Cbus

I'm not sure when or why people started calling Columbus Cbus, but it does seem to work. So of course the Columbus Marathon can also simply be called Cbus.

Well over 20 Medina County Road Runners made the trek, and as predicted, it was a blast. Our little carload included Debbie, Brad, Michelle, Nancy and Dan Daubner. Brad was able to get all of us, *and* all our stuff, into his SUV. We were able to adhere to Debbie's *rigid* schedule for the trip and our time on Saturday. That meant getting to lunch, the expo and then dinner as planned. Dinner at Buca's was still more fun.

We lined up for the group photo, then lined up for the race and were off. The weather was almost perfect: upper 40s at the start, and mostly 50s during the course of the morning's running. I never felt too warm or too cold.

Except, that is, for the arm-warmer problem. Charles and his family made tie-died arm warmers for everyone from old tube socks. A little reluctantly, I wore mine for the first several miles. They actually felt great for most of that time. By about mile 8 or so, they started feeling too warm. I mentioned to Debbie that I didn't really want to throw them away, so she suggested I stuff them in my shorts. My response was, "people might think I have a problem." She suggested the back of my shorts, and my response was, "people might think I had a *different* problem." With no better options available, I did toss them. At that point I did feel fine again, temperature-wise.

Several of the early miles were with Debbie. I made a pit stop, but caught her again. We saw the governor in beautiful Bexley at about the 4 mile mark. The plan was for Brad, Debbie and I to stick with the 3:20 pace group, at least for most of the way. Brad wanted to try to qualify for Boston with a 3:15, however, so he started to get ahead of us fairly early on. Debbie and I were just ahead of the group when they caught us at about mile 8 or 9. I stayed ahead of them, but Debbie fell back.

I picked it up a bit more, and was probably a minute ahead of the group at the half-way point in about 1:38:40.

A few weeks ago I ran some pretty good late-summer races, including the Crim 10-Mile and the River Run Half. Based on my times at these races, I thought I was in pretty good shape, and had a shot at improving on my spring marathon times. It would be tough to beat the 3:13 I did in Cleveland, but I thought I had it in me. But then I found myself in Romania. I always seem to eat too much when I travel, and this trip was no exception. To atone for the increase in calories, I tried to run more, and of course this just exacerbated the tapering problem. So my plan for Cbus was to try to run with the 3:20 pace group and "see what happens".

By the time I'd reached 13.1 miles, however, I was starting to think 3:15. That would take pretty good negative splits, but I thought it was possible. I picked up the pace a bit, and caught Brad when we were going through the OSU campus at about mile 16. We stayed together for a while, but he was struggling and fell back. I hit mile 20 at pretty close to 2:30. I would have to pick it up even more in the final 10k.

I did manage to run still slightly faster than I had been. I didn't quite do 3:15, but I did the next best minute: 3:16 (and 13 seconds). In that second half, and especially that final 10k, I'd given it all I had.

3:16 is pretty good, and I'm happy with it. But would it have been better if I didn't travel? If I wouldn't have run 40 miles the previous weekend? It's hard to say.

After a fun after-the-race get together at Max & Erma's, it was back into Brad's vehicle, and onto the road again. Amongst other things, we discussed burnout. Several MCRR runners were at least somewhat unhappy with their runs, and a couple had to drop out with injuries. Debbie especially felt Burned out (notice the capital B), after all the racing she's done recently, she had a tough time in the second half. Brad was a bit disappointed too. Michelle, Dan and Nancy, on the other hand, were fairly happy with their runs. What about my 3:16? I could try for a faster marathon at Inland Trail next week, but considering the burnout factor, am thinking better of it. I do have Stomp the Grapes Half in three weeks. That should be enough.

(Another) Rhapsody of Running in Romania

This is my fourth trip to Bucharest, so by now I know some of the best running routes. In some ways, they’re actually quite good, and in others, such as the dog aspect, not so great.

The parks are really wonderful, and there sure are a lot of them. On the minus side, most of these city parks are quite small, so I’ve got to run several loops. For example, it’s only a mile around the closest one, Parcul Izvor. One of the next closest ones, Parcul Carol, is only slightly bigger. Parcul Tineretului is the biggest one that’s anywhere close – I can get a couple miles when running around the lake and on the bike trail above the lake there. Of course the biggest minus is still the stray dogs. They are still a problem for any run through any and every park or neighborhood.

As usual, besides Parcul Izvor, I do a lot of loops around the Palatul Parlamentului. I managed to do two consecutive sub-13 minute 1.85 mile circuits of the palace the other day, so I can call it a tempo run. My loops around Izvor haven’t been so fast. Yet.

