Allergies

I have been sneezing a lot the last couple of days and I woke up this morning with a sore throat..  Felt lousy all day.  However, this morning, I wrote my column for tomorrow's paper, did yard work this afternoon and worked out at Iron Works and ran 2.5 miles on the trails at the park late this evening.

Back to the trails

After church and lunch, I went to the third Sam Houston State - Oklahoma baseball game.  Sam swept.  Then, I went to the park and ran 2.5 miles on the trails.

Republic of Texas Half Marathon

I got up at 4:15 this morning to make it to College Station for a 6:30 a.m. race start.  The temperature was in the low 40's and it was just getting daylight when the race started.  It was generally an out and back course, mostly through the Texas A&M campus and an adjoining neighborhood.  I felt good and finished in 2:54:01, 2nd of 2 in the 70 and over age group.  It was my fastest half since December 2014.  After returning to Huntsville, I took and nap and went to the Sam Houston State - Oklahoma baseball game.  Sam Houston won again and game 3 is tomorrow.

Laps at the track

As I do on Fridays with a race on Saturday, I went to the track this afternoon and ran laps.  Tonight, I went to the Sam Houston State - Oklahoma baseball game here in Huntsville.  It's too cold for baseball, but Sam Houston won and that made the cold a little more tolerable.

Half marathons for the next four weekends

I have a half marathon every weekend for the next four weekends.  So, I ran 2.5 miles on the trails at the park this evening.

Solo at the park

I went out to the park alone this afternoon and ran 3.5 miles on the new trails.  Cool and still a little windy.

Cold and windy

After seeing a couple snakes on the trail during my half marathon in Spring on Sunday, it was cold (40's) and very windy when we ran trails at Huntsville State Park this evening.  Becca, who use to run with us before moving to Colorado, was back for a visit and ran with us.  She brought Jocelyn from Montgomery, Texas, who also use to run with us.  Most of us ran different distances.  I ran 2.5.  Despite the cold, we had a nice visit after the run.

Rest day

Other than driving my wife to the airport in Houston today, I took it easy. I worked out at Iron Works and ran laps at the track.

Texas Park Series Half Marathon

I had to get up early this morning to get down to Spring for a 7:15 a.m. start of the Texas Park Series Half Marathon.  After Surfside Beach yesterday, I had thoughts of switching to the 10K.  But, I didn't.  The course was a nice smooth asphalt trail through a greenbelt in Spring.  For me, it is the ideal running surface.  According to my GPS, the course was 13.4 miles and my official time was 3:19:00.  My time at the half marathon distance of 13.1 miles, was exactly 3:15:00.  It was still rather warm this morning, but I felt much better than yesterday.  This was my 68th half marathon.

Surfside Beach Half Marathon

I ran laps at the track Friday before heading down to Surfside Beach, Texas to run the Surfside Beach Half Marathon this morning.  I had run the full marathon there 6 or 7 times, but never the half.  I felt fine for about 10 miles, but really began to tire after that.  I was even tempted to walk some, successfully resisted.  I am not sure if it was the sand or the heat and humidity, but it was probably my worst half marathon ever.  I finished in 3:22:44 (4th in the 70-74 age group).  I have another half marathon in Spring in the morning.  Hopefully, I will be okay.

Nice weather continues

It has been awhile since we have had rain, but the nice cool and clear weather continues.  I hope it holds up for my two half marathons this weekend.  After Iron Works today, I ran 2.5 miles on the trails at the park.

Trip to Tyler

I drove 135 miles up to Tyler today to visit one of my older brothers, who is very ill.  I got back late this evening and ran laps at the track at 9 p.m.

Nearly an hour on the phone

Maybe it had something to do when I worked, but I hate talking on the phone.  I was suppose to be interviewed in-person in Huntsville for a Texas magazine story.  I have to go out of town tomorrow, so I did the interview by phone today.  It took nearly an hour.  Ugh.  The story is about the founding of the Texas Prison Museum.  It was my idea and I got it started back in the 80's.
We had a nice group at the park this evening.  I ran 3 miles on the trails.

Monday at the park

It is hard this time of the year not to run at the park.  Beautiful and clear weather.  I ran 2.5 on the trails before working out at Iron Works.  No leftover pains from the half marathon on concrete yesterday.  This weekend, I have two half marathons.

