Recovery

Been reading lots about the marathon. Plenty of carnage and snafus.

I'm not doing too badly. Just sore and tired. 3 on Tuesday weren't bad, but yesterday's attempt at 11 went very poorly. I had to cut it short at 8, and even those last few were a real struggle. 2 more on the mill yesterday.

Today was a good day. I got up early for dreadmill speedwork, and it was one of my better sessions: 8 x 1200 @ about 5 minutes each. I've done faster, but at least these were steady, and I didn't hold on hardly at all.

I did 3 more at lunch in 25. Not bad, but I was pretty tired.

Chicago Marathon

Nancy Toby nancytoby@COMCAST.NET wrote:
> 88*F, heat index 91*F there right now...
>http://wcbstv.com/sports/chicago.marathon.heat.2.314226.html
> Did we have anyone running it? That would suck mightily.


I was there, and I managed to finish before they called it. But I did run much slower than I had intended. And yes, that heat did suck mightily.



Going into it knowing it could be record heat, I abandoned any hope of running fast, and instead adopted a "the heat is my friend" philosophy. In the first half, it really didn't feel all that bad. I was taking it easy, and I was mostly in shaded areas, thanks to the Chicago skyline. I hit that half-way point in 1:42 and change, and thought, ok, I've taken it easy; now is the time to pick it up.



Except there was one minor problem. That's also the point where the sun came up to the point of being more above than below the tops of the buildings, and it's where we runners were getting away from downtown anyway. With that sun, it felt like the temperatures skyrocketed. It had been a humid 75-77 at the start, and was probably well into the 80s now. Runners were making sudden changes in order to get to the side of the road where there would be even a bit of shade. I didn't have any problems getting water or gatorade, and I took plenty. And salt pills as well.



I managed to run slower and slower as that heat took its toll. Almost all of the runners around me were doing the same, and many were walking, dropping out, and getting first aid. I kept wondering how many would die today. Sounds like it's hopefully only one. I kept thinking about the volunteers and spectators being out in the heat as well.



The 8 minute miles turned into 8:30's and, for the last couple miles, 9's. I crossed the line in 3:35. Not a minute too soon. All I wanted to do afterwards was to GET IN THE SHADE. And of course there wasn't any to be found until long afterwards. I thought it was smart of the race organizers to get many extra tons of ice - I put the bag on my head, and held it up against other body parts.


ORN: I think I'll take a day off from running today.

Hot Times in Chicago and Spirit of the Marathon

I'm here, and it's hot. Low tonight should be about 72, with lots of humidity. Going up to 86 tomorrow.

In case you've forgotten, I'm the guy who's performance becomes affected when temperatures get as hot as the upper 50's. When they're in the 80s, it's a bit tougher for me.

By some quirk, my family and I got to see an advance screening of the film "Spirit of the Marathon" last night. Someone just gave us the tickets, saying she had extras. Pretty good running movie. Good for first timers and non-runners who have no idea what we go through. I thought it showed us runners as a bit too much into ourselves, taking ourselves a bit too seriously. Still an ok film though.

2:58

Not my marathon time... yet. It's going to be hot, so I decided it will only be a training run and that I shouldn't taper so much for it and that I should therefore run something of substance today.

As such, I took off early and ran to the track and did 5 x 800 in 3:00, 2:59, 2:58, 2:58, 2:57. They didn't feel all that fast on this hot morning. Nice going.

Now it's time for the bus.

Off to Chicago

Leaving on a slow bus.. don't know when I'll be back again. Megabus that is. Got it all figured out. I think. Kathy will take us to the RTA stop, we'll take that to Tower City, then get on Megabus to Chicago. Then we'll taxi it to Val's. Sounds like a plan.

I think it will be hot and nasty in Chicago. Not planning to set the world on fire. It already is. I'm thinking about a 7:30 pace, but I'll see how the weather is.

I have actually been running better lately. Last Sunday I did the 'ole Substation 11 in 82.5 minutes - 2nd best ever. That included 5 @ MP.

Then on Monday I went over to Hinckley to do that hilly 6. I wanted to do at least 3 at sub-7 pace, and I did, but they weren't consecutive. Still not a bad run in 43.5 minutes, with splits of 23 and 20.5. Afterwards I did 5 more extremly slow miles in the area, with even more hills.

Wednesday I did 10 on the mill, including a 3-mile tempo. Not bad. Today I did 3 on the mill and then 3 on the Presidents streets at lunchtime. I've had 4am counts all week, so it's been a bit tough. Luckily not as tough as it would've been had I not been tapering.

Recent Running

Tuesday I had an early call so all I had time for was 10 on the mill, including 6 x 1200. Not the greatest, but at least it was something of substance.

Yesterday was to be my last long run before Chicago. I had hopes that it would be a good one. It wasn't. I started off just fine, with 8 to 8:15 miles. Near the first stop at 12, I started to slow down. After the stop (13), I really got slow. I headed to the track to try to salvage something. I could only manage to do a few sub-8 (as opposed to sub-7) miles before heading back home. Altogether 24 in 3:28. Not that bad, but not good, neither. Humility didn't help.

Today I ran 10 on the towpath with Amy and Dave. Slow going in the darkness and the dampness.

Sippo Valley 10K

This was my 7th, and final race in the series. Or not. I can improve my standing by doing more - we'll see.

This one went almost exactly the same as the other 3 10Ks I've done this year. Slow. I couldn't seem to get going during the first half. After the turn around I did a bit better and I did manage to finish strong. Still nothing to write home about - 41:55 or so. 2nd in AG and 10th overall. (There was a tiny showing.) Splits were about 21:15 and 20:40. I suppose I'll take it.

Recent Running and the Fish Fry

Thursday I did 10 on the towpath with Dave and Amy, and yesterday (Sunday) I did 12 the same way. I didn't want to go too far because of today's 10K race.

After the yesterday's run Debbie, Kathy and Jessy came down and we all walked the Old Carriage Trail. Then we had lunch at Panera. Hard to imagine why anyone would go to McD's or Wendy's when Panera stuff is so good.

Meanwhile, Mike and Mikey were catching fish for our dinner. Debbie spent a lot of time filleting those little guys, and then she and Kathy fried them. Boy, were they good!

Thirty

Once upon a time, running thirty miles was not such a big deal for me. I had determined that doing this "over-mileage" was the answer to hitting the wall at 20 miles during my marathons. During one of these no-big-deal training runs, I actually ran 30 miles at an average pace of 7:30 per mile.

