Fit From Fat

Blogslack

2010-05-20T17:07:00.000-04:00

A really cool person today kind of reminded me that I haven't been blogging much. I have been facebooking most stuff lately, and just started tracking my mileage on www.dailymile.com, but I DO intend to keep blogging, maybe just less frequently when races come up, or important things I wish to write about....

Where's That Confounded Bridge?

2010-04-21T13:22:00.002-04:00

I have had far better, and I have had far, far worse runs. Sunday's 50k resonates within me still, an honest effort, a joyous day, a true representation of the highs and lows of an ultra run.

First, I ignored the race director's briefing (sorry Rob, but really, I know the route...) and was busy trying to catch up with friends who awaited the later 25k start...and someone points over my shoulder and says "you're starting..." Oh, I turn and amble out.

Up into the orange loop I am feeling vigorous and happy and I settle in behind Shelly Smithberger, Gianluca and others for a long stretch...also meet and run with Harold, the older German guy from Columbus. We must have paced ourselves right from the start because we all finish within minutes of each other 7+ hours later.

Into aid station one and Maria has decked out her Alice in Wonderland theme so well, and her volunteers are all dressed to the "tea." Most catching to my eye were super sexy Debi Glinsek as Alice in a perfect dress costume, and dapper Bob Cassill as the Mad Hatter in an identically perfect hat and suit. I kept it quick and dashed out of there.

On through the Orange I am now headed to the bridge...up, down, switchback, switchback and I know I will be close when I descend the STEEEEP switchback turn that always makes me curse when I have to come up it, just out of the covered bridge. It is a relatively new addition on the Orange course and it is one particular corner that in my mind should either be made into steps or drawn further sideways down the hill to make it less treacherous. I am there before too long and it is just as bad trying to go down it without faceplanting in the dirt.

Into the bridge! Hey Lucas! Quick fix again and I am out onto the purple loop. I cruise along mostly alone here and am soon up the root climb, out onto the road and up the dam hill, passing by Avery Ball's old place. Did they destroy the trailer there or am I imagining it on the wrong piece of land there? Over the hill and turn right into the lodge loop. Feeling good. Near the lodge I catch and hang with Mike Patton's Dad Thomas up to the lodge.

By the time I get to the lodge I am pretty ravenous from previous quick stops but I mostly grab a bunch of food and eat it walking out of there. I am finishing up my chips as I turn up the tiny road section at the bottom of the stairs and FOUR deer come bounding out the woods with hooves that clatter across the asphalt no more than 15-20 feet in front of me. I turn to an unfamiliar runner behind me and exclaim that this would be worth the price of admission alone!

Having stuffed myself at the lodge I now go into a low spot that slows me down for about a mile or so, I suspect because blood was going to my stomach to digest and I just feel the blahs, but soon I pull out of it and run on faster. Back onto the return purple and I come to Lyon's falls...I LOVE Lyon's Falls...I HATE descending down those slick steps trying not to die in the fall. It is not exactly a great skill of mine going down there. I chuck my water bottle halfway down the slope to free up hands for climbing down (will have to clean the nipple in the water below now...) and I make it unscathed somehow.

Now, on to the bridge again...it doesn't come as quickly as the first time, but it is soon in sight and I give out whoops and hollers going in to see Lucas again. Quick stop and they tell me they want to see me back in 30 minutes. I quip that the only way that is happening is if I go hide in the woods over there for 20 minutes and then walk back out. BESIDES and more importantly, there is a KISS waiting for me at the Fire Tower aid station, two miles up the hill! My daughter is volunteering (playing with the softball girls) up there and I can't wait to get there and see her!

I push uphill and soon Wild Bill catches me from behind, pushing himself even harder up the hill. He and Tara pass by, but we do spend about a mile talking and running together, but I don't try to keep with them. I go in, get my kiss (!!) and forgo my plan to climb the Fire Tower today. No need. Sorry Art, Sorry Regis Sr...I DID mean to do it in your honor, and have done it on training runs, but today wasn't my day for it.

Out of FT AS and I am running with Bruce M from NEO Trail and we share at least a mile or more before he moves on...I am starting to go through another lower period and I just do what I can. Shelly S comes back up to me and I stay with her for at least a mile or more, but let her go before getting back to the CB (WAY more than 30 minutes elapsed LOL.) I am so ready for this section to end and get on with the last segment, and I don't remember all of this Red loop because I am always going the other way, but it drags on.....and on....and on....WHERE'S THAT CONFOUNDED BRIDGE??? I come to it, and once again raise a big whoop and holler going in.

My feet are sore so I pull a trick Ray K taught me and take my shoes off and massage them hard. It sure helps but I can only do it so long because bending my leg like that makes my hamstring start to cramp up....DAMN!!! so funny. I get some energy (food), some water and head out making my big goal for the last 4.25 miles to not be caught and passed by anyone else. I stubbornly refuse to walk many times when my body asks me to, and soon I am passing more people...and by the end of the segment I have caught and passed 6 people and been caught by no one. My major victory of the day was that 4.25 mile segment and not giving up on myself.

Final Time - 7:35:50 (thanks Jim Cheney!)

I get my first buckle (feels so weird and unearned for a 50k, again, sorry Rob, but it is my truth) and I enjoy some awesome Muscle Milk Lite drinks (two, one vanilla and one chocolate) and I really think they are the primary reason I had very little soreness compared to other runs. I had more soreness from the Easter Egg 20 miler a few weeks back.

And now that is the more full account of my day. One last item, I met some really nice new friends this day (or got to know some more just a little better) including Gianluca, Shelly S, Vannessa R, Sharon S, Harold ?, and others. Some of those are from Columbus and I hope will become running friends for training runs soon!

Tuesday

2010-04-21T11:04:00.004-04:00

I took off Monday after the 50k, although I felt fine...not much soreness to speak of, I could have run, but was being cautious I guess. So Tuesday I ran 4 fun and beautiful miles with Nick L at Pickerington Ponds and then went to basketball afterwards for two hours (3+ miles of back and forth sprinting.) I pushed it at basketball and ran harder than anyone there - I try to pretend like I am Anderson Varejao and run and play harder than anyone else, and at the least that gets me some unexpected scores/blocks/rebounds/passes that my talent would not otherwise net me. It really does work in basketball to just put yourself out there and try harder sometimes.

Today I am sitting all day in Teterboro and could have went for a run, but I am going to let the legs recover some more and plan on running later tonight.

Mohican Forget the PR 50k

2010-04-19T09:57:00.002-04:00

Awesome race yesterday. I ran this 50k in 7:35:50 (good pace for me) and really enjoyed it. I pushed through two really hard stretches and my main issue was my feet feeling sore from carrying all this me around.

I really had fun running with Gianluca, Harold, Vanessa, Sharon, Thomas Patton, Suzanne, Wild Bill, Tara, Bruce M, Shelly S, Cheryl, and more! I missed meeting some people I planned to like Julie Bowen-Miller and got to see Beth and meet her husband at the start, they ran the 25k.

I ran really strong all the way up to the Firetower I would say because my daughter was their volunteering and I wanted to see/check on her. I took a longer break there, maybe 5 minutes, but she was playing with all the girls there, so I left after a bit and headed down the dusty trail. I lost a lot of time over the next 3.5 miles as I really was hurting, but recovered for the last push of about 4.25 and passed 6 people on that stretch, really pushing myself to persevere.

Awesome race, awesome volunteers (especially my daughter!) and a great day with moderate temps!

Ninja Night

2010-04-16T00:32:00.002-04:00

I had an awesome night sneaking around and running 8.1 miles with Mark C. Ran really pretty strong (for me) and got in 8.1 miles. I am doing a lot better with regular running and getting back in the groove. Sunday is the Forget the PR 50k at Mohican and I am targeting about a 7-8 hour finish...how is that for vague??? Really though, in 31 miles so much can happen. If I feel great...sure, 7 hours. If not, who cares!? I am running at Mohican, an extra hour is an extra hour of my dreamland. Looking forward to seeing everyone there!

updates.

2010-04-13T13:18:00.002-04:00

haven't been blogging as much, kinda busy. been adding mileage in stealthy like. 11 miles Saturday with N Billock, 6.6 miles Sunday alone...7 miles Monday alone...basketball tonight and a short run possible...doing pretty good, but I can always do better!

Big post coming SOON (tonight?) about a planned 12 hour solo run (unless some idiot wants to join me!)

weekend running

2010-04-04T21:32:00.001-04:00

Friday night, lifted including squats and leg presses with Melissa C, then we ran 5.5 miles at a decent clip. Next was Saturday morning at 7am to run 20 miles with Brian, Jeff, and Jamie Musick. I was useless for the last 10, walking a lot because of how tired the previous night made my legs, but I hope the time on tired legs did me good for ultras, etc. Now to just put in and easy few tonight and keep a streak going.

Circle Circle

2010-04-02T02:09:00.001-04:00

Last two days were two repeat airport circles. Wednesday I did Richmond and Thursday I did Teterboro. Good fun!

Autumn's response to Love Triangle

2010-03-29T22:14:00.000-04:00

My Daddy Is A-W-E-S-O-M-E!

As it is I really liked it ,Love Triangle. But...... at the same time it was a little bit embarrassing because of the picture of me with my goggles . But I still loved it. And Daddy don't worry I won't embarrass you. So here is my poem:

so much depends upon my daddy
always wanting to be with me
and even I am waiting for him.

(Inspired by: Willam Carlos Willams)

By :Autumn Keller

Love Triangle (epiphanies)

2010-03-29T20:15:00.009-04:00

I actually DO believe that some things are better kept private, and in general I guess maybe some people would believe that the stuff I am about to relate might fall squarely into that category. I feel compelled tonight to write about a situation I find myself in and really, I guess I don't care if I share it with the whole world. Since my divorce two years ago I have dated some, and even had a steady girlfriend for a while, but so close to being divorced I don't think I was really ready for love to find me.

So lately I have really found myself less and less inclined to even "look" if that is what you want to call it. There are so many other things in life that can justifiably deserve my attention that I don't feel like I need a girlfriend. Don't they say that when you stop looking for love, that is when it finds you?

OK, the meat of it, so I have had what you might call two separate "blind dates" with girls that I had no idea ahead of time what to really expect from. I didn't know what they would look like ahead of time. I had no idea of their individual personalities. No history to speak of. Just, here they are in the world, meet these girls. Hope you like them...

Now, they are BOTH incredible, fantastic, unbelievable. I don't think it would be a stretch in any form to state that I love both deeply already in the short time we have had together. Both girls are 100% aware of the other and (as weird as it might seem) they are fully aware of my love for both. And OK with it. Is it getting weird for you yet? Neither one wants me to forsake the other in order to maintain our love.

I realize the privilege that I have been granted just spending time with them. Even fleeting moments of time together have taken on great meaning to me. Whether we have been hiking, at a movie, dinner, or in the park together, when I am with either of these fine girls I find myself cherishing the moments of life more than ever before. Is it because of the loss(es) I suffered during the time of my divorce? Is it because of all that happened to me and all that I lost in 2008 that I can now soak in the smallest of life's joys to this deepest extent? I am not sure of the exact why and how, but I can tell you that I am sucking the marrow out of life right now.

I think most people who find themselves in a "love triangle" are torn and stressed out and feel as if they have to find a "solution." I am fortunate because both girls know about each other, know about my love(s), and are so perfectly happy with the situation that I will never have to choose one over the other. You see, my first love comes from a "blind date" I had back in 2002, and my newest love comes from a more recent "blind date" in 2008. Here are a few pictures of each.

Blind Date #1 (2002)

Blind Date #2 (2008)

The time that I have had to spend away from my daughters since my divorce has only served to entrench in me the privilege I have been given in my role as their father. Even if I had what I consider to be the unparalleled literary talent of a Mark Carroll, I do not think I could find ways to describe to you the casual reader of my ramblings, how truly I feel for these little women. Is it verbal hyperbole to assert to you that I would give my life for either of them? I truly believe I could do that.

In the smallest moment with either of them, I find my greatest triumph, my exaltation of success against any wind, hail, storm, or torment that life can throw my way. When they worry, and seek solace in me, I win. When they hurt, and count on me to bind the wound, I prevail. When their hearts are warmed, and they have found that warmth in my eyes, my words, my deeds, I am the victor of unchallenged prowess.

This love in my life can easily be all that I ever need, and if a different kind of love finds me one day and the shape of love in my life should change, well I will deal with it then. For now, I am not seeking, I am found.

D1 again

2010-03-29T15:12:00.001-04:00

Starting back up after too much recovery time from being sick last Thursday. I ran 4.5 miles in the vibrams today with Nick L and really enjoyed the company! Time to get back on track with another long streak!

D12 - Faster than a Fieldmouse?