Rhythm & Blues Half Marathon

I ran the Rhythm & Blues Half Marathon this morning.  It started and finished in downtown Houston.  With the temperature in the high 60's, it was a little warm.  I finished in 3:09:58 and was 4th of 4 in the 70-74 age group.  The three ahead of me were all young 70-year old whipper snappers.  After I got back to Huntsville, April and I went out and measured the course for the club's 5K next Saturday.  I think I will sleep well tonight.

Run the Woodlands 5K

Since the half marathon is not until tomorrow, I went down to The Woodlands this morning and ran the Run the Woodlands 5K.  I finished in 37:31, about a minute and a half faster than last time.  After returning to Huntsville, I went out to the state park to take photos of our club members who were running or volunteering.  I ended up spending all afternoon there taking photos and visiting with friends.

Oops

As I was driving by my neighbor's house this afternoon, she was at her mail box.  I stopped and asked her when her next run was and she said it was the Rhythm and Blues Half Marathon on Sunday.  Oops.  I thought it was tomorrow (Saturday).  If I had not stopped to talk to her, I would have been in downtown Houston early tomorrow morning -24 hours early.  Guess I had better pay attention to my race dates.
Anyway, I went to the track and ran laps and then to Iron Works to get some instruction from a friend on how to strengthen my hamstrings.

Trip to Houston

I drove down to Houston late this morning to pick up my packet for the Rhythm and Blues Half Marathon on Saturday.  While there, I ran the 3-mile loop around Memorial Park.  I was going to run again at the park this evening, but just as I was going to leave, my son called me.  His car broke down and I had to help him.

Doctor Appointment

I had a consultation appointment with a doctor this afternoon to schedule a colonoscopy.  I can hardly wait until March 22.  A little over 3 years ago I had one and it showed that I have crohn's disease.  Now, I have to get one every 3 years.  I have no symptoms of the disease and the doctor attributed that to running.  Again, I will have to figure out how to keep my streak alive through the procedure.
After my appointment, I went to the park and ran 3.5 miles on the trails and then went to Iron Works to work out.

Back to normal

After that 4-day trip way down south, it was back to normal today.  I worked out at Iron Works and ran 2.5 miles on the trails at the park this evening.

All-America City 10K

Last Friday, I got up early and ran on Veterans Memorial Parkway in Huntsville.  I then dropped off my computer at the shop and then drove 405 miles down to Edinburg to visit my son and his wife for the weekend.
On Saturday morning, I ran the 34th Annual All-America City 10K in Edinburg, put on by the City of Edinburg.  I was totally impressed with this race.  I'm not sure how many runners there were, but last year there were 3,000 running the10K and another 4,000 running the 2-mile race.  There was $30,000 in prize money, so that drew several world class runners.  Two finished the 10K in less than 30 minutes.  What was really impressive was how the race drew so much support from the community, in terms of participation, spectators and sponsors.  The entry fee was only $10 and everyone got a nice T-shirt, finisher medal and plenty of refreshments.  There were several high school ROTC groups running in formation and plenty of other kids and older adults in the race.  The weather was perfect and the course was flat and fast.  The main streets of Edinburg were blocked off for the race and there were spectators and cheering squads lining the streets.  I finished in 1:19:58 and placed 7th of 11 in the 70-74 age group.
I drove back to Huntsville today and stopped to visit my son in Houston.  The first thing I did in Huntsville was pick up my computer.  They told me that it was slow because it was old (or maybe they were talking about me).
I worked out at Iron Works and ran laps at the track as it was getting dark.

2,300

Today was my 2,300th consecutive day of running.  I am about 6 months from surpassing my longest running streak.  We had a couple new runners join the group at the park this evening.  We all ran a 3-mile loop on the trails.  Tomorrow morning, I am taking my PC to the shop and will not get it back until Monday.  So, if you read my blog regularly, I am okay and not skipping a day of running.

New course at the park

I went out to the park this afternoon and ran a course that I had never run before.  Not a new trail, though, because I have run every foot of every trail at the park.  My course today ended up being 5.4 miles.  Beautiful cool and clear weather, but I tripped and fell twice.  After my run, I worked out at Iron Works.

Nice weather continues

I suppose this has been a relatively mild winter.  As I recall, we only had one night of below freezing weather.  It was clear and in the 60's and 70's today.  After Iron Works, I ran 3 miles on the trails at the park.

Back to the park

The temperature was in the high 70's this afternoon, too nice not to go run in the state park.  So, I ran 2.5 miles on the trails before working out at Iron Works.