Those days are gone, perhaps forever. Thirty *is* a big deal now. Now that I haven't done it in several years. I felt the need to do it, and to do it on roads, because I've got Chicago AND JFK to look forward to. And I need to somehow train in such a way as to maximize my performance at both. So I got it in my head that I was going to do 30 road miles early this morning.

I was out the door before four. It was cool - in the upper 50s - but not bad. The couple drivers that were out probably thought I was nuts. Little do they know.

I did my 11-mile Substation loop in 95 minutes. A bit on the slow side, but that was ok. I'd pick it up later. Yeah, right. After a quick pit stop at home, I went back out for another 11 - this time my "new subs" loop. I did fine for a while, but the last couple miles were slower. This time I did the 11 in 97 minutes.

During the ensuing quick pit stop - my second, I really felt like hanging it up. 22 was plenty, thank you. I started running again before I thought too much about it. By now it was about 7:15 and getting light. I did 4 miles across 303 at mostly a 9 minute pace.

For that last pit stop (my third) at 26 miles, the voices were *really* telling me to stop. But as before, I started running again before I thought too much about it. These 4 would be on the Presidential streets, and they were *good and slow*. About 9:40 pace. Nothing I could do about that - just get through them.

So I was done by about 8:30, having completed the 30 miles in 4:27 - an 8:54 pace. Now I'm a little sore and tired.

The salt pills help - I took one at the start, and one at each of the first two pit stops. On the other hand, I'm not sure they help all that much either.

Today's Speedwork

It was decently speedy, but it was work. Since it was so nice and cool (46F), I wanted this to be fast, but easy. Perhaps because of my running for the past two days, it just wasn't easy. I did 3 x (1600, 1200, 800) in times which were about what I'd expect: about 6:25 for the 1600s, 4:45 for the 1200s and 3:04 for the 800s.

The thing that bugs me the most is that I've gone exactly nowhere this year. I'm right about where I started once I began getting in shape. Maybe these long distance long runs are doing me some good though. We'll see.

Recent Running and Movie

The weather has finally started to break. What a relief to get back to cool, crisp mornings.

9 on the towpath Thursday with Amy and Dave. It sure was DARK at 5:30AM. Couldn't see nuthing! Caused some of the slowest starting in a long time - till we finally got used to it. By then we could see a bit anyway.

3 on the mill followed by 22 on the towpath and other trails with Amy and Dave yesterday. Slow going because of the trails. Another nice cool morning.

I was surprised that I wasn't too sore this morning. Still tired, but not so sore. Ibuprofen helped. I managed to get 11 fairly slow, very hilly miles in.

We went to see 3:10 to Yuma with Iris and Mike Friday. This was after dinner at Buca's, where we talked about vacationing next year.

Ate pizza with Kathy and Mike last night. Nice walk afterwards.

Got our weekly call from Veronica last night. She's doing especially well at work; just got a big raise and other good stuff. She just wishes she could have a house though.

There was no moon...

But the sky was clear and the air was cool. So it was a run by starlight as I took off at 4:30. Orion was rising in all his glory. After all the warm, humid, hazy morning runs for the last few months, this clear, cool (50F), beautiful morning was a joy. I saw Venus rising during the last few miles. It was as bright as I've ever seen it. I almost thought I could see the disk. A gorgeous sunrise followed that, just as I was finishing up.

Since I awoke earlier than planned, I decided to run a bit more than I would have. The Abbeyville 16-mile course was just the ticket. OTOH, I haven't been running my long or medium-long courses such that they keep me away from water for long periods of time. From home, I'll do multiple loops, coming back home for pit stops. At the towpath I'm able to stop at the various rest areas. At the Lester Rail Trail, I keep returning to the car. This Abbeyville route, which I used to do, but haven't recently, would keep me away from any aid for the whole 16 miles. And the other question is: would my 'ole legs handle it? Even 3 days after Sunday's race and long run, they were still tired, with some tenderness in my left knee.

But it went well. Not great, but fairly well. Since this is the first time on this course since I've had the GPS, I was naturally interested in the actual distance. Of course it was short. .2 miles short. Oh well.

Most miles were in the 8:30 to 8:45 range, but 14 and 15 were slower. 16 was good again. I did 2:18. The old course would've been 2:16. Nice to have that under my belt.

Vegas (in 20 Hours)

I spent 20 hours in Vegas to take my cfps exam, so it wasn't a happy coincidence anyway. (I think I may have done ok on the exam; only time will tell.) Even so, I have no desire to go back to sin city. Here's what I wrote as I was in the airport, about to head home:

Everything they say about Vegas is true. Based on the less than 24 hours I spent there, I can see it for all its cliché’s: that it’s a tribute to American excess. A Walt Disney World for adults. A metropolis in a desert where no city should exist. And so on. Mostly it seems to be a place designed to separate people from their money.

And I don’t need that. Someone please kick me hard if I ever say I want to go back there. There are plenty of other things to see in the world. Vegas remains low on my travel priority list. Check that. Make it lower – somewhere between Chad and Nigeria.

More Global Warming Debate With Dave

After he saw the running related global warming article, Dave wrote:

> >From: Dave Gajewski
> >To: "Dan Horvath"
> >CC: runrx@cox.net
> >Subject: Re: FW: Article Submission for Personal Record
> >Date: Mon, 10 Sep 2007 13:38:24 -0400
> >
> >Cleaning up old e-mails....I couldn't figure out how I missed the 'Dave'
> >reference in Dan's g-warming article so I went back and read it. Funny to
> >see the date - 8/13/07...day when my life blew up w/ baby Toni. I must
> >have given it my usual scan, to read in full later. Sorry the 2nd read
> >took nearly a month.
> >
> >I have a lot of thoughts on the environment, global warming and politics.
> >Most of them I mention on runs are incomplete statements when I'm oxygen
> >deprived. Some day I'll put them down in an organized manner, as Dan did
> >below.
> >
> >In the meantime my biggest grip about all the G-Warming talk, as Amy
> >eluded to on our last run, is the hypocrisy of the people who will claim
> >to fix all this stuff (in exchange for your vote) by making rules for you
> >and me not to break while they continue to indulge.
> >
> >Coincidentally I found this article on Al Gore:
> >http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/09/09/wgore109.xml
> >
> >If Al feels so strongly about the harm that SUV's, chicken and cows
> >produce, why doesn't give them up? Would he ride a bike and go vegan? Or
> >would he just raise the price of things for you and me to pay (in the form
> >of taxes) which the government would then have $$ in-hand to use at their
> >own discretion? He's got a lot more money than all of us to pay extra for
> >a nice juicy steak or gallon of gas. And dog-gone-it, that poor farmer in
> >Brazil trying to produce food and shelter for his family shouldn't be
> >allowed to cut down a tree in a rain forest in order to plant some crops
> >(says the guy in the mansion with the $10k/month electric bill). Al
> >should sleep well at night because he writes a b.s. check each year to
> >some imaginary fund that automajically 'offsets his carbon usage.'
> >
> >Environmental stuff shouldn't be a political issue. We all need to stop
> >pissing all over the world and hold each other accountable for doing so.
> >
> >Good article, Dan!
> >
> >
> >
> >Dave Gajewski
> >I/T Manager - Policy Admin Program Office
> >network# 625-9424
> >