2010-03-22T03:23:00.002-04:00

You betcha! Procrastinated big time tonight on getting D12 in the books, but refused to fall asleep til I forced myself out the door. It had started raining lightly when I left, so a light (Akron Marathon) jacket was in order, and I really felt like a million bucks once I was running. The hardest part was sticking to my plan of only 3.8 miles and not stretching it out to my 1/4 marathon loop.

On the return leg, coming down one rain slicked street, I noticed a little field mouse out in the pavement scurrying away from me (presumably at full speed, why scurry away any slower?) He was dark and almost blended in with the road so I looked real close to see that it wasn't a visual trick, or something else just blowing down the street, but it was Mr. Mouse. So, I raced him. I cranked it up and somewhere around 80-90% of my full out speed I was catching him, before he wised up and darted into a rain sewer drain gate.

Kept to the plan and now I am going to try to sleep just a few hours before getting up to run with Mr. Don Baun, whom I know I am not faster than, at least over the long run. I might be able to beat him to the snack bar from the couch...

D10,11

2010-03-20T20:56:00.001-04:00

D10 was 5 miles in the Highbanks metropark...was slowed to a walk on a few hills, but not much. Finished strong and LOVED the weather!

D11 was 2.6 miles pushing my one year old in the jogging stroller in Pickerington Ponds metropark on a "no bikes" gravel trail which resulted in a mild talking to from a friendly ranger. I feigned ignorance and it turned into some good tips about the bike allowed trails across the road. I will be back to explore that park a little more by myself (without my bike...unless I ride it there and park it.) It is mostly wetland area, flat with lots of waterfowl.

D9(a), will there be a (b)?

2010-03-18T15:23:00.000-04:00

Yeah baby! D9(a) was a two mile run in rural West Vernon, TX mostly on dirt road and railroad tracks. Nothing crazy but it got me going for my second run of the day, and I feel like I am going to do another one tonight possibly! Scored 49 cents along the side of the road to go into the Chuck E. Cheese fund!

D9 insurance run....

2010-03-18T04:04:00.001-04:00

Yup D9 already, at least the guarantee of it. I was up early for work, so I hammered out a pretty hard 1.4 miles in my neighborhood (2 loops plus a little) to insure my daily run...I hope to still do a fun run in Texas later today!

D8

2010-03-17T20:10:00.000-04:00

D8 another ride and run...same course as yesterday, but in regular shoes...9 miles biking, 4.5 running. Felt good! On the way home I got a "You can do it!!!" from some wise ass middle school kid. I was hauling butt in a high gear and flew past him and his buddy.

Brick

2010-03-16T19:52:00.001-04:00

I got home early today so I took advantage of the weather, rode the bike to the park, ran 4.5 miles in the vibrams, and then rode back home! Day 7 in a row of running and I still have to play basketball tonight!!! Woo hoo!

Richmond International Airport

2010-03-16T01:20:00.002-04:00

So I planned out the route around the Richmond Airport and it came up to 8.2 miles, EXCEPT that the map didn't indicate a certain road along the perimeter was impassable due to security and I would have to reroute on the fly, adding and extra mile. No worries! Extra training!

On the outbound road I passed a childcare center named "Almost Angels" which immediately struck as a place I would NEVER send my daughters just based on the name alone. To be an angel, don't you have to die first? I would not have any of sending them there! I am sure they are great, but at midnight running by, it just creeped me out.

On the far side of the airport I had to come along some country houses with a light on here or there, making me fear for dogs...I had to buck up and think of Kimba to keep going through there, and all the dogs she deals with! I admit to walking past a few houses real quiet in my ninja mode, just in case. :)

Anyways, I guess that is all for tonight. 6 days running in a row! Tomorrow I have basketball so that will probably be my run if I don't at least just plain run a mile or two.

Add another airport (#26) to the list!

D5 in a row

2010-03-15T02:37:00.002-04:00

The last few days I did some shorter runs (4 miles and 1 miles) to keep the streak going, and tonight (Sunday) I did a 5 miler in Albuquerque (elevation 5355 feet.) I ran from my hotel north on Yale Ave, to the University of New Mexico campus and did a loop around the main portion of campus. Feeling proud that I didn't give in tonight, and tomorrow I will either have to run here earlier, or in Richmond, VA quite late at night again....

I did also have a nice close run in with a student driving a car out of an alley along campus. She came out pretty fast and I stopped and she stopped, about 2-3 feet from me. Whew!

6.55 QMarathon loop

2010-03-11T14:13:00.002-05:00

Nice, a tiny sprinkle and a stop in Burger King to "give back." New Mizuno's still irritate my feet even though I loosened the bottom. Dedication to lose weight is building. It is the ONLY way I will make my long term running goals. The only thing I need to focus on is calories in vs calories out and keeping my mind in focus. I want to set huge goals and there are so many little ones along the way.

Baby goal, run everyday through the end of March even if only one mile, no breaks. Let's see if we can do that.

BL 5.5

2010-03-10T20:43:00.002-05:00

A good 5.5 miles in the beautiful weather....very nice. I hope this can be the start of a new training trend.

Shared

2010-03-09T10:13:00.001-05:00

Nick Billock found this and shared it on Facebook and I want to share it on here as it is moving, particularly for me the first few minutes (which is all most of us have the attention span for anyhow...)

Be happy. Love life.

Thanks Nick(s)

The Final Voyage....

2010-02-28T17:24:00.006-05:00

Turns out that work needed me to be in Sarasota, FL this weekend so I looked up the Tampa marathon and made plans to run it. Things kept trying to get in my way, but the path cleared and I registered in person on Friday night. Had to leave the convention center to go get cash and come back to pay. What marathon doesn't take credit/debit card? Hokey.

I bought new shoes Saturday afternoon and to test them out to make sure I ran 6.5 miles (circling Sarasota airport) in them to see how they felt. Good thing. The elastic shoelaces I put in them just weren't adjusted right so I elected to run the marathon the next morning in my older Asics.

I found out after registering that this was to be the LAST Tampa marathon, the "final voyage" as they called it. Sarasota also dropped their marathon option this year. Both places still have a half marathon and shorter but dropped the full.

Woke up at like 3:30 am to drive up to Tampa (1 hour) from Sarasota and be in place for the 6am start. You can see that no jacket or anything was required. I think it was about 46 degrees at the start.

Parking lot - my favorite running short combo ever. compression shorts to prevent chafing and these Brooks shorts have a key pocket down low and pockets up high as well allowing plenty of cargo. They work perfect for me. I need to invest in more.

Starting line - took me like 2:43 to cross the line

Started off and really felt comfortable running the 10:30 to 11:00 per mile range which was somewhat inhibited by traffic and bottlenecks along the course that kept slowing us down. The half marathoners were with us through about 6 miles or so I think. I moved up through the 5:00 pace group, through the 4:45 group and through the 4:40 group. Also, between miles 2-5 or so I got to circle another airport to add to my list - the Peter O Knight airport near downtown Tampa. SWEET!! At this point around 8 miles or so I was chastising myself for going too fast as I wasn't trying to hit any time today, but trying to get 5 hours or so on my feet and come away without too much soreness.

At 9 miles I said the hell with it and started taking walk breaks to slow myself down. I figured I would run my pace and when I opened up a gap on the 4:45 group I would slow to a walk and let them catch me. Then later in the race if I felt awesome I would think about moving up, and if I felt average I would slow to the 5:00 group. As it turns out once I opened the valve on the "I don't have to run the whole time" thing, my body kept wanting to take walk breaks. It's hard to explain because once I would start walking everything felt more sore than while running, but while running after a while I just felt compelled at times to walk. Might have been a fueling issue? I don't know. I was keeping up with eating my shot blocs and sport beans.

10.5 miles in and loving it!

I kept with the pace groups through about 16 miles and then just let them both go on ahead and figured I would milk the day, walk as much as I wanted to and not worry about anything. I know I am out of shape and never expected to run a fast race. NO MORE hibernating next winter!

So the last 10 miles I was alternating walking and running. Once in the home stretch I promised myself to run certain segments to make sure I at least broke 5:30 and I did at 05:26:24. I noticed a funny thing today...Even though this race marked my 23rd race of marathon or longer, and I didn't even have any goals other than adding Florida to my list and finishing, the marathon still has the power to almost make me cry when I am in the last half mile and digging deep to finish with a thump. I can't explain it. I really wanted to walk in the last mile, but I had promised myself I would run in strongly from the 25 mile mark and I did just that and felt proud. It is a great thing these marathons do for you.

Afterward there was pretty good food (although no chocolate milk!) including a good salad, rice and beans, and some other rice with scallops, shrimp and chicken. The protein was VERY welcome and I sat down and ate before heading for my car (and a gas station to buy - chocolate milk on the way home.) I also got a MET RX protein bar and turkey wrap on the drive. NOW I just need to curb this appetite and not eat everything in sight over the next week.

The race schwag...nice shirt and medal.

Sarasota Circling

2010-02-28T00:26:00.003-05:00

Circled the airport here in Sarasota tonight, testing some new shoes I bought for tomorrow's marathon in Tampa...good thing too. They (Mizuno Wave Creation 11's) really aren't fitting me right...I need to adjust the shoe laces I put in them, so I guess I will wear my Asics to the race tomorrow, which by the way, I plan on running nice and slow, just getting some time on my feet and burning calories...my tour of Tampa!

Sarasota

2010-02-14T23:32:00.003-05:00

Just thought I would share one photo from the Sarasota run tonight. 9 miles in about 1:30 with John P. It was a real nice run.

Corpus Christi

2010-02-11T22:48:00.003-05:00

6 wicked windy miles winding along the break wall on Ocean Drive in Corpus Christi did the trick tonight. At the turnaround I did 45 pushups and another 15 at the finish. Ran out the pier twice along the run and the ocean was pitching and bucking underneath with power. Felt very good to be a runner again, but I am still recovering from the sickness of last Sunday...lots of snot to be slung today along the way!

Back in Eldorado Canyon

2010-02-04T16:37:00.006-05:00

7 miles on the Edorado Canyon Trail and another 7.2 miles loop the Walker Ranch Loop Trail (gorgeous!!!) for a grand total of 14.2 miles in something like 6:10. Not exactly swift, but we (fellow pilot John and I) actually set out just to hike it and decided later on we couldn't take going that slow or being out that long, so we did it ultra style. Walk the ups (HAD to, seriously, no choice for me) and jog the flats and downs. About 10 miles in, I really ripped some good running segments on some long gentle downhills that felt great. The last 4 miles was killer to me though. The last few climbs KILLED me and I was chafing by then (compression shorts in the bag in the hotel...I know...stupid!) Anyways, finished in smiles and glad I got to see this trail again!

Next time, if it is warmer, I am going to try to smash that time...I think I can take a good chunk off of it.

.....a runnable grade

That's John there. I don't know if he wants to be blogfamous, so I will just show this one photo...

...a photo taken specifically for Chef Bill. The astute who click on the photo and look will see I am wearing a "Knives and Fire" tech shirt! Thanks Bill. I am going to try to take it all over this world!

Mixed Bag

2010-01-27T08:40:00.002-05:00

I had a great day yesterday, mixing in a morning track workout in Kent with Dan Bellinger (Vince, Mel, and Shaun Pope were all there too) with an evening of full court basketball.

In the morning, I ran a 2 mile warmup at a decent pace with Dan...a little over half of that barefoot on the track, and then wearing the Newtons. Then Dan and I split up to do our speed work. Dan had a prescribed workout from Chaney that had him doing 400 repeats, but we were on a 300m track, and doing 400's was too hard for me to keep track of...so I just ran 300m repeats with a walk lap between. I ran 10 repeats in 66, 66, 63, 65, 69, 64, 67, 66, 62, and 60 seconds. The last two repeats were run in the vibrams, and I was finding it easier to run faster in them than shoes, honestly. I cooled off with a mile cool down before leaving.

I had a busy day doing other crap and then got back down to Columbus in time to make my basketball game where I played for two hours. Good all around day! Time to reward myself with a nice long slow run.

Quarter more

2010-01-22T00:54:00.001-05:00

Ran again today for another 6.55 miles, or as I like to call it, my quarter marathon. This actually is significant to me because I can see what I am pacing at relating to a marathon. So if I run this loop in one hour flat, that is a 4 hour marathon. Tonight, I ran it in 1:05 and that is pretty much where I feel I am at now...about a 4:20 marathon at best. Gotta get this baby down to like :55 or :50! Feeling good, time for bed.

2 measly miles

2010-01-21T13:25:00.001-05:00

but I ran em hard! around the block.. Trying to get out of a mental funk brought on by non-running life issues. We will get there!

