I went for a Little Run

Well I was getting tired of the bike so I went running today. The left heel didn't hurt but I could just tell I was favoring it a bit. I only ran 2 and a half miles, but it is a start, as I really need to be healthy when fall rolls around. As I sit here on the computer everything feels good. I've already taken some Nsaids and will probably ice it tonight in bed. I just hope it feels OK in the morning, as I'm not the kind of person that likes to rest injuries. I need to be active and doing something, or I'll end up weighting 225 in a couple of months.

It looks like Gustav is headed into the Gulf soon and could become a major hurricane by the time it reaches the US sometime next week. I have traveled to the Gulf coast several time in the past couple of years and another hurricane is NOT what they need. Lets all keep our fingers crossed that the storm doesn't turn into a major hurricane, or by some grace of God becomes disorganized.

School started this week so I'll post a few from the 1st day. Jack doesn't start till next week but wanted to be in the pictures anyway.





Also had professional pictures done this summer, here is our Story Board!

REM

Not the type of sleep, but the Band, and my favorite band of all time. Our anniversary is coming up in a couple of months, so my wife bought me some tickets to see them in Grand Prairie in October. I've never seen them before and I've wanted to go several times they were in town, but never got around to it. Well their new album is more like the old REM, so I'm excited to see them and see what kind of show they put on.

I haven't run one foot this week since my 11 miler on Saturday. I've been riding my spin bike and letting my feet completely heel before I get back out there. I'm looking at September as a start day for my fall training. Any races I schedule will probably be for November or later as I want to take it slow. My weight has rocketed up to 210, so I need to lose a some weight before my long runs get underway.

Golf is on the schedule for this weekend, and I haven't played in over four months. Not sure of what kind of game I will have but looking forward to it anyway. My brother just got back from Scotland a couple of weeks ago and was able to play the "Old Course" three times. Looking forward to see his pictures and hear how it went.

Faster?

I started my Fall training to day with a nice run this morning. I ran with a few members of the local triathlon club and the pace was much faster than I am used to. While training for El Scorcho I was happy running 9:45-10:45 pace and would use quite a few walking breaks. Well there were no walking breaks today and my first 9+ mile didn't happen until mile 8. Needless to say if I continue to run with this group on my long runs I will either get faster or become injured!! Several of the guys are going to try and BQ at the Rock and Roll San Antonio Marathon in November, so I'll probably continue and try to run with them on their long runs.

Right foot feels good after the run, but my left heel is hurting a little bit so I iced it and took some NSaids after the run. I'll probably spend some more time on the bike this week and hopefully try to recover well between the long runs on the weekends. Still not sure what or when my next race will be, so I'll just run and see how the body feels before I make a comitment.

Nothing New

Trying to recover from my 10 day vacation, and I've had my boss ride with me for the last 2 days, so not much has been going on this week. Looking to get some kind of run in this weekend. Would like to get at least 10 miles in, but will have to see how the feet hold out. One positive note is the temperatures will be heading down this weekend with highs in the mid-80's. Yes thats right, no more 100's for at least a week, but I'm sure they will be back before the end of August, and we always seem to get a hot spell in September as well. However, Football season is starting so fall is just around the corner.

I also need to get control of my weight. I have gained about 7 pounds since El Scorcho and I'm now up to 208. I need to quit with the DR. Pepper, ice cream, BBQ and Tex-Mex. If I can do that I would like to get back under 200 by the fall so maybe my body won't hurt so bad on some of these long runs.

Olympic Speed

Watching Michael Phelps swim tonight in the 200m freestyle showed me just how fast these guys are in the water. I know I am not good, one reason I am giving up triathlons; but his time of 1:42 is my best time at 100yds. So basically, he is twice as fast as me in the water.

Back to running, I didn't run again tonight, but the feet felt a lot better getting out of bed today, so I just did a spin on the bike tonight for about 50 minutes while watching TV. A couple more days on the bike and I think I will be running again real soon. I need to get some longer runs in and get my confidence back so I can make some plans for the fall and winter. After the 50k I didn't think I could do that again, but now I really want to extend it to 50 miles if possible this winter. I just need to get back out there and get the legs moving again. Well need to get back to the Olympic Games, they are so much fun to watch!!

Home, Sweet Home

Yes, I am back home after being gone for 9 days, and it is good to be home. I'm so excited to be sleeping in my own bed, but will miss the sound of the waves crashing outside on the beach. The trip was good, ate some awsome seafood, the weather was perfect, except for one day, and only got close and personal with one jellyfish.

I was able to get in 3 runs while in Gulfshores; 2 with shoes and one without. The last run was a 2 miler without my shoes and it felt really good, but developed a dime size blister on the bottom of my right big toe. I wish my feet felt better as I would have liked to run more, but the mornings are pretty painful when it comes to getting out of bed. My left heel and right mid-foot hurt quite a bit when I get out of bed, and they have been every since my 50k 3 weeks ago. After I'm up for a bit the pain goes away and I feel good, but they start getting a little sore by the end of the day. Today they actually feel better and I'm wondering if going without shoes all day could have aggrevated the problem. I very rarely had any shoes on most of the week, and the house was full tile throughout. Today I have had my running shoes on all day, and they feel pretty good right now, I guess I'll have to see how they feel in the morning when I step out of bed. I need to figure something out quick, because I need to start getting some long runs in for the fall schedule.

One side note is that my feet feel great while running with no problems at all; only in the mornings when I get up. If anyone has any remedies, feel free to give them to me.

Here are a few pictures from the week.

Last night before heading home.



After a hard day of doing nothing.



Me and the Mrs.



Night fall, getting ready to look for sand crabs.



Look, a pirate!!

Day 1 at the beach

Here is a nice little slide show of our day in Gulf Shores. It was a great day!! Today is a little more windy with the Tropical Storm in the Gulf.

Running on the Beach

I ran this morning, only did 2 miles and it felt like I ran at least 6!! The sand down here is very soft and making forward progress was slow at best. Tried running on the more compact sand near the ocean but it was slanted to much for my liking, so I just stayed in the nice fluffy stuff. It was a good run though as I watched a couple of dolphins swimming along. It was nice weather with a good breeze off of the ocean. I didn't know it at the time, but a tropical storm is trying to form just south of our location, and could become a hurricane by the time it reaches the Texas coast. Spent most of the day outside with the kids, so they were worn out tonight and went to bed early, which is what I'm getting ready to do myself. Hope to post some lovely picture tomorrow.