No Saturday race

 This was one of the few Saturdays this year without running a race somewhere.  I ran 2.9 miles on the roads late this morning and then we had a family get-together at my house this afternoon.  Then, we all went to the Sam Houston - Houston Baptist football game here in Huntsville tonight.  Sam won 74-0.  Gotta get up at 4:30 in the morning for a race in West.

Hot

The temperature got up to 99 about 5 p.m. today, about the same time I ran 2 miles on the roads.  It is so dry and no rain in the forecast.

Shots

This afternoon, I went to the doctor and got shots of the stuff from a rooster's cone under both knee caps.  I forgot that I was suppose to run before the shots.  So, I went to the track at 10:30 tonight and ran an easy mile.  Hopefully, my knees will start feeling better tomorrow and I can get on with my distance training.

Ran out of time

I ran short of time this evening and cut my run short.  Leah and I arrived at the track at the same time and we ran a 1.9-mile loop in the avenues.

Three Bucks

We see a lot of deer in our neighborhood, but only occasionally see a buck.  I looked out in my backyard this afternoon and there were three bucks.  Guess they know that it is not hunting season.
My knees ache and I am looking forward to getting the shots this Thursday.  It rained everywhere in the area this evening, except at my house.  The rain made it very humid at the park this evening.  I ran three miles on the roads.  Phillip ran trails and almost got bitten by a Copperhead.  It struck at his leg and barely missed.  My marathon in October is on the roads, so I will do most of my running on the roads until then.

No key

My wife and I went over to the track this morning to look for the key to my truck.  After an hour and a half thorough search, we gave up.  Then, I checked with both the University PD and Huntsville PD.  No one turned in the key, but they have my name and number.  This evening, I went back to the track and ran an unplanned course on the roads.  It turned out to be 3.1 miles.

Heat Wave 5K and Dallas

On Saturday, I put out the signs and then ran the club's Heat Wave 5K.  I finished in 39:28.  It is a little slow, but it was hot and the course very hilly.  After the race, I posted the results on the club web site and then headed for Dallas.  My wife and I went to the Cowboy - Bengal game at Cowboy Stadium.  It was my first time at the stadium and we had club-level seats at the 45-yard line.  Great seats, except that we were in the first row behind the camera pit and had to look around the camera guys.  After the game, we made the one-hour drive across Dallas to Wylie and spent the night with my son and his family.  We got back to Huntsville this evening.
I went over to the track and ran 1.5 miles on the roads from there.  All the students are in town and I almost got hit by one running a stop sign.  When I returned to the track, my key (which I always hang on the fence) was gone.  I looked for it until it got too dark.  My wife brought me the other key.  Why anyone would take a key without taking the truck is beyond me.  In any case, I will go back over there tomorrow morning and look for it.

Easy Friday

With sore knees and a 5K tomorrow morning, I ran a 1.3-mile loop in the avenues this afternoon.  I have an appointment next Friday to get shots of the stuff from a rooster's cone under my knee caps.  This lubricates the arthritis under the knee caps and eases the pain for about a year.

Calendar is busy

For being retired, my calendar seems to be busy.  Right now, I am in the middle of ordering trophies and other stuff for the upcoming Huntsville Half Marathon.  I am also in the process of selling most of my season tickets to the home games of the Dallas Cowboys (I won them).  We have a club run Saturday and then I am headed to Dallas for the Cowboys - Bengals game.  Appointments next week and a Saturday football game here and two races on Sunday, one in West, TX.  Lots of races coming up and the first marathon of the season on October 13.
This evening, I ran 2 miles on the park roads and finished at the same time as Jacob, who ran 3.  It was my 1,404th consecutive day of running.

Still hot

Even though the temperatures have been down somewhat, it was still hot today.  We had hopes for rain, but it passed us over.  After working out at Iron Works this evening, I ran an unplanned route on the roads.  The students are back, so the main streets are busy again.  I stayed in the avenues.  My course was 5.6 miles.

