500 million Chinese don't know you're playing

In my younger days, UCLA had a basketball coach named John Wooden. His teams were highly successful, winning championship after championship. Yet he was known to be very down to earth. I recall a story about him trying to calm his team down prior to yet another National Championship Game. To try to help them understand that although sports are important, they should be kept in perspective, he told them, "There are 500 million Chinese who don't even know you are playing." Of course, nowadays, there are two and a half times that many Chinese, and many of them do know at least something about U.S. college hoops. More concerning to me is that my recollection isn't as accurate as I thought. I now find that the quote should be attributed to American sports commentator and former coach Bill Raftery, not John Wooden. Oh well.

I bring all this up because even though I was pleased as punch with myself after yesterday's 10-mile race, it isn't quite the cat's meow of road racing. As far as I can tell, I ran two ten-mile races slower and a whole bunch faster. This run was nearly a personal worst! My fastest ten is nearly 20-minutes better. I just compiled a list. I am probably missing several, but here it is.

Hermes Cleveland 10 Miler Race Report

Before the start at Edgewater

“You gotta be kidding me,” I say out loud. I don’t think any of the other runners heard, though. That’s important because there may have been an expletive between the words, ‘be’ and ‘kidding’. I am referring to the hill that keeps on going at mile 7 of the Hermes Cleveland 10 Miler. We’d already been going up, climbing out of Wendy Park and the Flats, but now we have to go up and onto some bridges, where we go up some more. My first five miles had all been under 8:20, but mile six, which was also uphill, was slower. Now I wind up with a disastrous 9:06 split for mile seven.

Worst of all, Warren Elzy is now long-gone. I had been fairly close behind, but now I can hardly see him on the straight-aways. He’d pulled much farther ahead on these hills. Warren is in my age group. I remember racing against him on several occasions, but it’s been a while. He usually beats me, and it looks like that’s going to happen again today. I am not sure where my other age-group competitors are at this point.

The Hermes Cleveland 10 Miler starts and finishes at Edgewater Park in Cleveland. It’s a wonderful park, even on a cool, dreary morning. Cool and misty turn out to be just the ticket for good racing, however. For most runners. After my solid first half but drastic slowdown, will I be able to salvage this race?

Miles eight and nine are not so hilly, and my mile splits are in the 8:20s. As I suspected, mile ten is downhill. Downhill all the way. I am surprised to spot Warren ahead of me. He’s slowing down a whole lot, and I’m speeding up. I pass him just before the final downhill section leading to the finish line at the Edgewater Boathouse Pavilion. It’s a 7:10 mile. Yes, it’s downhill, but I can’t remember the last time I ran this fast.

We talk after the finish. Warren had sustained an injury, and that’s what had slowed him down. I learn that I won the age group with a time of 1:22:53, an 8:17 pace. I’m pretty happy with all that. I’ll take a win any way I can get it. Legally, of course.

Here's the finish. Guess who's happy it's over?

The worm and I

When stretched out, my nightcrawler is a good six inches long. Wait. That didn't sound quite right. I'm talking about a real worm here, folks.

Call him Ishmael. Ishmael is in lane six, and he is indeed about a half-foot long. He appears to be making his way toward lane one. Maybe the grass (or at least the grass roots) is greener inside the oval. Coincidentally, I am also in lane six, but I try to avoid squishing Ishmael. I'm beginning the final five miles of my long run here at the track. Will I be able to finish up before Ishmael does? Will I be able to finish up at all?

Despite great weather and an excellent start with running partners Michelle Kelly-Daum, Chadwick Sunday, and Otis, the quality of this run had deteriorated quickly. After a whole lot of back-and-forth running at Lake Medina, my mile splits were getting worse and worse. By the time I was at mile thirteen (my friends were done and long-gone), I'd begun to question my sanity. Not that there was much worth questioning. What would a sane runner do? Probably quit. What did I do? Drive over to the track to finish the run there, of course.

Why the track? I wish I could say. For some reason, when a long run is going particularly poorly, sometimes switching to a track can help. I wish I knew what that reason was. And I also wish I could say why this strategy works sometimes and not others.

Thankfully, it does work today. I manage to run each mile a little bit faster. I note Ishmael's progress each time I go by. After some initial progress, he seems to be floundering. I guess I will be able to finish before he does. As I begin my final mile, I decide that as I complete the run, I'll pick Ishmael up and place him back on the grass. I'm sure he will appreciate the gesture. I'd do it now, but I don't want to stop; mile 18 will be the fastest, and you don't run a fast mile if you stop to pick up worms.

I come around for my penultimate lap, and what do I see? Mrs. Robin is standing on the track, munching away at Ishmael. She hops away a little as I go by. Ishmael is in her mouth. It appears to be Mrs. Robin's lucky day. Ishmael's, not so much. As I finish my final lap, both Mrs. Robin and Ishmael are gone without a trace.

