Streak Ended

 My 4th streak has ended.  The last day I ran was April 28, 2021, ending a 11-year, 6-month and 10-day streak.  My headaches continued today and with chest pain.  I went to the doctor this afternoon,  The pacemaker is working fine.  The headache is due to the sudden normal pulse rate, after so long at a slow rate.  The chest pain is from the surgery trauma (they removed the old heart monitor and inserted the pacemaker in a different place.  I go back to the doctor on May 12,  In the meantime, I have to wear s sling on the left arm, cannot get the bandage wet, cannot drive or run.  The danger is the wires being pulled out of the heart and infection.  I plan to start another streak when I can.  Thanks for your support.  The fact that a few people read this blog is a huge motivator.  I'll post again when I start streak number 5.

Pacemaker Implant today

 I went to the track at midnight last night and got in a mile for today.  This morning, I went down to The Woodlands to have a pacemaker implanted  Spent over 7 hours in the place.  The surgery lasted over an hour.  Right now, I am very sore and have an extremely bad headache.

Another 2.5

 I met up with the group at the park this evening and ran 2.5 miles on the trails.

Back to the park

 After a couple days running races on concrete, I went back to the park late this morning and ran 2.5 miles on the trails.

Texas 10 Series Cypress 5-Miler

 I ran the Texas 10 Series Cypress 5-Miler this morning in Cypress.  I finished in 1:13:33 and was 4 of 4 in the 70 and over age group.  That's 4 seconds faster than Sienna last Sunday.  Cypress was the last of 7 Texas 10 Series race in 2020/2021.  

Run The Woodlands 5K

 I ran the 2nd and 4th Saturday of each month Run The Woodlands 5K this morning and finished in 44:36.  This was my 100th time for running this race.  The first time was on June 12, 2004, when I finished in 30:13.  This afternoon, I went to the Sam Houston State and Monmouth U. football game her in Huntsville.  Due to the pandemic, Sam Houston had a late 6-game season and today's game was the first round of the FCS playoffs.  It ended up being a close game, but Sam Houston won and will play North Dakota State in Huntsville next weekend.

Another 2 races this weekend

 With 2 more races this weekend, I went to the park late this morning and ran 3 miles on the trails.

Thursday with the group

 I met up with the group at the park this evening and ran 2.5 miles on the trails.  The others saw a rattlesnake in the parking lot, but it was gone by the time I got back from the run.  In my 30+ years of running trails at Huntsville State Park, I have seen about every kind of snake, but never a rattlesnake.

Cool and clear

 It was cool and clear for a run on the trails at the state park this morning.  I ran 3 miles.

Tuesday with the group

 As usual for Tuesday, I met up with the group at the park this evening and ran 2.5 miles on the trails.  The knee is feeling better.

Trails on Monday

 After two races on the roads this weekend, I went to the park early this afternoon.  I have been having some pain in my left knee for a week, so I ran 2.5 miles on the trails.  I may have to get the knee strap  out again.

Texas 10 Series Sienna 5-Miler

 I got up at 4:10 this morning to drive down to Missouri City for the Texas 10 Series Sienna 5-Miler. - 7 a.m. start.  Nice weather with the temperature in the 50's.  I finished in 1:13:37 and was 2nd of 2 in the 70 and over age group.  Two years ago, I ran the 10-mile course in Sienna in very high heat and humidity.  I ended up being taken by ambulance to the hospital with severe dehydration.  The race today was my 22nd race in 2021 and 1,175th race since I started racing 38 years ago.  Today was also my 4,200th consecutive day of running, which is exactly 11 and a half years.

Spring Fling 5K

 I ran our club's Spring Fling 5K at the Elkins Lake Sub-division here in Huntsville this morning.  It must be the hilliest course in Huntsville.  I do not have my official time yet, but it should be just over 46 minutes.  We did not have it in 2020, but in 2019, my time was just under 47 minutes.

