tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-141606202024-03-17T23:01:16.545-04:00Dan Horvath's Running BlogDan Horvath's ramblings about running, life, and other stuffDan Horvathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17572195230700841746noreply@blogger.comBlogger1658125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14160620.post-79798134325423147492024-03-06T08:05:00.004-05:002024-03-06T08:05:42.655-05:00And so little of it<p>I realize that this is insensitive and may be offensive to some, so I apologize in advance. But it does apply to my recent running, so I'll repeat it. Sorry.</p><p>Woody Allen tells the story of Jewish ladies talking to each other at a wedding. One lady complains, "The food is awful." Another one agrees, "And there's so little of it."</p><p>And so it is with my recent running. It's awful and there's so little of it. Other than a couple of nice runs over the weekend, I've slowed down and <i>also</i> managed to run less than planned. I have reason to believe that this trend may continue into the future as well.</p><p>The funny thing is that something like this also happened at the same time last year. I had run a marathon whilst in Florida, got myself recovered and back in shape, only to return to Ohio and crash and burn. Looks like history is repeating itself.</p>Dan Horvathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17572195230700841746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14160620.post-33455478619761434432024-03-01T17:27:00.000-05:002024-03-01T17:27:24.224-05:00Tales of 2024 PCB Running<p style="text-align: left;">Here are some random stories of my running in Panama City Beach in January and February 2024. You may find some of them interesting and amusing. Or not... Read at your own risk.</p><p style="text-align: left;">~</p><p style="text-align: left;">"Earn this," says the Tom Hanks character to the Matt Damon character in <i>Saving Private Ryan</i>. It's my theme for today's run.</p><p style="text-align: left;">I had packed an overnight bag for our stopover in Pulaski, TN on our way to Panama City Beach. I knew I probably wouldn't feel a whole lot like running there on New Year's Day, but I had to do it anyway. A lot of clothing (cold weather had been forecasted) for a very short run.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Short it was - only 3 or so slow miles around Pulaski. But at least I started the year off right. I earned it.</p><p style="text-align: left;">~</p><p style="text-align: left;">It's January 2nd, and I'm running my Beachside Six route. Twice. This route is my old stand-by; I've done it many, many, many times whilst staying at Beachside Resort here in PCB. It feels very familiar this morning.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The weather is cool, yet pretty and clear. I start slow, but each mile gets slightly faster. By the time I'm on my second go-around, it's getting lighter and I'm moving ever faster. My final three miles are fast enough to be considered tempo pace, and my last mile is my best.</p><p style="text-align: left;">It's Something of Substance, and it's a good thing to kick off my running down here.</p><p style="text-align: left;">~</p><p style="text-align: left;">Panama City Beach Conservation Park. It's where long runs get <i>done</i>. I've written about PCBCP before, most recently in last year's <a href="https://danhorvath.blogspot.com/2023/03/all-stories-great-and-small-running-in.html" target="_blank">PCB running post</a>. Well, guess what? I'm back. After a couple of easy days, it's now time for a long run. I know: it's been less than a week since the <a href="https://danhorvath.blogspot.com/2023/12/2023-brunswick-marathon-race-report.html" target="_blank">Brunswick Marathon</a> but hey, I've got the <a href="https://www.bigbeachmarathon.com/" target="_blank">Big Beach Marathon</a> (BBM) coming up at the end of January.</p><p style="text-align: left;">It occurs to me that I can classify the long runs I've done here as A) Went as well as could possibly be expected, B) I got through it, but I only just managed to get the distance done, or F) A complete and total failure. Surprisingly, I've had very few F's and arguably more A's than B's. What would today bring?</p><p style="text-align: left;">I begin in the dark. The stars are beautiful. By about 6:00 AM, I'm a couple of miles into the run and it's already beginning to get light. As I often do, I'm running the first 9.5-mile loop around the park perimeter counter-clockwise, and the second one clockwise. This is so that the bright rising sun doesn't bother my eyes too much during the long east-facing parts of the trail as it's getting ever higher. </p><p style="text-align: left;">It doesn't work. As I'm completing the final miles of loop one, the sun is already as blinding as it can get, and it's unavoidable - no shade or turns to help me avoid it. The counter-clockwise loop is better in this regard; there are fewer areas of bright sunlight shining directly into my eyes. I should probably just run all my loops here in this direction.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Although I start slow, my pace gradually improves during the first nine. This bodes well for the second half of my run. I take a gel and some water, and sure enough, my per-mile pace continues to improve during the first half of loop 2. Until it doesn't. I slow down and struggle to make it all the way to the finish. How to grade such a thing?</p><p style="text-align: left;">It's a B; I made the desired distance (19 miles, although I'd had thoughts of running one or two more), but I didn't quite continue improving my pace throughout the run. Maybe I can improve on this.</p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLjmyQyrbOW5trd_Rp2un1Anow0C7I20XZZw4rqP0nz_LRNkGdd9EAO6Md6zYqs1hUghUzN14ZDL2hTda5S8EmjX4oy1fHNgZIJdV2lRIMGpf-UwQAmuS0Okxf8dKnImLZTb-96nVjfQCa54RuW6WnLKSqTOS7FaQYeOcOpRq8TqeaCOWsc4kN/s2304/0007%20FL%202024%20Conservation%20Park%201.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1728" data-original-width="2304" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLjmyQyrbOW5trd_Rp2un1Anow0C7I20XZZw4rqP0nz_LRNkGdd9EAO6Md6zYqs1hUghUzN14ZDL2hTda5S8EmjX4oy1fHNgZIJdV2lRIMGpf-UwQAmuS0Okxf8dKnImLZTb-96nVjfQCa54RuW6WnLKSqTOS7FaQYeOcOpRq8TqeaCOWsc4kN/w640-h480/0007%20FL%202024%20Conservation%20Park%201.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">PCB Conservation Park</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV0xYgQVPwolVzB32Wx5GPTipV3QEw9LjMLB-AFuabK4MUgHom-5GAhrfzNkXxiPTqVngmefEEyopefy_makgWrbqQbbnpDB3EvsoF8d6XP_dtI0_e6HCt-urpE22YykYt6N4xs5NZOfwvRoTNE5CrwoW1QPB6AaOZ7ERxBfgTOu6h661Xy1an/s4000/0009%20FL%202024%20Conservation%20Park%203.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV0xYgQVPwolVzB32Wx5GPTipV3QEw9LjMLB-AFuabK4MUgHom-5GAhrfzNkXxiPTqVngmefEEyopefy_makgWrbqQbbnpDB3EvsoF8d6XP_dtI0_e6HCt-urpE22YykYt6N4xs5NZOfwvRoTNE5CrwoW1QPB6AaOZ7ERxBfgTOu6h661Xy1an/w640-h480/0009%20FL%202024%20Conservation%20Park%203.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">PCB Conservation Park</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">~</p><p style="text-align: left;">After that long run, I also managed to do another tempo run yesterday. Today's goal is a Yasso workout. I will do two Beachside Six circuits and in the process, complete ten 1/2-mile pickups. As usual (and due to my time goal for my upcoming marathon), I will attempt to do each repeat in four minutes or a little better. I've done this kind of thing before.</p><p style="text-align: left;">It's dark, cool, and windy, and I can't get motoring very well for the first one and my time is 4:20 or so. Not good. I manage to speed up just a little for my next few, but they're still well slower than 4 minutes. I am finally getting closer to that four-minute goal as I complete my sixth repeat during the first 6-mile loop. But that didn't go so well; I've now got four more to do during my second loop - maybe they will be better.</p><p style="text-align: left;">They aren't. The times wind up about the same. And I'm exhausted. I shuffle through the rest of the run, slightly disappointed. My average 800 time is around 4:09. I need to do better.</p><p style="text-align: left;">One slightly good piece of news comes when I look back at my runs from last year at this time. Those 800s are actually a bit slower, but I improved from there. Can I do that again?</p><p style="text-align: left;">~</p><p style="text-align: left;">As I'm getting out of bed, the tornado warning goes off on our phones. It's in effect until 6:00 AM. By the time 6:30 rolls around, I can see that it has stopped raining, so out and about I go. </p><p style="text-align: left;">It is SUPER windy! But that makes it sort of fun. I am aware that I could possibly be hit by debris, so I'm on the lookout for that. I don't get far - just a couple of close-by miles. </p><p style="text-align: left;">By the time I return, it's raining sideways again, and the wind has picked up even more. I am greeted by a worried wife, who informs me that there is yet another tornado warning.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEieE-uktEimGrlxWikDH3AIeNB99CLTqaXOF2VLyF0hYnf_N__pYAUUQak9h77NmwO6MKenelTArchs7yPyv_G3B7EcW-GQaAi-IK-FIAaIBrsJ0m-a6jfUC75479wEHA7VBp48DhMx6d3JLMVE0NXAII9XkVfkcvi36aSiGTc2ZeicFzG3fFkn" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="497" data-original-width="818" height="388" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEieE-uktEimGrlxWikDH3AIeNB99CLTqaXOF2VLyF0hYnf_N__pYAUUQak9h77NmwO6MKenelTArchs7yPyv_G3B7EcW-GQaAi-IK-FIAaIBrsJ0m-a6jfUC75479wEHA7VBp48DhMx6d3JLMVE0NXAII9XkVfkcvi36aSiGTc2ZeicFzG3fFkn=w640-h388" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Jan. 9: Strong wind, rain, and tornadic activity</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br />~<p style="text-align: left;"></p><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">This is going to be a very important long run. Yes, they’re all
important, but this one, two and a half weeks out from BBM,
is especially so. My first step onto the trail at PCB Conservation
Park is a slick and muddy one. So is the second, third, and all those
that follow. It appears that the trails have still not dried out from
Tuesday’s storms. Keen readers of my blog posts may be aware that I
hate mud. I decide early on that I am not going to put up with it
today.</div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><br />But I will not be
deterred from completing my twenty miles today. Good thing I had an
alternate plan: Gayle’s Trails. Named after a former PCB mayor,
these bike trails are flat and straight, and go on forever. They
connect Conservation Park with Frank Brown Park as well as other
areas. They’re just the ticket for me today.</div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<br />Some of my running
friends don’t like straight-shot running venues. They wouldn’t
like Gayle’s Trails. Some of them don’t like running around in
circles. They wouldn’t like Frank Brown Park, where I’m doing
several others of today’s miles. But for me on this day, it all
seems to work out.</div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><br />The first few miles
in the dark are slow. By about mile three, it’s getting light and I
find myself at Frank Brown Park. Once there, I run several loops. The
longest loop around is about two miles. I do some in the interior of
the park as well – that’s where the public restrooms and water
fountains can be found amongst the baseball fields. By about mile
ten, I am emerging from this park. I can go West and return back to
Conservation Park. It’s a little over two miles that way. Or I can
go East to some new (to me) areas. I choose the latter.</div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><br />At about this time,
I also finally manage to get my pace down below ten minutes per mile.
