TEXAS Paul - Out to Pasture - Healing

Ran the 10 mile Townlake trail with Karen. A great run. Took it real easy. Both of us are nursing our issues. This was my first run in 3 weeks.

Issues with my muscle disorder were relieved this past week after I increased the Prednisone dosage.

The pain in the right heel didn't bother me during the run. It has hurt for 2 months since the Motive 1/2 marathon. I have an appointment with Dr. Spears this next week, suspect a bone spur.

Goodness it felt good to do a run.

Ran at McNeil HS with Donnie's group. A great workout. Temp was about 55 degres or so. Most of the group had run the 20 mile race yesterday.

Ran the 2 mile incremental speed-up set with Karen H. and Stewart.

Texas temperature was about 70 degrees, but it seemed warmer. I had to remove my singlet after mile 3 to stay cooled down. Ran over at Florence HS track.

Today I went to see Dr. Spears about the pain in the right heel I have had for 2 months. It has done some healing over the past 10 days and felt almost better tonight. Dr. Spears said it was not a heel spur, but probably was a mild case of plantar fasciitis.

Dr. Spears said recent medical learning indicates plantar fasciatis is incorrectly named, because it has nothing to do with inflamation, but rather with the tear in the tendon. And he said my tear must have been mild enough that is is healing on its own.

I have been on 10mg of prednisone for the past 2 weeks, and am back down to 6mg now for the past 2 days. The 4mg that I was taking in November and December just didn't work, too much muscle pain. I felt great like a new man the past 2 weeks.

Back to running is great. I love it. Back to my prep for Boston. Only 14 weeks to get ready.

Wow, what a day for running.   Almost 7.5 inches of rain in south Austin today.  We met at the usual Saturday place, Austin High School tennis court parking lot under Mopac.  It had rained all night and was still raining hard.  We were parked under Mopac and the rain drains poured water like a water fall down on the parking lot.  We met Karen H, Steve S., Jason A and Renae A, and Karen F.  Despite the rain we decided to go for it about 6:15 AM, temp about 45 to 48 or so.
We did the 10 mile Townlake loop, and all the rain did was get worse, along with lightening all the way while we ran.  We were probably kind of stupid for doing it, but we did.  Throughout the run we were in water, sometimes up over our ankles.  Shoal Creek was flooding over the bank into Townlake, but we ran through it anyway.  The concrete spillway near the boat docks area was a wild rush of deep dangerous raging water.  Karen H. said that Jason initially stepped into it and then realized he would be swept away, so Steve gave him a hand and pulled him out.
Down at the 5 mile mark area where you cross over Longhorn Dam, on the sidewalk alongside the highway, a car drove by and hit a giant puddle of water and completely sprayed me and Karen.  It didn't make us any wetter since we were already soaked.
On the way back up at about mile 8, a big lightening bolt struck just on the other side of Townlake near I-35.  That one was way too close.  As soon as we saw the lightening we felt and heard the giant thunder, way too close. 
By the time we were done our feet were completely frozen.  We drove over to Karen's gym and took a shower in hot water to get warmed up, and changed into dry clothes.  Then Karen F, Karen H, and Lynn and I drove over to Maudie's and had breakfast.  Pete's Special was delicious again.  We all always order the same thing every week.  A great way to end a weekend run.   
We don't know if Tam and Joe and Angel and their marathon group ran this morning.  We didn't see hardly any other runners on the rainy trail this morning.  This run set a record for the worst conditions we have run in 8 years here in Texas, the least number of runners on the Townlake trail, the most lightening on any run, the most inspiring waterfalls of water pouring down from Mopac and from I-35, the first time Shoal Creek has flooded over its banks, and the coldest our feet have ever been in Texas.  This was a great run!!! 

Finally a sunny day after over a week of ice and rain.  Met Karen H. and Carey at Austin HS tennis court parking lot, underneath Mopac.  Ran Mt. Bonnell, then up to 2222, then over to Shoal Creek, down to Hancock, over to LaMar, down LaMar, then over to Shoal Creek trail which comes out on LaMar down town.  When we hit the Townlake trail we went down to the people bridge and crossed over to the other side, and then up the trail back to the Mopac bridge and we were done. 
This was a great run, proving to me how out of shape I am after hardly any running since mid November.  My Boston training really started today.  My goal for Boston is just to get healthy and have a decent run. 
I raised my dosage of prednisone to 8mg this past Thursday, 4mg in the morning and 4mg at night. 
One thing that throws a wrench in this upcoming week of running is that my wife's dad died today, so we will probably be driving to Utah and back this week.  It is a two day drive up, and a two day drive back.  I'll take my running clothes with me and see if I can squeeze anything in.   

Ran at McNeil HS with Donnie's group.  This turned out to be a great run considering how I limped in the last few miles yesterday to finish the 15 miles.  Karen H did a great job of pacing 4 or 5 of us through Donnie's specified workout, which was 2 miles with progressing faster paces.  The distances were 350 M run, then 50 M recovery, then repeat for a total of 2 miles.  A great workout.  Karen H said she would not have been able to keep the pace if I hadn't been right behind her.  I told her I wouldn't have been able to keep up the pace if she wouldn't have been right in front of me.  A great run.

At 2:30 AM Texas time, got back from our drive from the funeral in Utah and seeing our daughter's family in Colorado on the way home.   This whole week messed up my running.  We were driving all day Tuesday and most of Wednesday, then the funeral on Thursday.  I spoke at the funeral so the preparation time just didn't allow for a run.  Then driving to Colorado all day on Friday, and then leaving Colorado Springs on Saturday at about 1:30 PM, and driving all night until getting home at 2:30 this morning. 

We saw lots of snow in Texas, New Mexico, Wyoming, and Colorado, but Utah didn't have hardly any snow.  The temperatures in Utah and Colorado were in the teens.

Slept in this morning and then did a 12 mile run from Georgetown HEB to Andice.  Wow am I out of shape.  I was running a easy slow pace averaging 9:30 to 9:45 per mile, but my heart rate was bumping 160 most of the time during the run.  Goodness do I have a long way to go.  I have gained 7 or 8 lbs since mid November.  I told Lynn that I just want my salad for lunch at work, and start doing salad's for dinner each night.  3 months until Boston, and I want to drop at least 10 lbs, to get down to about 155 lbs.   

And this next weekend we will be driving to Tucson, AZ on Thursday & Friday, and then driving back to Texas on Monday.  I'm defenitely going to get in some kind of a run either Saturday or Sunday morning. 

Monday night at McNeil HS.  .75 easy mile warmup.  2.25 miles at medium effort.  1 mile cool down.  This really felt good tonight.  Lots of talk about the 1/2 marathon from yesterday.  Tam is really feeling good.  Same for Daniel.  Karen and Karen ran great tonight.

Tucson, AZ.  Walked for 7 hours at the gem show.  Taking credit for a 12 mile easy run.  At the end of the day the feet were sore and legs tired.  Had a great time.

Tucson, AZ.  Walked for another 7 hours at the gem show.  Beautiful weather too.  Feet plenty sore again by the end of the day. 

Returned home yesterday from Tucson, AZ.  Drove 900 miles yesterday.  Ran tonight at Florence, HS.  Temp about 65 degrees.  Sky clear.  Stars out.  Felt great to get in some easy running.  Right plantar tendon felt great tonight.  Just a little over 2 months to go for Boston.  Obviously my goal at Boston is just to stay healthy and have a fun easy race. 

Beautiful evening, stars out, warm temps in the 60's.  Ran over at Florence High School.  Running easy, watching the plantar tendon of the right foot.  Felt great to be out again. 

Ran Townlake with Karen F.  Beautiful day with temps in the low 40's.  Cloudy, but a great running day.  Took it easy, being careful with the right foot plantar tendon.  It just felt great to be on the trail. 

Next Sunday morning is the AT&T Austin Marathon.  We are going to help Daniel F. do his first marathon.  Should be a great experience for all.

Beautiful evening, sun shine, wow!!  Ran at McNeil HS with Daniel and Karen and Donnie's group.  Tam ran with us on our last 2 miles or so.  He is excited and ready to give it a go for the marathon.  Getting Daniel ready for his first marathon, next Sunday morning in Austin.  Should be a great run.  Had fun talk and planning.  One of the best Monday nights in a long time.

Cold temperature in Texas tonight in the mid 30's with a wind blowing.  I ran at Florence HS track while Lynn walked the track.  Even with the cold after 3 miles I took off my 2nd long sleeve shirt and took off my hat.  I was sweating even while shivering in the cold.  Go figure. 

Thinking about this coming Sunday morning when we help Daniel run his first marathon, and document it with pictures and video. 

Temp in low 40's, nicer than last evening.  Ran again over at Florence HS track.  Took it easy for 2 warm-up miles, then a medium to hard pace for 3 miles.  Two boys on the HS track team were running the track 800 meter runs, while I did my mile runs.  Had fun with them. 

Right plantar tendon felt pretty good.  I think I'm ready to help Daniel with his marathon on Sunday.   Karen is running the first half with him, and I'm doing the second half. 

Austin AT&T Marathon today.  Beautiful day.  This was Daniel's first marathon.  Karen F., Lynn, and I met Daniel at 6:20 in Starbucks on 6th and Congress in Austin.  Had a fun pre-race time, and then when the race started I ran the first mile with Daniel and Karen.  I had my digital camera and my video camera, and took bunches of pictures, pre-race, during the first mile, at mile 5, and then I ran the last half of the marathon with Daniel.  Got lots of great video and pictures of Daniel's race.  Karen had to catch a plane to Paris this afternoon so she couldn't stay for the finish.

Daniel overcame some serious foot pain in the left foot during the last few miles.  He overcame the pain and the stress and finished a grat marathon.  Karen H. joined us during the last few miles, as she had run the last half with Joe B.  She ran back and joined us.

Daniel weighs 271 lbs.  He had lost 40 lbs during his training.  As he ran the race, his heart rate would bounce at 174 and peak at 180.  We ran 6 minutes, then walked 1 minute.  By about mile 17 we changed that to run until the 6 minute beep, and then walk until his heart rate got down to 150 which usually extended the walk break for about 30 seconds.  I can't imagine running 26.2 miles with my heart rate bouncing at 174 for most of the race.  As he would tell me his heart rate I would check mine and it would 30 or 40 beats lower than his.  Amazing he could keep up such a great effort.  He is actually in the best shape of his life, and has made some great life changes that will benefit him the rest of his life.  He even has Pikes Peak Marathon on his radar screen, perhaps for next year.  I predict a year from now he will weigh another 40 lbs less than he does today. 

Now Karen H. and I are focused on Boston in 2 months from this weekend.  Her friend Carey ran her first marathon today and she finished in 3:31.  What a great first marathon.  Carey may get signed up for Boston and join us as well. 

Tam ran a great marathon for this tough new Austin Marathon course.  He said he finished at about 3:45.  His goal was 3:30, but on this tough course this was probably the best effort he has ever done.  He almost set a PR, that had been done on the much easier Austin Marathon course, the old downhill one.  Way to go Tam.  For some reason I don't see Tam's results on the official web site, so I wonder what that means? 

We really had a great time today helping our running friends with their marathon.  The post marathon talk and cheers with Donnie were great.  We have awesome video and pictures after the race.  The finish line video was really good too.  My son is going to take the video and the digital pictures and make a DVD for Daniel. 

Celebration time for the marathoners.  Ran at McNeil HS track with Donnie's group.  Lots of celebration with all those who ran the marathon yesterday.  Tam used his own Championship chip for the race, but we believe he did not put the chip ID on the registration form, so he is going to try to get the race site to fix it so his race results will show up on the results web site. 

Daniel made it to the track Monday night, and we all celebrated with him for his tremendous accomplishment.  Got more pictures and video at the track last night for the DVD my son will do.  What a celebration.

Got 4 easy miles of running in with Karen H.  Felt pretty good.  The right plantar tendon behaved reasonably okay.  Currently doing 7mg of the prednisone medication for the muscle issues.

Boston is 2 months away from today.  Looks like my goal at Boston is just to run fast enough to qualify for next year, instead of pushing for a PR.  This plantar tendon is an issue and the muscle disorder has limited the total training effort.  But, if I run fast enough to qualify for next year's Boston, that should be enough. 

Beautiful evening in Texas, temp about 67 degrees, sun setting, moon 1/3 full, sky clear with stars.  Ran at Florence HS.  4 medium effort miles.  Three high school track boys showed up and chased me on my 5th mile, giving me about a 100M head start.  They were closing on me as I rounded the last curve of the track, so I sprinted in the last 75M.  What fun. 

