Nice n easy

Got in a nice and easy 7 miles at LBL this morning in 1:26.  With 5 more tomorrow morning that'll give me 130 miles for the month.  I'm gonna get some decent miles this week so I decided that with the slight increase in my monthly mileage I'll just take it easy and get in some "junk" miles.  Speaking of mileage I'm really happy with my overall total for the last 4 months.  It's going to be an excellent base heading into the fall and cooler weather.

Sunday

Barry Beckman and I walked 10.66 miles in Barton Creek this morning in 3:25.  Barry is planning on doing the 50K at the Wild Hare on Nov 19th and hasn't done any running at all, only walking.  So, we mixed a few easy running parts today and it seemed to go well.  We went all the way down to Rick's Spot and he was very impressed with the cross and seems to enjoy hearing about Rick.

Solitude

I needed to get in some good miles today and had planned on running at Barton Creek.  The more I thought about all I could do was picture seeing a bunch of other people on the trail so I changed things up and ran at Bull Creek.  We are so fortunate to have such a wide variety of trails that are so close to home (Bull Creek is easily half the distance from our house as Barton Creek).

A long time ago I joined Henry and some others on a run that included most of the trails in Bull Creek but I don't believe I ever tied them all together in the same day.  I've always heard the mileage is around 14 and sure enough it was 14.2.  I planted 2 coolers, 1 near the creek and road at St Ed's and one up the trail a bit from the trailhead at the gravel parking lot and I started at the Dog Park.  As it turns out, the cooler near the trailhead was overkill but better safe than sorry.  I thought I might do the 4 mile flat section again but decided against it when I got to the car.  Next time the cooler at St Ed's and a cooler in my car will do just fine.  I just realized that a cooler at my turnaround point would be perfect.  It's 7.5 miles and hardly anyone ventures down that far so I wouldn't have to worry about my cooler at all!!

I didn't see another human being for the first 90 minutes.  It was solitude I was seeking and I found it!!

Chillin

Got in an easy chillin' 5 miles this morning at LBL.  I did some running and lots of walking, mostly getting my head right for a long run Saturday morning.  Right now the plan is to do a double out and back from the Spyglass entrance to Barton Creek to the HOL......should be approximately 26 miles.  I'm really in need of some solitude...

Deceiving

Had a deceivingly good run this morning at LBL with Shan.  I wasn't feeling it and Shan had less than 4 hours sleep but we still ran the 7 mile in 1:09:27.  It's very encouraging when you're not feeling it and still bang out a good time relative to past runs!!

Easy, sweaty 4

Got in 4 easy miles this morning at LBL.   Today I was early guy at work because Jon and I switched early days so Shan and I could run tomorrow morning.  Instead of getting up at 430 so I could get in my normal 7 I decided to get up at 500 and get in 4 miles or even 5 if I'm feeling good.  The plan worked out great.  The 4 mile took my about 50 min, I got to work in plenty of time to shower and be ready to answer phones at 730.

So, no more worrying about getting up at 430 to get in extra miles....

Knee feels pretty good today.  I had some brain cells fire off while was tossing and turning last night and remembered some exercises Richard McCormick showed me years ago to strengthen the muscles around the knee.  I'm gonna start those ASAP.  Gotta get ready for the 100!!!!

Bulverede

Got in 9 miles from my sisters house in Bulverde.  Good run, mostly on roads.  It felt so good to get out and do some sweating this morning!!!

Old Chums

Got in a super good 10 miles this morning with most of the old Thursday morning running friends....Diana H, Shan R and Steve F.  The only person missing from the old crew was Mark L.

I started out up front with Steve and as we pulled away a couple of times I was thankful that Diana and Shan held back.  Steve is a lot faster than me and probably them too.  My shoe came untied in the first mile and then we stopped at the water table at 1st street and that was our only stops the entire first 7 miles......huge for me!!!!!

We stopped and I checked the time....1:08:55!!!  I was so happy.  Then, Shan said that she was going to get another 3 miles.  My first thought was, "that's cool, but I'm done".  But, after thinking about it a few more seconds I said, "Hey, I'm game for 3 more"!!!  Diana shrugged and said, " Well, I guess I'm in too.  On mornings like this Steve parks at the YMCA and runs to meet us at 6am and then runs back so he gets in around 9 miles every time he joins us.  So, we all 4 headed back the opposite direction.  What a great morning with good friends!!!

3 miles at Lady Bird Lake after work yesterday!!

Bull Creek

5.5 miles mostly on the flat at Bull Creek this evening.  I started at the Dog Park and ran to Spicewood Springs Rd, crossed the road and doubled back.  When I got to the gravel parking lot I went toward Forest Ridge and did the .8 mile lower loop and then continued on to the finish.  It was hot but I'm definitely acclimated!!!

