2023 Brunswick Marathon Race Report

2023 marks the sixth running of the Brunswick Marathon. For the first time, there is a new course; the race now begins and ends at Plum Creek County Park, and takes place mostly on county and city all-purpose trails. Runners begin in the park and then use the new Brunswick Greenway Trail to head up towards Brunswick Lake. The trail isn't complete yet, so runners use some city streets to make it all the way to the lake. There, they circumnavigate the lake and return to Plum Creek. This makes about 6.5 miles: a quarter-marathon.

Only four loops - should be a piece of cake. 35F and light rain - couldn't be better weather. Horvath is going into the race with an attitude: he's going to finish the thing no matter what. Fifteen or so of his best friends line up for the early-morning start at Plum Creek.

He runs the first loop with Debbie Hicks and a few others. It's way too fast.

He's all alone on the second loop when he encounters a cul-de-sac. That's significant because Horvath is not only the race director, but he's also the course architect, and he shouldn't be here. He realizes that he missed a turn. Sometimes it's good to pay attention. It's just a little bonus quarter-mile or so.

He starts loop three. Finally, someone to run with. It's Michelle Wolff, who accompanies him for a mile or so. Then, as they see some of other friends going the other way Michelle also turns, he's alone again. Frank Dwyer is up ahead. He probably won't be able to catch FD (like he used to, a long time ago), but he can try. The rain and drizzle comes and goes. That part's getting old.

For lap four, Horvath is still trying to catch Mr. Dwyer. But it's not getting any easier. Many of the others are done running for the day. The good thing is that although he's slowed down a little, he's still keeping nearly all his miles under ten minutes. A steady pace is a good thing. The best part is that the off-and-on rain has changed to off-and-on snow. It's a pretty sight, especially while in the woods. At the very end, the sun comes out for a brief few minutes - even whilst the snow continues. That's pretty as well. Is Horvath experiencing a "runner's high?" Who knows?

Horvath finishes in 4:13. The course is a wee bit short, but he won't tell anyone. Frank finished a good 11 minutes in front of him, so Horvath is technically dead last.

Okay, he could also call himself second. That sounds better. The BM was a good way to end this year of running. 

And launch into 2024.

2023

2023 was a pretty good running year in several ways. Here are a few of them.

Overall miles: 3,152 miles for the year. That's an average of 60 miles per week and 8.6 per day. Compared with other years, it's a fair amount. My average pace was (a very pedestrian) 5.2 miles per hour which is 11.5 minutes per mile. It's the same as last year. When added to my previous total, it yields a total life-to-date amount of 114,344 miles.

Non-Marathon Races: The best was probably the Hofbrauhaus Half Marathon where I ran 1:52. I ran one half-marathon in 2022 that was slightly faster. I also did a smattering of shorter races, none of which were outstanding. I've said it before, but I'll repeat it here: I need to do more races of the shorter variety.

Trail Runs: No, I'm not joking, and don't call me Shirley. Run with Scissors was a complete disaster. So much so, that I wrote a separate ditty about thick mud and trails. The Buckeye Woods 25K was better, if you can call that a trail run. It is to me.

Marathons: Tallahassee and Drake Well both went about as well as I could have expected, and the times were identical: 3:55. Cleveland's time of 4:12 was not so good, but also not unexpected. Brunswick was Similarly slow (4:13) but also not out of line with expectations.

Unique Experiences: One was my run with Jenny Hoffman during her record-breaking run across America. It was quite an honor to accompany her. Another was my run at the Grafton Correctional Institution. That was not only an honor, but also an experience that I'll never forget.

Most Memorable of All: My best and probably most lasting memory of 2023 was the near-daily running with my friends throughout the Spring, Summer, and Fall. Those runs were as gratifying and enjoyable as runs can be. Best of all was having all my friends achieve their goals at top race events.

My Goal for 2024: Run a lot.

Yule own the roads today

There have been times in Horvath's running career when he felt the need to run 25 miles on the 25th of December. It's a special day, of course, but Dan also enjoys having the roads - even the main ones - almost entirely to himself, since traffic volume is as low as it gets on Christmas morning. Some of these long Christmas Day runs were quite memorable. Today would not be one of them.

Yesterday's race was only a five-miler, but even shorter races take their toll on Horvath these days. Add to this the overall mileage and dearth of days off, To top that off, Horvath has the Brunswick Marathon on the horizon. The only-five-day-away horizon. Now, you have a recipe for a not-so-great run. 

Horvath is out of bed early like usual, but the coffee doesn't do its job as well as he'd like. He'd been thinking of doing some kind of special run on this special day, but now he is starting later and is also running slower than he'd hoped. There is a time constraint: the Grandkids will be opening their presents around 7:30. The run will have to be completed by 7.

As expected, the roads are indeed deserted. It's nice to have everything so quiet. Horvath doesn't get very far. He understands that he's just not going to have any kind of speed today. He calls it quits at 7:00 straight-up, and his watch informs him that he ran 4.99 miles.

Irony of ironies, the kids had awoken and opened their presents already by this time. Maybe Horvath should just go back to bed.

Frosty Five-Mile Race Report

This 5-mile race takes place in Hudson, Ohio, and it's huge. I suppose that's because, unlike Thanksgiving Day races, it's the only game in town. I expected to see lots of friends at the start, but hardly any could be found in the pre-start throng of people.

The crowd at the start and the hills certainly slowed many of us down for that first mile. That was a good thing. The second mile was downhill almost the whole way. So that was a fast one for me. I hit reality again during the third mile, and I tried hard to pick the pace back up for the final two.

During mile four, I still wasn't running as fast as I thought I ought. But the magic happened for mile five. Really - it was my fastest of the day.

My time was 40:14, an 8:03 pace. That's pretty good for me these days. It helped that the weather cooperated.

Afterward, I found a bunch of my friends, and it was fun to talk and compare notes. 

I learned that I was second in my ancient age group.

At the finish with Garrett Wright and his friend. We all won major awards.

They can't kill us all

"You can take them off my cold, dead legs." That's what I say to those who insist on poking fun at my fashionable pink pants. You know: the ones from the 1980s... with the stirrups. 

This photo is from 2013, but 10 years later (not to mention 25 years prior) I'm still wearing the same outfit. For some reason, my old friends as well as some of the new ones still ridicule my sense of style. Some were even laughing (out loud, mind you) at my tiny little red blinking light, the one otherwise known as my "blinkie."

Why, you may ask, am I so festive? Well, it's the holidays, and some of us just like to celebrate. 

Celebrate we did at the Annual MCRR Holiday Lights Run. Chadwick Sunday did a marvelous job of arranging our meet-up at the Corkscrew for the run through the Medina Fairgrounds' Holiday Lights display. 

"They can't kill us all!" It was just a short jog over to the Fairgrounds but the ice and snow forced us to run on the road, in the dark, at rush hour. There was more than one close encounter with a motor vehicle. At some point, Chadwick made his declaration. Thank goodness. I felt safer as a result. 

Somehow, we all made it there and back again. Not only did we not get runned over, we all even stayed vertical. The other intrepid participants included Tim Pepe, Catherine Kinsey, Alexis Mayer, Ladd Clifford, Julie Boggs, and Shannon Barnes.

Meatier!