Boston is now less than 2 months away.  I'm gradually feeling better and better.  Doctor visit this week for the Polymyalgia Rheumatica and he said to stay with the 7mg dosage until I get through Boston.  BP was good at 110 over 68. 

A pleasant evening in Texas.  Ran over at Florence HS track.  4 miles at a medium effort pace.  Getting ready to do 20 miles on Saturday morning. 

A warm day in Texas, with temps in the 70's at 7:00 AM when we started.  Joe, Angel, Sean, and Tam joined me and Karen H. for the run toward Mt. Bonnell.  Last week Tam, Joe, and Angel had run the marathon in Austin.  Joe, Angel, and Sean ran the first 4 miles with us to the corner of Pecos and 35th at the cleaners.  Tam continued up to Mt. Bonnell with Karen and me and then back to Mopac at the Austin HS tennis courts.  Then Karen and I did the Congress Avenue loop.  And then I did another Congress Avenue loop. 

We ran a decent pace but we took it easy at the same time.  I monitored the right plantar tendon real close and it seemed to hold up pretty good.  It is a little tender now that I'm at home.  Overall, this makes a pretty good week of running.

Resting heart rate this morning was 46.5 (93 for 2 minute measure).  Right plantar tendon feels reasonably okay after the 20 mile run yesterday.  These are good signs.  I'm still doing 7mg prednisone medication per day for the PMR.  The doctor said to stay at 7mg per day until I get through with the Boston Marathon, and then drop to 6mg per day while I train for Pikes Peak. 

Ran at McNeil HS with Donnie's speed group.  2 miles with Daniel and had a great talk.  His first night at the track since completing his first marathon.  Ran the workout with John.  1000M, 500M, and 4 each 400M. 

Resting heart rate this morning was 45.5.  Amazing.  This is the lowest resting HR I have had since I started running as far as I know. 

Boston is 2 months minus 1 week away.  I plan to qualify for next year's Boston at this year's Boston. 

7mg Prednisone.  Feeling pretty good.  Right plantar was pretty good tonight.  Feels okay right now. 

Very warm night in Texas.  Ran at Florence HS.  Took off singlet after 2 miles, hot and sweaty.  Beautiful sunset with purple pink clouds.  Right plantar tendon felt pretty good.  Still on 7mg prednisone. 
Registration for Pikes Peak Marathon is at 9:00 Central time in the morning.  Have to get signed up right at 9:00.  I'll bet registration fills up in 4 hours this year.

Temps in the low 60's.  Ran at Florence HS.  2 easy miles, 2 marathon pace miles.  Boston is only 1 1/2 months away. 

Tried getting registered to the Pikes Peak Marathon through the Active.com web site today, and like thousands of others, the Active.com site crashed and totally messed up the entire registration process.  The Pikes Peak committee is trying to figure out a reasonably fair solution. 

Strongest workout in the last 18 months.  Ran with Karen H., Tam, and Joe on the way up to Mt. Bonnell, then Joe fell back on the way down from Mt. Bonnell.  

Ran Mt. Bonnell 10 mile loop, then the 3 mile Townlake People Bridge loop.  Pushing up Mt. Bonnell I got my heart rate up to 171.  The strongest push up Mt. Bonnell in a couple of years.  Then we pushed the pace the rest of the way.  Boston is only 6 weeks away.  Our goal today was to give it a push for Boston preparation.  Karen H. and I are both doing Boston again this year.  Karen's 3rd in a row, my 7th.   

Still doing 7mg prednisone medication per day.  Right plantar tendon handled today's run really well.  Karen H., Lynn, and I went to Maudie's for breakfast after the run.   

Beautiful evening, temps in the low 70's or high 60's.  Ran at McNeil HS with Donnie's group.  Ran mostly with Karen H. and did continuous miles, while Donnie had most of his group do a mile speed trial.  Bill ran a 5:07 mile for the fastest time.  This was a fun night.

We had some great talk about the Muddy Buddy race in May.  Andy is registered.  We gave him lots of strategy ideas to consider for his team.   

Beautiful evening, about 68 degrees.  Ran at Williamson County Park with Donnie's group.  Ran the 4 easy miles with Daniel.  He reflected on completing his first marathon, and has been extremely happy with what this has done for his self esteem and confidence.  A great night of fun running. 

Another beautiful evening in Texas.  Temp about 70 degrees, cool breeze.  Ran at Florence HS track.  Pushed out 3 quick miles and headed for home.  Getting ready to do 24 miles on Saturday morning. 
Still on 7mg prednisone. 

A beautiful day in Austin, TX.  Temp at 6:00 AM was about 60 degrees.  Humidity was kind of high, but not too bad.  Karen F., Karen H., Carey, and big Tom met me and Lynn and we took off for Mt. Bonnell.  Tom stayed with us until we got to the cleaners at Pecos and 35th Street, then he headed back.  Tom and Karen F. are doing the Ironman in June in Idaho.

After Tom left us we ran on up Mt. Bonnell.  Carey powered up the hill.  Karen, Karen, and I only pushed a medium effort since we were in for the long run today.  Last week I powered up Mt. Bonnell.  Carey left us and headed back after the Mt. Bonnell climb, while Karen, Karen, and I headed up to 2222 and over to Shoal Creek, then down to LaMar, then back down to Townlake and up to Mopac where we started. 

Then Karen H. and I ran the 10 mile loop of Townlake, pushing the last 4 miles at marathon pace.  We both plan to requalify for Boston at Boston this year.  Should be fun.

Then Karen F., Lynn, and I went over to Maudie's for breakfast.  Man were we hungry after the run. 

Overall the legs feel pretty good.  I was especially happy with the plantar tendon on the right foot. 

Beautiful night in Texas, temp about 70 degrees, humidity a little high, but a great night for running.  Ran at McNeil HS with Donnie's group.  Tam and Daniel and Karen H. didn't make it.  We celbrated Joe's birthday with a cake after the run. 

2 miles warm-up.  Drills.  Then Donnie had us do 1100M at 10K pace, then 100M recovery.  Then 700M at 5K pace, then 100M recovery.  Then 4 by 300M at faster than 5K pace with 100M recovery each.  A great workout.  Then Karen F. and I did 2 miles cool down. 

I was still in some recovery mode after doing 24 miles on Saturday, but this workout was still doable and a lot of fun, as Johnny and I ran with Karen F. on this one.  Johnny and I sprinted in the last 125M of the last segment, and he passed me with 20M to go.  Fun.  These young guys can still push past us old guys. 

Still doing 7mg prednisone.  Right plantar tendon felt really good tonight.  I think it is actually healing. 

PIKES PEAK MARATHON !!!!  I got registered this morning for the Pikes Peak Marathon.  Two weeks ago the Active.com web site melted down trying to handle the volume of traffic, so they did a re-do registration today, and I got in.  This will be my 3rd year in a row doing Pikes Peak. 

Today the marathon registration filled in 15 minutes!!  Last year it filled in one day.  Two years ago it filled in 4 days.  Prior years registration filled in a few weeks or months. 

Outside of Colorado Springs, the most runners who do Pikes Peak Marathon come from down here in Austin, TX.  A bunch of flat landers that love to run up the mountain and back down.  The running community here in Austin is out of this world.  For Pikes Peak training we have the Barton Springs Green Belt and the Hill of Life.  Great training for Pikes Peak.   

First we need to get Boston out of the way in less than 5 weeks.  Then hit the trails and the treadmill on maximum elevation setting for Pikes Peak training.

Ran Williamson County Park with Donnie's group.  Took it real easy.  Pain in left shin.  Donnie thinks it is connective tissue.  Ice it and be careful.  Did one mile with Daniel.  He is still on a high from running his first marathon.  I gave him the DVD that my son put together of Daniel's marathon, with the picture of Daniel etched in the face of the DVD.  Cool. 

Still on 7mg prednisone for the muscle issue. 

Owieee.  The left shin was hurting last Saturday after the 24 mile run.  Then on Monday night instead of taking it easy, I pushed it and on the last 300M segment Johnny and I sprinted in to finish the workout.  Ouch, I knew I shouldn't have done it.

Well, Wednesday night the easy 3 miles at Williamson County Park hurt all the way.  These were slow careful easy miles, and they all hurt.

So I iced the shin real good yesterday afternoon at work, and last night at home, and today at work whenever I could.  I also bought an Ace stretch bandage during lunch today and put it on after the icing. 

I've called off the 15 mile run that we were going to do on this Saturday.  And with all this, Karen H. went to see Dr. Speers today to see if she has a hairline fracture in her left leg.  She is going in on Monday for an MRI, so she won't be running this Saturday either. 

Amazing, we both ran a great 24 miles last Saturday, and this Saturday will be a zero miles day.  My goal is to hurry up and get better so I can get back on the Boston training plan.  Boston is 4 weeks away from this weekend.

A warm humid day in Austin, TX.  At lunchtime I went over to Wells Branch on the trail and did 3 loops for a total of 6.6 miles.  This was my first test run since hurting my left shin with shin splints.  After the run the left shin was some tender, but not extremely painful. 

Boston is 3 weeks away.   Karen H. injury has her out of Boston.  She is hoping to still be able to do the Ironman in Idaho in June. 

Severe rain storms in Texas since Sunday.  Ran on treadmill at home.  Testing the left leg shin splint healing.  Treadmill is not nearly as impact prone as running on roads.  Shin felt fine for this run. 

Karen F. and I are doing 15 miles Friday after work.  Then this weekend I'm on the road taking my grand-daughter back home after her spring vacation with us.

Went over to Florence HS with Lynn, PD, and my grand-daughter, 7 year-old Tapainga.  This was just a testing of the left shin on the track, preparation for the 15 miles we are going to run after work on Friday evening.  Good news is the shin felt fine with this easy run on the track.  It was just 2 weeks ago that the shin had severe pain after easy running at Williamson County Park.  Looking forward to 15 miles around Townlake on Friday.

Ran after work with Karen F. on Townlake trail.  Did the 10 mile loop and then the 5 mile loop.  Monitored the left shin for any pain issues, but all seemed okay.  A beautiful day to run, after a week of rain.  The storm clouds moved away just as we got started running. 

Pushed the lawn mower for 2 1/2 hours, so I'm taking credit for a 6 mile run.  We drove 450 miles on Saturday to Amirillo and 450 miles back home on Sunday, then did the 2 1/2 hours pushing the lawn mower. 

Ran at McNeil HS.  6 easy miles, and 2 miles with Karen F. and Tam and Carey.  A great workout.  A warm night, the warmest of the year.  Lots of sweat.  Boston is in 2 weeks from today. 

A beautiful day in Texas, but the forecast for Saturday was for freezing temperatures and rain or sleet.  I took off from work at 3:00 PM and went down to Townlake and had a great run all by myself.  I did the 10 mile Longhorn Dam loop, and then the 5 mile loop.  The left shin felt great.  Despite taking off 3 weeks for recovery for the left shin, and missing my two long runs for Boston prep, this 15 mile run gives me hope to have a decent run in Boston.  Hopefully I can run fast enough to qualify for next year's Boston.

And a weather note.  Saturday Aprill 7th it was a record cold weather day and we got sleet and snow in central Texas.  I have been out shooting video of the snow flakes, many of them were the giant beautiful snow flakes like I would have expected to see when I lived in Utah.  I'm sure glad I did my 15 mile run on Friday. 

A beautiful evening in central Texas.  Ran at McNeil HS with Donnie's bunch.  Got there early and got in 6 miles before starting the group run which was 2000M at 5K pace and then 4 each 200M at a hard pace.  Ran the workout with Karen F.  Had a great run.  Only 1 week until Boston. 

Still on 7mg Prednisone per day and everything seems under control right now.

A most beautiful day in Texas, 80 degrees, light breeze, blue skies.  Ran at Williamson County Park and did the mulch trail 2.2 mile loop 3 times and did the warm-up with Donnie's group.  Karen F. ran with me all 3 loops.  Tam joined us for 1 loop. 

This was the last run until I do Boston on Monday.  Lynn, PD, and I fly out of Austin on Friday morning. 

Prediction for Boston is to run fast enough to qualify for next year.

Ran the Boston Marathon and missed my qualifying time by 12 minutes.  The muscle disorder I have had over the past 15 months (PMR) again has taken its toll, combined with limits on training due to 3 weeks off for shin splints.  I was on course for the first 15 miles, and then the Newton Hills took its toll, as this point in the race occurred right at where the longest run I have been able to do in the past 5 weeks, 15 miles.  From that point on I did keep running but it was a struggle. 

