big loop

65 miles to go for the month!!  I ran with Mark and Shan this morning at Townlake.  The 3 of us did the 7 mile loop together then Shan and I finished the big loop.  Pretty darn happy with our time of 1:47 too!!

chipping

I'm chipping away at it.  After this mornings 7 miler downtown I've got 75 miles to go for the month.  Feeling good about things.  Have a long run at Bull Creek scheduled for next Saturday and have already cleared doing a long run next Thursday morning with Shan and Mark.

drunk

82 miles to go this month.  I got drunk Friday instead of getting in my long run Saturday morning.  At least I was productive enough to get the front yard done and help with laundry.  First thing Sunday morning was a thorough carpet cleaning and then 10 miles in Bull Creek at Ken's.  So, the weekend ended up being productive but I sure missed out on some good miles drinking Friday evening.....

7 miles this morning at Townlake and I'll be getting in some good miles tomorrow morning somewhere.

99

Dec 2 with 99 miles to go for the month!!  Not too shabby!!  Me and Shan celebrated her birthday with a 5 mile 'hood run this morning!!

December!!

104 miles to go for my December running goal!!  Amanda and I did a 4 mile run/ walk early this morning and then I did the 4 again alone.  Feels great to get in a good mileage total on the 1st day of the month!!

worst

To avoid having my worst running year in 8yrs I'm gonna have to run 112 miles in December.  Pretty big number considering I've averaged 49 miles the last 3 Decembers.  We'll see if I can pull it off.

chilly

7+ more junk miles at Townlake this morning.  It was a chilly 46 degrees at the start!!  If I can get this 50k done this Saturday I'll have my first 50 mile week in a very long time!!

lift

Nice easy 7 miles at Townlake this morning.  First run in at least 4 years with shoes with any kind of heel lift in them.  It went pretty good, I took it really easy and mixed in a lots of walking.

Sunday

Had a good Sunday morning 7 miler at Forest Ridge in Bull Creek.  There were more people on that trail than any day I can remember.  It's still a fraction of the number of people I'd have seen on the Barton Creek Greenbelt superhighway.

trucking.....

I ran the Rocky Raccoon 25k this past Saturday in 2:55.  All week it looked like the conditions were going to be pretty wet but it ended up mostly okay.  I did get stuck running the last 3+ miles in a pretty good downpour though!!

Paul S. the race director told me in a private message that this was a new course this year and I suspect it was a bit long.  The aid stations were approximately 4, 7 and 12 miles.  I hit the 4 in about 44 minutes, the 7 in 1:20 and 12 in 2:12.  I wasn't exactly burning up the trail but I did zero walking until after the 7 mile aid station.  I kept thinking that he didn't give exact mileage to each of the aid stations so they could have been 4.7 or .8 and a long 7 miles but I was seriously bummed it took me so long to get to the 12 mile aid station.  I really, really felt like I was running faster than my time(s) indicated.  Still waiting on final results, maybe everyone was a bit slow.

Even though I was bummed with my results I'm gonna keep on trucking....

recovery

Had a nice moderately paced 7+ miler this morning with Shan and Mark.  Mark is nursing an injury and I'm still in recovery mode from hard effort Saturday in Bandera.

Bandera

I was almost overcome with emotion when I was talking to my wife on the phone after Bandera and describing to her how much I love it out there.

shoelace

25 more miles in the books in Bandera this weekend!!  A week or so ago I was asked to fill an empty leg in the Bandera 100 mile relay.  They already had a team in place but one guy had to bail.  Thankfully it fit perfectly into our weekend schedule.  All of a sudden I had a race and some logistics to figure out.  I just love the planning and logistics of a race, especially one that may be extra long or involve night time running.  

I'm very thankful that they had a live feed for the race.  If not for that I'd have been about 4hrs early getting out there.  As it was I was there a little over an hour before Gabe came in.  It worked out perfectly in that regard!

I got started at nearly 4am.  Gabe was totally whipped when he came in.  From the knees down he was covered in mud and the chip had gotten sucked off his ankle.  I'll never forget the look on his face as he reached into his pocket and pulled out our crumpled race bib and said it "sucks" out there!!

I got going and it was total black sticky mud for what seemed like a long time.  I'm thinking, oh geez, I'm gonna be out here a long time in this shit.  I moved as best I could and got to Boyles in 90 minutes.  I was feeling good and made it to Equestrian and my total time was 3:15.  Really happy with that and on my 2nd Redbull I'm actually running to Nachos....running!!  I get to Nachos exactly an hour from Equestrian!!  I'm thinking I'm really gonna bust a good time and then the Redbull starts wearing off around mile 18 and I start tying up.

When I finally get to Equestrian the 2nd time with only 5 miles to go I consider drinking the last Redbull but decide against it.  3 Redbull's in less than 8hrs cannot be good for you.  I decide if I'm out of gas then I'm just out of gas and I'll have to do the best I can.  It's all I can do to do a slow shuffle on the runnable parts and I actually sit on a flat rock near the top of Lucky.  As I look around and down I see I have a shoelace nearly undone.....I laugh thinking I needed to stop anyway!!

October!!