New Shoes

I took a new pair of shoes out of the box today and ran 2 miles on the roads in town.  I suppose that I should consider them broken in now.  I need to start running longer; my first marathon of the season is on October 13.

Back to the park

It seems like a long time since I was at the state park.  I went out there in the middle of the afternoon and ran 3 miles on the park roads.  Came home and then drove down to The Woodlands to have dinner with my son at the Olive Garden.  When I got home, I realized that my credit card was missing.  Left it at OG and they are holding it for me, so back to The Woodlands tomorrow.

Watermelon Run for the Fallen 5K

Jill and I drove over to Hempstead early this morning to run the Watermelon Run for the Fallen 5K.  It is a tribute to all military members who gave their lives in recent wars.  The race was preceeded by a 30-minute ceremony, including a 6-plane flyover and parachutists landing on the football field.  Several hundred participated in the race, which was non-competitive and not timed.  Everyone is required to walk two laps around the track and then leave the stadium for the rest of the race.  It ends downtown with plenty of food and live music.  I have no idea what my finish time was.

Back from North Carolina

I got back from North Carolina this evening.  I drove up to Tyler in east Texas on August 5, spent the night with my sister and then took two days to drive up to North Carolina to visit my daughter and her family in Wilkesboro (northwest part of North Carolina).  I took the northern route up, across Arkansas and the length of Tennessee.  Ran into very heavy rains in the mountains of Tennessee.  During the rain, I hit a big bird.  I thought it would break my windshield.  Instead, it knocked the driver-side windshield wiper off my car.  I limped into the next town and got a new one.
On Saturday, we all went down to Valdese, NC and ran The Great Waldensian Footrace.  My son-in-law and I ran the 10K and my wife, daughter and two grandkids did the 1-mile race.  My son-in-law got a trophy for 4th place in his age group and I ran 1:20:20 and got 3rd place in my age group.  My grandson was 2nd overall in the 1-mile.  We hung around in Valdese after the race for lunch and the local festival.
This Wednesday, we spent most of the day hiking up and down Stone Mountain, about 45 minutes north of Wilkesboro. 
The first day in Wilkesboro, I ran in my daughter's neighborhood..  This is in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, so there was a steep hill in every direction.  For the rest of the visit, I ran a trail along the Yadkin River, which runs between Wilkesboro and North Wilkesboro.  Beautiful place and great place to run.
Took the southern route back to Texas.  Yesterday, we drove 600+ miles through North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama and part of Mississippi.  Today, we drove 500+ miles on through Mississippi, Louisiana and on into Texas.

Sunday Night 5K

I went down to The Woodlands tonight to run the Sunday Night 5K.  I have run this course nearly 100 times, but tonight they had to alter the course due to some utility construction.  The race director thought the improvised course was a little long.  I am not sure, but my time was 38:11, compared to 36:49 in the 5K yesterday.

Outriggers 5K

I got up at 4:15 this morning and drove nearly 2 hours down to Seabrook to run the Outriggers 5K at 7:30.  It is amazing how much traffic is on I-45 and 610 around Houston that early in the morning.  I arrived plenty early, got a close by parking spot and watched the sun rise over the bay.  The course is completely flat.  I finished in 36:49, which placed me 4 of 5 in the 70-79 age group.  Outriggers is a club overlooking the bay.  Had beer and pizza for breakfast.  After the race, I  drove all Houston and points north of Houston to leave Huntsville Half Marathon entry forms at running stores.  Got home about 1 p.m. and took a good nap.

Nausiated

I felt nausiated most of the day.  That's unusual for me, but I suspect that it has something to do with the very hot run yesterday - or maybe it was something I ate at IHOP this morning.  I went to the track this evening and ran laps.  I seem to be okay now.

Spring Lake 5K Course

I met up with three other runners at 6 p.m. this evening and ran the Spring Lake course.  This is a new course which our club will use for our August club run on the 24th.  It was close to a 100 degrees when we ran.  I am sure the heat index was well over 100.  And, the course did not seem to be so hilly when I drove it.  It was pretty much up or down.