Expo

I ran laps this morning at the track and then went down to The Woodlands to pick up my packet for The Woodlands Half Marathon tomorrow morning.  The temperature will be in the 30's and 40's during the race (40's and 50's would be preferred).  The expo gave me a chance to visit with a lot of friends, including Loren Sheffer, Jim Braden, Jon Walk, Parveneh Moayedi and Jennifer Forsberg.

Just me and Jacob

It was just me and Jacob who showed up at the park this evening.  I ran 2 miles on the park roads, while Jacob ran 3 on the trails.  We finished about the same time.

PTA 5K Course

After working out at Iron Works, Samantha and I met up at Physical Therapy Associates (PTA) this evening and ran the 5K course from there.

Seemed colder

I know that the temperature was up to about 40 this evening, but it seemed colder than yesterday.  At the park this evening, it was me, Jacob, Sara, Samantha and Dana.  I ran 3 miles on the trails.

Houston

I drove down to Houston this morning to attend a funeral.  I stopped in Conroe on the way back and had lunch at Cracker Barrel.  I happened to sit next to an old friend, who I had not seen in many years.  We had a nice visit.  It was in the low 30's this evening and I went out to the park and ran 2 miles on the trails.

Sunday at the Park

Nice afternoon for trails.  I went out to the park and ran 7 miles on the trails, the last mile or so in the rain.

Sweetheart 5K

Our club had it's annual Sweetheart 5K in Huntsville this morning.  I got up early and Steve and I put out all the signs.  Then, I ran the race and finished the hilly course in 37:54.  Now, I am looking forward to The Woodlands Half Marathon next Saturday, the Army Half Marathon in Temple on Sunday and the Sunday Night 5K in The Woodlands.

Course adjustment

We have our 5K club run tomorrow morning.  I went over a measured part of the course to determine the adjustment for the detour due to construction.  Got it done and ended up running a little over 1 mile.  Friday is a rest day, anyway.

Me and Sara

I went out to the park this evening and Sara and I were the only ones who showed up.  Speedy Sara ran the 4.6-mile loop, so I ran the opposite way and caught up with her on the south perimeter road.  Then, I turned around and followed her back in.  I ended up doing about 3.5 miles.  When we got back, Jason, April and James were there.  They got there late and did short runs.

New course

We have a club run this Saturday and are expecting the usual 60 to 90 runners.  I designed a new course and planned to measure it with an engineer wheel this afternoon.  I turned a corner and the whole street was block with a chained link fence for about a 10th of a mile.  I measured up to the fence, carried the wheel off to the side, measured the length of the blockage, carried the wheel back to the street and then continued to measure the 5K course.  Got it done, but that part of the street will be closed this Saturday.  So, this evening, I met the group at the church and ran down to that area to figure out a detour for the race.  Got that done and tomorrow, I will have to measure the additional distance of the detour and adjust the turnaround point.  My run this evening ended up being 3 miles.

Just Dana, Samantha and I

It was just Dana, Samantha and I who showed up at the park this evening.  Nice day for a run, clear and cold.  I ran 3 miles on the trails.

Cold, again

After working out at Iron Works this evening, I ran a 2-mile loop around the campus.  It was in the mid-30's and windy.  Darn, it was cold.

Rainy Sunday

After church and lunch today, I went to the Sam Houston State - Wichita State baseball game.  There was a light rain about the whole game, but Sam won 9 to 3.  Then I went to run and measure a new course on campus, which we will use for our club run this Saturday.  According to my GPS, it came out to be 5K, but safety may be an issue.  Well, I have a few days to work on an alternative.

Love.Run Half Marathon

I ran the Love.Run Half Marathon this morning at Huntsville State Park  Last year, I ran the full marathon at the same race and it was my 101st marathon (or longer) and my last.  Beautiful weather this morning, ideal for a half marathon.  The marathoners reported that it was too hot for the second loop.  I tripped on roots and took two hard falls. However, I survived and finished in 3:23:03.  That was good enough for 1st place in the 70 and over age group (yes, I was the only one).

Laps at the track

Even though it was in the 60's and sunny and a nice day for running, I went to the track this afternoon and ran laps.  Half marathon at the park tomorrow.

Running club meeting tonight

We had a club meeting at 6 this evening, so I went out to the park earlier than normal and ran 2 miles on the trails.  Another half marathon this Saturday.

Church 5K Course

We seem to have two groups meeting for 5K runs on Wednesday evenings, one group meets at the church and the other at Physical Therapy Associates on the other side of town.  I ran with the church group this evening; tougher course around the campus.

Normal Tuesday

My knee and my groin muscle pull were much better today and I got back to a normal Tuesday.  Worked out at Iron Works and met the group at the park.  I ran 3 miles on the park roads, while the others ran trails. Looks like the mosquitos are out of hibernation.

Okay

Between my knee and groin muscle, I felt a little beat up today.  Think I will be okay, though.  I worked out at Iron Works and then ran laps at the track.