For some reason I haven't much felt like writing in my blog lately.  Besides my foot being in a holding pattern my running is going well.  I was very pleased last week to be asked to be part of a 4 man team doing the Cactus Rose 100 mile relay this coming Saturday!!  I'd planned on doing a long run anyway so it's gonna work out great (except that I'm runner  #4 and will be running my whole leg in the dark).  Looks like I'll end up having another good mileage month for October!!

routine

Excellent 4 miler with Amanda this morning at Brushy Creek.  I ran there once about 7 years ago so I only had vague recollections but did recall parts of the course even in the dark.  It's so nice to change up the routine once in a while.  I really need to get in 10 Thursday morning since Monday will be my next run opportunity, and that may also be shaky....

woods

Yesterday I got in 12 miles in Barton Creek including three times up and down the HOL and this morning I got in an easy 7 at Townlake.  I could definitely feel the Sunday hills this morning but still had a decent time.  It was sure nice to get some time in the woods yesterday.  I really needed that.  5 miles tomorrow morning with Amanda and then a rest day on Wednesday.

time will tell...

September is my first 100 mile month in 14 months.  I'm pleased about the mileage total but it just reiterates how truly shitty my running has been for a long time.  I'm trying to get it back.  Time will tell......

nicely

Me and Amanda had a nice easy 5 miler from her apartment early this morning.  It looks like our new weekly run is going to work out nicely for both of us!!

good fall

Very good 7 miler this morning.  I probably walked twice as much as last Thursday with Shan and had the exact same time.  I could have pushed harder but remembered I'm still in  recovery mode from last Saturday's 20 miler.  I think it's gonna be a good fall!!

core, arms...

Solid 5 miler with Amanda early this morning.   We did it in approximately 1 hour.  We ran at a decent pace and when we took walk breaks it was straight power walking.  Nothing easy about it!!

The only way I'm going to be able to continue my long running with any success (when I say success I mean NOT last of 3 in my fucking age group) I'm going to have to work on my core and arm strength.  I was very close to death march stage the last 5 miles last Saturday and I could feel the weakness in my lower abdomen down into my upper thighs and my arms were way behind the curve too.  Pretty pathetic really.  Focus, focus, focus is what I have to do!!

Core, arms, core, arms, core, arm, core, arms, core, arms, core, arms, core, arms, core, arms, core, arms, core, arms, core, arms, core, arms, core, arms, core, arms, core, arms, core, arms core, arms...

hot

Pretty satisfied with my 20 mile race in Blanco Saturday.  2nd straight year I've participated in an event at Run in Texas Lighthouse races.  Last year I did the 50k and I'm damn glad I didn't this year.  It was a hot sucker Saturday with the jeep road being totally exposed to the sun.  I'm pretty happy with my time of 4:15.  First 15 was exactly 3hrs and the last 5 nearly turned into a death march.

I think I've determined that I've got a ball of scar tissue in the ball of my right foot that I'm going to start aggressively rolling with a lacrosse ball.  I'm super pleased that the 20 miler didn't seem to flair it up at all.

My recovery seems to be going well.  I did an easy 7+ at Townlake this morning and have an early morning run planned for tomorrow morning with Amanda.

ultra runner

Trouble sets in when whoever or whatever you define yourself as begins to crumble.  For whatever reason.  I suppose lots of people if not most go through this.  So, to put it bluntly the person crumbles or redefines themselves in a different manner?

I'm doing all I can to hang onto my current definition of myself....a runner. Specifically an ultra runner.   An aging athlete is what I am now.  Nagging/ fighting injuries take their toll on an older guy for sure.  I'm convinced it's not for lack of "want to" that ultimately takes out old athletes.  Look at how the pros try to hang on.

Ego?  Now we're really getting somewhere.  We (ultra runners) love to answer the question, "are you still running" with, "sure am, did a 50 miler two weeks ago".  

Not throwing in the towel yet on who I define myself as or letting go of that ego thing either.....

see how it goes....

Didn't feel much like a runner this morning after a week layoff but thankfully Shan took it easy on me.  I'm gonna keep on plugging away at this running thing and see how it goes.....

ganked

3+ mile power hike with a little running mixed in with Amanda yesterday evening at Ken's.  This morning Shan and I did the 7+ mile loop at Townlake in 1:18!!  Had planned on an extra 3 this morning but got a text from my coworker saying she couldn't open due to car trouble so I got ganked on my extra 3 miles.  Was super bummed about that but I suppose I just need to get over it.

focused

Had a pretty decent 9 miles this morning at Townlake.  Lately I've been in a funk that's been feeding on itself that I need to get a grip on.  I'm not happy not feeling like the runner I'm capable of being.  I need to get focused asap if I'm going to continue running ultra's.  I'm not getting any younger but feel like I have some good races/ miles in me yet.

running

I've been doing plenty of running and walking, just haven't blogged about it much.  I'm on a decent track for a 100 mile month. We'll see!!   The sesamoid issue on my right foot isn't fixed yet but the running I've been doing isn't making it any worse either.  I've had one acupuncture treatment and am scheduled for a 2nd one this Thursday.  We'll see if this one can move it forward!!  Signed up for 2 races, Lighthouse Hill Ranch 20 mile in Sep and Rocky Raccoon 25k in Nov and am planning on signing up for Wild Hare 25k to give me my 4 race minimum for the trail championship series.

soon

Did the 7.4 mile Lamar/ Pleasant Valley this morning in approximately 1:24.  Pretty scary time since that's about all I had.  This is not a good time of year for a big fella to be out of condition.  Oh well, I'll get it fixed soon.

ice

Got in 6 miles this morning in the 'hood with Shan.  My foot was feeling a bit better after icing it 3 times yesterday.  I assumed icing at this point would be useless but I asked Shan anyway.  She said yes, that it would help and after one day it sure seems to have.  I'm damn glad I asked!!

foot

Got in what was supposed to be an easy 5 miles at Townlake this morning.  I ended up running much more than I anticipated I would.  I did the Mopac- Congress loop in 50 minutes.  In the big scheme of things it's not setting the world on fire but I'm happy with it.  What I'm not happy with is my right foot.  It's not getting much better with my almost total layoff.  I do plan on running tomorrow morning with Shan though.

