1990

I was checking the U. S. Running Streak Association web site to see how many consecutive days that I have run.  As of today, 1,990.  Obviously, I am getting close to the milestone of 2,000.  Been there once before, so it is not a big deal.  I met up with the group this evening and ran 3 miles on the trails at the park.

Monday night run

This afternoon, I drove my sister down to the south side of Houston for a doctor's appointment.  We did not get back until late this evening, so I went over to the track after dark and ran laps.  My knees are still sore from the runs this weekend, anyway.

Texas 10 Series Boerne

I drove 4 hours to Boerne (west of San Antonio) yesterday to run the Texas 10 Series 10-miler this morning.  Nice sunny weather and not too hot.  I felt sluggish the first 5-mile loop, but loosened up some the second loop.  Must be the 5-miler yesterday.  I finished in 2:11:32, about 1 minute and a half slower than the same race last year.  The race was much larger this year and for the first time 13 races that I have done in the series, I did not place.  The next race in the series will be in Plano next month.

Running of the Bears 5-Miler

I took the back roads 30 minutes down to Montgomery this morning to do the Running of the Bears 5-Miler.  Nice weather, sunny, but not too hot.  I finished in 59:41 (1st in age group), 10 seconds slower than the same race last year.  Got a chance to visit with my streaker friend, Vince, from The Woodlands.

Rest day

I spent most of the day roto-tillering my garden, hoeing and planting my garden.  I'm not use to all that work.  Since it is Friday and I have two races this weekend, it was a rest day as far as running goes.  I went to the track this morning and ran laps.

Four on the trails

It rained last night and was a little cooler today.  Great day for running at the park.  I ran 4 miles on the trails this evening.

5K with Sam

Samantha and I met up at PTA this evening and ran the PTA 5K course.

Outer Loop

After working out at Iron Works, I ran the 6.8-mile outer loop trail at the park this evening.  Beautiful sunny weather.

Routine Monday

After working out at Iron Works this evening, I ran 2 miles around the campus.  Nice sunny weather, for a change.

Run the Trails 3.5 Miler

We had our club's annual Run the Trails 3.5 Miler at Huntsville State Park this afternoon.  I went out to the park an hour early and ran the course, so I could take photos.  After the run, I coordinated a crew of volunteers to cleanup every trail in the park.  They picked up a lot of trash, so for right now, the trails look good. Then, I spent most of the evening updating the club web site with weekend race results and developing a photo gallery.  Just finish the gallery.  Click HERE to see it.

Bearathon Half Marathon

I drove to Waco yesterday for this morning's Bearathon Half Marathon, which started and finished on the Baylor University Campus.  The race started in the dark and rain at 7 a.m. this morning.  The temperature was nice, though, 50's, 60's.  It is billed as the toughest half marathon in Texas because of about 6 miles of very steep hills in Cameron Park.  I finished in 2:56:08, eight seconds slower than The Army Half Marathon three weeks ago.  I was determined not to walk any of the hills and I accomplished that..  There were 1,152 finishes in the Half Marathon event and I placed 5 of 5 in the 70 and over age group.  In any case, it was my 777th race since I started racing on May 1, 1983.  It was my 14th half marathon (including a 25K) this season.

Laps

I ran laps at the track this morning.  Race tomorrow morning.

Trails

After working out at Iron Works, I ran 3 miles on the trails at the park.

Wednesday evening 5K

Dana, Christopher and I met at PTA this evening and ran the PTA 5K course.  It is starting to feel like summer.  We complained about the cold and now the heat.

Back to the routine

After Iron Works, I met up with Jacob, Sara, Jason, Samantha, Dana and Ray Sarno at the park and ran 3 miles on the trails.

Back from Yuma

I ran at the track after midnight on Wednesday night to get my Thursday run in early.  I left early Thursday morning and drove 700+ miles to El Paso.  I spent the night there and then drove nearly 600 more miles Friday to Yuma, Arizona for my son's wedding.  I got in a run on the streets in Yuma after arriving on Friday and just made it to the the rehearsal Friday evening.  The temperature in Yuma was in the 90's and it was extremely dry.  It played havoc with my sinuses.  I ran the streets again on Saturday morning, got my truck washed and lost $25 at the casino.  It was a beautiful wedding at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday and a very nice reception.  I got up early Sunday morning, went to church and then to the new in-law's house to say goodbye and to get citrus fruit from the trees in their yard.  Then, I headed back to El Paso.  It was dark when I arrived at the hotel and El Paso is not my favorite place to run after dark.  I managed to get in a run from the hotel and survived.  I drove back from El Paso today.  I stopped in Fredericksburg out in the Texas  hill country for an hour to visit the Admiral Chester Nimitz Pacific War Museum.  I had been by there a number of times, but never stopped until today.  Besides, the hour break got me through Austin after the rush hour.  I finally made it back to Huntsville at 10 p.m. tonight.  I went to the track and ran laps at 11 p.m.  Hopefully, tomorrow I can return to my routine.  Half Marathon coming up next Saturday.

