Brunswick Half-Marathon and Run for Roseann

Roseann Peiffer (formerly Roseann Perchinske) ran with us before she moved away about fifteen years ago. I remember that she was training for her first marathon, along with several other friends. She was recently killed in a tragic accident - hit by a car while she was doing something she loved, biking with friends. Today, we held a Run for Roseann event to remember and honor her, for those who knew her as well as for those who did not. I decided to combine the Run for Roseann with the Summer edition of the Brunswick Half-Marathon. 

Roseann's family and close friends showed up, even a couple from Toledo. Together with a bunch of us local runners, we wound up with a huge turnout. Most folks ran around Brunswick Lake, but some of us ran the Brunswick 1/4 Marathon course down to Plum Creek Park and back. There were fewer of us (five in all) who ran a second 6.55-mile loop to complete a half-marathon.

Dan Stock ran fast, and he knew the route, a dangerous combination. He finished first. Chadwick Sunday was just in front of me most of the way. Until we got to the second 1/2-mile loop around Plum Creek. He ran counter-clockwise, whilst I did it clockwise. I spotted him halfway around and tried to give clear directions for getting back. Alas. He got slightly lost anyway. This enabled me, Dan Number Two, to finish second in the race, just under 1:56. Chadwick came in a couple of minutes later, with some extra mileage on his Garmin. Maureen Oblander and Katherine Kinsey completed the race by tying for First Female honors.

Fun stuff. Now, I've got to get serious about this half-marathon stuff. I have four to go before the end of the year.

I may not be my usual speedy self today

I warned the group about the demise of my speed as we were beginning the Hinckley 9-mile loop yesterday. The reason was that I've been running a lot. When you run a lot, you can't always go as fast as you'd like. Why have I been running a lot? I'm trying to whip myself back into shape after getting fat, slow, bald, and ugly during my recent travels. I hope there are no more questions. We have to talk about today's run.

About a year ago, Brunswick Middle School began opening its track to the public on Sundays. I've occasionally done some Sunday running there. Today is Monday, but, I thought, maybe the track will still be open from yesterday. Guess what? It was!

After a few very slow warmup miles, I started my 25 or 6 2 4 workout. It entails 25 laps total to add up to 10,000 meters or 6.2 miles (the 6 and the 2). The 4 means... I dunno, but I'll think of something. So that's 20 x 400 with 100 recoveries to make up the 10K. The 400s aren't all out; they are at about 10K pace. The recovery 100s aren't totally slow - you have to keep moving. When you add it all up, your overall total time should be worth noting, at least as much as the repeat splits.

Several years back, I began to realize that I don't do many 10K races anymore, so there isn't much sense in training for them. But I do still run 5Ks. Thus, I cut this workout in half. It's now 10 x 400, instead of 20. Everything else is the same. I do several such workouts a year. Today's (27++ minutes) was extremely slow, but at least it was something. 

Something of substance.

The second time I was attacked

It was the second attack in a week. This time, I had taken advantage of an early arrival into Skagway by hitting the roads in the small, Alaskan panhandle town. Once again, I heard the raven ruckus (they may have been crows; I'm not sure), but mostly ignored it. Until, that is, it became louder and more menacing. That's when, once again, one swooped down at me, causing me to wave my arms and yell at it. It flew away, but the ruckus continued. Another runner (we were the only people about at 6am) witnessed the attack, and we talked about it as we ran together for a while. "Where I live, they get out of your way," he said. I agreed. The ravens just sat back and said, "Nevermore will this bald guy again bother us."

The other time, I was in Vancouver on the morning before embarking on our Alaska-bound cruise. The same darn thing occurred. I wish I could understand why they didn't like me. Maybe it was something to do with a bald head jogging by? 

My running on board the Sapphire Princess was less eventful. The Promenade Deck goes most of the way around the ship, and there are around 3 laps per mile. I say almost, because you have a choice whether to go up and down a flight of stairs (which are sometimes closed) to make a complete loop, or turning around to make a big 'U,' which is what I mostly did. It wasn't the greatest running, but at least I got a few early-morning miles in. Nothing spectacular.

