Sweat-Soaked Shoes on Christmas: Week 15

94¼ miles for the week (December 22nd to 28th)
Three more weeks until the Houston Marathon

M AM – 4¾ miles recovery run, average pace 8:25 mpm, 42°F at 4AM
M PM - 6¼ miles recovery run, average pace 8:19 mpm, 48°F at 9PM
Tu AM – 4 miles recovery run, average pace 8:18 mpm, 64°F at 4AM
Tu PM - 6¼ miles recovery run, average pace 8:11 mpm, 69°F at 9PM
W - 13 miles with one mile hard four times, average pace 7:24 mpm, 74°F at 11AM and very humid
Th AM – 15 miles, average pace 7:34 mpm, 75°F at Noon, very warm and humid, shoes were sweat-soaked on mile 11
Th PM - 4 miles recovery run, average pace 8:18 mpm, foggy 71°F at 9PM
F - 12 miles general aerobic, average pace 7:18 mpm, 76°F from 10:45 AM still very humid and windy
Sa – 11 miles recovery run, average pace 8:20 mpm, 75°F at 10:30AM still very humid and windy
Su – 18 miles, average pace 7:08 mpm, wanted to run 22 miles but just ran out of time, a nice and cool 49°F starting at 3:40PM

I actually ran all of the scheduled doubles this week. Well, sort of ran them all; Saturday was supposed to be a 6 and 4 recovery double but I just ran 11 easy miles all together. Tuesday through Saturday was a long stretch of unusually warm and humid weather. I know if January 18th is anything like those days, even sub-3 is out the window.

Week 14: Trying to Get Back on Track Again

83¾ miles for the week (December 15th through 21st)
Four more weeks until the Houston Marathon

M – 11 miles general aerobic, average pace 7:04 mpm, 47°F at 5PM, vacation day
Tu – 15¾ miles, average pace 6:59 mpm, 45°F at 3PM with fog and mist, vacation day
W - 11 miles recovery run, average pace 8:39 mpm, 61°F at 5PM with more fog and mist, vacation day
Th – 6¾ miles general aerobic, average pace 7:22 mpm, more fog 66°F at 4AM
F - 11 miles general aerobic, average pace 6:57 mpm, 72°F from 4:30 PM and soaked in sweat
Sa – 9 miles recovery run, average pace 8:28 mpm, 76°F at 2PM
Su – 20 miles, average pace 7:16 mpm, windy but a nice and cool 52°F starting at 2PM

My first week above 80 miles. I was just trying to bring the mileage back up this past week. Now I'm going to try and get back on the original training plan with some 1200s this week.

Off Track Again: Week 13

Houston Marathon Training Week 13
29¾ miles for the week (December 8th to December 14th)

M – 9 miles recovery run, average pace 8:21 mpm, 71°F at 10:40AM, vacation day [SeaC/SSTrail-2M/SeaC]
Tu - 16 miles, average pace 7:25 mpm, 74°F and a strong Gulf breeze at 10:30AM, vacation day [Oak-OCD-SOaks-RR-Oak//SeaC/SSTrail/SeaC]
W – 4¾ miles recovery run, average pace 8:25 mpm, 39°F at 4AM and windy [Dow]
Th – missed
F - missed
Sa – missed
Su – missed

That's right, four missed days in a row. Just before my run on Thursday, we had to make an emergency trip to North Central Texas to work on our old house. I still own a house up in Glen Rose, near Texas's other nuclear power plant. We had a renter up until a couple months ago and now we're finally selling it. But the furnace wasn't working during Wednesday's big cold front (it was even colder up in Glen Rose). We went up Thursday to prevent the pipes from freezing and stayed through Sunday night. There was plenty of physical work but no running. I prefer living near Houston, but I still have fond memories of that old house and Glen Rose. It was difficult to work in an empty room that 18 to 23 years ago was overflowing with books. I would spend at least an hour every evening in that room reading to my kids before they would go to sleep. They were so different back then. I was different back then too.

That's my excuse for missing the 30K race. I think I've run every 30K since 1997 up until now. I'm still not sure how my my training is going. But I doubt I would have raced well yesterday with the warm and humid temperatures.

There are only three more solid marathon training weeks left. Sometimes I want to go out and run hard each week with mileage in the 90s and at other times I think it would be best to focus on a Spring marathon.

What a Change!

Yesterday I ran 16 miles soaked in sweat. The temperature was in the mid-70s and the dewpoint was in the low-70s. By the end of the run, my shoes were leaving wet footprints. Tonight it's snowing.

