Ok, let the whining begin! Hot weather is good, cold is not...

I really didn't have a problem with the summer, it was easy this year. Yeah, there were some warm days, but nothing approaching unbearable.

[Rant ON] I do not do cold weather! It seems I'm going to have to trade in my shorts for jeans and put on another sweatshirt. I'm freezing out there! [Rant OFF]


[Rant ON] Ok, on a different note: Massage Envy. Good grief. After moving a bunch of stuff earlier this year, I was feeling Plantar Fasciitis. Even through my years of running I'd only heard about it, never felt it. I reasoned it had to be from lifting and moving a bunch of stuff. I contacted a local massage therapist who didn't return my call. Finally I decided to go to Massage Envy on Market Street in The Woodlands.

1)A 1 hour massage is only a 50 minute massage.

2)A 6 month contract is really a 7 month contract.

3)They recommend the gratuity to be paid to the therapist and I recall reading that gratuity is automatically added for 1 1/2 hour or longer session.

4) I didn't use up my massages that I had already paid for. My 7 months expired and I was told that I lost the 4 sessions because my membership had expired. But I had already pre-paid for the sessions, months earlier. "Our computer won't let us do that".

5) A 50 minute massage is really only a 45 minute massage. Complain about it and you'll again get another 45 minute session, next time.
[Rant OFF]

[RAVE ON]
Damn I miss Sher!! She's in San Antonio, www.bodiesbysher.com. She's THE BEST Massage Therapist IN THE WORLD! She's totally hardcore and does very well for herself! Why and How does she do so well? She's totally knowledgeable and she WORKS her ass off! Most/many massage therapists are totally flaky people who just kind of irresponsibly bounce around in life. Not Sher, she works very hard. There is NO WAY I could have done all the great running and tri stuff without her! And you should hear the foul language coming from my mouth when she gets really deep into my deep tissue massage. Very bad language! She's petite and very attractive with a great personality. But I've never had any sort of 'arousal problem' while on her table. While she's finding stuff WAY deep, it's often uncomfortable/painful. You find yourself asking, "I pay money for this?" Sher is great. Here:



We used to go trail running in San Antonio Ranch and Government Canyon. I've also cycled a good bit with Sher. Good times, great memories!






[RAVE OFF]

Ride and Tie. Hmm, that's a different twist on Multi-Sport.

I met a lady during last Sunday's run who's into "Ride and Tie". Apparently these folks have teams of 3. Two people and a horse. The races have the horse being ridden ahead, then tied to a tree. The person riding the horse then runs ahead while the person behind catches up to the parked horse, then rides ahead of the runner. And repeat. You get the idea.

The girl is going to compete this weekend in a 25 mile race. Hmm, sounds like fun. Not unlike a triathlon or duathlon. But it seems there aren't a lot of participants around here, mainly a California thing. Now that's a different sort of sport, eh?

OK, Let's try this again, Running/Dirt Biking/Picnic...

This Saturday, October 25th. Same stuff as the previous topic. We'll go to the Run The Woodlands 5k at 8 am and go to the Track at 9 am.

All are all invited. Yes, EVEN Carolyn! I'll teach you how to ride and you'll have a GREAT TIME! We're safe and level-headed, no one gets hurt, everyone leaves with an ear-to-ear GRIN!

There will be some riding, grilling, feasting, riding, chatting with great folks, sitting in the shade checking stuff out. And prolly go riding some more, too. :)

Here's a FINE example of what it'll look like. Topic from the July 4th weekend:
Fourth of July

Dirt Biking, Sunday 10/19....Wanna go?

It looks like the track will be dry and the weather BEAUTIFUL! I've invited my friends to join for another half-day of riding dirt bikes.

I'll take some docile bikes along for beginners to ride. Track opens at 9am. I'll run with The Woodlands Running Club early, then load up and head out....

C'mon! Coach Bill? Manny/Cassie? Lance? Adrienne? John/Sabrina? I've neglected to mention a bunch of folks here, but that don't mean you ain't invited...