Now, I had better keep it there. In fact, it would be nice to finish
even faster, but we’ll see about that.</div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><br />I explore East and
South about as far as I can before I turn back. As I pass the spur
back to Frank Brown Park, I am happy to report that I’ve kept the
pace steady. But now, with only a few miles left, I try to go even
faster. <i>Success</i>. I manage to run miles 17 and 18 at around nine minutes
per mile. Once back at Conservation Park, I ease up just a little for
my final two.</div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><br />It’s been a pretty
good long run. Not spectacular, but pretty darn good.</div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgDoLj9Arg0Rj0SwsxvBtocapCdKtobN674u2Z62jyN5qBzHBuEewOVFrwFvgcEOC7pDnOCXFiGcB-nW7ltNoxUlZoBfPw6Y6RCWiZuZeAcj3MWk5Cw9ZM-FjjOQtvrdU_f6Y2ZVh9NCtF19GYcX50kTkrBJ2N_63Rzkci0PHBucVY3liMcoloe" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="852" data-original-width="1183" height="460" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgDoLj9Arg0Rj0SwsxvBtocapCdKtobN674u2Z62jyN5qBzHBuEewOVFrwFvgcEOC7pDnOCXFiGcB-nW7ltNoxUlZoBfPw6Y6RCWiZuZeAcj3MWk5Cw9ZM-FjjOQtvrdU_f6Y2ZVh9NCtF19GYcX50kTkrBJ2N_63Rzkci0PHBucVY3liMcoloe=w640-h460" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Gayle's Trails</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br />~</div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">Yasso this workout is better than that last one. It's cold and windy, and a couple of the 800s went above the magic four-minute barrier, but the rest were below. Improvement is good. Now, when does it get easy? 'Cause this one was a sonofab!tch!</div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">~</div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">They are building a blacktop bike path along Back Beach Road. Although it will eventually extend much closer, today I have to run three miles to get to the closest completed section. It's Sunday, so they're not working on it. The mile or so that I run on it is smooth, and I have it all to myself. So the good news is that the path is nice for running, but the bad news is that it still runs along a very busy four-lane divided highway that's never more than 25 feet away. Knowing all this, I suppose that if I don't like it, it's my own asphalt.</div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">~</div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">Time for another long run, probably my last before BBM. There is rain in the forecast, but how bad can that be? The first raindrops appear during my first few steps. That's okay. I can handle it. Then the wind kicks in. It's not too cold, and being dressed appropriately, I can handle it. Then the temperature drops about 15 degrees within a half-hour. I can handle that too. Then the wind, the rain, and the cold all intensify further, and all at once. <i>I can't handle it!</i></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">My planned 18-miler turns into a quite miserable 9-miler. After some pretty good running over the past couple of weeks, I finally landed a stinker.</div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">~</div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">I encounter my first sea cucumber of the year. I nudge it with my shoe to see if it's alive. Frozen solid. If it could talk, I think it would say that at the moment, it is not a happy sea cucumber. Why am I running on the beach? I usually don't (in fact, this is my first such run this year), because a) the sand is soft, and b) it's slanted. But since it's 25F with a windchill in the teens, I figure it won't be an A run anyway.</div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">Not another soul on the beach for my first three (of the four) miles; I have it all to myself. It's beautiful.</div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">~</div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">After this week's weather and other challenges, today is the day. It's really and truly my final long run before BBM. This time, I'm back at PCB Conservation Park for my usual: two 9.5-mile loops. I'm a little nervous and apprehensive. But guess what? It goes well. The first loop is slow and easy, and the second is excellent, with 3 of the final 4 miles under 9 minutes. I'll call it an A.</div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">~</div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">"Running: We don't do it because it's easy; we do it because we <i>thought</i> it would be easy." I smile about this fav meme of mine as I arrive at the Arnold H.S. track for the first time this year. It's to be my third Yasso workout though, and I'm anticipating that it'll also be my best. Yeah, it's 33F and the wind is extreme, but really - how hard could this run be?</div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">Pretty darn hard. The first 800 almost kills me, and the four-minute flat time is mildly disappointing. I'd hoped to do all ten under four today. Maybe the rest will be better, and maybe it will get easier. Nope. At least, not yet. Numbers two and three are also four-flat, and also not at all easy. But finally, the sun begins to rise, and so (slightly) does the temperature as well as my speed. Numbers four through ten are under four, and I finally feel a little better still.</div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">Overall, it's a second per 800 faster than my last Yasso. But no easier. Someday.</div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">~</div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">It's early Sunday morning, and I'm exploring. When there's no traffic, it opens the opportunities up a bit. Today I cross over usually-busy Back Beach Road to run on some of the roads that I almost never get to. I run along Lake Powell where possible. Exploring is a good thing.</div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">~</div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">I'm putting in a couple of beach miles. Although I usually don't, this seems like a good way to taper. BBM, you see, is tomorrow. The weather should be good, so I will have to dig deep to find adequate excuses.</div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">~</div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">I run the BBM. Click <a href="https://danhorvath.blogspot.com/2024/01/big-beach-marathon-race-report.html" target="_blank">here</a> to see the race report.</div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">~</div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">Gonna be a down week. At least that's my Monday thought. On Tuesday, I'm still sore, but I manage a slow ten miles. Will I be able to (fairly) quickly get back to where I was?</div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">~</div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">Nope. Those somewhat high hopes of a strong week fall away with today's painfully slow one and a half beach miles. Okay, maybe I still need the rest. But January is done, and I ran each and every day of it. Today's miles were the fewest of any. Now, what will February bring?</div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">~</div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">This Gulf is pretty darn cold. I think the water is a not-too-bad 60F these days, but the air is 45F right now. It's only the second time this year that I've gone in to cool off the 'ole legs after a run. I ought to do more of this... When it warms up a bit.</div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">~</div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">There's a pinecone standing up on the trail in front of me. It looks like T'd-up a football, I think. Time to try a field goal! I run up to it and kick away. I knew going in that I would have to go low to get underneath it enough to launch it up toward my imaginary uprights. As much as I try to do this, I don't. My foot hits the top and the pinecone/football just dribbles down and along the path for a foot or two. Meanwhile, I have nearly pulled a muscle from the unusual leg motion. I luckily (barely) avoid winding up on my back ala Charlie Brown.</div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">It's a good metaphor for today's run: a complete and total failure that had started with high hopes. Personal ambition went from this being a B run to an F. And that was mostly about the time when the fateful kick from hell occurred.</div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">So it was the long run that wasn't. That's okay; it's only five days from BBM. Maybe I'll be recovered in another 24 hours or so.</div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">~</div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">For my second long-run attempt since BBM, I decide to run from Beachside Resort instead of driving to Conservation Park or anywhere else. This time, I've had a few additional days to recover. But how to get to 18 miles? Well, I can do three 6's, a 10 and a 6 and a 2, 9 out-and-back, or just run. If all this reminds you of the First Citywide Change Bank, it should. Here are the links to the two SNL skits - <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXDxNCzUspM" target="_blank">1</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KodqIPMbyUg" target="_blank">2</a>. Regardless of what I decide, it's generally better to have a plan since failure to plan is a plan to fail. I land on the three 6's idea.</div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">As usual, I change my mind within the first quarter-mile. Hey, I think, why not run over to Conservation Park, then hit Gayle's Trails at that point? By my rough on-the-run estimate I may be able to get as far as Frank Brown Park and back for the day. Guess what? It works out.