Only 2 years ago I would have scoffed at the idea that I wouldn't be able to run Boston in under 4 hours if I was reasonably healthy.  As long as I have been healthy and trained and ready to go, a sub 3:30 marathon was always on the mark.  Last year at mile 14 in Boston I tore a muscle at the top of the left leg and it bled internally the rest of the way turning the leg purple all the way down to the ankle.  At least the good news is this year that there are no injuries to report from the race.  Now I can focus my attention to get ready for a reasonable Pikes Peak Marathon in August. 

I reduced my Prednisone medication dosage down to 6mg a day as of Tuesday.  My plan is to keep it at 6mg for the entire training for Pikes Peak.  I'm also going to put in for the St. George lottery and see if I can get in this year. 

Hopefully by the end of this year the Polymyalgia Rheumatica muscle disorder will be gone and I can get back to more normal fitness levels.  I read the race reports of Kory and those who are young and healthy and I'm jealous of what they are doing.  My guidance to them is to enjoy your accomplishments and keep working for the best you can do.  When struggles do come to you, work through them, because sooner or later it will happen and your times will begin to be slower, but with your fitness levels your accomplishments will still be in the top of your age groups.

I love to run, and even though this year's Boston has left me hungry, I still loved the race and the fact that it was Boston.

Ran at McNeil HS speed night with Donnie & the bunch.  2 miles warmup, then drills, then the workout:
- 1000M at 10K pace;  100M recovery
- 500M at 5K pace; 2 times with 100M recovery each
- 200M at mile pace; 5 times with 100M recovery each.
Then did a 1 mile cool down.

This was a great workout, the first run I have done since Boston.  When I came back from Boston I had caught a chest cold.  Spent much of the weekend doing chicken noodle soup and taking hot showers and naps.  Felt lots better by today.

Reducing my medication down to 6mg a day and I could feel the difference for the first few days.  Today it felt pretty good, though. 

A warm night in Texas.  Ran at Florence HS.  1 mile warmup and 2 hard miles.  I can tell I'm still in recovery mode after Boston.  My conditioning has a long way to go to get ready for Pikes Peak in August. 

Ran Florence HS this evening, temp about 78 degrees, a beautiful day.  I did 1 mile warmup and then 3 miles at 7:48, 7:49, 7:33.  All I am trying to do with my mid week runs since finishing Boston, is to run consecutive miles without a walk break with a target pace of 8 minute miles.  We are driving to Houston on Saturday so no run.  This 3 mile run was faster and easier than the 2 miles I ran Wednesday evening. 
I am amazed at how much my conditioning has suffered this spring with the various injuries.  Over the next several weeks my main focus is to put together the consecutive miles without a walk break. 
The prednisone dosage is still at 6 mg and seems to be holding its own. 

Ran at McNeil HS with Donnie's Monday night group.  I did 1 mile warm-up and then 4 tempo miles at 7:54; 7:55; 7:51; 7:37.  Then we did the drills, and then we did 8 each 300M with 50M recovery jog each set.  Since I had already basically done my workout with the tempo run I figured the 300M runs were all bonus work.  Karen F. set the pace for the 300M sets, a good workout.  Then 1 mile cool down. 

Ran at Williamson County Park.  Did 1 mile warm-up, then 5 straight tempo miles, then 1 mile cool-down.  Tam ran with me on several of the tempo miles, and took a break for a lap or so and then would rejoin me.  My target was to run at 8 minute pace or less and just keep running steady without any stop breaks.  The times were 7:58; 7:58; 7:53; 7:56; 7:43.  I like these tempo runs because I can feel the improvement in conditioning after each run. 

This Friday I'm doing Hill of Life loops as part of my Pikes Peak Marathon training.  No weekend run, due to mother-in-law visit and commitments, which is why I'm running Friday evening. 

Next week should be interesting, as I do a week of detoxification diet.  It will be fun to see how the strict diet affects my running energy. 

Ran Hill of Life with Daniel F.  This was the first HOL workout since Pikes Peak last August.  I did 4 loops.  A great workout.  Sweating like a pig.  We also went down to the Barton Springs and watched the river flow, impressive. 

The Hill of Life is 1/2 mile long, steep, rocky, dangerous to the ankles and full of rocks to trip on.  You have to fully focus on every step so you don't face plant.  Daniel did turn his ankle once on the first descent.  I tripped once on the 2nd ascent.  So one loop of the HOL gives you a 1 mile run.  I need to get to the HOL at least once a week and extend the workout until I work up to 18 to 20 loops.  This is a great conditioning trail for Pikes Peak Marathon training. 

Ran over at Florence HS track.  A warm humid morning in Texas with a little wind blowing.  I thought of Kory running in 50 mph gusts as he reported in his blog this week.  After a 1 mile warm-up, I did the leg stretching workout that Jill O'Neal taught me when I was recovering from my shin splints during the weeks prior to Boston.  Then I did a 6 mile tempo run with continuous miles with the target to stay under an 8 minute pace.  The miles went at 7:58;  7:52;  7:56;  7:55; 7:51; 7:40. 

Then I did a 1 mile cool down jog, and then I went over on the stadium steps and did the calf muscle workout that Jill said she does after every run to help prevent shin splints and leg injuries.  I took turns with each leg, standing on one foot half way on the step and then lower yourself and raise yourself repeatedly until the calf muscle begins to burn real good.  Then traded off legs and did repeats 3 times with each leg.  During these exercises it is okay to balance yourself by holding on to the hand rail of the steps.  After this exercise at the end of the run the legs really felt great, like they had completed a nice workout. 

The leg stretching exercise that Jill taught me to do before the run, to prevent shin splints, is to turn the toes out and walk like a duck for 20 meters.  Then turn the toes inward and walk like a duck for 20 meters.  Then put your weight on the outside of the feet and walk 20 meters.  Then put your weight on the inside of your feet and walk 20 meters.  Then balance on your heels and walk 20 meters.  Then get up on your toes and walk 20 meters backwards. 

This was probably the best workout I have had in the past 6 months.  My goal is to increase the length of the continuous tempo run by 1 mile.  I did 2 miles on Wed a week ago, then 3 miles on Friday a week ago, then 4 miles on last Monday, then 5 miles on Wednesday, and now 6 miles on Saturday morning. 

Next Monday I am going to start a 5 day detox diet eating only fruits and vegetables.  No meat, no bread, no sugar.  Our admin at work, Mary Lou, did this a little over a month ago.  She lost 5 lbs that week.  She said the first day was the hardest, and the 2nd day was the 2nd hardest day.  I don't know how the detox experience will affect my running energy and resources.  We will see.  Should be a fun week.

Ran roads in Austin with Karen F.  A very fun run.  Temps about 80 degrees.  High humidity.  Just a really enjoyable run. 

Ran at Williamson County Park track.  Hot and humid day.  Got there about 4:45 PM and got my warm-up done and then did 5 consecutive miles averaging 7:54 per mile.  Hot and sweating.  The 5th mile was a struggle but it sure felt good to do all 5 consecutively.  After my run I did the duck-walk exercises that Jill taught me.  Then I did the calf muscle exercises on the steps of the stadium seating.  Joe joined me for the calf exercises.  Joe said a great running movie to see is titled:  Saint Ralph. When Tam showed up I did a cool down mile with him.    

I'm in the middle of the detox diet week.  I wondered how the detox diet might affect energy levels, but I don't think it was a big deal. 

Tam, Joe, Donnie, and a few of the bunch showed up after I got through my tempo run.  I did the warm-up drills with them. 

Also, I finished reading the book "Ultra Marathon Man" on Tuesday evening.  What a great book.  Loaded with inspirational stuff that puts everything we do in our running in a new perspective.   

Ran Townlake 10 mile loop with Karen F & Karen H.  A great run. 

Very hot and humid in Texas.  Ran at McNeil HS.  Did a tempo run.  Ran 4 miles continuous and was hot and sweating.  Stopped and did the drills with Donnie's group.  Then ran 1 more mile at 8:00 pace.  I called this a heat acclimation night.

A warm night in Texas but cooler than last Monday which was in the 90's.  This evening it was in the 80's.  At Florence HS I did a warm-up mile, then 7 consecutive miles at a 8:01 average pace.  It felt great to get in a reasonable distance run with consecutive miles.  During the 2nd, 3rd, and part of the 4th mile a young guy, about 30 years old, joined me and we ran together.  After he left I quit looking at my watch and just ran how I felt and it was amazing how consistent the pace kept going.  The best run I have had since Boston.

This weekend is the Muddy Buddy team race.  Karen F. and I have to defend our Masters title.

Cool refreshing early morning in Austin, TX.  Temp in the 60's, light breeze.  Did a 5:30 AM 10 mile run around the streets and Townlake trail with Karen F.  A great run.  We ran this morning because our next run will be the Muddy Buddy team race on Sunday morning. 

Teamed up with Karen F. and did the Muddy Buddy run, bike, obstacles, and mud pit race today.  We were the 2 time defending Masters championship team for the Austin, TX Muddy Buddy.  Karen took a devestating spill on her bike during the 3rd leg of the race causing multiple contusions on her right arm and right leg.  The chain came off the bike and wouldn't go back on without a fight.  Finally she got going but after this 2 or 3 minute disaster it put is in an uphill battle for a podium position. 

We ended up taking 3rd place this year, 1 minute 7 seconds behind the winning team, two brothers with impressive credentials.  One of them can run a 5 minute mile and run his marathon at a 7:15 pace.  His brother just finished an ironman race in Minnesota last year.  We talked with these guys just before the start of the race and we knew we had serious competition.  Its really too bad that Karen had the bike accident, because otherwise we were on pace to beat those guys to the finish line.  Last year I had the bike accident and had the contusions on my right leg, and then later in the race the chain came off for me.  It was Karen's turn this year. 

Andy and Shay did their first Muddy Buddy this year and loved the race.  We also saw Karen H and Carey.  They cheered us through the mud pit.  They are preparing for their Ironman race in June up in Idaho and were doing a 100 mile bike ride today, so they rode out to the Muddy Buddy to see us, a 40 mile ride, and then they headed out for the next 60 miles of their bike ride.  Crazy ladies.  

Anyway, we had a great race and will be back again next year.

Ran at McNeil HS track with Donnie's bunch.  Did 2 miles warmup before the run and 1 mile after the run.  Did the warm-up drills, then Donnie had us do 200M with 50M recovery.  We did this 10 times.  A great workout.  Ran at 6 minute pace, felt great.  Tam ran with me on all 10 repeats.   Then got in a mile cool down, and then we did birthday celebration for 3 of us, me, Andy, and Karey.  A fun night.  Joe prepared the birthday desert for us all. 

Hot night in Texas.  Ran at Florence HS.  Did 1 mile warm-up, then the duck-walk exercises.  Then ran 6 miles at a 7:54 pace average.  I had initially planned on 8 miles, but the heat got to me and I called it at 6 miles.  It was a nice run.  After the run I did 3 sets on each leg of the calf muscle stretch exercises, at 100 each set each leg. 

Hot and humid morning in Texas.  Ran 10 miles doing 1 mile repeats on the road out here in the country northwest of Austin.  The road was a 1 mile long hill that was steep for the last 1/4 mile.  Lynn parked at the bottom of the hill and had my sports drink waiting for me each time I came down the hill.  Enjoyed the run, sweat like a pig, sun burned pretty well from the waist up on this run.  Walked away from this one and felt good about it. 

Hot evening in Texas.  Went over to Florence HS track and did 5 mile repeats, averaging 7:45.  My wife and son went over and joined me at the track.  Nothing too exciting to report, but it felt good to get out.  This was my first run since turning 60 on Sunday. 

Beautiful evening in Texas.  Ran 6 miles on the hilly roads out here where we live.  Nice run.  Felt good to run two days in a row. 

Awesome day in Austin, TX.  Humid but not too hot in the morning.  Enough clouds to hide the sun for the first 8 miles.  I did 12 loops of the Hill of Life, which is the primary training site here in central Texas for the Pikes Peak Marathon.  I did a steady forward motion pace on all 12 loops.  No walking and no power-walking.  Very happy with this workout today.  The workout took 2 hours 32 minutes.  HOL is 1/2 mile steep, rocky trail down and then 1/2 mile back up. 

My descent/ascent times were:  6:28/6:30;  5:59/6:37;  6:06/6:19;  6:02/6:36;  6:15/6:44;  6:15/6:32;  6:16/6:47;  6:05/6:44;  6:04/6:57;  5:41/6:59;  5:48/6:32;  5:40/6:25. 

I saw a group of 100 miler runners who had run all night as part of their training to go to Wyoming Big Horn 100 miler in 3 weeks.  I saw a couple of guys who are training for a hike up Mt. Raineer in Washington in August.  One of them went to hike the Andes last year, and the other one has hiked Mt. Everest.  Saw a woman and a guy who were going to walk the Hill of Life for 4 hours today as part of their training for their first Pikes Peak ascent in August.  I saw Rick, a 100 miler runner, who I hadn't seen since last year on the HOL.  Lots of folks who enjoy the work on the HOL. 