It should be a fine day for riding! Lemme know....BTW, I'm an excellent instructor!...

Evan

So, about 3 weeks ago I raced my FIRST Motocross Race!

Yep, I entered the Motocross races and ran 2 Motos (heats). As y'all may know, I live 5 miles from 3 Palms Extreme Sports Park and often ride during the week at lunchtime. I also have several regular MX friends I ride with on weekends.

I've ridden motorcycles all my life and was in the "holding onto the handlebars" position while inside my mother's womb. I'm innately gifted and talented with all things mechanical! I was the most "wrenching" little kid anyone's ever seen! So consequently I worked on bikes throughout childhood/junior high/high school/college. I had never actually been to a motocross track because that wasn't the main attraction for me.

While living in San Antonio, I amassed no shortage of motorcycles and had/have plenty of dirt bikes. We would go riding at a less-than-hardcore track pretty often. And the less-than-hardcore is a GOOD thing if you're out there to have fun and don't want to get RUN OVER by the REALLY fast guys! The track we rode wasn't representative (I guess) of real motocross tracks because it was hard-pack terrain. So my bikes of choice were Kawasaki KX-100's. I'm 5'8", pretty compact. I can ride big bikes, having owned 125's, 250's, and even a Honda CR-500 (INSANE BIKE!). But the 100's fit me really well. It's WAY different than the bigger bikes, even the 125's! There are things you don't do on the small bikes that you will do on the bigger bikes. But I was plenty quick riding the 100's.

Skip forward to my relocation back to Houston. I grew up here. My stomping ground was the Champions Forest/1960 area and spent summers on Lake Conroe. I relocated here for a number of reasons, but that's another topic.

Upon moving here, I loaded up the KX-100's and a KX-125 and went to 3 Palms. Had a MISERABLE time! OMG! The tracks are NOT hard-packed ground, but loose, deep sand, mud, dirt. It's a nightmare trying to get the small bikes around the track because they don't have deep broad power output. With hard-pack, you launch out of a corner and the hard ground offers little rolling resistance. Launch out of a corner and build speed that is very easy to maintain on the hard ground. NOT the case here! You gotta put power to the ground and you've gotta KEEP IT COMING! The loose deep ground takes A LOT of horsepower! Even the 125 is heavily taxed.

I bought a very slightly used (like 10-20 minutes old) 2004 Honda CR-250R the day after Christmas, 2007. Even after riding it a good bit, I was still struggling. I still wasn't enjoying the track as it's really tough to get around the track. I quickly reasoned that the problem HAD to be me! All of these other guys are flying by and having no trouble.

I learned of a really cool MX instructor, excellent instruction! I took 8 hours of professional Motocross instruction, four 2-hour "classes" over the span of a month. TOO COOL! Best value in education EVER! It took me a while to realize that wheelies, jumps and general hooliganism IS the premise of this particular form of "continuing education". The guy really got me straightened out and got my form and riding position corrected! Money well spent.

So after months of recreational riding, almost exclusively on the "Main Track", I'm pretty damn competent and certainly comfortable. I LOVE riding the Main Track! If you drive by on I-45 and look over, it could be ME that you're seeing there! WooHoo!

So I entered the race on the "Gran Prix" track. I don't like it as it's very fast. You've gotta REALLY go very fast to catch air....and it's LONG AIR. Just not my thing. I entered the "Over 40, 250 Novice" class. There were TWO things that needed to happen:

1) Do NOT get hurt!
2) Do NOT come in last place!

Well, having never launched out of a Motocross starting gate ever before, I was last out. After the first turn I looked back and there was no one behind me. "#$%^" OK, I'll just chase 'em down! WRONG!! Geezus! You know what it is about the Over 40 class that makes it so tough (it never occurred to me until after the race)? Every one of these guys were riders all through their lives! These are guys who REFUSE to let it go!

So I came in LAST PLACE! Do you have ANY idea how demoralizing that is?? I'm very good at my running and work/career stuff. I'm just not wired to accept failure. Hell, I would have GLADLY traded a minor injury for not coming in LAST PLACE!!

