Grandkid Challenge

Last year, I told all five of my grandkids that I would give them $100 if they beat me a 5K race. I did this to encourage them to take up the sport of running at an early age. My grandson, Phillip, who is 7, is the first one to challenge me. He will race me at the Run the Woodlands 5K next Saturday, June 11. He and his family are moving from Arizona to North Carolina and they will be visiting next week. His dad is a Marine and is already in North Carolina. His mom has been training him in the Arizona heat. I wish him luck. The good news for him is that my leg is still sore. I took some Ibuprofen with my lunch, ran a mile at the track this evening and took more Ibuprofen with dinner. I have two 5K's this weekend and will take it easy in both.

Continuation of Leg Problem

I went out to the park this evening to run trails with the group. While my left leg was not too bad in Lufkin yesterday, it hurt today. So, I cut my run to 2.7 miles. I suppose that I should take some Ibuprofen tomorrow.

National Running Day

Today was National Running Day. The Lufkin Area Pacesetters, of which I am a member, got together for a trail run this evening to celebrate the occasion. I had not been over there for a while, so I made the 85-mile drive to the park on the other side of Lufkin. We ran a loop on the trails. The distance was about 3.2 miles. Thanks to Carla Morgan for setting up the event and even providing beer and a commemorative T-shirt. It was good to see my old friends, Ray Stanfield, Scott Harper and Cindy Springs and meet other members of the group.

Attempt at Trails

I went out to the park this evening to attempt to run trails with my sore leg. I ran 1.5 miles on the trails, but took the 1.2-mile shortcut back on the road (total 2.7). My leg was still hurting, but it has improved. I will still take it easy for a few days. It is a good thing that I do not have another marathon until October 9.

Memorial Day 5K

We had the club's annual Memorial Day 5K at my house this morning. The race did not start until 10 a.m., but I had to go out earlier and put out the signs and contact some neighbors on the course and ask them to lock up their dogs. Then, I directed the race. We had 46 runners. The race was followed by a cookout and everyone seem to have a good time. My good friend, Loren Sheffer of Houston, came up and ran and it is always nice to visit with him. It is a good way to celebrate Memorial Day and remember those who gave their life for our freedom.
My leg was still hurting today, so I waited until 10 p.m. tonight to go to the track and get in a run. I managed to get in a mile without too much pain.

Recovery Run

My leg was still sore today. I managed to get in a gimpy mile at the track this evening. A couple times, it felt like it was going to collaspe. I am not sure what the problem is, so I will rest it with short runs for the next few days.

Run the Woodlands 5K

Not a good race. My left leg from the calf to the hamstring hurt the entire distance and it has been burning for the rest of the day. The heat and humidity did not help, either. My finish time was right at 35:00. This evening, Marilynn and I attended a concert by international opera star, Melanie Holliday, and dinner at the Elkins Lake Country Club. Great performance and dinner.

Laps

Since I have a race tomorrow morning, I went to the track this evening and ran laps.

Steamy Trails

After a much needed heavy rain last night, the trails at the park this evening were hot and steamy. I met up with the group and we ran our usual 4.2-mile loop.

Sluggish

I spent most of the day installing an irrigation system around my house and the temperature was in the high 90's this afternoon. By the time I got around to working out at Nautilus and running, I really felt sluggish. If I wasn't a streaker, I would have taken the day off. I ran my regular 3-mile loop around town.

Different Tuesday

Typically, on Tuesdays I run trails with the group at the park. However, this evening I attended a presentation at Huntsville Memorial Hospital on gait and running shoes. The presentation was given by Melissa Keith of Luke's Locker in The Woodlands. This afternoon, I squeezed in a workout at Nautilus and a 2-mile run on the roads in town.

New Age Group

Today was my 70th birthday, so I am in a new age group. It is funny how most of us runners think of our age in terms of what age group we are in. I had a good day, even though the first half was filled with mowing and other yard work. I spent part of the afternoon in a meeting at the Chamber of Commerce helping them get a new December 3 race off the ground. Then, while in town, I stripped down to my running shorts and ran 7 miles around town. Maybe if my birthday was in January, I would have tried a 70-mile run. This evening, Marilynn and our son, Ben, took me out to dinner at the Texas Roadhouse in Conroe.

Three

It was hot and humid in Huntsville this afternoon. I went out in the middle of the afternoon and ran 3 miles on the roads in town. Nice not having to put up with heavy traffic.

David's Dream 5K

I ran the David's Dream 5K in The Woodlands this morning. There was not much to the race. No race numbers, no door prizes, no timing or awards and the race clock was set up, but not working. The course was flat and the humidity high. However, I did get a chance to visit with some friends and that made the trip worthwhile. According to my watch, I finished in 33:38.

Marathon Planning

I have already signed up for 5 marathons for the next Texas marathon season (October thru April) and I know that there some others that I plan to do. I am not sure that I will do 20 again next season, but I am considering doing the Rocky Raccoon 50-miler again in February. Today, I found out that the Surfside Beach Marathon will be on February 18, the day before the Austin Marathon. Surfside Beach is part of the Texas Marathon Triple and Austin is part of the Marathons of Texas. So, it looks like I will be doing two marathons in one weekend. I did that two years ago, but last year Surfside and Austin were on different weekends.
As for today, I ran 2.1 miles on the roads in town. Race tomorrow.

Short Trail Run

My son, Ben, asked me to go to the Sam Houston State baseball game with him this evening. I told him that I would, but that I would be late. I met up with the group to run trails at the park at 6 p.m. and the game started at 6:30. I cut the trail run to 2.7 miles and by the time I got home, showered, ate and got to the game it was 8 p.m. The game had moved rather quickly and it was already in the 8th inning. So, short run and short game.

Regular Three

I ran my regular 3-mile loop on the roads in town this evening. With university classes over, the streets are relatively quiet.

Crowd at the Park

We had a nice crowd at the park this evening. We all ran the 4.2-mile loop on the trails.

Was this Arbor Day?

While I had the auger rented over the weekend, my wife had me digging holes everywhere. This morning, I returned the auger and then planted 15 trees. Now, she wants me to add another section to the garden. This non-running stuff is tiring. Lifting was a little difficult at Nautilus this evening, but my 3-mile run on the roads in town afterwards was comfortable.

Empty Streets

I spent all afternoon digging holes with an auger and planting bushes (42 to be exact). This was one of those days I did not feel like running. However, I went into town this evening and ran a 2-mile loop around the university campus. With school being out for the summer, the streets were almost empty.