2019

Me and Ellie got in 4 junk miles in the hood on this very depressing Christmas Eve.  2019 can't get here quick enough....

Ken's

Me and Ellie had a solid run at Ken's trail this morning.  Yes, we RAN.  It was great!  No hiccups with either ankle either.  Things are looking up.

Ellie

Mark L, Ellie and I got in a nice 4 miler at Townlake this morning!!  More good times on the trail.!!

Ellie

So much for walking, jumping jacks, pushups and abs this morning.  I still cried all the fucking way to work.  This rejection is killing me.  I'm an emotional wreck.  I'm already dreading Ellie dying 10 years from now.....

Kens

Me and Ellie got in 4 miles at Kens this morning.  This was my first time on the trail since the first weekend in May when I tore up my ankle at Pandora.  I did some very easy running on some of the benign parts of the trail but mostly hiked.  It was good being out there and Ellie sure seemed to enjoy herself but now I'm back in the blues and can't wait till bedtime.

Thursday morning

First Thursday morning hood run with Shan.  We did an easy 4 miles in approximately 40 minutes even though she's running on a knee that isn't 100%.

regular walks

Me and Ellie have been getting in our regular walks.  Not much else to blog about.  I may get some running fired up again this week.  We'll see....

pee

Got in another half mile for my little kid to get in one more pee before I left for work.

Ellie

Chilly early morning one mile walk with Ellie.

bleak future

2 mile walk with Ellie this morning.  Looks as if my walks with Ellie are going to be the only light in an otherwise bleak future.  I don't like my new life and I can't ever see liking it.  I think I've always known that somehow I'd end up alone. Seems like I was destined for this from the start.   Maybe I subconsciously set it up that way, who knows.  I'm in it now though so I guess I'll see what tomorrow brings.  Most likely the same loneliness and sadness I'm feeling today.....

Ellie

Cold walks with Ellie the last 2 mornings!!

cold, gloomy

One mile walk with Ellie on a cold, gloomy, wet morning.  I may as well be living in apartment when it comes to her and going outside.  She's such a headcase she doesn't like to go in the backyard without me going with her so I guess it's going to be lots of neighborhood walks unless the weather is really bad.  I don't mind.  It's something to do for a few minutes besides sit around being lonely.... 

I just don't know how

Starting with a one mile walk with Ellie Friday evening I've had a 17 mile weekend.  Got in 5 in the 'hood yesterday morning and 10 downtown with Mark L this morning and another one mile walk with Ellie this evening.  Surprisingly enough we took no walk breaks until I bailed at the 8 mile mark to pee and take it in easy.  My time including a cool down walk across the footbridge was 2:04.  Pretty unbelievable.  I had no idea I had that in me today. 

I haven't been doing much running at all since my life went in the toilet 2 months ago.  During the week I'm pretty well okay but the weekends are rough.  I was in pretty good spirits Friday evening coming into the weekend and actually had my best nights sleep in quite some time.  I kept pretty busy yesterday with errands and shopping but by this afternoon I'm sad and lonely and feeling pretty fucking gloomy.  The unbelievable reality rears it's head and roars.  I just don't know how I'm going to do this...

Ellie

Early morning 2 mile walk with Ellie!!

Ellie

Walked 2 miles with Ellie today.  One in the morning and one in the afternoon.

600 mile

2 mile run/ walk with Ellie this morning.  Yesterday I failed to note that she made it to the 600 mile mark!!

Ellie

Early morning 2 mile walk with Ellie.

Ellie

One mile walk in the 'hood with Ellie this morning.  We took a different route than our Monday run so Ellie was all over the place sniffing like crazy, pretty darn cute!!

new place

I got the first week in my new place kicked off the right way.  I got in 4 miles, 2 with Ellie.  We had a good time in the early morning quiet and I think Ellie just about wore out her nose sniffing the entire new neighborhood.

life is nuts

Easy 2 mile run/ walk Ellie in the 'hood and then a slow 5 miles with Hero at Townlake.  I guess one of these days I'll have a post that doesn't include the words slow or easy......hopefully.  Anyway, it was great to get in some physical activity.  The last few weeks I've been having to do a lot of different adult stuff that I haven't had to do in years.  Life is nuts....

Ellie

Nice cool weather for a 2 mile walk with Ellie this morning.  I haven't been posting much but we've been getting in at least a one miler every morning.

Ellie

Early morning 2 mile walk with Ellie.

off the rails

One mile walk with Ellie and then 3 miles at Townlake.  Even though my life went off the rails earlier this month I somehow managed to get in 50 miles.

much needed sweat

Me and Shan did a 2 mile run/ walk with Ellie and then another 4 miles.  It was a great time all the way around.  Great conversation, beautiful weather and some much needed sweat!!

Ellie

One mile walk with Ellie this morning.

head

4 miles early this morning.  2 with Ellie and 2 solo.  Sure is good for my head.

Ellie

Me and Ellie got out for an easy 3 mile run/walk this morning.  She and I both really needed it!

kick in the pants

Shan gave me a good kick in the pants yesterday so me and Ellie got in an easy 2 mile run/walk this morning.  It felt real good to get in a little extra activity.  I really need to keep it up for my mental health's sake.  It really was good for Ellie to burn a little more energy too!

upside down

It's about all I can do to muster up the energy to do a single mile morning walk with Ellie.  She and the cats are keeping me going I guess but they're driving me crazy in the evenings vying for lap time.  To make matters worse Cleo and Lester are fucking enemies.  They all know our lives have been turned upside down.

storm

Finished a 2 mile walk with Ellie at 430 this morning.  The pain comes in waves but I feel like I need to face it head on.  I hope I'm strong enough to weather this storm.  I'm not sure if I am.....

