Taking it easy

I do not have any long races coming up in the next few weeks, so hopefully I can reduce the pain in my knees.  I am looking forward to seeing what the doctor says on May 12.  So, for the second consecutive day, I ran a 2-mile loop around the campus.  It seems strange not to be running at the park on a Thursday evening.

Trail cleanup

This afternoon, Dana and I went out to the state park and cleaned 1-mile of trail.  We cleaned the small trees, limbs and other debris from the trail and mapped the location of the large trees that had fallen across the trail (like the one in the photo).  We will leave those to the park crews.  On the way home, I stopped at the track and ran a 2-mile loop on the roads from there.  My knees continue to hurt, but I have an appointment with the doctor on May 12.  Then, I worked out at Iron-Works.

Park is closed

I went out to the park this evening to do a solo trail run.  A police officer stopped me in the park and said that the park was closed.  A tornado touched down early this morning and knocked over a lot of trees and power lines.  It will open up this Wednesday at the earliest.  So, I went to the track and ran laps.  When I got home, I posted the news about the park being closed on the club FB page and immediately got offers from runners to go out and help clean it up.  I think runners appreciate the park more than anyone else.

Sore and stiff knees

I have gotten the Synvisc (stuff from a rooster's cone) shots under my knee caps for 4 years now.  They lubricate the arthritis and ease the pain.  They have worked well for several years, but now seem to have no effect.  My knees are sore and stiff, even after only running a 10K yesterday.  I need to back to the doctor and see what the alternatives are that do not include breaking my running streak.  This afternoon, I ran 2 miles on the streets around the campus and took Ibuprofen tablets with my dinner.

Superhero 10K

I drove a little over an hour this morning to the Alabama-Coushatta Indian Reservation to run the Superhero 10K  The weather forecast was for a small chance of rain.  It was raining when I left Huntsville and at race time, there was heavy rain and lightning.  It rained hard for the first mile and then let up after that.  Even so, there was water and mud on the roads for most of the course.  It slowed me down some.  I finished in 1:18:38, about 2 minutes slower than the same race last year.  There were two of us in the 60 and over age group and I finished first.  Despite the weather, it was nice to see and visit with a lot of friends.

Wet track

It rained this morning.  I went over to the track this afternoon and ran laps, trying to dodge the puddles of water and mud on the track.  10K tomorrow.

Hot and humid trails

It was hot and humid at the park this evening.  I ran a different course than usual to check for any remaining flagging from the Hog's Hunt Trail Run last Saturday.  I am not sure how far I ran, but I ran for just over an hour and found a couple flags.  I suppose 4+ miles.

Regular 2-mile loop

After working out at Iron Works, I ran my "regular" 2-mile loop around the campus.

Five of us at the park

Five of us showed up at the park to run trails this evening.  It was me, Jason, Sara, Samantha and Dana.  I ran 3 miles on the trails and removed 7 flags that someone did not remove after the race last Saturday.  The snakes are out, but I have not seen one.

Texas 10 Series Plano

Saturday afternoon, I drove up to the Dallas area to run the Texas 10 Series 10-miler in Plano Sunday morning.  It stormed Saturday night, but the weather was clear and in the 60's for the race.  I finished in 2:07:32, about 4 minutes faster than the same race last year.  I was 3rd of 3 in the 70 and over age group.  I drove back to Huntsville this afternoon and then went out to the state park to remove flagging from a section of the Hog's Hunt Trail Run last Saturday.  I ran 1.1 miles on the roads to the trail head and then ran/walked 2.8 miles, while removing flags.

Hog's Hunt and Spring Fling

I got up early this morning and hiked out to my post as a course monitor for the Hog's Hunt 50K & 25K at Huntsville State Park.  The 50K started at 6 a.m., so I was there well before daylight.  My wife relieved me at 7:30 and I went back into town and ran the club's Spring Fling 5K.  I finished in 36 something.  I went back to the park and finished up my duties about noon time.

Busy weekend coming up

I have two races to run this weekend and am volunteering for another.  I ran laps at the track this afternoon and then there was more rain tonight.