PTA 5K Course

Clayton, Dana, Christopher and I ran the PTA 5K course this evening.  I have driving all day tomorrow, so my plan is to go run after midnight tonight in the rain.  Us streakers have to do that sometime.

No rain today

No sun today, but at least no rain.  It was me, Jacob and Jason at the park this evening.  I had to get back home, so I only ran 2.5 miles on the trails.

The rain continues

It rained all day again today.  After working out at Iron Works this evening, I ran 2 miles on the streets around the nearly empty campus (Spring Break).  I got soaking wet, but that's okay.

Wet trail run

I went out to the park this afternoon and ran 4 miles on the trails in the rain.  The temperature was in the high 40's, so it was rather comfortable.

Habitat for Humanity 5K

I drove 50 miles to the south of Livingston this morning to run the Habitat for Humanity 5K.  I believe it was their first year and they only had about 20 runners.  In any case, several of my friends were there and I met some of their local runners.  It was a double loop, mostly on a gravel road.  I finished in 36:40, but they did not have age group competition.  I spent the rest of the day with visiting family.

Different Thursday routine

I had family coming in this afternoon for a visit, so I ran earlier this afternoon, not the usual Thursday evening run at the park.  Squeezed in a 1.3-mile cold run on the streets in town.

Rare morning training run

As anyone that ever may read this blog knows, I hate running in the morning.  The forecast was for heavy rain and cold this evening, so I ran the out and back 5K course on Veterans Memorial Parkway at 10 this morning.  It was over 70 degrees and it is suppose to get down to about freezing tonight.

Heat Wave

After so much cold, the temperature was up in the 70's today.  However, the heat wave will be short-lived.  It is suppose to be in the 20's before the week is over.  After Iron Works this evening, I met up with the group at the park.  It was me, Jacob, Jason, Samantha and April.  We all ran 3 miles on the trails.

Easy running day

I spent most of the morning writing my running column for the Huntsville Item tomorrow.  There were so many race results for local runners, I only had space for a short narrative.  This evening, after working out at Iron Works, I ran 2 miles around the campus.  While running, I ran into Dana and we had a brief visit.  She told me something that made me realize that I had a serious error in my column.  After unsuccessfully trying to reach the sports desk by phone, I ended up banging on the back door of the Huntsville Item tonight to reach someone to fix it.

3-Race Weekend

                 The Woodlands Half                       The Army Half  
                       
Busy weekend and all having to do with running.  I got up at 4 something yesterday morning and drove down to The Woodlands to run The Woodlands Half Marathon.  The temperature was in the high 30's and it did not warm up much during the race.  it rained for a while at about mile 8 and 9, but otherwise the weather was comfortable.  I finished in 2:58:05 (6th in age group), compared to 2:59:24 (3rd in age group) last year.  When I got back to Huntsville, I showered and took a one-hour nap.  Then, I drove 2 1/2 hours west to Temple for The Army Half Marathon.  I went straight to the expo to pick up my packet, then went to Mass at a church across town and then to a restaurant near the hotel.  I worked on race results for local runners for my newspaper column until I went to bed at 10:30.  Then, I got up at 5:15 this morning to go run the race.  My GPS sent me all over Temple before finding the race parking lot.  Then, I realized that I forgot my drop bag in the hotel.  It was camouflage in color, so I suppose it hid from me.  So, when I left my truck in the parking lot, I had to wear what I was going to run in.  I had to stand outside for a long time in the rain waiting on the shuttle bus to the start line.  I ended up getting to the start line about 15 minutes before race start at 7 a.m.  It was an out and back course.  The temperature was around 40, but strong winds made it brutal.  I finished in 2:56:03 (4th of 7 in age group).  Then, I had to stand in a long line for a shuttle bus back to the parking lot.  By then, the temperature was in the low 30's.  I finally got back to the truck and drove back to Huntsville.  I took another shower, a 30-minute nap and then drove down to The Woodlands for the Sunday Night 5K.  My streaker buddy, Vince Attanucci, was there and ran with me.  Normally, he runs fast, but he is recovering from a knee injury and is reduced to my pace.  We finished in 38:31.  I appreciate him running and visiting.  It would have otherwise seemed like a long 5K.  I stopped to eat on the way back to Huntsville.  Then, I started working on race results for the club web site.