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Mark B wrote:Sounds like quite the hootenanny in Houston. Glad you didn't founder in the sea of humanity. 

Yeah, it was interesting to watch from afar.  The only time I was inside the Loop (Loop 610, the innermost freeway ring around downtown-about 6 miles away from downtown) was when I ran to or through Memorial Park in the dark.

We're supposed to be mounting another drive to bid on the 2022 Super Bowl.  Our last Super Bowl was Super Bowl XXXVIII, otherwise remembered as the Janet Jackson wardrobe malfunction Super Bowl.  The Patriots lost that one to the Giants, I think.

nkrichards wrote:Sounds like you had an "interesting" week!

I don't follow football much but had the game on in an effort to catch some of the ads and the highlights...I would scroll back a few seconds to see what I missed whenever the crowd screamed really loudly.  It got less and less interesting as the lead increased.  I will admit that I did watch the 4th quarter and OT quite attentively though.  I didn't have a favorite but it's always fun to watch a comeback.

I didn't see the path of the storm that affected New Orleans today...hope it didn't come through Houston as well.

I didn't have a favorite either, but even when it was 28-3 with 5 minutes to go in the 3rd quarter, I was thinking, "It's the Patriots and they can mount a comeback."

As far as the New Orleans tornado (an EF3 tornado), Houston was enjoying low humidity and a west wind, so we were never in trouble and I was in Dallas.

Today, we had a record high of 87 (seasonal is 65), but we have a cold front coming in tonight and morning temps are to be 50.  It was even warm in Dallas, where the front came through last night.  I think tomorrow, they're supposed to get back up to 85 degrees (seasonal is 58).

Thursday, I went and ran the Devil's Loop (6.66 miles) in 50 degree weather.  Sure felt good, even if the left knee wasn't just tickled to be around for it.  Running long in the morning and I hope the left knee can put up with it.  I'll wear my knee brace because it just needs it.  About 7 weeks until the 50K.

ounce wrote:Thursday, I went and ran the Devil's Loop (6.66 miles) in 50 degree weather.  Sure felt good, even if the left knee wasn't just tickled to be around for it.  Running long in the morning and I hope the left knee can put up with it.  I'll wear my knee brace because it just needs it.  About 7 weeks until the 50K.

Sounds like you picked a nice day for a run.  50 degree weather is quite comfortable.  Good to hear you're getting out there when you can.  Hope the long run goes well.

Thanks, Nancy.  Alas, I went 0 for 2 on the long run.  I tried it on both Saturday and this morning, but I wasn't feeling it.  Part of it was the weather (69 degrees), which is awfully warm to have before March, but it's been warm all winter.  I also think some of it was a lack of being ketone dependent enough.

I might try it during the week, when it'll be a little cooler.  Functionally though, I wore the knee brace on Saturday and did well for the short distance I ran.  My knee was pain-free, this morning, so I went braceless.

But I shouldn't use the weather as a reason because on April 8, I hope the morning low temperature will be no higher than 69 degrees.

Some days it goes like that...hope things go better next time.

nkrichards wrote:Some days it goes like that...hope things go better next time.

Well, it did.  This morning, ahead of a pretty intense, big blob of rain, I ran the 14 miles.  The line of storms was not to go through town until about 10:30, as of last night.  Wellllllll, it arrived early.  About 20 minutes prior to me finishing, I saw a flash, then counted 1, 2, 3,....until 15 and the very active thundering sound arrived.  So, the source of the lightning was 3 miles away at 7:00 a.m.  Hmmm. 

I was going as fast as I could, give or take 30 seconds, so if I got drenched, there wasn't much I could do about it.  The wind for the whole run was mostly 10 mph out of the ESE, so a headwind for the first 7.  RIGHT after the thunder, wind shift and a cool NW breeze.  Hmmm.  Down here, a wind shift with impending rain means an outflow boundary of rain and wind was separately from the main blob.  The cool air is caused by the rain cooling it.  Crap.

