Ankle, again

My ankle was hurting again this evening, so I limited my run this evening to 2 miles on the park roads.  The 25K on the trails Saturday will be a test.  My goal will be to survive without making my ankle worse or otherwise injuring myself with 4 more marathons on the schedule.

New Wednesday evening group

Steve started a new training group for Wednesday evening runs.  Four of us showed up this evening; we started at the Baptist Church on Sycamore and ran the Huntsville 5K course.  It rained most of the day and rained during most of our run this evening.

Darned Ankle

The darned ankle I sprained 4 weeks ago is still hurting and I have a 25K trail run this Saturday and a marathon the next Saturday.  I ran 2 miles on the park roads this evening.  I wish it would freeze, so the mosquitoes would go away or whatever they do when it gets cold.

Back to Monday

As usual on Monday, I worked out at Iron Works and then ran the roads around town.  The route turned out to be 2.8 miles.  Today was our 46th anniversary, so my wife and I went out to dinner tonight.  I went to Vietnam a few weeks after we got married in 1967; it is hard to believe it has been that long since Vietnam.

Sunday at the park

After watching the disappointing Cowboy - Detroit game this afternoon, I went out to the park and ran 3.5 miles on the trails.  We had a heavy rain last night and it really cleaned off the trails.  My next race is a 25K at the park next Saturday.

Run the Woodlands 5K

There were a lot of race choices this morning, but I went down to The Woodlands and ran the Run the Woodlands 5K.  Because of road constructions, they have not held this race for a while.  Normally, it is on the 2nd and 4th Saturday of every month.  In any case, I got to visit with a few friends.  I finished the race in 38:17.  While down there, I visited some stores and had breakfast at IHOP before heading back to Huntsville.  This afternoon, I attended the Sam Houston - Northwestern State football game.

Can't believe how much faster my computer works

My computer is running so much faster.  Where can I go to get a new human browser to make me run faster?  Since I have a 5K in the morning, I went to the track this afternoon and ran laps.

At the computer shop

For months, I have been having computer problems.  It takes forever to do anything.  Even when I post on this blog, I cannot go back and edit the narrative.  I assumed that I needed memory and I had more memory added.  I took it in to the shop today and stayed with them while they worked on it.  It turned out that my Internet Explorer browser was messed up.  They switched me to Google Chrome and now the computer is super fast.  Now, I can even edit the narrative in this blog.  I cannot imagine how much time and frustration the slowness has cost me for months.
I met up with the group at the park this evening and ran 3 miles on the park roads.  The ankle felt a little better.

Unplanned route in the avenues

After working out at Iron Works, I went to the track and ran an unplanned route in the avenues.  Even ran down a couple streets I had never been on before.  The route turned out to be 3.3 miles.

Half roads, half trails

James and I were the only runners who showed up at the park this evening.  We started out running on the park roads and ended up running on the trails.  I had this fear of screwing up my ankle, with a marathon on the roads coming up in a week and a half.  I am not sure how far we ran, but it was probably about two and a half miles.  This cool weather feels great.

Texas 10 Series Waco cancelled

I received an email this afternoon notifying me that the Texas 10 Series race in Waco on November 3 has been cancelled.  Apparently, they did not have a sufficient number of entries.  That's disappointing.  I was looking forward to the challenge of running 10 miles the day after the Rocky Raccoon 25K  On the other hand, now I get to attend my son's birthday party Saturday evening.
After working out at Iron Works this evening, I ran an unplanned route on the streets around town.  The route turned out to be 2.6 miles.

Darn ankle

The darn ankle was still sore today.  I took plenty of Ibupropen today and ran laps at the track this evening.  Feels better this evening.  My plan is to run a 5K this weekend and the next weekend a 25K,10-Miler and a 5K.  Surely it will be okay by then.

Huntsville Half Marathon

I got up early this morning, loaded up boxes of trophies, the race clock and inflatable arch and drove to the campus for the Huntsville Half & Quarter Marathon & 5K.  I set up the clock and arch and ran the half marathon.  The weather was perfect, temperature in the 50's and 60's and dry.  I finished in 2:58:52, about a minute faster than last year.  I was the only one in the 70 & Over age group, so I won 1st in my age group.  The ankle I sprained a couple weeks ago really hurt.  It's funny, it did not bother me in the marathon last Sunday.  I only have a 5K next weekend, so maybe it will be okay before I start running long the following weekend.

4 Years

For the third time in my 4 running streaks, I have reached the 4-year mark.  I am still mad as heck about breaking my last streak four years ago on the knee issue.  The doctor misdiagnosed the injury and talked me into not running for four days.  I could have run.  If the future, I will run if I physically can.
Since I am running a half marathon tomorrow, I ran laps at the track this afternoon.  This cool weather feels great.

Packet labels

Our club is putting on the 35th Annual Huntsville Half & Quarter Marathon & 5K this Saturday.  I was to print the packet labels this evening in time for packet stuffing at 6 p.m.  I had all sorts of problems getting them printed.  Then, after taking them 10 miles to the packet stuffing, I realized that I was missing some of the labels.  I had to go back home and print the two missing pages and take them back to the stuffing.  I missed my run at the park and ended up running laps at the track about 8:30 p.m.  I sure hope this cooler weather holds up for the race on Saturday.

Cool, again

We finally got some cooler weather, again.  With the marathon on Sunday and the Huntsville Half Marathon this Saturday, I am really taking it easy this week.  No long runs.  This evening, I worked out at Iron Works and then ran 2 miles around the campus.

Getting back to normal

I feel like I am fully recovered from the marathon on Sunday.  I worked out at Iron Works this evening and then ran 2 miles on the roads at the park.

