After six or so weeks, I am back at the podcasting thing. And the running thing, too.

It's been a nice break but I'm glad to be back. I have pretty much restarted running from scratch. (Like, I'm in a 10K walk-run training group.) It's humbling but necessary. I've been dealing with some aggravations in the hip and lower back but am trying to ease myself into it.

Oh, and there is talk of my YOLO summer, which involved seeing Orville Peck with my sister and a return to Florida mid-July to reconnect with some former colleagues.

And, I am continuing to work on my new podcast, "Sitting at the Kids' Table," which may also be released as a book.

So, I've been busy.

Welcome to season 6!

I've been doing this thing almost every week for close to five years. Admittedly, I've hit a wall: I'm not running, racing or volunteering like before, and it is getting to be a challenge to find weekly guests.

So, I'm going to not force this for a couple of months, or until I have some more stories to tell.

I do this as a labor of love, so it's not like it's a job.

Meanwhile, I am ramping up the training, little by little.

I've also got another podcast on a burner that I have been kicking around for years. It will be called, "Sitting at the Kids' Table," and is about being 40, leaving behind a successful journalism career to start grad school with the hopes of teaching journalism.

This notion got a nudge when I watched (and rewatched) Netflix's great show called "Baby Reindeer," which is created and acted by the amazing Richard Gadd. Our stories are personal, but his is written with a near-perfect dramatic arc.

I am not sure if my grad-school days are close to being as compelling as that show, but I do know both come from an authentic place.

Anyway, still working out how I will do this, but it won't be boring.

Looking forward to re-joining the trail-running community, getting more stories to tell, both personal and otherwise.

Until then, thanks for listening.

This is such a fun chat with two of my RGV friends, Coach and Hundo. They drove 38 hours straight from Mission, Texas to Marlboro, Mass. on April 11. By the 13th, they were setting up 10-foot-long interlocking barricades that weighed up to 30 pounds apiece, alongside 70-something local women.

The RGV duo were not volunteers. They were paid $350 per day to work on the course and to do operations. The days were long and hard, but memorable as they worked behind the scenes at the world's oldest annual marathon.

Mendoza, a retired high school coach from Donna High School ISD, first began working behind the scenes as a volunteer in 2019. From there, he returned each year, but as a paid worker.

Mendoza gained experience to help him direct South Texas International Marathon, a point-to-point race that goes through cities along the US-Mexico border.

Montalvo is a retired high school science and engineering teacher who coached the Sharyland High School robotics team. He is also an accomplished ultrarunner.

Here is their recount of working behind the scenes at the 128th Boston Marathon.

Robert Gonzales ran his first 50K about a month ago.

He is 74 years old.

He had a mishap during that race that later required surgery, but he finished the race in 8:47, well ahead of others much younger.

Gonzales tells me about his running journey, with credit to his coach, Christi Myers Faulk, and his daughter, Roxanne Lockhart.

He is not ready to stop at a 50K. He now has his sights on getting a 100-mile buckle.

I had Easter lunch with my friend, Jessica. Over the course of our conversation, we agreed to do the Wild Hare 50K in November. We also agreed to hold each other accountable in our respective training plans.

Another form of commitment is that I am signing up to be the team captain for The Flying Chanclas relay team this year at Snowdrop.

I'm looking for a few folks willing to loop around a .69-mile course for a couple of hours throughout the 55-hour event. That would likely mean you would have three shifts, or be a masochist like I was a few years back when I did the whole six hours in one stretch. Not recommended.

Anyway, follow the link above for more info and let me know if you're in. C'mon, you know you wanna.

I reached WAAAAAY into the archives and uprooted this old gem from the early days of this podcast. This is about the relationships you make while on the trails. It's fun, short and sweet. Enjoy!

I have talked to my fair share of gritty runners, but Lisa Tuckwood may be the grittiest.

Maybe it's her background in the Army or maybe it's just how she is, but regardless, Lisa is one tough lady.

She's always been athletic, but didn't start running races until 2015 -- three months after back surgery.

Her record speaks for itself. No DNFs, but enduring some incredible challenges.

She's got a 200-miler this month in Georgia, followed by a couple of hundos later this year.

Feel inspired. I was.

This week, I thought it might be helpful to offer advice and tips to those who are new to trail running. You generally won't see people holding signs and cheering for you in the woods, like you might on the road. I go over things like shoes, hydration, sports watches and more. I don't cover everything, but there are some useful tidbits if you want to hit the dirt.

After years of running at Colorado Bend State Park at night, I finally got to see it during daylight hours. It's almost more gnarly because you can see stealth rocks that catch your toes, the narrow, terrifying rock ledges and tombstone-sized rocks.

I also found new parts of the park where I'd never been. I learned that you should never ignore the race director's pre-race briefing, where they go over the details of the course. Had I listened, I would have heard about the multitude of water crossings, like seven of them (I didn't count, but someone told me this).

It was one for the books for me and reminded me of why I do this stuff: it's all about the stories. It's also about strategizing where to put your feet and, sometimes, other body parts.

Two of my San Antonio Off-Road-Running friends joined me this week to talk about completing their first 100K (62 miles).

What sets this effort apart from others is that they tackled it under extraordinary conditions: extreme water, mud and roots.

Huntsville State Park, on a good day, is challenging with its crazy tree roots cluttering the trails.

This one sounded insane: knee-deep water in sections, wet feet and MUD.

We talk about their experiences and background.

Plus, I recount a fairly epic cold/windy 10K I signed up for on a whim and lived to talk about it.

Oh, and here is my playlist.