And then I replied:

> From: runhorvathrun@hotmail.com
> To: Dave_Gajewski@Progressive.com
> Subject: Re: FW: Article Submission for Personal Record
> Date: Tue, 11 Sep 2007 07:43:34 -0400
>
> Hi Dave,
>
> I know what you mean by those oxygen-deprived deep thoughts on the run - I
> feel the same way.
>
> I honestly don't know whether Al Gore, or any given movie star, is a
> hypocrite or not. I don't spend time worrying about it, because as strongly
> as I feel about the planet, I myself still use my home's A/C, drive a
> non-hybrid car, take vacations, etc. If Al Gore were president, he'd
> probably be even more wasteful than he is now. If someone preaches global
> warming and eats meat (as in this article), does that make them a hypocrite?
> How about if they drive a car? Live in a house that's heated and cooled?
> Taken to it's logical conclusion, we should all kill ourselves in order to
> stop breathing out carbon dioxide.
>
> I think that for some people, the message itself has become too difficult to
> attack, so they're attacking the messangers. What I'm trying to say is that
> I don't think that hypocrisy should be the issue at all. The fact that it
> has become so, only seems to point out the fact that global warming *is*
> political.
>
> Now, if you want to get political, what about a god-fearing christian
> starting a war on nothing but a whim? A war in which hundreds of thousands
> have died? That's my definition of hypocrisy.
>
> Ooops. Sorry for the bashing. I'll stop now. Really.
>
> See you Saturday - Nice job at the Buckeye Half under tough conditions.
>
> Dan Horvath
> runhorvathrun@hotmail.com
>
>
>

Pretty-Good Expectations, and a Tale of Two Runs

Success is defined by our expectations. This is why, in spite of slower times and fewer age group awards, I’m considering this year to not be so bad. Yes, I’ve been managing those expectations better than ever. Not my training or weight or general running ability, mind you, but how I view those things.

For the River Run ½ Marathon, I thought that I was setting reasonable, achievable expectations when I set my goals as: I ought to be able to do sub-1:30, I should be able to do sub-1:29, and if things go really well, I might be able to do sub-1:28. There – that should be doable, no? After 42 and 41 minute 10K’s and that 67 flat 10-miler, I sure thought so.

That explains the expectations. And the two runs? Well, that’s easy. The logistics for the River Run are difficult at best. No race day registration or packet pickup. Either park at the start and take a shuttle bus back after the finish, or park a few miles from the finish and shuttle both to the start and from the finish back to your car. Having done this race a few times, I’ve learned that, believe it or not, the latter option is the better one. And that’s what I was going to do, until something hit me the morning of the race as I was about to drive up there. I could park at the start, and just run back after the finish! I wanted to get a long run in sometime, so why not do 26 today?

It was warm, rainy and humid at the start. I didn’t know there would be pace groups, but I found myself running with the 1:30 group for the first couple miles. This was a good thing: start conservatively. The race winds through the absolutely beautiful – even in the rain - Cleveland Metroparks. After a 3 or 4 miles, the rain tapered off, and it seemed to get a few degrees warmer. And even more humid. I told myself that I could handle this, as I pulled away from the pace group with some 6:40-ish miles.

In those middle miles, I passed a lot of people, and was mostly running alone. Mile 6 went by in something like 40:40, and I thought things were going quite well. This, of course, is when things started to not go quite so well. The 6:40-ish miles became 6:55-ish ones. That pace group, now much smaller, went by me at about mile 11. I tried mightily to keep them in sight. I hit mile 12 in 1:22:30, and knew that I just had to do those last 1.1 miles in 7:30 or better in order to salvage this run into something I could call decent. The best I could do was to cross the line in 1:30:0x, with my only hope that my chip time would be better.

Now my legs felt as dead as can be, and somehow, I had to run back to the start. Well, I didn’t really have to. I could still take the bus. I wrestled with myself as I was trying to take in some calories and liquids, knowing that the longer I stood around, the better chance I had of just getting on a bus. So without any further thought, I just started jogging back.

It would be 12 miles; I’d skip the extra 1-mile detour into Berea, but I would still be able to call it a 26-mile day because of my warmup. And those first two sure were difficult. There were other runners also doing a cool-down, but I was alone, for this direction, after the 11-mile aid station. And After stopping at those aid stations, I started running better again. Not good, just better. Maybe 8:40 miles instead of 9:00+ ones. It wasn’t long before I saw the last few slower runners coming towards me. I had tried to stay mostly off the road, out of everyone’s way. “Hey, you’re going the wrong way!” Oh – now they tell me. The volunteers were taking down the 10-mile aid station, and soon I had to share the road with traffic. I ran on the bike path at times, but moved to the road when I thought it was shorter. I certainly didn’t want to run MORE than 26 miles!

I made other stops for water and bathroom breaks, and also to look out at a scenic lookout near Berea. The last few miles were slower and slower: back to the 9:30-ish range. I had earlier picked up an (unopened) GU packet and now used it to get through that last mile. I made it back in something like 1:46.

Checking the results, I learned that I was 4th in my age group (story of the year for me), and that my chip time was 1:29 something. I guess I cut those expectations a bit too close this time.

today's run and physical

Had my physical today. No big deal - I didn't ask enough questions. We did discuss this shortness of breath. Could be the allergens in the air, air pollution, or exercise induced asthma. I've had it before and it went away, so I'm not worried.

Did 2 on the mill and then 3 outside. Not a great running day - guess I'm still tired from Wednesday's 26. I also need to rest up for Sunday's race.

Today's LONG Run

I did 20 really lousy miles outside. It was warm (71) and extremely humid, but that's not really the excuse. I just didn't do well. Got slower as it went on. 3:02.

Then I took a 3rd salt pill and got on the dreadmill. I had wanted to get 24++ in, and this time things went well - 6 additional miles in 42 minutes. 0% incline. Much better. Maybe the salt helped.