I have to run though scenic Parcul Carol to get to the also scenic Parcul Tineretului. I do this for my longer runs. It’s tough to beat Tineretului for good running. It’s big and hilly, with a decent sized lake, and lots of asphalt trails. I can get a lot of miles in there, as I do on my longer runs.

Saturday’s long run was a case in point, I did 4 1-mile loops around Izvor, then, as noted, went through Carol and over to Tineretului. There I ran around and around, finally figuring out how to make a complete circuit of the lake. That took about 14 minutes, but there was plenty more running to be had there. Altogether I was in the park for about an hour and forty-five minutes. The dogs in a run-down neighborhood on the way back spoiled my overall fun a bit, but it was a good one, all in all. I’m calling the entire run a twenty.

I figure that I’ve put on between five and ten pounds during the week I’ve been here. And my stay ain’t over yet. This does not bode well at all, not at all, for my upcoming Columbus Marathon. It usually takes me several days to get back to normal, and I won’t have several days. I’m now giving serious thought to doing the Inland Trail Marathon, and doing Columbus only as a training run.

To try to atone for my awful gluttony here, I did a second long run over the weekend. It had been a while since I’d run 40 miles over a weekend, but I sure felt like I needed the mileage this time. The second weekend long run didn’t go nearly as well as the first. I started slow and finished slower. Most of the miles were in Tineretului, whilst the last few were in Izvor – kind of the opposite of yesterday.

Addendum – For my last couple runs, I’ve been mostly running loops around the now familiar Parcul Tineretului, and especially around nearby Parcul Izvor. It’s fun to explore new areas, but I never run as fast when I’m doing so. Izvor appeals because it’s almost exactly a mile, and there are no major curbs to negotiate in the dark. Tuesday I managed to get down to tempo pace for three of these miles, followed by some other decent running half-loop (800m) pickups. Wednesday I explored Tineretului a bit more. I guess I got the miles in, so things could be worse.

For more on my running and daily life in Romania, check out this post from my 2009 trip, A Day in the Life. I think you will like it.

And for more general information on my travel adventures to Romania, see my travel blog entry.

Akron Marathon

"That's the last hill. You're at the top. It's all downhill from here." I wish I had a nickel for every time I heard that, or something just like it, over the last 10 miles.

After missing a couple days of training due to NC24, I jumped back in last week to try to get right back to where I had been. I also decided, with only a few days to left, to go ahead and run Akron. I'd heard that it was *wonderful*, and I thought I'd find out for myself.

So I found myself lined up with a few thousand of my best friends on a nice and relatively cool Akron morning. After the gun, the hills didn't take very long to materialize. It was down for the first mile or two, then up, up, up for the next several. After a while, I found it impossible to keep up with my training partner Debbie Scheel, and instead ran and talked with friend Kevin. It was good to see so many friends before, during and after the race.

It got a bit easier as I hit the towpath just before half-way. The TP and Sand Run are very pretty areas, and they make this race memorable. Hey, woudn't it be great to have a race that's entirely on the TP? Oh, I forgot. There already is one.

I probably did pick it up a little for those 4+ miles. Then came Sand Run: several miles - almost all of it uphill. Tough for everyone, including me. Brad caught me for a while, but then I pulled away again. I eventually began to spot Debbie up ahead. When I caught her later on I tried to get her to go with me, but that didn't happen. I went on to pass Connie, who was just less than a week recovered from her 141 NC miles. Seems that's the only time I can beat her is right after a hundred or more miles. Of course I had yet another smart remark ready for her when I did: "You need to learn to run while drinking water," I said as she stopped at an aid station.

From about mile 15 to about 23, the trend of the race is up, up, up. Only the last two are back down a bit, but by then I was fairly shot. I came in at 3:23. I had only wanted to do a training run here, so the time, and the even splits, are fine with me. But I never thought it would be this hard. Not even with all the warnings I'd had from friends. It was really, really tough.

Would I do it again? The race organization was as wonderful as advertised. Very good attention to detail. And I may consider it as part of a relay. But run the entire bird again? One of the toughest I've ever done anywhere? What do you think?

2010 NC24

It's over. Has been for a week and a half. And I thought things were supposed to ease in my life now. They didn't.

We had a volunteer/organizer party at our place Saturday. Yesterday I went to the MCRR meeting to talk about the race, only to learn that everyone there, except Lisa, had actually been at the race in some capacity. Tonight is our organizational team wrap-up / post mortem. On top of all that, we went to Shannon's last week to get all the race equipment and supplies, so we could bring them back home. Now Debbie has inventoried and deposited everything into containers, and the next step is to build some shelving for it in the garage (last year we'd stacked it in the basement). And on top of all that... I'm dealing with a never-ending barrage of emails about the race. This in itself is a full-time job.