Ellie

Me and Ellie got in a nice humid 2 mile walk in the hood.  We're sure glad we have each other.

dog park

Me and Ellie spent an hour at a dog park on W 10th street this morning.  Ellie did very well and I think we'll go back.   I brought her home and then drove back down to Townlake for a hot Mopac/ Congress loop starting at 11:30.  Lots of walking....

cooler weather

Me and Shan had a good run this morning although it sure didn't feel that way.  We were 50 seconds faster than the last time we ran it.  We did an easy 2 with Ellie first and then the 5 mile course that takes us by Sam's house.  We are definitely are looking forward to some cooler weather.

200

One mile doggie walk and 200 jumping jacks this morning!

shit happens

A little bummed our run went to shit this morning.  At 5:59 Mark and Justin hadn't showed yet.  I checked my phone and Justin had texted he'd be 10 minutes late.  Sam had to head on because he had to be to work on time.  I waited for Justin and then we did a super lazy 3 mile loop that included some walking.  When I got to work and fired up my computer Mark had emailed at 8:30 last night on a thread we have going to say he wouldn't be able to run.  Oh well, shit happens....

start the week

Me and Misty did 4 miles in the hood this morning, 2 with Ellie!!  What a great way to start the week!!  We did a a couple of speed ups.  I'm really trying to stay focused quicker leg turnover instead of the longer steps.  It seems to be helping my hip.

Townlake

1 mile in the hood with Ellie and then me and Misty did 6 miles at Townlake this morning.  We encountered Linda Rust and we stopped and chatted for a few minutes.  She's training for her "last" 100, the Yeti 100 somewhere in Virginia!!

shorter steps

2 fast walking miles with Ellie this morning.  I averaged 17 minutes per mile with poop pickup and several pee stops!!  What's significant is that I've been focusing on using shorter steps in all my walking so that means my turnover rate is improving.  Sam and I experimented with it running Tuesday morning and we both think our hip issues felt better post run.

Ellie

Didn't sleep too well last night so I bailed on the Thursday run.  I slept in a bit and still did a 2 mile walk with Ellie!

jumping jacks

Slept in till a bit after 5 this morning but still got in 5 sets of 30 jumping jacks and 5 sets of 10 push ups!!  I didn't leave myself time to walk Ellie this morning so I played with her out in the backyard and while we were out there she rubbed in something dead so Misty took her in the shower with her this morning!!!  Good times!!

46:55

Me and Sam got it a 46:55 Mopac/ 1st St loop this morning.  Justin and Mark no showed on us.  He and I hadn't had a run with just ourselves in a long time.  We had a good time!!

35 minutes

Fast 2 mile walk this morning under 35 minutes with Misty and Ellie!!  Misty is a walking machine!!  After I had a little recovery from that I did 5 sets of 10 burpees in about 20 minutes!!  Great way to start the week!!

1:45

4-2 mile loops in the hood this morning, 1st one with Ellie in 1:45.  I had an illusion of doing some burpees.  That idea died pretty quickly.  I did get in a couple of planks though.

legs

Me and Shan got in a solid run this morning.  We did an easy 1 mile with Ellie for a warm up and then did another 6 in 1:06.   I'm fairly happy with that considering I did a pretty hard leg workout Tuesday evening.  The last mile was tough and I was definitely feeling the leg workout but I feel like I need to continue with it during the buildup period.

great run

Last Tuesday we were on vacation so I slept in and Mark had daughter duty and Sam was busy at work so no one ran.  This morning Mark had Lily duty again but Justin, Sam and I ran the 4.3 mile loop in 46:30.  I was several seconds back because they acted like maniacs and sprinted the last part over the footbridge.  I couldn't have run with them if I'd wanted.  My piriformis wouldn't have allowed it.  Pretty cool that we were a full 5 minutes faster than last week without Mark.  We talked the whole way too.  Great run!!

Ellie

2 easy miles with Ellie and then 2 more solo miles.  It's so nice having the neighborhood to ourselves early in the morning.

faster

Another nice, easy 4 miler this morning with Sam, Mark and Justin.  We ran one minute faster than last week.  51:50!

Sam's route

Great 5 mile run with Shan in the 'hood.  We ran from my house down Duval, left on Dull Knife, (Sam had already left for work) down Thunder Creek to the 183, back up Duval, left on Aspendale, right on Eton, left on Amherst and then back home for a 52:57 finish.

I think a big key to some of our Thursday morning runs being better lately is the easy 1 mile run/ walk with Ellie (I'm always so happy to hear about her whining for me the whole time I'm gone after I drop her off) for a good warmup!

So, this morning was good for several reasons.  This morning I maintained basically the same pace as the 10k a few weeks ago but was able to carry my part of the conversation.  Another was that I felt like my run this morning actually had a purpose.  Even though my race is 255 days away I'm trying to be keep myself focused on remembering that EVERY run is a brick in the wall of my success.  We only had one short walk break, about halfway up Aspendale which was another minor break through!!