It's that time of year: The Geminid Meteor Shower is upon us. I saw two during yesterday's long run on Lester. The funny thing was that my companions didn't catch any. I suppose that's because they weren't very bright. I managed to get 18 miles in, with the help of said running buddies.

Thursday's solo run was different. On my way up to North Park, I spotted a bright one. So bright, it was startling. You might even refer to it as a meatier meteor. By the way, I don't run up to North Park very much anymore because I'm running most of my mid-distance runs with friends. And this may be my last run that way for another long while - the city will be draining and dredging the lake, and closing the entire park for the year of 2024.

To Do Two Too Bad Runs

Cool Runnings. 28F didn't sound too bad. But as soon as I stepped out of the car, the wind hit me, and I knew it really was too bad. To do two of these too-bad runs, back to back, was a bit too much.

Shannon Barnes was the only other brave runner to show up at the track today, so it was just the two of us. I suppose everyone else caught a case of wisdom. That never happens to me. We actually managed to run something of substance (a 1600/1200/800/400 ladder), and then it was time to cool down and for Shannon to stretch. 

I did some stretching in sympathy, but mostly so we could talk a little more. Not to mention that we were temporarily sheltered from the wind. The trouble was, when this was over and it was time for Shannon to leave, I still had four-ish cold miles to go. So I started my run number two with some measure of trepidation.

There are times when I am able to pick the pace back up after everyone else leaves. This was not one of those times. I did get the mileage in, but there was nothing of substance.

Looking to Literally Lope Long on Lester

It's Friday, so of course, it's Lester. Lester Rail Trail, that is. This three-mile stretch has been traversed many times by Mr. Horvath. How many would there be today?

Horvath starts out with the 4:30 A.M. crowd. They don't get too far before having to return to meet with the 5:00 A.M. bunch. This group stays together for another half-hour before some of the early bunch needs to leave. They will be driving to Salt Fork State Park today for a Saturday trail run. But Horvath and the others soldier on.

Finally, an entire six-mile loop is completed, and one other person plus his doggie, Ella join. Unfortunately it's also time for everyone else to leave. It seems that work is an issue for some of them. Not Horvath; he's retired.

After one more six, the boy and his dog need to leave, and Horvath finds himself alone. He's got nearly 15 miles in, but needs more to be able to consider this a long run. And a long run is something he desperately wants.

Horvath slows down for these final miles. But thankfully, not too much. He finishes at around 8:15 A.M. with twenty for the day. Not too shabby. But where does he go from here?

Friends are gone, time for a little fartlek

When Dan put the word out about the Tuesday Track run, a few of his friends showed up. But the speedwork didn't quite happen. It seems that running around in circles at any kind of fast pace in 34F weather wasn't their cup of tea today. Running around in circles at an average pace was just fine, thank you.

It's when everyone else left the track that Dan began to fartlek. It was pretty good, satisfying fartlek at that.

Run the straightaways at a decent speed, and take it easy on the turns. That's the way.

Details about today's BM

There was a serious attempt on the part of the Race Director to cease and desist from calling the Brunswick Marathon the BM. There would be no more jokes about having a satisfying and complete BM, bragging about the first BM of the year (since it used to be on New Year's Day), or about the overall size of the BM (like, 'it was massive!').

Having stated that, your author decided to research the start of it all. Here it is, the 2019 post about the very first BM of that, or any year. And now it appears that there was an attempt to maintain high standards even at that point in time. Evidently, the attempt failed. The thing is, even as the RD now tries his darndest to refrain from BM jokes, the other runners seem to insist on it.

Today's run would not be a complete BM. It was only going to be a BM training exercise. But BM training is certainly important, and your RD takes it quite seriously. The new Brunswick Marathon course is much improved; it starts and ends at Sleepy Hollow County Park, and takes place mostly on asphalt trails to, around, and back from Brunswick Lake for about 6.5 miles. Four circuits make a complete BM, but partials are allowed. Today would see some runners accomplish as much as 3/4 of a complete BM.

The 5:00 AM loop consisted of just RD and Frank Dwyer. It wasn't raining; the wet stuff in the air was not real. The few hills on the course weren't either. They make it back just in time for the 6:10 group to join the fun. This group consisted of Harold Dravenstott, Debbie Hicks, Michelle Wolff, Andy Wolff, Julie Boggs, Shannon Barnes, and Jeannine Nicholson. There may have been others, but RD's brain was already rattled by this time, so he may not remember them. Still others joined during the 7:20 loop: Mebelit Melendez and Jamie Carr. 

Everyone ran great. RD thought it was all much more fun than it had any right to be. It was a wonderful and memorable BM.

No Laughing Matter

If you were looking for any jokes about penile frostbite, you're humping up the wrong tree. I would never make any smart-alecy remarks about something so serious. Okay, I suppose it may be a little bit funny when someone else suffers from it (like the time Prince Harry got it). But it's not funny at all when it happens to you. 

Having experienced a couple of seemingly serious such incidents, you would think that I'd know better. Today, it was 20F with a feel-like reading of 8F. I thought I was dressed appropriately enough: my fancy tights with one layer underneath - the old insulated undies. But that wind was wicked. As I started running with the wind at my back, I didn't feel too bad. It was only when I turned around that I felt it.

And 'it' got colder and colder. And colder and colder. I stopped at a convenient porta-john, and I think the warm pee passing through may have helped. For a while. Then everything got cold again. Eventually, and not a moment too soon, I arrived home for a mid-run break.

What to do now? At this point, I was six miles into a planned ten-mile run, I sure wanted to do more. But it certainly wasn't going to happen in my current state of inadequate malfunctioning wardrobe. By the time I could change, I would certainly be able to talk myself out of any further running. But then it occurred to me: stuff a rag down there!

Our rag pile is conveniently located by the garage door, so I grabbed a cut piece of towel and stuffed away.

Guess what? It worked. I completed the run without further incident. So don't worry about me; I'm fine. Maybe I'll even get smarter. Nah.

2023 Buckeye Woods 25K Race Report

Thirteen years ago, some friends and I scouted out a five-mile course through Buckeye Woods Park in rural Medina County. The purpose was to hold a new free, fat-ass after-Thanksgiving ultramarathon run. Participants would run six such loops plus one more mile to make it to 50K, or cut that in half for 25K. Runners could also just show up and run as much or as little as they wanted.

And run they did. Folks came from all over to join the fun. Although there was no fee, we made them join the Medina County Road Runners in order to be official. The race was small and informal enough that I was able to act as Race Director yet also participate in the run. Eventually, I was able to hand those awesome RD duties off to others, but I've still (mostly) continued to run.

The race has continued to prosper, although there have been up and down years. I've managed to complete the 50K ten times (including the one Summer edition). Other times, I ran somewhat less than 50K, but once (and I'll never live this one down) missed the race entirely because I was traveling.

This year, 2023, I'm back in the saddle. Mostly. A year ago, I declared that I was done with ultramarathons. With that pledge in mind, I'm only going to run 25K today. Should be easy, right?

We start with a pretty good group; more runners than I thought there would be. After the initial mile, I run the first five-mile loop mostly with Julie Boggs. She's planning to run the entire 50K; she's not a wimp like me. I run the second loop mostly with Shannon Barnes and Katherine Kinsey. I can tell you that I am hurtin' for certain by the time we approach the finish line. Our time is 2:39 - around ten minutes per mile. 