I must say that the event itself was another huge success. Not that there isn't room for improvement, mind you. That, of course, is one of the main subjects for tonight's meeting. But thanks to the fantastic volunteers and great organizers, NC24 was a great experience for all of us - including, even, the runners.

By far, the most important thing to do when organizing an event like this is to get the best possible team. And I did that. Without a doubt, Shannon, Roy, Frank, Joe, Debbie Horvath, Debbie Horn, Charles and several others that I'm probably forgetting, were the backbone of the event. We couldn't have been successful without them.

Like last year, when I saw it all unfold, it was truly amazing. And gratifying to the n'th degree. Of course it was hard work - not only during the 24 hours, but for several days before and after. But it was, as they say, a labor of love.

Think I'll do it all again next year? Stay tuned..

River Run Double Half-Marathon

10 miles in just under 69 minutes. That's in between the finish times for the two ten-milers I've done in recent weeks. Would I be able to keep that same pace, or even pick it up a bit for the final 5K?

It had been a couple years since I was able to dip under 1:30 for a half-marathon. For the River Run Half, I made a point to tell everyone that 1:29 was my goal, and after the Crim, I felt I was ready.

Several of my MCRR friends were there. The weather was decent - low 60s, and a little humid. I ran the early miles with Debbie Scheel, but by mile 3 I was mostly alone, and stayed that way for the rest of the run. I knew I needed about a 6:50 pace, and I did manage to get to the half-way point in about 44 and a half minutes, give or take.

It took a great deal of concentration, but I did manage to make those final three miles my best ones. The last 5K was about 20:40, so I finished in 1:29:31. Some faster old geezer showed up, so I was only second in my age group. But I'm happy with this one. There may be a way to squeeze out another minute or so in some future race, but by and large I feel like I'm running to my potential. And that's a good thing.

After kibitzing with my friends at the finish, it was time to run back to the car. Yes, Jack and I had parked at the start with plans to jog back afterward. It had sounded like a good idea at the time. But those additional 13 or so miles were pretty darn tough - even though they were at a slow 9-minute pace. I think I was bonking due to lack of nutrition, because I felt better when I took a gel. We did eventually make it back to the start. It was a lot of running for one day.

Tremendous Training Trail Trots: Twenty-Two, Twenty-Two, Ten. Tempos Too.

Probably don't need to say much else; the title says it all. Almost.

The story should probably start with last Tuesday's speed sessions. Yes, sessions with an 's'. I ran well at both, but afterwards my right knee seemed abnormally tender. This didn't seem like too big a deal.

Thursday I met Dave at the towpath, and I wound up with twenty-two terrific towpath training miles. It was a pretty steady eight-minute to slightly slower pace. After this run, the 'ole knee hurt more - especially going down stairs. I learned that it may be patella tendinitis, or possibly bursitis. Either way I need to treat it with ice and ibuprofen, which I'm doing.

On Saturday I drove to Connecticut for a visit (Debbie is still there, and will stay another week because although Malcolm is fine, Veronica is still recovering). I ran on the Housitonic Trail on Sunday (22) and Monday (10), and did well. I managed to get down to tempo pace for two slightly downhill sections on Sunday, and one on Monday.

So the running has been good. But what the heck do I do with this aching knee?

E.N. Hines Drive

This is a parkway just west of Detroit. I've run here many times, but am always impressed that there's so much of it. It's sort of like our Metroparks parkway in the Cleveland area. Some of my past running here includes the Martian Marathon (a couple times), the Detroit Free Press Marathon training run (a couple times), several runs with friends Paul, Doug and Keith beginning at Paul's in Novi, and more.

Today I was staying at Six Mile in Livonia, and I wanted to get a long run in before heading home. I ran west on Six Mile, south on Haggerty (forgetting that the bike trail runs north/south along I275), to catch Hines Drive south of Plymouth Rd. I figure that was a good five miles right there. I decided to go west on Hines, rather than the slightly more familiar easterly direction. As noted, I was surprised at how far it actually went on. I was also surprised at how nice and peaceful it was. Back to the direction and distance: at some point I believe I was going north before heading back to the west again. At another point it felt as though I was making a big semi-circle, coming to Northville Road twice.

Although I was fairly tired, I felt like I was proceeding at a decent enough pace. I turned around after another 45 minutes, figuring that this was a good 10 miles total each way. After I turned back, I tried to pick it up some. Surprisingly, I did. My last few miles were probably the best.

Another 20-miler in the books.

Better than Perfect

This is familiar territory in more ways than one. I pass mile 9 in something just under 62 minutes. It is a minute or so faster than this point in the Perfect 10-Miler a couple weeks ago. At that race, I had very little left, and I finished with a fairly slow final mile. Do I have anything left this time? This time it’s the Crim 10-Miler, and I’m in familiar territory not only with the time and challenge of the final mile, but also because I’m back up in Michigan, running a race I’ve done many times with old friends.

