Forever 21

21 miles on Lester today. I was even able to run miles 18, 19, and 20 at about marathon pace (sub-9-minute miles). I tell anyone who will listen that this is a good thing to do. It's too hard to run all 20-ish miles at marathon pace (except, hopefully, during the race itself). But if you can at least finish your training run at that pace, then you're on your way.

So, am I on my way, you ask? Not quite. 

Forever 21 is a chain of stores that sell clothing and other fashion accessories. I believe that they target their marketing toward people who are somewhat older than 21, but who would like to stop time to appear younger. And that was me today: stopping time to appear (in my case) faster. You see, I stopped my watch for the places Lester Rail Trail intersects with the road, but also, near the end, after every mile, to catch my breath.

Yes, I am on the upswing, but I still have a way to go. You might say that "I have promises to keep, / And miles to go before I sleep."

vertically challenged

Two of my four wounds (the others are my elbow and the other knee). The blood looks awful, but it ain't really that bad.

The term, vertically challenged is regarded as a euphemism for being short in height. But I am here to tell you that it can have an alternative meaning as well. Vertically challenged can just as well mean not very good at remaining vertical. That's me: pretty good at being horizontal, not so great at becoming vertical. Did you know that gravity is a contributing factor in nearly 93 percent of all accidents involving a fall?

I chose one of my all-time favorite falling areas today: Lake Medina. We run there early every Wednesday morning. There's a lower paved trail and an upper unpaved one along the lake. The thing is, that lovely, smooth paved trail ain't so smooth. The roots from nearby trees cause ridges across the asphalt as well as small volcano-like mounds. They're all difficult to see in the darkness. 

Smart people choose not to join these runs. After today's fall (my third one here), I may finally be getting smarter, too. In fact, my wounds are smarting even now.

165

That's my weight as of this morning, and I'm not at all happy about it. After keeping the number mostly under 160 for a couple of years, it crept up on me after our June/July Alaska trip this year. But the kicker was the creatine. It caused some further weight gain and bloating. I'm still going to give it more time, but I can't help worrying that my formerly lithe, girlish figure may be gone for good.

What does it do to my running, you ask? I must say that although I'm bigger, I may also be a little bit stronger. At least, I feel that way. To be a little more specific, Sunday's Hinckley Hustle was my best in a while, and today's Yasso workout worked out.

So, all is not lost. Especially in terms of weight.

The Shadow knows

"The Shadow knows" is a famous catchphrase from the old-time radio drama The Shadow, posing the question, "Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?". The saying also refers to the Jungian psychological concept of the "shadow," which represents the hidden, often denied aspects of one's personality.

L to R: Shadows of Theresa Wright, Julie Boggs, Dan Horvath (Julie smiled for the photo)

You may be wondering what this has to do with running. It was a cool, clear mid-September Sunday morning. That means Hinckley, and it means an intrepid bunch of Hinckley Harriers were on hand to handle the hilly 9-mile loop. By the time we finished, the sun was beginning to rise, and it was time to run a 3-mile circuit of the un-lake. (It's an un-lake because it's currently under construction and is, at the moment, more of a river.)

Also by this time, we were more than a little bit tired. Julie Boggs indicated that even her shadow looked tired. Theresa Wright and I agreed that ours weren't doing so great, either. Watching our long, tired-looking shadows kept us entertained as we made it around and back.

Jogging through Georgia (and Armenia)

We visited Armenia and Georgia, and I did a tiny bit of running. I tried to get out for at least one jog in every location. The key word here is, ‘jog’.

Yerevan, Armenia

Yerevan is the capital and largest city of Armenia, and we were smack dab in the middle of it. My jog was around some squares and pedestrian walking areas. It wasn’t bad.

Goris, Armenia

Goris is in the Southern part of Armenia. I ran down into this quaint town, then back up. I managed to not get too very lost.

Dilijan, Armenia

Dilijan is a quaint mountain resort village. It was very vertical, so this was my slowest jog yet. I went down, then up on the busy road. Then up and down some more on much quieter mountain roads. A bunch of small puppies followed me until they got tired. Mom didn’t seem to mind.

Tbilisi, Georgia (Part 1)

It was a rainy night as the lights went out, and Georgia was on my mind, when the Devil went down there. Bustling Tbilisi is the largest city. It was tough to get across several busy streets to get to the riverside walking trail, but I managed. The Kura River flows through the middle of town, and although traffic was rushing by, the trail was good for running. I went across the famous Pedestrian Peace Bridge, past the statue of Ronald Reagan, and then North on one side and back South on the other. There were dozens of ladies sweeping and raking the sidewalks of fallen leaves and other debris. They were wearing orange reflective vests just like mine. Maybe they thought I was one of them. It turned out to be a nice 5-miler, the best outdoor run yet on this trip.