I'm happy to say that we stayed mostly together and that we kept it at a fairly steady pace. But this 25K felt like the old 50K runs used to. After hanging around a little, I decided to jog a couple more - mostly so that I could call it a long run. Some of that was with Julie, who had been starting her second half. I was happy when that part of the run was finished as well!

2023 Medina Turkey Chase Race Report

I definitely need to do more of these shorter races. The mile splits tell the story: 7:43, 7:55, 8:23, 9:00. Yeah, the first two miles are down and the last two are up. I knew that. But still... That totals up to 33:07. That's about 45 seconds slower than last year, and I didn't get a pie (for the first 50 gobblers) even then. 

That's all the bad news. Here's the good news. It was a blast: Seeing all my new and old friends, and everyone enjoying the fun event at the Square. That's what it's all about.

All I need to do to make everything perfect is to run faster.

Running in Scotland and Ireland

Our first four nights were in Edinburgh, Scotland. Edinburgh seemed like a nice place to run, with many parks and quiet, public areas. I, however, spent most of my running time just exploring, and you know how I get when in exploration mode: very, very slow.

I did indeed manage to explore the city quite a bit during my two runs there.

Another cool thing that I encountered in Scotland: the beach in St. Andrews where Chariots of Fire was filmed. Too bad I wasn't able to run at the time we were there.

Chariots of Fire Beach

Once we got to Dublin, Ireland, I did manage to get a good run in. I ran along the River Liffey for two and a half miles, then along the trail through Phoenix Park for another two and a half miles. By the time I turned around to head back, it was already getting light, and I had to hurry. I did, and it was a pretty good double-digit run. Exploration mode is fine, but I like to get somewhere as well. It helps when you don't need to worry about getting lost or about (very much) traffic.

Walking along the River Liffey later on

Galway was unrunnable, as storm Debi hit with furious wind and rain. 

In Derry, I found a place to run... along a river (this time, the Foyle) once again. Does this surprise you? It took some doing to find the trail, and I found myself in mud at times (even though the trail was mostly paved), but it was, all in all, good running. That went for both an afternoon and a morning run.

As unexpected as that afternoon run in Derry was, it was even more surprising to get a couple of runs in at the Giant's Causeway near Belfast. We were there with the group, but when it rained, Debbie went (and stayed) back at the visitor's center. I then got some running - up and down the trail leading to the formations. It was pretty cool (and windy, and rainy).

Trail to the Giant's Causeway

My first run around Belfast was cool. Literally - it's the wind, not, so much, the cold. At least there was no rain today. Once again, I had a river to navigate by, the River Lagan.  It all worked okay, but Belfast isn't the greatest place to run. For my second run there, I pushed the pace a little, got ten miles in, and had the best run of the trip. (That;s not saying all that much).

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

Alone Again, Naturally

Friday morning: It's time to run long on Lester, once again. Things go quite swimmingly, until they don't. You see, they left me all alone. I could be singing the song, Alone Again, Naturally, because I sure felt alone and lonely. You would think I would slow down as I often do when I'm left alone to my own devices. But I had taken a gel and I felt like I was still moving fairly well. Unfortunately, my Garmin begs to differ. I am indeed slowing down. But after having company for those first 14, I can handle 4 more. I can, and I do.

But it wasn't pretty. I averaged 10:29 for those 18 miles, about par for the course for me. But had I maintained that faster pace I did with my friends, my overall average would have been much better.

Sunday morning: 18 miles twice in three days? I did it this way before two weeks ago. And now I'm at it again. This time it's at Hinckley. Many are aware of the vertical challenge the Hinckley 9-mile loop presents. Today, I'm doing it twice, just like I did three weeks ago. And just like then, I've got company. Company for the entire run. Said companionship helps tremendously today.

I actually manage to run the second loop faster than the first. Last time, they were nearly the same. Finishing strong down those last hills really feels good. I'm not even very sore.

Here's to hoping that I can keep improving from here.

You guys rock!

She did it! My friend, Jenny Hoffman made it: a new World Record for running across the United States in 47 days. I couldn’t be more proud, and I feel honored to have had the opportunity to play a (very) small part in it by joining her for part of her run through Ohio. Jenny’s run was all the more astounding because she tried and failed to get across in the past. Persistence pays off.

It occurs to me that until this point, I have never written very much about some of my other friends and their recent running accomplishments. These are people I trained with several times a week throughout the spring, summer, and fall of 2023. That makes them closer than most close friends. As it happens, each of them did exceedingly well in their late summer and early fall goal running events. Not that I ever had any doubts. Here are just a few of the great achievements. I will try to do this without mentioning their actual names, just to protect their privacy. Sorry if I left anyone out.

Two of them trained together nearly all the time. It helped that they were married to one another. They traveled the farthest for their goal race: the Crater Lake Marathon in Oregon. This was the most arduous event because of the overall elevation as well as the elevation gain and loss over the course. Finishing was quite an achievement, and surely a memorable one.

Three ran the Akron Marathon. For one, it was a comeback race after a major injury. For another, it was a very first marathon (a very good one!), and for the third, it was a personal best. All this during a slightly warm day on a challenging course.

One, after pacing many other events, ran one just for himself: The Columbus Marathon. As expected (by me), he ran a super time which was also a personal best.

And that’s not all. Some of my other friends that I don’t see quite so often also did some fabulous stuff. One person managed to qualify for Boston in Dayton, and another completed a Double Marathon at Run with Scissors. Besides all of us normal people, some trail ultrarunning friends are so far beyond what I can comprehend, that I hesitate to even mention them. So I won’t, other than to say, ‘All you guys rock!’

How did we all do so well? There’s little doubt that it helped to work together. Teamwork and camaraderie are nearly unbeatable. It’s all pretty amazing. I don’t know what will happen next for our tribe, but I can’t wait to find out.

Methinks thou doth protest too much

The actual quote from Shakespeare's Hamlet is, The lady doth protest too much, methinks. According to Wikipedia, "It is spoken by Queen Gertrude in response to the insincere overacting of a character in the play within a play created by Prince Hamlet to prove his uncle's guilt in the murder of his father, the King of Denmark." In more modern times, it is used to imply that someone who denies something very strongly is hiding the truth in some way.  I made it gender-neutral so that it could apply to me and my complaining about trail running. I also placed the methinks at the front of the statement, because it's a little more like the way we talk these days.

The title and the paragraph above are my way of apologising for b!tching so much about trail running. First there was my un-race report, and then there was my Dr. Seuss-like poem called Thick mud and trails. No more of that. I'm gonna be positive from now on. Or, at least for this here particular post. Regarding protesting too much, I actually do like trails. Just not knarly, rooty, rocky, muddy ones. And just not for running. <Editor's note: Dan is coming dangerously close to protesting too much again, even though he says he's not. We are going to put an end to this right now.>

Okay. Back to my happy place. Back to my comfort zone.

This place, this zone, today was, as it so often is, the track. (And that's the most commas you can possibly have in a thirteen-word sentence.) I love the track. And today was a good day to run there. There aren't too many bad ones, anyway.

Not to say that it was easy, but, with the help of some friends, I managed to pull off a full-Yasso today. Although I've had faster ones, this result (I averaged about 4 minutes for each 800) wasn't bad. The best part is that it was fairly steady.

