OMG, no rain today

It was sunny all day and no rain is forecast for the next few days.  I ran 2 miles on the streets this afternoon, but felt sluggish and my knees were stiff.  I have concluded that the cortizone shot that I received a couple weeks ago is really helping.  So, I presume that when I see the doctor this Tuesday, he will give me one in the left knee.

Chupacabra 10K

I just got home after running the Chupacabra 10K run in New Caney, an hour and 5 minutes southeast of Huntsville.  It started at 8:30 tonight.  It was suppose to be on trails, but the trails were waist high deep with water from so much rain.  So, they moved the race to muddy and pot-holed gravel roads in the park.  The 5K was an out and back course and the 10K was the 5K course twice.  I carried two lights and felt fortunate not to have tripped and fallen.  It rained for the entire race.  I finished in 1:29:32, but there was no age group competition or any awards given.  However, they had a good BBQ dinner and beer after the race and I got to visit with some friends, including Jon Walk, who was announcing the race, and make some new friends.

ER

I woke up Wednesday morning very dizzy.  I assumed it was vertigo, based on my sinus congestion.  I took a decongestant and that helped.  I woke up dizzy again this morning.  I stumbled to the cabinet and took decongestant tablets and then went back to bed.  I woke up at 10 a.m. and was still dizzy.  My doctor is out on Friday, so I went to the Emergency Room (Physicians ER) about 2 p.m.  They were very thorough.  Besides taking all the vital signs, they ran blood tests, conducted an EKG on my heart and an MRI of my head.  In the meantime, they gave me an IV and a pill for vertigo.  All the tests came back normal and the doctor concluded that it was vertigo.  I was at the emergency room about 2 hours and felt better after the vertigo pill took affect.  He prescribed pills should I get vertigo again and suggested an over-the-counter decongestant.  After getting back home, I laid down for a while and then went to the track and ran laps at 6 p.m..  10K tomorrow.

Muddy trails

I ran 3.5 miles on the trails at the park this evening.  They were really muddy in places.  For the second time this year, I got bit by a tick  Jacob also got bit.  I have read that ticks are really suppose to be bad this year.

PTA 5K course, again

It's Wednesday, so after working out at Iron Works this evening, I ran the PTA 5K course.  Running Streak Day 2,047.

Back to the park

It was back to the park this evening.  Some ran on the wet and muddy trails, but James and I ran on the park roads.  The course we ran was about 2 1/4 miles.

Memorial Day 5K at my house

When I went to bed last night, the chance of thunderstorms at 8 a.m. this morning was 30%.  I got up at 6 a.m. this morning and immediately checked the weather - sunny with 0% chance of rain for the morning.  What a relief.  Our club's annual Memorial Day 5K has been at my house for years.  Nothing like having an inflatable start/finish arch over your driveway.  Anyway, I drove the course, putting out all the signs and cones.  Then, worked on the arch, race clock and other things.  The race is open to the public, so you never know how many people are going to show up.  We ended up with 131 runners, plus a lot of family members.  In the nearly 30-year history of our club, it was the largest number of runners we ever had for a monthly club run.  All went well, but it was a relief to have the race completed and everything put away.  I was working on posting photos from the race this afternoon, when Julia emailed me and suggested that I go get my run in, because a storm was headed this way.  I drove to the track and ran on the roads from there.  I intended to run 3 miles, but the storm was blowing in and I cut it to 2 miles.

Getting ready for tomorrow

We have our club's annual Memorial Day 5K at our house every year.  Depending on the weather, we should have over 100 runners and others here.  So, I spent most of the day getting everything ready.  My wife and 3 other ladies were fixing breakfast to be served after the race.  My truck is all loaded with signs and cones for the course. The inflatable arch will go over my driveway tomorrow morning, after I put out all the signs.  I did take a break this afternoon and ran 2 miles on the roads in town.

Birthday

Today was my 74th birthday.  I celebrated by running three races.  I got up early and drove down to The Woodlands and ran the Run the Woodlands 5K at 8 a.m.  I finished in 38:50.  Then, I drove down to Houston and ran the Buffalo Bayou Brewery Run at 11:20.  It was suppose to be 4 miles, but according to my GPS, it was 4.3 miles.  In any case, it was non-competitive and I hung back with my niece from Houston.  We had to stop several times and wait for lights to cross major streets and I stopped once to hug Rachel, a member of our club who graduated from Sam Houston State and moved to Houston.  She happened to be out for a training run.  I also stopped briefly at the Gary Price Memorial Park Bench in Memorial Park.  Gary was a 45 year old Houston Police Officer, who died of a heart attack while running the Huntsville Half Marathon in 1997, while I was serving as the Race Director.  I finished the Buffalo Brewery Run in 59:20 and then enjoyed some good beer.  Then, I went to my niece's apartment in Houston and got a shower.  Then, I drove up to Cypress and had dinner with my son, Kenny.  That was followed by the Light Up the Lake 5K in Cypress at 7:30 p.m.  I finished in 38:50, which was the same time as the first race this morning.  I was the only runner in the 65 and over age group, so I received a nice plague for first place.  I finally got home about 10:30 tonight.  It was nice visiting with so many friends at all three races.