1370

I've gotten in a couple of swims while my foot continues to heal.  Misty, Shan, Mark A and I swam at Barton Springs pool Saturday morning.  I got in 3 lengths or 660yds in about 40 minutes or so.  I was very happy AND fatigued afterward.  It's been years since I had done anything like lap swimming but was really happy with my time and distance.  This morning I swam at the Townlake YMCA and got in 710yds in 30 minutes.  The swimming is really keeping me feeling like an athlete while my foot heals!!

regardless

Well, I guess I need to have at least one post this month.  The Cap'n Karl's race really did a number on me.  Along with my badly rolled left ankle I bruised the sesamoid bone in right foot that has prevented me from running hardly at all this month.  This months running total will be my lowest mileage month in the last 3.5 years by far!!!  Pretty disappointing.  Me and Shan did 4 miles in the 'hood this morning for a little tester and I could still feel the bruise. It doesn't hurt per say but I can "feel" it.  This has happened before years ago so I know it will heal but I just hate not being able to run.  Yesterday I bought some swim goggles so I can get busy in the pool.  I need to hold onto as much fitness as I can until I can run  again.

Some form of the Grand Canyon will still be happening next May regardless.....

alas

Last Saturday I attempted to run the 1st Cap'n Karl's race of the season.   It was at Pedernales S.P. and I was entered in the 30k.  What makes the Cap'n Karl's races different is the mid evening start times.  The 30k started at 7:15pm.  The first part of the course was a bush hogged swath of field that was grown over what felt like deep horse hoof prints.  It felt really strange and uneven to run on.  Just a few minutes into the race I rolled my right (good) ankle just a little.  That was supposed to be the wake up call to be extra careful until we got to actual trail.  Apparently my right ankle didn't get the message over to my left to be careful because at the 13 minute mark I rolled my left (bad) ankle pretty severely.  I couldn't believe it!!  There I was just over a mile into a 4+ hour 18.6 mile race and my ankle was already on shaky ground!!  And, over half the race would be in the dark!!

Oh well, I had to keep moving along.  I don't think I even stopped running although I was definitely limping for a little while.  After a little while it started feeling better.  It's a strange thing starting a run within a few hours of what is your normal bedtime.  It takes a while longer to get in a groove.  I hit the 1st aid station (4.7 miles) in 52 minutes, not too shabby considering everything.  I left the aid station feeling pretty good about things and was rolling along nicely, until exactly one hour into the race.  I rolled my left ankle really badly.....again.  That was it.  That was the end of the race for me.  There was nothing to do but walk/ hobble to the next aid station, which was 2-3 miles away and was listed as unmanned with only water.  Lovely situation to be in.  I walked along gingerly surrendering the trail numerous times for people actually running.  The sun went down, I got my hand light out and continued on.  Not sure what the actual distance was but it took me 1:15 to get to the water station.  I had really been hoping they might have at least a single aid station worker there but alas.  I walked on over to the road and sat down at the edge and waited.  The first car to come by slowed, rolled their window down and asked if I needed help but the car following them was really close to them so they continued on.  A bunch of other cars drove by and slowed but none stopped until a suburban drove past, slowed and backed up.  They asked if I needed help.  I asked if they were associated with the race and they said yes, and I said yes, that I rolled my ankle and needed a ride back to the start/ finish.  Man 'o man, I had been sitting there on the side of the road about 40 minutes!!  I was so relieved for this mini nightmare to be almost over.  Now, to get this ankle rehabbed so I can start training for a the Rocky Raccoon 50k in November!!

anal

7 hard miles followed by 3 super easy miles this morning at Townlake.  It was just me and Shan this morning, Mark slept in.  I was really pissed at myself for not having my watch set on chrono because we really did have a fast run.  Judging by Shan's time (she starts her watch at the end of the parking lot.  I start mine as we run under the Pfluger Bridge (Lamar Blvd)) we ran pretty close to 1:12 or so.  We're all anal about something I suppose and my deal is our Thursday morning run time.  It's how I judge my effort and fitness.

neighbors

4 easy junk miles this morning in the 'hood.  Saw Shan along the way.  She was going to opposite direction on the same loop!!  Damn cool, us being neighbors!!

faster

Good, hard 5+ miles at Ken's trail yesterday after work.  I was feeling pretty good at the start and thought that since I wasn't going to get in a speed day this week I may as well get in a good hard run.  I usually take it pretty easy on Ken's but it sure felt good to actually be "running" instead of the usual easy shuffle.   I mixed in plenty of walking like usual but focused on running faster when I was did run.  I was super happy with my time of 1:09.30.  My usual "good" time for that route on a spring Saturday morning is around 1:15-1:20.  The temp was 85 and humidity 69%!!  I'm really enjoying this new concept of running harder a couple of days a week!!

Torin 2.0

6 easy recovery miles in the 'hood yesterday morning.

9

Me and Shan did the 4 mile 'hood loop twice this morning in 1:20.  It was an ass kicker that included 2 pretty short walk breaks.  I added an easy 1 mile warm down mile with a walk up Scribe to Amherst and back for a total of 9 miles.  Aiming for 8 miles tomorrow morning before we hop in the car for Houston!!

rest

Had planned on running at Townlake this morning but had another not so good night sleep so I turned off the alarm and fell back out.  After I got up and got started with a solid morning workout I reflected that another rest day from running was probably a good thing.  I ran 5 days last week for a 32 mile total.  Not crazy impressive on the face of it but it's much more than I've done in quite a while AND I'm healthy and want to stay that way!!

