2009 is Coming to a Close with a 24 hour run

Saturday Chuck, Lillian I met Dan D., Dan H., Dans friend, Debbie, Nancy and her friend and Dan B. at the tow path for one last long run before the 24. We did the same run as last weekend parking at the Station Road parking lot and running 7 miles to lock 29 and back for a nice 14 mile run in just over 2 hours. It was a nice run with lots of good company but it was not my best feeling run, meaning I didn't feel all that great because I have been eating so much junk during the holiday season. Arriving back in Medina Chuck and I sat down and came up with some ideas on pace and walk breaks to hit 120 to 130 miles. We'll see. I finally got home around noon and Marsha, Janet and Jeannine are getting ready for a 4 mile run so I was dressed and ready so I did 4 more with them.
Sunday morning Marsha had a 16 mile run planned but that was to far for but I had an old classmate from high school coming to run with us. Dan Daubner and I got in contact a couple weeks ago thanks to Facebook when he saw Marsha and I walk out of Ruby Tuesdays and he sent me a friend request the next day. We got to talking about running so this would be our first run and his longest run ever being 6 was his longest and I told him we could do the 8 lime loop. We went out with Charles, Janet, Jeannine, and Marsha but parted ways with them at Buckeye Woods. Dan had told me that he was only a treadmill runner til a week ago until his treadmill broke and that he ran 12 minute miles but after seeing him at Second Sole a week ago I knew he had to be faster than that and he was. We ran the longest run he had ever run non stop hitting 8 miles at a 9:09 pace, great when he thought he was a 12 minute mile runner. I went back out and ran 2 more miles with JN MC CE and JS and walked JS home for a cool down getting in 10 miles for my last run b4 the 24. Later that day I talk on FB with Dan and tell him he could easily be ready for a half marathon by the time we run Last Chance for Boston and he signed up with in minutes. We will have a nice crowd there and it continues to grow as tonight I ran into Tom Wolke at Sully's and gave him a race application and he says he will probably run the half.
We leave Medina less than 36 hours to head to North Carolina, I sure hope the weather cooperates.

No Work and Lots of Running

I have to back up a little here, last Saturday I picked up Chuck and we met Debbie and all went to Penisula and met up with Dan H. and Dan D. to run 14 miles on the Tow Path. Sunday Chris Rolling calls me and wants to run the Reagan trail, probably not the best decision with 12 days til the 24 hour but we ran 7 miles on snow covered trail at about a 9:15 pace, it felt way faster. Monday was my 2nd annual Run to Marshas work half marathon. Jeannine met me here at 1:00 and we headed off to meet Janet at St. Francis, we arrived at 3:04 making it the 13.1 miles in just over 2 hours. Next year I think I will ride out to work with Marsha and run home. Tuesday Dan H. met me here at 5:30 and we ran to Robertas house then on to Debbies and ran 13 miles with them around Medina and back here for a total of 16 miles. This made 64 miles in the last 6 days and after that last one I have had a slight pain just under my hip that may be a IT issue but I'm not sure so I took yesterday off and then ran 6.4 miles with Jeannine this morning and felt pretty good. It's now Christmas Eve and I plan on taking tomorrow off and running the Tow Path again on Saturday and maybe part of Marshas run on Sunday. Then a 3 day taper with maybe a 3-4 run in there somewhere before we leave on Wednesday for North Carolina's Freedom Park 24 hour Ultra.

17 Days off Work, A Little Rest and a Lot of Running

This morning starts one of the longest stretches off work I have ever had, 17 days off with my next day being Jan. 4, 2010 next year. I was up til after midnight last night after working til 7 pm then heading straight to the bar where all the runners were ending up after the beer run. I was awake before the alarm around 4 am and on the road running with Roberta by 5 am, a nice run, almost 8.5 miles at a 8:35 pace. A nap will need to happen sometime today so I can again rise early tomorrow to begin our run at 7 am in Peninsula with Chuck, Dan D., Dan H. and Dave. Sunday will be a low mile day so I can run the now annual half marathon out to Marsha's work on Monday with Jeannine and Janet.

24 Hour Training Week

The Freedom Park New Year's Eve 24 hour ultra is less than 17 days away and this was my big training week to get ready for this run. I ran 75 miles this week, one of my top 5 highest weeks ever. Monday, Tuesday and Friday morning I ran at 5 am. We changed up the normal 5 am 6 mile route Monday and ran right down the center of town on 42 til Harding St. then back, then Tuesday Jeannine came to our house and we ran out the Chippewa trail and then over to Ryan and back which is a very hilly 3 miles back. Friday was the coldest day I ever ran, at 5 am it was maybe 14 degrees with a windchill below zero but we ran the normal 6 mile route and arriving back at Roberta's house I tell Jeannine I never put my key outside my truck on these morning runs, I WILL NOW, as when I went to get in I couldn't. My keys were locked inside the truck and I had to be at work in 45 minutes, Roberta was nice enough to run me to my house and back to hers giving just enough time to get to work. Saturday morning Dan DeRosha and I ran the big Chippewa loop arriving back here at 13 miles then ran a loop around Medina hitting 21 miles just before noon and Marsha, Jeannine, Janet and Charles were running at 12:30 so I then went to Jeannines with Marsha and we all ran back this way to pick up Janet with me hitting 26.2 miles for the day. Overall a pretty good running week in December with a record cold day in there but then today happened, Dan D. and I met Dan H. in Hinckley at 5 am and ran 31 miles, it was warmer than it was Friday and Saturday but it rained on us after mile 5 all the way through mile 31. It was a good training run, if we can run 10 loops around that lake with all those hills and in all that rain any other run is gonna seem easy and we did this in 5:59 with lots of breaks at the truck. Not a bad 50k time considering Dan and I did 6:46 and Bill's Bad Ass 50k just a few weeks ago.

Ashland Half Marathon 12/05/2009

This race is not very big and is not very easy and is always very cold, so why did we do it again. It's a race of course. Nice people, a well run race for this time of year and for a good cause I believe it supports the high school and middle school cross country teams, maybe Medina should try some fundraisers instead of charging $660 to run cross country next year. We arrived a little later than I would have liked and by the time we checked in went back to the car and tried to stay warm it was close to starting time with no warm up, I need a warm up even more when it's this cold, it was maybe 28 degrees when we finished the race. Since my only goal for this race was to break 1:40 I just figured go out slow and and get warmed up then go, nothing ever works out right but at least I didn't hurt myself. I was talking to a few people I knew at the start and the start was late over 10 minutes so we were all shivering and moving around and waiting, finally they said on your mark and go. What was I doing, I was freezing so I went out of there like a rocket and when I hit the first half mile in about 3:10 I slowed way down but still hit mile one at 7:01 and mile three in 21:12, too fast for no warm up so I held back some more. I ended up running from mile 4 through mile 9 with Scott (an insurance guy from Ashland) he was 49 so no competition and we ran and talked quite a bit holding around a 7:30 pace for those miles then at mile 9 I decided to pick it up just a bit and caught the next guy and him and I pushed the pace down for a couple miles til I left him to. There were not to many people out there in my sight except a girl I had my sights on catching, I caught up with her around mile 11 and she says I will only be the second person to pass her since she jumped in at the relay point. She was looking to break 45 minutes for her leg which I'm not sure how long it was but I thought I'll just run her in from here and I stayed with her. She was a Ashland college runner and was holding near a 7:10 pace with me til the last 1/4 mile when my fellow MCRR friend came out to run me in. I intended on staying with her and pushing her to the finish but Steve and I took off and she stayed where she was maybe finishing only 15-20 seconds back and she thanked me afterwards for pushing her and helping her get her goal. I finished at 1:36:45 (seven minutes faster than last year) and came in third in my age group that won me my second winter hat prize in 2 years. We went from the race to Buehlers to change our clothes so we could attend the Subway Challenge Series Banquet where Marsha and I both placed 2nd in our age groups for the year. The price went up from 25 to 40 bucks for next years Subway Series but it's still a bargain. Marsha wasn't sure she wanted to sign up but for that money we get a very nice summer picnic after one race, this banquet and a embroidered shirt plus placing in our age groups every year we have received 30 bucks each in gift certificates.
Today I slept in and got up and had a planned 20 mile run, I left here at 10:25 and ran 4 miles to Jeannine's and Marsha, JN and I ran about 3 miles of trails then Janet joined us for the rest. I was planning on running home from Jeannine's but I was getting sore legs so I took Janet's offer and she brought me home, 15 today and 15 yesterday was good. Next weekend we are planning 20 for Saturday and looking at 30 for Sunday.