Business trip to Nashville, TN.  At 6:00 AM got up and went to the fitness center at the hotel and set the treadmill to the max 15 degrees incline, and then power walked 45 minutes.  A great power workout.  Sweat like a pig.  Legs felt great all morning after the workout.  This is all preparation for Pikes Peak.  I would visualize working the first 3 miles up the W's on Barr Trail. 

Business trip to Nashville, TN.  At 6:00 AM got up and went to the fitness center at the hotel and set the treadmill to the max 15 degrees incline, and then power walked 45 minutes.  A great power workout.  Sweat like a pig.  Legs felt great all morning after the workout.  This is all preparation for Pikes Peak.  I would visualize working the first 3 miles up the W's on Barr Trail. 

Business trip to Nashville, TN.  At 6:00 AM got up and went to the fitness center at the hotel and set the treadmill to the max 15 degrees incline, and then power walked 45 minutes.  A great power workout.  Sweat like a pig.  Legs felt great all morning after the workout.  This is all preparation for Pikes Peak.  I would visualize working the first 3 miles up the W's on Barr Trail. 

Hot and humid in Austin, TX.  Got a 6:00 AM start on the Hill of Life.  Had a 9:30 breakfast appointment at Maudie's with Lynn, Karen F & Karen H.  Lynn walked the HOL while I ran.  Got in 13 miles and then it was time to go to our breakfast appointment.  A hot sweaty run.  Again I stayed pretty consistent on the descent and ascent of the HOL.  Next week my target is 16 repeats, another 9:30 breakfast appointment, so I will start at 5:00 AM. 

Still on 6mg of Prednisone medication for the PMR.  I'm holding the dosage to 6mg until I finish Pikes Peak Marathon in August. 

Ran 3 easy miles at Florence HS.  My son ran 1.75 miles with me.  Just testing the right achiles tendon since it was tender after doing the 13 Hill of Life miles last Saturday.  Felt pretty good tonight. 

3 inches of rain at our home in the past 3 days.  3:45 AM got up and listened to the thunderstorms drop rain on our home.  Got dressed and headed for Austin and the Hill of Life.  Rain all the way as we drove to the HOL.  Dark, rain, and with my flashlight I started running HOL at 5:20 AM.  The plan was to do 16 miles of HOL.  After 3 miles (3 loops) I didn't need the flashlight any more.  Most of the rain had quit by the 5th mile.  There was a stream of water running down the HOL until I got through with my 8th mile.  With the rain the temperatures stayed pleasant, so this was a great run.  Finished my 16 repeats at 9:25 AM and headed to Maudie's where Lynn and I joined Karen F. and Karen H. for breakfast.

Karen H. runs her Ironman race in Idaho next weekend.  We admire her for all the work she has put in and will celebrate her success next weekend.  Our thoughts and prayers will be with her as she puts it all on the line next weekend. 

Ran at McNeil HS with Donnie's RunTex group.  A great workout.  2 miles warm-up.  Drills. 10 each 200M with 50M jog in between.  Then 1 mile cool down.  It was Donnie's birthday celebration.  We had over 40 of us there tonight.  Donnie's wife and sister also showed up for the celebration.  We gave him the certificate for the 8" by 8" brick to go on Townlake trail.  We collected $500 to get the 8" by 8" brick with Donnie's name on it.  Fun. 

Ran at Florence HS with my son while my wife walked the track.  A nice evening in Texas after another day of rain.  Temps down in the 80's.  Getting ready to do 20 miles of the Hill of Life on Saturday. 

A warm humid morning in Austin, TX, but not too hot.  The continuing rains over the past couple of weeks has held the temperatures down some, but kept the humidity high. 

Got up at 3:45 AM and headed for the Hill of Life in Southwest Austin.  The HOL is 1/2 mile long, steep hill, loaded with rocks, roots, and ledges.  I got started at 5:00 AM, flashlight in hand, and was the only runner on the hill until about mile 5 when I saw Rick, the 100 miler.  He was headding down the HOL and going for the Barton Springs Greenbelt trail.  I didn't see Rick again until I was on my HOL 20th mile. 

This was a real nice run.  I expected to see some of the Rogue Training runners preparing for Pikes Peak, but none of them showed.  They must have been on a trip to Bandera or somewhere like that.  I saw a few other runners and walkers but mostly had the hill to myself most of the time, strange.

I used my new trail shoes on this run and they worked pretty good.  Yesterday at RunTex I bought a pair of The North Face trail shoes.  So far so good. 

Next weekend we will be in Colorado to see my daughter's family.  I plan to do a run half way up Pikes Peak for the weekend training run before we return to Texas on Tuesday July 3rd.

Nice workout at McNeil HS track with the Monday night speed bunch.  Rainy today and the humidity was real high, lots of sweat.  Did 2 mile warm-up, then drills, then Donnie had us do 4 each 700M with 100M recovery each.  A nice workout.  Then a mile cool-down.  Just a nice enjoyable run.  About 35 runners showed up tonight. 

Ran Pikes Peak up the Barr Trail to Barr Camp and back down.  An awesome workout.  A hot day for a relentless run/power walk up the trail.  Met a guy named Dave, 40 years old, who has run several Pikes Peak marathons.  Dave is from Monument, CO, and had a great power walk.  We met about 3 miles before I got to Barr Camp and we went the rest of the way together. 
On the way down while I was running and dodging rocks and roots, with about 4 miles to go I came across 2 women who moved apart to let me by and I said excuse me, and immediately tripped on a rock and did a forward fall and tuck and roll fall.  Felt like a fool.  Dropped both my water bottles, cut my left elbow, and messed up a rib on the left side.  Got up and picked up my bottles and went on down the trail. 
A great workout.  It sure reminded me of how tough the Pikes Peak Marathon is.  I sure hope the temperature on August 19th is a bunch lower than it was for this run.

Ouch!!  Left rib is real sore.  I don't know if there is a broken rib, or cracked rib, or stressed rib, or what.  The fall on Pikes Peak this weekend must have done more than I first thought.  The run tonight was just a test to see how the rib would respond to running.  Now I know what this felt like, I will know the difference on Saturday with a longer run.

Still doing Predinsone, raised to 7mg last week, muscles in neck and back feel much better with 7mg. 

Still testing the rib injury.  Took the whole family over to Florence HS.  My wife, son, daughter, son-in-law, grand-daughter, and grand-son all went over.  Had a great family outing.
Ran 2 easy miles about 8:35 pace just to test the rib and compare how much it hurt compared to the severe pain from last Thursday evening.  Good news is that there was significant improvement from just 2 days ago.  This is encouraging.  I'll run Monday night with our group and give it another test.  Hopefully as next week goes the rib pain will continue to improve and will allow me to do a long run on Saturday of 20 to 24 miles on the Hill of Life.
Still on 7mg of prednisone for the muscle issue.  Overall feeling pretty good.  

Wow,

And with my focus being on my sore rib lately, this sure puts things in perspective.  
 
What a shock to see the news here in Austin, TX tonight with a headline story about Richard Gastellum being found dead on the Green Belt trail. 
 
I knew Richard.  He saw me every Saturday this summer as I was running the Hill of Life.  I stopped and chatted with him two weeks ago when I ran my 20 loops of the HOL.  He had just run the 15 mile loop from the HOL down to Barton Springs Pool and back.  He wished me good luck at Pikes Peak and gave me encouragement.  A real nice guy.  An ultra-marathoner who seemed to be very humble.

His death is disturbing.  As of tonight's news they had not announced the cause of death.  
 
Wow,
Paul

Wow, only 4 days since I was convinced I had a broken rib and could hardly do a very slow 2 mile run, tonight the rib has recovered so much that I got in 3 miles warm-up, and then 2 miles of doing 200 M fast runs and 100 M recovery, and repeating for 2 miles.  The temp was in the mid 90's and humidity high, but it felt so good to be able to run.
We were at McNeil HS for the Monday group workout.  Saw Karen H. for the first time since she completed her Ironman race in Idaho.  A great workout. 

Ran 4 miles over at Florence HS tonight as the sun went down.  Temps cooled down to the low 90's, high humidity.  The entire family went over and shot hoops while I ran and my wife walked the track.  A young guy was doing a little running and after I had done 3 miles while he walked most of his, he said that I sure must be in good shape.  Bless his heart.  I sweat like a pig tonight with the himidity high.
They finally gave the autopsy report on our ultra marathon friend, Richard.  He died of accidental drowning.  Somehow he must have got caught in the flood waters as he tried to cross the Barton Springs stream, and it was dark by the time he got there and there was a storm.  I'm guessing, but all of that must have played a part.  It is a dreadful death of a great man.  Sure puts lots of things in perspective.  A reminder to enjoy life every day, because we really do not know which day will be our last on this earth. 

Alarm got me up at 3:45 AM.  Drove to Austin to the Hill of Life.  Started running HOL at about 5:10 AM with flashlight in hand.  Ran 4 repeats of HOL with flashlight, then ran 3 more and it was 7:00 AM.  Karen H. met me at the top of the HOL and we ran down the HOL and then on down the Barton Springs Green Belt trail to the 360 Access.  This was a great run as we had to cross the Barton Springs stream right at Mopac and it was great.  There were places where the water was up to our chest in depth, awesome.  Karen had put a gallon of drinking water at the 360 access.  We fueled up and then did a return run back to the start of the HOL.  Then we did another repeat of the HOL.  A very satisfying run and workout.  Probably 16 miles total.
Then we met my family down at Maudie's for breakfast, fun.  Then I went with my family over to the Barton Springs Pool and had a great swim with my grandchildren and daughter and son-in-law.  Just had a great outing and fun day.

Returned from vacation to Utah and Colorado with the family.  A long week of driving the highways and running a busy schedule.  The occasion was my grand-daughter's baptism in the Weber River in Oakley, UT.  Then her birthday party at my in-laws home in Lehi.  A great week.  Lesson learned, no matter how much you love them it can be a challenge to spend so many days in such close contact.  4 days on the highway in the same vehicle is tough.

My injured rib acted up on the drive from Texas to Utah.  It was a real pain in the lower back.  Got a 1 hour massage in Lehi and that was very helpful. 

My first run was tonight.  Got in a 1 hour workout on the treadmill due to more rain storms in the Austin area.  I have a tough 3 weeks left to get ready for Pikes Peak.  I'm doing 8 mg of Prednisone medication for the PMR.  To be sensible, I guess my goal at Pikes Peak is to beat 6 hours 30 minutes. 

More rain again today in central Texas.  Rained hard on my way home from work.  Finally at about 8:30 PM I went out and did my workout running out the lane to the road and back to the fence.  Not the ideal workout path but better than nothing. 

A beautiful evening with clouds and with the moon shining as I got to the end of the run.

Great run today with Karen F, Karen H, Tam, Steve S, and Jason.  We did the Mt. Bonnell loop and then up to 2222, then over to Shoal Creek, then down Speedway over to the University of Texas campus, then to the state capital building, then down Congress, and then up the Townlake (Lady Bird) trail back to Mopac. 

At the finish we saw Joe, Angel, Sean, and Pat B.  A great run that I needed real badly.  Then we went over to Maudie's for breakfast. 

Ran McNeil HS with Donnie's Monday night group.  2.5 mile warm-up with Andy, Earl, and Tam.  Ran the workout with Daniel F.  Had a great talk with Daniel.  Workout was 10 each 200M with a 50M recovery. 

Ran Florence HS tonight while my wife and son walked the track.  Lots of high school kids at the track and the football field.  Did a progressive run increasing the pace by 30 seconds a mile for 4 miles.  Hot and sweaty.  Felt good to run my 3rd day out of 4 days.  I need to run every day this week in prep for Pikes Peak in less than 3 weeks away. 

Got home.  Had dinner.  Full stomach went over to Florence HS to run.  Hot Texas night.  After 2 miles I could feel the dinner coming back up.  Called it a night after 2.5.  Going to do 20 Hill of Life miles this Saturday.  Pikes Peak is just over 2 weeks away.  

Currently doing 8mg of Prednisone medication a day for my PMR muscle issue.  Feeling pretty good overall.   

Got up at 3:45 AM and headed for the Hill of Life.  Ran 20 repeats (20 miles).  The last 3 repeats were tough, in the humidity and sun.  Recovery this afternoon has been good.  I don't feel any specific soreness in the legs.  2 weeks to go and we will be in Colorado to run Pikes Peak Marathon.  