My morning workout consisted of 5 sets each 50 jumping jacks, 30 crunches and alternating bicep curls with 10lb and 25lb dumbbells!!!

rain

Saturday mornings plan was to get in easy 11 miles on 2 Ken's loops but when I got up I decided I wanted to get in something different so I went over to River Place and did the 5 mile Stairway to Hell trail.  It was really cool.  A lot of the trail meandered along a pretty creek with an awesome canopy of trees overhead and then stairs made of 8-9" thick timbers.  Seemingly unending stairs!  When I got to the end there were signs posted that a person of "average fitness" should take 90 minutes for the one way 2.5 miles.  My watch read 48 minutes so the challenge was on to see if I could turn around and get back in under 90 minutes!!  I didn't want to really push extra hard due to my planned 5k for Sunday morning but I was able to finish in 90 minutes without overdoing it terribly.

Sunday morning I woke up to rain but headed to Willco Park in Leander anyway hoping we'd get a clear window but it was not to be.  As I turned onto the county road that lead to the park off 1431 a lightning bolt came crashing down.  That was all I needed to see as I turned my car around and headed back home.  Neither me or Misty had a good nights sleep so after some breakfast we both laid down for a nap and when I got up it seemed like the weather had mostly cleared so I drove downtown for a run.  My plan was to stick to the 2 mile Pfluger/ Congress loop.  If it started raining I wouldn't be stuck a long way from my car. It's always a weird thing to start a run any other time besides first thing in the morning and sure enough it took a while to get in a groove.  Toward the end of the 1st loop I was still feeling sluggish and considered bailing out but continued on a for a 2nd loop.  Towards the end of the 2nd loop I felt the same way but decided to reverse course and get in my minimum goal of 6 miles.  When I was about done with that loop I started feeling better and made the bold decision to continue down to the Mopac footbridge and that would give me 10 miles.  I'm very happy it worked out like this.  Very seldom do I ever add onto the mileage I planned to run.  I finished in exactly 2hrs.  Not too shabby for the crazy post rain humidity and I got in a 32 mile running week to boot!!

life

Great 7 miler with great friends this morning and then it all goes to shit when I get to work and the life starts getting sucked right back out of me.  Run time was 1:13 this morning with a 2 minute walk break.

5k

Another easy 5 miler this morning at Townlake.  I felt like going a little faster but held back since tomorrow will definitely be a hard day.  During my run this morning I had an idea to sign up for a Sunday 5k.  I googled Austin area 5k's and found a trail race in Leander and pulled the trigger.  I'm pretty sure this is the first 5k I've signed up for since I first started running in summer of '98!!!  I'm pretty excited about getting in a good hard short run!!

fucked

5 miles this morning at Townlake.  My running pace was pretty good and I mixed in plenty of walking.  My original plan was to get in 7 this morning but ended up taking care of more chores than expected around the house this morning and didn't get out the door as planned.  I could have done the 7 still but I'm enjoying these mornings where I give myself plenty of time to get in a post run stretch at work and by getting to work early it gives me time to get organized for another long fucked up day.

speed

4 mile hungover hike Sunday at Kens.  4 miles yesterday morning at Townlake.  This morning I did a speed workout.  Pretty simple stuff.  We have a loop starting and ending at our cul de sac that is 4/10ths of mile with a decent little hill on it.  I did one slow warmup lap and then did 3 laps ranging from 2:53 to 2:57.  I did an easy recovery run/walk lap in between the running laps.  My goal was 4 but I decided to stop it at 3.  No need to get too crazy right out of the gate.  After I was done with the 3 fast loops I continued doing loops until I hit 5 miles.  Total time was 1hr......not too shabby!!

enchilada

Had a good 9 miler at Townlake this morning in 1:45.  The goal was 10 but I'm really happy with the way it turned out this morning.  I started at the Y and headed to the Mopac footbridge first but had a hard time getting in a groove.  I was mixing in plenty of walking and debating about whether or not to go for the whole enchilada.

As I was approaching  I35 I pretty well had my mind made up to continue on east but hesitated as I got to the stairs.  I stopped at the stairs, stepped up one step and stood there for a minute debating with myself.
Internally I was actually laughing at myself about my indecision!

Ultimately I decided to continue up the stairs and add on to what was now the 7 mile loop.  I didn't want to get in a situation where I would need to push myself to hard just yet.  I knew that I could add on and finish early and be to work in plenty of time to get in some good stretching before I got too busy.  And that's exactly how it worked out.  As I ran I continued feeling better and stronger and did the Lamar/ Congress loop for a 2 mile add on to successfully continue on my comeback mission!!

schedule

4 miles in the 'hood this morning.  Really wanted to get in 7 but my work schedule changed a bit and I really didn't feel like rushing.  As it is I was able to get in some decent stretching while I enjoyed my morning coffee.

downpour

Beat the rain in Coldspring Tx Sunday morning and got in a good 8 miler in 90 minutes!!  I was literally a few houses from Misty's Aunts house when the downpour came!!  Operation Comback is alive and well!!

easy

Another easy 7+ miler this morning at Townlake.  15 easy miles down, 45 easy miles to go this month!!

enthusiasm

7+ very easy miles at Forest Ridge yesterday after work.  I wanted to start the rest of this month off very easy.  I really feel like I'm beginning again.  These past few months have been devoted mostly to working on the house getting it ready for the family party and.......beer.  I've been killing the stress with too much beer and I need to get a grip on that.

