Tired Valentine's Day Weekend

Last night, I ran the Cupid's 10k headlamp run. It was similar to the Chupacabra run - a nighttime trail run beginning in the dark, through the woods, along semi-marked trails. It was less technical than the ol' Chupacabra, but it is still rough to run technical trails in road shoes with less than adequate light. Next time, I get a police spotlight and mountain shoes. I fell around mile 4.5, but this time I managed to fall on grass and dirt instead of rocks. Same left (bum) hip though - I need to practice PLFs off the roof landing on my right side, but I was trained to the left, and it's automatic. After the race, I ate a delicious vegiburger with Alamo Ale and hit the sack at around midnight.

Then I awoke at 0630 for the Bird Lovers' 10k. My hip was okay - just a dull roar of pain - but my feet hurt. Apparently, when you wear trail shoes, you don't feel EVERY rock. Anyway, I was in decent shape (e.g. not wincing), so I ventured forth to the 3rd annual Bird Lovers' 10k at Mitchell Lake. San Antonio natives tell me this venue used to be a sewage treatment facility, but now it's a series of nice, soft trails around containment ponds. I took it easy and saw swans and a bunch of other birdies. And fought the wind that came in last night. Here's the first ugly race pic available:

The outfit was my ode to St. Valentine and all. Afterward, the Brak Pak hit Joe and Bernice's place waaaaay outside loop 410 (where I seldom venture) for delicious BBQ. For the rest of the 3-day weekend, I'm going to avoid running, wash the salt out of my eyes, ice my hip, catch up on household chores, and pay attention to the critters.

Thanks to Tom Lake for the pic - except for when you ran passed me along the route.