For future posts I'll refer to this route as Sam's route since it goes right in front of his house and we're great pals too.... 

transition

These last 10 days I've been giving a lot of thought to changing the direction of my running.  The funny part is that my running hasn't really had any direction or plan at all in several years.  It's basically just been adding miles to my running blog and some occasional events. 

Misty, Sam and I ran the Lampasas 10k Saturday the 24th and since then I haven't been able to stop thinking about the possibility of running fast (that's a very relative term) again.  I ran a 1:05 without any specific training.  Just my usual lackadaisical running.  For the hell of it I checked the '18 Cap10k results to see what percentage I would have finished in.  Boy was I surprised to find out I would have been in the top 40% of finishers.  And realistically I would have been higher than that because I surely would have been at least a few minutes faster in April vs. the middle of July!

So, I've been mulling this over the past 10 days and I'm pretty sure I'm going to try an experiment.  I'm going to try to get some speed back.  I was faster than most all of my peers growing up.  The first time I ran anything like distance was the 3 mile run as part of the PFT in Marine Corps bootcamp.  I was always near the front of those runs too.  I ran two 18:40's and an 18:30 in the three tests we had.  In the summer of '82 I ran a 3 mile in 17:30.

Flash forward to '86-'87.  I began a running program then that culminated in a 41:05 10k and a 1:42 half marathon.

Another running flashback is from '89.  I was 29 living in the wilderness camp working with the teenage boys.  They were 15, 16, 17 years old and I could still out run most of them in something resembling a 40 yard dash!!

Fast forward to June '98 and I begin running again to help me quit smoking and 8 months later ran a 3:42 marathon!  I remember having a conscious thought about not wanting to put in the work to get any faster.  I wanted to go long.  I'd wanted to go long since I was a teenage and now I had my chance.  I joined a loose knit club that ran a marathon a month for a year and met some lifelong friends along the way.

There are many factors involved in my thoughts about shifting my running focus.  I sprained my right ankle really bad at the Pandora's Box of Rox Marathon.  80 days later it's still not right.  That was my good ankle too.  Running shorter and faster would actually be much less stressful.  I've been managing a neuroma in my right foot for 18 years, mostly successfully, but it's been quite a challenge.  A couple of years ago I started having a problem with burning in my feet when I get up near marathon distance in long runs.  I've rolled my left ankle very badly at least three times over the years and can't tell you how many times I've fallen down on the trail.  The thought of getting out on a trail now almost makes me fearful.

Switching to much shorter races and roads removes all these obstacles.

This is definitely not going to be an easy transition though.  It's actually going to be very painful.  I haven't pushed any speed in so many years.  The 7 mile Thursday morning tempo runs could be quite painful at times but I'll be needing to do that regularly again plus add in shorter repeats.  And, I'll need to do a lot of strengthening/ core stuff too.

All that being said I'm very excited about having a new focus.  I started out fast, went long and fairly fast to slow and long and now attempting to get back to relatively fast......why not!! There hasn't been any excitement at all regarding my running in a very long time.....

 

  

reunion

It was reunion time at Townlake this morning.   Myself, my cousin Justin, Sam V. and Mark L. ran together for the first time in at least 18 years.  In the spring of 2000 the 4 of us used to get together at Mark's house once a week and run a 4ish mile loop.  I can't remember how long that went on, it seems like at least several months.  This morning we ran pretty slow.  We did the 4.3 mile Mopac/ 1st St loop in 52:54.  Mark is still recovering from breaking his leg in three places on Christmas Eve last year!!  This is the time of year for slow running anyway!  I'm excited about us having a weekly run again!!

fartlek

Me and Misty did 1 mile with Ellie and then 2 more that included some Fartlek!!

We came home and got in some core and stretching too!!  Great way to start the week!!

3

One mile with Ellie and then 2 more with Misty.  3 nice easy miles to end the work week!!

I'll have more to post next week regarding a possible major change in my running direction.  Still giving it a lot of thought....stay tuned, lol.

groove

Best running morning in quite sometime today.  Me, Misty and Ellie gott in 2 miles and then Shan and I got in 6 more!  I felt amazingly good during the miles with Shan.  I'm fully convinced now that it takes me several miles to get warmed and in any kind of groove.  Outstanding morning of running!

100k

One mile easy with Ellie and then two more easy solo miles.   I'm ramping up for the Rocky Raccoon 100k in February!!

miles

2 mile walk with Ellie Saturday morning.  1 mile walk with Ellie yesterday and then I went downtown and ran 7.  This morning Ellie and I got in 1 mile and then I did 2 more!!

July 4th

Ellie joined me and Shan for the first mile of our 5 miles this morning.  Me and Ellie were both dragging a bit because she was up late pacing because of the fireworks last night.  I hate that they upset her so much.  Interesting how the fireworks don't seem to bother the cats one bit.

We had a great July 4th.  Steve and Tracy invited us out on the boat Tuesday evening and then we had a big cookout at their house yesterday.  I cooked 40 of Pa's burgers yesterday for a boatload of people and got a bunch of compliments!!  Very good day!!

reconfigured

I spent part of the day out doing deliveries but I spent my office time reconfiguring my blog.  I've got all my mileage charts separated by the first 20 years of running and then whatever comes after that.  I'm weirdly anal about getting all my stats organized in a coherent manner.