Where were all those old friends this time? Perhaps it’s been too long. I had FaceBooked a couple folks who would be there, and I thought that I’d simply know just about everyone else, as seemed to be the case at all those previous Crim races in the 80’s and 90’s. This time out, I did see a couple familiar faces, but none of my closer friends, including Jim Karner, whom I’d FB’d. I nodded to some of the folks, but hardly said two words to anyone. Did I mention that there were over 10,000 runners? The sheer numbers may have been a factor in the ability to find folks.

The reason I’m back in Michigan is to attend the wedding of Erich Watry, son of old friends Mike and Linda Leinius. I’d spent the previous night visiting Greg and Dot Worley, who conveniently live closer to Flint than the location of the wedding reception in Livonia. I’m doing all this on my own, since Debbie is still in Connecticut, helping her daughter and new grandson.

It had been a cool night, with temperatures in the fifties and low humidity for a change. By the 8am start the sun was warming things up to around 70F, but the humidity was still low. These were the best race conditions I’d had in months. The start was as crowded as I’d expected. I was seeded into a corral with other sub-7 minute runners. Since I’m now just *barely* under that pace, I did place myself at the *end* of that corral. The first couple miles appeared very familiar to me; it was starting to seem like I’d never left.

Those early miles are fairly flat and indeed fast. I tried to keep them at just under 7-minute pace without working too hard. As the race unfolded, I couldn’t quite remember where the Bradley Hills were. I remembered that they were somewhere in the middle, but I was reminded of their location soon enough. Although the Crim is a fast course, those Bradley Hills do make it challenging. They turned out to be from about mile 4.25 to about 6.25, give or take. And once again, they did indeed slow me down some.

The Bradley’s are probably tougher than the hills I’d experienced at the Wooster Heart and Sole Half-Marathon the previous week. The hills at that race are more constant, but not as steep. I’d made the trip to Wooster with several MCRR friends, and we had a blast there as usual. My time for Wooster was 1:33 and change, including a strong finish. This was better than last year, but slower than the one before. The heat and humidity didn’t help at all.

The weather for the Crim was still comfortable as I came through that tough hilly section. The second half is quite scenic, as there are generally parks on one side of the road, and large old beautiful homes on the other. I did manage to get the mile split times back down to sub-7 after a couple slower miles through the hills. This is where the race truly begins.

After mile 9 I try to run faster. My legs are barely responding, but I suppose that I have indeed kicked it up a notch. Then with about a third of a mile to go, I turn onto Saginaw Street. I see and I remember that it truly is all downhill from here. Now I pick it up even more, passing a few runners as I go. One or two pass me as well, but I’m doing as well as can be expected. I get to the brick portion of Saginaw for the final couple blocks and pick it up once more, to ramming speed. I cross the line in 1:08:30 or so. I believe that the difference between the gun time and my chip time may be on the order of 15 seconds, so my chip time may be closer to 1:08:15. That final mile was a fast one. At sub-6:30, it was my fastest of the day.

This is indeed better than Perfect. I’d done 1:09:55 at the Perfect-10. Here I was better than that by a minute and a half or more. The low humidity probably made all the difference, as this is surely a tougher course.

After the race I continue to look for old friends, but only found a few familiar faces. Later on at the wedding, who should I see but Jim and Debbie Deren? It turns out that their daughter was in the wedding party, and is close friends with both Erich and Michelle. How ironic to finally run into an old running friend where he wasn’t at all expected. More ironic than that, Jim had done the Crim this day as well. You can’t make this stuff up.

Malcolm Dancer

This little post is not about running at all. It's about being a Grandpa.

Malcolm Dancer came into the world Friday, August 13, 2010. Veronica and Barry, and the new kid on the block are all doing quite fine. Debbie has been in Connecticut to help for a couple weeks already, and she continues to do so. Everyone's home now, and doing fine.

I made the long trip to visit for a couple days, and I was very proud and happy to hold Malcolm. I'd forgotten what it was like to hold a baby. What a joy!

The Perfect 10-Miler and an Animal Farm Concept

I've run every one of these Perfect 10-Milers since the race's inception in 2003. And every year I've done well there. Even though last year's 1:08:40 was my slowest ever, I was still happy with it. With all the hard running I've been doing, I thought I could beat that time this year. Heck, I even tapered a wee bit.

Seven of us MCRR folks squeezed into Debbie's vehicle to head up to Lyndhurst for the always fun camaraderie. It was warm and extremely humid. But I wasn't about to let that get the better of me. Or would I?