Kura River in Tbilisi

Another Tbilisi trot wasn’t quite so spectacular. I went South along the river this time, but wandered away from that trail a little to continue through a small park. That’s where the German Shepherd decided to adopt me. He followed me all around town, until I returned to the hotel. Normally, this would upset me, but it’s normal life around here. Yes, Dan abides.

Tevali, Georgia

There are not as many loose dogs here. But there are enough. I did five on the hotel dreadmill, then a couple more on the medieval roads in this small town. I found a soccer field to run around a little; that part was nice.

Tbilisi, Georgia (Part 2)

We returned to Tbilisi for a couple more days, and I finally got a decent run done. Ten miles along the river, at a decent pace. That completed my overseas running in a nice way, although both the mileage and intensity have been much less than usual. When I return, look out!

Okay, I get it. You want to learn more about our trip to Armenia and Georgia. If so, check out our travel blog post.

Peer Pressure

"C'mon," I'll say. "Everybody's doing it." That's about as sophisticated as it gets when I'm applying peer pressure to my running friends. Sometimes, it works. But I did not like it when Julie Boggs turned the tables the other day and applied peer pressure back at me. "You said you wanted to do two Hinckley loops, so are you gonna do it Sunday?" She asked. She may as well have added (with a Dirty-Harry accent), "Well, are you, punk?" "Wait," I said. "I'm the peer-pressure-er. I'm never the peer pressure-ee!" But my protest went nowhere. I was hooked. 

Now, it's time to get going on the adventure. Theresa Wright is starting with Julie and me, but is only doing one loop. It's warm and humid as always. We chat for a while until the first hill takes its terrible toll. It gets quiet as we transition from running to walking. Eventually, we can run again. Our pace matches the constantly rolling terrain.

Traffic is heavier than usual. A Jeep goes by a little too fast. A quarter-mile later, we see the vehicle off the road and into a ditch with some weeds. We ask if the driver is okay, and they say they are. They are on the phone, asking for help. As we resume running, we see a police cruiser heading over, presumably to help the driver.

That was tough. We finish that first nine-mile loop covered with sweat. It's time for Theresa to go home, and also for Julie and me to begin loop number two. It hurts. What hurts, you ask? Everything. I'm still feeling Friday's long run on Lester. That had gone well, about the same as last week's long, loping Lester run. Today, not so much. Maybe I need more than one day between long runs? Hmm. I'll have to think about that.

Julie, Dan, and Theresa between loops

Traffic is worse now. The sun is higher and hotter. Julie and I are both tired. But at least we're moving forward. Surprisingly, the car had already been removed from the ditch and was gone. We're both feeling sort of gone ourselves. We finally get past Effie and over to the downhill section of Kellogg Road and Route 606. We're gonna make it!

Second surprise: Loop 2 was nearly the same pace as Loop 1. I'm grateful that Julie peer-pressured me into this. But I'd never admit that to her.

Long on Lester, August 2025 Edition

It's quite probable that two of the most common words in the post titles are "Lester" and "long." It therefore makes sense that they would be used together for many a post. This is one of them.

It's Friday, and my friends and I had decided that today would be the day of a long run for this weekend. Works for me. Oh, it may be tough to run 18 miles after sitting in the car for six hours (driving home from Chicago), but it may work out. Or, it may not.

After ingesting plenty of caffeine, I am able to keep up with the early (5:00 AM) group. A few folks join and leave, but the pace actually gets even faster as the run goes on. My Clif Bloks and hydration drink appear to help, but it's mostly the good company that makes the run successful. 

Yes, successful. We complete the run in less than three hours, although there were a few stops. I'm always happy when I am able to keep up with everyone, and today, I can.

Selfies by the shore in Chi-town

We were in Chicago to visit our daughter Valerie, so of course I had to run along the lakeshore. It was as cool as ever, even on this warm morning. The sun was rising, and thousands of runners, bikers, and swimmers were about. But mostly runners. You know, my people.

Anticipating a pretty sunrise, I brought my phone. I wound up taking photos of the sunrise itself, the stunning city scenery, other runners, and, of course, myself in the way of selfies. I decided to include only one of the latter ones here. That's enough for anybody. But you will see a few of the others as well. What a great place to run.