Making Lemonade

2010-01-14T23:57:00.002-05:00

Well, Don cancelled on a loosely planned idea that we would run tonight, and that was ok, because I was thinking this little pain in my right ankle maybe meant I shouldn't run. So, I had some pizza (4 damn slices) and was thinking about these caramel cookies they have at a gas station about 1.7 miles from here. I reasoned that if I would run there and get them, I could maybe justify eating them. So, I began to dress for a run. Hmmm...37 degrees out, I can run in shorts!

Already in my wool running socks, it occured to me that this would be a good Vibram run...3.4 miles total distance and I would keep it on the clear sidewalks and street to avoid the snow and ice. So, socks off, VFF on. I head out. I am less than a half mile in and thinking...I should run more to earn those cookies. So I turn left and begin my quarter marathon loop instead, which will now be 6.9 miles because of the way I started. I am wondering if I am stupid and if I will suffer cold toes for trying to go this long.

They are mildly cold by one mile in, but by 2 miles I have completely forgotten the toes, and by 4 miles I realize they are as warm as the rest of the foot. The body must have sent some warm blood down there....nice accommodating body! I am keeping a good pace and never walk a single step....feeling good.

I found (and picked up) a 10mm wrench, a golf ball, and a slightly broken ice scraper on my run. The ice scraper I deposited into a trash bin. The wrench and ball I brought home as they can be used. What did I see and NOT pick up? Panties. Black and small enough that she might have been a hottie. No, I didn't even pick them up to look, just paused long enough to verify that was what I was seeing. LOL. I envisioned a gofling mechanic somewhere in my neighborhood getting damn lucky inside his SUV with ice covered windows.

Back home and I am feeling great. I think I should try to ramp up the percentage of training I do barefoot and or in VFF (Vibram Five Fingers) to maybe 5o%. It is now a goal of mine to run a marathon (or ultra) in the VFF this calendar year.

BTW - never did get the cookies. I decided I was making such good progress running, I would reward myself by doing the right thing and eating bananas instead.

Quick Recap

2010-01-02T01:32:00.003-05:00

I am still on the way home (in a hotel in VA with Team Ohio) but I will quickly post that I achieved 57 laps (56 ish miles) plus some portion of lap 58. My best guess is I will be around 56.3 miles total. While I had planned on 75, the damp cold air got to me when we stopped at midnight and I retreated to the truck where I fell asleep until 5:22am. Then it took me until 7:30 to even go back out for two more laps. I really am happy though. I had a great race strategy going and was very strong while running. I took care of a blister by lancing it and taping it and it was fine, and I used two pairs of shoes. I had no chafing and really enjoyed the company of many new friends this day. Clint from Oregon, Bruce from NJ, Brad Compton from IN and others come to mind. It was good sharing some laps and time with Rosie from KY too. I see her at so many races. Also Charlie Daniels from PA.

I will post more details with pictures when I get back home and have some time.

Also, tonight I felt like doing a recovery run/walk, so I did 4 miles on the treadmill which wasn't super comfortable, but I hope it helps. One mile solid was at 10:00 so at least that was moving a little bit. Then I used the hot tub and cold swimming pool here to soak my legs out. Feeling pretty good, but I have to go to bed. At least I got my first 6.2 miles in for 2010 and I hope to make this my highest mileage year so far!

New Year's Eve 24 hour race

2009-12-29T18:29:00.002-05:00

I will be running in the Freedom Park 24 hour race in Morganton, NC this weekend. I am traveling down and running with Dan Horvath, Dan Derosha, and Ladd Clifford. The weather is supposed to be anywhere from 50 degree high in the day to around 30 at night. We start at 8 am Dec. 30 and finish at 8 am Jan. 1st. Running into a new day, month, year, AND decade. I have no lofty goals here other than to hopefully notch 75 miles, which is just over 3 miles per hour.

Check back around Jan 3rd or 4th for results as I am not taking the laptop with me. Frustrated a little bit because my email has been hacked and I see that spam is being sent out to my contact list. Nice. Oh well. Hopefully nothing damaging. I have been taking it easy and eating too much since my 15 mile run this weekend. After I get back from the 24 hour and get a little recovered, marathon training starts in earnest following a set plan up to the Nashville Marathon April 24th.

Waterfall Run

2009-12-26T22:07:00.003-05:00

I made it up to CVNP for the annual Waterfall Run with the Western Reserve Trail Runners. The planned route was 17.5 miles with Pine Lane, Brandywine Loop, a loop over by the ski resort past Blue Hen Falls and Buttermilk Falls. On the return loop, I went down the towpath instead of out to Pine Lane and down the hill, and I estimate that cut my total distance down to 15 miles. Felt much better after about the first 3 miles were done, then I was just having fun running with all kinds of different people.

Just because

2009-12-24T10:53:00.006-05:00

I was really getting to the point where I am going to start blogging a little bit less and focus on writing quality posts about the bigger events like marathons and beyond, or key races or bike rides. I will still keep my mileage tally, etc. on the sidebar.

I ran with Mark C this morning, however, and he had to toss out a comment that is deserving of a blog post in and of itself...just because.

We did the 7 mile loop at Highbanks (reverse of my normal direction) and we were having fun. Snow covered trails with occasional icy patches kept our pace down and my shins weren't barking. Could have been the moderate pace and also I slathered on cortizone cream prior to the run (thanks Coach Don.)

Mark had his poop break and I had mine so we were gastrointestinally unburdened and running up a small hill about 4 miles into the run talking about races and relative pace. Mark says, "To me anymore, running ultras is mostly running just like this interspersed with breaks for vomiting." I died laughing. What a gem! Truth be told, I have not vomited at a marathon or ultra yet, so either I am:

A. Not running hard enough
B. Not partying hard enough the night prior
C. Not a badass
D. All of the above

It was just a hilarious comment because I do know a lot of people who have blown chunks at ultras and it is a common thing. We found our way to the finish with hardly a spare second of quiet space between us. Mark and I talk like excited old friends who don't have enough time to catch up, and I imagine if we keep running together, we will become that.

I am always very glad when Mark calls with his "shot in the dark" questions of whether or not I want to run. For future reference Mark, the answer is always, unequivocally, YES. The only question you need to ask is if I CAN run.

Basketball

2009-12-15T23:26:00.001-05:00

Played tonight. Twisted my ankle nasty and then felt a funny twinge behind my knee so I took it pretty easy at the end...as much as I could.

Bachman Lake, Dallas, TX

2009-12-15T14:36:00.003-05:00

So today I found myself on the ground in Dallas, TX with 5 hours to kill. I brought running gear (not warm enough) and went down to Bachman Lake right at the airport to run a little. I got dropped off at the lake and ran the 3.3 miles around it and then up the hill and into the private aviation area where we park for another 1.2.

It was mighty cold for Dallas, in the 30s while I was running, and I wished I had brought at least a light jacket. If I had, I think I would have ran two lake loops. Still happy to have gotten in 4.5 anyhow! Nothing like running at work, it is like being paid to run!

Monday night

2009-12-14T20:50:00.001-05:00

I got a very medium effort 6.2 miles in tonight. Blacklick Park. I intended 4.5 but felt good and wanted a little more so I stretched it out. At the end I did some sprints, interval style and that felt good. Did 20 pushups, but trying not to reinjure my back problem, so I will ease into that type stuff.

Raw Running

2009-12-10T19:07:00.002-05:00

Raw?

You mean the results of groinal chafing I suffered last night running in the wrong undershorts at Mohican...well, yes, but....

You mean the brand new shoes I bought at Vertical Runner? Kick Ass green color Saucony ProGrid Guide TR 2 shoes that are a hybrid trail/road shoe. Love em, but....

You mean the 19 degree temperatures and whipping wind? Yes, that too, but....

You mean the unbridled raw passion with which I started at a good pace and refused to slow down no matter what? Yes that too....

In fact, all of the above.

4.5 miles on my Blacklick loop in 39:01, which amounted to an 8:40 per mile pace. Felt really good to crank one out, and I think tomorrow should be a rest day if I can. Feels like I am back on track with my training!

the shoe

Nighthican 10

2009-12-09T22:56:00.005-05:00

At the start!
Don Baun and I had planned since last week to run together tonight, and he asked me yesterday if I thought I still wanted to run with the wind and weather here in Ohio currently. Hell Freaking Yeah! That being said, when it came time to saddle up and leave the house to meet him, it was a tough sell getting out the door.

We met up and headed out for the trails to run a mystery loop that Don wouldn't tell me about til we got out there...Just how I like it, a little mystery in life. When it came down to it he took us around the 10 mile loop that will be the course for the XTERRA XC 10 mile race there in July.

The wind tonight? Crazy. Our first mile headed out to the trail we were on the park road and it was a lean into it type of wind. Once we were under the cover of trees things were calmer and warmer, but that also meant we were climbing the hills. This is NOT a flat race course they laid out. It felt like pushups in basic training to me...UP/DOWN/UP/DOWN...

Up at the top side of the ridge we ran past the Fire Tower, so what do I do? I climbed it. I just had to see what it was like up there in the crazy wind, and I also do it in honor of Art Moore whose FA50k I will probably miss Jan. 2nd because I am signing up for another 24 hour race I will run down in North Carolina on New Year's Eve.

At the top of Fire Tower in the wind. Terrible picture, but it kind of shows how I felt up there.

The last 3 or so flights of stairs at the top of the tower were above the tree tops and it was howling something CRAZY. I was holding onto the railings very carefully, but still managed to take a few photos with one hand. Don stayed down on the ground while I fooled around up there.

We finished the run well and I managed to score some trail blood with a minor scratch on my leg. Don teased me about even mentioning it, but I didn't wear some sissy pants like he did. Thanks Don for another great run and teaching me yet a little more about the Mohican trails...I learn a little more each time I come up there. And Rob, just so you know, there are 13 bridges on your race course!

My blood!

Don all comfy after the run...

9 mile Pine Lane run

2009-12-08T10:44:00.004-05:00

Danielle and I did not plan on wearing the same coat, but the other one I tried to wear had zipper issues, so I had to go with the Winter Buckeye 50k coat!

A little birdie at Boston Store under an eave.

Chef Bill, Danielle, and I met at Lock 29 for a 9 mile chilly trail run up the hill to Pine Lane, over to Boston Store and then back the way we came. It was a very nice run, just getting to meet Danielle as we hadn't really ever run together before, and always catching up with Chef Bill. Sometimes running with other parents it is nice to see that I am not the only one who has to do the juggling act to try to also be fit and be a runner. Danielle and her husband have four kids and Chef Bill has two (that we know of.)

Into the night we journeyed, frost underfoot as ascended the brick road to Pine Lane. I am always irrationally insecure in my footing upon the first dusting of snow every winter and I was really careful going up the hill, but we all ran almost the entire hill. As a matter of fact, we ran up more hills on this loop than I normally would, so that is good news! Danielle and I both believed we were each the slowest person in the group, but the whole night even when we were pushing the pace a bit, everyone hung together very tough. Lighting was a slight issue in the latter miles as both Chef Bill and my batteries were starting to wane and Danielle had fresh batteries.

Also on the way back I put my right foot down in the water during the stream crossing and got the joy of running the last 2-3 miles with a wet foot in sub freezing weather. It wasn't bad though, but I sure wish I had wool socks instead of the thin summer socks I did wear.

For at least about two miles on the return along Pine Lane I was the point man out front and kept amazing myself that I was staying on trail despite being so focused on the ground to not trip up. This loop has a long downhill near the finish that puts some spark back in the legs and when I got down to the town of Peninsula I really put the hammer down and ran to the car with mucho gusto! So much so that my legs were cramping up just a bit when I got out of the car on the way home to gas up. I had a really nice hard run and thanks to Danielle (and her family for letting her run with us) and Chef Bill (and his family for the same!) This run put me over 1000 for the year and if I do run the 24 hour race on New Year's Eve that I am trying to get vacation for, AND I keep up my training the next few weeks, I just might come close to my 2008 mileage.

My morning inspiration was....

2009-12-02T13:53:00.000-05:00

Prefontaine

Lousiana morning

2009-12-02T13:25:00.001-05:00

It is actually pretty chilly here so I opted to go to the nearby fitness center.

3.5 treadmiles and 2 circuits of the strength training machines as well as a few extras thrown in. My back is still bothersome, but better.

Through the Carroll Lens

2009-11-30T21:49:00.002-05:00

Mark would probably avoid notoriety of the sort I imbue upon him tonight, but he introduced to me a whole new aspect that I had previously not seen in my running friendships. The Carroll Lens it shall thus forth be dubbed. I have been really miserable since last Tuesday because my back under my left shoulder blade has been aching like a mother fucker, and I don't know why. I didn't have any "event" that I can point to as to the cause of why my back was aching.