Alliance Rotary Castle 10K

Do I detect some improvement here? Maybe a marginal couple seconds. I've been doing my 10K's 2 minutes slower than last year; this one was 1:45 or so slower. Final time was 41:44 on a warm (low 70s) day. And those hills were really tough. So not great, but things are looking up a bit. As usual, I was 4th in my age group. Here are the splits:

6;28, 6:23, 7:07, 6:33, 6:57, 6:44, 1:28.

I hit a new high heart rate: 174. I'd thought that 173 was my max.

Went to Kathy and Mike's for a picnic yesterday. Also present were Dave and Carol (who stayed the night with us) and most of Mike's family. We stayed late by the fire. Heading to Iris and Mike's tonight.

Today's Long Run

I did 20 on the towpath and Old Carriage trail today with Dave, Amy and Chris. More than I wanted - got the race Monday. Hope to recover ok.

Nice running weather.

Took Succeed electrolyte pills for the first time. They may have helped.

I managed 1 (count them, one) mile at sub-7 mile pace near the end. It's a start.

Today's Run and Put in Bay

I did 3 on the presidents streets in 23. Felt like I was flying. Too bad I didn't have more time - maybe I coulda done something more.

Debbie and I and Dave and Carol went to Put in Bay for the day. The weather was perfect - low 70s, sunny and breezy. And the island wasn't crowded on a weekday. It was very very nice to finally see the place. The highlight was the Perry War/Peace Memorial - the history of the battle for lake Erie was fascinating.

But we also thoroghly enjoyed the beauty of the little island. We ate at a nice place right on the lake. Took a hop-on, hop-off tour around the island. Even the ferry ride was fun.

long run today

There was the usual heat and humility today. Amy wasn't going to make it, so I got up early and hit the Lester Rail Trail for a long run instead of the intervals. It went well. One problem: I still can't get down to sub-7 pace at the end. I almost made it, and the last four were at least sub-8.

6-mile splits: 52.5, 50.5, 49.5, 46.5

total time: 3:19.

Not bad.

today's run - 2007-08-27 and some other stuff

First of all, I did 10 slow ones yesterday.

Today I did a yasso workout, and it went really well. Difficult, but well. The cool weather helped. I ran to the track, did the 10 x 800, with a few stops, and then ran home. Times were: 3:02, 3:03, 3:02, 3:02, 3:04, 3:04, 3:01, 3:02, 3:01, 3:01, for an average of 3:02. Woo hoo.

Debbie and I also went to the cat show with Amy, Brett, Kathy and Jessy. We then had dinner with the Zims. Yesterday was Deanna and Jack's 25th anniversary party. Good food and fun with the family.

Today Debbie and I drove to Mohican and did a hike there. Beautiful. The nice weather helped too. We ate lunch at a nice cafe in Loudenville.

today's long run

I did 3 on the mill at tempo pace and then drove over to BVH to run with Amy and Dave. There we did 19 more in the heat/humidity. Not bad at all.

Going to the cat show today.

Good Speedwork Today

Wasn't quite as fast as last week's 6:23 average - but considering the oppressive humility, this week's average of 6:25 was not bad at all. Done it with Amy. Going to visit the Gajewskis tonight. Maybe Uncle Jim in the hospital tomorrow.

Nike Attempt III and today's run

A while back I was looking through the Sunday Ads. My daughter, who lived in Connecticut, happend to be nearby. I laughed when I saw an ad at Kohls, Dicks, or somewhere for a running shoe called the Nike Attempt II. I explained to my daughter about how the running shoe companies make less expensive models for sale at large department and sporting goods stores. She laughed about the Nike Attempt II as well. It seemed to imply that this was the second attempt that Nike was making at this model. Or you could take it a different way. This would be you're second attempt at running in these shoes.

Now I just saw an ad for the Nike Attempt III. I suppose they still haven't got it right. Maybe they'll keep trying.

ORN: 11 dreadful dreadmill miles. It was raining, so I stayed indoors, and this shouldn't have been so bad. But it was. Maybe I'm still getting over Sunday's race.

Perfect 10-Miler

No, it wasn't all that perfect; that's just what they call the thing. It was, however, fine. Fine isn't as good as perfect, but it's pretty good.

This is the fourth year for this race, and I'd done all the others, so of course I had to keep going. Even though the cool autumn-like rain might have otherwise had me stay at home. My previous times were: 66:30, 67:30, 63:51!!! That last one reflects my good running year of 2006. I knew I wasn't in that kind of shape in 2007. My 10Ks had been about 2 minutes slower than those of 2006. So I expected this 10-miler to be 3-4 minutes slower. I just wanted to do under 70 minutes. A bonus would be to run every mile under 7 minutes.

The rain was fairly light, but felt really cold. That's a good thing. I had a rough time in that first mile. It was crowded, and I just couldn't get untracked. When my watch told me it went by in 7:05, I knew that particular goal was out the window. The next few were under 7 minutes, but not spectacular. But that was ok. I really wanted to do negative splits. That's assuming I had anything left. The 5-mile mark went by at about 33:50 or so.

The long gradual hill at mile 6 caused me to go over 7 minute pace once again, but then came the good part. Coming back down the hill produced my best split at 6:23, and the rest were good as well. My finish on the track was strong, and I crossed the line in 67:08.

That's about as good as I could've expected. No AG award - lots of fast guys there. At some point, I need to get myself up to the next level. That will involve getting my weight *down* to the next level.

Today's Stinker

I was dead tired yesterday, and couldn't run at all. I thought I'd be better today, but I didn't sleep well at all. So I was dead tired once again as I started running. And that showed. Tried to pick it up just a bit, but wound up with 9+ minute miles at the finish. I did 12 in 1:42:30. Much worse than it looks.

Mom's staying with us. Should be getting cable with HD and faster internet today. Picnic tomorrow at Mosquito with Dave and Carol, and Beth and Ed and Deanna and Jack and family.

today's speedwork

I ran to the track and met Amy there. The 'ole legs were tired and sore, but I managed to do some speedwork with her. I did 2 x 1600 (6:39, 6:35) and then 2 x 800 (3:08, 3:06). Slower than yesterday's speedwork, but not bad. Circuitous route home for 13 miles total.

today's speedwork

There was some trepidation - yesterday's tiredness and my big big belly. But it was much better than expected. 8 x 1600 in 6:23. Very very good running.