My Second 24 Hour Run 12/04/2009

The Freedom Park 24 Hour Endurance Run is New Year's Eve in North Carolina. I only knew about this race because I must have heard Connie or Bob talk about it at Connie's b-day party. Tuesday morning Jeannine, Roberta and I were to do the usual early run and Dan H. set it up as a event run with Dan B. also attending. While we were running I casually mentioned it to Dan H. and told him to think about it, me being barely serious about it but by that afternoon I got a message from Dan, I'm in if you are. Woe, what did that say, I sent him back a message and said I better talk to Marsha first. Dan mentioned peer pressure I think he got it all wrong, he's in and now the pressure was on me. He was doing track work that night and I knew Dan D. was going so I asked Dan H. to talk to him about it but I couldn't wait so I texted him and told him about it and can you believe they were both signed up before me. Mike Keller is also sounding like he is going to go too. 4 weeks to go til my second 24 hour run , Kyle said I need to get my head looked at and my bowling friends will never understand why I would want to do this again and maybe even some running friends being I passed out at the end of the last one and was on crutches for four days. I plan to end this one a little different and get to enjoy breakfast after this one and of course walk away on my own two feet. Marsha and I will be spending our first New Year's apart since we met and probably the last but it should be a very memorable New Year's spent with some great running buddies. Look out North Carolina here comes the Medina County Road Runners. I ran every day in November and ended my streak after running Tuesday morning Dec. 1 where all this started. I took the last 3 days off just for some rest before the Ashland half tomorrow morning and to let my sore lower back heal up some more I hope.

OBX Thanksgiving 2009

We spent the entire Thanksgiving week in the Outer Banks at our resort Ocean Villas. We usually spend the whole week walking on the beach, running, movies and fires at night. On the second day there Marsha and I were getting ready to head out for a 13 mile run when I bent over to tie my second shoe when I pulled something in my back, run was cancelled for the time being. Later that day I did head out for a 3 mile run and surprisingly running didn't hurt if I went slow but sleeping in the extra soft bed was very hard on my back, tried a couple nights on a air mattress then another night on the floor which lasted til about 4 am when I finally went back to the super soft bed. I did go see a chiro in the Outer Banks but his adjustments didn't seem to help much. Thanksgiving morning we were to run the Outer Bans Gobbler 5k and that was supposed to be Kyle and I's big showdown but his knees were bugging him and I was in no shape to run fast so we paced Marsha for the first 2 miles then we took off to pass as many people as we could in the last miles finishing in 23:15 with a 6:45 last mile. Kyle was the 2nd under 18 year old across the line so he won a small apple pie. This was more of a fun run with no results and you got your own time when you passed the clock.I ran every day on this trip but only one 10 miler with Marsha and the 6 plus miles on Turkey day and all the others were quick 3 mile runs. The drive home was the toughest part of the whole trip, no matter how I sat my back was killing me, I drove for 3 hours but it was even worse in the drivers seat so Marsha drove for over 7 hours on the way home. Three hours after we got home we headed to the bowling alley where I had a hard time throwing the ball but I bowled anyways and shot 581. We then headed to Walmart to get some groceries and got home and being totally exhausted from our long day went to sleep. I got up Sunday morning and still was a little sore but just one night back in our sleep number bed and I was feeling better. 11:00 was our group run and this run felt better than any all week, Marsha, Charles Janet, Jeannine and I ran this run but Charles and Janet cut out at 7 miles as Charles is still having problems since Nashville and Janet was struggling a bit. We went on and hit 11 miles just before getting back home. Today was my 29th run of the month and after tomorrows run I will have run every day of November and if I get in my 6.5 miles tomorrow I will have 230 miles for the month and a new record for a single month. Then a couple days off with the Ashland Half marathon next weekend.

The Day Before Our OBX Vacation Marathon + 11/20/2009

We were leaving for the Outer Banks on Saturday morning and I decided to take Friday off work. Chuck was also off on Friday so he asked me if I wanted to do a 20 miler on Friday morning. I was already running 6 miles with Jeannine, Roberta, Debbie and Dan B at 5 am but told Chuck I was in and that I was running a marathon on Friday morning then. I ran the first 6 miles between 5 and 6 then met Chuck at his house and we ran from there. We headed out on the same route I had run at 5 am but this time it seemed a little harder and a little windier. We headed down the Chippewa trails and down 162 where I ran up and surprised My Uncle Gary and talked to him for a minute or two. Then we headed out through Buckeye Woods and around the big open field then down towards Chippewa rd. and back towards my house but then we realized that we were gonna be a little long and ended our run just before we arrived back at Chucks house at 22 miles giving me 28 for the day. Friday night we made a stop at the Candlelight Walk and headed home to prepare for our long drive to the Outer Banks where we are now. It is now Nov. 23 and I have run every day this month with the intention of running every day but since arriving and sleeping on this super soft mattress I have been having back aches since yesterday when I tired to tie my shoes and had sudden pain that has not gone away yet. Thursday Marsha, Kyle and I will be running the OBX Turkey Trot 5k and I hope to give Kyle a hard time beating me but that may not be the case if the back ache doesn't go away by then. Only 3 days til Thanksgiving.

Bill's Bad Ass 50K Nov. 14, 2009

About 6 -8 weeks ago Chef Bill posted to quite a few people "are you a bad ass" and that is how he announced the 50k they were planning. I put maybe on his site because I told Bill I was running Columbus and Niagara Marathons just 2 and 3 weeks before this race. I wanted to do this race but sort of set it aside and forgot about it til Dan saw it days before the race and I checked in with Chef Bill and he told us to come. The weather was unbelievable, a little chilly to start the day but it warmed up quick, shorts and a tee all day (gloves too for most of the day). There looked to be somewhere between 75 and a 100 people at the start but only 44 bad ass's finished by the results Bill posted, waiting to see the candy ass list to see total of all runners. This race was held entirely on the Perkins loop in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park not far from lock 29 where we run sometimes. The first 2 plus miles was a hilly gradual climb that we mostly walked the hills every loop and it was still tough, the last half was of course coming back down and much easier except the steep down hill that we also walked almost every lap. There were also several water crossing that were all easy due to no rain lately, not exactly what these ultra runners were hoping for, Bill wanted rain, mud, cold, wind and more horse do do on the trail but it was a beautiful day and dry so I can only imagine what this would have been like on a bad day. Marsha came out and joined us for the last 5 mile loop and the final mile up the stairs which was also a tough finish but I had a couple weeks of recovery from my last marathon and was feeling rather well. It was a fun day running with Dan as we always seem to get the nice weather when we head for the trails, our recent Facebook blog was funny as Dan wrote he was having an affair with trail running and I posted "oh you doing her too" and we had a bunch of funny comments from there with Dan's friend Dee making comments and she had me laughing alot. Novembers goal is to run every single day so the day after the 50k I ran 7 more miles and felt really good. It will be a record month and record weeks are coming too. 18 for 18 so far and we will be heading to the OBX soon for the big duel between Kyle and I.

Connie's 46th Birthday / Dick's Horse Radish 5K

• Marsha and I started our weekend off by going to Connie's birthday gathering at her house, it was open to most any runner that Connie knows so we got Jeannine to finally agree to go. Most there will not forget how sloshed and funny she was that night even though she forgot alot of that night, we stayed til midnight or later and we had a blast, runners are such a great group of people. I had plans to go run Dick's Horse Radish 5k in Canton Sunday , 1. because my friend Bill lives right on the course and he has driven here for many runs and 2. it was the second to last Subway race of the season and wanted to run one more. So being at a party with lots of runners I found a whole car load to go to Canton, Dan H., Connie, Chuck and I all went and had a pretty good showing. All four of us place in the top 25 with 312 runners. I followed Chuck off the line but we got split up in the crowd and he got by what Connie said about 20 seconds in front of me and that's where he stayed for over 2.5 miles, I was hoping to catch him but thought it wasn't gonna happen till the last half mile, he slowed just a bit and I was closing in but as the finish line neared I was almost right behind him and kinda tired and thought I'd wait til the end to try and make a move but in the last 30 yds. there was a 90 degree turn to the finish and I just couldn't get by then as Chuck sped up going in to the last turn, he knew someone was behind him he just didn't know it was me. Chuck was 15th, I was 16th with a 19:43, 1.5 seconds behind Chuck with Dan and Connie both less than 27 second back. I really think all the long runs, marathons, etc. have had a good effect on my speed as I hadn't done speed work in quite some time. Thanksgiving day I will need some speed as I will be racing Kyle in a 5K in the OBX.