As planned, I started at just under seven minute pace. I saw Debbie and Connie, and a few others, early on and at the turnaround. After running this one so many times, I knew about the uphill sections in miles 5 and 6. Half-way went by in 34 and a half minutes - about the same as last year. Those hills slowed me a little as expected, but I was going to lower the hammer for those last four. Sure enough, downhill miles 7 and 8 were pretty good (although not as fast as expected). Even then, If I could've managed a really fast final two miles, I would've been okay. I couldn't, and I wasn't. The last two were around seven minutes, so I finished in 69:55. Very disappointing. As expected, this was tempered by the fun of being with all my MCRR friends.

I'm not disappointed because I ran a dumb race, or because I feel like I didn't give it my all. And it's not because I didn't place in my age group, whereas I won it last year and in previous years. I ran it just as I should have, but of course I wanted to go a little faster in the second half. And I was totally spent, especially in that high humidity. Regarding placing, you just never know who will show up. My disappointment is due to the slowing of my times here and at other races. This, in spite of the fact that I'm working so hard to run hard in my training. Maybe I should just not train so hard?

This weekend I've got the Wooster half-marathon, and next weekend the Crim 10-Miler. After this one, I'm not very hopeful about those.

A little more about the training: yes it's been pretty decent. 70 mile weeks; Speedwork here and there (including two sessions last Tuesday); some Hinckley hills and other long and medium-long stuff. It seems like it should be enough to evoke some improvement. I suppose that like the Horse in Animal Farm, I'll just have to say, "I will work harder."

Tendinitis? Shin Splits? Whatever You Call it, it Hurts

Yesterday Ladd, Janet, Charles and I did a slower paced run through Buckeye Woods Park and Chippewa Lake via roads, dirt and bike trails. It was a beautiful day for a run and an enjoyable course, but I was in pain the entire way.

My right shin had been acting up for a week now - ever since a long run with Jeanine the previous Thursday. There's been a noticeable lump at the source of the pain, and my entire ankle was swollen with edema at times. The pain itself has come and gone a couple times during the week. Dr. Joe seemed to have it cured completely, but it came back with a vengeance during that run yesterday.

I was therefore very concerned about today's Hilly Hinckley long run that also promised to be at a faster pace. A good bunch showed up, including Michele, Ladd, Debbie S., Jack, Brad, Dan, and probably a couple others that I can't remember. I tried to stay with Mandy for the first 9+ mile loop, and then Debbie, Jack and Ladd on the second one. A few of us followed all that up with a 3+ mile lake loop. Two surprises: 1) I ran ok. 2) I had no pain whatsoever, even with the hills and fast pace. Whatdoyaknow?

This afternoon was the MCRR picnic, organized with great care by Debbie and Nancy. It was a fun event, even though I had to enjoy it without Debbie H.

Addendum: I have been feeling much better - almost 100%, but the pain came back a bit today (Aug. 19).

The 100-Mile Party

Suzanne Pokorny is the volunteer coordinator for the Burning River 100-Mile Endurance Run. She's done it for a couple years now and by all accounts does a wonderful job of organizing over 20 aid stations and hundreds of volunteers spread out over the 100 mile point-to-point course. This year Suzanne worked her usual wonders of organizing everything, but then went on to run the race. Who would step in for her on race day itself? Hmmmm. I couldn't think of a good enough excuse not to, so I became Volunteer-Coordinator-For-The-Day.

It turned out that Suzanne did such a great job ahead of time that I wound up doing precious little more than show up at each aid station and ask if they needed anything. A few did, so I actually did add some value. Most of the time, however, I felt like just the window dressing - just appearing and accepting at least some of the praise for a great event.

Actually, RD Joe Jurczyk, Suzanne, and all of the other volunteers deserve all the accolades they can get. At least they do get some - mostly from the runners, who have been just about unanimous in their praise for the race and the volunteers.

Each aid station operated like a small city with it's own mayor (the aid station captain). They all took their jobs very seriously, yet managed to inject a great deal of fun into the event as well. That's why I call it a 100-mile party. How better to spend 30-plus consecutive hours of a weekend.

It was actually more and less than that. More in that I had arrive in Willoughby Hills well before the 5am Saturday start, and I had to be on hand for the awards over an hour after the 11am Sunday finish. Less in that I unexpectedly managed to break away for a 3-hour or so nap during the night. Joe was, of course, extremely tired and losing his voice, so I took over the announcing duties. That was a great deal of fun - seeing everyone, including many that I know - cross the finish line in Cuyahoga Falls all night and morning.

Does all the enjoyment I had make me want to go and, for the second time, do such a thing myself? Not on your life.

