As the NC24 Nears

The big race of the year or 2nd big race of the year is just 9 days away and my training plan hasn't been what I thought it would be. Three plus weeks ago I pulled something in my lower back and it has been bothering me ever since although later that week I ran the Perfect Ten Miler in 1:10:15 or so and had some bad pain after, then 1 week later ran the Heart n Sole 1/2 marathon easier than I wanted in 1:39 but finished feeling better than the week before, then 1 week later ran the Moebius Green Monster 50k at a easier pace and felt pretty good after that. My weekly mileage isn't as high as it was last year but I still feel good about the 24 coming up with the last 2 weeks done. The day after the 50k I joined Jeannine and Phil for a 24 mile run on tired legs and ran the MStar 5k from miles 15-17.1 with a 21:54 which felt pretty good but the 7 miles after the race were tough. Then over the Labor day weekend I ran 20 on Saturday around Medina with Dan Daubner, Marsha and Jeannine and 20 on Sunday in Hinckley with Jeannine, Jack, Jack and Frank and on Labor Day ran 11.5 miles in the morning with Jeannine and 9 more miles that evening with Marsha, JN, Frank and Bob for a 3 day total of over 58 miles.
Now I only need a little magic along with a little luck and a nice taper to get me to at least a new pr, 120 is the goal, 130 would be magic.

GCM a new PR and a BQ for 2012

I have a new PR in the Marathon after the Glass City Marathon In Toledo. I ran a 3:16 with the help of Connie as my pacer, one minute faster than I ran Cleveland last year. The training leading up to this marathon didn't seem as good as what I did to get ready for Cleveland but I was still going to try. I ran the same two 50k's I ran last year as extra long runs and beat both times from last year. I also ran the half at Last Chance at a better pace than I thought I was ready for. That was about most of my training for this mid April marathon til the week before the marathon when Connie says we should go run the Spring Classic 10 miler which I was not really planning to run. We (she) decided that we would do a 10 mile warm up and then run the race at around a 7:20 pace for a good 20 mile training run with 10 at a good pace. Things were going well til mile 8 when my calves started to hurt some and I slowed down and Connie continued on holding the pace. She finished in 1:10 and I at 1:11, Connie at a 7:00 minute pace and me at a 7:06 pace overall. April 17 was the big day, we had quite a few member there and it was a perfect day for a marathon EXCEPT for the 17 to 40 mph gusts of wind that seemed to make it a very hard run, We came through the half way point at 1:37 and right on track other than that didn't give hardly any cushion. We didn't talk much, not that I could have, and about mile 22 I was really wanting to slow down and was getting tire. Connie kept looking at her watch and I knew she knew we had to hold the pace or even speed up and she just kept pushing so I did too. I could hear the announcer in the stadium about a mile out and we had the wind at our back and I had a very small burst of energy left and got across the line about 1 minute faster than my best and in much tougher conditions. I gave Connie a hug and a thanks as she came across the finish line and told her my time and I was extremely pleased and happy with it and she say "we could have run a 3:12 with out the wind" and later says she failed as a pacer but she did not, I could not have done it without her. This was to be my only attempt at a fast marathon for now as I was planning to log some high miles around Cleveland and just do Cleveland for fun on tired legs but now Connie has me convinced we can get the 3:12 or so there so my plans have changed. One week after this marathon was the Hermes Cleveland 10 miler, again I wasn't planning to run this but my buddy Dan Daubner wanted to so the peer pressure was to much and I felt good which was also unusual the week after a marathon. I talked to Connie about this and she told me to run the first 5 miles at a 7:15 pace and drop it down the last 5 so that is what I did. I ran the first 5 miles with Brad H. and near Debbie at a 7:08 pace and then dropped it down to a 6:45 pace for the last 5 finishing with a 1:09:29 good for 57th place of nearly 2300 runners and just a bit faster than Connie and I ran the Spring Classic. Cleveland here we come.