Once the cruise was completed, I did some running in the Denali National Park area. The scenery was awesome, especially along the Nenana River. The running was only so-so, though.

After Denali, it was back to Anchorage for the first time. This trip was complicated, with several return stops to this beautiful city with many fine all-purpose trails throughout. This was my best land run so far, but it was only six miles. Had to get moving on, you know.

In Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, I did some excruciatingly slow running back and forth on the only road around. I also did some hiking and running to and from the car parking area. I was glad to feed the mosquitoes some of my DNA. They needed it more than I.

Then, there was Kotzenbue. We only spent one night, but I managed to get a North-of-the-Arctic-Circle run in. It's not a large town, and I ran the length of it before heading up the small hill to the East. That's where the skeeters got me. Nice view up there, but I quickly came right back down to town.

Kotzenbue

By the time we arrived back in Anchorage for the third time this trip, I knew my way around fairly well. Had some time, so I finally got a long run in. I've already mentioned what a wonderful city Anchorage is for running, and I still feel that way. Except more so. This run was 18 miles at a half-way decent pace. Most was on the Chester Creek Trail and the Coastal Trail. Seen along the way: homeless people, a black bunny, numerous attacking seagulls (yes, now they are after me), a bald eagle, a train at the station, bunches of skeeters, no sighting of Denali, no hassles.

Long run in Anchorage

I did three additional runs in Anchorage, all on these same trails, but none were as long as that 18-miler. 

If you would like to learn more about this here Alaska trip, check out the travel blog post. 

It will be good to get home and to get serious about this running stuff.

Ladd's 5K

Ladd Clifford has had weekly 5K races from his house for the past couple of summers. I finally made it to one of them. The reason I haven't gone earlier is that I'm fairly worthless as an evening runner. Oh, you say? Just evening?  I do believe that it's a good idea to race often, even in a relaxed and fun setting with friends. I think it's a great opportunity to improve.

There were around twelve of us at Ladd's place. At 6:00 PM, we did a one-mile warmup before returning to his house to start the main event. We went south on Ryan Road a short distance before turning into a subdivision. At the end of that road, we entered onto the Chippewa Trail, an all-purpose asphalt trail that took us further south, all the way to Chippewa Road, which we crossed over and continued on for a couple hundred more yards into the woods. It all adds up to a shady, accurate, gently downhill 5K course.

It was a warm June evening. I was out of breath right from the start, forcing me to moderate my pace just a little. That worked. For a while. I ran fairly well for the first half, but slowed further in the second. I finished in the lower tier of the group with a time of 25:31. 

I'm not disappointed. Not thrilled, but not disappointed. Next time, I'll try to improve on this.

The Gang after the run at Ladd's place   photo credit: Ladd Clifford

Healthy, wealthy, and wise, my foot

"Healthy, wealthy, and wise" is a well-known idiom that emphasizes a fulfilling and successful life that encompasses physical, financial, and mental well-being. It's not just about having riches; it's about possessing the wisdom to make sound judgments, manage finances responsibly, and prioritize health. The more complete saying, "early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise," attributed to Benjamin Franklin, also reflects this idea, emphasizing the importance of good habits and discipline for overall success. 

Back in the early years of Earth's formation when I was young, my friends and I would negate a sentence or phrase by adding the words "my foot" to the end of it. By and by, I got older and the words were changed to "my ass" before (to the best of my knowledge) leaving the lexicon entirely. 

Now, we have the complete picture. Most who know me believe it when I say that the early to bed and early to rise part applies. So much so, that I ought to be the healthiest, wealthiest, and wisest bloke around. But am I? My foot.