It's a girl - born on the 13th so I win.

today's run and travelling to races

I did 5 extremely slow miles today after yesterday's decent 22. Here's a note I sent to DRS about travelling to races.

Does anyone else on the list ever stop to wonder about the wisdom of traveling to races? I do. Not that it necessarily completely stops me from doing so. I still do some of it: I'm planning on Chicago and JFK this fall. OTOH, I've skipped some out of town races that friends were doing, just because of the expense.

There are plenty of good races of all sorts within an easy drive of my home. When I stop to think about it, there is no need whatsoever to travel anywhere for any kind of race. Some would probably say that by doing an out of town race you meet new people and get new scenery. My take is that the people are nice, but so are the ones nearby. And scenery is nice, but I really don't notice it during the races themselves.

It can be really funny to hear runners talk about their travels to races if you pretend you're a non-runner listening in. You would hear things like: "Are you doing Chicago this year?", "I did Las Vegas and the logistics were so bad that I'll never to that one again", "At Boston they had this dual start", and on and on and on. Just funny.

Don't get me wrong. I'm part of this community myself. It's just that I occasionally try to view it through the eyes of a non-runner. Maybe an anthropologist.

ORN: 5 EXTREMELY slow miles today. I just couldn't wake up. I'll try to do better tomorrow.

today's run - 2007-08-12

I started slowly, but somehow managed to get 22 in today. It's always tough after a 10K, but this was pretty decent. I did the 11-mile substation loop, then slowly made it over to the track, where I picked up the pace, but not down to MP, then I made my way home. Decent Decent.

Green Family Y Caribbean 10K

Last year I was so proud of my record of three sub-40 10K's. Of course I've been disappointed when it hasn't been happening again this year. It just couldn't be that those 5-7 extra pounds that I'm carrying around would have something to do with this. No, it must be some kind of negative divine intervention or something.

So at the Orrville 10K a month and a half ago, I did 42 minutes flat, whereas last year it was just under 40. And at today's Green Family Y Caribbean 10K, I did 41:38, whereas last year it was 39:38. 41:38 isn't all that bad, but it still hurts when I compare it to my recent past. I suppose it won't help to mention that my GPS (I know: they're not always all that accurate) showed it as 6.31 miles, now would it? Even if I did factor that in, I would've had to also do so for last year's time, because the course was exactly the same.

Also - last year I was 1st in my AG, and this year I was third. They gave me a hat for that. The race is called "Caribbean" because as a door prize last year they gave away a trip for two to the islands. Some 18-year old won it. This year, it was a trip to anywhere AirTran flies, which I don't think includes the Caribbean. Unless maybe Jack Sparrow hijacks the plane or something. I didn't win again this year anyway.

Now I've got the Perfect 10-miler to look forward to next Sunday. Last year I did a really fantastic 63:51 there; one of my best 10's anywhere. Think I'll do anything like that again?? (small voice: "don't bet on it")

today's run - 2007-08-09

Another early morning run on the mill because of the early calls. This time 11 in 81.5 minutes, with a 5-mile MP run. More buckets of sweat. I may do another run later. Tough to get in 70 miles while taking two rest days a week.

today's running - 2007-08-08

12 on the mill including 8 x 1600 in 6:28. Buckets of sweat.

Later on, 3 across 303 in 25 in oppressive heat/humility. More buckets of sweat.

And yesterday, 08-07:

What a good run today. It was oppressive - near 80, with terrible humility, but I did the 11-mile new subs route in 83 and a half minutes, including a 3-mile tempo.

I successfully fought off that cold with zicam. Even so, I was very tired all day yesterday. Better today.

Tale of Two Towpath Traversals

Yesterday I ran with Dave, Dena, and Amy on the towpath and on some other trails. It was nice, and not quite as hot a day. 2:39 for about 18.

Today I met up with Dena and Amy on the towpath once again. They only did about 5, but I managed to do 20, including an elusive, of late, end-of-run tempo. So I'm happy about this one, but now I feel like I may be getting a cold. Taking zicam.

Yesterday we had Dave and Carol, and Kathy, Mike and Jessy along with Mom for chicken on the grill.

Fair and DRS Posts

We went to the Medina County Fair with Mom today. It was nice, but hot! And the junk food was good and fatening as expected.

Here are a coupla DRS posts:

Fat Charlie the Archangel wrote:
A lady who was just over 40 was stating that her training hadn't changed,
but that her race times had slowed. John Barbour (I believe) answered her
by saying that she should do what she's probably been unwilling to do -
RUN LESS.

Huh?

Mr. Jim Craig used to say "Jes mo' miles" - that for folks like us (yes, I'm
lumping myself in with Mr. Craig; I hope he doesn't mind, but we usually run
around the same times in the same races) - that for folks like us, the only
way to get faster is to run more miles.

some stuff removed...
Have any of you smart folks heard that we old folks should run LESS as we
get older? I've always sort of assumed that it was a Red Queen's Race - that
I'd have to keep running harder and harder to stay in the same place.


RW, RT, and all the other experts are always telling us how to run less, that we need to run less, that the older you are, the less you should run, that less is more, etc., etc. But there are a few contrarians out there. I think Coach George is one of them, and apparantly Mr. Jim Craig is too. I happen to mostly agree that it helps to run more, although there are other ways too.

It sure seems to me like I've been working harder to stay in the same place as I get older. I have increased my mileage some. I can't convince myself that I'd get better by running less. I just can't. And I don't subscribe to running publications in order for them to tell me how to run less. I want them to tell me how I can run more.

Also,,, I think we've hit on another recurring dead thread: improvement through higher volume. The prevailing concensus seemed to be that improvement can occur by adding more volume, up to about 70 miles per week, but it also helps to increase intensity as well. Once you reach 70 mpw, more volume in and of itself won't help you improve.

ORN: 10 slow, sweaty miles with Dave on the 'ole Broadview Heights/Brecksville/Richfield loop.

Dan Horvath





AND

Coach George the Contrarian, as expected and as always, made a very good argument for hard work and against the less is more theory.

One area where I'm reluctantly starting to agree with the established experts, however, is that we runners need more rest as we age. Trying to rest more, while keeping the volume up, of course, creates a problem.

I've attacked this dilemma by trying to take an extra rest day per week, whilst running somewhat longer on the days that I do run. I've also mostly eliminated two-a-days. The result is that I've kept my weekly mileage about the same, but now usually have two days completely off per week. I don't think this has hurt me; at least not much.