Last Chance for Boston 2011

The last Sunday in February is this race I've run now for three years. Marsha and I make it a one night getaway every year and head down to Dublin on Saturday for lunch, shopping and relaxing. We went to the mini expo and then I met Julie (the girl I helped carry across the finish line in Columbus for her bq) for a 3 mile run on the LCFB course. Saturday night we went out to dinner at a Italian restaurant where I got the all you can eat buffet and over ate a bit but it didn't seem to cause me any problems in the half. I went out at a 7 minute pace and just figured I'd try to hold on as long as I could. I ended up running a 1:31 half marathon (6:59 pace) coming in 19th of 195 and third in my age group even though they handed me the 2nd place award as I crossed the finish line. I finished the race then went and put on dry clothes and ran 8 more miles with Marsha as she was attempting to get her bq. I also ran the half at this race this year so I wouldn't be so sore going into the Green Jewel 50k 6 days later. 2011 MCRR LCFB attendees were Marsha, me, all 4 Elkins, Dan Daubner, Connie, Bob, Angie, Chris, Roberta and Jeannine as a pacer and cheerleader. Other friends, Mike Keller and Julie Whitis. Note for next year, we stayed at the Extended Stay of America right where the Marathon starts.

Medina Rec Center Frosty 5k

My second race of the year was a little race our rec center puts on. It's not one of my favorites and it's little longer than a 5k and I'm not sure why I've run it 3 times now, but I did. I got there a little early and got a warm up with Bob P., Connie and Bob Jones. The race was minutes from starting and Connie says I should be able to win this thing as we were looking around and not seeing too many fast runners in the crowd of maybe 100. She's nice like that but Bob P. usually gets me other than last Labor Day when I got him. I stayed with Bob for about a mile but when we hit mile 1 and I was at 6:06 I knew that was too fast for me especially this early in the year with very little fast running done lately. Bob pulled away but I kept him in range thinking maybe he would walk or slow down a little since he said he was sick but he kept going and a fella I met on New Years eve ended up passing me about mile 2 and I came in third overall with Bob winning, Bob was around 20:20 and I was about 20:57 and Connie about 22:30. Dan Daubner ran this with his daughter Abbey for her first 5k ever and I ran back out and ran in with them while Dan and I tried to keep her moving and running while she was hurting. I kept telling her the old man behind her was closing in on her and that he was older than Dan and I together when she says to us, "my dads bad but you're even worse" I took it as a compliment. She came in at 42 minutes and will probably beat that in no time. It was near 38 degrees at race time and a very nice morning for a run, way better than the morning before when I ran 14 miles in Strongsville with Dan H, Dan De, Debbie S. and F., Wendy and Brad in inches of snow covering inches of ice causing us to run a 10:14 pace.

Landis Loonies Marathon 1/1/2011

I ran the Landis Loonies Marathon FA today with my good friend Dan Horvath. I have to thank Dan for being committed to this today or I would most definitely stayed home and slept in. The weather report was calling for mid 40's and a 100% chance of rain while we would be running and it did rain but mostly a light drizzle other than the last few minutes of the first lap but it was warmer than it was supposed to be at around mid 50's. We had about 9 people start the marathon with a few others joining in for a few laps. We all stayed together for most of the 1st 2 laps but coming into the aid station after lap 2 I had an emergency bathroom break and was in the school for a few minutes and when I came out I figured I would never catch the group so I thought I may just be done but Keith Landis waited for me so off we went. He made it a couple miles but then he was getting some calf pain so he stopped and I went on alone. Again coming into the aid station with one lap to go I thought I would not run the last lap alone so I would just stop after 3 laps and 20 miles but I caught Kevin at the aid station and we went on to run the final loop together until mile 25 when he told me to go and quit waiting for him so I took off and ran my last mile at around a 7:30 pace finishing in 4:01. I had run the Great New Years Eve 5k the day before and was pretty sore after the marathon but I had a great time and got to run a marathon on the first day of 2011.