November is Upon Us

Why does winter have to come, I like running in the cold but I still hate winter. My quads were really sore after the last marathon just 9 days ago but how else to get over that but to run and get them stretched. Ran a few times after Niagara and really had some sore muscles but it's getting better quick, ran at 5 am with Jeannine, Roberta and Debbie last week and again today, 6 miles each time at just over an 8:30 pace. Last Saturday Dan D. and I went to Hinckley and ran just over 13 miles, at 6:45 I texted Dan and wanted to see if he was thinking we should cancel as there was a threat of rain all morning and it was raining at the time. Being that Dan has his second trail marathon in 2 weeks coming up he wanted to run rain or shine so off we went. It was a great run and no one else braved the weather with us, I had one new experience as a runner as Dan and I came to some high water and the river crossings, the first one I scaled a tree and crawled a little to get over to the other side as Dan waded through. On our way back maybe 3 miles from the truck we came to that crossing again and this time I followed Dan in and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be except the water was really cold, we both had clean clothes, socks and shoes so we were dry 25 minutes later. We have been very lucky more than once going out when the weather was supposed to be bad and getting a nice break when we have arrived. Sunday I ran 5 more miles with Marsha and Jeannine cutting off as we neared our house, ran the first 5 at about a 9:15 pace and the last one heading home in 7:20 averaging 8:57 for all 6. Overall feeling less sore and Monday night after mowing and raking I thought let's see if I can run a 5k for fun in a decent time, heading out near dark I ran my 3.1 mile loop in 21:55 at a decent pace and felt pretty good so I decided that I will run my last Subway race this weekend down by my buddy Bill's house on Cable Lake in Canton. I ran this morning with Jeannine, Roberta and Debbie and am thinking that I will run again tomorrow with Roberta and Debbie but running to her house and cutting off when we get near here. Also running at 5 am Thursday and Friday as a MCRR run but we'll see if anyone else shows, so far Dan B. and Chuck are the only takers besides JN and I.

Niagara Falls Marathon 10/25/2009

This was my 6th marathon of the year not counting the 24 hour. Marsha, Charles and I decided to do this after talking the the Niagara rep at the Cleveland Marathon. This was going to be my attempt at a BQ but with the extreme miles I put in in the previous 30 days I had it in my mind that it may be unlikely but I was going and going to give it a shot. We left on Friday morning and were spending the whole weekend there, 3 nights and 4 days. I slept great on Friday night which was good as I never sleep good on the eve of a marathon. Saturday we spent the day with Charles and family and toured the expo. I like going to a marathon a day early but this was 2 days early and I was going crazy having all day Saturday with not much to do but wait for the next day to get there. When we got to Canada we were glad to find out we could text back to the U.S. for free and we did alot of texting. Sunday morning finally arrived, a little earlier than I would have liked though, got up for good about 3 am and headed down to the lobby with the laptop to let Marsha sleep. I went back up about 5 and got Marsha up and we tried to duplicate Columbus morning wearing mostly the same clothes and eating the exact same food for breakfast, a honey wheat oat bagel with peter pan peanut butter and a banana. Around 7 am we met Charles in the lobby and walked down the block to get on bus at 7 am for along trip through customs and to Buffalo where we then went into an art museum for the last hour plus til the start of the marathon. We had been in constant contact with Jeannine and she was going to be texting us during our 26.2 miles and had a message we had to decode after it was over, which was D D A L O G for me and to Marsha, I actually started writing it down til I saw what it said. I was wearing my Muddy Paws shirt on race day and at least 4 people running the marathon also ran this local race, one being the bearded guy Jeannine and I ran into during the Columbus Marathon a week earlier. The race started promptly at 10 am and off we went, said goodbye to Marsha and Charles and I was off, felt pretty good but nearing 7 miles my quads started to get sore and I knew that was gonna be a problem. I did get to see MC n CE right about mile 7 also as we passed on a turn around, I kept my pace hitting the half way point at 1:39:48 but was getting a little more sore all over as time went by, I ran with the couple guys from around here for the first 8 miles then another fella for a long ways parting ways in the last 3 miles. The wind was in our face most of the day which had slowed us all down plenty I would bet but I still would have struggled with or without it. The last 3 miles I was taking 25 second walk breaks at the water stops but was running slower and slower and had some calf cramping wanting to happen, quads wanting to cramp and once even my hamstring stopped me completely for a minute but I kept moving and running real slow til it mostly went away. My slowest mile was 9:38 and my fastest was 7:08 early in the race. The last mile was down hill so when I hit mile 25 I ran almost to the finish line when again the cramps made me walk just before the finish just like in Cleveland. I finished in 3:36:04 just 4 minutes and 16 seconds from my PR but overall was really happy with my time knowing that I was happy just to finish another marathon after all I had done recently. I was the 111 th finisher of 786 runners and Marsha was around 300th. Charles ran into a few problems and was done by mile 20 getting a ride in. Marsha's 4:05 was a 7 minute pr.

The Columbus Marathon 10/18/2009

Marsha, Janet, Jeannine and I left for Columbus Marathon on Saturday afternoon and went to the expo then out to Olive Garden for dinner but they had a 1.5 hour wait so we went to Bob Evans and had a nice dinner with no wait. Then we went back to our hotel room and rested up , watched a little TV, did our Facebooking and went to sleep. Sunday morning we got our wake up call at 4:30 instead of 5:30 but we were all able to go back to sleep. We got up and headed to the Marathon, it was cold, maybe mid 30's so we were bundled up and ready to run. At 7:30 the race was on, Marsha ran with Jeannine Janet and I til mile 3 then we were on our own. This was such a great course and we had a large showing from the Medina area seeing quite a few people we knew either at the expo or during the run itself. I was pacing Jeannine for her second Marathon and was lucky to be able to, one week ago I was thinking it would be a miracle if I would be able but some how I have been able to get through these injuries and run the runs I wanted to do. We had a great run with no problems unlike the things that happened at Akron. We hit the half way point in 1:57 and we both felt great, the course was one of my favorites of the runs I have run so far. We had almost even splits coming across the finish line in 3:55:01 and 3:55:02. I tried to make sure Jeannine finished just in front of me but I must have crossed the start matt just before her cause the final time put me 1 second in front of her again. I'm starting to like being a pacer, it's so much fun to help someone to a goal and not feel the pain of running a hard marathon which is what I may be feeling next weekend in Niagara Falls.I"m hoping to get the chance again to pace Jeannine to her Boston Qualifier time sometime next year if she can wait that long. I'm looking forward to a nice long get a way in Niagara but not looking forward to marathon pain but it will be worth it if every things comes together

First Run Since the 24

It's been more than 10 days since the NC 24 race ended and I've been healing and healing but not running other than a 1 mile test to see if I could Monday night. I went to see Joe Tuesday night and he said I was 90% healed and I said "think I could run this weekend" thinking he knew I meant the Columbus Marathon and he says yes I could maybe run 7 miles or so. NO I meant run the marathon, I may have to go against the doc.s advice if my 6 mile run goes well tonight. Marsha and Janet are out running right now and I will be meeting Jeannine at 5:30 to run 6 miles. I am hoping to have no problems after this run which will reinforce my decision to run this Sunday. My only left over problem is a very tight maybe achilles tendon running up the back of my foot and I have been stretching it as much and as lightly as I can hoping to get rid of the tightness I can feel, maybe it will be gone after tonight. While I was sitting in Joe's office getting therapy I glanced over and saw a Readers Digest with the title "Bounce Back From Anything" which is what I really want to do after being on crutches last week. I posted the front of that RD to facebook and hope to be back and ready to run Columbus and really hope to have at least a glimmer of hope with one more weeks rest to maybe go for a BQ at Niagara. Maybe that's a tall order to fill but what can I say, gotta at least try, right. If Terry Fox can do it so can I. :)