In my best running years, my late 30s and early 40s, I averaged about 2,800 miles per year. My weekly mileage would fluctuate pretty wildly, from 80 to 90 some weeks, to 30-40 others. It was mostly in the 60-65 mpw range during my most intense training weeks. And I think I averaged just below 8mpm for all the miles, although that fluctuated wildly too. Now these last 5 years or so have been different: I've done about 3,200 miles per year, with less fluctuation week to week. I do still try to take an easier week once per month or so. So I'm typically averaging 5-10 more per week, week in and week out. And now I'm doing them slower: just over 8 mpm.

The results? 10-15 years back, I was doing 10K's around 38 minutes and marathons around 3 hours. Nowadays I'm often a minute or two slower in the 10K, and 10 or so minutes slower in the thon. Slower, but not toooo bad. Yet. This is not to say that I don't think I'll ever get back to my former levels. I'm a legend in my own mind. Seriously, there's a MUCH greater correlation between my weight and my race times than there is between my age and my times. Or even, I think, my training and my times.

I'm pretty sure that the increased mileage is helping and not hurting me. Am I working harder to just stay at the same level. Hmmm. Mebbe.

PORN: Today is one of my two off-days. I'll run long tomorrow, and again on Sunday. I only wish this miserable long hot summer would come to a crashing end.

Dan

Dan Horvath

Today's Run - 08-02-07

Easy does it today - I did Dave's 10-mile loop with him in about 86 minutes. This heat makes it tough. Not to mention the last few runs.

Constant heat. 85-92 each and every day. Can't take much more of this.

Mom's coming to stay with us for a few days tonight.

Not gonna go on the cruise that Iris and Mike found because the price went up significantly. Looking into other cruises now, including some repositioning ones.

Today's Run - 2007-08-01

Another pretty good run today. It was warm, but not too very humid. Maybe low 70s. I started slow, but wanted to get a tempo run in, so I headed over to the track. There I did 3 nice consecutive 6:40s for a 19:52 tempo. Decent pace back, and I finished the 10 in 77 minutes. Not bad at all.

Today's Speedwork - 07-31-07

Another great speedwork/interval session today. This is encouraging after Sunday's stinker. I did the 'ole 3 x (1600, 1200, 800) - something I haven't done in a long while.

The session was controlled, steady, consistent, and progressively faster. Just what I wanted, and better.

6:30, 4:51, 3:03, 6:28, 4:48, 3:02, 6:22, 4:41, 3:00

Tale of Two Death Marches

Yesterday wasn't really that bad - just slow in the middle and end, but I *was* tired. I did 16++ on the towpath and old carriage trail with Dave and Amy. It was hot and humid, and those last couple were tough. Afterwards I helped Dave in his basement, and then I was *really* tired.

Today I was still tired, but decided to do the Lester Rail Trail 24. I started slow, and seemed to be holding my own, in spite of the rising heat and humility. Then I bumped into "Dan", a guy I met there, and we did my 13-18 together - way too fast for me. Those last 6 (by myself) were a real death march. At least I got through this one. 6Mi Splits: 53.5, 51.5, 47, 57.5. Altogether the 24 were in 2:09and change.

Today is Nikki Zielinski's wedding.

Gichi Gummi

Debbie and I had always wanted to drive all the way around Lake Superior. Going around the world’s largest freshwater lake would have been a long way from where we lived in Farmington Hills, Michigan. But from our Ohio home it would really be a fur piece. Regardless of the starting point, we hadn’t thought about it for a long while. Then came the dueling weddings and all the hoopla. Then came the cleanup and then came the “what’re we gonna do now?” question.

So Saturday came the wedding (the last one – the Cleveland version), Sunday came the propovini breakfast, and Monday came the cleanup and the question. Surprisingly, the same answer came back to both of us independently: Circumnavigate Gichi Gumi. After a brief discussion Monday morning, and some last minute packing and putting up of garden produce, we did something we never, ever, ever do: started a several-day road trip on the spur of the moment. We always plan things out way in advance; this time we were impulsive and spontaneous.

Only made it as far as Mt. Pleasant, Michigan after 5 hours of driving Monday afternoon and evening. At the Mackinac Bridge we would need to decide whether to head clockwise or counter-clockwise around the lake. Debbie said clockwise would be better so that we could make all right hand turns. I couldn’t stop laughing. Not that she was wrong; it’s just that it’s a big lake.

Counter-clockwise it was. 50+ miles north of the bridge we crossed over the Sault Ste. Marie straights into Canada. Since the Soo is the eastern end Gichi Goomi, I had assumed that we’d start traveling west soon thereafter. But noooo. We continued north along the lakeshore for many, many more miles. This part of Canada is strikingly beautiful. The views of the lake are great, and there are hills that are nearly mountains everywhere. The best part is Lake Superior Provincial Park. In the park, Agawa bay and Agawa rock were great places to stop.

After 10 hours of driving, and stopping and walking and gawking along the way, we made it to the hamlet of Marathon and a no-tell mo-tell for the night.

I don’t know why, but I had always been fascinated with Thunder Bay, Ontario. Nothing particular, just the concept of it. A remote city on the north shore of Lake Superior. And that name! Well, it is remote. And the name is still cool. But nothing really special about the town itself. Some industry and a tiny bit of history. Did I mention remote?

The drive through Canada continued to be beautiful, even though there was a rare all-day fog. The 160 miles from the US border to Duluth were also pretty, but eventually not quite as nice as the Canadian shores. Duluth itself is a very nice town though. After being lost for a bit, we found the harbor-front, ate, had ice cream, and a very nice long walk.

The next day we drove the entire length, and then even the width, of the U.P. Then we went on to drive back to Mt. Pleasant for our last night. Start to finish, that amounted to 14 ½ hours in the car, but you’d have to subtract two hours or so for sightseeing. But that sightseeing was great. We visited Holland Lake to bring back camping memories – more for Debbie, but for me as well. We’ve seen it when it’s quite deserted, but there were 5-6 camping parties around. The worst part is the Off-Road Vehicles. They ruined the place for us, esthetically speaking. Other than that, the place looked about the same. Debbie says she won’t need to see it again. We’ll see.

Along the way, we stopped for Grandma T’s pasties. They were filling!

Munising was beautiful as always. Some day I’d like to see the Pictured Rocks. We never seem to have the time.

Our last stop before heading back down was Whitefish Point and Whitefish Bay. There we toured the lighthouse and the connected living quarters. The highlight there is the shipwreck museum. There they have the bell from the Edmund Fitzgerald along with information and artifacts from several other area wrecks. Of course we’d been listening to The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, by Gordon Lightfoot over and over, and of course they played it there, over and over. Sidenote: in November, 1975 I was in Atlanta on a business trip, when a hurricane came up from the gulf and (the remnants) went over our heads, heading north. It didn’t rain much, but I was fascinated by the clouds. This was the same storm that wrecked the Edmund Fitzgerald.