Week 12

Houston Marathon Training Week 12
78¾ miles for the week (December 1st to December 7th)

M – 9 miles recovery run, average pace 8:14 mpm, 55°F at 10AM, vacation day [SeaC/SSTrail-2M/SeaC]
Tu - 5¾ miles general aerobic, average pace 7:11 mpm, 40°F at 4AM [Dow/BS]
W – 15 miles, average pace 7:12 mpm, 77°F at 10AM, vacation day [SeaC/SSTrail-4x2M/SeaC]
Th – 9 miles recovery run, average pace 8:25 mpm, 52°F at Noon, vacation day [SeaC/SSTrail-2M/SeaC]
F - 13 miles, average pace 6:51 mpm, 48°F from 1PM, the last two miles were under 6:20 pace [SeaC/SSTrail-3x2M/SeaC]
Sa – 9 miles recovery run, average pace 8:26 mpm, 61°F at 1PM very nice sunny day [SeaC/SSTrail-2M/SeaC]
Su – 17 miles, average pace 7:05 mpm, 62°F to 59°F starting at 4PM, [SeaC/SSTrail-5x2M/SeaC]


I'd planned on running 20 miles Sunday, but the water supply pipe outside my house broke open Sunday morning. After a few trips to the home supply store, I was able to turn the water back on and squeeze in 17 miles before it got dark.
This wasn't a bad week. I was a able to run 15 miles on Wednesday at a decent pace despite a warm and humid day. Friday's 13 miler included a 13:01 SeaC return, my second fastest ever. And Sunday's 17-miler was also fairly quick despite having to squeeze it in at the last minute. I still haven't even signed up for Sunday's 30K race. I have no idea what I can do. The 30K has been very kind to me. I'm probably one of the only people in the Houston Area who enjoys running this race. I think the 1:57:07 (6:17 pace) in 2005 was one of my best races ever. I looked at my log from 2005 and I'm actually running the hard runs faster now than I was back then. But I can barely conceive running over 18 miles at 6:17 pace now. Sunday's forecast doesn't look very good, with a strong Gulf flow predicted. The 30K isn't very fun in those conditions.

Did anyone else see DianaH's time at the California International Marathon? Wow! What an awesome race!

Trying to Get Back on Track - Houston Marathon Training Weeks 8, 9, 10, and 11

Houston Marathon Training Week 8
70¼ miles for the week (November 3rd to November 9th)

M AM – 7 miles recovery run, average pace 8:30 mpm, 74°F at 9AM, waiting to go to work for more refueling outage inspections [SeaC/SSTrail/SeaC]
M PM – missed
Tu AM – 5¼ miles recovery run, average pace 8:30 mpm, 70°F at 4AM [Dow/Ol]
Tu PM – missed
W AM - 5¾ miles general aerobic, average pace 7:28 mpm, 75°F at 4AM [Dow/BS]
W PM – 10 miles on the track, average pace 6:59 mpm, 76°F at 7PM and completely soaked in sweat [B’Wood track]
Th AM – 5¼ miles recovery run, average pace 8:44 mpm, 74°F at 4AM [Dow/Ol]
Th PM – missed
F - 11 miles, average pace 7:34 mpm, this was supposed to be 12 miles with 6 miles at LT pace, but my left knee was bothering me so I took it easy, 67°F from 9AM [SeaC/SSTrail-2x2M/SeaC]
Sa – 8¾ miles recovery run, average pace 9:15 mpm, 76°F at 11:30AM, left knee still bothering me [SeaC/SSTrail-MBT/SeaC]
Su – 17¾ miles, with a 25K race at average pace 6:41 mpm, 50°F to 64°F at Hobby starting at 7AM, [Memorial Drive]



Houston Marathon Training Week 9
35½ miles for the week (November 10th to November 16th)

M AM – 4 miles recovery run, average pace 9:11 mpm, 74°F at 4AM [Dow-]
M PM – missed
Tu AM – missed, 70°F at 4AM
Tu PM – missed
W AM - missed, 66°F at 4AM
W PM – missed
Th AM – missed, 63°F at 4AM
Th PM – missed
F - 9 miles, average pace 7:25 mpm, this was supposed to be 13 miles but I took it easy, 79°F from 3PM [SeaC/SSTrail-2M/SeaC]
Sa – 7 miles recovery run, average pace 8:26 mpm, 53°F at 6PM [SeaC/SSTrail/SeaC]
Su – 15½ miles, average pace 7:11 mpm, felt pretty good but kept it short to avoid re-injury, 55°F starting at Noon very nice and sunny [FWRes-MacL/SSTrail4x2M/SeaC]