</div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">I arrive at Conservation Part at a bit before mile 6. At this point, I could hit the dirt trails there, but after some water, I decide to do Gayle's Trails as originally conceived. Another three-ish and I'm at Frank Brown Park, getting more water and a bathroom break. Now, all I have to do is get back home.</div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">The sun is rising and I'm picking up the pace, but the fatigue is also setting in. Nevertheless, mile 14 (back down to Back Beach Parkway) is my fastest, so far. I somehow manage to hold this better pace for the final four miles. An average run somehow became a pretty good ones.</div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">~</div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><p>Although most of my running is on the roads and the trails at Conservation Park, I still do run a couple of miles on the beach now and then. Today, I took my camera along for my beach run.</p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrQOFTgZAX8XNtH-EUoeULlspz6S-TbaAPRQfkYyj4H0bqxxN4pe0r-MNxxQQocLdmD3zdHhM5hpmfYOWa2CSQukA8X7DoXDUOKeUCoABiFHMpz8G5RWsxPblnpZ6xb4uufEuqmGxLv_YzF-Nyb9eJ0za7wEcIP_eVbpz-j6pEKrSCYqY9AsLX/s4000/4779b%20FL%202024%20Sunrise%2002-07%202.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrQOFTgZAX8XNtH-EUoeULlspz6S-TbaAPRQfkYyj4H0bqxxN4pe0r-MNxxQQocLdmD3zdHhM5hpmfYOWa2CSQukA8X7DoXDUOKeUCoABiFHMpz8G5RWsxPblnpZ6xb4uufEuqmGxLv_YzF-Nyb9eJ0za7wEcIP_eVbpz-j6pEKrSCYqY9AsLX/w480-h640/4779b%20FL%202024%20Sunrise%2002-07%202.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The Shadow Knows</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>~</p><p>What got into Dan today? Let me tell you: 2 mugs of coffee, about two dozen grapes, one breakfast bar, two gels, and two 100-mg caffeine pills. The result? One pretty-good 9.5-mile loop around Conservation Park followed by one pretty=great 9.5-mile loop. That second one, at a 9:03 pace, was my fastest-ever run there.</p><p>~</p><p>I fartleked the other day. Been trying to quit, but sometimes I just can't help myself. There's a separate post about it, so click <a href="https://danhorvath.blogspot.com/2024/02/i-fartlek-in-your-general-direction.html" target="_blank">here</a> for all the details. Today, a Yasso was on the agenda. That means speed-work and not speed-play (aka fartlek). Other than said fartlek and some tempo-paced runs, I've done nothing of substance since BBM. But (and it's a Big Butt) I've otherwise been running fairly well. Anyway, we're more than half-way through February, and yet here I am, being a bum. Well, time to get off that bum. And do something of substantial substance.</p><p>For at least the fourth time, I skip the <a href="https://30a.com/seaside-school-half-marathon-5k/" target="_blank">Seaside School Half Marathon</a> because although it's nearby, it's also a logistical hassle and quite expensive. In its place, this Yasso run will be quite a serious effort. I even don my fast shoes.</p><p>The Back Beach 10-mile course. Ten half-mile repeats. Cool and breezy. It all seems to work out. I manage to keep them all under four minutes for a 3:49 average. I'll take it.</p><p>~</p><p>The crushed limestone on this part of the PCB Conservation Park Orange trail is not crushed so well. In other words, the stones are a little bigger here. Shouldn't be a problem for someone who picks up his feet when he runs. Unfortunately, that's not me. As I'm running along, I somehow kick one stone up an inch or two, and it lands back on top of my left-foot long (Morton's) toe. "EEEOW," I yell. How could such a stupid thing hurt so much and so suddenly? And how could such a stupid thing even happen to me?</p><p>Such questions are unanswerable. </p><p>And that's not even the only crazy thing that happens during this run. I'm half-way through my first 9.5-mile loop (and the peace and quiet is wonderful) when a startlingly loud noise comes from the vicinity of my butt. No, it's not what you think. It's an Amber Alert that couldn't have come at a more inopportune time. </p><p>Despite all this insanity, I have myself a pretty good run. I complete the first circuit in 1:37:56 for a 10:16 pace, and the second one in 1:23:31 for a 8:48 pace and an FKT (Fastest Known Time) here. That's even better (way better) than the last time.</p><p>~</p><p>This is an experiment. Since we're leaving in two days, I'm doing my last run at Conservation Park. It's warm and sunny but breezy. I wonder what will happen if I don't take in any extra caffeine (other than my usual amount of coffee) or energy gel. Will I still be able to run as well as I have been here? Last week's FKT is probably out of reach, but perhaps I can still run fairly well.</p><p>Then a funny thing happens. I do run well. The mile splits for my second loop get faster and faster, and it almost looks like I can come close to that FKT. Alas. I slow up just a bit in the final two miles (the wind got to me, not to mention the fatigue) and I wind up with a 1:25+ for a 8:58 pace. I suppose you could call this a SFKT (Second-Fastest Known Time). I'm pretty pleased with it.</p><p>~</p><p>I finish my time here the way it started: by running the Beachside Six course. It's at tempo pace, and I'm pretty happy with it. </p><p>I ran every single day in January and February. It's been mostly pretty darn good.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><br /></div><p style="text-align: left;">
</p>Dan Horvathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17572195230700841746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14160620.post-1590317647652835172024-02-16T11:02:00.006-05:002024-02-16T11:02:50.719-05:00I fartlek in your general direction<p>"I don't want to talk to you no more, you empty-headed animal-food-trough wiper. I fart in your general direction." ~ French Soldier in Monty Python and the Holy Grail</p><p>"The only thing that bothers me is if I'm in a restaurant and I'm eating and someone says, "Hey, mind if I smoke?" I always say, 'No. Mind if I fart?'" ~ Steve Martin</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhLvxGf-2rOleIsXGREkVjm0xPEDuRYPCYdy37WnDBXajfz8UgI4FIx30bt0awBMnHKfn171QcpwUh4co3XcFpUvApKucLWpFKAwXXMW0WPJT0PJeettucjGxiwvMDm0o_Z-uqvJMui7Sk6mRtaQiXdakvFHwwYt4zpNpdP-zvrDfwDktAUxTIk" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1944" data-original-width="2592" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhLvxGf-2rOleIsXGREkVjm0xPEDuRYPCYdy37WnDBXajfz8UgI4FIx30bt0awBMnHKfn171QcpwUh4co3XcFpUvApKucLWpFKAwXXMW0WPJT0PJeettucjGxiwvMDm0o_Z-uqvJMui7Sk6mRtaQiXdakvFHwwYt4zpNpdP-zvrDfwDktAUxTIk" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>We here at Dan Horvath's Running Blog have high ethical and moral standards. All types of Toilet humor, potty, and scatological humor is strictly off the table. (Maybe on the seat, but most assuredly <i>NOT</i> on the table.) So don't look for any fart humor here, (other than the initial two quotes).</p><p>It's about time for some fartlek, I think. I've been running slow and easy a little too much lately. Thus, a little fartlek is just what the doctor ordered. </p><p>Fartlek, aka Speedplay, is a distance runner's training approach developed in the late 1930s by Swedish Olympian Gösta Holmér. In its widely adapted contemporary forms, fartlek training is alternating periods of faster and slower running, sometimes over natural terrain. It differs from traditional interval training by being less structured. To put it another way, traditional intervals can be thought of as speed work, whilst unstructured off-and-on speed running can be considered speed play, or fartlek.</p><p>After a mile of warmup, I let loose with the fartlek. Guess what? It all comes out pretty well. I run slow and slower, slow and slower, mixing it up. Others on the roads and sidewalks do not seem too offended. The entire ten-mile run winds up being just fine. </p><p>It's all very satisfying.</p>Dan Horvathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17572195230700841746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14160620.post-7262903818556148142024-01-29T14:08:00.003-05:002024-01-29T14:08:33.174-05:00Dan's Darn Data<p></p><p align="left" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2kFGHdCp6U_jOIoxICrSMcNiC6RcNX0CHeje9JdQGsAv7Xrg-2_p9f_fBepnz_8RswiiP1KNMyLl4c2hiiJwGiItAqCeF14m80S7UugshuPqv4Px-ZBAiso9hl2UCfVXrzfiqhLuwnmq9_4di1gORWC8UZTuc3dQVsYekNjgfEccFP86GujPP/s4000/IMG_20240129_130514380_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2kFGHdCp6U_jOIoxICrSMcNiC6RcNX0CHeje9JdQGsAv7Xrg-2_p9f_fBepnz_8RswiiP1KNMyLl4c2hiiJwGiItAqCeF14m80S7UugshuPqv4Px-ZBAiso9hl2UCfVXrzfiqhLuwnmq9_4di1gORWC8UZTuc3dQVsYekNjgfEccFP86GujPP/w300-h400/IMG_20240129_130514380_HDR.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Garmin Forerunner 45</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p align="left" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p>
<p align="left" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Data is my life. Maybe not quite so much as when I was a Project Planning Analyst who spent his working life measuring and analyzing project and software data. But data and its measurement is still in my bones. I’m now on my fourth (I think) Garmin Forerunner device, and for a runner who loves data, it’s the cat’s meow. I don’t have to guess anymore, and I have access to more data than even I know what to do with.</span></p><p align="left" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>
<p align="left" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
Feedback is important and helpful to activities that are being
measured, as running is. For most of my running, especially that
being done with friends and/or some of the daily, not-so-critical
runs, I’m not so concerned with an individual training performance.