North Coast 24 Oct. 3-4, 2009

This race was my first attempt at an ultra. The months leading up to this I spent many many runs running with all the guys and the ladies and doing speed work with them also because I was fighting an injury or two. The injury in my left leg cleared up just one week before Akron. Then 1 week before the 24 I ran the Akron Marathon with Jeannine and the next morning I ran 20 miles with Dan on the tow path and another 2 with Jeannine and Janet for a 48.2 mile total in 2 days and felt better than ever and very confident about this upcoming 24 hour run. I know it was alot of miles just 7 days before the big day but I planned on taking most of the week off. I was going to run just 5 miles on Thursday night and Jeannine was going to run to she ran here and we did 4 miles, my only miles in 5 days but now I was as ready as I could be. I took half the day off on Friday and got in 2-3 hours of sleep in the afternoon then got maybe 5-6 Friday night but that was the reason for the afternoon nap. I way over packed as advised by my many ultra friends but the weather turned out to be perfect with basically no rain for the whole 24 just a bit of wind at times. Frank and I spent about the first 10 hours together but parted ways about dark and I spent a lot of time talking to the runners. We had a nice set up with tables, chairs, our 9x9 canopy and Kim and Abra's tent to change in. Marsha and Charles spent alot of time volunteering and also ran there 20 plus miles during the day so Abra took care me quite a bit getting me drinks and food when ever I asked. I had a sore ankle 2 hours into the run so I loosened the velcro timing chip after 2 hours and then moved it to my other leg at 4 hours but had some pain in the right foot for 22 hours which was the worst part of this whole race. Jeannine came for a visit with Cliff and Ella in the late afternoon then she came back at around 3 am which was quite an amazing thing for anyone to do at that hour. Knowing I had a friend coming to visit helped me get through the night and she told me that this was a 24 hour race and not to quit early, easy for her to say but it did help, I was determined to hit that 100 mile mark. She had guessed I would do 96 miles and I hit that just as she was leaving around 5 am. So now 100 was in the bag and now I'm thinking 26.2 x 4 is 104.8 so if I do 105 miles I'll have 4 marathons in 24 hours. I walked most of the last 4 hours and was really wanting to hit my new magic number but wasn't sure where I was so with 10 minutes to go Marsha and I run the last lap together and I sped past the mat like it mattered after all that and got in maybe an extra 3rd of a mile and was going faster than I had all day and on this sore ankle, a very dumb decision looking back but I was about as out of it as I have ever been, on the verge of tears in the last half hour for some reason, Marsha was also which didn't help. So the whistle blows and the race is over, I drop my number marker on the path and walk back to our tent city and sit down and the rest was a little blurry as I passed out and woke up to a medical team working on me. All my vitals, heart rate, pulse, etc. were good so I was cleared to go but I couldn't walk because of the ankle hurting so bad, sort of funny since I was just on it for 24 straight hours. I was in no shape to help with anything so Marsha and Charles packed us all up and we headed home which I don't remember much of either but then as Marsha was trying to help me out of the truck I was having more than 1 problem and as I stepped out, the next thing I know I am laying in the cold wet grass, I look up almost laughing and say to Marsha, "did I do it again" I had to have had her more than scared a couples times in that last 90 minutes. Marsha and Cassie got me into the house and I spent some time in the middle of the living room floor before I had enough energy to crawl into the bath tub and get a shower / sponge bath from my dear wife. Other than that last 90 minutes after the race it was a great experience and I will most likely do it again next year or maybe a 100 miler instead of this. Quite a few of us are having right leg problems and are wondering if constantly going clockwise and mostly all right hand turns may have something to do with it. It was fun though.

5 Day Taper before the NorthCoast 24

Having run the Akron Marathon last Saturday and 22 miles on Sunday I was more than ready for a nice slow week. It's now Thursday and I have not run for 3 days and was planning on running just a few miles today only before the big race day Saturday morning. I was planning on running 5 miles but was talked into running just 3-4 miles by Jeannine as she ran to my house and added a little on her way having 5 in by the time she arrived. She wanted to run 8 miles but we ended up running 4 together giving her 9 miles for the night and me 4. It seemed a little weird cause I am the one usually adding the miles by running to a run but she was the one running more. Now less than 24 hours til the NorthCoast 24.

Other big news, Jeannine who on last Saturday couldn't wait to end her marathon and was by far not happy at 3 hours into it and was retired as she told me later that day has now officially signed up for the Columbus Marathon. I asked her if she would like a pacer for her 2nd marathon and I officially signed up last night just before the price increase today.

The 2009 Akron Marathon

The weekend began Friday when Marsha, Janet, Jeannine and I went to the Spagetti Warehouse for lunch and then to the Expo to get our race packets. I was hoping to try and get a good nights sleep as it hasn't been happening lately, I closed my eyes at 10pm and was wide awake and up for good by 2:30 am. Out of bed and dressed before 3 and on Facebook posting a picture of my bib 4 hours before the start, what is wrong with that. Jeannine arrives by 5 and we pick Janet up and arrive nice and early and get a good parking spot. We were meeting at 6:30 for a group picture but had time on our hands so we got to visit the Polski building which is a nice little secret we know about thanks to the blue line training run, it is a building very close that has nice bathrooms and is open really early and none of us had to use those port-a-potties. We met at the Home of the Akron Marathon sign and had a nice group picture with 14 of us there and a few missing that didn't make it. 7:00 am the race begins, Rachel and I were pacing Jeannine for her 1st marathon. Frank and Dan ran with us til mile 3 where Frank turned off to hit the relay shuttle and Dan took off to run marathon pace for the last 10 miles off the half. It was pretty crowded so the first few miles were pretty slow but we were right on pace through the most of the first half. I think we had some bad water on the course as later we found out many people had issues including Marsha that ran the half in 1:55 but got very sick in the middle. Jeannine ended up getting a bad stomach ache and was in some pain for alot of the 2nd half but she toughed it out. As we approached Stan Hewitt we walked the hill and while in Stan Hewitt saw Janet and Roseann. As we were leaving the road right in front of Stan Hewitt I dug out a piece of the wall (it was the Niagara wall, a very thoughtful gift Jeannine gave me to help out at my next marathon)and gave it to Jeannine to leave as were we on our home stretch and some nice downhill on the way. We ran into Marsha about mile 24 and Cliff somewhere after mile 25. It was not where we expected to be but still an excellent 1st time marathon time of 4:22. Later that evening a bunch of us met up at Legends and had a nice evening, it was a great day overall and I hated to see it end. While eating dinner Dan D. tells me he is running 20 miles in the morning and the thoughts ran through my head." I could do that if we go easy, then no that's to many miles after a marathon, then wait that would be a good training run for next weekend" I went and we ran 20 miles in 2:48 at a 8:38 pace then I went home for a short time and then ran 2 more with Jeannine and Janet for a total of 22 today and 26.2 yesterday and somehow I'm feeling pretty good for a 48.2 mile two day total. It makes me think I may have a good first attempt at an ultra next weekend at the NorthCoast 24. Then what could be next, could be interesting

Akron Marathon Taper Week

The time has arrived, 1 year ago today I had never run a marathon and tomorrow I will run number 5. Again I fought an injury almost right up to the week before this race, last year the nagging IT injury and this year the tendon in my left leg but my ever so helpful running Doc. Joe has come through again and I feel 100% as of 1 week ago. What timing, I feel so lucky. My taper was of a bit lower mileage than normal but at a higher intensity than of late because of the injury. I ran to Jeannines Monday night at a pretty good pace then did 3 more miles with them. I was working 12 hour shifts most of the week so I was forced to run a couple times after 7 in the dark. I like running in the dark and was more energized than I thought I would be after a long day at work. Wednesday evening I ran 4 miles in 28:50 which was a bit fast but I felt so good at a 7:11 pace then Thursday night ran3 more miles and tried to run at mine and Jeannines scheduled marathon pace but ended up a little fast on that also at 24:53 (8:17 Pace). Today Jeannine , Janet, Marsha and I went to the Spaghetti Warehouse and had a nice luch then to the Expo where we ran into quite a few runners we knew. Now my biggest goal is to get to bed soon so I can possibly get 6 hours of sleep cause I know I will be up for good most likely before by 3 am with all the anticipation of a big run not letting me sleep these days. 3:59 is the goal for tomorrow and next Saturday is the Northcoast 24.

Great Weekend for Running

I know Ladd already talked about the race he ran so I want to talk about other running in the Clifford family....

Saturday, September 19th Kyle ran in a cross country meet in Galion Ohio. He did so great! His PR before this was 21:40+-. He was told that he would most likely PR at this race and most of the boys did, but I would bet none PR'd by as much as Kyle. Kyle passed the 1 mile mark at 6:28, then 2 miles at 13:00 so he was definately holding his pace.... but wait... he actually went faster in the last 1.1 miles with a final time of 19:33! WOW Kyle Great going!! You should have seen his face! He really couldn't believe he did it! I was crying, he just amazed me so much!!! I am so proud of him!

On Sunday Charles Elkins and I ran 22 miles on the Tow Path. This is the first time I have done a run like this. Ladd dropped us off in Akron at Sand Run and we ran on the path all the way to Independence where Tara picked us up after 22 miles of running! It was great! Just a different experience to run Point to Point! My Garmin link for the run is attached. We did not stop our garmins at all during the run (ooh except when we had to wait for a large group of horses to pass us) counted all our breaks in the time and got a 9:26 pace overall which makes me think we will be able to achieve our goal in Niagara Falls on October 25th of running the marathon in under 4 hours (barring any extreme wind or stomach ailments (which we are both prone to). We will make our goals!

Akron Marathon Countdown

I have been fighting this leg problem for over a month but this weekend I think I finally kicked it. I ran 11 miles Saturday morning. 10 of it with Jeannine, Janet and Roseann at 5:30 am again. This time though I finished and no leg pain. Sunday was the Race for Grace 5k that is part of the Subway Challenge series that Marsha and I signed up for a month ago and Marsha ended up doing a 22 miler instead but I went to run. I promised to take it easy because I still had this worry that the leg thing would come right back like it did last weekend. BUT it didn't. I got to the race about 45 minutes before the start so Frank, Dan H., Bob, Connie and I could run the course as our warm up. I was well warmed up and Dan and I went out and a nice pace and hit mile 1 right at 7 minutes and mile 2 at 13:30, finishing this race in 20:38 on a hilly course but feeling better than I normally do. Explain that and with a good time, finished in 20th out of well more than 400 runners and 3rd in my age group. We all ran the course for a 3rd time for our cool down and people just seemed amazed that we would do that, it's nice to have made all these great friends through running and it seems that their bug has infected me. 9.3 miles in the morning then another 4 in the afternoon, 1/2 with Jeannine and Janet again for a total of 13.3 for the day with 5 + days til the Akron Marathon where I will be pacing Jeannine for the whole 26.2 miles in under 4:11. Then 1 week to go til the Biggest running event for me so far. One other quick note, Saturday night was the first night of our mixed couples bowling league and Frank and Jill Dwyer have joined our team this year and what a show off I got to be. Game one of the season turned out to be almost perfection with a 299 to start and a 770 series and a unmakeable average of 257 in 2 weeks.