As it turned out, the rain didn't hit my apt for another hour, but when it got here, it sure rained.  Some parts of the area received a lot of damage from EF0 or EF1 tornadoes, straightline winds and/or the rain blob moving at 50 mph.  One middle school two counties to the southwest had a 100 year old old tree fall at a junior high that obliterated the covered walkway, but the building was not harmed.

So, the run went pretty well.  Time suffered for the last 6 miles and I had to stop with 2 miles to go and see if my unbraced left knee would settle down.  Two minutes later, I started back up and had no pain for the rest of the run.  As much as it's crap, I told the legs we would be running 9 miles, this morning.  I just had to get out there and run 14. 

And I did.

I'll post the numbers later.  Thanks for stopping by.

Nice job on the long run...and finishing before the rains hit!

This sure has been the winter for interesting weather.  There was a big article in the paper yesterday about the difficulty "wanna be Olympians" from Bend were having getting their training in this winter.  Poor souls.  Just imagine how difficult it is for the rest of us who also have to earn a non-running related income.

You Texas people and weather! Getting caught in the rain here just means it's Tuesday. There, it's a life-threatening event!

Good job getting the 14-miler done! And I'm glad the knee settled down after a short break. That's a good sign.

Mark B wrote:You Texas people and weather! Getting caught in the rain here just means it's Tuesday. There, it's a life-threatening event!

Good job getting the 14-miler done! And I'm glad the knee settled down after a short break. That's a good sign.

WAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.  Rain to y'all is humidity to us.  I'll have you know that Houston (or Harris County) reports more tornadoes than ANY other city or county in the You Ess of A.  We're #1!  However, we don't get EF5's (and to use your vernacular, an EF5 is tornadomageddon).  At least we're as competent to drive in the snow as the center of your SMSA is.

And, yes, we're getting rain tomorrow because it's a frickin' holiday.  It seems our multi-inch in a day rainfall tends to fall on a holiday or special day of some sort.  Deal with it, I like to follow weather.

-30-

Thanks, Mark!  Yeah, it seems to be picky about some things like older shoes.

I ran 12 miles on this past Friday in 52 degree weather.  The weather felt good and the run did, as well, for the most part.  The 14 miler was in 64 degree weather.  If you guessed that I ran faster in 52 degree weather than the 64 degree weather, then you get a free subscription to Southeast Texas weather updates. (Mark, you get one delivered to your paper email address and your 5 personal email addresses.  No need to thank me.)

It being President's Day tomorrow, I won't probably run as it's supposed to be running.  Shit melts just like sugar in the rain, you know.

Thanks for stopping by.

Another long run.  Nice!

I don't blame you for staying inside when it's raining...I normally do the same.  I will admit that as much as I dislike running in the rain it is more preferable than the humidity.  I'll just do my running here in sunny Central Oregon.  I have to deal with hot but dry days in the summer and single digits in the winter...you and Mark can deal with the humidity and the rain.

Enjoy the holiday and the rest day.

I think what it really comes down to for me is that I need to upgrade my wet-weather running gear to something that doesn't soak through after 20 minutes of rainfall. My jacket used to do better, but it's been through the wash a lot in the umpteen years since I've had it. So it's time for an upgrade... except new jackets are expensive, and it'll be spring before long and the rain will get warmer..

As for humidity, well... you have my sympathy. At least you can't get hypothermia from it, though.

Yes, you have tornadoes. But remember: We have Fluff.

Well no matter where I live I deal with the weather too - rain and such in GA and snow and such in OH.  For the most part it has been very warm for winter in GA (and in Cleveland too of course when I'm not there), but there is no global warming right.

I get you not running in the monsoons in Houston - been there, got caught running in that.

Mark B wrote:I think what it really comes down to for me is that I need to upgrade my wet-weather running gear to something that doesn't soak through after 20 minutes of rainfall. My jacket used to do better, but it's been through the wash a lot in the umpteen years since I've had it. So it's time for an upgrade... except new jackets are expensive, and it'll be spring before long and the rain will get warmer..

As for humidity, well... you have my sympathy. At least you can't get hypothermia from it, though.

Yes, you have tornadoes. But remember: We have Fluff.

