Dirty old Day at Decker

I really didn't want to get out of bed this morning, and was so unmotivated to run the Decker half marathon. This was compounded by the fact that it was cold and rainy - a real dirty old day.

Last year we had much better weather, I ran the whole race with Clea and we treated it as a recovery run after racing Sunmart the day before. It was fun, we chatted the miles away and were finished before we knew it.

The year before I used the race as a speed workout before my first ultra the following weekend.

This year I had no illusions of running a fast pace, so I lined up by myself and just put my head down. I wore my long sleeved shirt from the Frankenthon marathon to keep the rain off my Garmin - I've destroyed far too many of them by running in the rain. I couldn't care less about my time, so other than starting it and stopping it at the finish line I didn't look at it once.

The race was very uneventful and really pretty boring - hills, rain, more hills, more rain - cold, wet, miserable. I finished in around 1:57 and was just glad to be done. I jumped straight in the car, put the heater up to high and headed home.

I feel much better after a long hot shower, so I'm going to build a fire, hunker down in front of it and make up a nice warming batch of my Guinness Irish stew for supper.

Sounds like a perfect way to spend a dirty old day.

Chilling out at the Texas Trails 50k

Trips to Huntsville are always interesting. I guess it's primetime hunting season right now as it seemed like almost everyone we saw in town was decked out in camouflage. I had to constantly suppress the urge to say "I can still see you" every time I passed one of them.

But I didn't want to get shot (and I wasn't sure if it was British season as well as deer) so I contained myself :-)

Last night it got super cold, so after supper we were glad to retire to a nice toasty warm hotel room. We awoke to a cold frosty morning, and got to the park just as dawn was breaking to find the temperatures were down to 22F. As if to make up for it, the lake was simply beautiful - mist floating across the water. Here are some more of the obligatory "misty morning" photos.

Smoke on the water - beautiful Huntsville SP

The race got going right at 7:30am. I had decided to wear just shorts and t-shirt as I knew I would warm up once we started running (and I did), but I did make a concession to the cold by wearing gloves (especially as I was carrying handheld bottles). The weather eventually warmed up into the upper 40s, and it was perfect running weather.

I didn't think there was anyone I knew at this race, but it turns out that quite a few people knew me. At the start line I chatted to Alan from Dallas who I'd met at the end of the Timber Knoll 60k over the summer. I'm glad he remembered me and it was good to visit for a while. We waxed nostalgic about "the crazy guy" from that race and then we were off.

22F at the start line

I seem to be missing the competitive edge I had last season. Maybe it's because I don't have any goals currently, or maybe my goals have shifted, but I'd decided I was going to run this one for fun and ignore the clock. I can honestly say that I really enjoyed just pottering around the park, chatting away with anyone who would listen and enjoying the surroundings. It was a beautiful day, and I finished an easy-paced run in 5:32:02 (36th overall out of 170 finishers), so not a bad effort.

Here are my highlights of the race.

I spent a large portion of the first (10k) loop chatting with Allen Darilek who I'd recognized from Cactus Rose. Our kids are right around the same age and we had a great time swapping stories.

There's about a mile to-and-from the turnaround that you run both ways. That means that you get to see folks both in front and behind you. As I headed out for loop two (the first of two 20ks) I was surprised that several people called out "hey there Welshrunner". I guess there are a few folks in East Texas who've read the blog. Whoever you were, thanks so much for the encouragement and I hope I replied or at least smiled. I seemed to spend most of the day smiling and talking, so chances are good I did :-)

It was good to see and chat with Daryl Lazauskas, who I'd run with at the Seabrook marathon back in March. I hope to see him again at Rocky and that he gets his 500 mile jersey.

Somewhere on the second loop I found myself running behind a young lady with an outstanding rear. It really was hypnotic and I guess it put me into a trance because a good few miles had passed before I snapped out of it (sorry Nancy - it's a guy thing).

The park was simply beautiful, and there was an abundance of fall foliage. As I climbed up onto the levee I noticed the dam had water flowing, and it caught the sun and glistened like diamonds. I stopped every loop to admire it.

There was snow on the trees, and as the sun came out it started melting which resulted in an amazing "summer rain" effect.

I spotted my family right at the end and I got to run the last few hundred yards and crossed the finish line hand-in-hand with Gavin (yes, we got quite a few cheers for that).

Gavin and the "big leaf"	Heading to the finish line

Tomorrow's the Decker half marathon, so another early morning. In the meantime, here are a couple of finish line photos.