2 Weeks to Go

The Akron Marathon is less than 2 weeks out and it's time for lots of people to start tapering. This has been my favorite training for any marathon yet as we have been running with a great group of people and many are doing their first marathon at Akron. It's been great to be some help in getting someone to be ready for their first marathon. Yesterday I met Jeannine, Janet and Roseann at 5:30 am to go for a 13 mile run. Marsha was planning on a long run Sunday with Charles so she declined but also would never want to start that early given a choice. I did my normal and woke up about 3 and just couldn't sleep so I got up and got ready. The 4 of us ran 13 miles on the south side of Medina and I thought my leg pain was finally gone but minutes after Jeannine left Janet's house it began to get sore just like after the last half marathon. I had a visit with Joe later that morning and he got to see how it's been after my runs. He worked on it for a bit and said to keep running easy on it and come back next week. It was a bit sore but I had the chance to go to the last training run at the site of the NorthCoast 24 so I was going, even if I only did a few miles I wanted to see the course once before October 3. I got up again at 3 am , picked up Frank and Dan and arrived at Edgewater at 5. Frank and I did 15 miles and Dan 17. It was a cool 53 degrees and a great morning for a run til the sun came out and we were bombarded with millions of insect for about an hour and had thousands of birds flocking to our path when someone fed them bags of bread. I finished this run with no problem but still the same soreness that keeps coming back after running, hopefully I can get this taken care of before Akron and the other 2 big events coming up. Saturday Marsha and I spent the afternoon at Kyle's cross country meet in Tiffin where he had another great PR of 21:15.

The Blue Line Training Run 9/05/09

It felt like a race morning, maybe knowing I was going to try for 31 miles didn't help, we were to meet and leave Medina at 5:30 am, so I could get up just before 5 but I was up around 3, then 3:30 and finally up for good around 4. We had quite a large turn out from the Medina area, maybe somewhere in the range of 15 people, our group picture did not include everyone as some people arrived later. We took off just a little after 6:30 in a group of I'd say well over 100 people. One minute into this run someone says my name and I don't recognize her with her hat and sunglasses but it was Marshas friend from work Jen. I ran with her the first 2 miles then pulled ahead to catch up with Frank, then ended up talking to a guy that remembered following Dan H, Rachel and I at the Heart and Sole 2 weeks earlier and he was telling me how he stayed with us for quite awhile but then we disappeared around mile 6, I thought that was quite funny because that is right about where Rachel turned on the speed in that race. Then I left to try and catch up with Frank again, we ended up fight behind Marsha and group and she was quite surprised that I was still behind her as she thought I was way out in front. We ran ahead and Chuck had dropped back to find me as we were to pick up the pace a little after 4-5 miles. Our groups were spread out pretty good, Chuck, Tom Wolke, Frank and I ran together mostly after mile 4 splitting for a short while then Frank and Tom caught back up. We were nearing the last 2 miles and it was somewhat down hill so Tom and I picked up the pace considerably nearing 7 minute miles the last 2 which I now regret as the leg got sore right after heading back out to attempt our 31 for the day. Nearing the very end of the 19+ miles I see Dan H. and Dan D. so I kept speeding ahead to catch them right near the end of the run. We took a 5-10 minute break for fluids and a quick shoe change and we (Frank, Chuck and I) headed back out going through a bad section of town looking for the new bridge over water that I had seen in the Beacon Journal last week. We found it, took a few pictures and headed back but my leg was very sore so I decided to end my run with Frank and let Chuck go on for our goal of 31 w/o me. Frank and I kept going all the way down to the end of the Blue line right at the back door of Canal Park and then back up the hill to hit our full 26.2 miles for the day. Chuck made it to 31. Good job on the longest training run ever Chuck.

August Ends with a Chill and A New Record

My leg injury kept me off for a couple extra days this week, ran 6 miles on the Reagan trails Monday night with Jeannine, Charles and Marsha. Tuesday was my first night of bowling so no running and I went to see Doc Joe about the leg issue right after work. He said it would be ok to run on so Thursday I ran the Reagan trails again with Chris and Dan, hit 11 with the last 2 starting to hurt just a little. I took Friday off because of the high mileage planned for the weekend. We started the weekend by going to Kyles First Cross Country meet of the season in Wadsworth, where he did great!!! 21:59. Later that day Marsha and I ran our annual anniversary run at the Valley City Street fair. It was in the mid to high 70's, much cooler than the last 3 years but still pretty hot & humid, I ran a 20:32 coming in 8th overall of nearly 100 runners and Marsha ran 24:17 with both of us winning first in our age groups. Sunday morning we had a long run scheduled to start at 6 am at McDonalds on Rt. 3. It was 52 degrees at starting time and I had a long sleeve shirt on and my running gloves, peeled the long sleeve and dropped it just over one mile into the run but didn't drop the gloves til around mile 12 as we passed the house again. It was a great run with unusually cool temps for August, now if we can just get that lucky one month from now for the Akron Marathon. Our group of 8 was Ladd, Marsha, Dan, Frank, Charles, Jeannine, Janet and Debbie. Jeaninne started at 5:30 and got 19 in, Marsha, Charles and Janet had 18 and Dan, Debbie and I hit 20 just before we arrived back at McDonalds. I finished strong but the leg was hurting worse than before so I will take the next 3 days off and am going back to see Joe on Tuesday again and hoping this thing can get healed and gone soon as we have the Blue Line training run next weekend with 11 more after, that will be our longest run ever and a training run 50K.

The record was set by me with a total of 209 miles for the month.

Heart and Sole Half Marathon 8/22/2009

A quick review of last week : Wednesday night I was doing speedwork with Marsha, Jeannine, Charles, Janet and Dan D. late. I was trying to push Jeannine a little on her last 800 when I turned around and ran backwards, big mistake I guess as after that I had a weird feeling in my lower left leg. Thursday I went to see doc. Joe and he did his thing and said I could run on it so Dan D. and I ran 9 miles of trails in Reagan that night, again it hurt at the end mostly when we hit the pavement. I took Friday off with Saturday being the Heart and Sole 1/2. A big group of us went down together and I decided I was not going to push the pace, Rachel was also there and was going for a 1:45 half marathon so I ran up behind her and we ended up running ALMOST the the entire race together. We caught up with Dan Horvath and the 3 of us were together for quite some time. If you want to run a 1:45 half marathon you run an 8 minute pace so in miles 2, 3, 4 and 5 Rachel tells me we are going a little fast and we were just under a 8 minute pace through those miles then things changed, all of a sudden we start going faster and faster and passing lots of people. I think Rachel must have slipped a few energy gels in when I wasn't watching. At mile 10 I remember Rachel saying if we can run a 30 minute 5k we'd be at her time (yeah right) the last few miles were down hill and we were running near my 5k pace it seemed, around mile 11 we pass a girl I've seen at a lot of races and she looks up and sees Rachel and about lets out a gasp. This girl attempts to keep up for a brief second but soon realizes we were going to fast for her. Nearing mile 12 I tell Rachel to keep it up and I fall back, she tried to coax me to keep up but I was starting to feel the leg and had a small side stitch. I relied on Rachels watch most of the day and was now thinking I would really like to break 1:40 but wasn't sure where I was coming into the finish line, as I get close enough to see the clock I was a little surpised to see my time at 1:35 and change and Rachel finished almost a minute before me with a great new pr of 1:34. Her 1:45 half had disappeared in the second half of the race. I was 2 minutes from my pr and we ran easy the 1st half but it sure was nice to feel so strong in the last half and do so well. After I was done I drank a water and ate a bagel then went out to run Marsha and Charles in but the short break made my leg hurt even more and I was pretty much done for the day. The rest of the Medina group was going out for 8 more miles but I decided to stay at the truck and rest while they ran. A good decision but I should have gone because they lost Roseanne, Charles finally found her and we were on our way home. One more funny moment was the girl we passed late in the race came up to Rachel afterwards and says "where did you come from" , it was funny because she was so shocked when we passed her.

