Recovery day

My left knee was sore today and I am not due for another shot of the stuff from a rooster's cone until next fall.  It hurt at times during the 10-mile race yesterday.  So, after working out at Iron Works this evening, I ran 1.3 miles on the roads.  It eased up a bit after a quarter mile or so.  I iced it when I got home.  I am sure it will be okay in a couple days.

Texas 10 Series Boerne

I ran the Texas 10 Series Boerne 10 miler this morning.  Perfect weather and a nice and relatively flat double loop course around the city.  I finished the first loop in 1:04:53 and the second loop in 1:05:17, 23 seconds slower.  My total time was 2:10:10, which placed me second in the 70 and over age group.

Running of the Bears 5 Miler

I drove down to Montgomery this morning and ran the Running of the Bears 5 Miler.  Nice run, but it took forever to get the awards ceremony started.  Good thing for chip timing.  I finished in 59:31 (2nd in my age group).  Within about 45 minutes from getting home, I was on the road to Boerne, west of San Antonio, for the Texas 10 Series 10 Miler tomorrow morning.  Went to Mass this evening in Boerne and then had hill country BBQ.

Laps

Since I have two races this weekend, I ran laps at the track this afternoon.

Skipped the park

The weather forecast called for rain this evening, so I skipped the park and ran 2.3 miles on the roads in town earlier this afternoon.  I ran in a light rain and the rain this evening did not materialize. Oh, well.

Church 5K

I met up with the group at the Baptist church this evening and ran the 5K course around the campus from there.  Earlier today, I mailed off my custom orthotics to be recovered.  So, for my run this evening, I wore an old ones, made from a cast years ago.  My feet were sore after the run this evening.  It may be a  few days before I adjust (or re-adjust) to them.  Five-mile race coming up this Saturday and ten-mile on Sunday.

Dogwoods

Every time I see the dogwood trees bloom at the park, I know that summer is near.  This is probably the best time of the year to run trails at the park.  Jacob (fastest in town) and I (slowest in town) were the only runs running this evening.  He ran 3.5 miles and I ran 2.5 and he was waiting for me at the finish.

Avenues 5K course

After working out at Iron Works this evening, I drove to the track and ran the Avenues 5K course from there.  Plenty of hills, including the highest point between Dallas and Houston.

Club run

Our club had its annual Run the Trails 3.5 miler at Huntsville State Park this afternoon.  I hiked out a mile to a "T" in the trails to direct traffic and take photos.  There was a chance of rain, but the weather turned out nice.  Later this afternoon, I ran 2 miles on the roads in town.

Tyler Azalea 10K

I ran laps at the track on Friday before driving 135 miles up to Tyler for the Tyler Azalea 10K this morning.  The temperature was around 60 with a light mist for part of the race.  The red brick streets were rather slippery, but fortunately no slips.  Due to the crazy winter this year, there were no azalea blooms to be seen.  My finish time was 1:18:37.  The 3rd place finisher in my age group was 1:14 something.  We had a family get-together in Tyler this evening and made it back to Huntsville around 10:30 p.m.  My leg is still swollen and sore, but it did not bother me in the race.

Doctor visit

My leg was somewhat better this morning.  I went to the track and ran laps - before my doctor's appointment.  The X-ray of my leg was negative.  The doctor diagnosed the problem as a contusion (bruise).  The pressure built up at the point of the impact (where the log hit my leg) forced the blood into my lower leg and foot.  He did not see any danger of a blood clot.  So, the swelling in my leg will take time to go away.  Heat treatments will help.  I was relieved that nothing was broken and there was no danger of clots in my blood stream.  This evening, I worked out at Iron Works.

Leg

My leg was not any better this morning.  It is swollen and discolored.  I tried to get an appointment with a doctor today, but the earliest I can get in is tomorrow afternoon.  This evening, I worked out at Iron Works and then survived a 1-mile run at the track.

On the trails with Bridgette Collins

My long time friend, Bridgette Collins of Houston, ran trails with us this evening.  Bridgette is a marathoner, running coach, speaker and author of three books on running.  She, Leah Koester and Jan Parks and I ran 3 miles.  My leg injury from logging last Tuesday seems to be getting worse.  I will run tomorrow and then try to see a doctor.

Sprained ankle

I ran 2 miles on this roads this evening.  After getting home, I was stepping in the shower and noticed that the inside of my right ankle was dark purple and slightly swollen.  Sprained?  I don't remember doing anything to sprain it and did not notice any particular pain when running.  It is about 12 inches below the bruised and swollen leg from the logging accident a few days ago.  I wonder if the injuries are related.  Oh well, keep running.