Between Motos, I went and practiced my "launch" in another area of the facility. I got it down much better than the first. Starting in 2nd gear, not 1st. Sitting WAY up on the seat/tank and modulating the clutch to keep the wheelie from getting too high.

Second Moto, I was ready for the launch, but still blew it. I bogged the bike, then got too aggressive with the clutch and had a hell of a wheelie, but was drifting out of my line to the right side. NO!! Can't do that as there's a bike RIGHT there! DOH! Had to shut off and let 'em go past. AGAIN last around the 1st turn, I was PISSED! I did manage to get around 2 guys!! WooHoo! But I really didn't like it! I was riding much harder and taking chances that I REALLY wouldn't have otherwise taken. Six laps per Moto will WEAR YOU OUT!!

I don't think I'll pursue Motocross racing (not on the Gran Prix track, anyway), as I just pushed too hard and am not willing to take the chances that I was taking. I WILL try the same 'Over 40, 250 Novice' the next time they have races on the Main Track, as I'm really comfortable there.

Coming in LAST PLACE in the 1st Moto SUCKED! Scoring 13th out of 15 riders in the 2nd Moto was much easier to take.

Don't think for ONE SECOND that the Over 40 guys are wimps, they HAUL ASS!! I learned a lot that day!! Just thought I'd share this with y'all....

Carry on.....:):):)

I had a date today! And she's a runner.....

Had a great running date today, followed by an abbreviated lunch (smoothies). I wanted to run in Memorial Park today, as I had to go 'in town' to deliver some client stuff. So I thought, "hmmm, who can I get to go running with me?" Given that it was during the day and during the week, that greatly narrows the choices. But I did recall one lady who's prolly just taking up space on her couch, so I emailed her.

Had a GREAT time! While there are rare occasions, I pretty much only hang out with running chics. Neat lady. Next time I'm in town and looking to run, I'll call her again. Memorial Park is a great running venue, I've always enjoyed it.

Carry on....

Huntsville Half Marathon...I DONE THUNDERED!!....

MUCH to my surprise, I kicked it really well this morning!! WooHoo!! The Huntsville race is brutal with hills! Everything was quasi-OK after the 1st lap. Things started going wrong after that. Because I have ZERO training, I have no callouses on my toes (well I have some, but not enough for what I was doing).

Between the hills and the bloody toe, my athletic fortitude crumbled late in the race. I walked a bunch, I wasted 3-4 minutes walking. I was hoping to go under 2 hours.....Soooo, how did I fare, you ask??

1:47:40, BABY!! That's about 8:14 min/mile....Sheesh, I'll take it!

There was at least one casualty:



And I saw my running buddy, Sabrina (middle) and the SUPER FAST CHIC, Adrienne (right). I don't know how she did, but she probably won it! Heck, if I can't be a truly great runner, I might as well hang out with great runners, eh?! Here:



And saw Karen, Bill Dwyer, Jon Walk....GREAT bunch of folks! They're truly committed to the runners' cause and are responsible for putting on a TOP NOTCH event! Thanks guys!

And that's just the 1st-third of my day...shower, then client work, followed by the Conroe Cajun Catfish Festival. And I have a date! I'll be welcoming a restful work week, weekends are tiring! WooHoo...


EDIT: Bill Dwyer (Bill, THANKS for ALL of your contributions to the local running scene!) just sent me these pics he took...I chatted a good bit with the girl in the first pic. This was at the half-way point, before the whole thing began to unravel and get tangled. :):)

Second pic, post race, briefly hanging out with Sabrina (after I was pretty sure I wasn't going to puke).


And major kudos to Sabrina, she was HAULING today! Better than 10 minutes ahead of her goal...She's about to go run the Marine Corps Marathon in 2 weeks! She's stout and uninjured with lots of training miles on her shoes!

OK, I'm back! How rude to have bailed on y'all....

Sorry for the lengthy delay in writing! How RUDE! I'll be brief at this very point in time because I'm in trouble!!

