife down to Conroe for surgery to remove something from her ear and a skin graft.  All went well and we were back by noon.  When I met the group at the park this evening, we had a light rain.  However, by the time I finished 3 miles on the park roads, it had stopped.  It was a little cooler, though.  No rain at my house; in the last month, we have had 1/4 inch of the stuff.

Sqeezed in a Run

I have a lot of family visiting this evening and tomorrow, so after doing more yardwork this afternoon, I went to Nautilus early, worked out and then ran 1.6 miles on the roads in town.

Sore Today

I was really sore today after that fall yesterday on the asphalt in the race yesterday.  I bandaged up my knee and did a lot of yard work this afternoon.  Afterwards, I crashed for an hour and then forced myself to get up.  I was due for a long run, but cut it to 5.8 miles on the roads in town.

Watermelon 5K for the Fallen

I drove an hour to Hempstead this morning for the Watermelon 5K for the Fallen.  Hempstead is the watermelon capital of Texas and I think that every race they have there includes "watermelon" in the name.  The race this morning was to honor the servicemen from Texas killed in the mideast wars.  There was a large military and law enforcement presence at the race.  The pre-race ceremonies included a 4-plane flyover, swearing-in ceremony for new military recruits and parachutists landing on the football field.  There were around 600 runners and walkers and everyone had to walk around the track twice before exiting for the race.  We started running after leaving the gate to the football stadium.  About a half mile into the race, we running on very rough asphalt.  I tripped and fell and cut my knee.  Before anyone had a chance to help me up, I was able to get up and continue running.  Embarassing!  The race was not timed and I have no idea if the course was accurate.  The approach to the finish line, which was at a downtown park, was lined with about 100 motorcyclists holding American flags.  Can't beat that.  There was no race timing or competition.  My watch said 34:10 at the finish line.  After the race, there was a live band and more ceremonies to honor the fallen.  I was really impressed with what this small town put together to honor fallen servicemen.  Being a Vietnam veteran and retired from the Army, I really enjoyed visiting with some of the active duty and fomer military members there.  I'll be back next year.

Finished the Logging

I did a short 1.3-mile run on the roads in town this afternoon and then finished cutting up, loading and hauling off the fallen tree on my property.  I did some heaving lifting and feel sore all over this evening.  I suppose I will not get a PR in the 5K tomorrow.

Logging this Afternoon

I got my chainsaw out of the shop yesterday, so this afternoon I proceded to cut up and haul off a large oak tree that fell on my property.  Tiring work.  This evening, I had to go to Nautilus and then run 3 miles at the park to rest up.

Light Traffic

With only the summer school students in town, traffic is relatively light around the campus.  That will change soon.  So, my 3-mile loop around the campus this evening was rather uneventful, except that it was darned hot.

Where is the Rain?

After so much rain in the early part of the summer, green grass and mowing every few days, we have not had a drop of rain at my house for weeks.  It is starting to look like the drought of last summer.  I had to run an errand over in College Station (50 miles) today.  While there, I stopped at Academy (sporting goods store) and bought a camelback.  My plan is to try it on my long run this weekend.  This evening, it was my regular workout at Nautilus and 3-mile run on the roads at the park.  I suppose that I looked good in my new running shoes, but I ran alone on the empty roads.

Shoe Report

Maybe it is the way I run, but I seem to go through a lot of shoes.  The Saucony's that I tried this summer lasted 29 days (69 miles).  On June 15, I started running in a pair of Asics Fortitude 4's.  My last run in them was yesterday.  The left heel came apart and the outter right heel was worn out.  Those are going in the trash can.  They lasted 59 days (163 miles).  This evening, I started running in a new pair of Asics Fortitude 5's ($97 with my running club discount).  My break-in run was 1.3 miles on the roads in town.

Double Digits

I hit the roads this evening about 5:30 and ran 10.5 miles.  One of the problems with long runs in the summer heat is hydration.  I have to plan my route to make sure I can get water during the run.  Even though I hate to run with anything, I am thinking about buying a camel back.  Anybody out there run with these?

Run the Woodlands 5K

I have family visiting this weekend, but I slipped away this morning and went down to The Woodlands for the twice a month 5K.  As expected, it was hot and humid.  I finished in 37:12, a little faster than my run on the same course last Sunday evening.  This afternoon, we had the annual Seven Hills Running Club picnic.

Usual Friday

As usual on many Fridays, I went to the track this afternoon and ran laps.  Race tomorrow morning.

Steamy at the Park

It rained at the park this evening, so it was hot and steamy.  My intention was to run 5 miles on the roads, but I was done after 3.

Unplanned Route

After working out at Nautilus this evening, I drove to the track and ran an unplanned  road route from there.  It turned out to be 4.4 miles.

Tempted to get back on the trails

I have stayed off the trails all summer for fear of tripping and repulling my hamstrings.  I keep meeting the group at the park and running the hilly paved park roads while the others run trails.  This evening, I ran 3 miles.  Starting with the Tyler Marathon on October 6, I hope to get in 3 road marathons in October.  Then, I plan to run the Rocky Raccoon 50K Trail Run at Huntsville State Park on November 3 and the Texas Trail 50K at the same park on December 1.  Both are streak races.  This will be my 12th consecutive year for Rocky Raccoon and my 17th for the Sunmart/Texas Trail 50K.  If I can resist the temptation, I will wait until late September before getting back on the trails.  Long training runs on the trails seem a lot easier than long runs on the roads.

Mid-Afternoon Run

I had to take my wife down to The Woodlands for a 4:30 doctor's appointment today.  So, I ran 2 miles on the roads in town at 2:30 this afternoon.  After the appointment, we met my son, who lives in Houston, at the Olive Garden in The Woodlands for dinner.

Sunday Night 5K x 2

As usual on the first Sunday of each month, I went down to The Woodlands this evening to run the Sunday Night 5K.  It rained shortly before the race, so it was hot and steamy.  I was completely soaked in sweat when I finished.  My time was 37:35.  Since I had already made the trip to the "flatlands," I went ahead and ran the course again.  Not really a long run, but I got in a total of 6.2 miles.

Outriggers 5K on the Bay

I got up at 4:30 this morning for the 100-plus mile drive down to Seabrook for the Outriggers 5K on the Bay.  As expected, it was hot and humid down on the coast.  However, the course was flat and the post-race pizza and beer was good.  I finished in 35:50, which placed me 4th in the 70-79 age group.  

Short Friday Run

Since it is Friday and I have a race tomorrow, I went to the track this afternoon and ran laps.

Six Chicks Showed up at the Park

When we run at the state park, the group meets at the parking lot outside the park next the the I-45 service road and then drives into the park together.  This evening, there were six chickens hanging out in the parking lot.  I cannot imagine where they came from or how they got there.  We did find out that chickens love M&M's.  I ran 2.2 miles on the park roads with James, while the others ran trails.  When we left the park, the chickens were still in the parking lot.

Quiet Streets

With only the summer classes going on at Sam Houston State, the streets around the university are relatively quiet.  After working out at Nautilus this evening, I ran a 3-mile loop on the streets in town.