The Stubborn Tortoise

Yesterday's 30K run at Jalapeño Hundred turned out pretty well. My mind was right, I had my podcasts/music and the weather was great. Loved the course, despite the sand (think: running in small dunes). I got a coupla blisters, but I was pretty happy to finish faster than usual. Oh, and I prefer sand to rocks ANY day.

If you have done any races with Tejas Trails, you have probably run across Nancy Marks. She's got pixie-short hair, wears cute skirts and talks a lot. (Yes, even more than me.) She just turned 60 and finished the Cactus Rose 150-miler last month. She didn't sleep. But she hallucinated, had her tunes, didn't eat much and just pushed herself to beat the cutoff. She has a very consistent pace and a g...

I wasn't planning to talk about how much I hate this time of year, but I did. I hate Halloween. It's the last time I saw my mother coherent. We watched part of "The Fog." Later that night, she was suffering. I had to make a call to give her morphine to ease her pain. She died a few days later. This time of year is crap for me and my sister. This year, as a pandemic rages and our country seems pois...

I struggled to find a way to inner peace as I set out to conquer the Cactus Rose 25 M on Friday. With virtually no one around, that solitude set the stage for a handful of plans to DNF, which I did. I learned a few things about myself and my training. Oh, also, the student magazin e that I advise, won an award for being one of the best in the nation! So, there's that.

I got an unexpected invite to join a Ragnar relay team early Wednesday evening. It was a group of ladies who I am acquainted with through the San Antonio (Off) Roadrunners. We would each run three separate loops at McAllister Park on Saturday morning, totaling 15 miles. The mileage sounded good and it sounded fun. The team was named Virtually Grounded, which is fitting. And it was! It marked the f...

Running has been pretty good, except that the weather has remained hot and humid. I bailed on doing the in-person race, The Trailway, on Saturday because I wasn't feeling 100% and I had a bunch of grading to finish. Saturday, I ran 6 and it felt great: it was cool-ish, but very humid. Nonetheless, my pace was slow and steady. Sunday, it got hotter and more humid, just in time for me to finish my v...

Orly and Kathy Montalvo came up for a visit this past weekend. The plan was to run as many rocky hills to ensure his shoes and gear are ready to tackle the Cactus Rose 100 at the end of the month. He is. I, on the other hand, came to the grim realization that I need to run more. It became abundantly clear that my spotty training has yielded crappy performance. I know what to do. Run more. Photo: H...

Part of the fun of volunteering at trail races is watching other runners persevere despite the suffering they endure. On Saturday, I saw a few people struggle through their races at the Texas Trail Running Festival. A few puked. But they picked themselves up and kept going to the finish. One guy was determined to quit and was ready. Then he sat in a chair, had a gel and some cold water. He stood u...

Saturday marked the first time I've done a race since March. It felt good to see friends and participate in an actual timed event. The only difference is we had to wear a face-covering at the start/finish. I employed an eclectic playlist to get me through the 10 miles, and still had a few songs to spare. It was a great experience, and once again, it felt as close to normal as we can get at the mom...

After seven months of not leaving my county, I headed several counties away to Pace Bend Park last weekend to help with the Mellow Trail Race, sponsored by Tejas Trails. It was pretty much how things have been in the past, with a few exceptions: face masks were required, no food at aid stations and runners had to take off their own ankle timing chip and pick up their finisher's medal from a table....

The long weekend was sort of a progression run over three days: the first day was kind of rough, the second and longest run day was better and the third day -- a virtual race -- gave me the incentive to push. And it showed. Many thanks to my friend, Maria, for joining me on Saturday and being supportive and knowing when to push me. Hoping for cooler weather and remaining optimistic.

I discovered that if I have a plan, I can get through a long run a lot easier. Some days, I don't have a plan, which is a surefire way of it turning into a chaotic experience. Not having a plan has its advantages when you're required to be flexible. It doesn't help if you're committed to covering a fair amount of ground. Volunteering and one of my favorite races are filling up my calendar for Sept...