For the first time ever I've written up a daily plan for each week.  In it I've included one morning of swimming, one morning of speedwork at a local park, one yoga session and one complete rest day.  I've got our usual Thursday group run and a run Saturday morning.  Sunday I have the club group run scheduled.  I also have calisthenics scheduled a couple of times a week.  The schedule may need some tweaking but there's a plan in place.

June 1 starts a big crossroads for me.  It's my 17yr anniversary of no smoking and my run mileage beginning point.  My long term goal for many years has been to maintain 20 miles on foot per week for as many years as possible.  Well, pretty much since '09 I've been living on past years running miles to maintain that average.  4 of the last 5 years I've come fairly close to the 1040 miles but have not reached it.  I'm not sure of the exact number but my average right now is in the area of 20.1 and, as of  May 1,  I'm already down 78 miles for this year.

With all that being said, my back is against the wall as of June 1 for maintaining the 20 mile average (87 miles per month), so it sort of feels like a new beginning, a fresh start.

The good part of this is that I'm mostly healthy as far as running goes so I've got that in my favor but I'm in pretty bad shape (relatively speaking).  I really want/ need to get back to 6:00-6:30hr 50k mark, and my big goal is lots of miles in the Grand Canyon a year from now.

To continue with my big overall goal means I'm going to have to start thinking like an athlete all the time again.  As I'm writing this I'm remembering the enthusiasm I and several new running friends had all those years ago.  I need to fire up that enthusiasm again somehow.

I'm trying to squeeze as many miles as possible into the remainder of this month so I'm going to start the new weekly schedule Monday June 1.

temp 88
hum 58

miles

Solid 7 miler with Mark L this morning.  Didn't time it but it felt like we ran just a bit slower than last week and we got thru without any walk breaks for me!!  I also remembered to eat a banana first thing this morning and another banana immediately after stopping to keep from getting light headed again.  I'm so looking forward to getting my miles up starting next week!!

fuzziness

Great 7 mile run this morning with Shan and Mark at Townlake in 1:15!!  Very happy with that time considering my lack of running miles this year and especially last month.  Our pace seemed really under control from the start which really means I felt like I was holding them back like usual.  We got thru about 5ish miles and I was getting pretty gassed and asked for a 1 minute walk break which thankfully turned into 2 minutes.  We continued on with my pace slowing dramatically in the final mile from what had already seemed like slow to very slow.  I somehow held on to the end and was pretty darn proud of myself for making it with the one walk break.

This morning I arrived in the Y parking lot with 15 minutes to spare so I took the time to get in some easy stretching before our run.  As I'm doing this I tell myself to take the time to get in a good post run stretch instead of getting to work 30 minutes early like I normally do.  Shan and I are stretching and talking and I move down into a catchers squat and I come up out of the squat too quickly and came very close to passing out.  I stood there for a few seconds and couldn't even finish the sentence I had started.  After 15-20 seconds of fuzziness I regained my composure and Shan suggested I eat the banana I had and she also gave me an extra coconut water she had.  After a couple of minutes I felt completely normal again.  I'm very sure this episode had to do with my really hard effort and the high humidity.  I'm sure glad I carried a water bottle with electrolyte for the first time in quite a while!!

committed

Got in a good post work 5 mile run at Ken's yesterday.  Considering my fitness level I was very pleased with my time of 1:15.  I'm not a huge fan of running after work but I really need to change that.  I've hit up my cousin Amanda about getting together on Monday afternoon's at Brushy Creek and Sam V about doing a weekly Tuesday evening Ken's trail run.  That would give me 3 committed runs a week!!

scrambling

I've been so busy with work and home stuff I just realized I started this blogpost last Thursday and forgot to finish it.

 Shan was out of town due to running the Big Sur marathon last weekend so it was just me and Mark this morning.  Thankfully he let my fat ass set the pace so I was actually able to run 7 miles WITHOUT STOPPING.  It sounds a little crazy but I'm really happy about that.  I didn't set my timer but I think my time was right around 1:20.  I feel like it's a start back to getting in proper shape.  Our family party is in 2 weeks and I'm scrambling trying to get as much done as possible.

peace

I got in a really easy 5 miler downtown Tuesday morning, a yoga session yesterday afternoon at home and Shan kicked my ass with an early morning 6 mile run from her house.  Truth be told, I'm kicking my own ass by getting out of shape so badly.  We've been so busy getting stuff done around the house for our family party in May that my running has slacked off a lot.  And along with the lack of running I haven't been doing any core work at all so things have really gone to pot fitness wise.  Oh, and lots of beer hasn't helped either.  The yoga session yesterday was very much needed.  I really really need to start doing the yoga dvd 3 times a week.  I felt so relaxed and at peace afterward,

'hood

4 mile loop run in the 'hood this morning.  I suppose I could start designating my early morning 'hood courses.  This morning I did the 4 mile loop course, Leaf Ln-Scribe-Adelphi-Wycliff-Hawkhaven-Dorsett- Aspendale-Amherst-Scribe-Canter-Home

best shot

As I was doing my 6 mile run this morning in the 'hood I realized that lately my running has been going like a golfer that can't drive in the fairway.  Simply put, I've been scrambling or at least that's sure what it feels like.  We've just had so much going on socially and trying to piece together all the things we need to get done for the family reunion.  It's weird but I'd literally have to go back thru my blog to see how I got my 80 miles this month.

As I've said in the past each month starts anew.  We (me and Misty) are in the homestretch of getting our house ready for the family reunion but I have a goal of 194 miles the next 2 months. IF and that's a really big "if" I can get those  miles I'll have 18,000 miles even on my quit smoking anniversary date exactly!!  It's not very likely but I can give it my best shot!!

cheesy

Easy cheesy 5 miles at Townlake this morning.

scratching

7+ miles at Townlake this morning!!  Don't know if I can ever remember doing back to back Friday morning runs.  Pretty darn happy about getting in the miles this morning after bailing on Mark yesterday and most likely zero running this weekend too.  I'm scratching and clawing trying to maintain my miles along with regular beer consumption, work and the rest of life.