But I am indeed keen on measuring some training runs and especially
races. These are the instances where feedback is critical. Generally,
the more instant, the better. But feedback over longer times and
distances can help as well.</span></p>
<p align="left" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></p>
<p align="left" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
There are, of course, many individual differences in this regard.
Some of my running friends, including some very good runners, care
much less about measurement than I do. But then, most people on the
planet care much less about measurement than I do. I’m weird; I
know.
</span></p>
<p align="left" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></p>
<p align="left" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
In this post, I am going to discuss the Garmin Data Fields that I
use, and how I use them. I hope this information will be helpful.
These are available on my device, the Forerunner 45. It’s possible
that other models may have other data fields, perhaps even some very
useful ones. But I can’t imagine any that might be better than
these for providing instant and subsequent feedback for runners.
Please leave a comment if you know of any.</span></p>
<p align="left" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></p>
<p align="left" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
The Garmin Forerunner 45 allows the user to define and configure data
screens using the various fields. I prefer to display three fields
per screen. I’ll show the screens and fields that I use and how I
use them.</span></p>
<p align="left" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></p>
<p align="left" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
Screen 1 – Distance, Timer, Pace</span></p>
<p align="left" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
This screen comes up first once my device acquires the satellites.
For many daily runs, it’s all I bother to use. It provides the most
basic data that I want to be made aware of: how far have I run, how
long have I been running, and what pace am I going. Here are the
Garmin field definitions.</span></p>
<p align="left" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></p>
<dl>
<dt class="western" style="orphans: 2; text-align: left; widows: 2;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Roboto, Noto Sans TC, Noto Sans SC, Noto Sans JP, Noto Sans KR, Prompt, sans-serif, Microsoft JhengHei;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>Distance</b></span></span></span></span></span></span></dt></dl>
<p align="left" class="western" style="line-height: 130%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.39in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Roboto, Noto Sans TC, Noto Sans SC, Noto Sans JP, Noto Sans KR, Prompt, sans-serif, Microsoft JhengHei;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
distance traveled for the current track or activity.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<dl>
<dt class="western" style="orphans: 2; text-align: left; widows: 2;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Roboto, Noto Sans TC, Noto Sans SC, Noto Sans JP, Noto Sans KR, Prompt, sans-serif, Microsoft JhengHei;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>Timer</b></span></span></span></span></span></span></dt></dl>
<p align="left" class="western" style="line-height: 130%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.39in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Roboto, Noto Sans TC, Noto Sans SC, Noto Sans JP, Noto Sans KR, Prompt, sans-serif, Microsoft JhengHei;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
stopwatch time for the current activity.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<dl>
<dt class="western" style="orphans: 2; text-align: left; widows: 2;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Roboto, Noto Sans TC, Noto Sans SC, Noto Sans JP, Noto Sans KR, Prompt, sans-serif, Microsoft JhengHei;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>Pace</b></span></span></span></span></span></span></dt></dl>
<p align="left" class="western" style="line-height: 130%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.39in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Roboto, Noto Sans TC, Noto Sans SC, Noto Sans JP, Noto Sans KR, Prompt, sans-serif, Microsoft JhengHei;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
current pace.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p align="left" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></p>
<p align="left" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
Screen 2 – Lap Distance, Lap Timer, Lap Pace</span></p>
<p align="left" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
This screen comes up second for me. I use Garmin Laps for both laps
and what they call Intervals. My Lap distance is set at one mile, so
anytime I run more than a mile, I get more than one Lap. Some runners
fine-tune their lap distance for various runs or races. For example,
some may want to set the Lap distance to 1 kilometer for a 5K race.
Since I don’t use Intervals, when I do run an interval workout, I
simply press the Lap button when I want to record the beginning or
end of an interval. This way I get to include the recoveries as well
as the faster running. Whether or not you use Garmin Intervals, you
would probably agree that the Lap feature is best for races of any
distance. I keep this screen for most of the time for most races,
tempo runs, and as mentioned, interval workouts. During a race, I can
tell at a glance how far I’ve run for the current mile (my Lap
distance), the elapsed time for this mile, and most useful of all,
the anticipated split, aka the Lap Pace. I can’t overemphasize the
importance of Lap Pace to my running. Whereas the Pace field tells me
my pace at any instant, it can vary widely and does not provide a
good overall picture of how I’m doing. By showing the anticipated
split, Lap Pace really lets me know how I’m doing. At the start of
each mile, it can vary by quite a bit, but then, as the mile
progresses, it becomes more and more accurate and more and more
steady. It allows me to constantly monitor how I’m doing. If you
learn nothing else from this post, let this be it: <i>USE LAP PACE for
your racing!</i></span></p>
<p align="left" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></p>
<dl>
<dt class="western" style="orphans: 2; text-align: left; widows: 2;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Roboto, Noto Sans TC, Noto Sans SC, Noto Sans JP, Noto Sans KR, Prompt, sans-serif, Microsoft JhengHei;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>Lap
Distance</b></span></span></span></span></span></span></dt></dl>
<p align="left" class="western" style="line-height: 130%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.39in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Roboto, Noto Sans TC, Noto Sans SC, Noto Sans JP, Noto Sans KR, Prompt, sans-serif, Microsoft JhengHei;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
distance traveled for the current lap.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<dl>
<dt class="western" style="orphans: 2; text-align: left; widows: 2;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Roboto, Noto Sans TC, Noto Sans SC, Noto Sans JP, Noto Sans KR, Prompt, sans-serif, Microsoft JhengHei;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>Lap
Time</b></span></span></span></span></span></span></dt></dl>
<p align="left" class="western" style="line-height: 130%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.39in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Roboto, Noto Sans TC, Noto Sans SC, Noto Sans JP, Noto Sans KR, Prompt, sans-serif, Microsoft JhengHei;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
stopwatch time for the current lap.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<dl>
<dt class="western" style="orphans: 2; text-align: left; widows: 2;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Roboto, Noto Sans TC, Noto Sans SC, Noto Sans JP, Noto Sans KR, Prompt, sans-serif, Microsoft JhengHei;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>Lap
Pace</b></span></span></span></span></span></span></dt></dl>
<p align="left" class="western" style="line-height: 130%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.39in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Roboto, Noto Sans TC, Noto Sans SC, Noto Sans JP, Noto Sans KR, Prompt, sans-serif, Microsoft JhengHei;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
average pace for the current lap.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p align="left" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></p>
<p align="left" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
Screen 3 – Distance, Heart Rate, Average Pace</span></p>
<p align="left" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
I use this screen less often, but it’s handy when I do want to know
one of these metrics. I show distance redundantly here for
perspective on the other two fields. I do relatively little
monitoring of my heart rate during runs. It can be interesting to
look at later, and it’s interesting to compare it with perceived
effort and to observe it by lap or over the entire run. But if I do
want to know my heart rate in real-time, it’s here. Of course, I’m
aware that some runners may a great deal of attention to their HR and
HR Zone for training runs. I don’t. I probably should. The Average
Pace field is interesting. It’s the average pace over the entire
run up to this point. So it’s a little bit like the Lap Pace field
but over the entire distance instead of for the current mile.</span></p>
<p align="left" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></p>
<dl>
<dt class="western" style="orphans: 2; text-align: left; widows: 2;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Roboto, Noto Sans TC, Noto Sans SC, Noto Sans JP, Noto Sans KR, Prompt, sans-serif, Microsoft JhengHei;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>Distance</b></span></span></span></span></span></span></dt></dl>
<p align="left" class="western" style="line-height: 130%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.39in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Roboto, Noto Sans TC, Noto Sans SC, Noto Sans JP, Noto Sans KR, Prompt, sans-serif, Microsoft JhengHei;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