Perfect 10 Miler 8/16/09

The Perfect 10 Miler was this morning at 7:30 am with the temps over 70 at 6 am but it was still a very good race me, the heat never helps but never seems to cause me much of a problem so far. There were 1o people from the Medina area with most being MCRR members and over half of us placing in our age groups. I ran the first mile with Debbie then took the next 2 miles trying to catch up with Dan H., Dan was running a really good pace so we ran together for at least 6 or more miles, around mile 6 we made the turn around and Dan says "this is where the race begins" and we take off. We both ran a negative split, I was 36 seconds faster in the second 5 miles and Dan was 8 seconds faster. A new distance race and a new pr of 1:08:12 which may stand for some time. I came in 52 nd overall of 458 runners and 3rd in my age group which got me a nice new hot chocolate mug. After our race ended Dan and I went out and found Marsha and ran her in and she finished strong passing a few people in the last 1/4 mile for a 1:24:56 and finished 209 th of 458 coming well in in the top 50% of runners. Then 4-5 of us went out for a cool down run of 2 more miles for a total of about 14 for the day so far and a planned evening run at 6pm of 10 more miles. We'll see how that goes. Thanks for the race strategy Dan.

Longest Traing run ever 08/09/2009

I was on vacation all last week and ran 53 miles while at Carolina Beach but because of the heat and humidity Marsha decided to do our long run back in Cool Medina. We arrived back in Medina Saturday afternoon to a rainy cool 65 degree day but of course Sundays high was calling for hot and humid and high 80's, felt like we had something to do with that (it was hot and humid for us all week in Carolina Beach). Dan Horvath met me in the driveway a little after 6 and we were on our way bye 6:15 to meet Chuck at 6:30 at Root and from there we hit 5 miles by 7am at Panera. We had a nice size group from there for a 16 mile run and we arrived back at Panera about 20 miles into our run. After a short break to wait for everyone else to get there we head out for the final 5 miles home and I was getting a little tired and sore. Chuck and I later argue about who was picking up the pace slightly in that last 5 miles as I say it was him and he says it was me, Dan fell back less than 15 seconds at the very end but he had run 17 miles the day before and been up late for the North Coast 24 training run. Great run Dan. We hit 25 about a 1/4 mile before we got back and got a short cool down walk coming in. 3 hours 48 minutes or so total running time and a 9:08 pace. I spent quite a while after that run walking laps in the pool while trying to clean it at the same time then later went to the fair. It was a good run and we are planning a couple more in the near future.

Carolina Beach August 2009

We arrived here at the beach on August 1, Marsha and I did our long run of the week the next morning. We have been a little spoiled having such a cool summer in Ohio, we took off at 6:30 in the morning and bye the time we had 7 miles in we were soaked to the bone and Marsha was having revisit to the Nashville Marathon. We got our 18 miles in in close to 3 hours, then we arrived back at the beach house and I took off my socks and shoes and ran the next 2 miles on the beach in 14:41, a strong finish and near heat stroke, got a little dizzy in the last 1/2 mile. Monday evening I ran 6 miles on my own and 3 miles away thought I should have a phone or id on me as I was again soaked to the bone and had 3 miles to get home. This morning (Tuesday) Marsha and I got up at 6 and ran 4 miles together at a 9:15 pace before she had to stop as the heat and humidity was bad again, I kept going for 4 more miles around a 3/4 mile track and averaged a 7:30 pace then walked the half mile home because I was out of liquids. Thursday night I hope to join the Wilmington Road Runners for their speedwork and do some 1/2 mile and/or mile repeats with them but I'm pretty sure I won't be able to talk Marsha into going.

Long Runs Getting Longer

This weekend was our 17 mile long run in preparation for upcoming marathons. Dan, Charles Chuck and I left Medina at 7 am and went to Lock 29 and found Frank in the parking lot with 9 miles in already. We all take off and Frank leaves us at about 5 and sends us off into the rain which he avoided for the day. Our 17 went smooth with Dan and I kicking out a couple low 7 minute miles in the last 2 miles. Later that day we went the Elkins BBQ and spent 7 hours there eating talking and playing corn hole. Then after 5 1/2 hours of sleep we got up and arrived at Second Sole at 6 am for the 2nd annual Double Trouble 10k. Marsha and I directed people at the 1.5 mile turn around and got to see most people twice as it was a double loop for the 10k runners and a single loop for the 5k relay.

Where to start

I have not wrote in here in almost a month, so here's a quick review of the last 4 weeks. The Twin Sizzler was on the 4th of July here in Medina. This race was my pr from a year ago with a 19:12 and again a pr in 2009 with a PR of 19: 08, must be the home town race for me to shine in. Then 45 minutes later I again ran the 10k pacing Debbie Scheel for most of the 1st 5 then taking off in the lat mile for a 45:30 something. The following weekend 07/11/09 Marsha and I ran our first 10 mile trail run called Muddy Paws, a tough 5 mile loop course that we ran the Thursday before the race. I placed 25th overall of 144 runners but didn't place in my age group. 1 hour 26 minutes for a 8:45 pace on trails, felt a lot faster but there were places you had to walk.
Now we are gearing up the marathon training and have done a few longer runs, I did 14 with the ladies last Saturday during which I sprinted downhill heading to the Port-a-john and messed something up in my right lower leg. The next morning I ran 15 miles with Chuck and the last 3 miles started to cause a little pain in the leg again. A rest day on Monday and then a visit to Doc. Joe on Tuesday to get it looked at, not a shin splint was good news, he worked it out a bit and said if I wasn't a 100% on Thursday to give him a call. I did speed work right after my appointment with the ladies instead of regular guys and it felt ok. I rested the leg on Wednesday then Chuck and I ran a pretty hard hilly 7.5 miles tonight and it seems to be almost gone as I am icing it right now so hopefully it won't bother me for our 17 mile run this Saturday morning on the tow path.
This Sunday is the MCRR race Double Trouble that we will be volunteering at and then we will be taking almost 5 weeks off of racing with our next race scheduled for August 16, The Perfect 10 Miler.

1 - 2 - 3 in row, 3 Races in 3 Days for Dan H. and I

As per my previous post we ran the Matchstick 4 miler Friday night. Dan ran the other Subway race in Green Saturday. Last year this weekend I ran the Black River Buzz Anderson Memorial 5k and the next day the Columbia Station 1/2 where Pete Mycek and I met, but I had decided that I would not run the memorial 5k as 2 races in one weekend was plenty if not too much. So I woke up Saturday morning about 6:30 and couldn't sleep so I decided to get up and put down weed n feed on the entire yard and in the back of my mind thought if I get this done in time I could make it to the race in Spencer. I finished the yard before 7:30 so I decided to go. I changed and Marsha which by choice would sleep in decided to ride out there with me and cheer me on even though I would not be pressing for anything better than around 22 minutes I told her. We arrive with time to spare, did a mile warm up and got in line and talked to a guy in my age group that planned on doing under 22 minutes, great, but I let him go and hit mile 1 at a somewhat comfortable 6:48 and coming back past Marsha and the park entrance I told her the guy way out in front of me in the orange was in my age group and she says " go get him" so I speed up a little and catch him by mile 2 and talk to him for a second then go by and pick off a few more people and get back to the park with maybe a 1/4 mile to go and Pete meets me at the road and says come on pick it up so he pushes me hard coming in to the finish and my easy 5k ends up at 20:55 and 3rd in my age group.
Sunday morning arrives and again I don't get a very good nights sleep, I picked Dan H up at 6:45 and we head out to Columbia Station. Pete was there hoping to beat his PR of 1:39 and Dan was saying 8 minute miles was his pace for the day and the other of 4 MCRR members was Steve Combs going at a 6:30 pace.I was planning on helping Debbie Sheel to break 1:40 so I set my gps for a 1:39 1/2 which was a 7:28 pace and off we went. ZOOM, Debbie takes off and is pulling away fast so Pete and I ran together hitting almost every mile split for the first 4 at 7:25 to 7:30. Finally at 4.5 miles we catch Debbie and take a small lead on her, at mile 6 I slowed down to let her and Dan catch up and Pete pulled a bit ahead then. During those 1st 6 miles we noticed by our gps that the miles were to far apart and by mile 6 we had about 6.4, the rest later. I told Debbie she was still on target but we had 7 miles to go and I took off to try and catch up with Pete. It took me a 1/2 mile or so to do it but I got up next to him and and we looked out ahead and said let's catch the girl in the red before the race is over, somewhere between 10 and 11 we pass her and couple other fellas and come upon the guy I followed quite a bit last weekend. Pete and I ran with him til about 12.5 miles when he started to pull away and I had a tiny bit of leg calf cramp coming on so I told Pete to go get him and wow did he have alot left, Pete goes by him fast and beats him and finishes about 12 seconds in front of me, he took 2nd in our age group and I took 3rd. Dan and Debbie also both won their age groups. The down side of this race was it was 13.67 by my Gps and my time showed it. Everyone that had a gps agreed and had already told the race director. Debbie couldn't believe when she saw the clock at 1:48 but I told her to knock off 4 minutes for the over extra half mile still not putting her where she wanted to be. I crossed the finish line in 1:41 almost to the second the same time I crossed last year and I forgot to say this was a totally new course this year and a little easier than the old, I think I did around a 1:38 today at the 13.1 mark and Dan running those 8 minute miles finished just 30-40 seconds behind me if I recall right, no results up yet. I averaged 7:28 minute miles today. Time for a little rest on Monday and see how I feel about speed work on Tuesday

