5K x 500

The last few days, I have been working on some of my race stats in response to a request from Dr. Stephen W. DeBoer (number 3 on the national streak list) of the Mayo Clinic, who is working on an article about racing over the age of 50.  First, I found out that my lifetime race count is 895, not 897 that I thought.  The other surprise was that the 5K I ran last Saturday in The Woodlands was my 500th 5K.  Well, how about that?
      This afternoon, I continued my park habit.  Ran 2.5 miles on the trails.

Old newspaper photo

Last night, I was going through some old Seven Hills Running Club files and came across this November 26, 1997 article in our local newspaper.  The month before, a 45-year old Houston police officer died of a heart attack while running our club's Huntsville Half Marathon.  I was the race director and club president.  He fell on the course and four CPR-qualified people tried in vain to save him.  One was a race road guard, another worked at the beauty shop across the street and two were driving by and stopped to help.  I presented all four with plaques at a city council meeting in the presence of the officer's widow.  I did not realize it until I saw the article last night that one of the four was Marcus Luttrell.  He later became a national hero as the "Lone Survivor."  Click on the photo above to enlarge.
      This evening, I ran 2.5 miles on the trails at the park.

Trail habit

With the students back on campus, traffic in town is terrible.  I am reluctant to run the streets around the campus.  So, I will probably be doing most of my runs on the trails at the park.  After Iron Works, I went out to the park and ran 3.5 miles.

Sunday afternoon trail run

I intended to do a long run at the park this afternoon.  However, it started raining on my way to the park.  I waited for the heavy rain to stop before heading out on the trails.  With the rain, standing water on part of the trails and lightening, I cut the run to 2.5 miles.

Run the Woodlands 5K

I drove down to The Woodlands this morning and ran the Run the Woodlands 5K for the 77th time.  With my sore back problem, I was a little concerned about my finishing time.  I ended up with a 37:47, which is in my normal "shot group."

Park, again

While it is not my usual Friday routine, I went out to the park this afternoon and ran 2.5 miles on the trails in a light rain.

Return to the park

It was back to Iron Works this evening and a return to the park for my Thursday routine.  My back is still sore, but I managed to get in 2.5 miles on the trails.

Back from North Carolina

I returned to Huntsville this evening from an 8-day trip to North Carolina to visit my daughter and her family.  She is married to a Marine and they live in government housing at Camp Lejeune on the coast.  I had not been there before and was surprised how big the base is (246 square miles).  I flew up on Tuesday and got in a run that evening.  The base has miles and miles of well-maintained 6-foot asphalt running trails.  No loose dogs on the base.  In fact, Pit Bulls and Pit Bull mix dogs are not allowed on the base. One day, I got a a 3-mile run on the beach.  My lower back was really sore and stiff the next day.  However, I did manage to get in a run everyday, including a couple 3-mile+ runs.  During one of my runs, I got caught in a storm, with heavy train and lightning.  Monday of this week was running streak day 2,500.  When I got home this evening, I ran an unplanned route in the avenues.  It turned out to be 1.7 miles.

Sore back

I guess it was all that climbing and descending on the trail run yesterday that caused my back to be so sore today.  Nothing serious, but I did a short (1.3 miles) on the roads in town this evening.

Cameron Park 6.5-Mile Trail Run, Waco

Saturday afternoon, I drove over to Waco (2+ hours) to run the Cameron Park 6.5-Mile Trail Run this morning.  I have run the steep roads through the park a bunch of times for the Waco Marathon and a couple different half marathons.  However, I have never been on the trails until this morning.  Obviously, it was hot and humid.  Soon after the race started, we went up "Jacob's Latter," which is a steep set of staris going up the side of the hill.  I had to wait in line to enter the stairs.  The trails were very rocky with steep ups and downs.  So many times, I had to grab trees or limbs to keep from sliding or falling.  There were plenty of roots to trip on too.  My goad was to take it easy, not worry about time and finish without an injury.  I almost stepped on a copperhead once and took one light fall.  The last mile or so was on the trail along the river and relatively flat.  My finish time was 2:14:32 and there were still 2 runners finishing after me.  I was the only runner over 70, so I picked up a first in age group win.  More good news:  when I got back to Huntsville this afternoon, I found over 3 inches in my rain gauge.