Burning and Baching

Burning refers to Burning River, as in the BR100, in which I'm becoming more and more involved. I'm not complaining - I'm happy to be of help. This weekend will be a looong one for me however. I'll have to be around the entire 30 hours beginning Saturday morning. This after the Friday dinner and packet pickup festivities.

Batching refers to bachin' it, since my wife has left me. No, I don't think it's permanent; Debbie went to Connecticut to help Veronica and Barry with the soon-to-be birth of their son. The plan is for me to pick her up Labor Day weekend. That's a long way away. This leaves me with the cats, the garden, the house (to clean and cook), etc., etc. I'm not complaining - I'm happy to be of help. My workload is such that I should have enough time to take care of these things, but this could change in a hurry. We'll see.

For some reason I *have* been finding time to run. I got some good running in over the weekend. Saturday was our NC24 training run. As expected, I only had time for 11 miles or so. But I did manage to get a tempo run in the mix. Sunday was the club's Double Trouble race. This year I volunteered to help the entire time and not run. So I got a track workout in before the race: my 20 x 400/100 for 6.2 miles workout. It went very well, as did the volunteering for the race.

Of course Monday's run paid the price for two good runs in a row: it was 11 VERRRY SLOOOW miles. But I bounced back yesterday for 8 x 800 with the usual Tuesday track group. That was yet another good workout for me. I may run long with some MCRR folks tomorrow, or I may do it on my own on Friday. Time marches on.

I Hear That Train A-Coming....

Yes, I heard it coming. But my brain was in denial. After all, funny stuff such as getting caught by trains and drawbridges only happens to other people, right? As I approached from the road and saw the train barreling down the tracks in front of me, I decided that denial would no longer work for me. Instead, it was indeed time to assess my options. And of course there weren't any, other than to stop and wait.

The race was the Wellington Cheese Festival 10K. After some really awful race times, I'd decided that I needed to get a fast 10K in, and that this was the race to do it. It would be small (actually, tiny), and flat and fast. After the 10K runners split off from the 5K'ers, things got spread out very quickly.

When I got to the train, there was one guy already standing and (anxiously) waiting. He said he thought he was third (but one of the folks ahead of him was Chelsea Oswald, who happens to be a woman). After I got there, Al King arrived, and I think one more came in after him. We had a nice conversation for a couple minutes. How many minutes, you ask? I didn't know at the time because I stopped my watch. We were past mile four and I think I was at about 27 minutes at that point.

Time passed. The caboose eventually came by, and the race resumed. The fast guy, Al and I quickly got into the same order that we'd arrived in. Some other stuff happened in those last two miles, but we still managed to finish in that order.

So my finishing time (43 something) isn't so bad if you consider the train time. I figure it at 41:24, which would indeed be a decently fast 10K.

Saved by the Track

Last week's track session wasn't so hot. I take that back. It was hot. 93 degrees or so. It was my running that wasn't so hot. In fact it was awful. No one felt like pushing it in that heat, so we just did some straightaways. But I couldn't even do very well for those. Even though it was still hot and humid, I hit the track again on Thursday morning to do some mile intervals. Lo and behold I managed to get a few decent ones in (but I really struggled to get home in the heat). Then I hit the track again on Saturday and managed to do an unexpected 3-mile tempo run. Yesterday it was a little cooler than last week (80 vs 93) and the 6 x 800 session went very well for me. And today I was having a rough time getting the miles in after only 10 hours rest, so I went to the track just to gauge my pace. And guess what? I was able to get back to a decent pace by doing so.

What do these runs (except for the first one) have in common? The track, of course. It's a wonderful place!

Other happenings include a run at Hinckley on Sunday that went really well, and then there were some other junk miles here and there.

The Jessy and Veronica weekend parties were lots of fun. Now come the cleanup and dealing with the leftovers.

Doldrums

Doldrums are the area near the equator where, due to low pressure, the winds are calm and sometimes nonexistent. In modern lexicon, doldrums refer to, according to Wikepedia, "being in a state of listlessness, despondency, inactivity, stagnation, or a slump". That pretty much sums things up for me for this summer. It's happened in the past as well, so I'm not overly concerned.

But lookyahere: I've done several shorter races where I couldn't even manage a seven minute pace. Notable inclusions would be my last two races, the Medina Twin Sizzler 10K at the North Canton YMCA 5-mile. There were plenty of others as well. Now I've had a couple half-way decent races lately as well, but only a couple: the Wadsworth 4-mile and the Medina Twin Sizzler 5K. And it's not only my races. My last two training runs, Tuesday Track and a Fifteen today were stinkers as well. Nine-minute per mile pace is the new Eight.