Early 1 mile with Ellie and then a solo 4 mile loop this morning!!

junk miles

These are definitely the dog days of summer.  This morning I did 2 easy miles with Ellie and then 5 more with Shan.  I can't hardly run a half mile without taking a walk break it seems.  But that's okay, that's the way it is this time of year.  Lots of junk miles.....

summer

I've been getting in some miles but they've been super slow.  I did the 7 mile loop Saturday and yesterday, both in 90 minutes.  Lots of walking.  I'm not worrying too much about it.  I've been spending lots of energy and thought on my AA stuff so that's good.  'Tis the season for slow summer miles.....

morning

3 total miles Monday morning, 1 with Ellie and 2 more with Misty.  2 total miles this morning, 1 with Ellie and 1 more with Misty.

Yes, Misty has been able to get up, rub the sleep out of her eyes and get in some activity!!  Great early morning family time!!

Ellie

The plan was to run this morning but I wasn't feeling it.   Ellie and I did a 2 mile walk instead.  About halfway through I realized that she would be hitting the 500 mile mark this morning!  More milestones are her 3rd birthday yesterday and her 2 year anniversary with us in a less than 2 weeks!!  We don't know we ever lived without her!!

Sam

Me and Ellie did an easy one mile this morning and then Sam and I did 5 miles in his 'hood.  We haven't hung out in a while so we were able to do some good catching up!!

mornings on fire

Me and Ellie have been setting the mornings on fire!  3 straight days of 2 mile walks!  When we get home and she gets a good drink of water and instead of climbing back in bed with Misty she plops down on the cool tile!  Pretty cute!  The 2 mile walks are actually helping me keep my miles up pretty well too.

I've really been spending a lot of time and energy on my AA stuff lately.  It almost feels like running has been put on the back burner a little.  That's okay though, I sort of set it up that way with my new improved long term running goal.  I do plan on getting some good solo miles at Townlake tomorrow morning though.

praying and thinking

Back to back mornings of 2 mile walks with Ellie.  Shan is out with a broken toe and I wasn't feeling a run this morning.  Early morning walks are good for praying and thinking...

cool

One mile with Ellie this morning and then 4 more solo miles.  Had a pretty good run.  The weather was still cool from Sunday nights rain so I was actually able to do some solid running, for me at least.....

out of shape

6 miles with Misty at Townlake early Saturday morning.  Very good run even though we're both out of shape!!

melancholy

Trying to be thankful instead of melancholy today.  Today was my last available day to add to my 20 year non-smoking mileage total.  The total ended up being 20,596 miles or 19.74 miles per week.  The crazy number for me is the 2.8 miles PER DAY average for 20 years!

I can't remember exactly when I came up with the idea/goal of averaging 20 miles per week for 20 years and I want to say I gave it all I had but I suppose we all second guess ourselves.  I was holding on tight to the 20 mile average 5 months into the 20th year but I had to give into my chronic plantar fascia injury and cut back on my mileage.  If I'd only have taken to heart the good advice I got from a close running friend I may very well have made it.

With 20 years to look back on it's hard to recall the mindset of my reasons I started my running log.  I guess I should go back and look at that first year and read my entries.  I do recall having a feeling of knowing it could snowball into something.   Initially I quit smoking and started running to improve my golf game but regular golfing went by the wayside pretty quickly. 

Things clicked pretty quickly I guess because I ran a 3:42 marathon 8 months later and then just after my first no cigs anniversary ran my first 50k.  At the 18 month mark I ran my 50 mile PR in 8:52.  At the 20 month mark I made it 77 miles in my first 100 mile attempt. 

Today feels very much like the comedown after a 100 mile finish.  Work, work, work.  Plan, plan, plan and there's the finish line and what's next?  I function much better if I have a big carrot out there hanging in front of me.  I'm thinking that having a set date goal of having gone enough miles to circle the earth at the equator would be a good one.  The miles around the earth at the equator is 24,900 miles.  So, here it is.  79.85 miles per month for the next 55 months or 18.5 mile weeks will get me there.

ankle

Me and Ellie did a 2 mile walk Sunday morning at the lake.  This morning she and I did an easy 1 mile run/walk and then I did 3 solo miles.  My ankle is still pretty sensitive and swollen but I'm going to start some easy running.  I'll continue to ice after runs and take some vitamin I too. 

easy

Really easy 2 mile run/walk with Ellie this morning.  The ankle is still hurting a little so I'm going to continue these short easy run/walks through through the end of the month.

one mile

Easy one mile with doggie this morning.  The ankle felt pretty good.  Post run ice too!!

right ankle

I'm on day 12 of no running while I let my right ankle heal.  I really did a number on it and it looks like I really need to take another week off too.  I knew it was bad but didn't realize it was that bad.  I've been elevating at work this week as much as possible.  I sure wish I'd done that last week.  I'm pretty sure I'd be a bit farther along in the healing process.

Pandora

Pandora's Box of Rox marathon was quite the adventure Saturday.   The first loop went pretty well as planned finishing in a little under 3 hours.  The plan as usual was to hold back somewhat on the first loop and save some gas for the 2nd loop.  It seemed like that plan was going just fine until mile 10 or so when it seemed like I may be getting a little tired. 

The last half mile or so I seriously considered stopping.  There were all sorts of competing voices in my head.  One was saying I had no business going the full marathon distance with just a few months of base mileage.  Another voice reasoned that how in the hell was my endurance going to get any better if I didn't take advantage of the mileage in front of me today no matter how slow I was.