My desperate strategy worked. Although Saturday's run was much better overall, I finished today's run, and I finished it well. Ishmael's day could have been better.

~ Eighteen ~

A long time ago, I read a running article that informed me that 18 miles was a long run. Not 10, not 15, not 20 or 24. I can't remember why the author landed on that exact number. I think it was something about running for about three hours and also around 30 kilometers. A point was made that runners, especially those training for marathons, simply do not need anything further. 

I took the message to heart. Prior to that, my long runs were 20 miles or longer. 19.4 miles? Not a long run. 20.1 miles? Long run. But afterward, I only needed to get up to 18. Now, 18 is my standard long distance, and I do these runs weekly, almost year-round. At the end of a marathon training cycle, I do increase my long run distance a little.

Such was the case today. I was at Chippewa Lake, and I wanted a 20. Could I manage to do it? And how would I feel for those final few miles? It would be a good test.

Guess what? I passed. It took a lot of help from my friends. But I got 21 in, and the last few were decently fast. 

Julie, Kate, Sharon, Harold, Dan, Debbie, Laura, Kelly

Upswing

I hesitate to say that I'm on the upswing. That's due to the possible jinx effect of saying anything positive or hopeful about oneself. Maybe I'll temper the enthusiasm a little by simply saying that I'm doing a little better these days. Better than what, you ask? Dealer's choice; take your pick. If thumbscrews are applied, I suppose I might say I'm running my best so far this year. Yet I still have a way to go before I approach my best running of last, or previous years.

Today's slow speedwork is excusable. After Sunday's Half, I didn't expect much. And guess what? Much didn't happen. And I'm okay with that.

Run for Home Half-Marathon Race Report

It's pretty easy to exceed expectations when you don't have any. I tried hard not to put too much pressure on myself for this first real race of the year. The actual first one was yesterday's 5K. That one didn't go so well. This one was better. 1:52:37 for first (of two) in my ancient age group. This race was:

1) Farther away than I thought - about an hour and twenty minutes. I've done it before, but it didn't seem so far away then. Perhaps the Earth is getting bigger.

2) More fun than I thought. I unexpectedly met up with several friends before, during, and after the race. It was cool to finish on a track in a stadium.

3) Faster than I thought. Of course, when I ran it ten to fifteen years ago, it was faster still, but 1:52 is an okay, even a pretty-good time for me. The splits were even, and this is about where I was for much of 2025. I still need to improve more, but I'll take this one for now.

4) Good to get under my belt. Now, I'll be off to bigger and better things.

Debbie Hopkins Memorial 5K Run Race Report

In case I've never mentioned this before, I'll say it here: I hate 5Ks. That's why I'm signing up for more of them. You know my theory: whatever you hate doing the most is what you need to do more of. I'm referring to training and running (it's especially true for speedwork), but the axiom may indeed also apply to other aspects of life.

The Debbie Hopkins Memorial 5K Run is part of the Hermes Road Race Series that I've now joined. Although there are other distances, there will be a bunch of 5Ks, of which this is the first (for me). It's here in Brunswick, so that's a plus.

Good thing my expectations were low. I definitely hit a low during the first quarter-mile - huffing and puffing like I was gonna die. I didn't. But almost. The first mile was in the 8:40s, and the second was even slower. I finally felt a little better in the third and picked it up a bit. My overall time was 27:14. I won my age group.

Age groups and expectations aside, that's pretty darn slow. I ought to be able to run my half-marathons at a faster pace. I have a long way to go.

Dan takes off

They are running the second of two 6.55-mile loops of the Brunswick Marathon course. Dan checks that everyone is doing okay, then announces he will speed up for the final two miles. Dan (the other one) tries hard to keep up, but all he can do is follow in Dan's footsteps. By the time he's going up the hill at Brunswick Lake, Dan is already on the bridge and about to finish.

Of course, the first Dan (the faster one) is Dan Stock, aka Purple Dan. The other Dan is the author of this post. He's the one who is speed-challenged. Yet it wasn't too terrible a day for him. He is slowly (very slowly) regaining his running form. 

There is still a long way to go. With several races now looming (he just signed up for a bunch) we'll see how well he can race himself back into shape. 

The Final Exam is Looming

Julie Boggs, Sharon Emmert, Shannon Barnes, Dan Horvath. Photo credit: Julie

You know the nightmare. You've reached the end of the term, and the final exam is just around the corner. Then it dawns on you that you haven't studied, done any homework, or even attended any classes since the semester began. How the heck are you going to take a final exam on a subject that you know absolutely nothing about?