2010 Review

I ran 2270 miles in 2010 and I ran 40 races without an injury, a pretty good year of running.
Jan. 1 Freedom Park 24 Hour Ultra 70.13 miles
Feb. 7 Frosty 5k 22:03
Feb.13 Chili Bowl Classic 19:46
Feb. 28 Last Chance for Boston 3:29
Mar. 6 Green Jewel 50k 5:03
Mar. 13 St. Malachi 2 mile 14:06 paced JN
Mar. 13 St. Malachi 5 mile 47:00 JN JS
Mar.27 Super Sat. 1/5k 5:33 20:58
Mar.28 Fools 50k 5:44
Apr. 10 Spring Classic 1/2 1:33:20 PR
Apr. 18 Union Hospital 1/2 1:34:02
Apr. 21 Victims Rights 5k 19:43
May 1 Illinois Marathon 3:59:40 paced JS
May 7 Run 4 Fun 20:12
May 16 Cleveland Marathon PR 3:17:45
May 23 Happy Trails 5k 19:42
May 29 Pegasus Farms 2.5 mile 16:07
June 5 Another Dam 50k 4:55 PR
June 12 Louisville 10k 42:24
June 20 Tow Path 10 miler 1:06 PR
June 25 Matchstick 4 mile 24:14 PR
June 26 Green YMCA 10k 42:23
July 4 Twin Sizzler 5k 18:53 PR
July 4 Twin Sizzler 10k 43:44
July 5 N. Canton 5 miler 33:58
July 10 Shot in the Dark 4 mile 25:10 PR
July 17 Summer of Love 10 mile 1:14
Aug. 14 Skypark Veterans 2 mile 12:54 won
Aug. 21 Heart n Sole 1/2 1:30
Aug.28 Valley City 5k 20:34
Sept. 6 Run for the Trails 19:19
Sept. 12 River Run 1/2 1:27 PR
Sept. 18-19 NC24 113.3 PR
Oct. 3 Michelle's Leading Star 5k 20ish
Oct. 17 Columbus Marathon 3:46 JN
Oct. 24 Inland Trail 1:48 paced JN 3:38
Nov. 6 Stomp the Grapes 1/2 1:36
Nov.13 Bill's Bad Ass 50k 5:29 paced JN
Nov. 25 Perry Turkey Trot 21:08 w/ KC
Dec. 5 Buckeye Woods 50k 5:07
Dec.31 New Years Eve 5k 20:40