As I crossed the timing mat a young lady reached down to grab the chip off my ankle.  I told her I was a marathoner but hadn't decided if I was going back out or not.  I stood at the aid table, drank some water, ate a couple of gels and cookies and considered what to do.  My thoughts went out to my running friends who weren't able to be there for various reasons.  They had all reached out to me the day before telling me good luck and to have fun.  I was feeling like I needed to continue on for them.  We've all known each other for a very long time and have been invested in each others successes and failures.  I was feeling like a finish for me would be a finish for all of us.

I sucked it up and headed out for another 13.1 miles.  In the first few yards I was literally talking out loud to myself wondering what in the hell I was doing.

The aid stations were perfectly positioned at roughly 2+, 4+, 4+ and 2+ miles.  I was actually able to do a fair amount of running to the first aid station.  I was thinking how nice it would be with so many fewer runners on the 2nd loop.  I would allow me to get into a nice mental groove and pass some good time.  There was only one aid station worker at the first aid station so we got to chat for a minute while ate some cookies and refilled my bottle.  I thanked him for volunteering and headed back out.

I was feeling much better than I expected I would!  I checked my watch, did some quick mental calculations and figured I may be able to make it to the next aid station in an hour which would put me in striking distance of a 6 hour finish!

It wasn't long until my race went south though.  Somehow not far out of the first aid station I missed a turn.  During the 2nd loop there were people running towards us for the 8 mile race which made things a little confusing.  Several times I questioned whether or not I was going the right direction.  All of a sudden I went through a granite outcropping and see more people coming toward me.  They were making a left turn following the marathon and double marathon sign.  I looked back the way I'd come and it indicated the 8 mile should be going the way I had just come.  I made a quick decision to continue straight ahead.  I was trying not to panic and waste what little extra energy I had.  I didn't go far when I saw a runner coming towards me.  He said he was a marathoner.  I asked him if he'd come through the outcropping I'd just come from and he said no.  Oh shit I thought, I'm in big trouble.  I thanked him and continued a little farther the same way when I encountered another runner.  After speaking to him I determined to go back the other way and make the turn the same direction the others were going.  I went down that way a few hundred yards and really felt like this was wrong too.  I turned back around and asked a lady that was coming down and she felt strongly that everyone I'd encountered were fairly far in front of me on the course.  Damn, I was screwed I thought.  A dim light came on in my head and I realized the only course of action was to retrace my steps.

I'd only gotten truly lost in a race once many years ago in Mississippi.  Today I was picturing the humiliation of coming into the main start/ finish the wrong direction.  The ONLY thing to do was to go back the way I'd come and sure enough I didn't have to go far and saw to see where I'd missed a turn.

Any hope of beating my time of 6:28 from 2 years ago was not going to happen now.  I figured I'd lost about a half hour.  On top of that I was just over halfway and pretty tired.  There was nothing to do besides keep moving.

Again, I was pretty pleased with the amount of running I was able to do.  I finally got to the 2nd aid station and was feeling good about things.  Only a quarter way to go to the finish now and I'll have the satisfaction of having another marathon under my belt.  I reflected on how lucky I was to be on the verge of wrapping up my 20th year of running at the end of the month.  What an incredible journey it's been.  Little did I know I was patting myself on the back a little early.

I stuffed down some calories and refilled my bottle again and headed out on the last 7ish miles feeling good about things.  That didn't last long.

At about the 22 mile mark I was on a fairly benign part of the trail and stepped wrong on a rock and rolled my right ankle badly.  I went down hard.  I layed there for a few seconds and tried to gather myself.  I was seeing stars and my ankle hurt like hell but I was able to get up using a tree to brace myself.  I stood there for a minute or so and tried to assess how badly my ankle was hurt.  I started slowly walking forward and even though it hurt like hell I was sure it wasn't broken.  4 miles to go and now I'm really screwed.  All I could do was keep moving and be very, very careful with every step the rest of the way.  I could not afford to have anymore mishaps now.

I kept walking and was able to actually do just a little bit of slow running on some flat smooth parts of the trail.  On and on I kept moving as quickly as I safely could until I got to the final aid station with 2.2 miles remaining.

Amazingly enough my time wasn't looking too bad.  I couldn't believe it.  All I could think of was how lucky I am to still be out here doing my thing.  I kept moving and moving and finally the finish was in sight.  Considering all that had happened I was very happy with my 6:42 finish time.  All in all including DNF's and everything this was the 59th time I've covered the 26.2 mile distance.  It was sure eventful AND satisfying!!!

coach

Nice easy half mile doggie walk this morning.  I hope this doesn't get me in trouble with my coach!!

doggie

Coach Shan has told me it's not a good idea for doggie walks for the time being so we're getting in plenty of keep away time in the backyard.  Yes, I said keep away......

doggie

REALLY easy half mile walk with doggie this morning!!

One mile doggie walk this morning!!

last run

One mile easy with Ellie and then an easy 4 with Shan this morning.  This was my last run before the marathon this Saturday.  All that's left is a bunch of stretching and positive visualization.

family

3 mile family run/ walk in the neighborhood this morning!!!

92

4 miles with Misty Saturday morning and a one mile doggie walk this morning to wrap up a 92 mile month. 

good times

1 mile run/walk with doggie followed by a 5 miler with Shan in the 'hood!!  Good times!!