And the best part is, it's over!

Claggett M.S. Track - Round, round get around

Useless Stats

The most useless stats yet

Thick mud and trails

 Do you like thick mud and trails?

I do not like them, Dan-I-Am.

I do not like thick mud and trails.

Would you like them here or there?

I would not like them here or there.

I would not like them anywhere.

I do not like thick mud and trails.

I do not like them, Dan-I-Am.

Would you like them in a park?

Would you like them in the dark?

I do not like them in a park.

I do not like them in the dark.

I do not like them here or there.

I do not like them anywhere.

I do not like thick mud and trails.

I do not like them, Dan-I-Am.

My final trail run

"There will come a day when you can no longer do this. Today is not that day." It's an old saying, but now I need to modify it, as it applies to me: "There will come a day when you can no longer do this. Today is  that day." 

I already knew that I wasn't a trail runner and that I had no business whatsoever being out there, but a friend asked me to join the fun, and I couldn't say no. I should have. Although the Run with Scissors Half Marathon was indeed fun for a while when said friend and others left me in the dust (I should say, mud), the fun suddenly ended and the misery began.

Did I mention mud? There was gobs of it on the Cuyahoga Valley National Park trails, but also rocks, roots, steep hills, creek crossings, and hairpin turns. All with light rain falling. All were hidden by fallen leaves. Have I ever mentioned that I like trails, but just not for running? Or that I like trails, but they don't like me?

I found myself alone after about mile 5. Only 8 or so to go - what could go wrong? In short, everything. I couldn't wait for the misery to be over with. By and by, I began looking for a way to drop out and get back to my car. This isn't an easy thing to do in the middle of a trail race. I could have possibly cut over to a road or two and run back from there.

But I didn't. Finally, at about 9 1/2 miles, I came to the final aid station at Pine Hollow. Although I could have probably hiked the final four miles on the Salt Run trail, I opted to run straight back and around Kendal Lake, thereby cutting the course and dropping out with only 10 1/2 miles. (I should say that I did get 13 miles in today, considering the warmup I did on the Towpath.) But by and large, I can't remember the last time I was so miserable during a run.

Although I may still do The Buckeye Woods 25K (those trails are fairly gentle), I think I'm truly done done with trails.

My run with Jenny

It was an honor and a privilege to run eleven miles with Jenny Hoffman today. RunJennyRun is attempting a world record crossing of the continent from San Francisco to New York. She is well ahead of record pace, doing around 60+ miles every day for the past 41. I was with Jenny from Windham to Warren, Ohio. She’ll be entering Pennsylvania by this evening. Thanks to Larry and CJ Orwin for logistical help. For more, see Jenny's run page, RunJennyRun.

Me, Ward Freman, Larry Orwin, Jenny Hoffman

What I found during my run today, Part 387

Brand new running shoes! Some of you may be aware that I've been known to find strange items on the run, often during out-of-town runs. (I have no idea why - maybe I look down more?) Before you go any further, PLEASE read this post from 2020. I will be here, waiting patiently.

Hope you enjoyed that. Now, on to today's find.

I'm staying in Horseheads, New York. Fun fact: Horseheads was incorporated as a town before the Godfather came out. It's near Elmira and just down the road from Corning. Even Watkins Glen isn't too far. Debbie the Lady Adventurer and I are here in the Finger Lakes region once again to sample some wine and see the sights. The new running shoes are indeed quite a sight. 

Before I came across them, I had emerged out of the Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott Elmira Corning (I guess they don't want to use 'Horseheads' in the name) and into the early morning darkness. As wonderful as the Finger Lakes area is, this part of Horseheads seems a little more like the other end of a horse. It's a freeway stop with a four-lane road and gobs of strip malls and car dealerships. But nowhere to run. I go by all the usual joints: Walmart, Texas Road House, Red Robin, Target, Michaels, CVS, Panera, and so on. It's when I find myself on a street that's more like an alley behind Kohls when I spot the shoes.

They're right there in the middle of the road. They're not in a box; they're just lying there. I look to make sure no one else is around before I pick them up. Yes, they're brand new and still stuffed with paper. Yes, they're some sort of running shoe, although I don't recognize the brand. Yes, they're about my size. I suppose I ought to get out of here before someone else does show up and... 

Now I'm running with a shoe in each hand, trying to decide what to do with them. I determine that it would be best to take them back to someplace close to the hotel so I can hide them and continue my run. But first, I examine them a little more. This is a bit of a challenge in the dark and while I'm running, but hey, I've done this sort of thing before. The brand is still unrecognizable. I look for the size on the underside of the tongue. It says '4A' or something like that. I'll still take them and try them on. Even if they're not top-notch running shoes, I've been known to use some strange ones. (Remember the Aldi shoes?)

Having run with them for a little while, I am surprised to see that one shoe is sliced open along the side. Why didn't I see that before - it would have saved me a lot of careful consideration.

Now, I have to find a place to throw them away. I don't want to just return them to the back of Kohls - I don't think they accept store returns that way. Besides, I'm further along now. What do I find now? An Aldi store! Better yet, it's an Aldi store with a trash container. And that's where they wind up.

How appropriate.

The Will to Win

You have probably heard it before: The will to win is nothing without the will to train. The original quote was from a Tanzanian runner named Juma Ikangaa, who actually said, "The will to win means nothing without the will to prepare." 

Ikangaa was well known for his hard training regimen. Unfortunately, he finished second at some big marathons in the late 1980s, including multiple times at Boston. What did he do? He doubled down, of course. He trained even harder. Did the perseverance pay off?

Juma Ikangaa finally won his biggest race: the 1989 New York City Marathon. He talked about his hard training, and how he simply trained even harder to finally win. His will to win, perhaps in question after the second-place finishes, was not as important as his will to prepare.

You have to

The way I remember it, in the movie, No Country for Old Men, the bad guy, played by Javier Bardem, tells his victims that he will flip a coin. "Call it right, you get to live, call it wrong, you don't." One guy replies the way I think I would have: "I don't want to play." But Bardem tells him (in his deep bad-guy voice), "You have to."

I'm not sure that's entirely correct, but I like to think that it is. But sometimes that "You have to" phrase can be applied to running. I don't mean that in the way you might think. You may think I'm thinking of, "You have to run." Nope. (Well, okay, you do have to run. But that's not what I'm sayin'.) Here, I mean you have to prepare. Remember the Juma Ikangaa quote: "The will to win means nothing without the will to prepare." (I've just decided to write an entire blog post about that.) But today, I want to talk about how unprepared I was for the run.

You have to prepare for your training runs. That means the usual stuff, like eating right, getting enough sleep, and not doing too many hard running days without rest. It's even more important to prepare for the long variety of training runs. Double down on everything I just said if you have a long run on the morrow. 

This week, I didn't do that. I procrastinated because of a myriad of options and because I try to work around the weather forecast to get the best running done on the best weather days. The thing is, said forecast kept changing. When I awoke Friday morning, I'd been planning to run on Lester, but not especially long. Long runs could be done either Saturday on the Towpath, or Sunday at Hinckley. But the forecast now said Friday morning is okay, Saturday will see cold rain. 