St Ed's

Got in 2 miles at St Ed's this afternoon.  I just didn't feel like continuing in the heat today.  I'll get up early tomorrow and hit it.   Today is the first day of my new streak.......weeks of 5 days of activity.  Much more reasonable than the 100 day challenge.  I'm going to continue with the minimum of a 2 mile walk.  My knee will still need some rest too.

Streak finito

The streak is over at 31 days.  I've been having some minor knee irritation that I'm fairly sure is not anything major but I decided to go ahead and take a couple of rest days.  My running has been going to good NOT to stop and give it a rest.  Our wonderful neighbor who also happens to be a masseuse came over this morning and focused on my legs exclusively.  She was really gentle and mostly worked some knots in my calves, achilles, thighs and IT band, some other pressure points and worked all around my knee.  Several hours later I have no pain AT ALL!!!

After another rest day tomorrow Monday will start a much more reasonable and doable streak.  The streak will be weeks of 5 days activity, 2 days rest.

Almost forgot to add that I did do a 2 mile walk yesterday evening!!

Hot and slow

Got in 5 miles at LBL yesterday after work in just over an hour.  Not too shabby considering my massive intake of celebratory beer Wed evening/ night!!!!

Alive

Kept the streak alive at 29 days with a 1 mile walk on the cinder .5 mile loop in Sam's neighborhood!!

Hot and humid

Yesterday I did a hot afternoon 5 mile run on my secret trails in 1 hr and this morning my boss and I got in an easy 5 miles at LBL in the humidity.

Sunday hike

Barry Beckman and I did a 7.5 mile hike this morning at Forest Ridge in Bull Creek.  He walked a lot faster than I like to but it was a lot of fun.  You can definitely tell he has been doing some serious walking.  He's in great shape.

Wells Branch

Misty and I walked 3 miles on the trails in Wells Branch today.

Quiet

Misty and I walked 2 miles starting around 5:10 this morning.  It is so quiet and still in the neighborhood early in the morning!!  We just love it!!

Rolling along

Got in a 3 mile run/ walk in the neighborhood yesterday evening and a 7 mile run/ walk this morning at LBL.

Tuesday heat

Gordon Montgomery and I got in almost 6 miles yesterday evening in Barton Creek.  We started at the pool parking trailhead and ran and walked to Rick's Spot.  Gordon had asked me to show him where Rick's Spot was and I needed to get in some shaded miles so hit him up early in the day and he was able to make it.

As it turns out Rick is the reason for Gordon doing ultras.  Gordon and his good friend Carl were members of an Austin Rugby club and when Carl saw the news reports of Rick's death he posted a message on the club email challenging everyone to run a 100k.  Gordon was the only taker.

What a moving story and a living testament to Rick's memory.

not so bad

Got in a 3 mile walk in the neighborhood yesterday at 5:15pm.  It was really hot but I wore a hat and had a long sleeve white shirt on and it really wasn't too bad.  We picked a helluva time to do the 100 day challenge!!!

Yesterday was day 20 by the way!!

Good Month

Got in a great 20 miles Saturday morning.  Sam V, Jim B and I started at 530 at the Hill of Life.  Jim was leading and banging down the hill hard right out of the gate.  I couldn't keep up and they had to wait for me twice at intersections in the first mile.  I warm up pretty slowly and today was no exception.  I knew I'd be good later and sure enough I was.  The start of the route we took was very familiar but then we diverted off on some side trails that I've been on before but get lost on if I'm by myself.  I told Jim the next time we do this route I want to lead so I can see it from up front.

Sam fell back a bit at times during the hilly first 6.5 miles and at the mini aid station Jim had set up he told us he wasn't feeling it and said he was gonna bail out on us.  That really sucked but there are some days you're just not feeling it.

Jim and I continued on thru the Grotto, up Shan's (we walked it Shan) and back down to the main trail.  I led from there and was feeling really good.  I kept thinking about the Tarahumara indians in the book I'm reading (Born to Run) and about their style of running.  I tried to focus on using the weight of my upper body to propel me forward and land as flat footed as possible instead of the typical pushing off.

I had had a goal of 5hrs in the back of my head the entire run and after Jim and I replenished at Spyglass our elapsed time was 3:41.  I told Jim that had a goal of 5hrs and he immediately said, "no way".  I told him that I was gonna go for it and took off.

Mixing in running and walking, and for non- Austinites, the 350ft climb up the Hill of Life, I finished in 5:00:18.  Lately, the last miles of a longer run like this I'm limping in the last few miles but I stayed fueled up and continued to feel energized and was able to push it.  This was the best run I've had since at least the Bandera 100k in January.  I think the difference lately has been the everyday activity of the 100 day challenge.  I'm planning on continuing this indefinitely.

Yesterday Misty and I did a 3 mile walk in the neighborhood.