I lost training days over the last month when I thought I had broken a rib in a training run coming down the Barr Trail on Pikes Peak.  All systems are go right now.   

Did the Monday evening run at McNeil HS.  There were about 40 of us in the group tonight.  Ran with Tam, Daniel, Earl.  Did 2 miles warm-up, then did 3 each 1000M runs with 100M jog recover.  Then did 1 mile cool-down. 

We have finally got hot weather in Austin.  Tam and Daniel said that it was over 100 degrees, and then to add to the heat it is hotter on the track.  A great night.

1 week 6 days to Pikes Peak Marathon. 

Went over to Florence HS with my wife and did 3 hot miles.  

Met our Saturday morning running group at Austin HS tennis court parking lot.  Ran up to Mt. Bonnell and back for the 10 mile loop.  Temps were moderate but humidity was sure high.  The run felt great, and I pushed it up the second half of the Mt. Bonnell hill.  A fun run.  One week to go for Pikes Peak.


 

Monday night at McNeil HS.  Hot, humid.  2 warm-up miles.  For a workout we did 5 repetitions of  600 meters at 5K pace and then 100M recovery.  In the 104 degree humid weather this was a nice workout.   We had about 35 runners here on this hot evening.  Then did 1.25 mile cool down.

Did cross training working out in the yard, getting ready to drive to Colorado tomorrow morning about 4:00 AM.  Pikes Peak Marathon is this Sunday.  Looking forward to go up and down that mountain again.  

I did an edit to select this as a race report instead of a normal running log entry.

Ran the Pikes Peak Marathon, touted as Americas Ultimate Challenge. It didn't disappoint me. I had a great experience for the 3rd year in a row. Checking the data it looks like I was the oldest Texas runner, along with one other guy from here in Austin, both of us are 60. It was a warm start with temps about 60 degrees and at the finish about 90 degrees.

After doing the first 1.6 miles through Manitou Springs (starting at 6,300 feet elevation) we started up the relentless 3 miles of the W's. As I continued to check my heart rate it was bouncing at 171 and 172. It was basically in that range for most of the 3 miles of the climb up the W's which took most of an hour. I wondered if bouncing close to my maximum HR (174) would take much of an effect on the remining ascent to the top. I think it did.

My time at the Barr Camp (10,200 feet elevation) checkpoint was the same as last year at 2hr 1min. But from Barr Camp to the top (14,110 feet elevation) I could feel the legs suffering and turning to rubber. It took me 30 minutes longer to get to the summit this year than last. Note the summit at Pikes Peak is 2,361 feet higher than the top of Mt. Timpanogos in Utah.

On the descent from the summit down to the A-frame checkpoint (11,950 feet elevation) the legs were still feeling like they were pretty much spent. Note this elevation is 564 feet higher than the top of Mt. Timpanogos in Utah. Then all of a sudden the legs came back to life. During the last 10 miles of the descent I was able to finally put a push into the race, passing lots of runners and finishing back in Manitou Springs with a sprint to the finish line.

My target that I fully expected to make was 6hr 30min. My actual finish time was 7:35:47, giving me an 11th place finish out of 29 in my age group that finished the marathon.

It was an interesting race, because the experience of exhausting myself on the ascent and then finally getting recovery on the descent was part of what made this a great race. Sometimes you have to celebrate the race within the race.

The other important emphasis for me was that I had dedicated the race to my brother-in-law, Larry Caldwell, who has just been diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer which is inoperable. While I was at the summit (14,110 ft), I took a minute and found a rock that would fit into my fanny pack so I could carry it down to the finish. We are going to frame the rock in a shadow box with some of the race pictures and give it to him. I had his name pinned to the back of my singlet and a lot of runners asked about the name. When I told them about the dedication of my race to Larry they said to tell him that they would be praying for him. A bunch of great people running this race.

I saw several runners take serious falls, one runner on his descent 10 feet in front of me slammed his back into a big rock, saved only by his fanny pack with his water bottle. Another fell 10 feet behind me on the descent, so we stopped to see if he was okay and he sent us on our way. I tripped 6 or 7 times but recovered every time, thank goodness. At the finish line it looked like a medical tent.

A great race. I plan to be back next year and hopefully the polymyalgia rheumatica issues with the muscles will be gone and I will be back in form to do a podium finish like I did 2 years ago. But regardless of the time of the finish, this is an awesome race. I talked with a woman who has a friend who has done both the Pikes Peak Marathon and done an Ironman race, and she said the Pikes Peak Marathon was harder on her than the Ironman. I have never done an Ironman so I can't give any feedback on that one.

As far as the body goes, the really good news is that I walked away from the race with no injuries at all. No ankle sprains, no Achilles tendon issues, no plantar tendon issues, no I/T band issues, no hamstring issues, no quad issues, no sore back, no sore ribs, nothing at all to complain about. I'm ready to focus now on some speed work and get trained to qualify for next year's Boston. I go in to see the doctor for my annual physical this week. For the blood test I'm going to ask him to give me a good reading on iron levels and testosterone levels, as I know both of those can affect your energy levels for racing.

To put the race course in perspective to the Utah runners, in order to get the same elevation gain (of 7,815 feet) in Utah you would have to start a race at the Purple Turtle in Pleasant Grove, and run 1.6 miles toward Mt. Timpanogos, then run up to the top of Mt. Timpanogos, and then imagine a 56 story tall building on top of Timp and you would run up all 56 stories. At that point you would be half way through with your race. Then turn around and run back down. And even this would be an easier race, since the start line in Pleasant Grove is only at an elevation of 4,498 feet, which is 1,802 feet lower than the start of the race in Manitou Springs, Colorado. Anyway this helps put the Pikes Peak Marathon in a perspective any time I drive in Utah County and look up at Timp. In Utah people get all excited to do the Timp hike, where they drive up to the 8,000 foot level in American Fork Canyon to the start of the Timp trail head, and then at midnight start a hike that takes all night to get an elevation gain of around 3,700 feet. The sunrise from this vantage point is amazing. I have done that hike with family two times and it is an awesome experience, but it does pale to the effort that the Pikes Peak Marathon gives you.

Next year is only 12 months away. Lets do it.

3 days after Pikes Peak and we had a great run at Brushy Creek.  Ran with Karen F and Karen H.  Temps in mid 90's with high humidity and some clouds and thunder moving in from Hurricane Dean.  The run started and ended at the park where they have the water fun area with jets going all over the place, so we could take off our shoes and get in the water fountains with the kids and get cooled down, awesome.  Planning for a 10 mile run early Friday morning if we can all get schedules coordinated. 

I am amazed at how good I feel just 3 days since Pikes Peak Marathon.  This is almost goofy.  I feel great.  Making plans to run either the San Antonio or Dallas White Rock marathon for my Boston qualify run.  Karen H said she may do Dallas White Rock with me if I choose that one.   

Got up at 3:45 AM and drove to Austin to join Karen F and Karen H.  We did a 10 mile run on the streets of Austin and on the trail at Townlake (Lady Bird Lake).  A real nice run.  Felt great only 5 days after doing Pikes Peak.  This is the most total miles I have done in a single week for a long time.  This gives me 42 miles for the week. 

I feel like Pikes Peak is turning into just another fitness builder weekend rather than a marathon pounding workout that needs weeks of recovery.  Rather than be in recovery mode I feel like I'm in fitness building mode.

Ran at McNeil HS with Donnie's group.  2 mile warm-up.  2 miles hard with Karen F & Karen H doing 400M fast with 100M recovery, 8 each.  Then did 1 mile cool down.  Temp 96 degrees plus Texas humidity.  A great workout.  

Ran at Brushy Creek trail park.  The sun went behind the clouds and temps dropped from mid 90's to mid 80's.  A nice evening to run.

1 mile warm-up.  We did drills.  Then 4 loops as intervals with each loop faster than the previous.  6:28 first loop ran with Joe and Gordon..  6:11 second loop broke away from Joe and Gordon..  5:57 third loop ran away from Gordon, Joe followed.  5:41 fourth loop ran ahead by myself and had a strong finish.  This was a fun workout. 

 I'm going to bring my measuring wheel to Brushy Creek and measure the loop to get a better idea of just how long it is. 

15 nice miles with Karen F & Karen H.  Mt. Bonnell loop and the Congress Avenue loop of Townlake trail.  Went over to Maudie's for breakfast after the run.  Pretty nice temp and low humidity this morning, but we still soaked our running clothes.  We saw Joe and Angel, and Steve Sturr, and Jason.  

Labor Day Holiday. Worked the whole day building a fence, pounding

t-posts, running barbed wire and square wire fence. This fence is 1,200

feet long, and has been a several day project. A nice cross-training

workout. Muscles in the back were real sore after this one. Our t-post

pounder weighs over 40 lbs.

Ran at Florence HS while my wife and son walked the track.  Prior to the run we pounded in some t-posts for a fence we are building.  Felt good to get out and run.  Last evening we had 2 inches of rain. 

I plan on getting some runs in while I'm in Utah.  I'll look up at Mt. Timp and remember the Pikes Peak Marathon.

I fly to Utah tomorrow to attend the burial of my brother-in-law, the one I dedicated my Pikes Peak Marathon to.  He died of cancer last Sunday.  He was one year older than me.  

Went to Utah for my brother-in-law's burial.  Friday morning I ran 5 miles at the Lehi High School track.  

Ran 5 miles on the Lehi HS track. The whole football team and cheer leader crew showed up as I started my 3rd mile. 1st mile was warm-up. 2nd mile was a 6:58 interval.  I couldn't believe how hard a 6:58 mile could be.  I should be able to crank out a 7 minute mile interval with ease, but not today.   After the mile interval, the football team crowded the track. I did 4 each 800M at 6:58 pace as I ran through the football players on the track as they did their warm-up.  During my last one some of the players started running with me, fun. 

Then went home to in-laws house, had breakfast, rested 45 minutes, then ran up the roads to the Micron plant on the Alpine Highway and back. One real nice hill on that route each way. A nice workout.

Ran 5 miles at American Fork HS track.  Ran each mile faster than the prior mile, ending up with a 7:23 5th mile.  Today was my brother-in-laws funeral, and my legs felt heavy for the first few miles.  A beautiful evening at the foothills of the Wasatch Mountains.

Ran Brushy Creek.  Did the hill loop over across the dam.  Ran all 5 with Joe.  Nice evening. 

Ran quickly at lunch over at Connally HS.  1 mile warm-up.  1 mile interval at 6:46.  0.7 mile at 7 min pace, then tummy started complaining.  Hot, but fun. 

Ran with Karen F & Karen H.  Did the Mt. Bonnell 10 mile loop, then ran Townlake trail for 10 miles.  Karen H and I ran hard the last mile and really picked up the pace.  A nice run.  

A great workout at McNeil HS with the Monday night crew.  Easy warm-up with Daniel.  Ran 2 mile repeats at 6:47 and 6:57.  Karen H ran the first 800M with me on each one.  Was doing some cool down with Karen H and Karen F made it, so we ran with her.  Ran 1100M with Karen F & Karen H at 7:25 pace.  Ran 4 each 300M at 6:30 pace with K&K.  Ran a 800M cool down with K&K.  A nice evening with temps in the mid 80's and a little breeze. 

Ran with Wed night group at Brushy Creek park. 1 mile warm-up with Joe. Drills with the group. Then Bill ran us over on the dam to the starting point, and had us run a speed mile back across the dam and around the loop. Then we did a recovery walk/jog back to the starting point on the dam. Joe and I did 3 repeats at 7:18; 7:32; 7:20. A warm evening in the low 90's got us sweating pretty good. After the run we showered off in the water fountains, a nice perk at Brushy Creek park.

Ran at Florence HS tonight while Lynn walked the track. Easy warm-up mile at 8:50, then picked it up a 8:20 mile then another 8:20 mile and then a 7:44 mile. Temp in low 90's or high 80's. Just a relaxing enjoyable fun night of running. Planning to do a 5K race in southwest Austin on Saturday in the hills.

Ran Cornerstone 5K with Karen H. I got 1st place in my age group (60-65) and she got 1st place in her age group (45-49) and she got overall womens masters 2nd place, a great finish. I finished 34th overall out of 233 runners, and Karen finished 47th overall of 233.

This is a hilly course, 1st mile downhill and the next 2 basically all up hill and the last 0.2 miles to the finish are downhill back to the start line. Temp in the mid 80's in Austin, TX. The race didn't start until 8:30 AM so the temp was rising.

A real fun race that gave me a chance to push the effort a little. Just for fun, we let all the other runners get started before Karen and I started the race. It was a chip net time race. This way through the entire race I set my goal to continuously be passing other runners, knowing that they had a head start on me so I should be passing them. This is a fun way to run a race.