That's when I called the audible; the long run would be today! The preparation, oh the preparation. Take a quick snort of beet juice powder mixed in V8 (Yeah, I'm back to experimenting with that). Get extra caffeine inside me as quickly as possible. Even mix some pumpkin in the coffee. And pack extra stuff I'll need during the run: extra water, gels, etc.

How did it go? It wasn't pretty, but I got eighteen miles done. So it wasn't awful, either. Last week's run went better, but for today, I'll take it. 

I have to. 

Best since August

Keen readers of this blog will have noticed more than one lament about how out of shape this runner has become since he ran his August marathon. Danny Boy is happy to report that he is now on the upswing. Upswings beat downswings every darn time. Today, he ran his first legitimate long run since that race. We say legitimate because he did run an illegitimate, wimpy, eighteen-miler on the dreadmill last week.

By contrast, today's run, done with friends on the Lester Rail Trail, was for real. Yes, it was eighteen good miles. And at a fairly steady pace. It sure felt good.

One additional thought: you have to take these things seriously. It's simply not practical to try to do a long run without adequate preparation and concentration. Today, he had it.

4 x 1

This will be in backward order, by the way. There's a good reason for this, but I don't know what that is.

~

Now, I'm done done. That's what we project-oriented people used to say at work to indicate that something was really and truly done, and no further effort would be forthcoming. Just plain done didn't have the same connotation. Done done in this case means that I've finally completed my one-mile intervals and am doing my final cooldown, which is two slow and easy laps. And another thing: woohoo, I'll get over ten miles in today.

~

This fourth mile is not going so well. That extended time since the last one may have been a factor. It couldn't possibly be that I'm out of shape. Nope. Not at all. But somehow, I manage to finish this one in a very pedestrian time of 8:37. I suppose I should be happy that I could do it (a fourth one) at all.

~

My friends are all getting ready to leave. They've done their workouts and jogged their cooldowns. I, of course, joined them for their cooldown laps, light stretching, and talk-talk. I've done three of these one-mile thingies and I've got eight-plus miles in. Should I try to run some more? Maybe even do another (relatively) fast mile? Maybe, baby.

~

This third one-mile repeat is the best one yet. I'm doing better than eight-minute pace for the first time in a long while. I suppose it helps that my friends are all nearby, doing their things as well. My plan had been to do what I had suggested for everyone else: 1600, 1200, 800, 400, but I called an audible. Having already done one 1600 early and then another one with Chadwick as he started, I decided to keep all of today's repeats at the one-mile distance. Of course, I had to explain this strange behavior, but my friends understand. My (somewhat speedy) time for this one is 7:58.

~

This time, it's only a half-lap recovery between intervals. Why? Because that's what I suggested in the Facebook post. Why did I do that? Who knows? I make this stuff up as I go along.

~

My second repeat is with Chadwick Sunday. That's being generous; he's way ahead. But at least we started together. According to my plan, I could call it at 1200 (since I've already done a 1600), but I don't. I do the whole one-mile enchilada. My time of 8:04 isn't too awful.

~

Everyone is here. They're warming up and I'm cooling down, since I've already got one under my belt. This interval between repeats (I think I actually stated that correctly) is extended a little, but that's okay - we need to catch up on all the latest running news. And there is a lot.

~

I'm doing it! Running fast (relatively speaking) before anyone else even arrives (Although Michelle and Andy are already warming up on the roads). I consider it a good thing if I can get started early, and an even gooder thing if I can get my fast running started early. This first super-fast mile is completed in eight minutes and eleven seconds.

~

It's 4:25, and I've even beaten Michelle and Andy Wolff, and that's something. I begin my slow and easy warmup around the track. It's cold and dark, but that's all okay. The main question is, how will my speedwork go today?

More observation

After one day of spectating, I thought I'd do it all again. The Canal Corridor 100-mile run was still going on when I awoke. My plan was to drive to Akron to watch some of my friends finish.

But that didn't work out so well - Larry Orwin ran much too fast, and I wasn't able to get there in time. After altering my plans a little, I did manage to catch up with Doug Rafalski. He was at the Ira Trailhead, mile 90, and it was still dark and rainy. Luckily, he had his sister, Karen, to pace him. She got him through that cold rain during the night and was getting him through now as well. I tried to help a little.

After I saw them and walked with them some, I went out for my own run. It was slow going, but I almost never fail to enjoy a run on the old Towpath.

Then, I realized that I might possibly be able to see them yet one more time. I drove to Akron to catch them at mile 94. Slow going, but it was light now, and we all knew Doug would make it. He did.

Although it was indeed inspiring to watch Doug and all the other 100-milers, I'm still not inclined to make another attempt. But if I ever did, Canal Corridor would be the place to do it.

You can observe a lot, just by watching

Today's run didn't feel quite so bad. I could kinda even keep up with people. A little. Maybe this downward spiral of a training cycle is finally beginning to turn around. Then again, maybe not.

I would have probably registered for last week's Akron Marathon had I known that our planned out-west trip would be canceled due to concern about a possible government shutdown. You know. The one that didn't happen after all. So there I was, all dressed up and not registered to run. Of course, a few weeks past my August Marathon, I wasn't in what you'd call tip-top shape anyway. What to do? Get a run from home early, then drive to Akron to watch all my friends finish. I would at least be able to help them celebrate and share their joy!

The road closures got me. Two (2) freeway closures, and I was in Akron proper. But then I had to get past all the roads that were closed due to the race. And this number was legion. My Google Maps app kept warning me that such and such road may be closed, but then took me that way anyway, just (I guess) so that I could confirm that it was closed. So of course, I did. After an awful lot of evasive maneuvering to get around people, traffic, barriers, etc. I finally found myself not too awfully far from the finish area. 

But then, I would still need to find a place to park. By this time, I was so tired and frustrated, that I turned around and went home, sorry to have missed the experience altogether.

Spectating for today's Canal Corridor 100-mile run was a little better. I found my way to Canal Fulton, mile 35 on the course, where Towpath goes right on through. I was able to find my friends who were running and to cheer them on. It was a beautiful, cool, cloudy and sunny, sharp fall day. Who would have thought that spectating for a 100-mile run would be smoother than doing so for a marathon? Not me. I may even go and watch the finish early tomorrow morning. 

Who knows? Maybe I'll get inspired to run another 100.

Nope. I'm being reminded that a lot can happen during a day's worth of running. And only a small few of those are good.

Today's run with my friends, by Eleanor Sunday

Editor's Note: This is a guest contribution by a very special friend.

Chadwick and me (I don't know what he's trying to prove here. We should be running.)

Hello! My given name is Eleanor (I was named after Eleanor Roosevelt) but my friends call me Ella. Everyone whom I have ever met in my entire life is my friend, so you too should feel free to call me Ella. Even if you haven't met me... yet.

Stephanie primped me all up last night like she usually does. I like it when she does that. I like to look pretty when I'm going for a run. It's still early as Chadwick gets his shoes on and begins to open the door to his Mini Cooper. I have this timed just perfectly. I start my leap into the car even before the door is completely open. Today, it's another perfect four-point landing onto the passenger seat.

At first, I don't know where we're headed, but I soon realize with delight that it's Lake Medina! I like Lake Medina! Of course, it's the same with the Lester Rail Trail, the Medina Square, and everywhere else Chadwick brings me. I like them all!