Tyler Rose Marathon

We drove up to Tyler Saturday afternoon to run the Tyler Rose Marathon for the third time.  At packet pickup, I had a nice visit with my good friend, Loren Sheffer, publisher of the Texas Runner Triathlete.  He was there promoting his great magazine.  I also visited with my friend, Parvaneh Moayedi from San Antonio, who was there to run the marathon.  It would be her 153rd marathon in the last 12 months, setting a new world record.  She is an amazing athlete, so inspiring.  As expected, it was hot and humid on race day, temperature in the 80's and about as humid as it can get.  I usually do not wear a cap, but did so to keep the expected rain out of my eyes.  There was no rain during the race, except for a few sprinkles here and there.  I felt pretty good the entire race and ran a very steady pace.  I hit the halfway point at 3:06 and finished in 6:25:10.  Even though the course is up or down hills virtually the entire 26.2 miles, I never walked, except through the aid stations.  My slightly sprained ankle from the week before hurt, but was no worse than the regular hurts encountered during a marathon.  As it came out, I was the only runner in the 70 and over age group, so I won a nice age group winner medal.  We attended Mass Sunday evening at the Cathedral in Tyler and then my nephew's birthday dinner.  We drove back to Huntsville this morning.  I finally got back to Iron Works this evening for a workout and then ran 1.3 miles on the roads.  Next up is the Huntsville Half Marathon this Saturday.

Shiitake Mushroom 5K

On Saturday, Darren Grant rode up to Madisonville with me to run the Shiitake Mushroom 5K, which is held each year in conjunctions with the Shiitake Mushroom Festival.  This was my first time running this race in several years.  It is usually held on the same day as our Huntsville Half Marathon.  They issued homemade paper numbers, which fell off once you started to sweat.  With different places to get free race numbers, there is no excuse for homemade numbers.  The age groups were unusual and they announced that the course was 3.2 miles (a 5K is suppose to be 3.1 miles).  3.2 seemed to be correct; my finish time was 39:57. 

Resting up

I did a lot of work around the house today, but as far as running goes, I am resting up for the 5K tomorrow and the marathon on Sunday.  I took a break from work at the house this afternoon and ran laps at the track.

Busy day

For being retired, I was busy today with a lot of errands.  This included taking my computer into the shop to add RAM.  This evening, I attended a running club meeting at the library from 5:30 to 7 p.m.  I left a few minutes early to pick up my computer from the computer store, which closed at 7 p.m.  However, I could not get to the store.  The Sam Houston State Homecoming Parade was going down Sam Houston Ave., where the computer store is located.  I parked a block away on the other side of Sam Houston Ave.  With the permission of a police officer, I cut through the parade to get to the store.  I picked up the computer and cut through the parade again to get to my truck.  Then, I went to the track and ran laps.  My plan is to run a mile tomorrow, a 5K race on Saturday and the marathon on Sunday.  The latest weather forecast is for 79 degrees and a 50 percent chance of rain.

Back in Huntsville

I got back to Huntsville this afternoon and spent a couple hours updating the running club web site.  Worked out at Iron Works and then ran an short unplanned route in the the avenues.  It turned out to be 1.8 miles.

Another city park run

I went down to the same city park this afternoon and ran about 3 miles on the concrete trails.  Back to Huntsville in the morning.

Park Run

I went to a city park (not in Huntsville) and ran 3 miles on a concrete trail.  Nice clear and cool weather, but I much prefer running on asphalt.  I read once that asphalt is 10 times softer than concrete.  Most of the marathon in Tyler next Sunday will be on asphalt, however, some of it is on red brick streets.

Cool and clear

It was cool and clear this evening.  Perfect running weather.  I ran 2.8 miles on the roads.

St. Anthony's Fall Fest 5K

After driving to Wylie (northeast of Dallas) yesterday, I attended a local high school football game last night.  After the game, we walked across a field to get to where the car was parked.  I stepped in a hole and twisted my ankle.  It was sore this morning, but I ran the St. Anthony's Fall Fest 5K in Wylie at 8 this morning  It was hot and sunny and I finished in just over 39 minutes (2nd in the 65 and over age group).  My time was slower than usual, but the ankle did not seeem to bother me while running. At 10:30 a.m., I attended my granddaughter's soccer game in Wylie.  It was in the mid-50's, raining and windy.  What a contrast to the weather a couple hours earlier!  Tonight, the ankle is still sore.  I always worry about injuries in the days before a marathon.

Short Friday run

Since it is Friday and I have a 5K in the morning, I went to the track this morning and ran 1.3 miles on the roads from there.  I ran in new shoes out of the box, which I hope to get broken in for the marathon on October 13.

Got it

I drove down to Conroe to meet the salesman from Tomball Ford to exhange my old truck for the new one.  They put the wrong running board on it, so I had to drive on down to Tomball to get the right one put on.  I ended up waiting at the dealership for about 3 hours.  When I finally got back to Huntsville, I went out to the park and ran 7 miles on the trails.  It was humid as heck and I was completely soaked in sweat when I finished.  It is 10 days away from my first marathon of the season.  Looks like the temperature in Tyler, Texas for that day is going to be around 80.

Still no truck

Still no new truck, however, they are going to meet me in Conroe tomorrow morning at 9:30 to trade the new truck for my old one.  I did yard work all day and went to Iron Works this evening and then for a 2-mile run on the roads around town.  Long run planned for tomorrow.

No new truck today

I sorta waited around today for delivery of my new truck.  They called this afternoon and were still waiting for it to be delivered from a different dealer.  Hopefully, I will get it tomorrow.  After working out at Iron Works this evening, I met up with the group at the park.  Everyone was doing a short run, so I ran 2 miles on the park roads.