I pushed the pace for the 1st mile hard enough that I figured it was a sub-seven minute mile, and it was downhill so I was convinced of the sub 7 minute pace. I got into my "2-step" breathing which generally occurs about a 7 min pace. When Karen and I ran a warm-up prior to the race we went down to the 1 mile marker and we both commented that this sure seemed like a long mile. Anyway the time to get to the 1 mile marker was 7:31, so I think this was more like 1.1 miles. I didn't know just how far Karen was behind me, but as I got a cup of water at the water stop, I walked for a few steps as I drank and there went Karen by me. As I caught up with her I congratulated her on getting in a good 1st mile, as she has had a cold and sore throat all this past week and still this morning.

I pushed the 2nd mile which started the trek back up the hills and finished the 2nd mile at a 7:57, which was only 26 seconds slower than the downhill mile. This pace time convinced me that the 1st mile was longer than 1 mile, so the 2nd mile must have been a little shorter than 1 mile. Anyway the 2nd mile was a tough one going up hill. I took a 30 second walk break at the end of the 2nd mile for a little recovery.

Continuing up the hills we headed into the 3rd mile. I knew Karen was close enough that she could see me, which was a motivation to keep pushing the pace enough to keep passing runners. As we approached the top of the last hill there was a group of 4 or 5 guys who were behind a woman in a green top. I caught up with them and passed them just before the top of the hill. Then the course turned right and we were headed downhill into the church parking lot where the race started, so we had about 0.2 miles to go. I sprinted out and left the group figuring to put distance between us. This was a nice finish and felt real good to push the last 0.2 at a fast pace.

Karen finished a little over a minute behind me and had run a great race. We checked the finisher board and realized we had both finished 1st in our age groups, for fun. Then we found out she had finished 2nd overall women masters, even more fun. What a way to start your weekend. We won't brag on the times, but remember it was probably the toughest 5K course I have ever run.

Nice evening at McNeil HS, warm but with a breeze.  Nice workout.  2.5 miles warmup at marathon pace.  Drills.  3 repeats of 1000M at 7 minute pace and 100M recovery jog.  Then a recovery jog with Karen F and Karen H.  Went away feeling pretty good tonight. 

Ran at Brushy Creek with the Wednesday night bunch. 1 mile warm-up with Bill. Then we did drills. Then Bill S. had us do 4 loops of the trail. Joe and I did 6:20 (HR 158); 6:16 HR 162); 6:17 (HR 162); 6:06 (HR 164). A nice workout. Temps in low 90's or high 80's. Nice evening. Ready to run 23 miles Saturday.

6:00 AM at the Austin HS tennis courts & Mopac parking lot. Ran a little over 20 miles with Karen H. We went out into northwest Austin and got off into a route that we had not done before. A fun run.  Heart Rate was typically in the range of 145 to 162 depending on whether we were going up a hill or not.  Mt. Bonnell got the HR going up to 165.

One woman called us road hogs. One drunk bum in Austin let go a spew of words that I couldn't understand as we went running by. A fun run. We had targeted to do 23 miles but as we went off on a route that we had not measured, I guess we were off a little. I plotted the route later on my PC using the mapping software at http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/

Our route is shown at: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=1355285

If you have never mapped a route using Gmap-pedometer, you should try it.

McNeil HS Monday night group.  There were 38 of us there tonight.  I got there early and did 1 mile warm-up.  Then I did 6 each 800M intervals at a 6:30 pace.  By then Donnie had started the group on their workout which was 3 sessions of 200M, 250M, 300M, 350M at mile race pace. 

After I finished my 6 800M intervals I joined Joe and Karen H on the start of the 2nd session of their workout and stayed with them for both of the last 2 sessions, where we ran at paces with a range between 6:00 and 6:25.  Then Karen H and I did a 1 mile cool-down.

This was a great workout.  Coming home I still feel strong instead of worn out. 

Temp in high 80's or low 90's at Brushy Creek. I did 2 loops warm-up for about 1.8 miles. Then we did drills and had 14 of us here tonight. Bill is glad to see the group growing.

We had a tough workout as Bill had us do a pyramid routine.
1. The shortest half loop in 3:12. Heart rate 159
2. The longer half loop in 4:25. Heart rate 162.
3. The full loop in 5:53. Heart rate 167. This is the loop we did last week 4 times at 6:20, 6:16, 6:17, 6:06. Joe fell back a little as I finished this one in 5:53.
4. The extra long loop in 7:08. Heart rate 166.
5. The full loop again but in 6:20. Heart rate 165.
6. The longer half loop again in 4:16. Heart rate 167.
7. The shortest loop in about 2:50. Heart Rate reached 177. This last short loop we pushed it real good and sprinted in the last 100M and got my heart rate up to 177, wow.

A nice workout tonight.

Very warm and humid morning in Austin, TX. Ran at Austin HS track with Karen F & Karen H. Did 1 mile warm-up, then we did 10 each 1 mile intervals at 7:26; 7:26; 7:27; 7:22; 7:19; 7:24; 7:25; 7:19; 7:19; 7:11. Averaged 7:22.

We sweat profusely. I finally took off my dripping wet singlet at mile 6. We were surprised by how many running groups showed up at the track. By the time we did the last couple of repeats we had to run around lots of other runners. It was a great workout. We went over to the shower by Townlake and got the smell off, and then went to breakfast at Maudie's.

I was thinking of the folks running the St. George Marathon this morning as I was running this workout. Maybe next year we will get in on the lottery for St. George.

Very warm and humid in Texas.  Ran tonight at Florence HS track while my wife walked the track.  1 easy warm-up mile.  Then 4 miles tempo pace without any walk break, averaging a relaxing but steady 8:05 pace.  With the humidity I was sweating like a pig, so I removed my singlet after the 1st tempo mile.  

Ran at Brushy Creek park again with the Wednesday group.  1 mile on the trail warm-up.  We did drills, then Bill had us run the figure 8 route (1 mile route) 4 times.  Tom, Joe, and I started together for the first 3 loops (7:49; 7:29; 7:39), then Joe tried to run from us on the last loop so I took off with him and we ran a real good push on the last mile.  We sprinted the last 200M and I passed him with about 30M to go.  Lots of fun.  I did the last mile at a 6:39 pace.  A nice workout.  

Walked the trails around our farm with my wife for about 20 minutes.  The cats went with us and Tiger and Chunk got in a tangle and fought it out.  Mama kitty jumped in the middle of it and separated them.  Goofy cats.  A nice walk just as the sun went down.  

Ran 15 miles with Karen F and Karen H.  A nice run up to Mt. Bonnell, then over to 2222, then over to Shoal Creek, down to 45th, over to Speedway, down to the University of Texas, over to the State Capital, down Congress to the Townlake trail, and back up to the Austin HS parking lot under Mopac.  A nice run.  

Ran at McNeil HS track. Temperature about 85 degrees. It feels good to know the temperatures are finally dropping a little. We had about 45 of us tonight in the group. Ran 2 miles warm-up with Daniel for most of them and had a great talk. Did drills. For the workout Donnie had us do 1500 meters (about 6:45 pace) and then 100 meters recovery, then 700 meters (about 6:30 pace) and 100 meters recovery, then 300 meters (about 6:00 pace). We ran all of these at a hard effort. I ran with Tam on all of these and really had a great workout. Then did a mile cool down.

Ran at Brushy Creek with Bill's group.  Temp kind of hot about 88 degrees and kind of humid.  Did 2 miles warm-up on the big loop trail.  Then the group got together and we had 20 of us there tonight, as the group is getting bigger.  Patrick showed up, I hadn't seen him for probably 6 months.  He has been training with Gilbert's gazelles, as he is really fast. 

We jogged over the dam and then did drills.  Then Bill had us run the hill loop for 40 minutes.  What a great run.  Each loop is 3/4 miles and ends with the hill.  Recovery is a walk/jog down the hill.

Ran with Joe, 1st loop at 4:45.  2nd loop at 5:04.  3rd loop at 5:09.  4th loop at 5:14.  5th loop almost a recovery loop at about 5:20.  Then we pushed it the 6th loop hard and when we hit the turnaround Joe fell back.  I pushed it hard on the return and blasted up the hill and finished in 4:34.  Joe finished about 30 seconds behind me. 

This was a great workout.  Then Patrick and I jogged back to the park area and I headed home.  I think these Wednesday night runs are a great weekly opportunity to push it a little and get the improvement that will come from pushing harder than normal runs.

Nice temperature in the 60's at 5:30 AM as we started from the Austin HS parking lot.  Tam ran with Karen F and Karen H and me for the 15 mile loop up Mt. Bonnell.  Then K & K ran with me for the 10 mile loop.  This was the nicest weather for the past 5 months.  

I'm a little sore from the run but overall feel pretty nice.  San Antonio is 3 weeks away.  The only goal is to simply qualify for Boston, so I won't worry too much about doing a really fast time.  

Ran at McNeil HS with Donnie's group.  Temp in the low 60's or high 50's with the wind blowing.  The coldest day in the past 7 months.  Did 1 mile warm-up on inline skates, then 1 mile warm-up on the track.  Then we did drills.  Then 3 miles pyramid each one faster than the one before.  Since we did 25 miles on Saturday I was going to take it kind of easy tonight, so we ran 8:02 mile 1, then 7:53 mile 2, then 7:40 mile 3.  Just a nice steady run.  Karen F set the pace and I was happy with it.  Then we did a cool down mile.  A nice windy cold evening. 

Ran at Brushy Creek with the Wednesday night bunch.  We had 17 of us there tonight.  Temp pretty nice tonight in the low 80's or high 70's.  Did a mile warm-up, then drills, then we did 5 loops.  Joe led us in the first two loops, I led the third loop, Tom led the fourth loop, and Allen led our bunch the fifth loop.  We did times of 6:15; 5:50; 6:03; 5:57; 5:59.  A nice workout with a steady push but without overdoing it.  We have our Austin Oyster Adventure race this weekend where I will run, bike, inline skate, kayak, and navigate with Karen F. and Karen H.  It should take anywhere between 4 to 8 hours. 

Beautiful day for a crazy race in Austin, Texas. I'm calling the race distance equivalent to running 28 miles but that is an estimate of the race effort distance. The Oyster Adventure series is run in 4 cities in the United States: San Francisco, Seattle, Denver, and Austin. This was the first year in Austin and what a great race.

Our coed team of myself, Karen F., and Karen H. took 4th place overall of all the teams (and some of the teams had 6 on a team so they took turns every other event) and we took 2nd place in the co-ed teams. We finished in 4hrs 23min and a few seconds. The 1st place coed team finished about 3 minutes ahead of us, a young team of two stripling men and one stripling young woman. Our team was the oldest in the entire race with our combined ages adding up to 150 years old. For our 2nd place finish in the co-ed division we each won a $110 gift certificate for Merrell sportsgear, and our team won a cash award for $250.

They call this an adventure race because you have to do a total of 8 events (passports) in the race, but you don't know what the event will be until you finish the current event that you are doing. The pre-race information said we would be running, biking, in-line skating, kayaking, and using our mental powers to figure out how to get to the destination, and using maps of the city to figure out where the destination item was located. For example, the event card might have a picture of a landmark from Austin, and then we had to figure out where it was located and then go find it and then take a picture of us in front of the landmark to prove we had been there. We would get our "passport" punched either out on the course or when we got back to the race start area with the evidence of completing the task. Then we would collect the passports as there were key clues even in the passports.

1. The first event we ran for about 55 minutes to find a statue, a famous tree, and another statue.  We ran at a strong pace and it made me wonder if both Karens would be able keep this up for the length of the endurance run.  They both did keep it up and even dropped me in the bike rides.  I was impressed. 

2. The second event we rode bikes from the center of Austin up to the top of Mt. Bonnell and then back to the race starting area. Both Karens ride bikes a lot and it showed on this long bike ride. I kept falling a little back and when they would be stopped by a red light I would catch up. I thought they might get tired so I could keep up all the way, but it didn't happen. They said that biking helps strengthen running skills, but running does not translate into biking strength and conditioning.  I think I will join them in some of their training bike rides. 

3. The third event we rode bikes over to Townlake and while both Karens did the kayak challenge I rode over to Barton Springs pool and went out into the water and found the clue on a green card at the bottom of the pool.  We used this clue in the 6th challenge.  Then we returned to the race start area.

4. The fourth event we ran over to a gym and then we divided up the task. Karen F had to lift 10,000 lbs. She did 100lbs 100 times. Karen H had to ride the stationary bike for 3 miles. I had to run the treadmill for 1 mile. Then we ran back to the starting area.