2nd best

2 mile run/walk with doggie real easy this morning.  A little hard to believe but after tomorrow morning's run I'll my 2nd best April in the last 7 years!!

positive

21 miles today.  I'm very pleased with my effort and run time of 4:30.  I've sort of been in a funk for a few days and didn't really feel like running.  I've always done my long runs on Saturday but the weather was potentially rainy with a pretty cool temp and with the funk I've been in it was easy to bail on it.   I went to bed early enough last night for a good nights sleep and didn't get up till 630.  I got busy and got downtown to Townlake for an 8am start.  It sure felt like a late start and I was looking for any reason to bail. 

I parked in the small parking lot at Riverside and Lamar and headed east.  I did the I35- Lamar loop first for 4 miles.  I replenished and headed west towards Mopac.  I was using my Runkeeper app so I didn't need to worry about keeping track of my mileage.  When I got to the 1 mile footbridge I took a left and ran thru Zilker over to the Barton Creek Greenbelt trailhead.  It was an interesting thing flashing back to all the longs runs me and my running friends used to do starting in that parking lot.  I turned around and then finished the Mopac/1st street loop.  That put me at a total of 9.3 miles.  I was starting to feel pretty good and realized I was nearly halfway through my mileage goal of 20 miles.  At this point I decided to really change things up and headed down South Lamar Blvd.  I went a little over 2 miles and turned around.  On the way back all the crap I ate the day before started rebelling on me.  I think the Ensure I drank got everything stirred up.  I'm running back north on Lamar looking for any prospective place to duck in and relieve myself.  I spotted a construction site across the street at one point and ran over there only to find all 3 porto potties without paper.  All along I knew I had the McDonalds coming up.  Now there was no not stopping there.  I just hoped the cash register people were not facing the door I was going to walk through.  Thankfully they weren't.  I made a mad dash into the restroom, nobody else was in there and the only toilet was empty and clean.  Oh my, what a relief that was!!  I took care of business and ran the rest of the way back to the truck.  I was at approximately 13.7 miles then so I did the I35/ Lamar loop again to get to 17 plus.  I was getting bored with Townlake so I thought I'd cross the water again and do an out and back on the Shoal Creek walkway and check out the new construction.  That was a big fail.  I didn't get very far and it was all shut down.  I walked across an old footbridge headed east and turned north at Nueces street.  I could have gotten the rest of my mileage downtown but didn't think it was wise to be navigating busy downtown streets in my fatigued condition so I turned west on 5th and headed towards Lamar.  At my last stop point I had decided to go ahead and go for the 21 mile mark.  I knew I'd have just a little more confidence going into the marathon knowing I'd at least split the mileage difference between the 25k and the marathon.  I got back to Townlake and knew I needed at least another mile and a half so I headed east again.  I got to 1st street and checked my mileage and sure enough needed a mile.  I went ahead and ran west again but crossed Riverside before the train trestle and went through the new park on that side and it went all the way through to Barton Springs Rd.  It's a very nice little park.  I ran west and turned on Lamar and didn't have far to go for my 21 and then walked it in.

All in all I'm really happy with the way the day turned out.  I know I'm not in the greatest shape to be attempting the marathon distance in 2 weeks but I'm chomping at the bit to get another one under my belt.  It's been a long time.  I really think the core and strengthening stuff I've been doing fairly steadily really helped today.  Hells Hills is definitely not a difficult course but it's not Townlake either.  At the 3:21 (Hells Hills finish time) point today I was at 16 miles so I'm going to count that as a positive too.....

doggie walk

2 mile doggie walk this morning, didn't feel much like running.  We sure do enjoy our morning walks together!!

reality

2 really easy run/ walk miles with doggie this morning.  Back to reality tomorrow.  Me and Shan have 7 miles planned!!

doggie

Good loop at Kens yesterday and a one mile walk with doggie this morning!

dancing

I had a later than normal evening Wednesday and then didn't sleep well, so I slept in and got in a one mile doggie walk instead of joining Shan.  I think that was the right thing to do, I'm still recovering from my Saturday effort.

This morning me and doggie did an easy 2 and then I got in 2 more solo miles.  It's gonna be a long day.  On top of getting up early I'm opening and closing at work and then we're going country dancing this evening!  It's all worth it to see the smile on Misty's face when we're dancing though.  She just loves it!

easy

Easy 2 mile run in the hood with doggie and new Hoka's!!

focus

Saturday I ran the Hells Hills 25k in 3:21.  It was great being out there running on the trails in the woods and I was very pleased with my effort.  I pushed myself really hard and hadn't done that in quite a long time.  One area I really need to work on is to stop focusing on my accomplishments from years ago and try to be more appreciative of what I'm able to accomplish now. 

I'm planning on running Pandora's Box of Rox next month but haven't decided on a distance yet.  My heart says 26.2 but my brain says 13.1.  I'll probably go with my heart.....

doggie

2 mile run/ walk with doggie yesterday morning and a 1 mile walk with doggie this morning.  We sure do enjoy our mornings together!!

super easy

Me and Misty got in a super easy 4 miles at Townlake this morning.  She was still super sore from jumping back into bootcamp Thursday so we mixed in a lot of walking.  Very nice morning, so happy winter is gone!!

