Delay In Training....courtesy of Ike

Been a few weeks so I wanted to catch up while I can.

On Sept.6 our group had a 14 mile run but I didn't want to push it so I did 10 miles. And it wasn't so bad. I still mostly walked the last 3 miles, but knee is doing awesome and foot is hanging in there. It's time to buckle down and really work on conditioning so that I won't be a puddle of mush when I finish that marathon.

Worked out during the week and then the hurricane is heading our way. Kids got Friday off from school and work was closed. The kids and I grabbed anything that wasn't tied down and put it in the garage or barn, filled the bathtub and the coolers, made ice and got everything ready for the storm. We even ventured out to the chaos on Friday of Target to get some extra supplies and a new movie to watch. Power was lost Sat. at 1am.

The storm came and went on Sat. (i.e. no training run) and then another band of heavy rain followed Sunday. All in all, we came out very lucky. No trees down, no broken windows. A few shingles off the roof, many branches and about a thousand pine cones on the ground. The yard was flooded, but it drained quickly. We basically camped out, using the Coleman stove for cooking food and coffee (gotta have that). We have a battery powered TV (3in) that was good enough to get local updates. Played some games with the kids and after a long session of yard work, hopped in the pool to wash off the sweat. Power came back on Sunday evening. For many of my friends and coworkers, it may be 2 weeks or more.

In all of this, I forgot about running until yesterday. The kids are out of school until Thursday, so I could have gotten up early and run, but having these few extra days to sleep late (7am) has been heaven. Once school is back in session, we'll be up at 5:30 again. I'll be getting a run in later today, lots of stretching, and start swimming again once the YMCA is open. Very few stores, eating places, or businesses are open. As power is restored, more will open, cleanup the damage and get back to the grind. For now, long lines as people hunt for food, gas, hardware, wood and supplies to just keep going.

Some of the good news I heard on all the reports is that downtown Houston and the Medical Center area continued to have power through and after the storm. For all those patients in the hospitals there, this was tremendously fortunate.

On a side note, we found two baby birds that had blown out of a tree. We took them in because there are many stray cats around. My son and I have been digging worms every day to feed them. Unfortunately, one of them died today. Just goes to show no matter how much you do try, some things are not meant to be. Cross your fingers for the other baby bird. My son and I will continue to do our best.

Take care.
Amy