distance traveled for the current track or activity.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<dl>
<dt class="western" style="orphans: 2; text-align: left; widows: 2;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Roboto, Noto Sans TC, Noto Sans SC, Noto Sans JP, Noto Sans KR, Prompt, sans-serif, Microsoft JhengHei;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>Heart
Rate</b></span></span></span></span></span></span></dt></dl>
<p align="left" class="western" style="line-height: 130%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.39in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Roboto, Noto Sans TC, Noto Sans SC, Noto Sans JP, Noto Sans KR, Prompt, sans-serif, Microsoft JhengHei;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Your
heart rate in beats per minute (bpm). Your device must have
wrist-based heart rate or be connected to a compatible heart rate
monitor.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<dl>
<dt class="western" style="orphans: 2; text-align: left; widows: 2;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Roboto, Noto Sans TC, Noto Sans SC, Noto Sans JP, Noto Sans KR, Prompt, sans-serif, Microsoft JhengHei;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>Average
Pace</b></span></span></span></span></span></span></dt></dl>
<p align="left" class="western" style="line-height: 130%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.39in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Roboto, Noto Sans TC, Noto Sans SC, Noto Sans JP, Noto Sans KR, Prompt, sans-serif, Microsoft JhengHei;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
average pace for the current activity.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p align="left" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></p>
<p align="left" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
Screen 4 – Clock</span></p>
<p align="left" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
Clock is not one of the official Garmin data fields, so I don’t
know how I managed to configure this screen. But sometimes it’s
handy to know the current time without messing up the data for a run
currently in progress.</span></p>
<p align="left" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></p>
<p align="left" class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">
As noted, I use Screen 1 the most, and sometimes I don’t even look
at the others. Also as noted, I use Screen 2 the most for intense
training and for racing. When I do want to change, however, it’s
quite easy to toggle between them.</span></p><br /><p></p>Dan Horvathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17572195230700841746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14160620.post-34265460114481554512024-01-28T21:03:00.003-05:002024-02-08T10:54:38.057-05:00Big Beach Marathon Race Report<p>The event is the Big Beach Marathon in Gulf Shores, Alabama. Gulf Shores is a very beachy place, and they do a great job with their marathon. Most importantly, they arranged for good running weather today.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu18TVid_rL9RcRVZy4btUvuixmm4x2eVK5VdWruvmSs47tCM7ZkI0lWNd_hPh_50axaR-_7rvWiPRbIn7pQHzlJbRnViOo4anUvn_wVhGwLebxvIuJMqUJA10-trK2-aGWbwQrIOnXmGvpsG1Uk3gStQkEhVqUfJHTtFtglQANaoQCIFQ7wLg/s4032/4772a%20FL%202024%20Big%20Beach%20Marathon%201.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu18TVid_rL9RcRVZy4btUvuixmm4x2eVK5VdWruvmSs47tCM7ZkI0lWNd_hPh_50axaR-_7rvWiPRbIn7pQHzlJbRnViOo4anUvn_wVhGwLebxvIuJMqUJA10-trK2-aGWbwQrIOnXmGvpsG1Uk3gStQkEhVqUfJHTtFtglQANaoQCIFQ7wLg/w640-h480/4772a%20FL%202024%20Big%20Beach%20Marathon%201.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me, Andy, and Michelle at the start</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>I meet up with Michelle and Andy Wolff. They had done yesterday's 7K run, which took place in rainstorm of biblical proportions. Today is infinitely better. I talk with Andy a bit during the first mile, and then I slowly reel in the 4-Hour Pace Group, catching them by around mile 2. That was harder than it should have been.</p><p>The group is led by a guy who appears to be out for an easy-peasy jog. He keeps a pretty good pace, and I tuck in with the group for several miles. Now, running these nine-minute miles is starting to feel easy. Too Easy. Control yourself, Dan.</p><p>I don't. I get out ahead of them for some middle miles, but then they get ahead of me a few times as well. This hide and seek stuff is probably not good for me. I should just stay on an even keel and not get ahead of them at all. I do. This works just fine. Until it doesn't.</p><p>The course has been taking us all around and through Gulf State Park. It's entirely on the nice, quiet paved trails therein. Except when it isn't. It isn't when it's on elevated boardwalks. There hasn't been a whole lot of those boardwalks, until about mile 17. From then on, there are tons of them. It seems like two or more miles of boards through the park campground around miles 17-19. After we finally get back to terra firma, I move out ahead of the pace group for what I hope is the last time.</p><p>Whereas their nine-minute miles had still felt easy, my slightly faster miles are now feeling just right. Until they don't. I slow back down a bit as we hit even more boardwalks in the last few miles. The icing on the cake is the hill up to the pedestrian bridge over the highway. That slows me down a lot.</p><p>Until it doesn't. I try to pick it up on the downhill side, but then I get tripped up (but manage to not do a faceplant) on one of the last ten or so boards of the day. I suppose I should be happy that that's the only time that happened, considering my running style and the sheer number of boards.</p><p>Now there's only about a mile and a quarter to go. The weather has been absolutely wonderful. Until now, when it isn't. The wind, which hasn't been bad, stands me up and slows me down. I struggle through a slow final mile, but I manage to finish in a vertical position.</p><p>My time is 3:57, good for a 9:03 pace. That's good for first in my ancient age group. Nice race on a good day. Had I been able to run those final two miles as fast as the others, it would have been an even more-than-good day.</p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy2Fhp5otpuVPiGPbP_VWGJ2X0JZyTkDf2LKEVTOSpDRel31W_NaQzAozhA6IDKq5Hw68TeGfDmc17lqZFVlu64fqacfIj7Ia73t0l6OdF4AdN-Am_CwxVJ1hDDin42Lsell5CdGTnHiy_ge4i230etTBisk_QnOn1mDALKqNHuU8Va9fov254/s4684/4772c%20FL%202024%20Big%20Beach%20Marathon%203.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4684" data-original-width="2920" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy2Fhp5otpuVPiGPbP_VWGJ2X0JZyTkDf2LKEVTOSpDRel31W_NaQzAozhA6IDKq5Hw68TeGfDmc17lqZFVlu64fqacfIj7Ia73t0l6OdF4AdN-Am_CwxVJ1hDDin42Lsell5CdGTnHiy_ge4i230etTBisk_QnOn1mDALKqNHuU8Va9fov254/w398-h640/4772c%20FL%202024%20Big%20Beach%20Marathon%203.JPG" width="398" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My loot - the lunch container and the plaque are from the AG win</td></tr></tbody></table><br />A couple later additions, care of the race.<div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5DWuep2MEERUZj6Owq1wosymVcbxXAhw4q9nji5wxT_itQND6uugBE60rd3i84fCRDyErcvdEhmpru-B95sl4k2Tb9uSCitMKKaS8qao99V40dcpcgYxI4vuDJFAzLC0xTtJByPiwDnBKrtPplQz5LMTQdFSQn_OFhe3EPtZvknYm9eFxiagP/s900/4772d%20FL%202024%20Big%20Beach%20Marathon%204.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5DWuep2MEERUZj6Owq1wosymVcbxXAhw4q9nji5wxT_itQND6uugBE60rd3i84fCRDyErcvdEhmpru-B95sl4k2Tb9uSCitMKKaS8qao99V40dcpcgYxI4vuDJFAzLC0xTtJByPiwDnBKrtPplQz5LMTQdFSQn_OFhe3EPtZvknYm9eFxiagP/w426-h640/4772d%20FL%202024%20Big%20Beach%20Marathon%204.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At the finish</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHdxIBoTvYfeXXga0ye5jVzoRdoCPYY2tBpdPwX_aqhs1U-N6JgMyMMOwCz05h85GjczkwdZFRe_pujIYd02ZkXICcaZRZMw19U21apLD-tbO9C2ytrzGN3nMJhVyYeY43RqfzF1Y5I2tsPGje-CSsdYhqjLwCFiKUHVM56QTDcWVaHKyZX9tJ/s900/4772e%20FL%202024%20Big%20Beach%20Marathon%205.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHdxIBoTvYfeXXga0ye5jVzoRdoCPYY2tBpdPwX_aqhs1U-N6JgMyMMOwCz05h85GjczkwdZFRe_pujIYd02ZkXICcaZRZMw19U21apLD-tbO9C2ytrzGN3nMJhVyYeY43RqfzF1Y5I2tsPGje-CSsdYhqjLwCFiKUHVM56QTDcWVaHKyZX9tJ/w426-h640/4772e%20FL%202024%20Big%20Beach%20Marathon%205.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Major Award(s)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /><p><br /></p></div>Dan Horvathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17572195230700841746noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14160620.post-56528107879266744432024-01-09T06:35:00.004-05:002024-01-09T06:35:53.498-05:00The Crucial Role of Rest in Intense Marathon Training<p><span style="font-size: medium;">I awoke this morning thinking about rest. I've had some relatively intense running experiences lately, and that's good. But rest is just as important. Here is some further information about the importance of rest.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Embarking on a marathon training journey is an endeavor that demands dedication, discipline, and perseverance. While the focus is often on rigorous workouts, long runs, and meticulous nutrition, one aspect that is frequently underestimated is the importance of rest. In the pursuit of peak performance, runners must recognize that rest is not a luxury but a crucial component of successful marathon training.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Understanding the Physical Stress of Marathon Training</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Marathon training subjects the body to significant physical stress. Long runs, interval training, and speed workouts place strain on muscles, joints, and connective tissues. Continuous exertion without adequate recovery can lead to overtraining, increasing the risk of injuries, fatigue, and burnout. Recognizing the signs of overtraining, such as persistent fatigue, decreased performance, and increased susceptibility to illness, is pivotal for athletes aiming to achieve their marathon goals.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Muscle Repair and Adaptation</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Rest plays a pivotal role in the recovery and adaptation process. During intense training, muscle fibers undergo micro-tears, which is a natural part of the strength-building process. Rest days allow these muscles to repair and grow stronger, reducing the risk of overuse injuries. Moreover, rest is crucial for the body to replenish glycogen stores, repair damaged tissues, and regulate hormonal balance, all of which are essential for optimal performance.