About a month and a half ago, my running buddy, Sabrina, mentioned the Hunstville Half-Marathon. Of course I went and mouthed off, "sure, you're on!" Suffice to say that my running has been non-existent with the arrival of Ike. My gym training also non-existent. I'm out the door right now to go run the Huntsville Half!

I'm sending out distress signals, EVEN before the race!! This could be ugly!! It's a 2 lap race, so if the "wheels are falling off and the connecting rods have punched holes in the block" after 1 lap, I'll exit. If I'm still intact after the 1st lap, then I might go the whole way!

I've got a new camera, so maybe I'll snap some pics!

Oh dear, I'm scared! I'm outta here!!

Ahh YES, SUCCESS!! 10 miles, piece of cake!

Man, I was scared, driving to the Sunday 10 miler. But HAD to go, it would have killed me to have not gone!.....This time, I DIDN'T ask Sabrina how far we had run at mile 1.8 (previous weeks when I coulda sworn we were well into mile 4)....I think I did finally ask at about 6.4, don't remember...

Training IS coming together! I run with the dogs in the forest on Tuesday and Thursday, go to the gym (run and do machines) on Wednesday and Friday, run the forest (or Woodlands 5k when it's going on) on Saturday mornings, and the long run on Sunday....Let's not forget riding MOTOCROSS 2-3 times a week, too...haven't been in 1.5 weeks :(:(

I'm about to sign up for the San Antonio Half Marathon and will likely forward this link to my BEST running buddy in the world, SONYA! We've run together since 1998....Hell, I'll strike up a brand new Sonya topic! Coolest chic anywhere! I'd wager that we've easily run over 100 races together and likely run together in excess of 400 times. We've talked about a lot of stuff...she's funny as hell talking about her family and idiots she has to deal with...

And I might have a new running buddy, Sabrina....we'll see...Sunday, I went into some pretty lengthy running chat about humidity that's rusting expensive stuff in my lab, environmental controls for my CNC machine tools, "ghosting" the hard drives on said CNC machines, peak oil and our voracious and greedy appetite for OIL! And exciting new alternatives! Hell, I may never see Sabrina again!!

The previous paragraph will totally ring with Sonya!! She's probably laughing and rolling her eyes. Sonya can totally place and envision what I just wrote. Hey man, it's who I am. She'll probably come on here 'talking trash'! :):):)

PACK A LUNCH, SONYA!! I'm gonna GO LIKE HELL in San Antonio!! :):)

HUMBLED AGAIN! 2 weeks in a row...HELP, SOS!

Man, it's really UGLY out there!

I ran in the forest with my 2 dogs, NOT 3 (Jazz never came home,R.I.P. JAZZER!, she's a goner!) on Saturday, about 3 miles. Then EXCELLENT MotoCross! The weekend report seems to sound like a broken record, eh? :):):)

Sunday with The Woodlands Running Club was at least as bad as the previous week! ARGH! My running buddy, Sabrina was considerate enough to put up with my frequent walking near the end of the 10 miles. Man, this is NOT good! I'm in trouble over here! I'm stepping it up, gotta do it!

Sunday had excellent motocross races at the track...I opted to drink beer while spectating and putter around on a minibike. I did see the over-40 amateur class races and I thought, "sheeet, I CAN hang with these guys!" At only 5 laps per race, there's not enough advancement by the fastest riders to start "lapping" the slow guys. So suffice to say, if I hang in the back half of the race, it's not too crowded and fears of getting run-over by the leaders are minimal.

Monday, Labor Day, I went Motocross riding with some buds at the track....EXCELLENT OUTING!!

On another note, I saw a guy I know who was racing on Sunday. I had never met his wife. Nice lady, pleasant. The dude was barking orders at her, "go get me that jug of water" (while sitting in a chair and pointing). And other orders, as well. I guess it changed my opinion of the guy. I'm thinking, "get off your ass and go get it yourself!"...."AND since when did you get polio, lard ass??"...."it's not like you're running a marathon, you're racing ONLY 5 laps" (his riding was totally unimpressive).....my opinion of him has changed a lot...I'd bet that he barks at her all the time.... :( :( :(