Great morning

9 mile morning today!!  One easy mile warm up run/walk with doggie.  Then Shan and I did 7 in the 'hood averaging just under 11 minute miles.   After I showered, ate and got ready for work me and doggie did another one mile walk!!  Great morning for sure!!

lost and confused

13 rocky hilly technical miles this morning.  Just what I needed.  Great long run 2 weeks out from Hells Hills.  I attempted to do a 9 mile loop that some friends used to run on Wednesday evenings.  Somehow I got lost and ended up heading back up the HOL with about 4 in the bag.  I refilled my bottle, headed back down the HOL and was successful going the other way.  I did get a little confused but I got it figured out.  That's a challenging trail.  I really love it!!

time on feet

Got a late start in the warmth and humidity this morning.  I parked under the bridge at I35 and did the Pleasant Valley loop.  Even though I was ready to bail I sucked it up, refilled my bottle and did the I35 /Lamar for a total of 8 miles.  It wasn't pretty but I'll take it.  It was good time on feet.

plan

It's really nice when a plan comes together.   My Thursday morning running pals weren't able to join me so I ran in the 'hood instead of going downtown.  I did two 4 mile loops.  The first one with doggie and the 2nd one solo.  On the 2nd loop I pushed real hard the first half and backed off the 2nd half.  Great run!!

Ken's

Pretty good morning of running Saturday.   I did 3 miles in the 'hood with doggie and then drove over to Ken's and did one loop.  My plan was to do 5 with doggie but she was too freaked out by all the road traffic so we cut it short.  From now on if I need to get in some good miles on Saturday I'll just do one mile in the 'hood with doggie and then head to the trail.  She's too erratic to count on for miles.  Had a great loop at Ken's, 1:15ish!!

happy

Great run this morning!!  Shan and I started at 5:45 and did the 7 mile loop at Townlake in 1:15!!  The only walking we did was up the ramp at I-35.  10:35 miles aren't very impressive but it's improvement for me and that's what matters now.  Including the easy 1 mile run/walk with doggie this morning that's 12 miles the last two days!!  Things are looking up for my running and that makes me very happy!! 

doggie

Had to cut this mornings run with doggie short.  We went down Dull Knife first and visited with Sam and Ruska but when we turned onto Thunder Creek doggie started lagging back.  After a minute I realized the last time we were over here the big trash truck was making it's rounds and she was probably remembering that.  We turned right on Angus and headed back to Duval and she was good and back in the lead.  She's a funny shell shocked doggie but we love her anyway!!

strong

Shan, Sam and I had a great Mopac/ Congress loop this morning. We ran it in 51:30!!  I felt strong at the end too, really happy!!

doggie

5 miles in the 'hood with doggie this morning.

rain

Me and Misty got in 6 miles at Townlake this morning.  Thankfully we dodged the rain!!

acid

It's looking like I'm a go for the Tinajas 13.1 in 2 weeks.  I had a great 10+ miler at Barton Creek Saturday morning.  10.23 miles in 2:31 for 14:48 mpm.  I did Rudy's loop twice finishing coming up the POS trail so I got in lots of elevation.  That should serve me well at Tinajas.

Yesterday I made the mistake of taking doggie to Townlake to do the Mopac/ Congress loop.  She was so freaked out the entire time.  She easily expended enough energy for us to have gone 10 miles from being frantic and running away from people, sounds and things.  I never heard of a dog being so freaked out about seemingly regular sights and sounds.  It's like she's taken some acid and is on total sensory overload.  I've vowed now that that's the last time I'll try that.  From now on we'll stick to the woods.  She's fine there.  I had thought about doing Kens loop but the last time I took her out I rolled and ankle pretty good so I was stressing on that a bit.  I'll just have to be more careful when I'm with her in the woods.

getting there

6 miles this morning.  1 easy warm up run/walk mile with doggie and then a harder 5 in the 'hood.  Ran 53:44, 10:42 per mile.  I feel like I'm getting there!!

400 miles

Me and Misty and doggie got in a 4 miler at Townlake Saturday and me a doggie got in a 5 miler yesterday morning in the 'hood.  Saturday's miles got doggie over the 400 mile mark since we got her!!

hurts so good

The nasty weather kept me inside this morning.  I worked the foam roller instead!!  It's hurts so good....

14:01

I had a good run at Forest Ridge yesterday.  For a change I left the voice volume on my Runkeeper app on.  It really worked out good with the voice giving me updates on elapsed time, minutes per mile and distance traveled.  As I got going I began to focus on listening to the minutes per mile.  After a few miles I set a goal of trying to stay under 14 minutes per mile for the whole 7 miles.   It really made me push myself harder than I normally would have and ended up having really good time for as few miles as I've run this year.  The distance seemed a bit short at 7.18 but I was really happy with my finish time of 1:40:33.  The funny part is that ended up at a 14:01 pace!  That's okay, it'll be a great goal in the future to get that down.  The really cool part is that I've been running out there for 18 years and my benchmark for that course is typically in the 1:30-1:35 range so I was very happy with yesterday's time.  It also tells me if I can continue this positive progress I should be good to at least limp through the Tinajas 13.1 in 4 weeks!!  One more positive note is that my right foot/ plantar seems to be in pretty good shape too!!  It's not perfect but I seem to be managing it okay.....