Houston Marathon Training Week 10
56¼ miles for the week (November 17th to November 23rd)

M AM – missed 46°F at 4AM
M PM – missed
Tu AM – 5¾ miles general aerobic, average pace 6:51 mpm, 50°F at 4AM [Dow/BS]
W – 8 miles on the track, average pace 6:55 mpm, this was supposed to be 600s but I just ran a slowly increasing speed run, 67°F at 7PM [B’Wood track]
Th AM – 4 miles recovery run, average pace 8:10 mpm, 62°F at 4AM [Dow-]
Th PM – missed
F AM - 13 miles, average pace 7:08 mpm, 55°F from 1PM [SeaC/SSTrail-3x2M/SeaC]
F PM – missed
Sa – 8½ miles recovery run, average pace 9:02 mpm, 66°F at 1PM [SeaC/SSTrail-MBT/SeaC]
Su – 17 miles, average pace 7:45 mpm, 76°F at 11AM, [FWRes/SSTrail5x2M/SeaC]



Houston Marathon Training Week 11
76¾ miles for the week (November 24th to November 30th)

M AM – 4¾ miles recovery run, average pace 8:55 mpm, 71°F at 4AM [Dow]
M PM – missed
Tu – 11 miles general aerobic, average pace 7:36 mpm, 62°F at 11AM, vacation day [SeaC/SSTrail-2x2M/SeaC]
W – 15 miles, average pace 7:36 mpm, 73°F at 1PM, vacation day [SeaC/SSTrail-4x2M/SeaC]
Th AM – missed 64°F at 6AM
Th PM – missed, Thanksgiving Day nap instead
F AM - 13 miles, average pace 7:22 mpm, 80°F from 2PM, this was supposed to be 12 with 7 miles at LT but I didn't feel capable of an LT run in this heat and humidity [SeaC/SSTrail-3x2M/SeaC]
F PM – missed
Sa – 9 miles recovery run, average pace 8:22 mpm, 64°F at 4PM [SeaC/SSTrail-2M/SeaC]
Su – 24 miles, average pace 7:20 mpm, 61°F to 64°F starting at 11AM, [Oak-OCD-SOaks-Oak//SeaC/SSTrail-4x2M/SeaC]


November was not a good month. I ran the 25K race poorly. I took three days off to help my left knee, but the problem didn't completely go away. The 24-miler was encouraging. The last 6 miles were all under 7mpm. Last year's 24-miler was better, but I am hoping I can get back on track and still run a good marathon in January.

A Few Pictures from the Trails

I finally managed to extract the pictures from my cellphone. The quality isn't very good, but here are a few pictures I took during some of my runs.

I was running the dirt road along the reservoir when I saw a small fawn run into the grass just ahead of me. I stopped and slowly approached the area where the fawn went into the grass and got within a few feet of it to take this picture. Amazing how well it blends into the grass.


This cropped version might show the fawn a little better. The fawn has it's head turned back towards the camera so both eyes and both ears should be visible.


Here the fawn finally had enough of me and took of down toward the reservoir.


Of course there are always plenty of snakes on the trails.




This is the only coral snake I saw this year.



Here's a hawk feather on the reservoir trail.


Flowers on the beach.


Water hyacinths on the fresh water canal.


Blackberries from this Spring.


The reservoir road.


November is armadillo season along the trail.

A Running Sabbatical but Motivation Still Down

After the 25K I took a running sabbatical. Three solid days of morning rain was all I needed to sleep in. After a few days rest, I was hoping my left leg would be fine and I could get after the rest of the training schedule. The leg is better but I still get occasional reminders something might be wrong. I don't know if it's just psychological, but it's ruined my motivation. I had a couple good runs in the cool weather last week but I'm missing something. I stall before going out on weekend runs. The motivation just isn't there.

25K Race

I must admit I was pretty disappointed with my performance. The temperature was cool, the air was dry, there was only a light East wind. I honestly expected to run this race near 6:20 pace. But I didn't.

Congratulations to my age group rival RobW who ended up with first place in the AG! Rob and I both lived on the fifth floor at Rice's Sid Richardson College way back in 1978-1979. It's great to see another Sid Rich person taking the hardware.