The Cleveland Marathon is just around the corner (well, it's a month and a half away, so I still have a bit of time), and I haven't run anything of substance (read: quality) since the year began. Today wouldn't count for much, either. Maybe something, though. Two Hinckley loops are not nothing.

Indeed. It wasn't especially pretty. Thank goodness my friends were there to help me through it: Laura Hutson on the first loop, then Sharon Emmert and Shannon Barnes for the second. And reliable Julie Boggs for both loops. Not pretty, yet pretty good.  Nice to have this behind me now. But of course, next week starts the big push.

Stop and smell the diesel(s)

It's 6:00 AM, and Dan is running clockwise in lane 9 of the 8-lane Brunswick Middle School Track. That's when the school buses in the adjacent parking begin warming up. This isn't supposed to happen until 6:30, laments Dan. His expectation is based on experience. Long, long ago experience. He hasn't run here in a long while, so it's just possible he could be wrong.

The thing is, Dan doesn't especially like to breathe diesel fumes. He's aware that others may feel differently, but probably not. Yesterday, he had been running with friends on Reagan Parkway when a truck went by, spewing diesel fumes. Blech, everyone said. Dan, channeling Robert Duval, kiddingly commented, "I love the smell of diesel in the morning!" Dan didn't want to breathe them then, and he didn't want to breathe them today, either. That's why he'd planned to leave the track at 6:30, before (he thought) the bus warmup routine.

Alas. He endures a few miles of fumes. They're not quite as bad as they could be; it depends on the wind.

The run itself is okay. Dan manages to get down to tempo pace for his time at the track. The weekend long run is looming. 

Weight is down. So are the times.

Things are indeed looking up. At least a little. It sure helps to run with friends. May our group runs never end.

Much less than a pound a day

I had been telling anyone who would listen that the cost of cruising is about a pound of weight gain per day. I can now say that it's actually much less than that. After 35 days of cruising the South Seas, I gained about eight pounds. That's about a quarter-pound a day. Not as bad as expected. But still bad.

Despite all that poundage, I thought I'd be able to keep up with my friends during my first run in cold weather in a long, long time. I thought wrong. They ran the pace they usually do - about ten minutes per mile - but fat, old Dan was huffing and puffing, and eventually falling behind.

Blame it on the cold weather, not on being fat and out of shape. Yeah, that's the reason.

Australia Running

CHAPTER 1: pre-cruise

Canyon Dan (California)

They call him Canyon Dan. That’s because he is known to say things like, “The trouble with canyons is that when you run down into them, you have to run up to get back out.” Dan is staying in Northern San Diego for a few days before flying off further to Australia. He has a bit of a cold, so yesterday, he only shuffled on the hotel treadmill. Today, he’s shuffling for real (meaning he’s outside), although not all cylinders are firing.

Make no mistake about Canyon Dan. He is running on roads, not trails. But there are canyons galore around here, and it’s impossible to avoid them. Another mistake not to make about Canyon Dan is to believe that what he’s doing can truly be considered “running”. It would be a stretch to even call it “shuffling”. And when he goes this slow, it’s tough to get any kind of decent mileage. He’s already decided that this week will be a bust. Maybe he can pick it up once he’s down under.

Canyon Dan has changed his name. He’s now to be known as Ridgerunner Dan. Make no mistake about Ridgerunner Dan. He is running on roads, not trails. But there are ridges galore around here, and it’s impossible to avoid them. This run seems to go better than the one Canyon Dan did the other day. And the early morning scenery up high is better than that down low.


Dan the Bloke Man (Perth)

Dan the Bloke Man is a silly name for Dan, but it does indicate that he is now doing his running Down Under. Stay tuned, maybe he’ll come up with something more appropriate.
Perth is pretty far away from home. Even Aussies from the rest of the country think so. But it’s a wonderful place to run. Blokeman Dan does his best. And that means running alongside the Swan River. Nice all-purpose trails and beautiful scenery. It’s all great, except that is, for Dan himself. He has a day like his first couple in California; all cylinders are not firing, once again.

Crossing the Swan River on a pedestrian bridge

Sunrise on the Swan River

But Dan’s second day is much better. He runs west along the river this time, and the trail goes on and on. Dan is able to pick up the pace enough to call this an actual “run”. Ten whole miles. Dan gets even more running in later, during his stay in Perth. He could get used to living (and running) here full-time.