We looked out onto Gichi Gummi one last time (there’s a nice beach there), and then headed back.

We made 2,200 miles total.

The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
Of the big lake they call Gitche Gumee
The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead
When the skies of November turn gloomy.

With a load of iron ore - 26,000 tons more
Than the Edmund Fitzgerald weighed empty
That good ship and true was a bone to be chewed
When the gales of November came early

The ship was the pride of the American side
Coming back from some mill in Wisconson
As the big freighters go it was bigger than most
With a crew and the Captain well seasoned.

Concluding some terms with a couple of steel firms
When they left fully loaded for Cleveland
And later that night when the ships bell rang
Could it be the North Wind they'd been feeling.

The wind in the wires made a tattletale sound
And a wave broke over the railing
And every man knew, as the Captain did, too,
T'was the witch of November come stealing.

The dawn came late and the breakfast had to wait
When the gales of November came slashing
When afternoon came it was freezing rain
In the face of a hurricane West Wind

When supper time came the old cook came on deck
Saying fellows it's too rough to feed ya
At 7PM a main hatchway caved in
He said fellas it's been good to know ya.

The Captain wired in he had water coming in
And the good ship and crew was in peril
And later that night when his lights went out of sight
Came the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.

Does anyone know where the love of God goes
When the words turn the minutes to hours
The searchers all say they'd have made Whitefish Bay
If they'd fifteen more miles behind her.

They might have split up or they might have capsized
They may have broke deep and took water
And all that remains is the faces and the names
Of the wives and the sons and the daughters.

Lake Huron rolls, Superior sings
In the ruins of her ice water mansion
Old Michigan steams like a young man's dreams,
The islands and bays are for sportsmen.

And farther below Lake Ontario
Takes in what Lake Erie can send her
And the iron boats go as the mariners all know
With the gales of November remembered.

In a musty old hall in Detroit they prayed
In the Maritime Sailors' Cathedral
The church bell chimed, 'til it rang 29 times
For each man on the Edmund Fitzgerald.

The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
Of the big lake they call Gitche Gumee
Superior, they say, never gives up her dead
When the gales of November come early

Two Other Runs Whilst on the Trip

When we were in Duluth, I ran an extremely hilly 8 miles - slow going out and fast coming back.

We spent the last night back in Mt. Pleasant, so I had to hit the track once again this morning. I did the 20 x 400 10K workout for the first time this year. And, considering everything, it wasn't bad at all. I did the 400s in 90-94, and finished the whole 10K in 45 flat.

Wedding, Trip and Recent Running - 2007-07-24

The wedding went great. I think everyone, including the bride and groom, were extremely happy. Nothing to complain about. Sunday's breakfast was real good too, but half the people didn't make it. We wound up with a ton of leftovers. On Monday came the question: what the heck do we do now? The answer, of course, was to circumnavigate Gichi Gumi. See the post on that.

Sunday I was sooo tired. I managed 6 miles at 10-minute pace, and that was it!

Monday was off - I couldn't run at all.

I didn't expect Tuesday to be great either, but it was! After driving well into the evening Monday night, I though it would be another disaster of a run. But I found the Central Michigan U. track, and did the Yasso: 10 x 800. This was even better than last time. 3:08, 3:07, 3:08, 3:06, 3:05, 3:05, 3:04, 3:04, 3:00, 2:55. Average was 3:04. 10 miles total.

today's run - 2007-07-21

Big day today - the Cleveland version of Valerie and Dan's wedding.

I did 2 on the mill and then 18 on the towpath with Dave and Amy. So so pacing - tried and failed once again to do a tempo for last 3. Dave and I were talking too much.

Running Yesterday and Today

15 yesterday in the hood for 1:34 and 15 today on the towpath with Dave and Amy in 1:28. Both were EXTREMELY humid. Today's run included a failed attempt at a tempo run. Oh well.

Wedding, Party, Cedar Point, Running

The wedding went great. Nothing to complain about. The mariachi band was special. Oh and Dan got into Northwestern. That's really good news.

Monday we had a party for Barry. Sandy, the Zims, Dave and Carol and Dave and Jill all made it. We also gave small gifts to the other b-day people - Dave G. and Carol. It was a real nice gathering.

Today we went to Cedar Point. It rained the WHOLE TIME. Pretty durn miserable. We tried to make the best of it all, but it was pretty durn miserable. Did I mention the misery?

I've been suffering from a slight case of PF. It started after Friday morning's speed run, and I felt it all weekend. I think it was those shoes. Been fighting it with stretching and the boot.

Sunday I did 10 along the lakeshore again, this time to the north. Still nice, but south is better from Wacker. Slower than Saturday too. Today I didn't have much time, but still managed 4 x 1600 at the track, and then one more fast one on the way home. At the track: 6:29, 28, 28, 28, and then 6:39 for the run home. Not bad at all.

Wedding So Far, and Running

We're in Chicago for the wedding. Last night we went to dinner with Val and Dan, and Dan's parents and grandfather. Had a nice time. Their new furniture is great. Today's the big day. Debbie has it all planned out.

This morning's run along the lakeshore was wonderful. I ran along the Chicago river, and then south along the lake for 5.5 miles each way. Great sunrise. The run reminded me of the Chicago 50/50 run I did a few years back. It's also good to have all the other runners and support (gatorade, water, rest rooms) along the way.

Yesterday's run was even better. Got out early, before the drive out here and got over to the track where I did a Yasso workout: 10 x 800 in 3:06. Much better than expected. And it was really strong and consistent. Altogether I did 14 miles.

Today's Run - 2007-07-12

Just 2 on the mill and then later on 2 out in the hood. Still losing weight - 156 now!

We leave tomorrow.

Recent Running and other stuff

Debbie and Valerie have been very busy getting ready for the wedding. Friday we pick up Barry and Veronica and then head to Chicago.

I've been busy with work, so it's tough to get up early to run. But I did manage yesterday and today. Yesterday I got to the track but only had time for 4 x 1200 in a pretty good 4:44. 10 altogether. Felt good, even with the heat. Today I did 8 and felt good, until the humility got to me. It must've been 80 or more out. Supposed to cool down now after a wee bit of MUCH needed rain. I did 3 more on the mill later on.