starting

Me and doggie got in a good 4 miler in the 'hood this morning.  We were actually pretty slow but I did the 3rd mile in 10:30!!  Woohoo!!  After being sick for over a week I almost feel like I'm starting back from scratch but at least I'm STARTING!!

goals

I'm still not over whatever kind of cold I've got although I feel pretty good.  Me and doggie got in a real easy 3 mile run/ walk this morning.  My last run was fricking 10 days ago....ugh.  Oh well, at least I'm plugging along and have some goals.  That's the important thing.

retrain my brain

I planned on running this morning but me and doggie slept in.  The bed was just too comfy.  I've been sick for over a week and have done nothing but sit at work and at home so I thought it might be better if I take one more day off and get in some stretching before I get back out there.  We'll get in an easy 4 to top off a big 30 mile month.  Trying to retrain my brain to not be such a slave to the mileage, just enjoy being back out there.  I've targeted Hells Hills 25k in April and Pandora 26.2 in Burnet in May!!

cold

I really wanted to get up and run this morning but I think I'm getting a cold.  I'm slamming my body with vitamin C.  For breakfast, snack and lunch I'm having 2 blender fulls of 5 bananas, 2 apples, oatmeal, generous portions of blueberries, greens and 2 protein drinks.  I'm sure hoping I can stay ahead of this crap.  I did get in some good floor time with early morning coffee!!

cedar

My original intention was to get up early and run this morning but I bailed.   After I got home from work yesterday I felt like crap and ended up in bed by 6:45.  When my alarm went off at 4:30 this morning I thought I might be feeling better but rolled back over and dozed for an hour.

The morning wasn't a total loss though.  I did 4 sets of my ab exercises and mixed in pushups and jumping jacks too.  We'll give it another go tomorrow. Hopefully I'll have enough drugs in me to stave off the cedar by tomorrow!!

p.s.  me and doggie did get in a half mile walk this morning!!

floor time

My plan was to get up early and run this morning but I think I got a nose full of cedar while watching football in the garage yesterday afternoon.  So far this year the cedar hasn't affected me but I had a scratchy throat in the night, did some coughing and didn't sleep well at all.  I used some Flonase this morning.  I sure hope it will help.

I did get in some solid floor time while drinking my coffee this morning though.  That always makes me feel good.  I'm trying not to get too excited but I'm pretty sure my foot is improving.  I think the key is going back to a whole bunch of daily stretching in my hip/glute/hamstring areas.

100 mile

Me and Misty did the Pleasant Valley/ Lamar loop (7.5 miles) at Townlake this morning in 1:32, 12:18 miles.  Even though the last 1 1/2- 2 miles felt a little like finishing a 100 miler we did it.  On all of my runs I can feel my plantar/ heel barking at me a little but it's not anything bad and I've had no major discomfort post run or the day after.  I'd call it a 2 at most on a pain scale.  With the longer distance today the neuroma in the same foot flared up the last 2 miles also.  I sure wish Hoka made a wider toebox shoe that worked for me.  I have a new Altra that I'm looking to get soon though.  So far so good with the ramping up of milege......I think.  I'll know later today.  I'm wearing my sleeping boot now as I sit in my chair typing.....

doggie

Thankfully the weather has gotten back to normal temps.  After a 4 day layoff me and doggie got in a half mile walk yesterday evening and this morning!!

doggie

Got in a 4 miler early this morning in the 'hood.  It was pretty cold so I decided not to take doggie.  When I got home doggie Mommie was not happy.  Apparently doggie knew I was headed out for a run without her so she paced and whined the whole time I was gone.  Yikes!!  I need to get her some cold weather booties!!

My run went really good.  My time was 45:38 and that includes an almost 4 minute cool down walk!  I actually felt more like a runner than I have since I got fired up.  Now to start eating right and doing some other exercise.  My weighing in at just shy of 205lbs probably isn't going to work.  I realized the other day I weigh 20lbs more than I did for my first marathon 19 years ago....

ankles

Got in a slow run/hike with doggie yesterday.  We went down Rudy's, along the main trail, passed the HOL towards the dam and then up the POS trail.  I tweeked my left ankle (bad ankle) a little before we even veered off the HOL going down, tweeked it again a few minutes later.  And before I'd even made it 15 minutes I rolled my right ankle (good ankle) enough to scream out in pain.  I couldn't believe it!!  I walked a bit and the pain subsided and I continued on without anymore mishaps.  I hate to even put my time down but I feel like for training sake I should.

1:17 for exactly 5 miles!!  DON'T LAUGH!!

foot

Myself, Lovie and doggie got in a good 3 miler in the 'hood this morning!!  I believe this is my 4th 3 miler since I started back shuffling.   The foot still isn't 100% but it seems to cooperating fairly well!!

3 mile

Got it a 3 mile run/walk with Lovie Saturday morning and another 3 miler with doggie this morning!!   I've been doing lots of stretching and using the foam roller.  Hells Hills here I come!!

great

2 mile run/ walk with doggie this morning.  It felt great to be out there.  Got in some pretty good stretching afterwards.  I'm going to wear the boot at work all day today and see if keeping my foot at 90 degrees all day is beneficial.   The plan right now is to repeat tomorrow morning!!

baby steps

The morning of New Years Eve me and doggie did a 2 mile run/ walk in the 'hood.  It was really, really cold but it was very nice to be getting some activity.  My foot felt a little weird off and on through that day but it felt fine yesterday.  We'll see how it goes with the baby steps......