Sure I carried a full and heavy hydration pack at the Slim Pickins 50k 9 days ago, but it didn't start hurting til a few days after that. It was BEFORE I played basketball, so it is not that. Just what the hell did I do? Or what is wrong with me? Yes, I was getting close to breaking down and going to....gasp...professional medical help.

A long day at work today of 11+ hours and I had just gotten home. Mark calls and the lens immediately began to put me in focus. "Hey Mike, this is totally a shot in the dark, so it's OK if you say no, but...any chance you want to get out and run tonight?" Me thinking - yeah, I REALLY want to, but can I handle it? Me - speaking "Yes Mark, I really want to, but my back is killing me. If I come and we have to go slow, or I have to bail, will you understand?" Mark "Of course, let's meet and we can go as slow as you need..."

So, I changed, dashed out the door and we met near the park. Close to a mile in, and we decide upon my customary 7 mile loop. Man, a run with Mark is never long enough, because I want to hear EVERYTHING he has to say, and I want to share all that I have to add, and it is just damn fun to connect with someone so well. So we start out and head for the park (we got INTO the park before it closed...maybe not OUT) and right away I feel pretty good. For the most part, my thoughts about my back drifted away as we talked about our personal lives a little, our dreams of running, etc.

Carrying a light, I really never needed to turn it on. Billock's Mr. Moon was bright and full, and even the occasional cloud cover did little to dim his effect. Mark remarked a few times that I was running markedly better than the last time we ran together (night bandit running ANOTHER park) and that did a lot to boost my confidence. I had not run since the 50k due to the damn back, and honestly did have a few eating lapses over the Thanksgiving weekend. So this run was golden. This run took my pain and let it drift away...it will probably be back in the morning, but I suspect in a dimmed fashion. This run focused my mind and soul back into where I want and need it to be. The lens effect of Mark's good, pure, and honest friendship was very effective in putting my "me" back into focus for me.

We tallied up 8.5 miles when we were done, but they weren't enough. 10, 12, 18 would have been better. My legs felt good and tired, but at the same time were telling me that if I asked, there was a solid hard 5 miler left in them ready to go. It is a feeling that I have kind of forgotten from times gone by (for me) but it was a welcome return to my ultra legs. I sincerely look forward to my URINEO FA50k this coming Saturday at which I will do the early start again to maximize Daddy time. I hope to see Kimba! Slim! Brian! Gombu! Jeff! Tanya! and many others. Bruce? Johnny D? Losey? Moose? It is awesome to contemplate the variety of interesting people I might get to hang with on Saturday, and know that I will also have my "me" moments to wander Mill Creek too. I hope that I might come in under 7:30 or so for the 50k, and maybe under 7 hours if I am feeling juicy.

Thank you so much Mark, for taking a shot in the dark. You hit bullseye.

Camera in transit

2009-11-26T09:34:00.003-05:00

UPS has moved my camera from Wisconsin to Illinois to Indiana in the last 24 hours...it was in Hodgkins, IN at 2:17 am this morning. Could it arrive on Thanksgiving? I don't dare to hope so; it will most likely arrive tomorrow.

On another note, I need to get off my ass an run. I have the princesses for Thanksgiving and we slept in today. Also, since basketball Tuesday the upper middle of my back has been hurting me. Who knows? I don't think I did it at basketball, it was already started when I got there.

I am thankful for so much today. My daughters being so wonderful and healthy. The memories of my Mother and Brother. All my Dad has taught me. This nice and warm weather late into the fall. Friends. Dreams. My own health. You.

Camera

2009-11-23T12:36:00.003-05:00

I ordered a Canon Powershot SD780 using hotel reward points and should have it within a week. Looks like a pretty good choice for me as it is very small and has a good range of options.

The camera comes in four colors - black, silver, red, and gold. I asked the person I ordered it with to pick one and not to tell me. I literally do not care one ounce what color the camera is, as long as it works. Plus that will make it a little more fun when I open the package to see what it is. I will have to avoid reading any order confirmation emails so I don't see what color is specified.

Slim Pickin's Pictures (scavenged from others)

2009-11-22T18:40:00.005-05:00

Wilma, Me, Dan K, and Mike Dobies (Brian Musick photo) mile 28

Dan Kuzma, Kimba the Trail Goddess, Me

Dan Kuzma, Wilma D. (first ultra), and Me

I "borrowed" these pictures from Kimba. I might add one more later on if I get the picture Wilma took. I can't wait to get my new camera...gonna order it tomorrow. These pictures were taken at 20 miles into our run, Kimba started earlier and met us going back the other way.

For once on a trail run, I actually gave Kimba something (a sandwich) instead of leeching off of her like I always do. :)

Because the terrain was so tricky yesterday and we didn't run a very hard pace, my legs aren't even sore today...a good thing. I still took today to rest and have slept ALOT. I will get a run in tomorrow.

Slim Pickins Laurel Highlands 50k

2009-11-21T21:29:00.003-05:00

Up at around 3 am to quickly dress and head out the door for Pennsylvania this morning, I went to run the NEO Trail club run, Slim Pickins. The "official" distance is 100k, but it is a FA type event and everyone was encouraged to do what worked for them. So Dan Bellinger, Dan Kuzma, Wilma Depiore, and I all met at the 31 mile mark on the trail at 7 am (or maybe a few minutes late) and started out on our ultra journey. Dan K, Wilma and I stayed together the entire 31 miles, and Dan B disappeared into the distance ahead of us. We just couldn't keep him running slow today.

This would be Wilma's first ultra distance event of any kind and she nailed it, finishing strong with Dan Kuzma and I in 9:05 which is a long time representing two factors:

1. The trail is hard as HELL! Steep hills, very technical rocky footing, etc.
2. We weren't pushing it. We took our time at the aid drops, and talking to other club members we saw.

The Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail is 70 miles long, but we only ran the last 31 miles of it. My first impression is that this trail is the best marked trail I have ever been on. I had no issue at any time finding the next trail blaze from wherever I was standing. No runner or hiker with any portion of the brain still functioning should ever manage to get lost out here if there goal is to stay on the LHHT.

With very moderate weather, I ran in shorts, a long sleeved undershirt, a tech shirt on top of that, and my Columbus marathon hat and light gloves. The hat and gloves came off around mile 20 when it started warming up just a little, and I was never uncomfortable temperature wise. I WAS uncomfortable slope wise climbing up all those damn hills. Today reinforced a lesson to me about ultra running. NEVER assess how you are feeling, or your motivation to continue while climbing a hill. It saps your emotions and as soon as you take a few steps over the apex and start downhill or even level, life is good again and the finish seems very doable. DURING the climb, there are doubts, curses, low points, and mumblings that would tend to make you quit your day...that is just how people feel!

Immediately after the run I got two chocolate milks and some food to eat while Dan K drove us all back to our cars at the 31 mile trail head so we could all scatter like autumn leaves to our appropriate domiciles. I am home now, and not even feeling very bad due to the slower pace we took today. Contemplating a couple of very tempting running options for tomorrow morning. A few pictures were taken today, but not by me, so when people put them up, I will grab them and share on here in a separate post.

This marks my 6th state in the quest to run a marathon or longer in every state. Woo hoo! 44 to go!

Liberty State Park

2009-11-19T21:25:00.000-05:00

There is a state park right near that Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, and since I was in the area tonight, I went out to the park and ran six miles along the waterfront between the park and the Statue and downtown NYC. It was a beautiful scenic run. Ran easy and built up to a moderate pace towards the end.

After finishing the six miles I did 50 pushups on a dock along the water, and then 100 yards each of butt kicks and high knees plyometrics. Very rewarding workout!!! I may just rest tomorrow leading up to the early morning 50k Saturday morning...

Deca?

2009-11-19T09:25:00.002-05:00

I have just discovered (for me) that they do a deca-ironman competition...If I am reading this right, they do 10 ironmans, 10 days in a row. This is REALLY tugging at my brain as something that would be very cool to train for AND complete.

Anyone up for a swim?

BBall

2009-11-17T23:57:00.000-05:00

Basketball league tonight. 2 hours straight through.

Bad Ass Collage

2009-11-17T05:49:00.001-05:00

All the pictures I gathered from other peoples Facebook pages.

Recovery

2009-11-15T23:00:00.000-05:00

I went to the park to run my recovery run tonight. I started nice and easy but after two miles I was feeling really good, so I kind of hammered the last 2.5 miles back to the car. 4.5 total and feeling good.

I'm a BadAss

2009-11-14T21:03:00.003-05:00

I ran the Bill's BadAss FatAss 50k this morning in 8:04. Not a great time, but ok considering I wasn't really feeling all that well most of the race. I think if I was feeling better, I would have surely run this course about an hour faster. The course consisted of six 5 mile loops on the Perkins Trail (hard as hell) and one single mile segment up the Oak Hill Trail meant to bust our butts one last time before the finish. The loops were supposed to all be run clockwise...supposed to be.

I started early with Brett about just after 530 am and we ran a easy loop to get us warmed up in the dark. I wore a jacket, hat, and gloves the first two loops until it warmed up. As is the norm, I used the bathroom (woods) four times on the first loop until I was down to fighting weight I guess. We ran the first loop and then met Brian Musick at the Covered Bridge at 630 before stopping by the cars to start loop #2. Brian and Brett left without me, as I had to move my car over to the approved parking lot at the church. I came back and started out alone.

Lap 2 was uneventful and only barely faster than lap 1, and then at the start of lap 3 I met up with Tanya Cady and Kevin Martin. They were a good influence as I ran that loop much faster, AND we did it in the opposite direction which allowed me to see EVERYONE running the race. That was a good bonus. When everyone made remarks about us running the wrong way, we just told them that badasses don't follow the rules. When Brian Musick saw me coming down the trail wrong way, he saw fit to give me a NFL style shoulder block on the trail, which I would repay two loops later on the covered bridge.

I ran maybe the first half of loop 4 (correct direction) with Tanya and Kevin before they just had too much pep for me, and I watched them fade into the distance. The day was getting REALLY gorgeous and comfortable out, so I didn't mind that I kind of crashed the rest of that lap and was walking a lot. It was a great day for that and I really didn't care what my finishing time was. I ended up running loop 4 still faster than 1 and 2 though. I had a resurgence on loop 5 and ran pretty well. Brian Musick was leaving the aid station as I started loop 6 and we just ran it all together as well as almost all of the last 1 mile segment up to the top of the hill and back.

Me coming in towards the finish of loop 5. Picture thanks to Ladd Clifford!

Chef Bill Bailey and Wild Bill Wagner did an awesome job putting together a free 50k for all of us to run and I really appreciate all the hard work they put in. It really goes to show how much they care about our local running communities and the runners themselves. I thanked them both personally but also want to leave it on here for all who read this. They really put together one Bad Ass 50k!

Mornhican

2009-11-12T19:31:00.002-05:00

I posted a request for anyone to run with me Thursday morning at the Mo and lured in Don, Dan B, and Terri Lemke. Since it as my idea to be there at 7 am, I got to design our route for the day.

We headed across the lower orange loop along the river - Don had limited time so he turned around at 2.5 miles. The remaining trio pushed on to the Covered Bridge, then up the Green loop (recounting the bridges to verify my memory of 10) and up to the Fire Tower. We turned left at the road and ran to the Gorge Overlook so I could see it for my first time (a new favorite place for me, it is awesome.) From here, I cranked up my short term memory, as Don had told me of an unmarked trail through the woods that would allow us to cut over to the gasline on the Green loop and then down the hill to the mountain bike trail. We got on the MTB trail right before mile 22 and then ran it the rest of the way back to Class A ending up with a total mileage of 10.8.

Terri the MACHINE thought we should run the extra .2 to make it an even 11, but Dan and I had "raced" the last tenth of a mile pretty hard and we declined. 10.8 is as good as 11 today. When I was racing Dan at the end, I called out "Extra gear" and took it up to 10 all the way to the car, and I was very pleased with how much speed I had left in the wheels.

It was a chilly morning, and warmed up some but not a whole lot by our finish around 920 or so. We went our separate ways, which for me was a trip to the showers in the campground (nice, clean, and hot water!) where I spiffed up to head North and capture the princesses for the weekend. I had extra time on my hands so I called up my best friend from high school Dimitrios and lured him out of the house (he works from home) to walk with me on his lunch hour. We walked a leisurely 2.5 miles together and then had a nice long bull session about "stuff."

Thanks Dan, Don, Terri, Dimi! Great Day for me!

ChefRun

2009-11-11T22:19:00.002-05:00

Bill and I met today and ran for about 1:15 from his house out to the Gorge Metropark area and back, which netted us 6.8 miles. I don't think there was ever a pause of more than 5 seconds where one of us wasn't talking...but we kept up a good pace. Really fun. Gotta get to bed, I am planning a Mohican morning!

