Greetings from Katy, TX!

Run Stats:
Day: 190
Miles Completed: 688.1
Miles to San Diego: 1411.9
Avg Miles/Day: 3.6
Marathons Completed: 26.2 (how about that)
Longest Run Streak: 8
Current Run Streak: 1
Shoes: Skora Fit/Skora Tempo
Playlist Favs: iPod shuffle
Guest Runners: None

Bible Verse(s) of the Day:
"Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time." - 1 Peter 5:6

"My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry." - James 1:19

Run Reflections: It's interesting that when I started thinking about developing this input, I was planning to make it a short entry. At the moment, I'm not sure I have that in me as the longer I think about these posts, the more ideas seem to come up. Additionally, the things I find and learn about each of these towns seem to take these inputs in their own direction. I will continue to work on this going forward.

This has been another interesting running week. The weather here in Panama City has been really hot and humid with temps in the 90's with a heat index in the triple digits :-(. Trying to run on consecutive days has been a challenge so I started looking for natural alternatives to gatorade to help replenish electrolytes as well as just fluids. This path let me to try coconut water which tasted absolutely awful and, even with the infusion of various fruit flavorings, still seemed like trying to dress up a pig. Thanks to my wife Jody (and fresh market), we found Cali Water, a product out of CA that infuses spring water with juice from the prickly pear cactus. As with coconut water, there are apparently a lot of positive antioxidants with cactus juice as well as electrolytes. Since I'm going to spend so much of this summer virtually running through Texas, it seems fitting to be taking cactus water along with me.

Another interesting data point is that, based on the mileage I have completed to date, I have completed the equivalent of 26.2 marathons - which happens to also be the length of a marathon. For some reason this reminds me of the pleasure of watching your car odometer change to a milestone mileage :-)

Katy, TX: Earlier this week, I virtually passed through the small town of Katy, TX; passing by the enclosed town sign. Here's what wikipedia had to say about Katy: "In the mid-1800s Katy was known as Cane Island, named for the creek that still runs through the area (now a branch of Buffalo Bayou). The creek was filled with cane, presumed to have been planted by earlier residents to aid in fur trapping. In the middle of the flat coastal prairie, this ‘island’ of cane was surrounded by an ocean of tall grass; thus the area became known as Cane Island. The trail from Harrisburg to San Antonio, known as the San Felipe Road, ran right through it.

In 1845 James J. Crawford received a land grant that included this area. The hot summers, cold winters, thick mud and voracious mosquitoes made it difficult to attract settlers to the area. Thirty years later Crawford, John Sills, and freedmen Thomas and Mary Robinson were the recorded residents of Cane Island. In 1893 the Missouri-Kansas-Texas (MKT) Railroad (now a part of Union Pacific) started laying rails through Cane Island. The railroad began operation in 1895.That same year James Oliver Thomas laid out a town and in January 1896 the town of Katy was named through Thomas’s post office application. The name was based on the MKT Railroad (which was called ‘the Katy’ by railroad officials) and anticipations of prosperity its arrival would bring to the new town. The town developed around the original train stop and railroad tracks.The city of Katy was incorporated as a municipality in 1945."

Like the railroads in the 1800's, Katy was again positively impacted by the construction of interstate 10 (I-10) in 1966 as it resulted in another period of expansion as elements of Nearby Houston expanded westward.

Today, there are several well known corporations such as Igloo and BP America are headquartered in this area. The town is also home to several notable people including the Catt family bank robbers (an interesting read on wikipedia), Academy award winning actress Renee Zellweger and current Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton.

It's funny that Andy's name showed up as part of this research because I recently listened to a podcast that included an interview of him where he talked about life in the NFL and the charity he founded in his rookie year - the Andy & Jordan Dalton Foundation. Here is some info about Andy and his foundation from the foundation web site - andydalton.org

The mission of the foundation is to provide daily support, opportunities, resources and life-changing experiences to seriously ill and physically challenged children and their families in Cincinnati and Fort Worth. They do a lot of different things in both communities to help kids and families that are facing some tough challenges. One program that stuck out to me was called "Date Night" where the foundation takes care of the kids for the evening allowing the parents to enjoy a quiet, all expenses paid dinner date. The kids are hosted by Andy and his wife Jordan and get to enjoy a variety of activities including face painting, wii gaming, phot booths and an ice cream sundae bar. Like Tim Tebow, here is another professional athlete who is using his platform to help and serve others. I'd encourage you to check out the foundation web site to see all of the things they are doing and consider making a donation to support them.

Well, that's a wrap for this week. Hope you enjoyed this post and the info on Katy and Andy Dalton's Foundation. Let me know if any of you would like to join me on a run sometime.

God Bless,

Pat