I have been battling the negative voices in my head for a while. I had chased away those demons years ago, but they have sneaked back into my psyche. The tipping point came when I got some very unexpected and negative feedback about something last week and it went downhill from there. My inner voice kept saying, "You're a loser. You're an idiot." This not only affected my self-esteem but I also le...

Longtime runner and ultra badass Lourdes Gutierrez-Kellam joins me to talk about her storied racing career. Long-distance races are her favorite. She's the type of person I would befriend at a trail race because she is easygoing and friendly. Photo: Lourdes as she ran the 48K Skyline Trail in Jasper, Alberta in July. Yes, that is snow in those mountains!

Yesterday, it took a few of us to get Maria through her virtual 50K. It was a little ugly at times, but she did it.

No, no, no....not like that. I have purchased a Big Boy microphone and can now record my podcast in my living room, as opposed to sitting in my bedroom closet with an iPhone. It's kind of liberating. My running needs some liberating as it has been in hiding most of this week. I haven't been feeling it and have defaulted to riding my indoor bike, which produces some great sweaty workouts. But it's...

This is an epic and entertaining interview with my friend and coach, Kimberly Aubuchon. She is an artist, personal trainer, running coach and all-around badass. I hope you enjoy our interview.

I had a bit of a COVID scare last week. I purposely stayed off of social media until I knew the results, On Saturday night, I found out I tested negative. While most were supportive and upbeat, I had a handful of folks with unsolicited advice: I should be tested again because it was likely a false negative. Wow, way to throw cold water on you after an agonizing wait. And while I know the advice ca...

On July 11, I. celebrated the first anniversary of this podcast. It was a crazy idea but seems to resonate with people. COVID-19 concerns caused me to call off my plan to run at Muleshoe Bend this weekend. Instead, I will do it virtually. Speaking of virtual races, The Flying Chanclas continue to be competitive in the Trans-Texas Virtual Run. We're battling with a couple of teams for fourth or fif...

This week, I ramped up the mileage -- probably a little too much -- for a good reason. My team, The Flying Chanclas, is virtually running across all 879 miles across Texas. I formed the team as sort of a lark -- something to do during the dog days and beyond. We started on July 1 and of this recording, we are in a dead heat for 4th-5th place out of 183 teams in the 5-person relay. I had no idea we...

Trail running is all about the stories and adventures. My "bubble" friend, Maria, and I made one on a Saturday slog uphill to what seemed like heaven. (Not really, but it was a spectacularly steep climb). Excited to start the Trans-Texas Virtual Race this week. But I am concerned about upcoming events later in the summer and fall because Texas has turned into a hotbed for COVID-19 infections and d...

I ran my second virtual race on Saturday. It was a struggle because I haven't gone that far since February.  But, I toughed it out, mentally, along with the company of my friend, Maria, for a few miles. I'm getting better at running on tired feet and working on my mental game. I signed up for a virtual race across Texas with four others, starting July 1. Feeling great about being motivated, y...

After months of lethargy and turgid running, I eked out 17.5  miles in four days. I know it's not record-setting, but it's a start. It felt good to run four  days in a row. May shoot for a couple more days and then rest up before my virtual Sugar Badger half on Saturday.  Also, shuffle over to Apple podcasts and give this thing a rating and leave a review. It won't hurt. I promise....

This ultrarunner couple has navigated a couple of nights in jail (for quarantine), "sneaked" into national parks and have had a variety of adventures, including having  the windows broken out at their hotel in  Chicago (apologies because I said it was Dallas) during protests. They're professional runners traveling the globe with their super-cute dog, Smokey. They're living the dream -- e...

Part 4 of our master's series.  We meet Donald  Flynn, a San Antonio-based runner who took up running to get out of going to gym class. He abandoned the sport for decades and picked it back up 5 years ago at the age of 60. He has finished three 100-milers and has his sights set on at least one more this year. He has some great stories to tell including when he "geezered" a young  gu...