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Preventing Mental Fatigue</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The toll of marathon training extends beyond the physical realm to the mental domain. Constantly pushing the body without adequate rest can lead to mental fatigue, diminishing focus, motivation, and overall well-being. Incorporating rest days or lighter training sessions provides athletes with the mental respite needed to sustain enthusiasm and commitment throughout the demanding training period.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Mitigating the Risk of Injuries</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Overtraining increases the likelihood of injuries, such as stress fractures, tendonitis, and muscle strains. Rest days or periods of reduced intensity give the body an opportunity to heal and prevent the accumulation of stress on vulnerable areas. Cross-training activities, such as swimming or cycling, on rest days can provide a low-impact alternative to maintain cardiovascular fitness while minimizing the risk of overuse injuries.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Optimizing Performance on Race Day</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The ultimate goal of marathon training is to peak on race day. Adequate rest in the weeks leading up to the event is essential for ensuring that the body is fully recovered and primed for optimal performance. Tapering, a strategic reduction in training volume and intensity in the final weeks, allows the body to recover fully, maximizing energy reserves and fine-tuning neuromuscular coordination.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Conclusion</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">In the pursuit of marathon glory, athletes must recognize that rest is not a hindrance but an integral part of the training process. Balancing intense workouts with adequate rest is key to preventing overtraining, minimizing the risk of injuries, and optimizing overall performance. By prioritizing recovery and incorporating rest days into their training regimen, marathon runners can ensure that they arrive at the starting line prepared, resilient, and ready to conquer the challenge that lies ahead.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">P.S. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">this sounds at all like it was written by ChatGPT, well, that's just a coincidence. Actually, it was, but I did formulate the question and I did add my two cents here and there. Hope you liked having AI tell you how to run.</span></p>Dan Horvathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17572195230700841746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14160620.post-51012553440990344922023-12-30T14:29:00.000-05:002023-12-30T14:29:00.606-05:002023 Brunswick Marathon Race Report<p>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.</p><p>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.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-7_nuTSePgziaoJe5O10UiokUfPDov08FCs-8uCaPXmzMQ_bfkURC72eEKujhkirHvO9TyHcFuNq36txhxvwrOEEfYFh_xCsX-pibi0rIAWMr-QG2tRN-p0zbHlZ9ADfqMHmmEKATtkQlP2Zt80tA7DierkUIMlWP0yYYVWsJDD-BPjFTEq0c/s960/Brunswick%20Marathon%201.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-7_nuTSePgziaoJe5O10UiokUfPDov08FCs-8uCaPXmzMQ_bfkURC72eEKujhkirHvO9TyHcFuNq36txhxvwrOEEfYFh_xCsX-pibi0rIAWMr-QG2tRN-p0zbHlZ9ADfqMHmmEKATtkQlP2Zt80tA7DierkUIMlWP0yYYVWsJDD-BPjFTEq0c/w640-h480/Brunswick%20Marathon%201.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>He runs the first loop with Debbie Hicks and a few others. It's way too fast.</p><p>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.</p><p>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.</p><p>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?</p><p>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.</p><p>Okay, he could also call himself second. That sounds better. The BM was a good way to end this year of running. </p><p>And launch into 2024.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTstYcuwBGv0dfUm5wxooNBMcYM12v7f1Lc6Nlx3aXFUQKXyM-5bBnp8H7SplBWPbbZ8XGQOvIZ-57y1XgFMqa04RCKijAUhyEEasff9fUyfJlLwcHmr81QDfEJEPjNT_3bIF9PsRCs8Uw82PONdDJS_G9g8zFNvAevZxpo_5U9eBJaVlXXTqw/s2304/Brunswick%20Marathon%203.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1728" data-original-width="2304" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTstYcuwBGv0dfUm5wxooNBMcYM12v7f1Lc6Nlx3aXFUQKXyM-5bBnp8H7SplBWPbbZ8XGQOvIZ-57y1XgFMqa04RCKijAUhyEEasff9fUyfJlLwcHmr81QDfEJEPjNT_3bIF9PsRCs8Uw82PONdDJS_G9g8zFNvAevZxpo_5U9eBJaVlXXTqw/w640-h480/Brunswick%20Marathon%203.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>Dan Horvathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17572195230700841746noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14160620.post-42195458332297468112023-12-30T13:49:00.002-05:002023-12-30T13:49:44.494-05:002023<p>2023 was a pretty good running year in several ways. Here are a few of them.</p><p>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.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEif-u-B4NMt68CYMD3WC1JQ3Y7yDqbFDiFUkl1d3W3ORGoLNDkpaHCoSrq0VuMm4B1d1QJr_u-Fycl49J4TJ-kGJwnGkIsM7N94oPQadYKoxqiVGk5dQGvCtCezFZCSa3NiUl4FAfPIE70WOfusE4EYLcEGsTfQgvFOh8jMsUQ-NO7KL2-bwJ51" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="371" data-original-width="596" height="398" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEif-u-B4NMt68CYMD3WC1JQ3Y7yDqbFDiFUkl1d3W3ORGoLNDkpaHCoSrq0VuMm4B1d1QJr_u-Fycl49J4TJ-kGJwnGkIsM7N94oPQadYKoxqiVGk5dQGvCtCezFZCSa3NiUl4FAfPIE70WOfusE4EYLcEGsTfQgvFOh8jMsUQ-NO7KL2-bwJ51=w640-h398" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p>Non-Marathon Races: The best was probably the <a href="https://danhorvath.blogspot.com/2023/08/hofbrauhaus-half-marathon-race-report.html" target="_blank">Hofbrauhaus Half Marathon </a>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.</p><p>Trail Runs: No, I'm not joking, and don't call me Shirley. <a href="https://danhorvath.blogspot.com/2023/10/my-final-trail-run.html" target="_blank">Run with Scissors</a> was a complete disaster. So much so, that I wrote a separate ditty about <a href="https://danhorvath.blogspot.com/2023/10/thick-mud-and-trails.html" target="_blank">thick mud and trails</a>. The <a href="https://danhorvath.blogspot.com/2023/11/2023-buckeye-woods-25k-race-report.html" target="_blank">Buckeye Woods 25K</a> was better, if you can call that a trail run. It is to me.</p><p>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.</p><p>Unique Experiences: One was <a href="https://danhorvath.blogspot.com/2023/10/my-run-with-jenny.html" target="_blank">my run with Jenny Hoffman</a> during her record-breaking run across America. It was quite an honor to accompany her. Another was <a href="https://danhorvath.blogspot.com/2023/06/gci-half-marathon-race-report-or-is-it.html" target="_blank">my run at the Grafton Correctional Institution</a>. That was not only an honor, but also an experience that I'll never forget.</p><p>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 <a href="https://danhorvath.blogspot.com/2023/11/you-guys-rock.html" target="_blank">achieve their goals at top race events</a>.</p><p>My Goal for 2024: Run a lot.</p><p><br /></p>Dan Horvathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17572195230700841746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14160620.post-11936050282710263482023-12-25T08:38:00.001-05:002023-12-25T08:38:25.774-05:00Yule own the roads today<p>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.</p><p>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. </p><p>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.</p><p>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.</p><p>Irony of ironies, the kids had awoken and opened their presents already by this time. Maybe Horvath should just go back to bed.</p>Dan Horvathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17572195230700841746noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14160620.post-65914307367483131222023-12-24T11:45:00.002-05:002023-12-24T11:45:13.490-05:00Frosty Five-Mile Race Report<p>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.</p><p>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.</p><p>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.</p><p>My time was 40:14, an 8:03 pace. That's pretty good for me these days. It helped that the weather cooperated.</p><p>Afterward, I found a bunch of my friends, and it was fun to talk and compare notes. </p><p>I learned that I was second in my ancient age group.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibr-FxQp6cbtjXueamTlqGqsWji6eVy0SBFdoHgcY3-QDvSuB-lYR0qe1WxvCC5ZpcoGP9dfDQBf9UcZmBT1-A19r6mU88IDIy3Z7WLEZAmcKc-vrarqqy_DfnpCRf4VRmCWumfAIPef7Vbs6hX0uz9tZIXbYJ17ppPTsACAmCSghW4steCsyP/s960/Frosty%205-Mile.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibr-FxQp6cbtjXueamTlqGqsWji6eVy0SBFdoHgcY3-QDvSuB-lYR0qe1WxvCC5ZpcoGP9dfDQBf9UcZmBT1-A19r6mU88IDIy3Z7WLEZAmcKc-vrarqqy_DfnpCRf4VRmCWumfAIPef7Vbs6hX0uz9tZIXbYJ17ppPTsACAmCSghW4steCsyP/w400-h300/Frosty%205-Mile.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">At the finish with Garrett Wright and his friend. We all won major awards.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p>Dan Horvathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17572195230700841746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14160620.post-82049112850794020312023-12-20T10:43:00.002-05:002023-12-20T11:12:57.183-05:00They can't kill us all<p><span style="font-size: medium;">"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. </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyVCUCj1-9k0c1SNKPddXudVASgeEioSsQSLfvAjOYZOoea_O8zFsHLzpe2oH9tTXjmQiK0s7x0conOg74Tk0q7YC9W0ojRXFZ73oLahiZSwoTsfOfa4Sjb3NvQ7VnN9khAlLCQPSDPDLSHnu0uBRdt6yqFq3EU2z0rCibWX4NDJHrMzY5B_CL/s1632/Buckeye%20Woods%20Run%20-%2002-16%20(2019_05_10%2020_07_25%20UTC).