Yes, my foot. It's acting up again. It hasn't been right since my Achilles Tendonitis surgery four years ago. Don't get me wrong. I'm still glad I did it. Since my recovery, I've been able to run again, mostly pain-free. But due to the lasting nerve damage, my right foot has been numb. This has caused other problems, including strange pains and injuries. For the past month, swelling and toe pain have increased. I don't think it's slowed me down much. Yet. 

Recently, I began volunteering with Habitat for Humanity. It's hard work for an old guy like me, but it's also rewarding, and I'm happy to do it. But being on my feet for hours and working hard in the heat is not working out so well for that right foot. Now, besides the numbness, there's swelling as well.

For today's volunteer gig, the swelling was particularly bad. I'm sure that waking up at 2:19 AM to run eight miles on the mill before meeting friends to run ten more at Lake Medina was not a factor here. Hey, I really wanted to get a long run in today. I didn't really intend to wake up quite so early, but it was a case of, I'm awake, I may as well run longer. All this before starting work at the build site at 8:30 AM. So no, it wasn't the running, just the H for H physical labor that's causing the problems.

My foot.

Schedule This!

The half-marathon and marathon schedule is set for the second half of 2025. I don't usually plan this far ahead. But think of all the money I saved with early pricing. Of course, if I miss any of the races, all those savings will go down the drain. Naturally, the worst thing that could happen is for me to get injured and miss more than one of them. I'd better start doing daily prayers and sacrifices to the knee, hip, and ankle gods.

• August 2: Hofbräuhaus Cleveland Half-Marathon
• August 8: Goodyear Half-Marathon
• September 27: Akron Half-Marathon and Team Relay (both)
• October 4-5: Northeast Ohio 24-Hour Run (as a volunteer)
• October 19: Columbus Marathon (overnight stay)
• November 2: Veterans Marathon in Blairsville, PA (overnight stay)
• November 23: Fall Classic Half-Marathon
• November 30: Buckeye Woods 25K/50K (probably the 25K)
• December 27: Brunswick Marathon

One more thing: if I do complete all of these, I will have run seven half-marathons for the year. That would be the most ever. The five full marathons is not; it's fairly typical.

Highland Hornet Dash 5K Race Report

Looking back, I think my biggest problem was that I wore all red to an all-green race. 

25:27, 26:19, 26:53. Those are my times from 2023, 2024, and this year. This year's pace was slower than that for the recent Medina Half-Marathon. I would be disturbed by this trend if I truly gave a piece of excrement. What excuses do I have, you ask?

• First, thanks for asking. It rained the entire time. I'm sure that slowed me down some. Yeah. Sure.
• The grass was high. The race takes runners around several grassy areas, and those were not so recently mowed.
• I been running a lot lately. Maybe I should've tapered for this.
• My friends were there, and we all had a bunch of fun. You can't have fun and run well, can you?

I mentioned the fun factor. This is a friendly community race to benefit Highland Schools. There are gobs of kids and lots of family fun stuff going on. My friend Julie Boggs is the de facto race director. She has taken over from Theresa Wright, who continues to help. What's not to like?

Tale of two tremendous training trots

Last week: It's Friday, and for the five millionth time, it's Lester Rail Trail. The weather is great, and I had been having a wonderful time running with my friends. Until they all left. Now I'm alone with six miles to go. 75% of the time, I slow way down at this point and struggle mightily to get up to the required mileage. Today, that number is 18 miles. And today, for a change, I manage to not slow down; I complete the run in an excellent (for me) time of 2:54. 

This week: It's Friday, and for the five million and oneth time, it's Lester Rail Trail. The weather is not so great (the humidity is extremely high), and yet I had once again been having a wonderful time running with my friends. Until they all left. Now, I'm once again alone with six miles to go. There's a better chance than last week that I might struggle mightily to get up to the required 18 miles. Yet today, like last week, I once again manage to not slow down; I complete the run in an excellent (for me) time of 2:56. Yeah, that's 2 minutes slower, but given the difficult conditions, I'll take it. What other choice is there?

I'm not sure what's going on here. It's a good thing, but it probably won't last.