Basketball

2009-11-10T23:36:00.000-05:00

Good night...played for 1:45 before the crowd dissipated.

Mudhican 7.7

2009-11-09T22:26:00.004-05:00

I went up to Coach Don's and we ran a really nice 7.7 miles where he showed me some trails new to me that went out to the Mohican Lodge and are part of the Forget the PR 50k course. I will be running that race next year so it was nice to see them. I got a few seconds notice as we entered an area of trail where Don said "here comes the muddy sections."

Within a minute or so of that statement my shoe had been literally sucked off my foot and into the mud. I ran a step or two in my sock and had to retreat back to pluck my shoe out of the muck...laughing all the way. That was literally the first time I had my shoe sucked off my foot.

Mental Note: Tie them on GOOD at the FTPR50k next spring...Don says it is even muddier then.

So we turned back at the Lodge and discovered with it getting dark and neither one of us brought a light that we had to forgo seeing one other section of trail that would be new to me. We headed back up the road and got in two really nice hill climbs on the roads back to his house. I kept up my pace real good and powered through the hills and we finished the run together at a pretty good clip.

After the run Don hooked me up with a recovery chocolate milk and then we ordered pizza for Betty, Don and I. We drove into town to pick it up and come back and feast. I kept it reasonable with three slices and then had to make the longish drive back down to Columbus.

Thanks Don for the run and the pizza! I hope we can make a semi-regular habit of that! (the run, maybe not the pizza!)

Note: Might not be any pictures on the blog for awhile, my camera broke for good and my electronics budget is at ZERO for right now....

Easy boy...

2009-11-04T14:35:00.001-05:00

I ran and walked 5 miles today in the park, nice and easy. The fronts of my ankles were sore and needed a break, so I chilled it out pace-wise. I even stopped and stretched quite a bit halfway through.

Basketball

2009-11-03T23:00:00.000-05:00

2 hours of full court basketball running hard. I only sat one game and while I did I ran laps around the court. Good stuff.

BL 4.5 PR

2009-11-02T18:11:00.002-05:00

Well, the only reason I can call it a PR is that the Timex service center did the right thing and sent me a BRAND NEW Timex Ironman watch to replace mine with the busted band. I kinda figured they might do just that. So I changed my plans from going to run two loops at Chestnut Ridge to running my normal 4.5 loop for time. I was listening to an audiobook and chugging along and I knew I could break 38 minutes as I got closer, so I kept it up and did.

I ran the 4.5 mile loop in 37:30 which means an 8:20 flat pace. It is now a goal of mine over the winter to work that down to under an 8:00 pace. Felt pretty good but was VERY conscious of how my foot hit the ground after doing the Vibram runs and this pace really makes my shins ache a little as I go...so I need to rotate into it and do some slower runs for a few days now.

It was a really fun weekend watching some newer acquaintances race via the Javelina 100 webcast (the best race webcast I have ever seen) and the NYC marathon tracker. Dave James blistered the JJ100 course record and Nick Longworth made it to 51 miles before his back gave out, he injured it a few weeks ago. Shannon McGinn set a huge new PR for herself of 3:29 at NYC after telling me she wasn't trained for a marathon.

The dilemma on the watch is this, they sent it back to me with an invoice to send them 10 dollars. Well, I never signed anything or agreed to anything, I just asked them to replace the band. I mean, I don't really have a documented obligation to pay them anything, so should I send it? I will put up another stupid poll about this one for fun.

Chestnut Ridge Metro Park Walk

2009-11-02T16:06:00.007-05:00

I took my daughters out for a nice hike in the metro park yesterday. We hiked 2 miles of the trail with frequent stops to throw rocks, pick up "trees", and read all the park signage along the way. It was a very nice day to be out for a walk with my princesses.

These pictures are worth clicking on! They are so damn adorable.

2 becomes 4.5 (Vibrams)

2009-10-30T13:21:00.002-04:00

I hurried out this morning into the awesome weather and decided to take the Vibrams out for the first run in them on trails. I went to Blacklick thinking I would just run a quick 2 miles and come home to shower and get ready for a work meeting, but then I was feeling so damn good that near the turnaround for a two miler I checked the time and decided I had time for the whole 4.5 mile loop.

I saw 5 deer, and a whole first grade class walking the woods with their teacher. 4.5 was definitely not a problem in the Vibrams, but I will need to work my way up to 10 miles. I think the next trial should be my 7 mile loop at Highbanks sometime next week maybe. Feeling good.

Also, I am waiting to see what the Timex service center is going to do with my running watch I bought at Vertical Runner about two years ago. The band failed on me, and you can't really replace those on your own, so I sent it in to their service center. The watch itself was still doing great. I asked them to replace the band or send me a new watch and I haven't heard a thing in a little over two weeks. We shall see how they perform. I will report on here whether they step up to the bar or let me down.

afternoon

2009-10-29T14:00:00.002-04:00

2.3 treadmiles - 10:00 pace mostly, finished a little faster. curls. pushups.

Close Encounters

2009-10-28T20:19:00.002-04:00

Feeling very much recovered from my intense one day sickness of Monday night, I decided to go run tonight. 4.5 miles in Blacklick. The nature trails (where Dick says I can't run) were beautiful in their new carpeting of leaves. I immediately set off at a pretty good clip for me, and wondered about the wisdom of this, but just kept up my stubborn meter and refused to slow down. I looked at my clock on my mp3 when I started and it was 5:04. I figured anything under 45 minutes for 4.5 miles was great since I was recently sick.

Kept up the pace even though the ankles and calves rebelled just a little, but that is just normal after a layoff for me, so I kept going. Coming back with only about a mile to go, I was still cruising fast and running on the little "boardwalk" sections in the woods when I see a shape RIGHT next to me off the left side and it was a female deer. Now, I am not kidding here, I have never been this close to a wild deer in my life before. If I would have reached out good to the left I would have smacked her nose. Honestly, it freaked me out for a minute. I thought "good thing it's a she as I hear they are in rutting season and the boys can be frisky..." In fact, someone up on one of the Cuyahoga Valley runs got hit by a deer a little over a week ago.

So, a quarter mile later, and Mr. Buck goes charging across the trail in front of me, about 80 feet up. That was the first time I have seen a buck in this park. My eyes told me he had about 8 points on his rack of antlers.

I kept hammering the pace (for me) and figured I had a chance at 40 minutes based on how fast I felt I was running. I ran hard to the finish and checked the clock - 5:42. Holy crap - 38 minutes for me for 4.5 miles is pretty good! I did that math and it broke down to 8:27 per mile. Nice.

14 becomes 7, now I know why

2009-10-26T23:46:00.001-04:00

I set out to run 14 miles at Highbanks yesterday. I drank a bottle of "wasp juice" mixed up from powder that Moose gave me pre run. Started in with the legs feeling very good, but before a few miles was up my stomach was feeling funny, and because the wasp juice was new to me, I was honestly blaming that a little bit. I burped through the nasty tummy feelings and kept going. Ran a really solid section of 4+ miles feeling good and motoring up all climbs with my hill climbing gear. Somewhere with about 1.5 miles or so to go in the first loop, I lost the desire to run much and sat down on a bench to enjoy the beautiful scenery.

I had been thinking that I wished I could freeze time and the weather and enjoy this climate indefinitely. The temps, skies, everything was just perfect. I laid there on a park bench enjoying the scene and a leaf feel down and landed on my face (the one in the picture - I held it up to get it in the shot I took.) Then I wrote a poem on my blackberry (had to carry it for work) about the day.

Trees with no leaves
brown leaves
yellow leaves
orange leaves
rustly crispy leaves
green supple leaves
leaves leaving trees soaring their unique paths to the ground.
Time will freeze here soon enough.
I wish I could freeze time here.
I am whole and alive here and now.
The winds ebb and blow out these luminous candles all too soon for my taste leaving behind too many months of dormant candle sticks waiting for the fire of
rebirth, the phoeniculation of springtime.

(Don't ask me about phoeniculation - it is a made up word that I have had floating in my brain for a few months. Sometimes I make up words. It is fun.)

So I came home after 7 miles, somewhat defeated that I didn't have the stuff to go on for the whole planned 14. I had a subway sandwich and fell asleep on my couch. I woke up about two hours later, in the grips of Mr. Flu. First the back end, but I knew the front end was going to spew, so I called work and warned them about possibly not being able to fly the next day. Within another hour or two, the front end opened up and had me googling what to drink after puking to get the taste out, etc. I respect Mr. Flu now, but he also made me a feel a little better that my desire to stop my run was physiological only by sickness and not a lack of fitness. I knew that my legs felt fine and I was running good, so it was weird that I just didn't want to run anymore. A few days down and I will be back at it!

Dear Mike

2009-10-25T23:18:00.003-04:00

Dear Mike,

Thank you for coming out tonight to walk amongst my trees and see the leaves I have cast upon your trails. I trust they appeal to you visually, and do not disturb your evening walk. Thank you for briefly honoring that Dick's request and only walking (4.5 miles) tonight vs. running, although please know that you are most welcome to resume running at your will. It does not cause me anymore distress than the walking, and I kind of like watching you runners cruise along.

Please keep visiting me throughout the winter as many of my summer friends seem to forget about me once the mercury begins to dip. I get lonely as the snow falls, and I hope you will be a regular visitor.

Many happy returns (to me!),

Blacklick Trails

2009-10-22T21:53:00.001-04:00

3 more miles on the treadmill. A few more sets with the weights. I wanted to run more on the treadmill but it is SO boring. Maybe in a little while tonight I will go put in another three miles. Or sleep...

Dear Blacklick Park Trails

2009-10-22T13:46:00.002-04:00

Dear Blacklick Park Nature Trails,

I miss you. I know you have been having wonderful weather the last few days, but I am out of town. I did run a towpath trail two nights ago, but it didn't compare, and I want to come home. Today, I was lazy in that I didn't want to go anywhere so I ran (3 miles) and biked (10 miles) on the treadmill and lifecycle in the hotel fitness room.

By the time I come home I know you will have shed more leaves, and I will revel in being in your presence once again, even if they do yell at me not to run back there (screw them right? I know you like me running on you.) If you see Dick, tell him I said to get lost. I will be seeing you soon.

Love,

Michael

PS - Tell your sister Highbanks I miss her too.

New Jersey 8 miler

2009-10-20T22:04:00.006-04:00

Because I am in New Jersey all week due to work, Shannon McGinn and I agreed to get together and do an 8 mile run. I met her when we ran together for about 3-5 laps at the North Coast 24 hour race earlier this month. She did something like 75 miles there. Awesome!

We met in Edison, NJ and she drove us to the trail (really more of a towpath) to run. It was an interesting trail sandwiched between a river and a canal. Shannon is pretty speedy compared to me and I am still a little sore from Columbus Marathon so I hope I didn't slow her down too bad. We laughed and talked quite a bit. On the outbound leg as she went to adjust her brand new light which was mounted on a waist pack for night running (cool idea) she broke it and it then wouldn't work right.

So we turned around at 4 miles and were running back when we commented how it wasn't too bad and we didn't need lights really even in the dark because it was "just towpath." MAYBE a minute goes by and Shannon calls out "Stick!" as a large stick spanning the trail was lying on the ground. I saw it, but my foot was already in the air moving forward and I just stepped on it. Well, like any good lever, my stepping down on the one side brought the other side up and tripped Shannon right there! She went down right away and took a scrape on her palm as well as her elbow. She was cracking up! I have to admit, that I started laughing too, because she was the one to call it out, and she still tripped on it (even if it was my fault.)

The stick is in two pieces in front of her!

We had a good old time laughing at ourselves the rest of the way back to the cars and a nice quarter mile cool down walk. Thanks Shannon!

Blood!

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for Untitled

I think we ran a good bit faster than the 9:54 pace Garmin shows because it was running and timing during the time after Shannon fell, and also at the turn around when I stopped to pee. We probably were running around a 9:30 pace or so while we were moving. Just a guess.

My first Columbus Marathon

2009-10-19T07:17:00.007-04:00

Well, I set a pretty soft first marathon at Columbus that I should smash in future years. I did NOT do my 5 mile warmup at the beginning as planned, instead I sat in the car with Chef Bill about 100 feet from the start line and stayed warm until around 635 when we got out and went inside a bank to stand around with other runners and stay warm until closer to the start. We stayed in there until 720 (on my insistence) and when we came out we worked our way as far forward in the crowd as we could, but that was still WAY behind the 530 pace group when we couldn't move up anymore.