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="976" data-original-width="1632" height="382" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyVCUCj1-9k0c1SNKPddXudVASgeEioSsQSLfvAjOYZOoea_O8zFsHLzpe2oH9tTXjmQiK0s7x0conOg74Tk0q7YC9W0ojRXFZ73oLahiZSwoTsfOfa4Sjb3NvQ7VnN9khAlLCQPSDPDLSHnu0uBRdt6yqFq3EU2z0rCibWX4NDJHrMzY5B_CL/w640-h382/Buckeye%20Woods%20Run%20-%2002-16%20(2019_05_10%2020_07_25%20UTC).jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p><span style="font-size: medium;">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."</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Why, you may ask, am I so festive? Well, it's the holidays, and some of us just like to celebrate. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">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. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">"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. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">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.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0JRhdac9JZ9isBpSLkcv7SrzHDEjKAO-51R3Fk4F4PLP6fw1ME0fF7cuaj7f-lP2QL1DxQiAYGWeSofpdCkr7s42vxn3s0qCMlKiQ_sGdmvOU-V-XoYtkXiaLv9V8Y8L2cC8w_oYUYCK-Wi9sEln6lB-l5Nm4gczGsWhGnHZN3RSq_FxGvcTJ/s2048/Christmas%20Lights%20Run%201.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1538" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0JRhdac9JZ9isBpSLkcv7SrzHDEjKAO-51R3Fk4F4PLP6fw1ME0fF7cuaj7f-lP2QL1DxQiAYGWeSofpdCkr7s42vxn3s0qCMlKiQ_sGdmvOU-V-XoYtkXiaLv9V8Y8L2cC8w_oYUYCK-Wi9sEln6lB-l5Nm4gczGsWhGnHZN3RSq_FxGvcTJ/w640-h480/Christmas%20Lights%20Run%201.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p>Dan Horvathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17572195230700841746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14160620.post-32266947991609369022023-12-16T08:08:00.001-05:002023-12-16T08:08:31.155-05:00Meatier!<p>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.</p><p>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 <i>meatier </i>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.</p>Dan Horvathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17572195230700841746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14160620.post-42706305061132061262023-12-12T09:57:00.000-05:002023-12-12T09:57:01.816-05:00To Do Two Too Bad Runs<p>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 <i>was</i> too bad. To do two of these too-bad runs, back to back, was a bit too much.</p><p>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 <i>something of substance</i> (a 1600/1200/800/400 ladder), and then it was time to cool down and for Shannon to stretch. </p><p>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>I</i> still had four-ish <i>cold</i> miles to go. So I started my run number two with some measure of trepidation.</p><p>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 <i>nothing of substance</i>.</p><p><br /></p>Dan Horvathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17572195230700841746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14160620.post-61542640644223712102023-12-08T11:44:00.001-05:002023-12-08T11:44:11.120-05:00Looking to Literally Lope Long on Lester<p>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?</p><p>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.</p><p>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.</p><p>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.</p><p>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?</p><p><br /></p>Dan Horvathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17572195230700841746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14160620.post-59732213787357532262023-12-05T11:17:00.005-05:002023-12-05T11:17:59.329-05:00Friends are gone, time for a little fartlek<p>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.</p><p>It's when everyone else left the track that Dan began to fartlek. It was pretty good, satisfying fartlek at that.</p><p>Run the straightaways at a decent speed, and take it easy on the turns. That's the way.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ6xZ1xNSHTddQruWKklrO7afLWmkRefpu7pHR8imMoOWNglCA25NF6nj73G0E6lL5bxumFRU2RZwzbhQaNnZr1xpce1U_FITs6029_j5zktWMX5WZNHeXe-l_1yDwTHslc3EIXG9L7W4CMJeNQOyV1vaFPWUNlndWqqESIjAAFHoYrKukGfpt/s2592/Central%20Europe_20080323_0007%20(2019_05_10%2020_07_25%20UTC).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1944" data-original-width="2592" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ6xZ1xNSHTddQruWKklrO7afLWmkRefpu7pHR8imMoOWNglCA25NF6nj73G0E6lL5bxumFRU2RZwzbhQaNnZr1xpce1U_FITs6029_j5zktWMX5WZNHeXe-l_1yDwTHslc3EIXG9L7W4CMJeNQOyV1vaFPWUNlndWqqESIjAAFHoYrKukGfpt/w640-h480/Central%20Europe_20080323_0007%20(2019_05_10%2020_07_25%20UTC).JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>Dan Horvathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17572195230700841746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14160620.post-28190016994160667382023-12-02T14:50:00.001-05:002023-12-02T14:50:29.296-05:00Details about today's BM<p><span style="font-size: medium;">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!').</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Having stated that, your author decided to research the start of it all. Here it is, the <a href="https://danhorvath.blogspot.com/2019/01/2019-brunswick-marathon.html" target="_blank">2019 post</a> 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.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">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.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">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. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">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.</span></p>Dan Horvathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17572195230700841746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14160620.post-1740659189994202302023-11-28T10:19:00.005-05:002023-11-28T10:19:54.012-05:00No Laughing Matter<p>If you were looking for any jokes about <a href="https://www.allohealth.care/healthfeed/sex-education/penile-frostbite" target="_blank">penile frostbite</a>, 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 <a href="https://www.healthing.ca/celebrity/prince-harry-frostbite-penis" target="_blank">Prince Harry got it</a>). But it's <i>not</i> funny at all when it happens to you. </p><p>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 <i>thought </i>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.</p><p>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.</p><p>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!</p><p>Our rag pile is conveniently located by the garage door, so I grabbed a cut piece of towel and stuffed away.</p><p>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.</p>Dan Horvathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17572195230700841746noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14160620.post-60776214101584899922023-11-26T13:12:00.000-05:002023-11-26T13:12:47.794-05:002023 Buckeye Woods 25K Race Report<p>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.</p><p>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.</p><p>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.</p><p>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?</p><p>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. </p><p>I'm happy to say that we stayed mostly together and that we kept it at a fairly steady pace. But this 25K <i>felt </i>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!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw98xZGkM9V1Tba0TYpnbJA918khGZQm2vlZuMw9t5OWkIh6vKOWuijW9xnbNaR7O0hirIc5Ayv00Kc8fnhC_rSZTsljhzXh5WiroNMWbmRDo-1L_jkmM3UDG-wML9aUPTXIyU-gRTL3l2Bay5tfDTuvvR-W0YiznqIqHxIYWoCAzmcb4u3ISG/s1528/Buckeye%20Woods%201.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1337" data-original-width="1528" height="560" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw98xZGkM9V1Tba0TYpnbJA918khGZQm2vlZuMw9t5OWkIh6vKOWuijW9xnbNaR7O0hirIc5Ayv00Kc8fnhC_rSZTsljhzXh5WiroNMWbmRDo-1L_jkmM3UDG-wML9aUPTXIyU-gRTL3l2Bay5tfDTuvvR-W0YiznqIqHxIYWoCAzmcb4u3ISG/w640-h560/Buckeye%20Woods%201.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5_Nuj_RgRHdHHuXRLqMM7Rf1Y41iz2MQTObKdt3WaoDjXOTURTo_Rps9AP5ldSQrMfPfyeLQ7AWe6VvXUF32o92XUMY-D2ofWTfK8plWSAUQaHv47axQXuKnE495ySujR75GFKV_K8EZCdXqvbT3Z5PJBL5CvHY9RvzkN-OtA29sbeogTrlnw/s2048/Buckeye%20Woods%202.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5_Nuj_RgRHdHHuXRLqMM7Rf1Y41iz2MQTObKdt3WaoDjXOTURTo_Rps9AP5ldSQrMfPfyeLQ7AWe6VvXUF32o92XUMY-D2ofWTfK8plWSAUQaHv47axQXuKnE495ySujR75GFKV_K8EZCdXqvbT3Z5PJBL5CvHY9RvzkN-OtA29sbeogTrlnw/w480-h640/Buckeye%20Woods%202.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>Dan Horvathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17572195230700841746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14160620.post-85351916572078799412023-11-23T11:27:00.000-05:002023-11-23T11:27:35.274-05:002023 Medina Turkey Chase Race Report<p>I <i>definitely </i>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. </p><p>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.</p><p>All I need to do to make everything perfect is to run faster.</p>Dan Horvathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17572195230700841746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14160620.post-33607383896383704712023-11-17T20:45:00.002-05:002023-11-17T20:45:52.656-05:00Running in Scotland and Ireland<p><span style="font-size: medium;">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.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I did indeed manage to explore the city quite a bit during my two runs there.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">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.</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6-vL2UeHM_r7vyxkfWOPj43dQonjofCOpGci5Wp2Z2bVzxuwR_eDR1xQpe3TUYb9Z39NyJI1cAC1L6SlH5yrc8Q8ovf7AnM0oIVXdg8Q-LMj14HvAPDZMYMDQgp8DHKpi-h3qZdVM_k7NpXYMtpdWk353mu9XIzsJjJE3v0T7tsojHghEB3qg/s5088/Ireland%20and%20Scotland%202023%2004464%20Fife%20Coast.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2470" data-original-width="5088" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6-vL2UeHM_r7vyxkfWOPj43dQonjofCOpGci5Wp2Z2bVzxuwR_eDR1xQpe3TUYb9Z39NyJI1cAC1L6SlH5yrc8Q8ovf7AnM0oIVXdg8Q-LMj14HvAPDZMYMDQgp8DHKpi-h3qZdVM_k7NpXYMtpdWk353mu9XIzsJjJE3v0T7tsojHghEB3qg/w640-h310/Ireland%20and%20Scotland%202023%2004464%20Fife%20Coast.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Chariots of Fire Beach</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Once we got to Dublin, Ireland, I </span><i>did</i><span> 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.