Here are the splits:
1 - 6:20, 149 bpm
2 - 6:23, 12:43, 159 bpm
3 - 6:28, 19:11, 162 bpm
4 - 6:01, 25:12, 162 bpm this mile was short
5 - 7:02, 32:15, 161 bpm
6 - 6:30, 38:45, 159 bpm
7 - 6:22, 45:07, 162 bpm
8 - 6:35, 51:42, 162 bpm
9 - 6:43, 58:25, 162 bpm
10 - 6:55, 1:05:21, 160 bpm
11 - 6:54, 1:12:16, 158 bpm
12/13 - 13:37, 1:25:53, 158 bpm
14 - 7:05, 1:32:58, 157 bpm
15 - 7:12, 1:40:10, 159 bpm
15.53 - 3:43, 1:43:53, 161 bpm

I'm seriously considering taking a few days off from running. My left knee is still giving me problems.

Here's AdrienneL whizzing by me at the start of the third loop:

Photo by S.Walk

Warning Signs: Week 7

78¼ miles for the week (October 27th to November 2nd)

M (1) – 8 miles recovery run, average pace 8:30 mpm, sunny and windy 66°F at 2PM, waiting to go to work for the final refueling outage inspections [SeaC/SSTrail-1M/SeaC]
M (2) – 4½ miles recovery run, average pace 8:53 mpm, 63°F at 6PM, still waiting to go to work [FlagR-P-P/Ol]
Tu – missed a scheduled 11 mile run with 5 miles at LT, was woken by a call to go to work and didn’t make it home until nearly midnight, 47°F at 4AM
W AM - 10 miles general aerobic, average pace 7:03 mpm, a nice and cool 47°F at 6:30AM, slept in a little and went to work at 10AM [SeaC/Dow/MacLSSTrail/SeaC]
W PM – 7 miles on the track, average pace 6:33 mpm, with 5 miles at LT - average pace 6:15 mpm, 65°F at 7PM [B’Wood track]
Th – 6¼ miles recovery run, average pace 8:25 mpm, 66°F at 4AM [Dow/BS/Ol]
F - 15 miles medium long run, average pace 7:26 mpm, 76°F from 11AM [SeaC/SSTrail-4x2M/SeaC]
Sa – 5¾ miles recovery run, average pace 8:06 mpm, 65°F at 5AM, had to work on this Saturday [Dow/BS]
Su – 21¾ miles, average pace 7:31 mpm, 74°F to 76°F starting at 9AM, [Oak-OCD-Soaks-BCC-Oak//SeaC/SSTrail-2M1M/SeaC]

This was another busy week at the power plant. Tuesday was my first zero mileage day since Hurricane Ike. I was able to run the tempo run Wednesday evening on the track and was very happy with the results. I felt very much in control, finishing the full five miles at LT with a 6:08 mile and feeling as though I could easily run a couple more at that pace. But on Friday I started getting a worrisome "niggle" from my left knee. Once every mile or so I'd get a strange feeling just after toe-off. The problem recurred during Sunday's long run. This has been a pretty fast buildup since Hurricane Ike. I really hope I haven't done too much too soon.

The weather looks decent for the 25K race. I'd really like to hammer this race, but I'm also concerned about aggaravating the left knee.

Catching Up: Houston Marathon Training Week 6

I've had a busy week with the power plant's Unit 2 finishing its refueling outage.


73¼ miles for the week (October 20th through the 26th)

M AM – 5¾ miles recovery run, average pace 8:43 mpm, 66°F at 4AM [Dow/BS]
M PM – missed
Tu – 11 miles, average pace 7:02 mpm, a pretty good run to squeeze in before work, 67°F at 4AM [Dow/Ol/Dow/BS]
W AM - 6¼ miles general aerobic, average pace 7:16 mpm, 72°F at 4AM [Dow/BS/Ol]
W PM – 8 miles on the track, average pace 6:57 mpm, 77°F at 7PM [B’Wood track]
Th – 7¼ miles recovery run, average pace 8:25 mpm, puddles from earlier rain 59°F and a strong N wind at 4AM [Dow/2xBS/Ol]
F - 10½ miles general aerobic, average pace 7:32 mpm, 53°F from 4AM felt wonderful, kept this run easy for Sunday's Half Marathon [Dow/Ol/Dow/Ol]
Sa – 7 miles recovery run, average pace 8:39 mpm, very nice 79°F in the bright sunshine at 11AM [SeaC/SSTrail/SeaC]
Su – 17½ miles, with a half marathon at average pace 6:21 mpm, 54°F to 62°F at Hobby Airport starting at 7AM, Koala/Lukes Houston Half Marathon[Allen Parkway]

This was a planned cutback week and the slightly reduced mileage fit well with Sunday's race. The power plant is finishing a refueling outage so I spent the weekend waiting to be called in to work and wondering whether I'd be able to run the half marathon. The schedule ended up slipping quite a bit and running into this week and this weekend. At least the 25K race should be safe.