Oenophile Dan(Adelaide)

Oenophile Dan (he prefers this name to ‘Wino Dan’) sets out on his second run in Adelaide. He’s here mostly to sample the wine, but also to see the sights in South Australia. His first run had its ups and downs. On the upside, running along River Torrens was scenic and interesting. On the downside, the preponderance of bugs detracted from the experience. Dan thinks they’re like the deer flies he deals with back home. But since there are no deer here, maybe they’re kangaroo flies. Yeah, he’ll go with that. But they’re no fun. This time, Oenophile Dan finds a city park that’s away from the river. Maybe there won’t be so many flies here, he thinks. He thinks wrong; they’re bad here too. Otherwise, the run is okay. After arriving, he circumnavigates the park for a loop of about 1 ¾ miles. Dan decides to do a few more loops to reach ten miles. Early in his first loop, Dan notices some people who appear to be Aboriginal standing in the park as he runs by. Not much else happening at this early hour. As Dan runs by the second time, there are several more people, all sitting down on a nearby hillside. The third time, one of the people, a lady, calls out to Dan, “Hey, are you a marathon runner?” Dan stops, smiles, and answers, “Yes, I do run marathons, but not today.” She mentions something about running around and around. Dan moves on, thinking, yeah, that’s what I do. The fourth and final time, Dan is considering doing only a little more in the park before getting ready to return to his hotel. The people are gone, but a lady (it may have been the same one who called to him earlier) is out in the street, disrupting traffic. As Dan cautiously approaches, he notices that she is naked from the waist up. She’s yelling something at the drivers, who clearly don’t know what to do. There are multiple lanes of traffic, so this is a dangerous situation. Dan is afraid that something very bad may happen, but he is not sure whether to intervene in some way. Then he sees a man emerging from the park. He’s yelling loudly at the woman and walking over to her. Dan is relieved that he’s apparently rescuing her from the traffic, but then Dan begins to wonder if perhaps she was trying to get away from him for a good reason. Dan hopes everything is okay with the people. He’s relieved further as he returns to his hotel.

Oenophile Dan does even some other running in Adelaide, but none of it is so eventful. This is a good thing.

River Torrens pedestrian bridge

Devil Dan (Hobart)

Dan would have preferred ‘Tasman Dan’, but we’re not going to let him get away with this one. He’s here in Tasmania in part to find Tasmanian Devils, so we don’t mind referring to him as such. Hobart is the capital and largest city in Tasmania. The summer weather couldn’t be better – cool, crisp mornings and clear days. Dan finds a nice city park with memorials to World War I soldiers. He enjoys these trails (which, unlike Canyon Dan, he's actually using), even though they’re hilly – something he’s not used to. He spots some lorikeets. They’re stunningly beautiful!

Devil Dan glances at his watch as he begins a new circuit. 6.66 miles. He’s in the same park, but he’s doing different trails this time, including one called “Max’s Infinite Loop”. It’s about 1.8 miles of various surfaces, including dirt, asphalt, and some nice, soft woodchips.
As if Dan needed a reminder that he’s not in Kansas anymore, a wallaby and a few kangaroos cross his path. Then he sees the cool lorikeets again. Although the Roos are fairly close, Dan doesn’t approach them any more than he has to. He doesn’t want them to become “jumpy”.

Devil Dan is now Speed Demon Dan. He’s a speed demon because he has found a 400-meter track, of all things. It’s in the same park he’s been running in, but he hadn’t known it was there. There are several other runners here. He does a Half-Yasso workout, and guess what? It ain’t half bad. Of course, Dan ain’t where he was a couple of months ago, but anything of this sort is encouraging.

Speed Demon Dan does decent. He runs once more in Hobart, again at the track. This time, he does a 5K tempo run there, and it’s not so awful, either. 

Diesel Dan (Sydney)

"I love the smell of diesel in the morning," states Dan in his best Robert Duval imitation. ("I love the smell of napalm in the morning" is an iconic, oft-quoted line from the 1979 film Apocalypse Now, delivered by Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore (played by Duvall). Dan is in Sydney for one night before embarkation to his cruise ship. Thus, he has one run here. Unfortunately, he's staying close to the airport, where there are diesel fumes galore. The running isn't so great, but then, neither is Dan. He gets a few miles in. The good news is that his ship has come in. Time for chapter two.

CHAPTER 2: cruise'n

Dan the Seafaring Man (Sydney and Beyond)

Dan the Seafaring Man does a short run in Sydney before embarking on the Oceania Riviera. This is for a little 35-day cruise from Sydney to Sydney. Dan the Seafaring Man’s running suddenly becomes less adventurous and more tedious. Unless, that is, you consider running around in circles or running on a treadmill exciting. Dan promises not to burden you, dear reader, with tales of his circuitous running. But let's see what other mischief he can get himself into.

Not much. Dan the Seafaring Man does manage a few real runs - on land, that is. But those are merely short shuffles. Nothing to write home about. So he won't.

Dan will say this, however: a sinus infection isn't good for running. Even when it gets better, the running still leaves much to be desired. In fact, that's pretty much the story for the cruise portion of the trip. Let's put it this way: less-than-optimal.

For more about this trip, see Dan's travel blog posts: Part 1 and Part 2.

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.