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvPWBXv6HTL61P-QzryyZzs9Ogl-wq7e0wnV2aRXWsUYTdWuhklsJ6ncUtLqxoxD0x_-yAMmoRjK5IQLPLCGWsG75h3FmQu2iVdaJ3_J-6uF5SDFe80BjRcffcn_QJ-yckU8OMqbQWXqbE3z9AglvFvARYlJxvr9xfYASwI_wPQehwdvRpKKpE/s2920/Ireland%20and%20Scotland%202023%2004541%20Dublin.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2920" data-original-width="2734" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvPWBXv6HTL61P-QzryyZzs9Ogl-wq7e0wnV2aRXWsUYTdWuhklsJ6ncUtLqxoxD0x_-yAMmoRjK5IQLPLCGWsG75h3FmQu2iVdaJ3_J-6uF5SDFe80BjRcffcn_QJ-yckU8OMqbQWXqbE3z9AglvFvARYlJxvr9xfYASwI_wPQehwdvRpKKpE/w600-h640/Ireland%20and%20Scotland%202023%2004541%20Dublin.JPG" width="600" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Walking along the River Liffey later on</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">Galway was unrunnable, as storm Debi hit with furious wind and rain. </span><p></p><div><span style="font-size: medium;">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.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">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).</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIgBgy0jUMnyj8rBb8pLvdF8uUPCvV80B3EZQWNyMSe66RzgAEzrJiSfND8vSVdjazYplO4tuVr7LnLaf77R9QJfQOQ1NN3395VPoO5J5uJ3xpwlcODgwWEb7OKFn50CUdJNQEKYtIYCIp0jNAjyzR8Mz2EhUkKNjCZ-uVm1tEz6tLv5lcb_U3/s5184/Ireland%20and%20Scotland%202023%2004616%20Giants%20Causeway.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2920" data-original-width="5184" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIgBgy0jUMnyj8rBb8pLvdF8uUPCvV80B3EZQWNyMSe66RzgAEzrJiSfND8vSVdjazYplO4tuVr7LnLaf77R9QJfQOQ1NN3395VPoO5J5uJ3xpwlcODgwWEb7OKFn50CUdJNQEKYtIYCIp0jNAjyzR8Mz2EhUkKNjCZ-uVm1tEz6tLv5lcb_U3/w640-h360/Ireland%20and%20Scotland%202023%2004616%20Giants%20Causeway.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Trail to the Giant's Causeway</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">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).</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">For more about this trip, check out my <a href="https://horvathstravels.blogspot.com/2023/11/2023-ireland-and-scotland.html" target="_blank">travel blog post</a>.</span></div>Dan Horvathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17572195230700841746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14160620.post-60888254224905325822023-11-05T18:34:00.005-05:002023-11-05T18:34:35.775-05:00Alone Again, Naturally <p>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, <i>Alone Again, Naturally</i>, because I sure felt alone <i>and </i>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.</p><p>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.</p><p>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.</p><p>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.</p><p>Here's to hoping that I can keep improving from here.</p>Dan Horvathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17572195230700841746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14160620.post-21333671542828001842023-11-04T10:55:00.001-04:002023-11-04T10:55:34.151-04:00You guys rock!<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">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 <a href="https://danhorvath.blogspot.com/2023/10/my-run-with-jenny.html" target="_blank">joining her</a> 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.</span></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />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.</span></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />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.</span></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />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.</span></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />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.</span></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />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!’</span></div><div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />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.</span></div><p>
</p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>Dan Horvathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17572195230700841746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14160620.post-16213846656316800462023-10-31T09:05:00.001-04:002023-10-31T09:05:22.775-04:00Methinks thou doth protest too much<p>The actual quote from Shakespeare's Hamlet is, <i>The lady doth protest too much, methinks</i>. According to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_lady_doth_protest_too_much,_methinks" target="_blank">Wikipedia</a>, "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.</p><p>The title and the paragraph above are my way of apologising for b!tching so much about trail running. First there was my <a href="https://danhorvath.blogspot.com/2023/10/my-final-trail-run.html" target="_blank">un-race report</a>, and then there was my Dr. Seuss-like poem called <i><a href="https://danhorvath.blogspot.com/2023/10/thick-mud-and-trails.html" target="_blank">Thick mud and trails</a></i>. 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.></p><p>Okay. Back to my happy place. Back to my comfort zone.</p><p>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.</p><p>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.</p><p>And the best part is, <i>it's over</i>!</p><p><br /></p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEifx-xQPNFq1CJpSJuICVWbWJfnd2cbxcWG0nk4HPHD_i2mB1CrtwIpzMaL9sctiHyH4EjR5-_XHQGZUMnk0Z49Ry2kHBSGLbyhYT4uO13raG5KkcVCMzufFEMcKxyPARRcvejN3JmOG78-FM1fCeUvEd_9XWUpxiFVy5C9FTeGIBX4rBGjak00" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="507" data-original-width="1181" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEifx-xQPNFq1CJpSJuICVWbWJfnd2cbxcWG0nk4HPHD_i2mB1CrtwIpzMaL9sctiHyH4EjR5-_XHQGZUMnk0Z49Ry2kHBSGLbyhYT4uO13raG5KkcVCMzufFEMcKxyPARRcvejN3JmOG78-FM1fCeUvEd_9XWUpxiFVy5C9FTeGIBX4rBGjak00=w640-h274" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Claggett M.S. Track - Round, round get around</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgeya4ei1EaAQaT3NY4QaF37aDN2K1x5jJJCIUM67xHNb4u68f71fePnyVmTsKfdu_IifT_eEmxgb58NI8KEm5d0Ezuuw7AnSuF201H_6pFA-LgARtvMt08Bw8ZH2Qix7zs-2xQrP5C3bKWk1yZYtf4CcM33SemsTI9I3cj9Mzf_35VJoXv4Y9R" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="607" data-original-width="1188" height="328" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgeya4ei1EaAQaT3NY4QaF37aDN2K1x5jJJCIUM67xHNb4u68f71fePnyVmTsKfdu_IifT_eEmxgb58NI8KEm5d0Ezuuw7AnSuF201H_6pFA-LgARtvMt08Bw8ZH2Qix7zs-2xQrP5C3bKWk1yZYtf4CcM33SemsTI9I3cj9Mzf_35VJoXv4Y9R=w640-h328" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Useless Stats<br /><br /><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEigw2pMUmL4teBz3TPu3EKbXwWXIg3EZQpudIxmRNGVzHokIhS2zu2ul6M_k2ZTJGGwkgP2EX8-WMBTSFYLfTsgK3kMRr1LTw9fwGUktZu3GZem4DMBKKTiAxy16nnFGIcbCa_rF9sOMRjoRaXefVCrLMKQ7TMsjtoI19MIo8OZ538K69rdnKE3" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="851" data-original-width="614" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEigw2pMUmL4teBz3TPu3EKbXwWXIg3EZQpudIxmRNGVzHokIhS2zu2ul6M_k2ZTJGGwkgP2EX8-WMBTSFYLfTsgK3kMRr1LTw9fwGUktZu3GZem4DMBKKTiAxy16nnFGIcbCa_rF9sOMRjoRaXefVCrLMKQ7TMsjtoI19MIo8OZ538K69rdnKE3=w461-h640" width="461" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The most useless stats yet</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /></p>Dan Horvathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17572195230700841746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14160620.post-3449649940570580872023-10-29T06:12:00.003-04:002023-10-29T06:19:04.489-04:00Thick mud and trails<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> <i>Do you like thick mud and trails?</i></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><br />
</i></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i>I do not like them,
Dan-I-Am.</i></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i>I do not like thick
mud and trails.</i></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><br />
</i></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i>Would you like them
here or there?</i></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><br />
</i></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i>I would not like
them here or there.</i></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i>I would not like
them anywhere.</i></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i>I do not like thick
mud and trails.</i></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i>I do not like them,
Dan-I-Am.</i></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><br />
</i></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i>Would you like them
in a park?</i></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i>Would you like them
in the dark?</i></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><br />
</i></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i>I do not like them
in a park.</i></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i>I do not like them
in the dark.</i></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i>I do not like them
here or there.</i></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i>I do not like them
anywhere.</i></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i>I do not like thick
mud and trails.</i></p><p>
</p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><i>I do not like them,
Dan-I-Am.</i></p>Dan Horvathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17572195230700841746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14160620.post-19902064734112268272023-10-28T14:53:00.001-04:002023-10-28T14:53:16.300-04:00My final trail run<p>"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 <i>is</i> that day." </p><p>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.</p><p>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?</p><p>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.</p><p>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.</p><p>Although I may still do The Buckeye Woods 25K (those trails are fairly gentle), I think I'm truly done done with trails.</p>Dan Horvathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17572195230700841746noreply@blogger.com0