Cardiologist appointment today

 I had an important appointment with the cardiologist late this morning and did not make it out to the park until later this afternoon.  I ran 2.5 miles on the trails.

Rain at the end

 I met up with the group at the park this evening and ran 2.5 miles on the trails, the last half mile or  so in the rain.

Late afternoon run

 I had some errands to run today in Conroe and The Woodlands and did not get to the park to run until late this afternoon, breaking my late morning habit.  I ran 3 miles on the trails.  Lots of annoying (and biting) flying critters.   Guess it is time to get out the anti-bug spray.

Just me and Jason

 It was just me and Jason for the group at the park this evening.  I ran 2.5 miles on the trails.

Back to the park

 After a couple days of racing, I went back to the state park this morning and ran 4 miles on the trails.

Texas 10 Series Katy 5-Miler

 I got up at 4:15 this morning to go down to Katy (just west of Houston) to run the Texas 10 Series Katy 5-Miler.  Beautiful sunny weather in the 50's.  I finished in 1:10:06 and was 2nd of 2 in the 70 and over age group.  This was my 20th race in 2021 and I have 2 races every weekend for the next 3 weeks.  After the race this morning, I had breakfast at IHOP with my niece, who lives in west Houston.  Nice day.

Blue Bell 5K

 I ran the Blue Bell 5K in Brenham this morning.  I ran my first Blue Bell in 1996 and today was my 18th.  Most of those years, I ran the 10K.  There were 745 finishers in the 5K today.  I finished in 44:02 and was 3rd of 4 in the 75-79 age group.  I would have been much slower had I not crossed the track before the train got there.  The guard rail almost hit my head as it came down.  While they did not have a post-race park to hang around with friends, I did get to visit with a couple friends that I had not seen in a while.

Definitely getting close to summer

 I ran 3.5 miles on the trails at the park late this morning.  Not only is it starting to get hot, the flying insects and spider webs across the trails were starting to appear.

Snake number one

 I met up with the group at the park this evening and ran 3 miles on the trials.  I encountered my first snake of the year on the trails.  It was a common Rough Green Snake.

Still burning at the park

 They were still doing the controlled burn at the state park today.  However, late this morning, I was able to get in a 3.5-mile run on the trails.

Back to the smoky park

 Today was day two of controlled burns at Huntsville State Park.  I met up with the group this evening and ran my regular 2.5-mile course on the trails.  While the course was not in the burn area, it was a little smoky.

Waterway

 They had a controlled burn at Huntsville State Park today.  Even though some of the trails were to be open, it would be a smoky environment.  I had some errands to run in The Woodlands today, so while down there, I ran 4 miles along the waterway.  That makes for a lot of concrete running surface the last few days.  Hopefully, its back to trails tomorrow.

Sunday Night 5K

 I ran the Sunday Night 5K in The Woodlands this evening and finished in 43:42.  Happy Easter.

Guns and Hoses 5K

 I ran the Guns and Hoses 5K in Bellville this morning.  I have been through Bellville a few times, but never ran a race there.  Am not sure how many runners they had, but well over 100.  I finished in 43:25 and was 1 of 1 in the 70 and over age group.  I would have been a little faster, except  that I had to make a quick porta-potty stop on the course.  After running the ramps last night, I was a little sore and stiff the first mile.  This was my 17th race in 2021 and 1,170th overall.

Run the Ramps 5K

 For the 13th time, I ran the Run the Ramps 5K at Kyle Field in College Station this evening.  This is 3 trips up and down the ramps at the stadium.  I ran it for the first time in 1997.  The date, time, course and the Texas A&M organization putting it on has changed several times over the years.  While the stadium was under renovation several years ago and in 2020, it was not held at all.  In any case, I finished in 44:05, almost a minute faster than in 2019.

Thursday with the group

 As usual for Thursday, I met up with the group at the park this evening and ran 2.5 miles on the trails.  5K races the next 3 days.