Scary run

When I left Iron Works to go to the park to run, there was a tornado and hail warning out for the north side of Huntsville.  Since the park is 9 miles to the south, I figured it would be okay there.  Jason was the only  other runner to show up at the park.  It was raining, so we both decided to run on the roads.  About a tenth of a mile into the run, the sky opened up.  Extremely heavy rain and wind.  I decided to turn around at 6/10ths of a mile.  When nearing the turnaround point, the lightning got very heavy, frequent and close.  It got scary and dangerous.  I left the road and ran into the woods to get on a trail.  I figured that running through the trees would be better than the road..  The road and the trail both had deep water.  I was relieved to get back to the nature center and under cover.  Jason had made it a mile down to the lodge and took shelter until the lightning let up a bit.  While there, he saw a huge oak tree fall between two trucks in the parking lot.  There were two other large trees which had fallen on the road we were running.  Before going into the park, I parked at the outer parking lot and waited for other runners who wanted a ride into the park.  When I was leaving the park after running, I saw that a tree fell over in the parking lot in the same spot I had parked earlier.

5K with Jennifer

Jennifer and I met up at PTA this evening and ran the 5K course from there.

Three on the trails

Regular Tuesday.  Worked out at Iron Works and then ran 3 miles on the trails at the park.

Road run

After working out at Iron Works, I ran 2 miles on the roads in town.  Beside yard work, it was an easy day.

Sunday at the park

It was suppose to start raining about 3 p.m. today.  I bought fire ant killer to cover the lawn and it is suppose to be watered in after application.  So, after church and stopping to eat afterwards, my hope was to get the stuff on the lawn and get in a run at the park before the rain.  About 2 p.m., I was too bags short and asked my wife to go to Home Depot for more, while I went out to the park to run.  I ran 4 miles on the trails, with a light rain the last mile.  When I got home, there had been no rain and I put down 2 more bags.  Still no rain.  Hoping for some tomorrow.

Blue Bell 10K

I drove a little over an hour this morning to run the Blue Bell 10K in Brenham.  There were 1,129 finishers in the 10K and about twice that many in the 5K.  There was a threat of rain, but there was none.  Cool and very humid.  I finished in 1:17:28 and was 4th of 6 runners in the 70 to 79 age group.  No age group award, but I at plenty of free ice cream to make up for it.

Day 2,000

With a 10K tomorrow morning, I went to the track today and ran laps for my 2,000th consecutive day of running..  It would have been day 4,487 if that darn doctor had not misdiagnosed my knee injury in October 2009 and convinced me to not run for 4 days.

Let's hear a drum roll

Today was my 1,999th consecutive day of running.  Let's hear a drum roll for tomorrow.  I ran about 2.5 miles on the trails at the park this evening with Jennifer, Jacob and Jason.

Change of plans

I went to PTA this evening to run the 5K course from there.  No one else show up to run, except Jennifer, who I had not met before.  After a brief discussion, we decided to go to the park and run trails, instead of the concrete sidewalk.  It was her first time at the park and we ran 3 miles.

Big crowd at the park

We had a larger than usual group at the park this evening.  Ray Sarno ran with me and we did 3.5 miles.  Then, I went to the Sam Houston baseball game.

Sore knees

The shots of Synvisc I got in under my kneecaps for arthritis a couple months ago no longer seem to be working.  As I recall, it was the fourth year that I received the shots.  Both knees are sore and stiff, so maybe I need to ask the doctor for an alternative, besides not running everyday.  In the meantime, I ran 2 miles around the campus this evening.

Sunday Night 5K

For the 18th consecutive first Sunday of the month, I ran the Sunday Night 5K in The Woodlands this evening.  I ran with my friend, Jon Walk, and we had a nice visit.  I finished in 36:53.

Dogwood Dash 5K

I drove an hour and a half east this morning to run the Dogwood Dash 5K in Woodville.  It was a nice drive through the forests of East Texas.  This race has been held for many years, in conjunction with the local Dogwood Festival.  It was a good chance to visit with old friends to the east.  I finished in 36:02 and was 2nd of 4 runners in the 70 and over age group.

Two races this weekend

With a couple races this weekend, I went to the track late this morning and ran laps.

Park is really turning green

I ran 3 miles on the trails at the park this evening.  With the warmer weather here, the park is really turning green and the Dogwood trees are in full bloom.

Rain, again

After a week or so of sunny dry weather, we had rain again today.  I went over to PTA this evening to run the 5K course.  No one else show up and it was raining.  I cut it short.  Ran 2 miles.