Houston Half Marathon

The weather for today's Houston Half Marathon was much better than for the 10-Miler a couple of weeks ago. The result was two very different races. My time was decent, but I still have beaucoup work to do before the marathon. I was pleased congestion didn't get too bad on the triple-loop course. After running twelve Allen Parkway underpasses, everyone who ran this race should be ready for the last few miles of the Houston Marathon.

For a while on Friday, I was supposed to work at the power plant Sunday (and miss the race), but the schedule has slipped again and now I'm not sure whether I'll even work tomorrow morning or have to go in Monday night.

Here are the race results.
The splits seem well balanced. I'm not sure why the pace for the "halfs" are both faster than the overall pace for the entire race?

Here are my splits:
1 - 6:16, 146 bpm
2 - 6:18, 12:34, 156 bpm
3 - 6:24, 18:58, 158 bpm
4 - 6:24, 25:22, 157 bpm
5 - 6:23, 31:45, 157 bpm
6 - 6:18, 38:02, 158 bpm
7 - 6:26, 44:29, 159 bpm
8 - 6:16, 50:44, 160 bpm
9 - 6:29, 57:14, 160 bpm
10 - 6:20, 1:03:34, 159 bpm
11 - 6:34, 1:10:07, 160 bpm
12 - 6:21, 1:16:28, 162 bpm
13 - 6:13, 1:22:42, 166 bpm
13.11 - 0:34, 1:23:16.8, 171 bpm

Here's the heart rate chart:


Here are a couple of pictures taken by Mark Coleman. I ended up running much of the race with DianaH (she had one of the best "Go Mommy" cheering squads I've ever heard).


This one's pretty embarrassing. I really need to find band-aids that stay on when wet.


Here are the official pictures. The race started before sunrise, but with three loops back ddirectly east into the sun I knew I needed sunglasses. Wearing my sunglasses in the dark at the race start reminded me of this old 80's video.

Tuesday Night Update
We finally finished our end of outage work. Here's NSSS Engineering leaving the Reactor Containment Building (I'm in the middle).

I caught a few "zoomies" so I should be extra fast for the 25K race ;-)

First 20+ Long Run: Week 5

78½ miles for the week (October 13th through the 19th)

M AM – 7 miles recovery run, average pace 8:26 mpm, 81°F at 8:30AM, went to work after 10AM [SeaC/SSTrail/SeaC]
M PM – missed (at work)
Tu – 8¾ miles general aerobic, average pace 7:27 mpm, warm and humid with sweat-soaked shoes again, 78°F at 4AM [Dow/Dow-]
W AM - 8¾ miles general aerobic, average pace 7:07 mpm, 79°F at 4AM sweat-soaked shoes again [Dow/Dow-]
W PM – 8 miles on the track, average pace 7:14 mpm, 80°F at 7PM sweat-soaked shoes again [B’Wood track]
Th – 6¾ miles recovery run, average pace 8:36 mpm, occasional rain 79°F at 4AM [Dow/2xBS]
F - 9¼ miles general aerobic, average pace 6:55 mpm, 66°F from 4AM felt so much better [Dow/Dow-/Ol]
Sa – 9 miles recovery run, average pace 8:33 mpm, 79°F at 4PM [SeaC/SSTrail-2M/SeaC]
Su – 21 miles, average pace 7:26 mpm, 70°F to 75°F starting at 9AM, [SeaC/SSTrail-7x2M/SeaC]

The 21-miler was tougher than I thought it would be. I started out a little late, so the sun was warm, but the air was nice and dry. The air was so dry I even had salt deposits all over me after the run! But my body isn't used to the demands of a run that long. I was wiped out the rest of the day.

The weather looks pretty good for the Houston Half Marathon Sunday morning. The power plant is finishing a refueling outage so I could be called in to work anytime this weekend. I think the schedule should let me run Sunday morning. With the nice weather, I don't want to repeat last year.

Disappointing First Race.....Week 4

75¾ miles for the week

M AM – 4 miles recovery run, average pace 8:48 mpm, 78°F at 4AM [Dow-]
M PM – 7 miles recovery run, average pace 8:26 mpm, 84°F at 6PM [SeaC/SSTrail/SeaC]
Tu – 9½ miles general aerobic, average pace 7:23 mpm, started out fairly hard but the shoes were sweat-soaked by mile 6 and I crashed, 81°F at 4AM [2xDow]
W AM - 7¾ miles general aerobic, average pace 7:08 mpm, 61°F at 4AM and so much nicer than yesterday [SB/Dow/2xBS]
W PM – 7 miles on the track, average pace 6:51 mpm, 76°F at 7PM sun to stars [B’Wood track]
Th – 6¾ miles recovery run, average pace 8:49 mpm, a nice cool 61°F at 4AM [Dow/2xBS]
F - 9½ miles general aerobic, average pace 7:06 mpm, 69°F from 4AM [2xDow]
Sa – 7 miles recovery run, average pace 8:33 mpm, 79°F at 9AM [SeaC/SSTrail/SeaC]
Su – 17¼ total, with a 10-mile race at 6:37 mpm, 69°F at Pearland with the dewpooint in the upper 60s starting at 7AM, [UH-Clear Lake]