Matchstick 4-Mile 06/26/09

This evening Marsha, Kyle and I ran the Matchstick in Wadsworth. It 's race directors are MCRR members and friends we have made running, Kim, Randy and Bob. It was 79 degrees when we arrived about an hour before the race. We are still waiting for results to be posted but I PR'd with a 26:07, Marsha was close with a 31:25 and Kyle was, well he took the week off and he didn't do well, walking alot of the last mile he says, came in a little over 37 minutes just as I was headed out to look for him. I warmed up with Marsha , Kyle, Rachel and Dan H. and got some good news from Dan, he will be going with me Sunday morning to the Columbia Station Half. Rachel told me at speed work Tuesday night that she would be around 30 minutes in the 4 mile which sort of made me laugh as she keeps up with us during speed work and I told her she would beat 30 easy and she did coming in less than 20 seconds behind me. I also need to thank Denise Young for a great race, she passed me around the 2 mile mark and I hung with her to the end, Matt met her in the last 1/4 mile and was encouraging her to pick it up and beat her time from 2 years ago and it was down to the last 50 yds. when I gave it all I had left to get past her by a single second, without her push that last mile I'm sure I would have been a bit slower the last mile. I placed 2nd in my age group and 32nd overall of maybe 300 people.

Mohican cancelled, got to run Park to Park

Last Saturday I was about 1 hour away from leaving for the Mohican 100 where I was to run the last 25 miles as Bob Pokorny's pacer when his daughter called and said he had to drop out. The day started here in Medina pouring all morning then it got hot and humid, Bob made it 37 miles or so but ran into a few issues with dehydration and heat. Now with no plans for Sunday I tried to register for the Park to Park half marathon that Marsha, Jeanine and Janet were running the next morning. It was to late to register so I called the guy in charge and left him a message that I would like to sign up for the next 2 half marathons, one tomorrow and one next Sunday, and on their web site if you sign up for 2 as a package you get a discount. He called back and told me to sign up for both at the race and I would get the discount, $55 for both races, pretty cheap for 2 halves. I went out without a warm up due to a long line at the port a potty and planned to run a slow mile to get started but ended up with a 7:15 first mile and running with Tim in my age group, he had run Cleveland in 1:35 and we both said our goals were to break 1:40 today so we ran about 9-10 miles together before I lost track of him on the woozy bridges. Forgot to say that for a mid June race the temps were in the low 60's at start time and it was a bit chilly. I ran most of the last couple miles with next to no one around me and got to mile 12 which sent us back into the park we started at and on a gravel trail. It was cooler in the woods so I picked up the pace to see if I could catch anyone before the finish but didn't see a soul and couldn't believe when I finished in 1:36:11 that there were only 8 people in front of me. The race started with a bunch of half marathoners and a bunch of 5k ers in the twisty woods and I never knew where all the people went in front of me and had no idea how many were in front of me. My running buddy Tim ended up 3 minutes behind me but we took 1st and 2nd in our age group. After a short breather I ran back out to run Marsha in for a 1:53 then ran back out again to run Janet in for a 2:02. I placed 9th of 90 and Marsha was in the top half as I recall.

Ran an easy 4 miles before the MCRR meeting Monday night and listened to Milt Place talk about his running and training, a very interesting talk. Then went to speed work Tuesday but took it pretty easy with about 4 800's in the 3:20's. Taking the next couple days off for rest with the Matchstick 4 miler coming up Friday night and then the Columbia Station half Sunday morning. Running this one with Pete and Debbie Sheel, most likely trying to just break 1:40 on this hilly course.

Weekend on the Move.....

Ladd will have a tiring day tomorrow, helping out Bob Pokorny who is running the Mohican 100. Ladd will be meeting him after he has ran 75 miles to run the last 25 with him.... in the dark... wow sounds like fun! Wish I could be there! NOT!

Picture: Janet, Marsha, Jeannine

I will be running with a new friend Jeannine for her first 1/2 marathon on Sunday. I know she will do great and I am really looking forward to it! Our other friend Janet is coming too.... may I predict? Jeannine 1:54, Marsha 1:56, Janet 1:57....... hmmm we'll just have to see!

Running is great we have met so many new and wonderful people! Thanks to all my new running buddies!

Louisville YMCA 10k Saturday June 13, 2009

I'm not a fan of 10k's but the Subway series picnic was right after the race so we ran it. Kyle was not ready for a 10k but they also had a 2 mile race so he went with us. There were 144 runners in the 2 mile race and I decided I would run Kyle in the last 1/2 mile or so for a warm up before our race. I ran out and was happily surprised that Kyle was the 6th runner I came to going out on the course, I turned around and he had 2 people just in front of him, we passed the first one with ease but the end was nearing and we didn't quite catch the other guy but were gaining til the end with Kyle finishing 5th of the 144 in 13:55. 2nd in his age group. Our race was about to begin and I see a guy in my age group that I beat by 1 second a week earlier and we get to talking and have the same goal in mind for today so we paced off each other the whole race with him beating me by a single second this week in 43:40 or so. I placed 3rd in our age group right behind him. Kyle and I ran Marsha in and she placed 2nd in her age group with a 51:59. I was 21st across the line and Marsha was about mid 60's out of a 185 runners. A note for next year, skip this race, to many turns and hills plus an hour drive.
Sunday we had a group run planned at McDonalds at 10:00. 4-6 ladies and Pete, me and a new MCRR member for the guys, we ran 8.4 miles at an 8:05 pace which was a little faster than I would have liked but Pete led the way as the new guy and I talked behind him most of the 8 miles.
Rest day on Monday and Speedwork Tuesday. Tonight we did 6 800's at 2:56 to 3:20 with the majority at 3:08. Dan H., Frank and I did this while Marsha, Kyle and Janet did 4 400's and Kyle added an 800 also. Patrick and buddy doing way faster laps but at least we weren't puking at the end Patrick. Bob and Suzanne there also but Bob is tapering for the up coming Mochican 100 this weekend that I will be joining him in for the last 25 miles. He'll have run 75 MILES when I join him and he stills plans to be running a 9 minute pace the last 25. WOW. I hope I can be some help to him on those last 25 as half of it will be in the dark.

A New Record High Week

Starting this month I will be counting my mileage starting on Monday and ending on Sunday so I won't get 2 long runs in a week as before I was going Sunday thru Saturday and could get 2 long runs in during that week. This week just happened to set a new record with 7 on Tues., 5 Wed., 15 Thurs., 5 Sat., and 15.5 today = 47.5 miles for the week. 50 will come but I'm not trying to break this record quite yet. We ran the Relay for Life 5k in Brunswick yesterday and it was pushing 70 at race time. I finished in the top 10 with a 20:17 but have not seen any results yet to verify and Marsha finished in 24 flat and won her age group, I was second. Then there's Kyle, I helped him to a great new pr last weekend and he takes almost the entire week off and comes out this week and Mom passes him in mile 2 and beats him. Sure heat was a factor cause he has run very little in the warmth but now he better get out and run some more so he can beat his mom again next time. We stayed up a bit late last night with our bonfire and didn't get to bed til 1:00 but managed to get up and out the door by 9:30 and ran 13.5 miles together then I ran a couple more to go see Jim A. for a total of 15.5 miles.

It's June but feeling like March

It is finally June but the nights have been down in the 40's and it's very cool for our evening runs. Tuesday nights speedwork was tough but was nice being as cool as it was. We did 5 1000's at all around 4 minutes and I did a final 800 in 3:05. 7 miles total for the night, then Wednesday night Marsha and I did a easy 5 miles at a 8:53 pace around town. Thursday night Dan and I met the Hinckley group for a tough 15 mile run in 2 hours 45 minutes finishing just before dark. Today was a much needed rest day so we can get up and run a small race in Brunswick that we ran last year. This week may come close to a record week, after tomorrows warm up and cool down plus the 5k I'll have 45 miles in this week. Not sure what my most is for a week but that's got to be close.

