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.

Creatine

According to my AI overview, creatine supplementation can enhance athletic performance, particularly in activities requiring short bursts of high-intensity power, like sprinting and weightlifting. It works by increasing the amount of phosphocreatine in muscles, which helps in the rapid regeneration of ATP, the primary energy currency of cells. This leads to improved strength, power, and work capacity during exercise, as well as faster recovery between intense bouts of activity. Even though my activity does not require short bursts of high-intensity power, this article informs me that there may be benefits for distance runners. I thought I'd give it a try. What could go wrong?

One side-effect is bloating and/or water-weight gain. Now that I've been taking the stuff for a week, I can testify that I've been hit with this one. I have been feeling like crap, and this could have been a factor in Saturday's less-than-stellar race. 

I'm hoping that the bloating will subside after a few more days. If not, I'll have to quit the experiment.

Goodyear Half Marathon Race Report

 

The Goodyear Half Marathon has it all: hills, heat, humidity, and a good dose of humility. This is not to mention heavy legs. Even though it's a fabulous event, I have to say that for me, they can't all be gems.

I carpool with veteran Akron Marathon Series runners Julie Boggs and Theresa Wright after a 5:00 A.M. meetup. Prior day packet pickup, day of race parking, crowded and narrow start, and other logistics make participation in this race a complicated matter. Julie and Theresa know the ropes. Fortunately, the race starts early, given the warm and humid conditions, which are only going to worsen with the sunrise.

Julie, Dan, and Theresa just before the start

The start at the Proving Grounds is unique and spectacular. Although the road is narrow, the waves make things go smoothly. I begin too fast, just as I did at last week's race. I don't expect to run as fast; I just want to hold my own. The humidity takes its toll early on, and I slow a little bit more for each mile split. 

By the time I reach the middle miles, I start to slow down even more, and I become discouraged. Michael Juppe, who is in my age group, passes me and pulls away. At the halfway point, my time is about 56 minutes. That is slower than last week, but not downright awful. If only I could duplicate it for the second half, I'll feel like the run was semi-successful, even without an age-group win.

It's getting warmer, and the sun is beating down on me. I slow down even more going up hills (of which there are many), but I manage to pick the pace back up heading back down. I take a gel at mile 9, and it does the trick. Mile 11 is slow because it's uphill, but 10, 12, and 13 are some of my best of the day.

Just before the finish line, I spot Michael Juppe up ahead of me. Can I catch him? The final quarter-mile is downhill, so you betcha. He had beaten me by seconds at the Erie Marathon last year, but this time I pass him just before we cross the line. The results show that my 1:52:22 is just seconds ahead of his time.

It's a full five minutes slower than Hofbrauhaus, but with the AG win, I'll call it semi-successful. And the burgers and beer with Julie and Theresa (at 8:40 A.M.) made it all the more fun.

History of the Half

I've run a lot of half-marathons, but I've done more marathons. Here is a list, but it's not complete. I am sure that I missed a bunch from the time I lived in Michigan. 

My latest one, Hofbrauhaus, is the best in 8 years.

2025 Hofbrauhaus Cleveland Half Marathon Race Report

When I was living in Michigan, one of the state's best runners once told me that in order to run fast, you have to start fast. This went against my usual mantra of start slow, then ease up. But it worked for him, and perhaps even a bit for me on a few occasions. But not lately. Definitely not lately. After telling my friends (who sometimes actually listen to me) that my goal was to break 1:50 for a half-marathon this year, I provided this recent update: yes, the weather should be good for the Hofbrauhaus Half, but I am just not feeling it. I'm not at my sharpest point right now. I'll just try for something approaching that goal, and hopefully get it done once I'm in better shape.

I see some friends before the start, and it's all good. Once the race begins, all my easy-does-it plans go out the window. This is typical, but I'm probably starting too fast. Still, I'm feeling fine, so why not go with my fast friend's advice? 

Egads. The first mile split is under eight minutes. That's not just a little too fast; it's much too fast. I ease up a little, because that all-out speed is just too all-out. The next few miles, heading East on Euclid Avenue, are at a low eight-minute pace. Even that is still too fast. I can't maintain it, can I? Eventually, we head down to Cleveland's Cultural Gardens. I always like running down here, and I'm still doing well, but will I still be able to still run fast when I have to head back up to Euclid?

Coming back through the Start/Finish area at Mile 1

Halfway goes by in 52 or 53 minutes, and I'm still scared. Chadwick Sunday comes up from behind and runs with me for a while. He had been helping to pace Ladd Clifford and had been sent up ahead to determine if it was truly me that they had been following. It was. The turnaround is at Mile 7, and I get to see Ladd and Chadwick, as well as several other friends. 

And then comes the dreaded Mile 9. This is the hill I'd been worried about - it takes us back up to Euclid Avenue, and it seems to go on forever. Although it's my slowest mile of the day at 8:24, it's still not bad. The next couple of miles are back in the low eight-minute range. Chadwick chases me down and passes me in the final miles as he often does. I wonder where Ladd is, and then I see him directly in back of me as I finish. Those guys started way behind me, so they actually had better gun times.

At the finish, I also see Larry Orwin, who had run much faster, as usual. His son Troy, and several old and new friends also did well. The celebratory beer and brat sure taste good.

It was a good day for all, and a lot of fun. But now that I have achieved my sub-1:50 goal, what the heck do I do now?