When the start came and the horn blew, we stood forever and it took us 8:xx to get to the actual starting line (where I started my GPS.) I can't get the exact time because the results site only posts chip time, but it was over 8 minutes. That goes to show how crowded the first few miles are in this race, but it was not a hindrance. In fact the first 13 miles are very crowded in my opinion until the half marathoners split off. If this race included a relay like Akron it would be unmanageable.

Prior to the start Bill and I were able to look forward and see the American flag atop Jeff's backpack thing, and I figured after the start I would work my way up to him and say hello. I forget his last name. Well the start stretched us out so much that I never saw him. I don't know if he ran the marathon, or the half, or what, but I expected to see him. If someone knows his last name tell me so I can look up his results. (I think I can find it on facebook in the NC24 photos)

I felt pretty good off the start and was running under 10:00 per mile for a long time. The first stop occurred about two miles in for making mud, and I would have a total of 6 other stops during the marathon to make water. Towards the end they probably weren't necessary but as you will read, I got off pace and I just stopped sometimes as an excuse to stretch, so I peed too.

I ran really very well all the way through the half which I passed in something like 2:14. I enjoyed the last two miles or so of the first half encouraging a woman that started talking to me to finish her last few miles strongly. She was running only the half. As I came to the half I was already hurting a little bit in my hips and such and I gave serious consideration to making that turn as well. I just couldn't let myself though, so I trucked on ahead and persevered. I was doing quite well and watching for friends. One of my coworkers is a part time cop and was supposed to be working the race, but I never saw him. I was watching for Nick L. vaguely but never saw him either as I didn't know where he would be.

As mile 19 approached I was getting excited because I knew somewhere shortly after that was waiting Kathy Wolf with a bottle of 5 hour energy for me! She had graciously agreed to get me one and hand it off to me there. I took it and held it for a little while as I wanted water right after drinking it, they have a strong taste. When I hit the 20 mile marker I was noticing I felt pretty crappy, and RIGHT after the marker, I slowed to a walk to assess and then I noticed I was feeling REALLY crappy, all centered in my calves. They were not cramping but just hurt. So I walked a little and it didn't abate. Then I stretched and sat down in some grass by the curb.

I noticed that the feeling was all centered around the tightest part of my compression socks, the band at the top, and I rolled them down and massaged there. I left them down and after a bit of stretching got up and started walking. I would try to run here and there but it came right back so I figured I might walk the last 6 miles. I walked from 20-22 with very little running, and then after about 22 miles and a little more nutrition (including the 5 hour energy) I started running again and ran a mile or so pretty solid. Then it kind of hurt a little again and I alternated running and walking until mile 25, when I just said the hell with it and ran all the way in.

My GPS stats at the end said 26.44 miles in 4:55:36 for a 11:11 pace per mile. I actually think the compression socks being too tight for 20 miles was the big culprit of the day.

Lessons learned were that I am going to start running more shorter races as well...I could have really enjoyed the half marathon this day. I also need to run 5ks and 10ks. I have a 10k at the end of this week...the Nike + 10k.

GPS Map and Data - notice the spikes and slowdown at the end.

Blogging vs. Bragging

2009-10-16T03:24:00.002-04:00

A question to be posed to the more thoughtful readers who choose to comment. At what point does this business of blogging turn into bragging and alienate those around us? For some time now I have wondered about my blogging and running and the wondering has gone along the lines of: "I wonder if I would be happier just running and chasing my goals, and maybe keeping a private diary and log, but not publishing it to the world as in "Hey, look at me!!""

I hear snippets of conversation sometimes about other runners and how people think they are full of themselves, and then I wonder if such snippets are sniped about me when I am not present. I wonder if maybe this blog is not that important, but the run, and the workout still is, of course.

I think at times the blog has served as a social tool in that the people I have been fortunate enough to meet and run with have felt like they know me a little bit, through this medium. It has perhaps acted as an ice breaker. I know it is pretty much THE reason I know Maria, because she called me out as the "Fit From Fat" guy at a February Chili 5k thing about 3 years ago...after I had been using her as my butt beacon for most of the race, busted OK?

I am not so much looking for any feedback on MY blog, because it is that, MY blog...if you don't want to read it, well, you shouldn't. Trust me, there is nothing THAT compelling on here that you have to come back if you don't enjoy...but WHERE is the line, when tasteful sharing becomes senseless media overload?

And as to the poll over there to the right - why haven't MORE of you answered "Who cares?" because really, who should? OK - it is after 3 am and I am up and felt like rambling, so there is my ramble.

Oh, one more thing. I got in 2.8 miles on the treadmill tonight. Half walking, half running at 10:00 per mile or better. Plus 3 sets of curls.

Columbus

2009-10-15T06:57:00.001-04:00

Just got my bib number for Sunday and it is 2115. There should also be regular updates on my twitter page (jetfuelburner) which will also then be shown on the far bottom right of this blog. The goal is anything sub 4:30, but to be done by starting slower than pace and building up to it during the run. I also plan on running 5 extra miles before the start to "loosen up."

Vibram

2009-10-13T13:55:00.001-04:00

1.5 mile treadmill run in Vibrams...ready to take them outside soon! Warmed up and cooled down walking in them. Also did a set of curls each arm.

Rudder and Lightfoot

2009-10-12T06:02:00.003-04:00

First off, I volunteered at the Oil Creek 100 this weekend in Titusville, PA. Not knowing what kind of work they would find us, the little people and I drove out there Saturday afternoon after other obligations were met arriving around 330pm. We were able to visit and mill around for about an hour before Tom Jennings, the RD, latched onto us and put us to work. We found ourselves taking over the task of keeping the race results spreadsheet up to date, and updating the webcast with that information along with Gailanne.

It wasn't too long into this task before we discovered that we had inherited a poorly designed spreadsheet that was also corrupted with fields of bad data. We did our best to catch back up to accuracy, but in the end we advised Tom to pull down the webcast so we wouldn't be sending bad information to the folks at home watching loved ones.

We stayed all through the night (we were in a warm school classroom and had sleeping bags) and left the next morning after handing off our post to another competent volunteer. The one thing I did before I left was to design a spreadsheet the way I think it should be done, and suggest Tom modify the webcast and use that for next year.

Coming home from Titusville and dropping off my girls, I tried to rope Nick Longworth or Mark Carroll into a run with me Sunday evening but failed, so I went over to Highbanks for a solo effort wearing some new sleeve style compression socks that I bought for Columbus. I wanted to try them out now before the marathon was here, and I LIKE them! I also picked up my calories for the race which will at least partly come from the new Roctane Pineapple flavored GU.

The run started very gradual and I didn't feel all that great going in. Little sorenesses lingered and I felt like my feet were coming down hard. I wanted that floating above the trail lightness of foot that we all cherish. My mind drifted as I very gradually eased into my pace and I was contemplating the familial ties of my life over the last decade or so.

I am not a conventional, within the box thinker in my opinion and I found myself a little shocked to admit I now feel 100% ok with my Mom and Brother's deaths. They both had to go, and I am still thankful to be alive, and so even though I wish I still had them most of all, it is all good. My Mom got to essentially choose her own path at the end, and I know she didn't want to go yet, but sooner or later she would have, and that is OK. My brother suffered a lot with tremendous mood swings, and those brought on further self consciousness about his life situation, and in the end he took his life. I don't want to say it was "his choice" because he suffered from mental illness and whether it was "his choice" or not is a subject of debate as to whether the illness did it to him or not. The thing is that he is no longer in pain and I will never forget him, and that is OK.

The immediate family I have left is almost all estranged from me. My older brother first of all is vastly different from me. He smokes (stuff) and drinks and the only way to describe it is that we are different. We talk maybe once every 4-6 months and then it is just superficial. My sister (oldest) is completely estranged from me. She just can't handle me and I have issues with her. It is a long story, but even though she lives about 20 minutes away, we no longer talk or do anything for one another, and I am perfectly OK with that. She has been fake and really a disappointment for many years now, and is unable to even see why. My Dad is still here, lives an hour an a half away, and the only way to describe is that we are friendly on the surface. He has so little interest in his own family that he has never held my 18 month old daughter, and in the three years I have been running marathons and ultras he has never found it interesting enough to even show up to one, and he has been retired the whole time. I invited him to Mohican the last two years (20 minutes from his house) and he couldn't peel himself away from the TV long enough to just make a fucking cameo. In July he promised to help me return after my Ohio bike ride by picking me up in Youngstown and then bailed on me with a few days to go when I started working out the details with him. NOT cool. Now we talk maybe once a week (used to be everyday) and I really am indifferent.

We probably all feel this way from time to time, but I looked at my family, and I feel like I am the only one that "gets it." I saw myself right away as a rudder without a ship, no one to guide...and then my little brain awoke and said "Hey dummy - you have a great and important ship just starting out to sea...your girls!!!" Wow, what a revelation of purpose and comittment!

And this took me what? Maybe a mile or two to just drift through these thoughts in my brain, and I looked down and Lightfoot had arrived. I was cruising along, pains subdued, and enjoying my 7 mile hilly highbanks loop. I vowed not to hammer Crazy Hill this day, but still run up it. I want to be kind of fresh for the Columbus marathon Sunday. By 5 miles into my run I had stopped twice to pee and once at a bathroom to poop and a further revelation came to me. At Akron I peed twice and pooped once before 6 miles in the marathon. I think Sunday I might jog a 5 mile warmup to the starting line to help get everything ready and business done BEFORE the race. This will also give me an ultra distance for the day of 50k or 31 miles. We shall see.

I never walked a step on that run last night, and was so grateful to have Lightfoot along with me that last few miles. When I entered the last wooded stretch in the last mile, the setting sun had turned that stand of trees into a golden and crimson empire that shone upon our arrival. Lightfoot and I reveled that my rudder has an all encompassing ship to guide with the greatest of cargo, and we lit into that last mile of trail with an ardent passion and brought the run home with great purpose.

After getting back to the car I walked and jogged around the parking lot, and did 100 butt kicks and 100 high knee strides, mixed up my UltraGen protein recovery drink and then headed home. What a great night. Sorry you missed it Nick and Mark, but also kind of glad you did too. Isn't that the greatest part about running? Great when shared, and great when savored solo.

A run in with Dick

2009-10-09T14:59:00.000-04:00

I ran my usual route in Blacklick Metro Park again today (in the daytime.) Cruising pretty well, feeling little pain, and ignoring what was felt. I was cruising into the homestretch with maybe a mile to go and planned on adding on the .2 mile segment I do when I run a sprint at the end of the run.

I come upon a guy on the trail wearing one baby blue glove like some kind of weird Michael Jackson fanatic and he motions for me to slow down to talk to him. I noticed he had a volunteer armband on his arm. He proceeds to inform me that there is "no running or jogging back here on the nature trails." Oh, really? OK. So I took a walk break, around the next corner. Back to running and pushed it good on the sprint section to boot. 4.7 miles total. I think they were all under a 10 minute mile pace based on my clock. I am not wearing a watch, but just look at the time on my phone when I leave and when I get done.

I really don't know for sure, but in my mind that volunteer's name was "Dick."

Ninja Night Runners

2009-10-07T22:09:00.000-04:00

Nick Longworth and I revisited our ninja stealth night running venue and put in 4.8 miles in the forbidden zone. We kept it at a conversational pace and I felt like we both got a good run in. My legs feel totally fine from the weekend, but the part that got a little bit sore tonight was my hips. All in all I had a blast and we talked a lot about Nick's upcoming 100 miler - Javelina.

2009-10-06T17:40:00.002-04:00

4.4 miles riding the bike today to the store and back at a very relaxed pace.

Back at it

2009-10-06T11:23:00.002-04:00

2 miles this morning on the treadmill in my new Vibrams. It only felt strange for a tiny bit, and then it was just running. I only ran one mile of it, walking the first quarter and the last three quarter miles. Trying to take it easy and recover smart so I can run well at Columbus. I hope for a nice easy run tomorrow as well. I have really no soreness at all and I attribute that to taking it pretty easy during the NC24.

NC24 short video

2009-10-06T10:37:00.001-04:00

North Coast 24 Hour Endurance Run

2009-10-04T16:35:00.006-04:00

Photos Courtesy of Lloyd Thomas

I signed up for and ran the NC24 Endurance Run this weekend, my first ever "timed" race. I can't explain why I couldn't start with a 6,8, or 12 hour but there it is. It was close by, had some big names attending and so many people that I am lucky to call friends, that I just couldn't see missing it.

Autumn and I arrived Saturday morning around 7am and proceeded to set up our tent along the course. A brand new snuggly 0 degree F sleeping bag was tucked inside for later....it's a good thing there weren't two sleeping bags, I don't think I would have run as far.

The race was scheduled to start at 9 am sharp (sharper than 100 mile trail races because of the nature of this race.) I grabbed my packet and goodies, folded and pinned the bib # 88 onto my purple shorts worn to honor Colleen. We had championchip tracking and they were on an ankle band that went above your shoe. I secured that around my compression socks and felt ready.