Not so good day at the park

The weather was so nice today, sunny and mid-70's this afternoon.  Perfect day for a trail run at the park.  When I got out there, Sara and J.C. were just finishing a long run, so I visited with them a bit.  I did not feel tired at all after the half marathon yesterday, so I decided to run a 2.5-mile loop.  My left knee is sore and a little swollen.  I got about 1.5 miles from the start and tripped on a root.  I have always advised people to go ahead and fall, rather than stumbling around trying to stay upright.  Skinned up knees heal quicker than pulled muscles.  Anyway, I decided to try to stay upright and stumbled around and felt like I was pulling muscles throughout my body.  After managing not to fall, I took a roll call of all the muscles to see what was still intact.  Looks like I pulled a groin muscle.  I ran/walked the last mile and took plenty of Ibuprofen with my dinner.  Hopefully, I will be okay for my half marathon on Saturday.

Katy Half Marathon

I went to bed real early last night (10:30), but woke up about 2 a.m. and could never go back to sleep.  So, about 3:15, I got out of bed, showered and got dressed.  I left the house about 3:45 and drove 94 miles down to Katy to run the Katy Half Marathon.  I  got a parking place about 100 feet from the start/finish area at the Katy Mills Mall.  There were over 2,000 running the half and a bunch more doing the 5K.  The half was suppose to start at 6:30, but was 10 minutes late.  The temperature was in the 40's and 50's during the race.  It was foggy until the sun came out late in the race and cleared things out.  I finished in 2:54:05, a few minutes faster than my last half.  They said that the race results were messed up and that they would mail the age group awards out later.  According to what is posted online now, I was 3rd of 4 in the 70-74 age group.  They were also suppose to give out caps, but they did not arrive in time for the race.  They said they would mail those two.  That's going to be a big postage bill.  There was a long line for the beer and another long line for the food.  After driving back to Huntsville, I took a much needed nap.  This evening, I went out to the state park and visited friends at the Rocky Raccoon 50 Miler start/finish line.  I suppose that it was also good weather for running 50 miles.

Friday off

Since I have a race tomorrow, I went over to the track this afternoon and ran laps.  I am ready for tomorrow, but dread getting up at 3:30 a.m., driving to Katy, getting parked, etc and being ready to run at 6:30 a.m.  Ugh.

Tapering

With a half marathon on Saturday, I began "tapering" today.  After working out at Iron Works, I ran 2 miles on the roads at the park.  Jason and Sara were there and they ran trails.  When I finished, Curtis had just finished going around the lake and we all had a nice visit.  The temperature was in the mid-30's, but no rain.

Upcoming Katy Half Marathon

A long time ago, I signed up for the Katy Half Marathon, which is scheduled for this Saturday.  Last week, I received an email telling me that there is no race day packet pickup and that I have to pick up my packet in Houston Tuesday or Wednesday or in Katy on Friday.  I sure don't recall reading that there was no race day packet pickup when I signed up.  In any case, I emailed them about it last week and asked for a refund or an exception since I live up in Huntsville.  They (Onurmark Productions) refused.  So, this afternoon, I drove down to the west side of Houston (80 miles one way) to pick up my packet.  After finding a parking place in a parking garage, I had to stand in a long line to sign in at the Fitness Center.  Then, I went to the 3rd floor and waited in another line for packet pickup.  They assigned a bib number to me and hopefully it was correctly entered into their database.  No T-shirt; they said that you get that after you finish the race.  I had to drive 160 miles this afternoon to pick up a bib.  Why not a mail option?   I have no idea how this race will turn out.  I have a feeling that it will be screwed up.  The race starts at 6:30 a.m. on Saturday in Katy, 93 miles from Huntsville.  I think I might have to get up early.
I got back to Huntsville this evening just in time to meet Dana and Samantha at PTA to run the 5K course.

Mid-40's and raining

It was in the mid-40's and raining when I went out to the park to run this evening.  Dana, Samantha and April were there too.  The rain eased up and I ran 3 miles on the park roads.  While I was running, a truck stopped and it was my friend, Joe Prusatis, who directed the Rocky Raccoon 100 last weekend and will direct the Rocky Raccoon 50 this Saturday.  We had a nice visit.

Easy trail run

I went out to the park this afternoon and ran 2 miles on the trails.  They were well beaten down from the Rocky Raccoon 100 over the weekend.

Texas 10 Series College Station and Sunday Night 5K

I ran two races today.  The first one was the Texas 10 Series 10-miler over in College Station.  The earlier forecast of rain did not pan out.  Instead, it was dry and the temperature was in the high 60's.  Last year at this race, it was raining, windy and the temperature was about 30.  I finished in 2:08:52.  Since I was the only runner over 70, I was first in my age group.  Besides a nice finisher medal, I received a glass mug for the age group award and a free entry into the Texas 10 Series Huntsville race next September.
This evening, I went down to The Woodlands and ran the Sunday Night 5K.  I finished in 37:37, a little slower than my recent normal on that course.  So, the total for both races was a half marathon.