There's nothing mysterious about the causes: extreme heat and humidity for most of the summer (although it was cooler for the two decent races I noted), as well as my own gluttony and sloth (two out of seven deadlies aren't bad). The gluttony includes eating multiple hot dogs and potato chips - things I never, ever eat normally - over the last several days from our 4th of July cookout. This weekend, with Jessy's Graduation and Veronica's baby shower promise to include more bad stuff. And the sloth? Well, maybe not really, because I really am trying. I just like the concept.

Good, Bad and Ugly

That's the result when you run two races within 13 hours one weekend, and then 3.5 races within 25 hours a week later.

I've been trying to ramp up the intensity by doing even more speedwork (now twice per week - once with the gang and once by myself) and also by concentrating even more on these ubiquitous shorter races. The ubiquitous shorter races I'm referring to?

Start with the Wadsworth 4-miler. The Friday evening temperatures were very decent - probably under 80. They had a good crowd, including some very serious talent. I think I ran well, but it's a little hard to tell. In the midst of some good-sounding 6:30 or so miles came a faster sub-6 mile for mile two. I finished with something like 25:12. It turned out to be too good to be true - mile two was short - by as much as .25 mile. Even so, it was a good run for me, and I won the geezer age group.

The next morning Ladd and I drove to the Green YMCA 10K race. Once again it was fairly cool for this time of year. I ran a steady pace and finished in about 42:55. This was a minute or so better than my other 10K's of the year so far, and I was pretty darn happy with it!

The weather got even cooler and nicer for a few days, I it sure was a relief! The Tuesday's speedwork was downright pleasant! Difficult as always, but I felt good as I was heaving!

This past weekend included the July 4 holiday. I usually do the North Canton YMCA 5-miler because it's part of the Subway/Ohio Challenge series. Because of this, I generally miss out on the Medina Twin Sizzler 5K/10K. This year, since the 4th was on a Sunday, they held the North Canton Run on Monday even though the Medina races were still on Sunday. Of course this meant that I was able to do all of the above. How did this come out to 3.5 races? Read on..

The only other time I did the Twin Sizzler, I ran slow in the initial 5k, hoping to do a fast time in the 10k. I wound up with very slow times in each of them. My strategy for 2010? Go for it in the 5k, and just try to hold on during the 10k. When the 5k began, it was still early, and the heat hadn't really set in yet. I did go for it, and I finished with a 20:01 - about as fast as I've done in the last couple years - I did a 20:01 last fall as well. I had some time so I ran a couple miles with my friends in between the two races. By the time the 10k got going it was sizzling hot - well into the 80s. A seven minute per mile pace would've been nice, but I couldn't even manage that. I did 44:30 - not the greatest - but at least it was a fairly steady pace on a tough course in tough conditions. I won the geezer age division in both races. It was great to see all my MCRR friends out there!

The next morning I found myself driving to a race with Ladd once again. We picked Matt up and drove out to North Canton. I'd been telling the guys that I always do the 2-mile as a warmup for the 5, and Ladd and I did this once again. I joked that the second mile of the 2-mile is always my best mile of the day, beating any of my miles for the 5-mile actual race. We started the 2-mile several minutes late because of a long restroom line. After a few minutes we began to catch the slower runners. After about 9 1/2 minutes we hit the 1-mile mark. A few minutes later we started to think about the start of the 5-mile. I don't know why, but I had it in my head that we had gobs of time. Turned out that we had five minutes. Given that the distance to the finish was about 3/4 mile, we were in for some speedwork.

"On your mark, get set, boom." Ladd and I had just sprinted 3/4 mile, and were about to get into the line when we heard those words. Totally spent from my speedwork, I tried to get going at a steady pace. I suppose I did so. Too bad that steady pace was, once again, so darn slow. Once again I couldn't even manage seven minute miles after that 1/2 race. The heat and humidity were unbelievable. I finished in just under 36 minutes.

So there are a few isolated flashes of brilliance among some very slow racing. A little more consistency would be nice, but for now I'll take what I can get.

Felt Like I Was Gonna Puke

You know the feeling. You haven't done serious speedwork for a while. You've raced some, but mostly at longer distances. Then you try to introduce some speed into the equation. Add in the fact that this is during a period of time where the heat and humidity is really starting to settle in.

The Tuesday speed sessions at the track have seemed grueling, especially in the heat. Then there was that hot 10K I did with Ladd a week and a half ago. I really did feel like puking at that one.

This week started even a bigger push. After some fairly slow running during our trip to the Finger Lakes, I did mile intervals on my own Monday, followed by a tempo run Tuesday morning, followed by another tempo run Tuesday night as part of the weekly speedwork. I took today off, and tomorrow should be fairly easy running Chuck and Lillian's farewell run and party. Then comes more races: Wadsworth Friday night and Green Saturday morning.