I wasn't sure what to expect after running Akron Marathon hard last weekend (for me) and also a very hard Thursday night run in Central Park, NYC. It turns out tapering might be worth something, because my legs were not 100% all day long. That being said, I am 100% sure that I wouldn't do it any other way. I was not shooting for some goal at this race, and I had so much fun on the Thursday night run, I am happy. I viewed this 24 hour challenge as a way to get me off my ass and training. I also knew I would take breaks with Autumn, and naps where needed, and I did just that.

Dan Bellinger offered to crew me here and showed up before the start and helped me get gear and etc. all arranged. He would also serve all day as my Autumn beacon pointing out exactly where she was in the aid station or pavillion when I would come through.

As I promised myself I walked the first two laps, trying to stay in or near dead last place. After two laps, I started running with a run 3/walk 1 plan that I would dial back to run 2/walk 2, and then run 1/walk 3 as needed. I did 3/1 for three repeats, and then I was feeling really sub par overall, so I ducked into the tent and slept for 30 minutes - BEFORE NOON! Wow, I had this laid back thing nailed.

After I woke up from the nap I went to empty and clean my socks and saw two blisters right away on my toes. I walked over to the podiatry school tent and had them lance the blisters, treat and bandage them, as well as put some preventative padding on some developing hot spots on my feet. They did a great job because I never went back all day, and never had another foot problem.

Out of the tent and all patched up I felt wonderful again and pressed on. Autumn was working the aid station so I would see her every 10-15 minutes depending on whether I was running or walking, and I know almost everyone there very well, so I was very comfortable with her being there working, and she LOVES it.

I ditched any formal plan and just walked when I felt like it, and ran when I felt like it. After about 6 hours into the race, I took Autumn and insisted we walk down Edgewater beach and back for fun. I didn't want her 100% absorbed in the race, and I made sure she knew that SHE was more important than the race to me. I told her just that. She gets it.

When we got back I set out and did a bunch more laps (mostly walking) and then sometime in the afternoon I wanted to sleep again, so I laid down for what I think was an hour...I slept very well with the sound of Lake Erie waves only 50-80 feet behind my tent.

I got up again when it was getting dark and walked a bunch of laps, when some running urge took hold. I took off and decided I was going to run 5 full laps (each lap .9 miles) at a good pace. I felt like I was running sub 9 minutes miles and maybe I will find out if the post the splits, but I was cruising. I was passing all kinds of people I had no business passing. After the 5 laps, I had a protein drink mixed up by Dan and sat down until I felt like walking again.

I walked a bunch more laps, and then cranked it back up for 4 hard laps, then a stop and the protein drink. Up and back walking after a bit, I made another few laps thinking about doing a 3 lap run, when I realized I really wanted to sleep. I had put Autumn to bed in the cozy sleeping bag way back around 9pm, so I crawled in next to her in the tent and made due with a blanket and the ground. This was around 4 am, and I ended up sleeping until 630 am, sitting on 55 miles or so completed. I was so cold sleeping in the tent, without a sleeping bag, that I HAD to get up at 0630 and start walking again.

I didn't feel like doing too much. Another issue I had been fighting all night was crotchular chafing. I lubed, relubed, shaved, lubed, and relubed through out the night. I used more vaseline than an all night orgy. Wait, maybe that was what this was...I never REALLY got over this issue. It would be fine for a few miles after a fresh lube, but would soon start to become something to be ignored again.

I was determined to walk to the finish and see what I got, and I woke Autumn up at 730 to go back to work. She was MAD at me when I made her stop and go to bed. She would have tried to stay up all night if I let her. I walked and walked, and inside of an hour to go, Mark Carroll gave me what I need. He was working the road crossing as a traffic cop, and as I passed he said, "Can't you at least shuffle a little?" I cranked up the run right there and then and held it to the finish.

I actually felt funny running that fast at the end, like people would think I was looking for attention when I was a very low mileage back of the packer in reality, but I had the wheels so I spun them. You can't live your life by what you THINK people are thinking about you. I found a cause to keep me running and it was for Autumn to see me finish my 24 hours strongly and in style.

I made at least 2-3 more laps than I would have if I was walking, and the preliminary results say I got 63.05 miles which tickled me to go past the 100k mark. Had I not had Mark, I would not have made that mark, I assure you.

Feeling good now, though sore. I plan a few easy days ahead and lots of nice recovery before Columbus Marathon in two weeks.

Central Park

2009-10-01T23:59:00.002-04:00

I had a trip to NYC (well really Teterboro, but most people just know NYC) so my fellow pilot and I went into the city and found a parking space near Central Park to run. We got there just before 10 pm. There were still a lot of people running and riding bikes in the park at that hour.

John is in better shape and faster than me as you may know from previous posts. We walked over to the park and John noted the time and we started the run. We went clockwise from Central Park West meaning that we hit the hilly section first. I felt really good climbing these hills and didn't feel as if our pace slipped at all. We agreed that I would set the pace because I have a race on Saturday and I already ran 4.5 miles today.

That lasted until about Harlem, or Central Park North when John started pulling away from me a little bit here and there. I thought to myself each time that if I just asked him, he would back it off, but instead I kind of dug down and just willed myself back up to him each time. Although I was working, the only thing that was really bothering me was the way my shorts were riding.

On the far side of the park - Central Park East - John started to crack a little and starting asking me how far to go, and even let on that he was wishing we were done or walking. I allowed that we could walk if he "needed" to, secretly hoping that this would be the first time that I would not be the first one to call mercy on a run, but he would not let in, and we both just kept pushing on around to the south side, and then back up to around 78th street where we started the run on the west side of the park. Time noted at the finish indicated 52 minutes for the 6 mile circumnavigation of the park, which is awesome and I calculate in my head we were under a 9 minute per mile pace the whole way.

I took my camera but discovered coming through the Lincoln Tunnel that I left the memory card here in the computer, so no pictures tonight...but then if I did have it, we might have slowed down a lot for photos, so I am kind of glad.

Thanks John!!!

What else? The BL 4.5

2009-10-01T15:19:00.003-04:00

I got out today after my hair cut and ran a nice 4.5 miles in the Blacklick Metro Park. One thing I noticed today, but didn't really pay attention to before: In the middle of the day there are a lot of groups from schools and different areas using the park. One large group today had a bunch of folks that appeared to be disabled in one form or another, and it made me think of the movie "Awakenings" with Robin Williams, when they leave the hospital and go out into society to do things.

I kept an easier pace, trying to continue recovery from Akron and just be ready for this coming weekend, the 24 hour race in Cleveland. After the 24 hour, I will have two weeks with no really long runs, and I plan on doing some speed work to try to turn in a good time at the Columbus Marathon October 18. I think I have a reasonable shot at going under 4:30 if I play my cards right.

At the North Coast 24 hour Endurance Run I will be bib #88 and they appear to have a really nice tracking/live results website put up by Jim Cheney. I will also say that there are some world class runners attending and a good chance of some world records falling if the weather permits.

A word about my race. This is my first timed event of any kind (so of course I do a 24 instead of 12, 8, or 6 hour right?) This is NOT a goal race of mine to the point where I have been training for THIS. As a matter of fact, the three goals I DO have are a buckle at Mohican 100, Burning River 100, and Haliburton 100 all in 2010. This is a step on the journey. To that end, anything I do will be a PR of sorts for me, and will be great training on my route to my big three goals.

I think it is reasonable that I could hit 75-80 miles, and a dream day would have me near 100 if I feel like running a lot and things are right. 50 would be fine. So would 60...get my point?

Live Results are here

This will likely be my last post until after the race is over...wish me luck!

Stone Mountain, GA (with pictures!)

2009-09-29T21:44:00.006-04:00

Got into Atlanta today and hustled over to run Stone Mountain, GA with my coworker John. We planned to run the 5 mile loop around the base of the mountain but after two reports that the path was closed on the far side we detoured up the mountain, and ended up doing 4 miles total. As usual, John was a machine making me keep the pace up. We both power walked up the mountain and were sweating our butts off at the top.

Always looking for a fox while running!

Recovery is the name...

2009-09-27T23:38:00.003-04:00

I went out today and bought some recovery mix called UltraGen for after workouts and also use the EAS Whey Protein Powder mixed with skim milk. Usually after any run I mix a quick drink and down it within 5 minutes in the door. Also while out at FrontRunner I picked up a pair of compression socks to wear during the North Coast 24 Hour Endurance Run next weekend. They should help me run a little further before fatigue sets in to my lower legs. We shall see.

Not wanting to wear them for the first time at the race I wore them tonight for my 4 mile recovery run. They fit and felt great the whole way with no issues after 4 miles, so I will give them a go.

A note about the 24 hour race. I am all about enjoying this one as my first, and not trying for any goal mileage. I will of course go long and make sure I hurt nice and good before any breaks, but I just want to say that if I do 50 miles, great...if I do 75 great...if I do 90 great. None of those numbers are going to mean anything to me, and if it is easy to ignore my progress I will do so during the day (and night.) I will not wear a watch, and will not watch any results boards they have up. When the 24 hour ends, I want to be surprised by whatever I did whether low or high.

I registered for Columbus marathon (October 18) while I was at the Akron Expo Friday night so now I am locked into that one as well. There I just hope to go faster than Akron because it is a faster course, and would be tickled to be under 4:30 again. Between NC24 and Columbus is two weeks, so I hope to do 2-3 speed workouts during those 14 days to boost the chance that I can make that happen.

Thought of tonight's 4 mile run: "I wonder if I just push myself and run this recovery run really fast, if I can fool my body into thinking I was a fast runner all along..." (yes I know that is crazy...but I was just daydreaming...)

A tip I have been meaning to share with runners and readers...Has your mp3 player ever gotten to the point where the audio is sketchy unless you have the headphone jack positioned "just so" in the receptacle? You have to turn it to JUST the right position to get good audio? Try getting a de-oxidization product like Radio Shack's DEOXIT. You spray some on the plug, put it in and work it around...pull it out and let it dry....then use the device. Sound is like brand new no matter where the plug rests. VOILA!!!

Tony finishes Akron...or is it Tony?

2009-09-27T22:10:00.003-04:00

A picture from the website Ohio.com where they INCORRECTLY identified this runner as Bob Pokorney of Medina. Not only did the spell Bob Pokorny's name wrong, but just freaking look people, his bib SAYS TONY!

My old neighbor and running coach Tony Harbert won his age group finishing Akron in 2:57:26 and it appears he left NOTHING behind on the race course.

The photo was located here: http://www.ohio.com/multimedia/photo_galleries/viewer?galID=61879032&storyID=61955827 It is photo #24 in the gallery.

My 3rd Akron Road Runner Marathon

2009-09-26T17:06:00.003-04:00

I have not been in training specifically for any marathon or race, but just trying to get back into running shape for my big three ultras next year - Mo 100, BR 100, and Haliburton Forest 100. Akron has been very fun the last few years and I couldn't pass up the chance to run it again, especially when I need a long run anyhow. So I signed up a month or so ago.

Showed up last night in Akron and first had to go get the RIGHT packet as Chef Bill had picked up my packet for me, only to discover he picked up Michael Kelly's packet instead, a 50 year old first time marathoner who wore a smaller shirt size than me. So off we went to the expo. Had a good, but brief fun time there and saw some friends and then headed out to do a few errands with my daughters and get ready. Back to Chef Bill's to spend the night and we were up at 0430 to get ready and be downtown plenty early for parking and the race.

Pre race I had fun teasing with ESpeed about the fact that I wish I could run the marathon at her weight as I weigh 148 lbs MORE than her! Wow. I need to get my weight down to 210 and I will be flying. Sat and talked with Chef Bill and Brett about anything and everything as well as correctly predicting Brett's eventual DNF due to gastro issues around the half marathon. I am not sure WHERE he puked it all up other than in front of his wife (who I think had a hand in stopping him) but by the time I saw him at mile 15 coming out of the towpath, he was done.

I started the race with Kimba and it took us 3:55 to get to the starting line in the crowd. I kept this in mind when casually figuring out what I might finish at all day long. We ran relaxed, but my Akron friend the toilet visit came to me THREE times before mile 6. I waited and peed in a Port o Let at mile 2, then again at mile 4 (but also did #2) and then before mile 6 I NEEDED to pee and I asked a cop if he would look the other way while I peed on a bush, and he said "sure." I didn't want to risk a Regis Shivers Jr. incident and get in trouble for UIP (urinating in public.)

