Playing in the snow

When you're a kid (or a dog, for that matter), playing in the snow is a natural thing to do. Not so much when you're an adult. Unless you're a runner with running friends who apply peer pressure to join them on the Towpath.

There was much fear and trepidation on my part. I've only just begun to get used to running indoors and in warm weather. Stepping back out in the cold didn't sound so great, especially with several inches of fairly new snow on the ground. But Julie Boggs and Theresa Wright were doing it, and that's almost like everybody. Peer pressure applied.

The snow on the path slowed us a little, but not as much as expected. It was soft and quiet - about as nice as a run can get.

Not wanting to overdo things, I quit early, after twelve miles. Only near the end did my feet begin to feel cold. But it was also fun. Now, back to warmth.

Julie, Theresa, and Dan

Finishing up alone

New Baby Has Arrived!

She came into the world in the usual way. And not a moment too soon.

The Landice L7 (and Dan)

Remember the old 23-year-old True machine? My Landice L7 is the replacement. I anticipate that she will last at least as long and get at least as many miles (~10,000) as her predecessor. The first 10.7 went fine this morning.

Hot to trot - running on the Miami to Miami cruise

Note to self: when you're looking at Google Maps for a place to run, and you see a place with "memorial gardens" in the name, that place is not a park-like area where you can run early in the morning. It's a cemetery, stupid.

We're staying one night at the Hilton Blue Lagoon Miami Airport before embarking on our seven-day Miami-Miami cruise. It's a last-minute thing to get away from cold Cleveland for at least a little while. This initial run of the trip is okay, but nothing special. These Floridians ought to do a better job of respecting nature and people's appreciation of it. For example, there should be pedestrian byways near the abundant shoreline areas. There isn't. But... at least it's warm.

And warmth is what we came for. 

Here's a rundown of one of my shipboard runs on the Oceania Insignia. It's not much different from my other shipboard runs for the week, or for that matter, other shipboard runs I've done on these types of ships in years past.

4:40 AM: I try to get coffee from the espresso machine in Horizons Lounge. The machine is out of order. This will not stand. I need my coffee. So I head over to the Terrace Cafe. That one works. I get two - I'll need them after all of last night's Italian food and wine.

4:55 AM: The laps have begun. It's 13 per mile, but less if you run a little way down each hallway, then turn around. This technique also enables one to do fewer laps per mile and to avoid turning the same way all the time. I also temper the turning problem by running clockwise early on, before anyone else shows up. When they do, I have to go with the flow: counter-clockwise all the time. But the stopping and turning are stupid.

5:55 AM: I've been getting a tiny bit faster with every mile. Perhaps the coffee is finally beginning to work. But the splits are still pretty slow. Now that it's nearing 6:00 AM, the fitness room will be opening up. I've been doing fine, but maybe a treadmill will feel better.

6:10 AM: Go better, it doesn't. The treadmill TVs barely work, and the sound through my headphones is even worse. I run less than a mile (a slow one) before going back outside.

6:20 AM: I'm back outside. And I'm running slower than ever. Now, there are more people about, so I have to be more careful about potential collisions. It's a little fun to terrorise the walkers, however. On a break between miles, I speak with a fellow runner.

7:30 AM: I am done. Done done, as we used to say in project management. 12.5 miles isn't bad, but it wasn't pretty today. I jump into the pool. Now that feels good.

After more running in circles, I finally get out into the world for a run in Cozumel. It's midday, and it's hot! The kind of hot that I am not used to. And I'm dealing with thousands (literally) of people coming off the Carnival Breeze. But it's only a couple of miles. Time for a jump in the pool and a beer.

All in all, it wasn't a bad trip with regard to running. I got my ten miles a day in, and some of that wasn't half bad. But dry land and friends are always better.

For more about this trip, check out the travel blog post.

2025 Running-wise

Running-wise, 2025 was an A-OK year. I will qualify that by stating that I have never, not once, been accused of running wisely. Let’s begin by discussing my highlights and lowlights of the year. Then, we’ll do the numbers.

Two pretty good accomplishments were a) breaking 1:50 in a half-marathon for the first time in eight years, and b) running three (out of five) sub-four-hour marathons. I also won some age group awards. I’m also extremely fortunate to have remained injury-free for another year. More importantly, I’m happy to report that I finally published my book, Run a lot: Dan's Guide to Marathons and Marathoning. That was a big deal.

On the flip side, I didn’t get any faster (and actually slowed down some) at shorter distances. Something I tried to do, but mostly failed at, was to get out of my comfort zone. I did participate in two half-marathon races I hadn’t run before, and I ran some (new/unusual to me) evening 5Ks organized by my friend, Ladd Clifford. But that’s pretty much it; I otherwise spent too much of the year doing the same sorts of running that I’ve become used to. I believe this is part of the reason that I didn’t get faster at shorter distances. Running, just like life, is a balance between what you accomplish and enjoy while being comfortable versus when you’re not comfortable. However, consistency is a major key to success, and I’m usually comfortable when I’m consistently running a lot. And vice versa. For 2026, I’m going to try once again to get faster at 5K, 5-Mile, and 10K road races. And to become uncomfortably involved in some track events as I did in 2024.

Here are the numbers.