Townlake

Super easy 7+ this morning at Townlake in 1:35.  Had planned on doing 10 but just wasn't feeling it.  I had a good time relaxing and taking it easy.

Ken's

10 miles at Ken's Saturday morning.  After what seems like a long time trying to work it out my cousin Amanda was able to do part of Ken's with us.  The original plan was to start at 6am but Friday evening Amanda texted and asked to switch to 7am.  That worked out perfectly for me.  I got started about 545 and was ready to go on the 2nd loop at 715 when Misty, Jay and Amanda showed up.  We hiked the hillier mountain goat part of the trail and then Amanda bailed and we ended up cutting a bit off the 2nd loop so I ended up with 10ish miles instead of the 11.  It's all good though.  We had a great time!!

'hood

5.5 miles in the hood this morning!!  I don't run on Friday mornings very often so they seem to be extra satisfying, especially when I don't get a good nights sleep either.  11 miles planned for Kens tomorrow morning!!

faster

Excellent 7+ miler this morning with Shan, Steve and Mark!!  We did it in 1:09.37.  I'm pretty sure that's the fastest I've ever timed that loop.  I'm sure we've run around that time a few weeks ago.  Really happy with that time getting faster.

'hood

Easy 4 miles in the 'hood Saturday morning.  Also did 100 push ups and 200 crunches.  I had a rough day at work Thursday and Friday.  I hope I can pull out of this funk soon.

icepocalypse

Shan and I braved the '15 icepocalypse this morning and got in 8 miles in my 'hood!!  It was actually much ado about nothing.  An excuse for people to miss part of a day of work is what it really was.

Now that I'm done with my short rant.  There is something to make some ado about!!  I ran 3 CONSECUTIVE DAYS this week totaling 20 miles and feel great!!  After the abortion that has been the beginning of running year '15 I'm super happy about the start of this month!!

torture

Up at 4am on back to back mornings has never happened for me before.  I thought I'd take advantage of a narrow window of good weather this morning to get in 5 miles in the 'hood.  It worked out great too.  The reason I started so early is that I had my 2nd appt scheduled with Mark Kendall.  He's the torture artist I visited several weeks ago.  I'm super happy with this guy.  He really seems to know what he's doing.  I've never had someone dig into my tight spots like he has.  Everything he's doing make complete sense to me.  It'll be a little expensive but I've scheduled appts for the next 2 weeks and I definitely plan on seeing him past that as well!!

told me

7 miles this morning at Townlake. Cold, damp and uninspiring is the only thing I can say about it.  I suppose I can take some twisted pride in knowing I was one of a handful of people out there.  I can't even take full credit for the run either.  Yesterday evening I was bitching (again) about the weather and Misty basically told me to suck it up and get out there.  How could I NOT get out there this morning after that!!

JoJo

I can't seem to get a break with my planned run days between the weather and family emergencies.  Yesterday evening our diabetic cat JoJo started acting discombobulated after I let him in from being outside all day.  Even though I had not given him his evening insulin he acted like his sugar was low.  I didn't mess around, rushing him straight to the ER.  Sure enough his blood sugar was 16!!  It's amazing he wasn't stumbling around or worse, having seizures or in a coma.  He made it thru okay though.  I picked him up at 6am this morning and he meowed his ass off all the way home.  Looks like he may be reverting to be non-diabetic.  Pretty insane.  We are definitely going to have to start doing blood glucose checks at home from now on.  That'll be an interesting new adventure.  Our cats sure do have good parents!!!

hoking and joking

13+ miles at Bull Creek with Samuel V. Saturday morning.   We had a great time hoking and joking and acting like maniacs.  It's a great thing having a friend that you can totally be yourself with!!

buttercup

So much for Shan needing Steve and I to "take it easy" on her after her super fast Austin Marathon.  That's a freaking laugh.  I purposely didn't even start my watch this morning because I really thought we were going to go easy.  Shan started her watch in the parking lot and her elapsed time said 1:10 and change when we stopped.  Really??  So, we just ran our fastest time as a group on her "recovery" run and, she ran 3 more miles on top of that!!!  For the record I'm gonna put down 1:09.30.
Our Thursday morning runs have really gotten faster since Steve rejoined the group. For the last 6 months or so it's just been me and Shan so I was able to control the tempo a little better.  Now I'm outnumbered again like I used to be.  It's all good though, I just need to suck it up buttercup!!

excuses

Got in 7 miles in Coldspring Tx this past Saturday morning.  Misty drops me off at Uncle Buddy's house in town and I run the roads to Cissy and Gene's house.  I can't say how many miles I've run on that road over the past 15yrs but it's a lot.  It can be a little tricky since there's no shoulder whatsoever and some short steep hills.  I cross the road frequently so I can be seen from as long a distance as possible and I try to really focus on listening for cars in the distance.  When I hear a car coming I'll cross to the opposite side so the passing car can stay completely in it's lane.  If I have cars coming from both directions I'll just head down into the ditch.  I don't want to put any drivers out while I'm out there.