5. The fifth event we had to in-line skate for about 30 minutes. We split up and each went to the designated destination, got our passports punched and then returned to the race start area.

6. The sixth event we had to go to a designated location and then walk down Shoal Creek in the middle of the creek. Both Karen's tripped on a big rock and cut their knees and fell down into the water up to their neck. The highest the water got on me was up to my chest. Then after about 200 meters of water walking we had to transport 30 rocks over across the creek to a designated area before they would punch our passport. Then we returned to the race start area.

7. The seventh event had instructions to have us go beg for money and to find diet Coke cans, and Pepsi cans, etc. We were just starting to run down the street as we read the instructions, and at the bottom of the instructions it told us that if we were reading this instruction, then we could ignore all of the above instructions and go back to the race start area. Thank goodness for good reading.

8. The eighth and final passport included interpreting some coding of asterisk words from all of the passports, and then figuring out what the code words meant. Then once we figured it out we rode our bikes through Austin to the landmark and got instructions. We had to pick up 8 drink coasters from local bars in Austin. We did this and rode back to the start area and we were done. By this time the legs were cramping and twitching. It was pretty wild.

We were glad to have finished as well as we did. We had a great support group of my wife, and Joe and Angel, and Sean and Melanie.  They sure made it fun to return to the exchange area and get ready for the next event challenge.  

So it is impossible to truly translate how all of these events translate into "mile" distances, which is why I just put it at equivalent of running 28 miles. It took over 4 hours 23 minutes of continuous effort that left the legs spent and cramping and twitching. What a great feeling.

My estimate of actual distances is that we probably ran 7 miles in the 1st event, rode bikes for probably 16 miles in the 2nd event (8 miles uphill and 8 miles downhill), rode bikes for 6 miles in the 3rd event and the K's kayaked for probably 40 minutes in the 3rd event, ran 1 mile and did the 10,000 lb lift / 3 mile stationary bike / 1 mile treadmill in the 4th event, in-line skated for probably 4 miles in the 5th event, ran 1/2 mile in the 6th event and made our way through Shoal Creek  and carried rocks,  7th event included reading the instructions, and the 8th event included probably a 2 mile bike ride and running through bars in Austin to get the coasters.  Total all that up and estimate the equivalent of a 28 mile run (my best guess).

Run4fun, Run4life, Run4adventures,
Paul
 

A beautiful cool evening in Austin, TX.  We ran at McNeil HS track.  I did 2.5 miles warm-up and met a guy named Paul who had run a 2hr 42min and a 2hr 44min marathon 20 years ago when he was 20 years old.  He quit running for 20 years and is now back into it. 

We did drills and then Donnie had us do 6 each 700M intervals with 100M recovery.  Since we had run the adventure race yesterday I planned to take it kind of easy tonight, but instead Karen F took off on a nice sub 7 minute pace for most of the intervals and we just kept up.  Had a great time.  We turned Lemuel loose on the last 700M interval and he looked real good.  Lemuel is tall and has a real smooth stride that looks so easy but he really runs fast. 

Then Karen and I did a mile cool down.  A real nice evening to run.  The legs could feel that this was quite a workout just 1 day after the race, but it is a good feeling.

A beautiful evening in Austin, TX.  Temps about 70 degrees.  We ran at Brushy Creek tonight.  1 mile warm-up, then we did drills, then Bill took us over to the dam and we ran 3 each 1 mile intervals.  I ran with Bill (old Bill) and Jason.  We didn't push it too hard tonight and did a 7:16, then a 7:15, then I did a 7:03 and lost Bill for the last 1/3 of a mile.  Jason stayed with me on the last mile.  Then we did a 1 mile cool down.  An enjoyable evening just to get out there and get some mileage under my belt.  Still feeling a little from the race we did 3 days ago, but overall all the body parts are feeling real good in prep for the marathon in San Antonio a week from this Sunday.

Nice cool day in Austin, Texas, about 60 degrees.  We met at 5:00 AM at Karen F's home and ran through Austin down to Townlake and then down to the 1st Street Bridge, then back up through Austin and up LaMar to 29th Street, and back to Karen F's home.  A real nice run.  

We're going to run the Susan G Komen Race For The Cure 5K on Sunday morning.  Should be a nice race, just one week prior to the San Antonio Marathon next Sunday. 

My wife, Lynn, and my son, PD, went with me to the race this morning and we picked up Karen F on the way down. Last week was our Austin Oyster Adventure race where I joined Karen F and Karen H to take 2nd place in the co-ed division and 4th place overall.

Today was an awesome race day. I ran the best 5K race that I have run in 4 or 5 years. The past several years my 5K races have all run very close to a 22:40 time, but today I ran a 21:47.4, and actually averaged sub 7 minute pace at 6:59, giving me 1st place in my age group (60 - 64) out of 13 men. This pace would even have given me a 2nd place in the age group 10 years younger (50 -54) out of 39 men. The 2nd place runner in my age group was only 31 seconds behind me. A fun day for sure. This race pace gave me a 111th overall finish out of 1069 total runners. Any time I can finish basically in the top 10% of overall runners it has been a good day. I expect to finish in the top grouping of my own age group but finishing 1st place was especially satisfying.

My running partner, Karen F ran a real nice race at 22:53.7 giving her a 5th place in the women 45 - 49, out of 97 women, a great race. We saw several others from our Monday night speed group and everyone did real well today. Our friend Louis K took 1st place in the men 45 - 49.

We went to breakfast over at Maudie's and were joined by Sean, Melanie, and Angel from our support group from last week's race.  Only Joe was missing.. A great way to finish any running workout. This was the first time PD had been able to join us at Maudie's and he liked the Pete's Special (my favorite).

A warm evening in Austin, TX, about 85 degrees before the sun went down. Ran at McNeil HS with Donnie's group. Did 3 miles warm-up (2 with Earl and 1 with Karen F), then did drills, then did 10 each 200M runs with 50M recovery. Then did a mile cool-down with Karen.

A nice workout after racing yesterday and tapering for the San Antonio Marathon this next Sunday.

Wondering when Kory Wheatley will put up his race report from the Silicon Valley Marathon he ran yesterday.

A nice cool evening in Austin, TX, about 70 degrees.  We ran at Brushy Creek.  I did 2 miles warm-up at marathon pace, then we did drills, and then the workout over on the concrete path across the dam.  It was getting dark by the time we started the dam workout which was 3 repeats across the dam and back which is almost a mile loop.  I ran with Lemuel, Gordon, and Tom.  We ran a 6:50 pace the first repeat, and a 6:30 the second repeat, and a 6:45 the third repeat.  A nice workout.

Now it is finish the taper week for the San Antonio Marathon this weekend.   

Wow, they finally posted the results on the San Antonio Marathon web site and it turns out I took 1st place in my age group out of 22 runners. So out of my last 3 individual races (2 5K's and now this marathon) I took 1st place in each of them. Unexpected. All I did was run my guts out in each one. And in the middle of all these races Karen F and Karen H and I took 2nd place in the coed division of the Austin Oyster Adventure race. Too much. I honestly can't believe it.

Boston qualified for consecutive number 8 and 9 Boston. That was the primary goal and and I made it with a 6 minute cushion, thank goodness. This was the hottest marathon "race" that I have ever run. The race started at 7:00 AM in San Antonio, TX with a temperature already in the 70's at the start. We were lined up for the start and already had sweat beginning to drip. By the finish of the race the temperature was in the mid-80's.

I had a great support group at the race as Tam, Karen F and Karen H all drove down to San Antonio from Austin. Tam ran the entire marathon but I only saw him at the start and a little during the first couple of miles. Karen H ran the first 4 miles with me and did a good job of holding me back as we paced with the 3:45 pace group. Karen F had her bike and joined me later in the race.

After Karen H peeled off at the 4 mile mark I picked up the pace just a little and joined the 3:40 pace group and stayed with them up to mile 10. By then the temperature continued to rise and I was careful to get hydrated at the water stations by pouring water on my head and by drinking Gatorade. As I would take these walk breaks through the water stations after mile 10 the 3:40 pacers didn't do any slow downs and I started to have a gap between me and them.

Then about mile 12 the 3:45 pacers caught me which was a surprise so I just locked into them and stayed on their back to the halfway 13.1 mark. At the halfway mark I had about an 8 minute cushion on the imaginary Boston Qualifier Runner. I was sure glad that he was that far behind me.

After the 13.1 mile mark as I would do the water stop hydration routine the 3:45 pacers began to get a gap away from me. I wanted to stay close to them out to mile 20, but by mile 15 the gap kept widening and I decided that I had to just set my own pace and lock into it.

Karen F on her bike had joined me somewhere in this area and she told me that Tam was still in the race but was falling behind. She chatted and gave encouragement until I entered a park where they would not let the bikers go. Then as I looped the park for a couple of miles by the time I rejoined Karen F the 3:45 pace group was basically out of sight, somewhere about mile 18 or 19. I started focusing mentally on that illusive 20 mile mark and calculating the buffer of time I had on the imaginary Boston Qualifier Runner. I wanted to get to mile 20 with at least a 60 minute window to use for the last 10K of the race. Good news I arrived at mile 20 with a 64 minute 33 second buffer. I was convinced that a Boston Qualifier was in the books if I could just hold a strong effort for the last 10K.

The heat was taking a nice toll on all the runners and my good news was that I was keeping a pretty consistent pace and was passing runners. Most of the runners through this part of the race were pretty much holding their pace but there were some who had started suffering enough that they were falling back. Karen F was still there on her bike giving good encouragement and asking if she was being a nuisance or not. I thought it was fun for her to be able to see me struggle in the heat, yet still pass other suffering runners.

Karen F rode ahead as we approached mile 22 and joined Karen H who had run out to that mile marker to join us. So, the K's switched and KH got on the bike and KF joined me running the last 4.2 miles. Now I had two witnesses of my suffering and determination to hold the pace. This last 4.2 miles was hard, hot, and fun as we now found many runners who were falling off their pace and fortunately I was able hold my pace and somewhere as we approached mile 25 Karen F reminded me of the race we had done in Dallas a few years ago to get her qualified for her 9th and 10th consecutive Bostons. This race today had many similarities to that one, but this time it was me running the race and suffering and pushing the effort. And I had two wonderful witnesses of my ordeal which made this one real fun.

As we reached the mile 25 marker and got into the last mile Karen H reminded me of how the last mile of a marathon is the greatest mile you ever get to run. By now I was flying by runners who could not hold the pace and it really made me feel sorry for their suffering. This last mile was a fun one because I had such a large buffer on the imaginary Boston Qualifier Runner who was 6 minutes behind me. We finished the race with K&K peeling off just before I entered the Alamodome. I expected us to run around the inside of the Alamodome, but instead they had the finish line right there just as we entered the arena so I pushed and passed a couple of runners just before the finish line, a great race.

Sunday afternoon and evening they didn't have the results or placeings on the San Antonio Marathon web page so I didn't know how the age group placeings had gone. The finish time on my watch was 3:54:43. I needed to beat 4 hours 59 seconds to qualify for Boston. A few years ago I would have been extremely disappointed with a time like this, but because I'm almost 2 years into this Polymyalsia Rheumatica business of muscle disorder and still on 5mg daily Prednisone medication, so I just have to respect the length of a 26.2 mile marathon race and reflect on the level of effort it took to accomplish getting re-qualified for Boston. The official posted finish time was 3:54:45 so the time on my watch was off by 2 seconds. I'll live with that. A great race after all. My overall placing of 198th out of a total of 1,112 runners puts me in the top 18% of all runners, not quite as good as I like but good enough today.

Tam struggled in the heat and finished in 4:15:58, but he did finish and was happy to do that.

Run4fun, Run4Life, Run-in-the-heat,
Paul

Went over to McNeil HS track and did a slow easy jog with Daniel and Ly and did a mile with Karen F.  We did the drills and then Donnie gave them the workout which I jogged through slowly with Daniel and Ly.  A fun evening of mixing it up with great running friends.  Fortunately I was not nearly as sore from the marathon as I expected to be, hopefully a good sign.  

A nice night at Brushy Creek.  I did 3 miles warm-up, real easy for the 1st one just to get the legs started.  Joe ran with me for the 2nd mile and we picked up the pace a little.  Then I did the 3rd mile alone and pushed the pace to about a 7:15 pace, probably too fast for me 3 days after the marathon.

Then we did drills and then Bill had us run over to the boat dock and we set out on a loop that was a little less than a half mile, where we pushed the effort each loop for a faster pace.  I ran 3 of these with Joe and then called it enough for a workout this close after doing the marathon. 