Dry cleaning bags.  Re-purposing before it ultimately gets to a landfill.  They're thin, very adaptable, easy to carry in the back of your shorts, and cameras can still make out your bib number!  I've used them in pouring down rain during a frontal passage.  They work.

Hurricane Fluff!

Michele \"1L" Keane wrote:Well no matter where I live I deal with the weather too - rain and such in GA and snow and such in OH.  For the most part it has been very warm for winter in GA (and in Cleveland too of course when I'm not there), but there is no global warming right.

I get you not running in the monsoons in Houston - been there, got caught running in that.

Word.

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Anytime you get a split jet stream, it's not a good thing.  I'm sure the visible satellite loop is pretty impressive.

And Texas weather is in the news again...

Stay safe.

nkrichards wrote:And Texas weather is in the news again...

Stay safe.

Yes, ma'am.  San Antonio got popped pretty hard with 4 tornadoes on Sunday night.  That same cluster made it to 75 miles west of Houston and began losing its intensity.  I still received an inch and a quarter, while west, they got 4".

We're supposed to have good weather until March comes around.

ounce wrote:

nkrichards wrote:And Texas weather is in the news again...

Stay safe.

Yes, ma'am.  San Antonio got popped pretty hard with 4 tornadoes on Sunday night.  That same cluster made it to 75 miles west of Houston and began losing its intensity.  I still received an inch and a quarter, while west, they got 4".

We're supposed to have good weather until March comes around.

March arrives next week!  Enjoy your week of good weather.

Yeah, it's the warmest February on record.  Same in Dallas.  This is April weather.

Well, I was going to run long on Friday, but got some bad news and had to drive to New Orleans.  On Mardi Gras weekend, to boot.  It took me 7 hours to get there, when it's usually a 5 hour 15 minute drive.  That's how it was on the way back.  Real sad about not running because it was beautiful weather on Saturday morning, here and in NOLA.

Too tired to run Sunday morning (I got back about 10 p.m. Saturday).  So, this morning I did not walk 16 miles.  I can say that I ran the first half of the run, then shuffled the last 4 or so, but I didn't walk.  I say 16 miles, but that's an estimate because my Garmin didn't have enough juice to record the run.  I can say that I ran almost 4 hours, so it was somewhere between 15.6 and 16 miles.

The knee did mostly well in the 66 degree temperature.  I'll try to lengthen the distance a bit before a taper for the April 8 race.  Thanks for stopping by.

Well, that sounds like making the best out of a less-than-ideal situation. Good for you getting it done.

Thanks, Mark. Yeah, it really was.  The first 4 or 5 miles was equivalent to a border check with my legs. 

Legs:  "Do you have a permit for this run?"
Me:    "Permit?  I don't need no stinkin' permit!"
Me:    "I have an open invitation to run anytime in the dark!"
Legs:  "Name?"
Me:    "Fudpucker.  Fred Fudpucker."
Legs:  "There is no Fudpucker on our list. 
Legs:  "You must leave now or risk becoming our next member of the La Migra soccer team."
Me:    "I guess you know we have a new president?
Legs:  "Yes, so what?"
Me:    "Do I have to go home, retrieve, and play the Trump Card?  Hmmm?  Do I?"
Legs:  "Uh, no.  No.  Everything is in order Mr. Fudpucker.  You may pass."

Miles 6-10 found me in a good groove.  Probably a 14 minute pace of sorts.

ounce wrote:Thanks, Mark. Yeah, it really was.  The first 4 or 5 miles was equivalent to a border check with my legs. 

Legs:  "Do you have a permit for this run?"
Me:    "Permit?  I don't need no stinkin' permit!"
Me:    "I have an open invitation to run anytime in the dark!"
Legs:  "Name?"
Me:    "Fudpucker.  Fred Fudpucker."
Legs:  "There is no Fudpucker on our list. 
Legs:  "You must leave now or risk becoming our next member of the La Migra soccer team."
Me:    "I guess you know we have a new president?
Legs:  "Yes, so what?"
Me:    "Do I have to go home, retrieve, and play the Trump Card?  Hmmm?  Do I?"
Legs:  "Uh, no.  No.  Everything is in order Mr. Fudpucker.  You may pass."