I didn't eat so clean while out of town.  I hardly ever do.  I always say I will and then don't however, I didn't eat a bunch of junk at their house like I usually do.  I had planned on 7 miles in the hood this morning before a plumber was supposed to arrive but woke up to our oldest cat Jodi not feeling well so I let assume her normal position in my lap instead of running.  I need 43 more miles this month to get in 100.  7+ tomorrow will be a good chunk but we've got some more shitty weather headed our way early next week.  I'll be so damn glad to get through with winter again but, that'll take away some of my excuses for not running!!

shitty

Ate clean yesterday but had 3 quality beers yesterday evening and I'm sure that's what caused me to have a shitty nights sleep.  I'm super happy Misty is willing to leave for Lake Livingston early tomorrow rather than driving it tonight.

treatments

Yesterday was a big treatment day for me.  The massage/ torture artist yesterday morning and then chiro in the afternoon.  The chiro guy really did me some good.  He loosened me up some and then put on the electrodes to further loosen me up before he adjusted me.   One of the spots in my back popped almost on accident but he had to really bear down on the next spot in my upper back but he got it.  When he got to my neck he really worked hard at loosening me up to point of sort of giving me a massage and then hitting some pressure points on my skull behind my ears.  He tried to pop my neck from one side but it wouldn't break free and then switched directions and was able to get it.  Instant relief. Same story for my sacrum.  He was able to get one side but not the other.  I ate clean again yesterday although I was very tempted to eat a couple of cheese tacos.  It's paying off.  I weighed 191 even this morning.

We had a good run this morning.  It was actually too good.  I ran much faster than I wanted or especially needed to.  Shan, Steve and I ran it in 1:12.  That's my 2nd fastest time ever for that loop!!  In the future I may just need to bow out on a morning like today.  I'm still in major recovery mode from not only both treatments yesterday but my hard effort on Saturday.  I have a super easy 7 planned for Saturday while we're in Coldspring.  Knock on wood, I'm off to a great start for the month mileage wise, lets see if I can keep from screwing this up....lol!!

torture

Besides the small bag of chips that came with my Jason's Deli sandwich and soup, I ate clean yesterday.   This morning I saw a new massage/ trainer/ torture master.  After a pretty lengthy discussion about injury history he began by doing some small strength tests and then began digging into my left calf. He worked on various parts of my left leg in an effort to get my left foot fixed.  I've never had anyone dig in as deep as he did.  He gave me some stuff to work on at home in the evenings too. I really like where he's coming from. This evening I'm going to the Round Rock chiro to get my shoulders and neck loosened up.  I'm gonna have everything fixed up in time!!

The Veteran

Finished 4th in the Piney Woods 20 miler in 3:51 Saturday.  Last years winning time in my age group was 4:02 so I was targeting a sub 4hr to try and get a medal.  I've been battling some niggling injuries along with not eating right and probably drinking too much beer since Thanksgiving.  If I'd been taking care of business a sub 4hr 20 mile really shouldn't have been a big deal but in this case it was.

The 1st mile marker I saw was the 7 mile and I was at the 1;19 mark.  At that point I picked up the pace just a bit until I went down in some muddy slop in mile 10.  I got in and Misty was waiting there like she always has.  My watch said 1:53 and I was gassed.  I totally felt like I had pushed too hard trying to put myself in position to get under 4hrs.  I was out of the aid station quickly (under 2 minutes) after Misty gave me some gels.

As I headed back out I decided I'd eat a gel every 30 minutes instead of 40 and that might help me along a bit.  I kept what felt like a nice even pace and also mixed in some short walking.

At the race start their was a guy that was surely a combat veteran in a wheelchair with a race bib on.  At the time I thought briefly to myself that I'd never seen anyone in a wheelchair do a trail race before and then I refocused on myself and didn't give it anymore thought until I saw him at the 2:37 mark of the race.  I'm guessing I was close to the 4 mile mark and had been lamenting my lack of preparedness for this race since getting out on this 2nd loop.  I'd carried over my  holiday slothfulness completely through the month of January.  My grandmothers passing didn't help but it's not a reasonable excuse for being completely undisciplined either.

Upon seeing the veteran in the distance my first thought was, how the hell did he get that wheelchair through the super muddy, sloppy parts of the early part of the trail.  As I got closer I saw that he was hopping on his one foot with the wheelchair in front to steady himself and he had a lady companion with him.

Needless to say I stopped feeling sorry for myself pretty quickly and turned my thoughts to what I'd say to him as I ran by.  I didn't know what service he was in but decided to keep it simple and let him know I'm an ex Marine and simply say semper fi as I ran by.  He had just as simple an answer,  a very subdued, I'm conserving my energy, "oorah".  Wow, pretty amazing.  Not sure if that encounter empowered me but the first mile marker I saw was the 5 mile.  I really could not believe when I looked at my watch and saw that I had a legitimate chance at coming in under 4hrs.  I was tiring but continued to push as much as I could.  At the 7 mile marker I had a 40 minute window and continued to push as much as could but there was no avoiding walk breaks.

I got on the road and was really running out of gas and knew I'd be seeing Misty, her nephew Vincent and his girlfriend Bailey but was walking a lot.  I didn't want them to see me walking but misjudged where I was and sure enough I rounded a curve and there they were, waiting on me.  I shifted into a shuffle and ran by them as they encouraged me and I mumbled that I "had a chance".   I felt a bit energized after seeing them and was able to run some, but encountered some really muddy trail and continued on as best I could.  Finally I'm on the road and the finish is almost in sight.  I now know for sure that I'm going to make my goal of finishing under 4hrs for sure.  I allow myself to walk until I was about 50yds from the finish and ran it on in.