At the finish line with Gavin	Really nice finisher's sweatshirt

Snow in the Forecast

Do you believe in earth energies or ley lines? That there are certain places that you are naturally attracted to? If there are such things, then Huntsville State park is one for me. I ran my first ultra there, first 50k, first 50 miler and first 100 miler. Whenever I go there I feel at peace and at home - it's my favorite place to run and I have some great memories.

So I'm excited to be packing to head up there for tomorrow's Texas Trails 50k. Not just because it's the first time I've been back since the Rocky Raccoon 100 miler back in February, but also because there's the possibility of snow. And I've never raced in the snow.

Still going to wear shorts and t-shirt though.

It's funny that this time last year I was peaking and about to smash my 50 mile PR at Sunmart. This year I'm just getting over the sinus cold that's been dogging me for the last few weeks, and my running has definitely tailed off since Cactus Rose, so I'm not expecting to break any speed records tomorrow. On the other hand I always run well at Huntsville, so we'll see.

Whatever happens I'll be sure to enjoy myself. And that's what really counts.


PS. my pacing services for the Rocky Raccoon 100 are still up for grabs. A few of you have enquired, so if you're still interested let me know and we'll work something out.

The Bionic Toe Strikes Again

I really should be a beta tester for running products. Over the past few years I've destroyed (or rendered inoperable) 6 Garmin Forerunners, 3 camelbak bladders, a countless number of socks, and stuck my big toe through the top of three pairs of Asics road shoes.

My latest victims are the Vibram Fivefinger KSOs I've been playing with for the past two months. Three runs - that's how long it took for my wiggly big toe to rip open the seam. Fortunately, a couple of emails to the very helpful customer support folks at Vibram and I'm mailing them back for a replacement pair.

Oddly enough it's the same big toe (the right one) that keeps ripping holes in all my socks. Maybe I need to superglue it to its nearest neighbor or find some other suitable method of subduing it.

***Riposte from right big toe***
Hey now, I know I'm hyperactive but who do you think dragged you through all those 100 milers you ran this year? I think a few sacrificial socks are a fair trade for my ultra services.
***End of riposte***

Note to self : when you start posting messages from your big toe on your blog, it may be time to seek help!!!

The Odd Couple

I woke up on Thanksgiving morning with a massive sinus headache, which nothing I did seemed to shift. Oh well, I figured that it would shift itself after awhile, so I sucked it up and went up to Walnut Creek for a nice early morning run with some friends, which loosened some cobwebs but did precious little for the sinuses.

But at least it got me home in time to get the turkey in the oven.

Lunch left me suitably stuffed, so in the afternoon I packed a few supplies and Nancy and I set off for Luling. Two friends - John and Naresh - were running an unsupported 100 miles along the highway, so we figured we'd bring them some encouragement and Thanksgiving fare - turkey, pumpkin pie, fruit, avocados, trail mix, iskiate, water, gatorade and coffee.

We caught up with them around mile 50 and enjoyed the picnic and spending some time with them. And talk about the odd couple - John is short and stocky and Naresh is tall and lanky. They were hilarious - arguing and bickering like an old married couple, and playing off each other like a comedy act which had us in stitches. Considering they'd been running since 1am, they were in remarkably good spirits. Wish I'd taken some photos though.

Suitably refreshed they continued on while Nancy and I headed down to Gonzales to explore the old town center before driving back up and meeting them again another 5 or 6 miles down the road to top them off with supplies.

We said our goodbyes and best wishes and headed back to Austin. I just hoped they didn't kill each other!!!

This morning the sinuses were a bit better, so I headed up to Brushy Creek for a nice easy 12 miles with some other friends followed by breakfast and Irish coffee (with the emphasis on Irish). I enjoyed the run and the company, but now I'm ready for a nap before deciding what to do with the turkey leftovers.

And I'm planning on staying well away from the post-Thanksgiving sales!!!

Barefoot Running

For the last few nights I've been running with Nancy in my Vibram FiveFingers, and to my surprise it's been a lot of fun. My feet felt very light, and although I'm normally a mid-foot striker anyway, I did notice my stride shortened slightly, and my knees automatically bent to absorb some of the extra impact.

Maybe it wasn't such a huge change because I spend most of my time at home barefoot, and always have.

Having said that,I'm not going to rush into doing 10 and 20 milers in these things. As fun as they are, I still like my road shoes.

But they are an interesting alternative.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!