Miles 6-10 found me in a good groove.  Probably a 14 minute pace of sorts.

I always enjoy your posts!

Thanks for taking the time to check in and keep us updated and entertained.

Muchas gracias, Nancy.  Remember, if you don't have a passport or green card, play The Trump Card.

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Well, it's Rodeo Time in Houston.  The trail riders are spending tonight in Memorial Park (across the street from the running loop), resting their bottoms for tomorrow's 65th Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Parade in downtown.  I think Wednesday starts the actual rodeo and performances for two weeks or so.  Tonight and tomorrow night out at the NRG complex, where the Super Bowl was played last month, is the World Championship BBQ Cookoff.  THAT is some fun.

This morning, it turned out that a bad thing became a good thing.  You see, I was going to run long again, today.  So, when I set the alarm to wake me up at 2, I actually didn't set it at 2.  I actually did two of the three steps.  Step two was changing the time from midnight to 2.  Unknown to me, the alarm didn't move from midnight and I fell asleep in alarm mode set at midnight.  I woke up once to check up the time and it said "12:00" which was fine.  But the second time I woke up, it still said midnight.  Grrrr.  When I took it to actual time it said "4:10"  GRRRRRR.  So much for running long.  I went back to sleep and woke up at 5:30 with no alarm.  I guess my body needed the sleep.

So, I got up and drove to Memorial Park to run 3 or 6 miles.  My calves were tight and really didn't settle down, so the alarm screw up worked out for the best and I ran 3 miles.  The 3 miles were done at an average of 13:09, with the last mile at 13 flat.

Yeehaw, y'all!

Funny...I don't think of Houston as a rodeo town.  Fort Worth...yes.

Good job making the best of things in a pinch...extra sleep and a nice short run...

nkrichards wrote:Funny...I don't think of Houston as a rodeo town.  Fort Worth...yes.

Good job making the best of things in a pinch...extra sleep and a nice short run...

Oh, yeah, the rodeo is a BIG deal, here.  It lasts about 3 weeks, lots of people bring in a variety of livestock to be judged, the rodeo itself, mutton bustin', calf scramble, 19 days worth of entertainment after the rodeo events, and a carnival with all the fried xxxxx you can handle.  The big draw is the scholarship money to the kids.  There are 31,000 volunteers and they've given scholarship money of about $430M in the past 65 years, they say.  http://www.rodeohouston.com/

When I was in elementary school, Go Texan Day was a school holiday.  Golly gee, the only time I saw Elvis in concert was in 1970 at the rodeo in the Astrodome.

And, yes, Fort Worth (nickname 'Cowtown') still holds on to its cowboy days.  I love Fort Worth.  I guess if I didn't live in Houston, I'd live in Fort Worth.

Yesterday, I had the idea to run 16 miles.  Either I'm getting better at knowing when I shouldn't run or I was just too tired to walk outside.  I was sitting watching a little show after eating scrambled eggs and link sausage at 2 a.m., when I just didn't feel like it was going to work.  So, I wound down a little and went back to bed.

This morning, I just ran 3 miles to limber up the legs ahead of the next attempt at 16 miles, tomorrow.  It's 4 weeks until RR and while I know I'll eventually cross the finish line (unless I get injured), I'd just like to get into an overall groove ahead of the race and keep the knee willing.

One thing I found out.  I have run a lot of miles on the orange Kinvara 4 and was thinking they are just about ready for pedestrian duty and retirement.  I laced them up, this morning, got outside and started walking to the start line when my right knee started to hurt.  Didn't hurt yesterday.  I went back inside and pulled out the purple Kinvara 7 pair, laced them up, walked outside with no knee pain.


Orange Kinvara 4.  Asphalt to asphalt.  Dirt to dust.

 

I ordered an orange pair of Kinvara 7 shoes at a clearance price (the 8's were released) plus used runningwarehouse.com 15% discount code (FB15d) and bought them for $65 (sticker price $110).  I also bought me a pair of gaiters for the late September race, but I'll use them at BB to see how they do.

The twelve became 3 with resumption of knee pain and didn't even go away after slipping on the knee brace.  Such is life.