The good news is that after this workout I'm almost looking at the marathon last Sunday as not much more than a real nice long workout.  Where I had thought that I probably need to go into an extended recovery period, right now I feel more like continuing the progression of training.   Hmmmmm, what to do.  But it does feel good to feel good. 

A nice cool morning in Austin, TX with temps about 60 degrees and a little rain drizzle for the drive down to Austin.  I drive about 45 miles south to get to Austin to do the weekend runs. 

I met up with Karen F and Karen H and we ran the Mt. Bonnell 10 mile loop.  I think everyone in Austin was running Mt. Bonnell this morning.  We saw Gilbert's Gazelles on the way up Mt. Bonnell and even got to see Gilbert with one of his groups.  His runners teased him on the way up Mt. Bonnell and told him to pick up his knees and push hard up the road to Mt. Bonnell. 

Considering it is just 6 days since the San Antonio Marathon I am sure feeling great for running.  We saw Joe after the run down at the RunTex water station under Mopac by Townlake.  We asked him if he wanted to commit to a Boston Qualifier run in February with a 3:45 marathon, and if so we would help him in his training and I would run the race with him and we would do a 3:45.  He said he would like to do that.  This will be fun and will help keep me focused on training with a purpose. 

Lynn and PD and I stopped by the U-haul rental place in Georgetown on the way home and picked up a trailer that we will use to haul an old Volkswagen Beetle up to Colorado next week for our son-in-law for a project car. 

A nice start to a Saturday and a weekend. 

A nice warm evening in Austin, TX, with temps about 75 degrees.  I got 1.5 miles warm-up, then we did drills and then the workout, which included 8 loops of the track, each with 100M medium effort, 100M hard effort, 100M medium effort, 100M easy.  This was a fun workout to do something a little different.  Then we did 1 mile cool down. 

During the first mile warm-up I felt just a little nuisance feeling in the lower left calf muscle, which I also felt during the last 2 or 3 loops of the workout.  I'll be careful not to overdo anything while I make sure I get the full recovery from the marathon last week.  I still have to say the good news is that I have no injuries at all after all the racing during the last month.  This nuisance feeling tonight is not an injury, just a caution reminder to get full recovery.

I've been in Colorado with our daughter's family for the Thanksgiving holiday. We worked in 15 degree weather pounding fence t-posts for about 1,500 feet of fence, so I didn't get in any actual runs. I had dreamed of running half way up Pikes Peak on one morning but we got doing too many family things and I'm a woose with the cold weather that I would have faced on Pikes Peak. I did pull the grandchildren around on their sleigh for an hour or so which I will count as equivilent to a 4 mile easy run.

Drove back to Texas from Colorado.  We had over 2 inches of rain in the last 2 days here at home in Texas.  The temperature was only 40 degrees today and freezing is forecast for Monday.  It will be good to do our Monday night run at McNeil HS and see how everything feels after basically taking a week off on our trip to my daughter's family in Colorado. 

Beautiful evening in Austin, TX.  Temp about 50 degrees tonight at McNeil HS track.  We had a nice group of about 40 runners at the track.  I did 2 careful warm-up miles, listening very carefully to the left calf muscle, as it has been tender last week.  It felt real good during the warm-up.

We did drills and accellerations and then Donnie had us do the workout; 3 repeats of 1100 meters with a 100 meter recovery.  Each 1100 meters was run faster than the one before.  I ran a 7:20 pace  for the first 1100 meters, then 6:55 pace for the 2nd 1100 meters, then 6:45 pace for the last 1100 meters.  Through all of these I was listening very closely to the left calf muscle, and good news was that it felt fine all the way.  Then Tam, Lemuel, and I did 1/2 mile cool down.

This was a very enjoyable evening after basically taking a week off during the holiday.

A real nice evening at Brushy Creek.  I got there about 5:45 so I only had time for a 1 mile warm-up which Joe ran with me.  Then Bill had us do drills and then jog over to the dam. 

We did a reverse stair step with each step pace run faster than the previous one, doing almost 1.5 miles (9:31) (probably a 6:30 pace) then a 1 minute rest, then almost 1 mile (6:08) (probably a 6:15 pace) and 1 minute rest, then almost a half mile (2:51) (probably a 6:00 pace).  Then recovery back over to the parking lot.  A real nice workout.  Joe and I ran all 3 legs of the workout together.  Gordon stayed with us for the first one but had a cramp and had to fall back on the others.

Awesome 15 mile run today with Karen F.  Warm temps at 64 degrees and humid when we started.  We met at Austin HS tennis courts parking lot at 6:00 AM and ran the Mt. Bonnell, to Balcones, to 2222, to Shoal Creek, to 45th, to Speedway, to UT, to the state capital, down Congress to Town Lake Trail, and back to the start.  A real nice run.  Lynn and I went to breakfast with Karen over at Maudie's after the run.  A great start to a weekend.  

In Nashville this week.  Worked the starimaster in the hotel fitness center for 104 stories which I'll credit for 4 miles running.  Good and sweaty when this one was done. 

Still in Nashville doing ISO 9001 audit.  Temps outside are cold, so I ran on the treadmill in the hotel for 5 miles.  The first 3 were faster than marathon pace, and then the last 2 miles were about a 6:45 pace.  Felt good.  Got good and sweaty.

Met Karen F and Karen H at Townlake & Mopac at 6:00 AM.   The temperature in Austin, TX was still real warm, about 65 degrees or so, and it was humid again.  We ran the Mt. Bonnell loop and then ran the I-35 loop on Townlake trail.  This was a nice run.  Boy did I need it after an easy running week in Nashville.

A cold misty evening in Austin, TX.  A cold front blew in yesterday and dropped the temperature about 40 degrees.  I put on my running shorts and a singlet, and long pants, and two long sleeve shirts, and my running hat, and gloves.  Did 2 miles warm-up and drills and then Tam asked me if I would do a tempo run of 4 miles at an 8 minute pace. 

After doing the 17 miles yesterday I didn't expect to be doing a tempo run tonight, but good news as all systems felt good and I told Tam sure I would do it with him.  Tom joined us.  I removed both long sleeve shirts and did the run.  We averaged 7:55 for the 4 miles and had a really great workout.

It is really surprising to see how the body can recover from some of the long runs.  Yesterday at this time there is no way I would have imagined doing a nice tempo run tonight. 

Cool start to the day in Austin, TX.  Met Karen F & Karen H at Mopac and Townlake at 6:00 AM.   I thought it was real cold so I put on my running pants to start our run, but by 3 miles I was getting way too hot so I took them off and wrapped them around my waist. 

We did the 10 mile Longhorn Dam Townlake loop and then the 5 mile Congress Avenue loop.  A nice run.  We saw Bob B during the run and after the run.  Good to see Bob.  Then we went to Maudie's for breakfast.  A real nice start to the weekend.

A really nice running night at McNeil HS in Austin, TX.  Temps about 50 degrees, no wind at all, just a nice night.  Got in 2.5 miles easy warm-up.  Then we did drills.  Then Donnie had us do a "ladder" drill.  1 mile at 5K pace, then faster 800M, then faster 400M, then faster 200M, with 100M recovery in between each.  Karen F led us with 1 mile at 7:03, 800M at 6:40 pace, 400M at 6:12 pace, 200M at 5:48 pace.  Just a great workout.  Then Karen and I did 1.5 miles cool down. 

A beautiful day in Austin, TX.  Mid day temps at 72 degrees with sunshine.  Seems more like April 20th instead of December 20th.  I went over to Wells Branch Park and did a mid-day run.  First the north 2.2 mile loop, then the south 2.2 mile loop, then the south loop again and then the north loop again.  A really nice fun run.  It took the guilt trip off my back for missing the Wednesday night run at Brushy Creek.

Looking forward to doing 16 miles from the new RunTex store in Georgetown on Saturday with Karen H and a bunch of the team.  I think this will be Donnie's first official group run from the new RunTex store location. 

Awesome run of 16.6 miles.  Typical heart rate was between 145 and 150.  Relaxing 8:45 to 9:00 pace most of the way.  A fun enjoyable run with no soreness at all after the run.  A few weeks ago after our 17 mile run I was very sore, so this is a good sign that some level of conditioning is returning.   

This was the first group run from the new RunTex store in Georgetown.  Donnie is going to manage the new store and he was hoping to have a nice kick-off run today.  He and Jill and Sunshine got up at 4:00 AM this morning and took out the coolers and tables for the aid stations at 4 or 5 locations on the route, lots of work.

We met at 6:00 AM at the new RunTex store and by the time we took off there were over 40 of us.  Donnie had the runners sign a log register so we would know who to be looking for to ensure everyone made it back okay. 

The temps were about 55degrees with a bit of a wind and lots of fog down by the San Gabriel River crossing in the park.  Donnie had prepared sheets of paper with instructions and a map of the route so everyone could find their way in case they lost sight of one of the groups.  Karen H and I led one of the groups for 5 miles and then we decided to do our normal Saturday method of running 8 minutes and walking 1 minute.  Even with our run/walk method we still kept catching the running group at each water aid station.  We ran in shorts and singlet and for the first 8 or 9 miles we were much colder than we had expected.  Our hands were really getting cold but finally the sun came up and things got a little warmer.  Anyway, just a really nice run.

Then after the run we went to breakfast with Tam, Karen, Lynn and I over at the Monument Cafe.  Way too much food.  Next time we won't order so much.  Then Lynn and I went shopping at some of the small shops there in the center of Georgetown.  A nice morning.  Merry Christmas. 

Left work at 3:30 PM to go to Brushy Creek so I could get in a long run before the sun set.  Temperature about 50 degrees.  Ran alone for 10 miles and then did a 1 mile cool down with Richard.  I saw Bill from RunTex 3 times on this run.  The sun was setting on the horizon as I finished mile 9 running across the Brushy Creek Dam.  Then I did the drills with Richard and 3 new runners. 

During the 10 mile run the HR for the first 5 miles (general downhill) was generally about 153 and for the last 5 miles (general uphill) was generally about 162.  Pace was typically 8:45, but I pushed it on the 10th mile to 8:15 and pushed hard for the last 1/4 mile up the trail hill and got the HR up to 172.  A nice run.   

The good thing about this run is that it again confirmed that more of the base is returning, which is what we were happy about last Saturday after doing the 16.6 mile run in Georgetown.  And now with Christmas behind us and New Years Eve next Monday we are almost through with the holiday interruptions so I can get back on a regular schedule of running. 

And when I got home my wife showed me the postcard from the Boston Marathon committee that confirmed my registration for the 2008 Boston.  Its always good to officially have the registration confirmation card in hand.  I checked the Boston Marathon web page for entrants and it also has me listed, a good thing. 

For anyone who is interested in a link to another wealth of running knowledge that reinforces many of the principles that Sasha Pachev preaches, see item 3 below.

1.  A beautiful afternon in Austin, TX with temps about 55 degrees.  The goal for this run was to get in 10 miles and keep the heart rate below 150, just a nice easy run.  After a mile warm-up I set out for 9 more and met RunTex Bill who was out for a similar run so we ran my last 9 miles together and had some great conversation and got better acquainted.  Bill coaches some running groups, but also does many longer runs alone which seems to be when I see him the most.  Running together and telling stories really made the 9 miles go fast. 

2.  A nice run where the heart rate stayed where it belonged for the first 5 miles, but got above 150 for the last 5 miles which is generally an uphill slope.  We also noted that the deeper we got into stories about running Pikes Peak and the like it seemed that we would naturally get running faster, so I would have to consciously force myself to slow down.  A fun run.

3.  Bill told me about a web page that is an awesome resource for running information and guidance.  http://www.letsrun.com/
This web site has a wealth of running information.  If you scroll about 2/3 of the way down the web site you will get to the section titled:  Training Advice:
A wealth of the training advice reinforces what Sasha Pachev suggests as the keys to a life of successful running and achieving your running potential. 
A few of the articles that I have looked at are noted below:
- Top 10 Training Tips
- No Shortcuts
- Wejo Speaks:  Why I Sucked in College  (an awesome article)
And looking at the titles of many other articles suggests there is a wealth of great reading here. 

Enjoy,  Paul

Met Karen H at Brushy Creek park at 7:00 AM.  Temp about 30 degrees.  We really thought that we were cold.  Did 1 mile warm-up, then headed out on the trail across the dam and ran easy for 6 miles with heart rate about 135 to 140.  Then on the way back on the uphill slope trail we pushed it hard for 3 miles and got the heart rate up to 165, a nice effort.  Then finished up with a 1 mile cool down and then headed to breakfast with Lynn.  A great way to start the last weekend of the year.

This makes 3 runs at Brushy Creek for me in the past 4 days for a total 31 miles.  This is a good way to finish the year.