Sunday's USA Space City 10-Mile race was pretty disappointing. It was warm and humid but conditions could have been much worse. I ran like it was the middle of August. My shoes went sweat-soaked at six miles and the right insole of my new shoe folded up around mile 7 or 8. The new Saucony Tangent-3s have a very slick surface under the insole. I'd forgotten that the first pair of Tangent-3s I had earlier this year had done the same thing. I used that pair for the marathon and the Spring series, all in pretty decent weather. The only time I had a problem with the insole was during a humid 5K in Freeport. I'm hoping I won't have to deal with many more sweat-soaked shoe days....hah!

Here are the mile splits:
6:15, 6:29, 6:33, 6:39, 6:45
6:41, 13:40, 6:49, 6:23
At least I hit the first mile split.

Here's the heart rate chart:


The tail at the end is a short sprint to the finish. I'm not usually one to fight to the finish in a competitive dead sprint, especially at the end of a disappointing race like this one. But I was working on trying to catch the guy (JoseT) in front of me when someone yelled "Alright, Pass those two guys" and I saw MichelleF coming around us. I've never been concerned about being "chicked", but something about the way that person yelled that raised my competitive spirit. I pulled up with Michelle and she kept on speeding up. I felt a little silly sprinting in with a woman half my age, but I started pulling slightly ahead of her. I rounded the last corner wide, letting her take the shorter path to the finish. She gave another kick, but I was able to stay slightly ahead. We finished 0.2 seconds apart. I rarely sprint in, especially after so many slow miles, but in retrospect, it really was pretty fun.
Thankfully the offical race photographs only have me trying to catch JoseT. I'm #599.

Geek Note
The timing tags at the 10-miler were interesting. I'd never used those "D" tags before this race. They're UHF (ultra high frequency about 900MHz) RFID tags. I think they have to have the "D" shape because UHF doesn't pass through water (humans) very well. The "D" ensures the antenna is away from your foot. If you look through your tag at a strong light you can see the coils of the printed antenna near the race number. The good old reliable ChampionChip is an LF (low frequency about 134KHz) RFID system. The LF signal isn't attenuated by your body as bad as a UHF signal. The new "D" tags seem to have worked OK. It looks like the HMSA 25K is also using "D" tags.

992 Miles

After 992 miles on my shoes, I finally broke down and bought new shoes. I was able to find a pair of Saucony Tangent-3s at Running Warehouse.
They're the same model as the pair I had before my current shoes. I was able to buy them for few less dollars because they're not the same color as the current Tangent-3s. I ordered the new shoes Wednesday after work and they were at my door Friday, just in time for the 10-miler.

Here are the new shoes and the old Asics DS Trainers

From Nuke Runner

From Nuke Runner

From Nuke Runner

It's been a long time since those DS Trainers looked too white.

Week 3 of 18 Houston Marathon Training

70 miles for the week

M – 6 miles recovery run, average pace 8:33 mpm, 69°F at 4AM [Dow/BS/Ol]
Tu – 5¾ miles general aerobic fairly hard, average pace 7:03 mpm, this was a scheduled 4 mile LT run but I woke up too late, 71°F at 4AM [SB/Dow/BS]
W AM - 5¼ miles general aerobic, average pace 7:09 mpm, 69°F at 4AM [Dow/Ol]
W PM – 9 miles with 2x2 miles at LT, average pace 6:50 mpm, LT 2-milers were 12:34 and 12:31, 77°F at 7PM sun to stars [B’Wood track]
Th – 6 miles recovery run, average pace 8:22 mpm, a nice cool 64°F at 4AM [Dow/BS/Ol]
F - 13 miles general aerobic, average pace 7:24 mpm, 81°F from 9AM, sunny with a south wind but still relatively dry air [SeaC/SSTrail-3x2M/SeaC]
Sa – 8 miles recovery run, average pace 8:22 mpm, 83°F at 11AM [SeaC/SSTrail-1M/SeaC]
Su – 17 miles Long Run, 7:53 mpm, 82°F to 80°F starting at 4:30PM, worked all night long Saturday night so I delayed this run to the late afternoon [SeaC/SSTrail-5x2M/SeaC]


I wasn't too happy with my times for the LT run. Hopefully we'll have a cooler day for the 10-mile race on Sunday. This week wasn't too bad compared to Week 3 last year. The weather was even a little better this year.