Passing Out X 3 11/02/2010

Where do I start this story? Let's go back about 14 months to the first time I ever passed out. I had just completed my first 24 hour run at the NorthCoast 24 hour ultra. I had made my goal of running 100 miles, 107.44 to be exact. Our friend Abra told Marsha before this race to be prepared to see me ill, dehydrated, sick, etc. to which I told Abra she would not see me once in 24 hours without a smile on my face. We made a friendly bet and around 23 hours into this race Abra finally conceded and I won the bet. Now to the passing out part. The race was coming down to the end and Abra had said to me that this is a race and I needed to run the last lap so when it came down to the last minutes of the race I decided to do what she said but being a bit emotionally off balance and really ready for it to be done I pretty much sprinted the last lap and after finishing walked back to the finish line sat down and passed out. I awoke to the medical team working on me but was pretty much ok except for the severely swollen ankle that I could no longer walk on and was on crutches for days after this race.
Now fast forward to almost a year later and the 2nd NC24 race. I had another friendly bet with Abra but the bet was I had to beat 110 miles, still keep that smile on my face but with one stipulation Abra added that I also could not pass out. I had a good race but had a few stomach issues for the first time and was thinking that with about 7 hours to go that there was no way I was going to make even my minimum goal or win my bet with Abra. My good friend Jeannine had run 20 miles with me in the morning and was on her way back to run the last 6 hours with me when I sent her a text and said "I'd love to have the company but I wouldn't blame you if you went back home and slept, running 4 miles an hour is hard and hurting" her reply made me laugh, she said "U will at the very least pr today, shut your mouth and keep movin! I'm on my way". I was struggling but after Jeannine got me drinking and eating again I felt a bit better and after stopping at the aid station to get my arch attended to I felt better than ever and was able t to run 15 miles in the last 3 hours and get a new pr of 113 miles in 24 hours. I ran a nice steady pace the last 40 minutes but no sprint and finished feeling pretty good. Kim Martin and I finished close to each other and headed back to the finish when she said she was going to take a walk into Lake Erie so I decided to join her. I took off my socks and shoes with a little help from JN who was already eating breakfast walked into the lake with Kim for maybe 4 minutes and came back to shore. I felt good and headed to breakfast but told Marsha I needed to go get on some warm clothes and as we headed to our aid station I told IT was happening again. I passed out again and was carried to the massage table and was again looked at by the same doctor as last year and he had walked most of the 24 race also. I awoke from this and the first words out of my mouth are "is Abra here cause if she is I owe her a buck" and of course I see her above me. I felt somewhat ok lying there but could not sit up or stand without feeling highly nauseous and told them I was not getting in my new Element and getting sick. Marsha pulled the car right up next to me so I could get in and off we went. Luckily I took Monday off work and got in a days rest but got a very bad cold for the next 7 to 10 days but worked every day.
Forward ahead another 5 weeks. We all ran the Columbus Marathon 4 weeks after the 24 and I paced Jeannine with the goal of getting her to a 3:40:59 or better and a BQ but that didn't happen so she decided to run the Inland Trail Marathon. She asked me to meet her at the half way point and run with her into the finish. I ran the very first mile with her then ran back to the start and waited for Marsha to arrive so we could go find her at the turn around. I ran towards her from there joining her at mile 11 and running the last 15 with her and this time things went as planned with Jeannine running a slightly negative split and a BQ time of 3:38 and placing 3rd woman overall and with Rachael placing first. We all went back to Jeannines dads house where I had a couple Mike's Hard Lemonades and a couple pieces of pizza. I got up to throw away some trash and got really dizzy so I got back to my chair quickly and the next thing I know I'm waking up and I hear an ambulance in the driveway and I am soaked in sweat and not feeling too good, Marsha is at my side and trying to take care of me but I could hardly move with my head hurting so much. I think Jeannine yelled open your eyes so I did and that was one of the scariest moments I have ever encountered. I was 100% in the dark when I opened my eyes and I told them all I could not see but the best way I can describe it is that it was like someone turning on the lights with a dimmer switch, in less than a minute I got my vision back. Now I was off in the back of a speeding ambulance but even before we had left the driveway I was feeling 95% better and did not really want to be taken to the ER but I didn't have alot of say at that point and was a little worried about the vision thing so I went. While we were getting there I asked the guy sitting next to me to tell Marsha I was doing very well and to please ask her for my cell phone. I figured if I was having to take this ride and having to pay for it I wanted a picture from where I was sitting. I snapped a picture of my feet and the doors and sent it to FACEBOOK where maybe I shook up a couple people but in my mind if I was capable of taking and posting the darn picture then I was OK. I spent 4.5 hours in the er getting 2 iv's, an MRI, cat scan, blood work and finally sent home but with a note to be released to work after 3 days. I call my family doctor on Monday but she can't get me in til Thursday so I go in then and she says my resting heart rate is way low and sends me down to a cardiologist and wants me to come back next week and gives me a return to work excuse that I didn't look at at first and as I'm making my appt. for the following week I find out she is not letting me go back to work til Nov. 8. So here I am 10 days later waiting to see what she says this Friday at 9:45 am. I have felt great and am sure that she won't have found anything wrong but I will still be in the dark as to why I passed out now for the 3rd time but I have a plan to avoid this and it's pretty simple. I will eat and hydrate better before I ever have another drink after a run and at the next 24 hour race I will plan to walk the last 30 minutes of the race unless I am very close to a new goal or pr and then I'll just have to take my chances. I will probably get reminded of this alot come the next 24 but hey it'll be worth it.