Z and The Dustinator after I finished the Chevron Houston Marathon on January 13, 2013

Z drove to Houston from Austin the morning of the Marathon to meet me at the 13.1 mile mark. He had been tracking my times online and got excited about seeing me on the course. He continued to follow me around the marathon course, even after I had to walk the last 6 to 8 miles. Z is THE MAN!

Lazy Cat Does Running Stretches

Our cat Freeway demonstrates how to do stretches after a run. She finds it convenient to stretch on the kitchen stove island.

Malbec Wine at Ouisie's Lunch

A great Malbec from lunch at Ouisie's with my Pi Kappa Alpha (Alpha Omicron chapter, Southwestern University) brothers. I find I need a wine expert to pick out these great-tasting wines; I'm no good at it. Runners are not all about running; we have to eat and drink something too. These lunches with fraternity brothers are great mood boosters.

Frozen Margaritas are Great!

Frozen margaritas are great, especially on a Friday evening after a long week of work. This particular margarita is from Fuzzy's Taco Shop in Missouri City, Texas. A great margarita with some chicken soft tacos is a wonderful way to end the week. Since I'm a runner, I expend a lot of calories, so there should be no problem drinking lots of these, right? Of course I'm wrong. If the calories in exceed the calories out, I still gain weight. But it is wonderful to celebrate every once-in-a-while. Just have to watch the frequency.

Chevron Houston Marathon Run for a Reason--PCHAS

Part of Team Butterfly from 2011, when we received an award for raising the most money by a team in the Run for a Reason charity event. The money we raised went to PCHAS.

This Sunday, January 13, 2013, as a member of Team Butterfly, I am running in the 2013 Chevron Houston Marathon.  I am running for 65,948 reasons, the number of confirmed cases of child abuse in Texas in 2011.  I am running for Presbyterian Children’s Homes and Services (PCHAS), a ministry that serves children and families not only in the Houston area but throughout Texas. Last year, PCHAS served more than 3,000 children and 1,200 families. Team Butterfly has set a team goal of $20,000 and I have set a personal goal to raise at least $500 toward that for PCHAS. I now ask your help in raising the money for this worthy cause.

I hope you will sponsor my efforts, so together, we can make a difference. Please consider a donation of $35 or $70, $100 or more. Your donation is tax-deductible and will make a tremendous impact.

Please visit the link below to donate to this cause (note that the link will take you to the Team Butterfly donation page; I do not have an individual donation page):

http://www.chevronhoustonmarathon.com/Donate/PersonalPage.cfm?MID=9252&CRID=35&CID=392

Every donation - large or small - brings me one step closer to reaching my goals and every dollar I raise will move a child one step closer to A FUTURE WITH HOPE.

Keep on running,

Thanks for your support,

The Dustinator

Running Socks Drying

Runners go through a lot of socks. I dry mine on a drying rack, not in the dryer. Note these are all technical socks, which is all I wear. They do tend to make the soles of your feet dry, so moisturizing with lotion helps a lot.

Shirts and shorts

A week's running laundry hanging to dry.