If you've ever run the Surfside Marathon, you might recognize the course from these aerial pictures after Ike. I guess I won't be doing any bridge-and-beach runs for a while.

Back on Track: Week 2 of Houston Marathon Training

67¼ miles for the week

M – 5¾ miles recovery run, average pace 8:43 mpm, 73°F at 4AM [Dow/BS]
Tu – 6¾ miles general aerobic fairly hard, average pace 7:05 mpm, 76°F at 4AM [SB/Dow/BS]
W AM - 6¼ miles general aerobic, average pace 7:34 mpm, 79°F at 4AM [Dow/BS/Ol]
W PM – 7 miles with 4 miles at MP, average pace 6:42 mpm, 80°F at 7PM sun to stars [B’Wood track]
Th – 4¾ miles recovery run, average pace 8:26 mpm, 73°F at 4AM [Dow]
F - 11 miles general aerobic, average pace 7:32 mpm, 69°F from 6:50AM, beautiful sunrise to a blue sky [SeaC/SSTrail-2x2M/SeaC]
Sa – 7¾ miles with 2 miles in the HARRA Cross Country Relay Race, 87°F to 84°F at Hobby from 5 to 6PM, sun to sunset [Houston MemDrive Trail]
Su – 18 miles Long Run, 7:39 mpm, bright sun and a clear blue sky with nice dry air, 82°F to 84°F starting at 10:50AM with the dewpoint near 60°F [Oak-OCD-S.Oaks-RR-Oak//SeaC/SSTrail-2M/SeaC]

I actually had salt stains on me after Sunday’s long run. It’s amazing how nice the 80s can feel when the air isn’t so humid. This week ended up being very similar to Week 2 last year. The weather was even a little better this year.

Haile Gebrselassie

2:03:59 What an amazing set of 5Ks: the slowest was 14:51 and the 35K to 40K was 14:29. That's 4:40 to 4:47 per mile. I'd be lucky to keep up with him for a 400!



This is from an interesting analysis at The Science of Sport.

HARRA Cross Country Relay

The HARRA/Tornado's Cross Country Relay was my first race since July 4th. I didn't hit the right button on my watch, so I have no idea how well I ran. I know I ran it hard, because I lost my lunch a couple minutes after I finished. But I have no idea how my time compares to previous years.
I was hoping to run the third leg, but "Indio" didn't arrive until after the race started. So Abelino took the first leg, I ran the second leg and Wilmer ran the third leg. "Indio" was able to run the fourth leg. I didn't arrive very early, so even with the second leg I only ran about a half mile before the race.

With the confusion at the start, our team left the starting line in dead last.


"Indio" charging up "Jaime Hill"


More "Jaime Hill" pictures




El Presidenté



The trail near the bayou had a thick deposit of fine loose sand.






The start/finish and exchange area.

35 Years Running

Between my vacation and the hurricanes, I missed my 35th anniversary of running. I started running late in August 1973 as a 9th-grader with the Shrewsbury High School Cross Country team. I've been running ever since. There were several years when my children were young that I was only able to run once or twice a week. And I couldn't run much when I lived in a 440 foot long sewer pipe stuffed with 150 men, a nuclear reactor, a steam plant, and 16 ballistic missiles. But I'm running as much now as I was in 1973; maybe even a little faster ;)

Can you spot me in this picture?




How about the Winter Track team picture? We ran all of our races at the indoor track in Ashland (on the Boston Marathon route).

Ike Versus Week 1 of Houston Marathon Training

Most of Ike's impact on me was last week, with no running from Thursday through Sunday. I was "gun-shy" about violating the city's curfew to get my runs in before work, so this week was a gradual transition. I wasn't nearly as close to the Pfitz 18 week/70+ training plan as I was last year.