I've also registered for the Twin Sizzler 5K AND 10K on the fourth, followed by North Canton on the fifth.

So many opportunities to run poorly! Or at least until I feel like...

Another Dam 50K Run

It's something like mile 6 of the first loop, and I'm dying. Ladd had set out at a very fast, it seemed to me, pace, and I simply couldn't keep up. I'd been soaked with sweat from the high humidity since mile two, and now we were running through another section of wall-to-wall, thick, deep mud. Between huffs and puffs, I try to tell Ladd to go ahead and leave me. He stubbornly eases up a bit so that I can (barely) continue to keep up, replying that he won't leave me.

Soon we finish the first of four 7.9 mile loops in 68 minutes, and have a breather at the start/finish aid station. Once again I implore Ladd: "Go on without me. I'm just having a bad day today, and simply can't keep this pace up. Don't know if I can finish at all." He continues to insist that we can run together, even if it's slow.

After hanging around a minute or two longer than we should have, we start the second loop. I start very slowly, but within a mile or so, I'm feeling and running much better. Maybe it had something to do with the energy gel, caffeine, electrolytes or gatorade. By the time we reach the middle part of the second loop, I'm running as fast as ever, and feeling just fine. Now Ladd is having to keep up. Even with the slow start, we finish the second loop in 69 minutes.

I'm feeling more and more confident and strong after another couple minutes at the aid station. I start loop three at a fast pace. My theory is that I should go as fast as possible on the parts of the course that are runnable. There are plenty that aren't. Although the mud doesn't seem to get any worse (I'd thought that it would), it certainly isn't getting any better either. The humidity is high, but since there is no sun, it never feels too very hot. Although there have been a couple raindrops, the rain seems to be holding off. The best part is that I'm feeling and running so well. I wish I could understand why and how I could feel so lousy one minute, and so together the next. It's fun to see the other runners, especially Marsha and Charles at a couple points. Ladd is still having a slight amount of difficulty keeping up, but he's still in there with me. It seems best if I stay in the lead however.

The time for loop three is 70 minutes. Once again we spend another couple minutes getting ourselves together before starting loop four. Now we're both starting to feel the accumulated miles in our legs. We slow it down just a bit. All we need to do is get through this one. We pass by the main aid station the first time and see Marsha! Ladd gives her a big smooch and we continue on our journey. Now the hills and mud are getting tougher for me. Ladd takes the lead for the first time in a while. I try mightily to keep up. With about three miles to go, Ladd begins to pull away. I reach the aid station again, and Ladd had already left. That's ok; there are only two miles to go now.

I run slower and slower. I'd come close to falling in the mud about three times, and I'm not going to let it happen now. A time of 4:50, my time at Green Jewel this year, and the time that I think is my best, has been out of the question for a while now. At this point I can beat 5 hours if I just continue running. I do. My finishing time is 4:56.

That last loop was by far the slowest: 1:19. Ladd had finished a minute ahead of me. We ask if I'm the first Grand Master and are told that I am. It turned out later that I wasn't. This isn't too big a deal; there are no prizes or anything. Marsha finishes in a very good time, and was smiling the whole way. Charles had a very rough patch on his third loop, but did well to finish.

Ultrarunners like to play a little joke on their uninitiated "normal" running friends. "Ultras are much easier than marathons," they say. "You run at a much slower pace, and the runs are usually on soft trails that are easy on your body." The they go off and laugh their heads off every time someone naively believes them.

The ride back from Dayton is an uncomfortable one. The four of us talk about the run the whole time. It had been Marsha and Charles' first ultra, and they are justifiably proud. Ladd had also run his best time. And I'm pretty happy myself. I'm mostly happy that it's over!

For My Next Trick...

It's Another Dam 50K. I entered at the last moment after a severe bout of peer pressure from Ladd. Marsha and Charles are also going. The reasons for my procrastination are many, but two of the bigger ones are: a) I've had a heckofa time recovering after the Emerald Necklace 100K, and b) It's kind've dumb to run a 50K when I'm trying so hard to get faster for these shorter races. But I've never been accused of being the sharpest tack in the box.

The recovery has indeed been slow. I don't know why this surprised me - it was, after all, a very long way. And that run came only a week after the Cleveland Marathon. After a perfectly awful week, I celebrated Memorial Day weekend with an extremely slow 10K in Wooster on Saturday, followed by 22 Hilly Hinckley miles on Sunday, and 15 Towpath Miles on Monday. Through it all, I was finally beginning to feel like a runner again. Tuesday and Wednesday of this week were at least as good. I finally had a decent speedwork session with 6 x 800 on Tuesday, and did my 12-mile run to and around North park today.

Now I've got to settle myself down for this here 50K. I'm duly scared.