No rain today

I took advantage of no rain today and mowed and trimmed my yard.  Tomorrow is my 74th birthday and I plan to celebrate by running three races, a 5K in The Woodlands, 4-Miler in Houston and a 5K in Cypress.  Long day tomorrow and a lot of driving.  To rest up, I ran 1.3 miles on the streets in town this morning.

Rain must be here to stay

It rained again today.  My yard is completely saturated, with standing water in low spots.  To avoid the mud at the park, I ran 2 miles on the roads at the park this evening.

PTA 5K course

After Iron Works this evening, I went to Physical Therapy Associates and ran the 5K course, starting and finishing in front of their building.

Measured a course this morning

We are having our club's annual Memorial Day 5K at my house next Monday.  I tweaked the course a bit, so I re-measured it this morning with an engineer wheel and marked the miles and turnaround point.  I am not use to walking 5K's, but I survived.  After working out a Iron Works this evening, I went out to the hot and steamy park and ran 2.5 miles on the trails.

Woke up to more rain

I woke to more rain this morning.  The ground is so saturated, I have standing water in places in my yard.  After working out at Iron Works this evening, I ran 2 miles around the campus.  About a half mile into my run, Lucio from the Sam Houston State Track and Cross Country Team started running with me.  I have never met him before, but we had a nice visit.  He ran with me until the end of my 2-mile course.  I appreciate him running slow to keep up with me and I am sure I ran faster than normal to stay with him.

More rain

Our visiting family went home this morning and it rained most of the day.  I finally got out at 6 p.m. and ran 3 miles on the roads around the campus.

2 Miles and then off to Tyler

I just ran 2 miles on Veterans Memorial Parkway.  Now, off to Tyler for a family get-together for the rest of the day.

Back from Wylie

I drove up to Wylie (NW of Dallas) Wednesday afternoon.  My windshield wipers were on for the whole trip.  I ran 3.2 miles on a concrete trail (partly under water) in Plano yesterday.  My right knee felt better during the run, but went back to its usual hurting afterwards.  I'm just not sure the cortizone shot is helping.  I drove back to Huntsville this afternoon, mostly in the rain and especially heavy rain in the Dallas area. I worked out a Iron Works this afternoon and tried to get in a couple miles between thunderstorms.  I ended up running 1.3 miles before the storm hit again.  Now, I have family coming in tonight and we will be in Tyler tomorrow.

Post cortizone shot run

In keeping with the doc's instructions, I did another short run this morning (1.3 miles on the road).  Although it was not painless, my right knee felt better.  Hopefully, that is a good sign.

Doctor visit today

Just in case the doctor would do something and tell me not to run today, I ran laps at the track late this morning and went to see the doctor about my knees at 1 p.m.  He said that there were two possibilities.  One, the Synvisc injections for the arthritis under the knee caps was no longer working.  Or, second, there was inflammation in the muscles that attach to the top of the knee caps.  Since my right knee is worse, he injected cortizone under the knee cap to supplement the Synvisc.  He said that if the arthritis under the knee cap is the problem, it will feel better soon.  In 3 weeks, I go back.  If my right knee is okay by then, he will inject cortizone in the left knee.  If it is not better, it is inflammation in the muscles above the knee caps.
I have to do a short run (1-mile) tomorrow and then I can get my mileage back up.  I have family visiting this weekend, so no race.  I have 2-5K's on May 23 (my 74th birthday) and a 10K night trail run on May 30.

Heavy storm this morning

A heavy storm came through Huntsville this morning and it rained much of the day.  My rain gauge said 1.5 inches, but someone at Iron Works told me that they got 6 inches.  Anyway, by the time I went out to run this evening, it was clear.  I ran an unplanned route on the streets in town.  It turned out to be 2.8 miles.

Empty campus

Sam Houston's graduation was yesterday, so the campus was empty today.  This afternoon, I ran a 2-mile loop around the campus.  My knees were sore and unstable, especially for the first mile.  They loosened up somewhat for the second mile.  My doctor's appointment is only two days away.  I hope he has a solution.

Run the Woodlands 5K

For the 68th time, I ran the Run the Woodlands 5K this morning.  It was very humid and I felt very sluggish the entire race.  I finished in 38:41, my slowest on this course in almost 2 years.  In any case, it was my 25th race this year and my 2,029th consecutive day of running.

Friday workout

I normally skip Iron Works on Friday, but since I have been out-of-town, I worked out there this afternoon before running laps at the track.

Back from North Carolina

I just got home from a trip to Hickory, NC to visit my daughter and her family.  Flew up last Thursday and back this evening.  I could not find a race there during my visit, but it was just as much fun spending time with family.  Some days, I ran in her neighborhood and other days at the YMCA half mile asphalt track.  I never got in over 3 miles on any day.  I did not realize how pleasant the weather was in NC, until I stepped outside in the heat and humidity at the airport in Houston tonight.  I am looking forward to my doctor's appointment here on May 12 to see what he might be able to do about my sore knees.