YMCA 5K Trail Run

I could not believe how cool it was this morning. Perfect for running the YMCA 5K Trail Run 30 miles down I-45 in Conroe. Maybe it was a combination of the short run yesterday and the cool temperature this morning, but I felt good. Finished in 31:35, which is actually my best 5K time in nearly 2 years. And, the race was all cross country or on trails. This afternoon, I rented an auger to dig holes for about 50 scrubs I am planting in my yard. I got 30 holes dug and I am exhausted tonight. I will have to do the other 20 or so tomorrow, so I can return the auger to the rental place first thing Monday. I need to get in a good run tomorrow to rest up.

Yard Work and Short Run

I did yard work today and then ran laps at the track. Race tomorrow.

Day Late

I was going to post last night, but the system was down. In any case, I ran 4.2 miles with the group on trails yesterday. We had a good rain yesterday afternoon, but the trails were in good shape.

Streak Story

There was a story on Yahoo News today about streakers and the U.S. Running Streak Assn. (I am member #23). Click HERE for the story. There are some amazing runners out there.
After working out at Nautilus this evening, I ran 2 miles on the roads in town. There was lightning and a few drops of rain, but that was it. We have had none since April 26.

Signed up for the Houston Marathon

This morning, I signed up for the Houston Marathon next January. It will be my 16th Houston. It is the only race I know of that gives a entry fee discount to active duty and retired military. Back to the trails this evening. I met up with the group and we ran 4.3 miles.

Record Temperature

Its was 96 degrees today in Huntsville. That beats a record for this day of 93 degrees set in 1967. Guess it is going to be a long hot summer. And, so dry. This evening, I ran the same 3-mile course on the roads in town that I ran yesterday.

Hot Sunday

The temperature was well up into the 90's today. After mowing my yard (the few blades of grass that grew in this drought) this afternoon, I went into town and ran 3 miles on the roads.

A rest day is a shorter run

I decided to rest today, so I ran a short 1.5-mile loop on the roads in town.

Dodging Traffic

I did a 3.9-mile run around town this evening in the 5 p.m. traffic. Seems like every driver is talking on a cell phone. You really have to run defensively. I often think of my runner friend, John Burick, who was struck and killed while running the streets here in Huntsville a little over 2 years ago.

Tour de Bayou, Stage 5

Jocelyn, John and I went down to Houston this evening and ran the 5th and final stage of the Tour de Bayou. The course was almost all rough trails around Memorial Park. I'm not sure what the official distance was, but someone said that their GPS showed 3.3 miles. I tripped on a root and took a hard fall. Skinned up my knee, but I will survive. I think my finish time was about 42 minutes.

Putting the Bug up for Sale

While this has nothing to do with running, I have decided to put my 1974 bug convertible up for sale. Tough decision. I bought it about 13 years ago and restored it. I just don't drive it much anymore. I have owned a bunch of bugs over the years. My first one was a 62, which I bought while in the Army in 1963.

I put on a new pair of running shoes out of the box today and did a 2.3-mile break-in run on the roads in town.

Texas Marathon Triple Dinner

I ran laps at the track this afternoon before driving down to Houston for the Texas Marathon Triple Dinner. This was a dinner for all 40 runners who completed the 2011 Texas Marathon in Kingwood, Surfside Beach Marathon in Surfside Beach and the Seabrook Marathon in Seabrook. I have done it all four years. We had a great time visiting with each other and we received our Texas Marathon Triple T-shirts and caps.

Unplanned Route

After working out at Nautilus this evening, I went to the track and then ran an unplanned routes on the streets in town. I ran past the downtown square, around the prison walls and the old Texas Prison Rodeo arena and then through the SHSU campus. The route ended up being exactly a 5K. The cooler weather today will surely not last long.

1,000th Posting

This is my 1,000th posting since I began this blog on April 19, 2008. Many of my running friends were blogging back then and most have since abandoned their blog for Facebook. While I have a Facebook page, I seldom post anything on it. It is useful for locating and keeping up with friends. For the most part, my blog entries are short and only serve as a log of my daily runs. I have made it a point to run and blog every day. I have missed blogging a few days, but that it when I have been on the road. My blog must be the most boring blog in the system; I cannot imagine why it gets the readership that it does. For me, it is a source of motivation. It forces me to be accountable for my running and achievement of running goals. Maybe somewhere along the way it influences others to run and run on a consistent basis.
This evening, I made the 45-minutes drive down I-45 to The Woodlands and ran the Sunday Night 5K. I finished in 33:25.

No-Race Saturday

This was one of the few Saturdays that I did not have a race somewhere or I was traveling for a Sunday race. I slept in until 9 a.m. and worked on my 1974 VW bug convertible most of the day. Then, I got in a 2.7 mile run on the roads in town and then went to Mariah's (a running buddy) baby shower. There were a bunch of other guys there, so I was not totally out of place.

Easy Day

After climbing up and down those embankments at the trail run in Houston yesterday evening, my knees were really stiff today. So, I went over to the track this evening and ran laps.

Tour de Bayou, Stage 4

For the third consecutive Thursday evening, I went down to Houston with Hans and Jocelyn to run the Tour de Bayou. Stage 4 was, according to Hans' GPS, 2.72 miles. It was all on rough trails in Memorial Park. A lot of steep up and down embankments. I finished in 35:02.

A Little Cooler

After the storms went through last night (north of here), it was a little cooler this evening. I ran a 3-mile loop around town.

Rain, Finally

About an hour after blogging about the dry weather yesterday, we had about 5 minutes of heavy rain. It was the first rain in weeks. Maybe I need to blog more about the dry weather. This evening, I ran the regular 4.2-mile loop on the trails at the park with the group. Looks like there was more rain at the park last night and it was very humid this evening.

Dry Run

I don't remember it ever being this dry in Texas this early in the Spring. We badly need some rain. Central and north Texas is getting rain today, but nothing down south. My Marine son left this morning to drive back to his base in Yuma, AZ and will deploy to the Middle East the middle of next month. I am more apprehensive about his going than my own trips to Vietnam.
After working out at Nautilus this evening, I ran the hilly Avenues 5K course in town.