Around the campus

I ran 2 miles around the campus this afternoon, partly because I wanted to check out the progress of the road work in that area.  The Texas 10 Series and the Huntsville Half courses will be on these streets this Fall.  Part of the course for both races is now completely torn up for installation of drainage pipes.  I hope they get finished before the races.

Unusual Sunday morning on the trails

My niece, Amie, came up from Houston yesterday and we went out to the park this morning to run trails with a group that runs on Sunday.  They started at 6:30 a.m. and Amie and I started at 7:30.  I ran 5 miles and was soaked in sweat.  They had a post-run party in the parking lot and it was a good opportunity to visit with a lot of friends.  I was especially glad to see Jane from Cypress, who reads this blog regularly and is kind enough to check on me if I miss blogging for a couple of days.

Moulton Jamboree 5K

I drove down to Schulenburg yesterday afternoon, spent the night there and then drove another 30 minutes or so to Moulton this morning to run the Moulton Jamboree 5K.  My good friend, Loren Sheffer, was there and we had a good visit.  He has run this race several times before.  My first mile was okay, but the hills, heat and humidity got to me.  Plus, the course was a tenth of a mile long, according to my GPS.  I finished in 42:29.  They had a 60 and over age group, so I did not place.  After the race, we visited the Jamboree for a while and then drove down to Shiner for a while before heading back to Huntsville.  This was my 44th race this year.

Friday laps

As usual, it's Friday and I have a 5K in the morning.  I went to the track late this morning and ran laps.

Thursday trails

Normal Thursday.  After Iron Works, I met up with the group at the park and ran 2.5 miles on the trails.

Flash Mob 5K and new running shoes

For the 3rd consecutive Wednesday, I went down to Cypress this evening to run the Flash Mob 5K,  My wife and Cindy Pate went down with me and my niece, Amie, who lives in Houston, met us there.  Since it was the last race of the series, they had hot dogs, beer and the fixings after the race.  Plus, nice door prizes.  The course this week was on the roads.  Flat and all concrete.  We drove through a rainstorm on the way to the race.  While there was no rain during the race, the temperature was down into the 80's.  My finish time was 37:50, which is what my normal was before the hip injury.  Earlier today, I had a doctor's appointment in Conroe.  So, as long as I was down south, I went to Fleet Feet in The Woodlands and bought a pair of Brooks Dyad running shoes.  While in the store, we weighed my Asics and the Brooks.  The Brooks are nearly 2 ozs. lighter than the Asics.  I'll walk in the Brooks for a few days and then start running in them.

Regular Tuesday

As usual for Tuesday, I worked out at Iron Works and met the group at the park and ran 2.5 miles on the trails.

Time to get out of Asics

After working out at Iron Works this afternoon, I ran 2.4 miles on the street in town and around the campus.  The new Asics felt like boots.  Stiff and heavy.  I'll have to start looking for a new neutral shoe, maybe Brooks Dyads.

Asics Fortitude

I have been running in Asics Fortitude running shoes for years.  They are "neutral" and are suppose to be the best shoes if you wear custom orthotics.  They keep changing designs over the years.  The latest is the "7" model and it is an ugly gray with red soles.  I finally wore out my last pair of the last model at the race yesterday.  In fact, part of the heel is on the course somewhere.  I ran in the Fortitude 7 model today for the first time.  Not only are they ugly, they felt heavy.  I ran 2.5 miles on the trails at the park this afternoon - and survived the embarrassment.

Dog Days 5K

I ran our club's annual Dog Days 5K this morning at the Elkins Lake Sub-division in Huntsville.  The hip is still slowing me down.  I finished in 43:25.  The course is nothing but up and down steep hills.  Last Spring, I ran this course in 40:41.  Seems like the hip is adding a couple minutes to my 5K times.  In any case, it was my 42nd race in 2017 and 970th lifetime.

Seem like a short week

With a race this Wednesday, it seems like a short week with another race tomorrow.  As usual for Friday, I went to the track and ran laps.

Usual Thursday on the trails

After working out at Iron Works, I met up with the group at the park and ran 2.5 miles on the trails.

Flash Mob 5K

I drove down to Cypress this evening to run the weekly Flash Mob 5K.  Rush hour traffic was terrible on I-45 and for a while I had doubts that I would make it to the race on time.  It has particularly hot and humid and I finished in 40:49, a little slower than last week.