• Total distance: 3,290.5 miles. I did 3,541 in 2024. Life to date total: 121,177.
• Time spent on all those miles: 632 hours.
• Average Pace: 11:32. This is slightly slower than 2024, but the same as the previous two years.

Here are the full and half-marathons:

Marathons

Half-Marathons

Blown away

I mean, blown away physically, not metaphorically.

The winds are around 50 miles per hour as I emerge from warm, cozy Shortstack (that's my house's name). Some snow is falling, but not much. It's the temperatures that are indeed falling, big time. I had planned to run about 10 miles today, but as I take my first steps in the cold, I know that's not going to happen. 

It's only been two days since the great and powerful Brunswick Marathon, yet I'm not feeling too bad. In fact, I could have run yesterday, had I not encountered other issues. Although I'm not very sore, I am tired, however. More so than usual on a Monday morning.

I start by going North. The wind is at my back. Too bad I can't just keep running in this direction. Alas, I have to turn around at some point. Even going south, it doesn't seem too awful. Then it's time to turn West. Zowie -> I'm stood straight up, and it's all I can do to keep moving forward at all. I have to look down to prevent debris from flying into my eyes. 

Finally, I'm back home again. It's been only 4.03 miles, so we can call this Shortrun to Shortstack.

I have a big heart

 They tell me that I have a big heart.

WARNING: This post will suddenly devolve into potty humor.

“They” are the Cleveland Clinic folks running tests galore on me. I’m in another brain study. This one includes, among other things, an Electrocardiogram (EKG), a smell test, a sleep test, and a poop test. More on the latter ones in a minute, but first, I’ll discuss the EKG result.

Right atrial enlargement/dilation was indicated. My primary care physician was notified, and she ordered an Echocardiogram (Echo), which confirmed the result and provided much more detail. The condition may be caused by my running. Furthermore, it may be the normal way the heart adjusts to heavy-duty cardiovascular training. To ensure this is the case and that nothing further is amiss, I have an appointment with a sports cardiologist. That won’t be until March, so I’ll have to try to survive until then.

My strong belief is that this is nothing to be concerned about. I tell Debbie that it’s a good thing, not a bad thing. But she has me convinced I should continue following the medical recommendations. I’m hoping the sports doc will give me the green light.

Now, about the other tests. The smell test was kind of fun. But the sleep and poop tests, not so much. Trying to sleep with dozens of electrodes attached to various parts of my body was pretty awful. The technicians said they wanted me to get a minimum of 4 to 6 hours of sleep (I was at the Intercontinental Hotel near the downtown Clinic). I doubt that I got that much - I was that uncomfortable.

Sleep study

But that didn’t even come close to my level of discomfort associated with the poop test. I tried so very hard to follow the instructions - use the “feces collector” paper that you attach to the sides of the seat, poop, but don’t pee into the sample, don’t let the sample fall into the water, etc., etc. When finished, you use the tongue depressor (and don’t even think about using it as such afterward) to scoop the poop a fair amount of it into a small jar with a lid. Then you package it all up with an ice pack and ship it to the Cleveland Clinic via FedEx. And don’t get me started on the fact that whatever they pay the folks who open the packages isn’t enough.

My instructions

Now, imagine the worst thing that could happen in my attempt to follow these instructions. Then multiply that by, oh, a million or so. That’s how bad it was when the paper fell into the toilet as I got off the seat, tongue depressor in hand, ready to scoop. It was only one side, so some poop had not yet submerged. I tried desperately to scoop this up before it sank. But it wasn’t enough, and the little bit I got caused a huge mess.

The only thing I could do at this point was to try again. They had provided an additional feces collector and tongue depressor. Would it be okay to pile the new poop on top of the little bit I got the first time? I would need to try. After 90 minutes of additional coffee and waiting, it was time to go again. Guess what? Despite my careful best efforts, the exact same thing happened again! This time, to get enough, I scooped as much out of the water as I could. I know. I wasn’t supposed to - it would become contaminated. But what could I do? I was out of options.

Then the toilet flooded. The paper collector was supposed to be flushable, but why should that go right when nothing else would?

I took my possibly contaminated sample to the FedEx store. It was packaged nicely, and the sample had styrofoam and an ice pack. But I’m sure they knew what was inside, based on the lettering on the box. They said it wouldn’t ship until the next day, Monday. Well, it could only be contaminated so much. I hope it doesn’t smell by the time they receive it.

Now that I've probably failed the poop test, what does that say about my brain?

2025 Brunswick Marathon Race Report

I am starting my fourth of four 6.55-mile circuits. My friends and running partners, Julie Boggs and Theresa Wright, have finished running. It was great to have their company while it lasted. But now I'm on my own, and I just want to get this done.

Julie and Theresa are cheering wildly for me as I run by for the 1-mile lake loop portion of the course. I think some of the other folks are wondering what's going on. I'm finally running a little faster, and this is surprising; I usually slow down when I find myself completing a run on my own. I do miss my friends now, though. I concentrate on my pace even a little more.

It's been a great day so far. Several friends showed up for the run, and they all seemed to enjoy it. Enjoying the rest of the event is now the least that I can do. Even though I'm not able to catch up with any of the fast marathoners today, I happily accept my last-place 4:45 finish. It always feels good to finish strong.

Most of us before the start

A few others, partway through

My victory pose

My splits