In the last mile or so it dawned on me that it has been a long time since I'd really pushed myself on a run longer than our Thursday morning 7 milers.  I could tell I really pushed myself because I was feeling mentally goofy well into Sunday.  It was great day and seeing the veteran out there pushing himself really kept things in perspective.

extra early

Nice easy 7+ miler this morning at Townlake.  Got started extra early so I could really take it easy and have time to mix in plenty of walking.  Recovery seems to be going well after my hard effort Saturday.  I wisely slept in yesterday and I'm sure it did me good.  Ate clean yesterday, no crap food.  Got in some real good stretching and some dead hangs on the pull up bar,

sub-ultra

Shan and Steve kicked my ass into a new best time for the 7.4 mile Pleasant Valley/Lamar loop this morning, 1:10.08.  In fact, we knocked off a full 3 minutes from the previous best.   I'm very, very pleased with this new time but it definitely resets the bar. It'll be fun shooting for a faster time.  This weekend is the Piney Woods 20 miler in east Texas, my first race in the sub-ultra trails series.  I'm really looking forward to it!!

running

7+ miles at Townlake this morning.  It was a cool, wet morning.  Thankfully I wore my rain jacket.  It came down pretty good the last mile or so!
Any day I can be out running is a good day.....

thursday

Looks like we've got the band back together!!  2 weeks ago Steve and Mark joined Shan and I for the first time in quite a long time.  Last week was nasty weather so no Thursday run but they joined us again today.  Mark's wife has had a job that kept Mark away on Thursday mornings, and Steve and a friend used to do a 7 miler in Barton Creek Thursday mornings but he was able to make our 6am 7 miler beforehand but she's out of commission now.  So, here we are again.  I need to look at my running logs but I'm fairly certain we started this sometime in the summer of '08.  It's been a great thing.  Good friends and a good thing to have to stay focused on, at least for me it has been!!

dogma

Ran and walked the 7.4 mile Lamar/ Pleasant Valley loop this morning.  This was my first run since running Ken's last Wednesday evening.
Friday morning I flew to central Illinois to visit my old Marine pal Kurt.  He and I were in the same artillery battery and were very good friends.  He was a huge part of a serious personal growth period for me.  The Marine Corps and it's melting pot of people from all over the country was a big eye opener for me.  For a while I was like a fish out of water but I adapted and opened myself up to different ideas.  I was breaking free of the belief system and dogma I had been raised up in.  My mind was opening and I feel like I've mostly continued down that path.  An interesting side note is that I reverted back to a much more conservative/ closed way of thinking in the 4 years I was back in San Antonio before going to work at Visionquest, the wilderness program.  After VQ I was back in San Antonio for a year or so before leaving permanently.
Anway, Kurt and I really enjoyed our time together, ping pong, indoor golf, lots of Wi games and plenty of cold beer and good food made for a great trip.  We were both really in need of a good visit and reminiscing.

binge

Marc G and I got in a very slow relaxed 7+ miles at Forest Ridge yesterday.  He drank massive amounts of beers with me Saturday during my usual post funeral binge.  Thankfully we had a some great weather to get out and sweat out the beer in.  We are planning on another easy jaunt at Kens in the dark this evening.

Mama Dee

I got in 7 miles yesterday after work.  I did Forest Ridge in 1:35.  I'm super happy with that and my fitness considering how few quality miles I've gotten in since Thanksgiving.  That's pretty much the same time I've been running out there for nearly 15yrs.  Oh, and my foot is still not right either, although it doesn't bother me when I run.  I did push extra hard to get that yesterday though.  I never stopped to walk from Aralia all the way on the jeep road past the water tower and back to the gravel parking lot on 360.  I seriously cannot remember the last time I might have done that.

I really needed those miles and that time alone.  My grandmother passed away Saturday afternoon around 230.  It's so difficult to put into words what she meant to me.  Growing up a fatherless child had us spending lots an lots of time with our grandparents.  She'd pick us up from school some days when we were in elementary school.  She'd bust us sometimes walking home through the creek because she'd come to pick us up sometimes unannounced and we wouldn't be on the 1.5 mile road route home.  Then we'd get in trouble later.  We just couldn't understand why Mom didn't want us walking home through the creek.  Her explanation (not that one was needed) to us then was panthers in the creek.  That became a good family joke years later.  I loved being in the woods even then!!

Besides having a clear memory of my grandmother turning 50 I have so many little tidbits of memories of her.  Not all are good but I guess she's human like the rest of us.  She treated some of us differently than others and was a terrible in law to my granddads family but she was still my Mama Dee.  I simply cannot imagine where I'd be in life or the person I'd be without her and my granddads love and guidance.

misery

15 miles total this morning and Tuesday morning.  This morning the temp was 23 and windchill 18, but I got it done.  I figured there wouldn't be many peeps out this morning so I decided to count.  62 human beings and 3 dogs.  Not so sure the dogs should have been out there.  Acupuncture seemed to go well yesterday evening although my foot is the same today as it was yesterday.  They asked me to come back next week.  Maybe I'll go week after next.  I've been spending the last couple of days getting my mind right for the Bandera 25k this Saturday.  Temps are going to be near freezing and rain/ sleet is predicted.  I'm so damn happy I didn't sign up for the 50k or 100k.  That would be some serious misery.

Lovie

3+ hiking miles with Lovie this morning at Ken's!!

happy new year

Got in a very slow easy 6 miles at Townlake today.  My foot isn't really any better but it never was really very bad either, just not quite right.  I really got out of shape during my 23 day layoff too.  Way too much beer and bad (very good) food were consumed the last 3 weeks.  Oh well.  I'll be back.  It'll take a little while but I'll do it.   It was very nice being out there today.  Looking forward to a hike at Ken's tomorrow and 2 runs next week before the Bandera 25k next Saturday.  I always enjoy logging down my first run of the new year!!