A Bright Spot in the Nighttime

Before the breathin' air is gone
Before the sun is just a bright spot in the night-time
Out where the rivers like to run
I stand alone and take back somethin' worth rememberin'

Those are some of the lyrics to Out in the Country, by Three Dog Night. Here in Northeast Ohio, we're experiencing this bright spot in the nighttime phenomenon. The toxic smoke from Canadian wildfires has caused our air quality to be at its historical worst ever. This has a profound effect on any outdoor work or activities, including, of course, running. The air quality became progressively worse by the minute during yesterday morning's run, and I was forced to cancel today's. It was back to the mill for me.

The good news is that my injuries appear to be in the past, and all I need to do now is to regain my fitness. That's easier said than done, but it's better than being injured. 

Regaining fitness is beginning to become more important though. Besides the two half-marathons scheduled for August, and September's Akron Marathon, I've now added another challenging event: The Kauai Marathon. 

Egads. Challenging is right.

A Midsummer Night's Run

It's actually a midsummer morning, but A Midsummer Morning's Run doesn't quite have the same ring to it. It is still dark, so there's that. 

Dan heads South on Substation Road. In the early morning gloom, he spots fireflies in the woods and a shooting star up above. Even though it's a Monday and he just did a long run last Thursday, he's going for 18+ today as well. But that will be tough at this slow pace.

He reaches his Decision point, the intersection of Substation and Sleepy Hollow. From here, a left turn will take him on his nine-mile course. Right or straight are for his two eleven-mile ones or his sixteen-mile course. Nine miles would be half of 18, and it would provide the opportunity to complete the second half of the run on the mill. He turns left.

These semi-rural roads can be great for running. As long as there isn't much traffic. Unfortunately, today's early-morning commuters did not receive the memo instructing them to remain off the roads for a few more hours. All this traffic is the main reason Dan rarely ventures on these courses anymore. He thought he could beat it today, but that's not happening. Early on Sunday mornings may be the last hope.

Dan manages to complete the slow nine-plus miles, but now he's still got nine to go. It's light out, and it's getting hotter. After an intermediate coffee and banana, onto the mill he goes. 

He does nine-plus more, so count it as nineteen for the day. It's not his best or proudest moment. But it's done.

Long

For the first time in nearly two months, I managed to do a long run today. It wasn't pretty, but it's DONE.

Daily running

Want further details? Here are a few: I started early, and it was already warm and humid. I did around 6 miles at the track, then 5.5 with friends at the Square, and then 6ish more back at the track. Even though it wasn't particularly fast, it was fairly steady, and I finished fairly well. Now, we start the big push.

Big Heart Update

I posted about a brain study that I was in, where the finding that I had an enlarged heart. Further testing confirmed that my right ventricle was dilated, and my right atrial cavity was severely dilated. Yesterday, I finally got to see a Sports Cardiologist.

After further confirming all the test results, she reviewed my history and lifestyle. Then she explained a whole lot, ending with (and I do believe these were her exact words): "It's the running, stupid."

Not really. She did actually say that my heart is just fine. In fact, I should keep doing what I'm doing.

I was gonna anyway.

Today's Tremendous Tuesday Track Tempo Trot

Been a while. It's warm and extremely humid as Dan hits the track this Tuesday with his friends. He warms up a little, not that he needs it in this heat. How much of a warm-up? Oh, six miles. If you said Dan was very much warmed up by the time he began his tempo trot, you wouldn't be wrong. Everyone else is wrapping up their workouts. But Dan begins his, and lo and behold, Dan becomes almost like the Dan of Old. He does four miles at a decent, though not too fast, pace.

The pain is nearly gone. The goal now is to get the fitness back slowly. Very slowly.

2026 Medina Twin Sizzler "race" report

Photo: Julie Boggs

Today's "race" wasn't bad. I do the Medina Twin Sizzler nearly every year, and it always sizzles with fun. The Square is alive with activity, and all my friends are there. I ran the 5K very slowly, and the 10K a little faster. That's something that never happened before.

Photo: Shannon Barnes

Although even the slightly speedier 10K was slow overall, I am happy to say that I managed to not hurt myself. It was relatively pain-free. This is highly encouraging.

Now, all I have to do is get back into shape. That's no small task.

Photo: Julie Boggs

Roscoe Ewing Park Trail

Dan commences his fourth sojourn down the Roscoe Ewing Park Trail. He had gone out and back with the 5:30 group, with the 6:00 group (there was some overlap among the runners), with one person after all that to go back to pick up the walkers, and finally, this time, alone. Why is he doing this in the ridiculous 81-degree early-morning heat? Because he wants his run to be in the double-digits, of course.

Dan knows that you have been wondering why he can no longer manage to run long distances. He would answer that the reason he can't run eighteen miles is that he can't do ten miles. The nagging injuries, of which he has many, keep him well under double-digits, and those used to be Dan's standard (almost-always) daily distance. Lately, unfortunately, five miles is the new ten.

Today will be different, thinks Dan. He will get his double-digits, even if it kills him and all his running friends. (Well, okay; not them. They were smart enough to get done and go home.) Dan shuffles back to the Square. His watch tells him that he did 10.1 miles.

This bodes well for a couple of reasons. He has the Medina Twin Sizzler coming up in two days. It will entail running a 5K and a 10K in this hot weather. Dan now believes that he may be capable of running the nine-plus-mile distance. It also bodes well because Dan managed to not be in an excessive amount of pain today, not even for the final miles. Will his good luck continue? Stay tuned.