Where'd the Weekend Go

I got off work Friday and it's Monday already. Marsha had a doctors appointment Friday and got the ok to race so she decides she really wants to go to Brewster, Ohio and run the Shearer's Chip Chase that we ran last year. I was kind of against going for a couple reasons, one being we were not pre-registered which means it cost us an extra $10 to sign up at the race and it's almost an hour drive. We pack up and go and get there about 6:15 and it's sunny and hot, about 72 degrees. The race starts at 7 but hardly cools down by then. Lots of friends were at this race so it was nice to see everyone. Bill, Marsha, Don and I go out for a warm up run and are getting ready for the race and I felt overheated before the race and didn't feel like a good time was gonna happen but that race adrenaline always seems to kick in and help. I ran most of the race with a guy in my age group and as we got towards the final 1/2 mile I see another guy in our age group and as we near the finish line I give my best kick to edge him out at the line by less than a single second. My time was 20:38 which I'm pretty happy with except for the little extra bit I had to run in this race, the lead bike took us off course and added 2/10ths of mile to the course and it ended up being 3.28 miles long, finished 25th overall out of 338 but 5th in my age group. Marsha had her worst time in awhile, just over 25 minutes but managed to place 3rd in her age group. We got home after 10 pm and went to bed so we could get up and go to the Livestrong 5k at AI Root that Kyle and I were running and Marsha was volunteering at. Kyle was looking to break 22 minutes for the first time so I told him I would run with him the first 2 miles and keep him on pace and then I'd take off. We hit mile one where Marsha was standing at 6:45 and Kyle says we're going to fast so we lay back a little and go down a hill for a slight rest and hit mile 2 at exactly 14 minutes but Kyle is telling me his legs and chest hurt so I decide to stay with him til the end. We hit a second water stop after the second mile and I tell him to keep going and I grab 2 waters and ask him "do you want to drink it or wear it" and he says wear it, I throw one glass down his back and one in his chest and I'd swear I threw gas in his tank as he seemed to pick up the pace just then. He was hurting but we were getting close, as we neared the school he says he can't breathe but I'm telling him we will be done in less than 3 or 4 minutes. We hit the track and I sprint away to the finish and he stays right on my tail as we cross the line in 21:40 and 21:42, over a minute off his best time ever. We finished 13th and 14th overall of 130 runners.

A couple hours later I was teeing off at Blue Heron for a very long 5 hour round of golf, shot 97 which was the low in our foursome but not a great score for me but ok since I have only played 4 times this year.
Sunday morning comes around and we have a group run planned starting at 8:30. I got to run 11 miles with 6 ladies at a slower pace than I usually run but it was a nice run and probably good for me after the 2 back to back 5k's and a good pace to try for the 24 hour run. This weekend just seemed to pass me by. Tomorrow I hope to do speedwork and then Thursday hopefully some hills in Hinckley and another 5k next weekend.

A break from work for some Speedwork

I have missed speedwork for about 6 straight weeks due to 12 hour shifts at work always scheduled on Tuesdays but this week with Memorial Day on Monday, Tuesday was the first day of the week and they could hardly tell us to work 12 with no notice, so we worked our 12 today instead. 8 of us showed up for speedwork (Ladd, Marsha, Kyle, Dan H., Connie, Bob P., Frank, and Denise) Marsha and Denise did their thing and Connie and Bob planned our torture. I had to read Dan's blog to get an idea how many 200's we did, he says we did 24 and I'll go with that as I lost count by mid way. We did 1/2 of them and then jogged one lap. We did every 200 somewhere between 47 and 43 second with the last 5 progressively faster by a second or two at least until the last one when Bob says now 42 seconds and I had to let him go ahead of me. The distance and time were not a problem but the "BREAK" in between was, we would finish a 200 and maybe 2-4 seconds later we were off again. It was a tough workout and it would have been easy to drop off earlier except after listening to Connie and Bob say they ran 4 hours Sunday and 4 hours Monday I was not about to stop. I ran maybe 2 hours over the weekend to their 8 not that I'm even in the same category as them but I still wasn't stopping if I could help it.

May 25, 2009 Memorial Day (Our 18th Anniversary)

Marsha and I got up this morning on our 18th anniversary and went for a run with Janet. Last year we went for a 17 mile run on our 17th anniversary but it helped that we were in marathon training. Marsha and Janet were going for a 5 mile run so I parted ways with them around 3 miles and ended up getting to the Memorial day parade just as it was entering the cemetery so I walked from there til after the square as I kept running into people I knew. I ran 8 miles at a 8:30 pace and felt a little better than I did Saturday morning. Hoping to do speed work tomorrow night if all feels well. Spent the rest of the afternoon doing a little yard work and power washing the whole deck til it was time to get cleaned up and have a nice picnic with the family. What a beautiful Memorial Day weekend, sunny and warm every day.

Group Run, May 24, 2009

Almost 1 week since the Cleveland Marathon and only one 3 mile run and a group run scheduled for this morning. 8 or 9 people in attendance and all were there for the 5 mile run except Bill and I, I may have opted to do just the 5 but Bill drove all the way up from Canton and I thought no way would I drive that far for a fun/training run and only run 5 miles so we kept going on the Chippewa route after everyone else turned around. It was a nice morning and almost no air movement so it got a little warm in the direct sun but was nice and cool when there was shade. I felt pretty good til about mile 8 or 9 and then those fatigued muscles started getting that feeling coming on. We finished in 1 hour and 31 minutes for exactly 10 miles and averaged just over 9 minute miles which would normally be slower than I would go but it felt like a work out just to get to 10. Marsha ran back out and found us and ran back in with us and she got in 7 for the day. Looks like I'll run every other day for another week and just keep the miles low til this soreness goes away and stays away.

The Cleveland Marathon

What a weekend, I took off early from work Friday and we went to the Cleveland Expo with Charles and Tara. We went to the Great Laked Brewing company for lunch and guess what I had Dan, the pretzel crusted chicken, how funny, I also tested 3 beers and then ordered a pale ale but I still just like light beer. The expo was ok but smaller than the couple we've been to. We then had to rush home to get to the Road Runners meeting. We had 5 runners before the meeting, me, Dan H., Marsha, Janet and Michele,we did 4 miles then listened to Bart Yasso from Runners World talk about some of his adventures. It was a very interesting meeting and I talked to Bart about facebook and he remembered me and some of my posts, amazing since he has 2000 FB friends.
Saturday we spent the entire day resting,eating and drinking to get ready for Sundays marathon.
Today was the big day, we went to bed a little late but I did get a nap in the middle of the day to help,went to bed at 11:30 and awoke at 2:00 unable to get back to sleep, so we got up and got ready. Dan and Heather drove us and we arrived nice and early and parked in the Galleria parking garage which was about 65 heated degrees while it was 45 outside. A large group of Medina County Road Runners met at the FREE stamp and got our group picture. The weather was pretty nice for a marathon but I didn't really enjoy the course and the wind seemed to be always in our face or at our side, never at our back. It was also smaller than I expected, the 1/2 sold out at 4500 runners and the full had just less than 1300 runners. We went out like normal, just a little fast after the 1st mile and were ahead of Dans bq for quite some time, we crossed the 1/2 marathon line in just over 1:36, then around mile 18 I said goodbye to Dan as I was getting a little slower, then bye mile 20 I was getting my usual calf cramps and was slowing even more.
The last miles were tough but I still thought I could break into the 3:20's but I walked a bit and just couldn't hold a good pace for long. At almost 26 miles Pete Mycek passes me and yells but I could hardly move as the cramps had stopped me entirely right there so close to the finish but I was able to take off one last time and cross the finish line somewhat strong at 3:31:49 but the official time on the Cleveland site was 3:30:45. Dan finished 10 minutes in front of me with a great new PR of 3:21:46. I could go on and on with all that went on and all the people that were there but I'll cut it short, Marsha was unable to run because of the high blood pressure problem we just found out about this week, Charles couldn't run due to IT problems and Joe H. may have a fractured bone in his foot that caused him to finish his race at the half way point still with a great time of around 1:37 I think. I hope everyone gets over all these injuries really quick.

Cleveland Taper

My plan for this week was to run 2 or 3 days all easy to be ready for a PR Sunday. I ended up working a couple 12 hours days and a 10 so it was easy to not run much this week, so it worked out well. Marsha and I ran 4 easy miles Wednesday after work and tonight we ran another easy 4 before our runners meeting with Bart Yasso. It was a good talk by Bart and at the end I talked to him about Facebook and he remembered my name and a couple posts I made which was pretty neat as he has 2000 friends on FB as of today. He answered my post just in the last day or so. Marsha will post the picture of us with him later. I took off today at 11 and we followed Charles and Tara to Cleveland and had lunch at the Great Lakes Brewing Company. I tested 3 of their beers but didn't like any of them and then ordered a Pale Ale that was pretty good but I stick to light beer still. We then went to the expo and spent a couple hours there and got a couple good deals on shirts and gu's and a nice new pair of winter gloves and I try out on the next cold morning. Sadly, Marsha cannot run the half due to her very high blood pressure but Charles found someone that wanted to run and paid us the full price for her entry since they are sold out. Chuck waited to long and now can't run either as they closed the half but there is going to be a waiting list if you spend the day at the expo to try and get in. It's looking to be a perfect day for a marathon now we just need a perfect run on that perfect day. 1 day and 8 hours to go.