Saturday at the park

I did not have a race this morning, so I went out to the park and ran 2 miles on the trails.  I did not encounter any police chases, though.

Exciting laps

I went over to run laps at the track this evening.  As I was finishing, a car drove by at a very high rate of speed.  I watched him pass another car on the street that runs by the track.  Then, he never slowed down for the next intersection on the corner (Ave. O & 19th St.).  He hit another car in the intersection and then slammed into a tree and embankment. About the time he wrecked, here come 3 police cars chasing him.  He jumps out of the car and starts running through the neighborhood.  I watched the whole sequence of events.  The police caught him a block away.  The guy in the car he hit was hurt, but apparently will be okay.  I have not seen anything on the news yet, so I do not know why they were chasing him.  I am just thankful that no one was killed.  I have run through that intersection hundreds of times over the years.

Regular trail run

I met up with the group this evening and ran my "regular" 2.5-mile loop on the trails.

Easy 2

After Iron Works this evening, I ran an easy 2 miles around the campus.  The students will be back soon, so I will be running around the campus less.  Just too much traffic.

5 hot miles

I ran trails ahead of the group this evening and ran 5 miles.  It was about 100 degrees and humid.  No trips or falls or snakes, people or other creatures.

Restful Monday

I took a break today and worked out at Iron Works and ran 2 miles around the campus this evening.

Sunday Night 5K

It was 100 degree when I showed up in The Woodlands to run the Sunday Night  5K this evening.  I ran the whole thing with my friend, Jon Walk.  We finished in 38:01.  After the race, I took my wife's shopping list and went to Trader Joe's, not far from the race.

Southern Star Brewing 5K

For the second year in a row, I ran the Southern Star Brewing 5K in Conroe this morning.  Since last year, they moved the brewery and the course.  There were 388 finishers.  I finished in 39:52, a little slow.  According to my GPS, the course was 3.17 miles.  It was very hot and humid and that may have slowed me down some.  In any case, I was first in the 70 and over age group (yes, I was the only one).  I really enjoyed visiting with a lot of friends - and having a couple of beers.  This was my 43rd race this year and 894th since I started racing in 1983.

2,483

Today was my 2,483rd consecutive day of running.  This ties my longest streak, which I broke in October 2009.  On that day, I was just over 1 mile on a 3-mile road run at Huntsville State Park.  I was going down a short, but steep hill, when I got a tremendous knee pain.  I ran a painful mile the following day before I had an MRI done.  The doctor looked at the MRI and said that I tore 80 percent of my quadraceps attached to my left knee.  He convinced me not run run for fear of tearing the other 20 percent.  So, I did not run for 4 days.  I saw an orthopedic surgeon who confirmed the tear.  However, he said that it was not a new tear and I could run all I wanted to.  The pain was probably just some bone hitting bone.  The other doctor specifically told me that I tore it that week.  So, I started a new streak on October 19, 2009, thinking that I would be 75 years old when I got back to 2,483 days.  Darn, I'm there.  Late this morning, I went to Huntsville State Park to run the same 3-mile course that I tried to run when I broke my streak.  I was especially careful going down that steep hill.  I finished it this time.

Missed Iron Works

I missed my workout at Iron Works this evening.  I was doing dirty work in my garage this afternoon, including changing the oil and lubricating my lawnmower.  It took longer than I expected and I just made it to the park for our 5;30 run.  I ran 2.5 miles on the trails.

Another hot day

Today was another hot day, but I suppose you can expect that in August.  This evening, I ran my 2-mile loop around the campus.

Hot trail run

It was right at 100 degrees when I went to the park to run trails this evening.  I ran 4 miles and finished soaking wet from sweat, even my shoes.  I fell once and skinned up my left knee in the usual spot.  Can't wait for cooler weather.  Three more days to tie my longest running streak of 2,483 days.  To me, that is a more important milestone than 1 year, 1,000 or 2,000 days.

Loop around the campus

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