Back from Wylie

After getting back from Wylie late this morning,  I got some rest and then went to Iron Works and then to the park.  I ran 2.5 miles on the trails.

Off to Wylie

I have to make a trip up to Wylie (northeast of Dallas) this morning.  So, I did a quick 1.3-mile run on the roads in town this morning.

2,828

Not really a milestone, but today was my 2,828th consecutive day of running.  That's a couple days short of 7 years and 9 months.  I went out to the park this afternoon and ran 2.5 miles on the trails.

Lunar Rendezvous 5K

I got up early this morning and drove down to the Houston Space Center to run the Lunar Rendezvous 5K.  Hot and humid, as you would expect.  They must have recently closed down a nearby nursing home, because there were 8 of us in the 75 and over age group.  I finished in 40:00, a few seconds behind the 3rd place runner in the age group.  Overall, they had about 500 runners.  The last time I ran this race was on July 16, 1988 when I was 47 years old and finished in 24:48.  The year before, I ran it in 25:02.  It was great running into a lot of friends at the race, including Lance Phegley, Pete Cahill, June Harris, Ben Harvie and Mike Mangan.  This was my 40th race this year and 968th overall.

Laps

It's Friday and with a 5K in the morning, I ran laps at the track this afternoon.

Flash Mob 5K

My computer would not boot up yesterday, so I had to take to the shop.  Got it back this evening.  Last evening, I drove down to Cypress (west of Houston) and ran the Flash Mob 5K.  The first mile was on streets, but the rest was cross country.  I finished in 39:19.  This is a free timed race every Wednesday evening during June and July.  They really did not have age groups, but I was first of two in the 70 and over age range.  The other old guy is a good friend, who normally beats me, but he hung back with his wife.  This evening, I ran 2.5 miles on the trails at the park.  The last mile was in a heavy rain.  However, not a drop of rain at my house, 9 miles from the park.

Fell

I ran 2.5 miles on the trails at the park this evening, but tripped and fell just before completing one mile.  No injury, but got a little dirty.

Campus run

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

Sunday at the Park

When I went out to the park this afternoon to run, there was a long line of cars waiting to get in and a long wait.  Am not sure why.  I saw a few hikers on the trail.  There must have been something else going on.  Anyway, I ran 2.5 miles on the trails.  This evening, we had a long heavy rain.  Bet my 4-inch rain gauge is overflowing.

Run the Woodlands 5K

I ran the Run the Woodlands 5K this morning for the 85th time and finished in 39:54.

Laps on Friday

I went to the track this morning and ran laps.  Race tomorrow.

Back to the park

After missing the trail run on Tuesday, I met up with a relatively large group at the park this evening and ran 2.5 miles on the trails.  No pain in the hip.  Hope it stays that way.

Sluggish

It was in the high 90's and humidity seemingly about the same this afternoon.  I ran 2 miles on the roads around the campus.  Maybe it was mental, but I felt very sluggish.

Stu's Country Mile 5K

I made the 45-minute trip up I-45 to Centerville this morning to run Stu's Country Mile 5K.  It was my 23rd time running this race and my 22nd consecutive time.  Just as the race started, a storm hit and we ran the whole thing in heavy rain.  There was some lightening, but luckily not on top of us.  I finished in a slow 41:49 and was 2nd of 2 in the 70 and over age group.  I am not sure why my time was slow, rain or hip?  In any case,  I did not seem to aggravate the hip injury.  This was my 965th race.  As usual, our club members had breakfast at the Town Cafe after the race and then watched the 4th of July Parade.

Last therapy appointment

This morning, I had the last of 7 appointments at Physical Therapy Associates.  My hip is still somewhat sore, but my running up to 5K's does not seem to make it worse.  Hopefully, it will be healed before I start running longer races in September.  Since I have another race in the morning, I ran 1.3 miles on the streets in town at 2:30 this afternoon with the temperature in the high 90's.

Sunday Night 5K

My hip was sore this morning, so I took some Ibruprofen today.  This evening, I drove down to The Woodlands and ran the Sunday Night 5K.  This was my 84th time running this race.  That equals the number of times I have run the Run the Woodlands 5K, which uses the same course.  I finished in 38:27, 3 seconds faster than last month.

Independence 5K

I got up early this morning and drove and hour and a half to Deer Park (east of Houston) to run the Independence 5K.  Hot and humid, but a very flat course.  I finished in 39:40 and was 1st in the 70 and over age group (yes, I was the only one).