Solo trail run

I went out to the park this afternoon and ran 6.8 miles on the trails.  It was a little muddy in places, but no puddles that I could not get around. The temperature was in the 60's and it was very windy.  Nice running weather.

Veterans Memorial Parkway

Rather unusual, but I had no race this morning.  So, I ran 4.4 miles out and back on Veterans Memorial Parkway.

Laps

It's Friday, so I went to the track and ran laps this afternoon.  No race this weekend, but the club is having a social run tomorrow morning.

Beautiful weather

It was clear today and a high in the 60's.  After working out at Iron Works, I met up with the group at the park and ran 3 miles on the trails.

No Wednesday group

After working out at Iron Works, I went over to the church to meet up with the Wednesday night group.  Spring break.  No one was there.  So, I ran 3 miles on the roads.  My shin is still sore and swollen from the collision with a tree yesterday, but it is not a show stopper.

Logging accident

I was cutting down a couple trees on my property this afternoon and somehow one hit my right shin, not to mention a couple facial scratches.  I ended up with a huge knot and bruise on the shin.  Rather than taking time to work out at Iron Works, I iced it and then went to the park to run.  I ran 2 miles on the park roads.  Then, I went to the Sam Houston State baseball game and iced it again when I got home. Hopefully, it will be okay tomorrow.

Yard work

I spent most of the day doing yard work.  It was much more tiring than the 16K trail run yesterday.  My running shoes were still soaking wet from being washed last night.  So, I put on a new pair of shoes out of the box and ran 1.3 miles on the roads this evening.

OMG, I forgot to blog yesterday

I just realized that I forgot to blog yesterday.  Nothing exciting.  I went down to The Woodlands and ran the Run The Woodlands 5K.  I finished in 37:09.  This morning, I went down to Lake Stubblefield, west of New Waverly, and ran the XTERRA 16K Trail Run.  I think that it was my first time to run a 16K (9.9 miles).  The temperature was in the 40's and the trail was muddy as heck.  The mud and water was up over the socks and it was very slippery in places.  I tripped and fell twice, but luckily it was in a relatively dry area both times.  I finished in 2:30:39.  I was the only one in the 70-74 age group, so I got 1st place.

Run at the park

I have to go to Houston this evening, so I went out to the park and ran a 3-mile loop on the trails this afternoon.

1,600

I reached a minor milestone today.  This was my 1,600 consecutive day of running.  I have been at this point twice before.  I went out to the park alone this afternoon and ran 2.3 miles miles on the trails.

Wednesday 5K

After working out at Iron Works, I met up with the group at the church this evening and we ran the usual Wednesday 5K course around the campus.  Nice cool weather and no melting ice.

Icy

We woke up today to a sheet of ice covering everything and it stayed in the 30's all day.  I went out to the park this evening and was the only one in the group to show up.  I ran 2 miles on the tree covered park roads.  The ice was melting, so it was like running in a cold rain.  Afterwards, I worked out at Iron Works.

Hopefully back to normal

I am still on antibiotics and other pills for my sinus infection, but hopefully I can get back to a normal routine this week.  This evening, I worked out at Iron Works and then ran 2 miles on the roads around town - in freezing temperatures.  It was such a contrast to running the half marathon two days ago in the heat and humidity.

Crazy weather day

I drove 70 miles down to Minute Maid Park in Houston this morning for the Sam Houston State and U. of Texas baseball game.  The game started at 10 a.m.  The temperature in Houston got up to the high 70's.  I made the trip back to Huntsville and arrived about 2:45.  It was much cooler here.  I left about 3:30 to drive down to The Woodlands for the Sunday Night 5K.  Just before I left, it was 41 degrees here and 75 degrees in The Woodands, about half way between here and Houston.  By the time I got to the race, the temperature was dropping fast.  It was in the 30's by the time I finished the race.  I finished in 36:58.  Now, it's 27 in Huntsville and is suppose to get down to 25.

The Woodlands Half Marathon

I got up at 4:30 this morning to take my antibiotics and other pills and then make it down to The Woodlands for a 7 a.m. start of The Woodlands Half Marathon.  There was a light rain all the way down, but very little during the race  The temperature at the start was probably in the high 60's, with 100 % humidity.  There were a total of about 8,000 for the full, half marathon and the 5K.  Despite the heat and humidity and the sinus infection and the congestion, I felt rather well after I started running.  I finished in 2:59:24, which was good enough for 3rd place in my age group.  Actually, 10 hours would have been good enough for 3rd place.  My age group award was a chair.  They also gave those to the younger age groups, so they were not just for the older runners.