52½ miles for the week

M – 4½ miles recovery run, average pace 8:23 mpm, 72°F at 4:30AM. The nuke plant offered a hotel room in Matagorda with ELECTRICITY! [Matagorda]
Tu – 4 miles general aerobic fairly hard, average pace 7:01 mpm, 60s°F at 4AM First 60s for months!! I don't have the exact temperature because both the Clute and Angleton weather stations were still out of service for Ike [Dow-]
W – 5¾ miles, average pace 7:26 mpm, 65.2°F at 4AM [Dow/BS]
Th – 4 miles recovery run, average pace 8:54 mpm, 68°F at 4AM [Dow-]
F - 10¾ miles, average pace 7:53 mpm, 79°F at 10:30AM, sun with occasional clouds The trail is still "closed" and has several trees across it, but it's passable. [SeaC/SSTrail-BrazosRiverRoad/SeaC]
Sa – 7 miles recovery run, average pace 9:03 mpm, 82°F at nooon, sun and more humid [SeaC/SSTrail/SeaC]
Su – 16½ miles Long Run, 7:50 mpm, 76°F to 78°F starting at 9AM with the dewpoint well above 70°F [OaktoOCD-S.Oaks-RRT-Oak//SeaC/SSTrail/SeaC]

I saw three US Forest Service crews clearing trees on Oyster Creek Drive Sunday. There are over 1,000 lineman and treee clearers staying at the Lake Jackson Rec Center and Civic Center. It's a pretty amazing effort but over half the town still doesn't have electricity.

The HARRA Cross Country Relay is still on this Saturday despite Ike. I haven't raced for months, so I have no idea what I can run on that killer course. But I'm really looking forward to getting to see all of the Houston runners again after this long Summer.

Here's Monday morning's run through the metropolis of Matagorda (with a nice view of the nuke plant's cooling reservoir):

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IKE

18 foot storm surge






I sincerely hope our area (or any area) doesn't look like this Saturday morning.


With Ike on the way, I can't get this song out of my head.

I see a bad moon arising.
I see trouble on the way.
I see earthquakes and lightnin'.
I see bad times today.

Don't go around tonight,
Well, it's bound to take your life,
There's a bad moon on the rise.

I hear hurricanes a-blowing.
I know the end is coming soon.
I fear rivers overflowing.
I hear the voice of rage and ruin.

Don't go around tonight,
Well, it's bound to take your life,
There's a bad moon on the rise.
All right!

Hope you got your things together.
Hope you are quite prepared to die.
Looks like we're in for nasty weather.
One eye is taken for an eye.

Don't go around tonight,
Well, it's bound to take your life,
There's a bad moon on the rise.

Don't go around tonight,
Well, it's bound to take your life,
There's a bad moon on the rise.

Bad moon rising
Uploaded by unecricri

When a man collapses of a stroke, Marge Simpson tells her husband to do CPR. Homer Simpson desperately replies by singing, "I see a bad moon rising." Marge replies, "I said CPR, not CCR!"

What more can I say?

A Beautiful Weekend

After a warm, humid and sweaty Wednesday evening on the track, I woke to a nice cool (less than 80°F) and dry north wind Thursday morning. The cooler and much drier air stayed around all the way through Sunday morning. It was wonderful!
My only regret is I started my long run too late Sunday morning. Sunday had the lowest temperature in months, all the down to 71.4°F, but by the time I started my run the moister Gulf air was already heading inland. I was able to finish 13 miles at an acceptable pace, but I was hoping for 15.

This is the last week before the 18-week Houston Marathon training starts. I'm going to try using Pete Pfitzinger's 18-week 70+ miles per week plan from Advanced Marathoning.

Here's The Plan . I'm sure I'll have to make several changes to make it fit my crazy work schedule and to fit in the HARRA Fall Race Series. I think I'm ready to go, but I am worried about that first 17-miler on the 21st. Maybe we'll some even cooler temperatures by then? and Hurricane Ike will fizzle out before he reaches the Gulf?

Summer Break

I'm back to running in South Texas. It's still warm and humid, the mosquitoes are horrendous, and Hurricane Gustav threatens to come up the Gulf. But there is light up ahead. The constellation Orion is up in the eastern sky during the morning runs before work. When Orion is up, it's time to start serious training for the Houston Marathon. As training progresses Orion will slowly walk his way across the sky, and by the time the marathon taper comes he'll be walking along the edge of the western horizon.

I really needed the summer break. Running in the heat every day was wearing me down. Now that I'm back, it's still hot and humid but September is only a few days away and that first cool front can't be much farther away. It might not come until October, but that's still close enough to have hope. Those four runs in the UK reminded me how much more enjoyable running is when the conditions are decent. I'm excited about starting another Fall racing series. Bring it on!


Here's the Sunday early morning run through London to Regent's Park and Hyde Park (11 1/4 miles, 57*F with occasional light mist):

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Crieff Trails

This was a really fun run on the trails around Crieff in Perthshire Scotland.


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This was a very steep hill.








Big dumb American running through the woods


Up the trail to The Knock through the purple heather

UK08