Somewhere after mile 6 a fantastic butt beacon was beckoning me from the 5:00 pace group and I moved on up there and settled in for a few miles. It was nice. I stayed with them for about 2 miles and then on an uphill they were going too slow for my taste and after I passed another group of slower runners, I never saw the 5:00 group again. By mile 11 I was down onto the towpath and Beacon #2 beckoned and entertained me for the next 5 miles or so...I must say, the bounce was nice. I saw Debi in here and we ran together and talked for a mile or so before we separated and as I popped out of the towpath, there I saw Brett and Suzanne (Inca Princess.) Now she had asked me what I wanted her to have for me at this point in the race, and I said a nice cold gatorade. I thought she meant it, so before the end of the towpath I downed a energy gel planning to wash it down with that. She didn't have it. I think she forgot, but that is cool. I got some water a short distance later in Sand Run.

I was doing a good job staying ahead of the calorie/glycogen curve all day and tried to maintain this so that I wouldn't hit the wall, and I never really did. I slammed my 5 hour energy coming near the end of Sand Run right before that water stop and it helped. Up Revere and once into the neighborhoods I had Debi's house and sign to look forward to, as well as Dan Bellinger waiting there for me at mile 20.2 with an ice cold Gatorade! He had actually promised that one for sure and he delivered. It was a really nice treat. I pushed on out of there and had plans to conquer Garman hill and never walk a step of today's race. I did in a nice fashion and Don Holtzapple ran into each other here on the hill. We could only run together a short distance but ended up finishing very close to each other.

On past Stan Hywet Hall and I knew I could motor through the street out to Market and make a nice downhill effort and end up in the 4:40 - 4:45 range. I kept up the pace up there picking off runners and only getting passed by fresh Relay Runners. One aspect of the Akron Marathon for the middle to back of the packers is that all day Relay Runners are passing you as they hand off the baton/strap to fresh legs and the next group blasts past you. No worry. I was only concerned about me and giving an even, possibly negative split effort to the day. I will review my splits, but the way I was moving up in the field all day long, I think I must have had a negative split.

Anyways, Cindy (Red) and I ran into each other on the last road before the stadium finish and also finished very close to one another. I turned the corner in the stadium and could see that once I accounted for the 3:55 to the start line, I could finish in under 4:40 with a strong effort so I kept it up or even sped up a little bit to the line, finishing in a chip time of 4:39:35. This falls in between my fastest Akron of 4:02:xx and my slowest of 5:30:xx. I am very happy with this effort and really considered it a training run for future goals. Next weekend I signed for and running the North Coast 24 Hour Endurance Run which is going to be very cool for me on many levels. It is going to be my first time based race, and also there are going to be some really big names there in ultra running that I get to watch compete. It is 24 hours running as many loops as possible on the .9 mile path at Edgewater Park in Cleveland. I will right up a good blog and try to get more pictures there. I hope to have a few marathon pics soon.

So now I have three Akron Marathons in a row, I wonder if I should try to keep up a streak there....:) I think I am going to try to do many bike workouts this week to be ready for next week. Basketball Tuesday and maybe one or two runs. I wish I had a pool to go pool running in. Maybe I can try one somewhere on a trial basis or something.

What have I done?

2009-09-24T23:25:00.001-04:00

I just signed up for the North Coast 24 Hour Endurance Run on October 3 in Cleveland, OH. It is held in Edgewater Park on a .9 mile loop that I will run over and over and over, and as many overs as I can!

Hotel Miles

2009-09-24T23:23:00.001-04:00

3 Treadmiles and a few sets of curls with the dumbbells.

Highbanks 7

2009-09-23T15:27:00.002-04:00

The now very familiar 7 mile loop this morning with Dan Bellinger. We met at 7 am and ran only one repeat on the crazy hill. We did walk the long uphill from the bottom back up to the top of the park. Dan was really wanting to take off and I didn't have the legs today after running and basketball yesterday, so I had to rein him in and keep the pace very moderate.

I think I need to take it easy from now until the marathon Saturday...maybe running a few miles at most, but mostly walking.

Thanks for driving down to do the run Dan!

BBall

2009-09-22T23:50:00.001-04:00

Played in my league again tonight...good fun...and I ran hard.

BL 4.7

2009-09-22T15:42:00.000-04:00

I ran my usual 4.5 mile loop and added on a .2 mile segment at the end where I did a sprint. A nice and humid day, my sweat meter was pegged. Basketball coming tonight.

Kokosing Gap Trail 50k+++

2009-09-21T18:59:00.003-04:00

The video pretty much says it all. Rode 34.9 miles while my car was being worked on.

At 1:20 in the video there is a purple triangular thing hanging in the trees...I see them all over Ohio, and it appears they are there to catch bugs...but what bugs? Anyone? I have always wondered. Don?

The Quarter Marathon

2009-09-20T21:35:00.002-04:00

I found a convenient loop course from my house that works out to be a quarter marathon, or 6.55 miles tonight. It is mostly road/sidewalk with a few areas I run in the grass to stay off the roads. Tonight I was in the road at one point where there was no sidewalk, and some yahoo comes along and tries to pin me between his SUV and the curb. Undoubtedly he or she was:

A. texting
B. drunk
C. on the phone
D. eating or
E. just plain stupid

I have had special training in dealing with stupid over the last year and so I was ready. I jumped over the curb and into the grass in plenty of time. That was enough for me though. From now on I run in the grass or on a sidewalk but stay off the road whenever physically possible.

The run, outside of my playing dodgecar, was pretty nice. After the YUT-C 25k yesterday I think I was still working harder than I might have otherwise, but I kept a pretty good pace and didn't quit. I am just going to wing it this week and run what I can, and what I want to, probably sprints/hills/tabata Tuesday, but not really planning any taper going into Akron Marathon. I might just try to run only 3 miles or so on Friday...

YUT-C 25k

2009-09-19T17:04:00.002-04:00

I had a very nice run this morning at the YUT-C 25k, the 25 and 50k races put on by NEO Trail. It is located in Mill Creek Park in Youngstown and is a really beautiful course. My daughter worked the Covered Bridge aid station and I got a kiss each of the three times as I went through onto the next loop. 25k is 15.75 miles at this race according to the map, so each loop broke down to be about 4 miles.

I ran the race in 3:16:52 (12:30 per mile) and only walked the steepest of hills...just keeping a nice solid pace otherwise. This was my last long run before Akron Marathon next weekend and I should have a nice run there...nothing great time wise, but I don't see any problem finishing and having fun.

I carried a water bottle the whole way and barely used it, and now I have a stiff shoulder that will require some Advil and attention. No biggie, but I pretty sure that is what caused it. Gonna keep it short as I need to do some stuff with the girls, but I think I will have some pictures from other runners to post before too long, so I will just put them up in a separate post.

Crooked River Trail Runners

2009-09-17T23:29:00.001-04:00

I will be brief, but I got the chance to run with the Crooked River Trail Runners, headed by Jim Christ. We ran a rambling, hilly 5.25 mile loop and I generally brought up the rear. I got to run a few miles with Wild Bill, Bob Cassill, and some others I don't really know yet. For me the best part was that I challenged myself in the last half mile to run up the remaining hills, and catch two runners I could see in the distance ahead of me...and I did. I felt obligated to apologize for the group who had sheltered and dealt with me for nearly the first 5 miles, for leaving them, but I just needed to push it and see if I had it in me. No one was offended thankfully.

The next big plan - tomorrow may be a non-running day, or a nice walk - is to run YUT-C 25 k Saturday morning. This should be a nice fun challenging run at 15.5 miles and will be my longest run leading up to Akron Marathon the weekend after.

BL 6.5

2009-09-16T19:02:00.002-04:00

I ran 6.5 miles in Blacklick this afternoon. The afternoons are nice there with lots of shade, and the cross country teams cruising around providing running motivation.

At the very end of my run, the boys CC team and I merged onto a trail together right at the same time. I was right in the middle of their pack and found myself matching their pace (they were cooling down or something...they are MUCH faster than that normally.) So one gracious kid sees me in their midst and tells his buddies to move over so I can pass them...and they do. I smirk, speed up, and say to the kid as I pulled away a little "Thanks I guess I HAVE to go faster now." I only had a quarter mile to go though.

I finished as I came out of the woods with a sprint across a grassy meadow area and then a walking cool down to the car, where I had a Strawberry Muscle Milk awaiting on ice.

Basketball

2009-09-16T12:44:00.001-04:00

I played hoops in my regular Tuesday night league last night. Lots of fun and lots of running. Two hours.

Chef Bill and Monet

2009-09-15T02:56:00.002-04:00

Chef Bill and I concocted a night trail run on Pine Lane tonight. We met and I was surprised, but in a nice way, to see that he had brought Monet, his dog, along for the run. I had never run with a dog before. She basically looks like Toto, so I figured she wouldn't outrun us.

We had some good trail talk and about 1.5 miles into the run, Bill took a highly entertaining dirt dive into the trail. I am not sure how deep he thought he could get underground, but he failed miserably coming to rest right on the surface. It was so entertaining because he was unharmed, and the first thoughts to my wicked brain were "Camera! Camera! Where the hell is my camera!!!???!?" It was back in the car.

We really did well during the first 4 miles out to Boston Store and then while we were there Monet seemed to be interested in something in the drain pipe under the sidewalk. I figured a snake or a chipmunk must have been scared under there. Naturally I used my headlamp to get down there and see what she was interested in. From one side I could not see far enough in to tell...so I moved to the other side, squatted down good and low, and promptly jumped to my feet and ran away after coming face to face with Peppy Le Pew! With two distinct white stripes on his black forehead and beady little eyes, I was happy to be gone before he was pissed enough to unleash his arsenal. With a skunk, would it be called his arsenal because it comes out his "arse?" Random thought of the day.

We could tell starting back on the trail that Monet was not wanting to run too much so we walked more of the uphills, and less than a mile into the return trip, she "Bretted" on us. Stopping on the trail she heaved up an impressive pile of tummy chunks and we knew she had gotten her fill of running. New Monet running limit is now 4 miles. Some of us (Rob Powell??? Brett???) just have to puke when we go beyond a certain distance...all in fun.

We ended up walking most of the return, but we managed to a keep a good "ultra" walk going so that I was still sweating and steamy at the finish. Thanks Bill!

Colorado Treadmiles (4)

2009-09-13T10:23:00.002-04:00

I went down and ran 4 miles on the treadmill this morning. I thought I was going to be sucking wind more than I was. It pretty much felt like back home. Pace varied from 10:00 per mile down to 8:34 a mile at the end, but most of it was 10:00. Then I hit the nautilus machine for bench press, lat pulldowns, and butterflies. Top it off with a 12 minute soak in the hot tub and I am off to work! Headed home tonight to Ohio.

Fit From Fat

Blogslack

Where's That Confounded Bridge?

Tuesday

Mohican Forget the PR 50k

Ninja Night

updates.

weekend running

Circle Circle

Autumn's response to Love Triangle

My Daddy Is A-W-E-S-O-M-E!

Love Triangle (epiphanies)

D1 again

D12 - Faster than a Fieldmouse?

D10,11

D9(a), will there be a (b)?

D9 insurance run....

Yup D9 already, at least the guarantee of it. I was up early for work, so I hammered out a pretty hard 1.4 miles in my neighborhood (2 loops plus a little) to insure my daily run...I hope to still do a fun run in Texas later today!

D8

D8 another ride and run...same course as yesterday, but in regular shoes...9 miles biking, 4.5 running. Felt good! On the way home I got a "You can do it!!!" from some wise ass middle school kid. I was hauling butt in a high gear and flew past him and his buddy.

Brick

Richmond International Airport

D5 in a row

6.55 QMarathon loop

BL 5.5

Shared

The Final Voyage....

Sarasota Circling

Sarasota

Corpus Christi

Back in Eldorado Canyon

Mixed Bag

Quarter more

2 measly miles

Making Lemonade

Quick Recap

New Year's Eve 24 hour race

Waterfall Run

Just because

Basketball

Bachman Lake, Dallas, TX

Monday night

Raw Running

Nighthican 10

9 mile Pine Lane run

My morning inspiration was....

Lousiana morning

Through the Carroll Lens

Camera in transit

Camera

Slim Pickin's Pictures (scavenged from others)

Slim Pickins Laurel Highlands 50k

Liberty State Park

Deca?

BBall

Bad Ass Collage

Recovery

I'm a BadAss

Mornhican

ChefRun

Basketball

Mudhican 7.7

Easy boy...

Basketball

BL 4.5 PR

Chestnut Ridge Metro Park Walk

2 becomes 4.5 (Vibrams)

afternoon

Close Encounters

14 becomes 7, now I know why

Dear Mike

More

Dear Blacklick Park Trails

New Jersey 8 miler

My first Columbus Marathon

Blogging vs. Bragging

Columbus

Vibram

Rudder and Lightfoot

A run in with Dick