As Chadwick opens the door, I jump out, ecstatic to see our running friends. They're all right here! And we will all be running together! What could be better than this? I try to jump-hug some of them (Chadwick pulls me back so that I don't knock them over), and for others, I just hug them by rubbing up against their legs. Yes, I know, I know. I run with these guys almost every day. But I have to ask again: what could be better than this? I greet Katherine and Harold and Shannon and Debbie and Dan and Kelly, and Athena and the rest of them. I love them all! And we're all going to run together! (Oh yeah. I said that already. Sorry.)

As we begin running, I can tell that Chadwick isn't too sure about which way to go; he never is. But I know the way; he should just let me lead. Chadwick sometimes does a run without me. I understand that he occasionally goes to some places where I cannot. But those are sad days for me. Not happy days like this one! Of course, I wonder how Chadwick can possibly find his way anywhere without me to guide him. Dan lets Chadwick know the direction by pointing it out to me. Yeah, if Chadwick would only listen and pay attention more often. I suppose it doesn't matter; I love him anyway. (Editor's Note: Ella probably added this paragraph just to illustrate the fact that Chadwick is directionally challenged. It may or may not have actually occurred in this instance.)

We are on the trail, and I choose the right side. Chadwick had tried to get me over to the left, but today, right smells better. Dan suggests that Chadwick just move over to the right as well. Chadwick wisely does so. Everyone else is talking and running. I don't know what they're saying - probably some gossip about the ones who didn't show up today - but it doesn't matter. I'm running! With all my friends!!

Squirrel! I know that Chadwick has the harness around me (it works much better than a normal leash) so I need to pull hard and fast to chase the critter. Chadwick simply has to follow or else let go. He needs the extra little sprint now and then. It's the same for rabbits, by the way.

Now we're back to normal running with the group. I like it when we all run together. This is GREAT!

Puddle! It's on the opposite side of the trail, but I pull Chadwick over so I can run through it. That's what puddles are for! I like puddles! My tootsies thank me. Chadwick doesn't seem to mind that my paws will be full of wet mud when I climb back into the car. He's pretty good that way.

We run together some more. Shannon and Katherine think they're pretty fast, but I know I can out-sprint them. Today, we're just staying together. Dan is slowing down behind us. Poor guy. He can't help being old and slow.

Time to pee! Chadwick almost takes a tumble when I make this sudden stop. Sorry, buddy. When you gotta go, you gotta go.

Eventually, we get back to the car. I hope, I hope, I hope... Yes! We are going to do it all a second time! This is Great!!

It's a little sad when we finish for good. Time to get home, rest, and get ready for tomorrow's run. I think that one will be great as well!

The Hinckley 9, Number 282

You probably think that Dan is kidding about this being his two-hundred-eighty-second running of the Hinckley Nine. Think whatever you like. But he does have them all documented. Dan can be pretty scary sometimes.

Katherine Kinsey had set this one up, and Dan thought that it would be just her, Chadwick Sunday, Ella, Julie Boggs, Theresa Wright, and Dan himself. This group runs together a lot, and everyone is fairly reliable, especially Ella. But this time, said small group unexpectedly becomes part of a much larger one as Connie Gardner and a bunch of her friends show up. The more, the merrier.

And is quite merry. Until the hills start. Of course, if you're familiar with the clockwise running of the Hinckley Nine, you are well aware that said hills begin with the first few steps. Katherine, Chadwick, and Ella zoom on up Bellus Road, whilst the rest of us have slightly more difficulty. Connie and several of the other smart ones walk most of it. Not Dan. Dan tries to keep running, yet he's not able to keep up with the walkers. Dan hates it when this happens.

Dan struggles mightily to catch up with everyone as the big hills give way to slightly smaller rolling ones. Between huffs and puffs, he is barely able to carry on snippets of conversations. Then comes Effie. This time, Dan does have to walk, a little. But of course, he falls further behind again, anyway. Evidently, it doesn't matter whether he runs, walks, or crawls, he's going to fall behind.

Several runners unexpectedly turn into the trails for the rest of their run, and now Dan is really alone. He sets out to try to catch Julie. By the time she is hitting the final downhill miles on Kellogg Road, he does manage this feat. He informs her, between huffs and puffs, that now that she's caught, she has to stay caught. Dan begins telling stories that Julie has heard before. Just like everyone else has.

They turn onto Route 606, run down some more hills, and then turn onto Bellus. Julie finishes strong; Dan transitions to a slow saunter as soon as he hits the entrance to the parking lot. Chadwick, Katherine, and Ella are waiting patiently. Some (the ones who have issues) jog around to try to get their GPS watches to say ten miles. It's a good thing Dan doesn't have issues such as this (ignore the fact that he ran some before the start of the nine).

It's been one of Dan's better Hinckley runs. Too bad it nearly killed him.

Somethin' heavy hit me like an atomic bomb - redux

Meanwhile back in the jungle

The boys in the jungle had me on the run
When something heavy hit me like an atomic bomb
When I woke up and my head started to clear
I had a strange feeling I was with cooking gear
I smelled something cookin' and I looked to see
That's when; I found out they was a cookin' me
Great Cuckoo let me outta here...

These are some of the lyrics from Stranded in the Jungle, the 1950s song by the Cadets. That line, something heavy hit me like an atomic bomb was front and center in my mind today, as it was in April when I posted something just like this one. That time, it was about a final mile I struggled with. This time, it's been every mile I've tried to run since I returned home a few days ago. The problem this time is a sinus infection that I picked up whilst I was away.

It's been nasty. I just feel lousy, even as most of my congestion is now going away. My strength, such as it was, has not returned. I've been telling myself that eight miles is the new ten (since I used to run about ten a day, and now eight just about kills me) and that ten is the new twenty (because the ten I did the day after I got home felt like a marathon or more). 

At least I don't have any upcoming races to be concerned with. I'm registered for the Veterans Marathon in November, but I already know that I can't make it to that one. Time to start thinking more about next year instead.

Ship happens

The 18-day cruise from Rome to Lisbon produced the expected results: much less running than usual (about half) and much more eating than usual (about double). This, in turn, resulted in the usual gain of a pound a day. Now let me see... a pound a day for 18 days... How many is that? Oh, never mind. I'll figure it out sometime, and/or I'll weigh myself.

Although there were a few days where I managed to run on dry land, those were few and far between, because we were busy with other stuff most of the time. In addition, those runs were short - only a few miles for those same reasons, as well as this one: I often had already gotten my early morning run in for the day. If you've concluded that my running for this time period was somewhat less than optimal, you would be correct.

Here's a rundown of a typical Dan run on the MS Sirena.

