They had 178 runners in the 5K I ran this morning in a small nearby town. I thought it would be a flat course, but it turned out to be surprisingly hilly and a bit warm and humid. Still in all, I felt pretty good during it, much better than last week. I ran 24:12, (7:48's) 15 seconds faster than last week and on a harder course so I was pretty happy. 20th OA and 1st AG.

When they called my name to come up as the winner the race announcer said, "You won't believe this guy is racing just one year after open heart surgery," and there was a lot of applause which really moved me, so I imagine the picture they took of me looks like I just bit into a lemon. So little by little I am making progress. This whole comeback is taking so much longer than I thought it would.  I could write a book on this subject, about fitness, expectations about perfomance after heart surgery and so on.  At the races, I don't talk about it, but for some reason I am comfortable sharing it all here.

One cool thing happened today.  Before the race a guy introduced himself to me.  He must have figured I am an old guy too.  His name was James Hill and he is from Auston, TX, 69 years old.  At 60 he ran 19 minutes for the fiveK, and I knew from talking to him even before he mentioned that, that he was a good runner.  He ran 23 minutes and of course won his AG.  We cooled down together for a mile or so and compared workouts.  It was a lot of fun for me to meet a guy closer to my age who trains well and takes the sport seriously.  A good time for me today.   Spareribs

Spareribs

Thought I would be tired today after yesterday's race, but as you know, quite often that's when you have your most energetic runs. I did 8 miles in 73 minutes, trying to take it slow and felt great the whole way.  Off to the airport.  have a good week everyone.  Spareribs

Good race Ribs and KS. Hi all.

I didn't have a chance before I left two weeks ago to say that I would be away for a while. I went on a 9-day backpack in the Sierra the week of September 7--a 38-mile loop from the Mammoth Mountain area on the east side of the Sierra. It was great trip. We spent two days above treeline and the rest was in the forest. Though it was only 6-8 miles a day, with a couple of layover days, my legs were fairly tired when I got home and I didn't run for two days. (We did have a fair amount of elevation gain, and that, combined with the pack weight, almost always guarantees that I'll feel like I've had a long workout, which I did.) We didn't see many people, and visited two hot springs. Our dog came along, and though he was limping a bit on the 4th day, he seemed to get a second wind and did just fine the last few days.

The day after we returned, I left on a week-long work trip in Lake Tahoe and just returned yesterday. I only ran every other day last week and they were nice runs along a bike path in the forest. I didn't feel the elevation at all but I still didn't have the chance to run every day since I was attending a work conference. I'll get back into the swing of things soon but I'm not sure I'll run the Santa Clarita half marathon in November. I haven't run long (10 miles or more) since early August. Today was 5.7 miles after yesterday's 3.5, and the day before, 4 miles. So just trotting along-I've slowed further after the backpack10:30 miles in general.

I hope everyone is doing well.

Simon, I'm iintroverted as well so I know what you mean. I like the pace of correspondece, and a few good friends. I don't underestimate the hills of the east coast of the US. Though they may not be high in elevation, they are still rigorous to climb or run, no doubt about it. What they lack in height, they make up for in the density of forest, which is just a different kind of wilderness (and one which I love as well).

It's hot here (100 ), and work hasn't been kind to running. I've been swamped since I got aback and haven't been able to get away at lunch like I usually do. I always feel like running but this week, no. I attribute it to the backpack trip . I usually feel like taking several days off from running after a backpack, and so it's been this week. Well, I've never taken a serious break from running in 30 years, so I try not to sweat it too much. Figure there must be a reason. I'll probably go a few miles tonight after it cools down.

Take care all.

The conversation on hills is a timely one for me, since I recently set myself the challenge of conquering the hills around my neighborhood.  They are pretty mild as far as Austin hills are concerned, but even so they seem to be uncompromising.  In fact I'm sure when these hills saw me coming they said to themselves "hm, a newbie. Ha!  we will take no prisoners".  But no matter; steady progress is being made. I'll be around 23 miles on asphalt or pavement this week, the eventual goal is 30 miles.  Any tips would be appreciated.

Congrats on your win SpareRibs!

Finally getting some cool weather here also -- I actually had to wear sweats (the bottom anyway) this morning.  A nice change.