The fitness center doesn't open until 6:00 A.M., and here it is, five-something. What to do? Run in circles on deck 10, of course. Running in circles, you ask? Isn't that awful, you ask? Maybe. But not always so much. I have options, you see... I can:

a) Run the 13 laps per mile recommended route. Yes, that's a lot of turning. But even here, there are options within this option. You see, I can run counter-clockwise (the usual direction, though I'm not sure why) or clockwise. See? All types of variations. I do a mile in each direction, but can only run clockwise when no one else is about. Today, I'm alone up here. Regardless of direction, I can only handle so much of this, so there's option b.

b) When I get tired of all that turning, I can do something else: add the two short aft hallways to the route. When I do this, it's only about 8 laps per mile. Another advantage is that I now (assuming that I'm going the accepted counter-clockwise direction) do two left-hand turns and two right-hand turns, and I don't even upset any fellow walkers or runners. The only disadvantage is having to do 180-degree turns at the end of each hallway. When I get tired of this, I can graduate further to option c.

c) This one only works when no one else is about. I can start in one direction, say clockwise, run one aft hallway, then turn and change direction all the way around the other way, in this case, counter-clockwise. When I get to the end of the other hallway, I turn 180 degrees and reverse direction one again. Now it's only five laps per mile, at least for each complete - going each way - circuit. The advantage here is that I'm constantly changing direction and my turns are completely evened out. Of course, I can only do this when I'm completely alone. 

d) By the time I get a few miles sorted out as described above, it's 6:00 and (Bob's your Uncle) the gym is open. I hate that mill, but it prevents me from running in circles or U-shaped thingies (c). I can only take so much milling around, so I will often revert myself back to option a again. 

And that's it. I will say that running outside has the advantage of being in the fresh sea air, watching the sun rise, and observing our visitation to a port or two. My running will, I hope, not take too very long to get back to normal. Then it will be time to travel again.

A rare run on dry land. This one is on Tenerife in the Canary Islands.

Drake Well Marathon Race Report

First of all, Dan would like to point out that he developed three goals for today's race:

A) Sub 3:50 would be very nice. He ran a 3:49 three years ago, B.S. (Before Surgery). Such a feat would very much be a stretch, however.

B) 3:55. Dan would like to point out that he ran this time in Tallahassee, about eight months ago.

C) 3:59. Or, at least, just finishing in a vertical fashion (okay, maybe that's a D goal).

The alarm had gone off at 2:30, and after some coffee and beet juice, Dan was in the car by 3:30. He arrived a little after 6:00; plenty of time to check in, stretch out, and get ready to go. Dan would like to point out that after this and some similar experiences, he may decide to stop using the beet juice. It may work, a little, but it also seems to work in other ways. Ways that forced Dan to make a stop along the way, and another as he arrived. Hopefully, his tummy has now settled down as the race is about to start.

Dan would like to point out that Titusville, Pennsylvania, home of the Drake Well Museum and Park to celebrate the first successfully drilled oil well, is incredibly scenic. Dan couldn't see much during his dark ride in, but now the sun is coming up as the 7:00 race start approaches, and it's gorgeous. The museum and park are surrounded by huge hills, and the misty fog is rising between them as it begins to warm up.

Dan would like to point out that warming up is not necessarily a good thing. It's in the 50s right now - cool and comfy. It won't stay that way. Dan struggles to run nine-minute miles for his first few. It should be easier, he thinks. But somehow, by the time he completes the in-town loops (miles 1-7), he settles into a little bit of a rhythm. 

The Drake Well Marathon is a cupless race. Runners are provided with a collapsable cup that they are to carry in order to receive refills at the aid stations. Dan is extremely focused on environmental factors, including litter. Thousands of cups all over is not a good thing, so Dan gets it. However, he still does not like carrying this dumb cup thing. He tries to stuff it in his pocket, but then spends gobs of time getting it in and out, and even drops it once. He finally decides to just carry it and eventually gets the hang of using it. It STILL forces him to stop completely for the refills, however.

Miles 8-26 are on the Oil Creek Bike Trail. What a beauty! The trail is mostly above and alongside the creek, and it's about as scenic as you can get. Dan loves every minute of this. It's a small race, and everyone is friendly. Dan says hi, and good job to everyone coming and going. The half-marathon turnaround is at mile 10, and the full turnaround is at mile 16.5. But before we get there,,,

Dan would like to point out that the beet juice wasn't done with him. He begins debating the pros and cons of stopping in the woods, when a wonderful thing presents itself: a porta-john! After powdering his nose, Dan realizes that he's lost several minutes. That's not all that big a deal for a marathon, but it causes Dan to reach the 13-mile mark in right around two hours. It would have been at least a couple of minutes faster, otherwise.

At Tallahassee, Dan ran the first half in around two hours, and the second half in about 1:55. Could he repeat that today. It is getting warmer and warmer as he reaches the turnaround. But Dan would like to point out that his mile splits have improved, Now, they're mostly in the 8:40 range.

Dan begins to slow down a little with about five miles to go. Maybe it's the heat, or maybe just general fatigue from trying to pick up the pace. Even though it's warm now (mid-70s), the trail is very well-shaded, and that surely helps. Dan passes a handful of other runners, but it's mostly pretty lonely out here. One of the guys he passes is even north of Dan's own advanced age. Imagine that. Another is a high-school kid who winds up finishing the final couple miles together with Dan.

Dan would like to point out that this race is about as good as it gets for scenery, fun, and overall joy of running. Dan's time, 3:55:34, is within a second or two of his time at Tallahassee. He's first in his ancient age group. Now, all he has to do is drive two and a half hours back home.

Dan would like to point out that he actually had a cheering section for this race: his peeps back at Hinckley sent him some good vibes. It worked.

All dressed up, nowhere to go

Danny-boy shows up at the Lester trailhead at 5:00 A.M. as usual for a Friday. He runs the first six-mile loop with his friends as usual. At this point, he's finally fully awake and ready/able to run some more - more six-mile loops - ... as usual.

But he doesn't! Instead, he says goodbye to his friends, stretches for a minute, fixes up his anti-sweat car seat cover, gets in his car, and heads home. This, and it hasn't even gotten light yet. He arrives back home at 6:30, and the sun has still not yet risen. This isn't too usual. Not usual, at all. Danny-boy will need to figure out what to do with himself considering all this extra time he has on his hands.

It was just a week ago when Danny-boy ran his final long run to prepare for this upcoming marathon. On other occasions, he's written about the Hay being in the barn. That analogy certainly applies here as well. Now, the famous Drake Well Marathon is just two short days away. 

Yes, everything is ready to go. Except for the weather. The forecast is for hot (80s) weather in Titusville this Sunday. Danny-boy obsesses about that. He shouldn't.

He should chill.

Last Long One

Should you do your final long run two weeks, or three weeks prior to your marathon?

How about one week? Okay, one week and two days, to be exact. I'd originally planned to keep today's mileage somewhat south of the eighteen-mile long-run barrier. I failed. But hey, I had my reasons. The main one being that my friends, Michelle Kelly-Daum, Shannon Barnes, Chadwick Sunday, and Ella were doing all or most of it with me. Another reason is that I had just looked up my just-prior-to-marathon training in my running log for recent races. Turns out, I always do this. I just forgot.

How did the run go, you ask? While I did not set the world on fire (it already is), I'd have to answer, not half bad. Lester Rail Trail was the venue, and I and my friends (except for Speedy-Shannon, who finished very strong) mostly stayed at a pretty steady pace. It felt good, so I'll take it. What other choice was there?

Hofbrauhaus Half Marathon Race Report

It isn't ideal conditions. Low 70s and humid at the start, and upper 70s and humid by later on in the run. At least the sun is not out. I suppose it's okay; this isn't an 'A' race anyway.

Walking for hours around the Cleveland Zoo to witness the Asian Lantern Festival and not getting to sleep until close to midnight was not optimal. But I suppose it's okay; this isn't an 'A' race anyway.

Running a challenging 18-miler with my friends two days ago (they were the ones who made it challenging, by the way) wasn't the best idea for today's race. I guess that's alright; this isn't an 'A' race anyway.

I didn't even don my Nike Alphafly magic shoes; just the Saucony Endorphin Pro 2 nearly magic ones. Shouldn't be too big a deal; this isn't an 'A' race anyway.

By now, you get the picture that this is more of a 'B'-ish type of race. I only want to run a steady pace. AN average of 9 minutes per mile would be nice. I was thinking about such goals, modest as they are, during my drive downtown this morning, when the radio plays, You Can't Always Get What You Want, by the Rolling Stones. I wondered whether I should be concerned. Maybe the morning's shot of beet juice will help.

I manage to find my friend, Larry Orwin before the race. We warm up a bit. but it's already pretty warm. We agree to try to find each other afterward. As the race starts, I fall into an 8:45 or so per mile pace. Suddenly, my goal of averaging 9 minutes per mile morphs into keep all the miles faster than 9 minutes. That is a little more challenging. Actually, much more.

The course takes us along Chester Avenue and eventually down through the Cleveland Cultural Gardens of Rockefeller Park. It's similar to the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame course. I love it. As I reach half-way at around 57 minutes, my main concern is whether I can hold it together, especially with miles 9 and 10 being slightly uphill.

Although those miles are indeed slower than the rest, they're still under nine minutes. Now back on Chester, I can push it for the final three miles.

Pedal to the metal, here I go. I do pick it up, but I can't say I'm setting the world on fire; just 8:30-ish pace. I manage to cross the finish line in 1:52:47. 

First in my ancient age group. Not bad for a B race.

The Beet Goes On

My friend Chadwick Sunday sent me a comprehensive article about beet juice, Using Beet Juice to Improve Performance in TrainingPeaks. Besides, of course, my recent blog post, I think it's the best information about beet juice yet. 

Here is an update about my own experimentation. I've taken the reconstituted beet juice powder a few times now. Although the stuff appeared to work well for a particular long run, I wondered what it would do over a week or so. I'm now taking a tablespoon a day, at least most mornings. Would the buildup over several days or a week be helpful? I noted that some of the studies had participants take the stuff for one to two weeks. I'm not sure that I'm making any improvements yet. But I have a long run tomorrow and a half-marathon on Sunday, so we'll see.

One other thing: the taste. After mixing a tablespoon of the powder in a glass of water and trying to gulp it down first thing in the morning, it's all I can do to keep the stuff down. Someone mentioned that although it definitely tastes like beets, it also tastes like there is plenty of dirt and grass included in the mix as well. I think that's a fair description. But, this morning, I tried mixing it with vegetable juice. Guess what? It ain't so bad this way. In fact, it tasted like vegetable juice.  I'll keep at it.

Mugrage Morning Moonset

Just like yesterday. Just like several times in recent weeks. Just like five billion other times in my life, it happens again this morning. My friends have completed their running, and they've gone and left me all alone. And here I am, trying mightily to get a few more miles in. Most of the time when this happens, said extra miles are pretty darn awful. They may possibly be doing me more harm than good. But I am a numbers guy, and I generally aspire to more mileage.

Regarding how unpretty these miles truly are, there can be rare exceptions, and sometimes I'll post about those. Today is not one of them, however. Even though the first few loops around Mugrage Park were not super fast, these last few are surely super slow. Eventually, I decide to stop at the car and get my phone to photograph the nearly full, setting moon. Being photography-minded is a worthy distraction from poor running.

It works, sort of. Here are a couple pics.

2 x 5K

Danny Boy has completed his initial 5K track workout with moderate success. Said workout is made up of ten 400-meter repeats, with 100-meter recoveries. Add that up, and it makes 5,000 meters, AKA 5K. The idea is that you run the repeats at about 5K pace, but of course, slower for the recoveries. Although you can track the 400 times, they're not all-out. You also consider the overall time for the 5K. This would probably be slower than a road 5K, where there are no recoveries, but perhaps not all that far off.

'Moderate Success,' in this case, means that Danny Boy averaged around 1:54 for his 400s, and that his overall time was 26:40. 

Danny Boy is keen on talking about how he used to do a version of this workout that entailed twenty 400s, rather than ten, That added up to 10,000 meters, a 10K workout. Not that his running partners care all that much, but Danny Boy no longer feels up to this much speedwork. 

Or does he? Now that his friends have wisely finished for the day, he starts back up again. A short ten minutes ago, he wasn't so sure he'd be able to run anymore at all, much less another intensive set of ten 400s. The mid-workout coffee may have helped him get (re)started.

The first 400 is well North of two minutes, and the next couple are only slightly better. But then something funny happens. Danny Boy picks up the pace to nearly that of those first ten. Perhaps the coffee kicked in even more. He winds up with an average 400 time of 1:58, and 27:41 for the 5K. That's a minute slower than the first set, but still not bad.

Although his running was by no means outstanding, Danny Boy is feeling pretty good about himself right now. He had better watch out for that reality hammer about to club him on the head.

A wee bit of redemption

 

Double loop finishers Julie Boggs and Dan Horvath

If it's Hinckley, this must be Sunday. Yes, the hills are alive here, especially when you do two (9-mile) loops. Theresa and Katherine joined Julie and I for the first nine, but for the second one, it was just the two of us. After a poor outcome on Friday, we both managed to complete the double today. The cooler weather sure helped. But so did the companionship.

A Y among double-X's

Why o why did it have to happen this way? On its surface, getting all hot and sweaty with a bunch of beautiful women would be the dream of many a young man, such as myself. For a while this morning, it did seem like a dream. Until it (suddenly) didn't. You might say that turned into a nightmare.

New guy Steve wisely calls it a day after the first loop, but now Julie, Shannon, Debbie, Kelly, Katherine, and I were joined by Sarah and Theresa. In case you're bad at math, that's seven lovely ladies... and me. I'm not thinking too very much about these gender issues (although the subject does arise in the conversation). I'm thinking of just getting through today's planned long run. It's getting quite warm as we begin our second six. Now, it gets serious.

As for excuses, I have a bunch. Would you like to hear them? Of course, you would. Yesterday's run at Mugrage was as soupy as it gets. Seven miles did me in for the day. So did the afternoon yard work and beer sampling. This morning had started with an attempt to guzzle beet juice and coffee. Neither went down well. I was still not entirely good when we started our 5:00 A.M. run on this warm and humid Friday.

A half-mile or so into this second loop, I begin to feel like myself again. Maybe the beet juice and caffeine are starting to kick in. I try to take the lead at times so that I can slow everyone down (we're on the Lester Rail Trail, which isn't exactly narrow, but you can't have more than two or three abreast).  Other times, the faster folk take over and it's all I can do to stay with them. That's all kind of normal with this bunch.

What isn't quite so normal is me hitting the wall at around mile eleven. I drastically slow down, and I watch everyone slowly get smaller and nearly disappear in front of me. My pace goes from around 9:30 minutes per mile to 11 and then to 12. It's all I can do to shuffle back to the trailhead. I am done done (I used to use this terminology to refer to a work project as really and truly finished). I say goodbye and good luck to the intrepid three-loopers. 

Like junkies trying to plan their next hit of drugs, just minutes after a bad trip, Julie and I immediately begin plotting our next attempt at a long run: two loops at Hinckley this Sunday.