Today's and Yesterday's Runs - 2007-07-08

Yesterday I did 3 on the mill and then 18 with Dave, Dena and Amy, almost all on the towpath. Since we stayed on the towpath, we managed to do a slightly better pace than when we hit the other trails. We averaged about 8:40 or so.

After the run Debbie and Nance came to meet me and we walked the Old Carriage Trail for another 6+.

Today, for the first time in a long time, I did back to back long runs. I somehow managed to do 20 on a very warm (70s) morning. I started to slow down a couple times, and almost quit, but I hit the track at 13.5, got some water, picked up the pace, and felt revived. 2:53. Really good going!

Yesterday's Run and Today's Race

I got up early yesterday and did 9 on the mill at a pretty durn good 7-minute pace before heading over to the towpath to do 10 with Dave and Amy. Not a bad day of running, even the towpath miles were slow.

Yesterday evening we parked half-way and walked to the Brunswick fireworks. They were really great.

Today was the North Canton Y 5-mile race. My 5-mile races have mostly been in the 32 to 33 minute range in recent years. This was in that range - the high side, but still ok. I averaged 6:35 to finish in 32:59. Good considering yesterday's 19, but the cool (70F) weather helped. 6th in AG in a large field. Steady pace.

Today we head to Robin's for her 4th party.

today's run - 2007-07-02

6 on the mill including 4-mile tempo. Not too bad. May do more later.

Today's Run - 2007-07-01 and some other stuff

I was gonna do another long run today. Got out early like I planned, but the miles got slower and slower until I just had to quit after only 8. Very disappointing. Some redemption came later on however. Debbie and I took a still-early walk on the towpath and saw the bald eagles, among other wildlife. Then I went to the track and did 6 x 400 in 85.5. First quarters of the year, and not too bad.

Yesterday we went to see Robin play in Westlake. Jen had picked Mom up, so we saw them there as well. Today it's over to Kathy and Mikes for some ribs. Can't wait.

Running - 2007-06-30

Yesterday I did 4 EXTREMELY tired miles on the mill. Wasn't pretty at all.

Today I did a quick 3 and then headed over to the towpath to run with Dave, Amy and Dena. We tackled the Old Carriage Trail and went up to Brandywine falls, but of course most was on the towpath. The hills were slow - especially according to my Forerunner, but the towpath was decent. Altogether 17 (may have been way more) in 2:38. That makes 70 for the week.

Today's Run - 2007-06-28

12 miles on the towpath today with Dave and Amy. It was pretty slow, but the weather was pretty oppressive. The humility was high!

today's run and other stuff

Monday we had Mom over for a visit. I also took stuff to Ed and Beth for their charity garage sale. Not a whole lot else going on - this lack of work is still driving me crazy.

Yesterday's run on the mill was on extremely tired legs. I did 7, but had to hold on a whole lot. It wasn't pretty.

Today I drove to station rd., did some hills, and then met up with Amy to run on the towpath. It was a nice run even though the hot weather makes it tough. When Amy was done I did a few more, some at a faster pace. I managed one at sub-7 pace. Altogether I did 14 in 1:58.

Michigan, Paint Creek and Today's Run

It was really nice to visit Greg and Dot. Went to a nice Mexican place Friday and had a good hearty breakfast Saturday.

It was fantastic to see my old EDS friends at the wedding. Nice wedding too.

Saturday morning I met Carl Shubitowski for a run - here's the drs post:

Paint Creek Trail Mini-Encounter

Carl Shubitowski mentioned that he'd never met another Dead Runner in person and wondered if they really even existed outside of cyber space. Since I would be visiting his Michigan neck of the woods over the weekend, we arranged to meet for a run on the Paint Creek Trail.

We did, and I believe we had a nice run together. Saturday morning was very nice and cool, and the deerflies stayed home - I didn't see any, but I'm sure they were there, shivering on the side of the trail.

Carl and I ran from Lake Orion to Adams Rd. and back - probably a short 6 miles. Conversation ranged from our personal running histories to kids and jobs. I couldn't linger much because I had to get back to visiting the friends we were staying with.

Nice meeting you, Carl.

ORN: A really tough 8 x 1600 @ 6:36. A year ago this would've been an extremely easy workout at this pace, but today I'm considering it a major accomplishment that I got through it at all. I had to keep reminding myself that I love this stuff. I just haven't been doing as much speedwork as in previous years. Need to correct that.

Altogether this amounted to 13 miles in 99 minutes.

anniversary and today's run

It's 32 today. We went to Mapleside and then to Cold Stone. Maybe fireworks tonight. Really. Tomorrow we go to Michigan to visit Worleys and then to go to Jenny Watry's wedding in K-zoo.

I ran with Dave on his old loop today for the first time in a long time. I was extremely tired, so we did about a 9-minute pace. Slow but enjoyable.

eaten alive

This may be good or bad, depending on the context. It occurs to me, however, that it’s almost always better to be eaten alive than to be eaten dead. Even so, the context in the case I’m thinking of is still a bad thing, with deerflies being the eaters, and me being the eatee.

Prior to a run on the towpath while back, friend Amy offered her repellant to me, explaining that it wouldn’t harm synthetics. And of course synthetics are all we run in these days. That’s funny, I said, I didn’t know that regular repellant did harm synthetics. Her stuff worked; the bugs stayed away.

Prior to a run on the Lester Rail Trail a week or so ago, I sprayed myself with my regular repellant. The stuff worked; the bugs stayed away. And as far as I could tell, it didn’t harm the synthetic clothes I was wearing. But it did harm my almost new Garmin Forerunner 305 wrist-piece and HRM strap. I noticed after my run that both had a kind of shiny film. I tried to wipe them off, tried harder to wipe them off, tried with several chemicals to wipe them off. The HRM strap now has a permanent sheen to it, with some areas where it looks like the plastic is melted. The wrist-piece also looks like it has areas where the plastic has melted (and this was from the deet, not the other chemicals). And some of the indicator lettering has been almost entirely cleaned off. At least it still functions.

So now I’ve got to watch it with that repellant stuff. Deerflies, however, can drive me completely insane. They did so the other day. I got out early, sans repellant, with the thought that I could get my run completed before they awoke. Since it’s nearly solstice, the sky was beginning to get light as early as 5 to 5:30 am, and I was only a few miles into my 11-mile run at that point in time. And that’s when they hit. I was on my usual semi-rural country roads and they were all over me.

Picture this: a country road, a peaceful summer morning. Off in the distance, a long-distance runner approaches. He seems to fit in just right with the environment; he’s just part of the scene. As he comes closer, however, we notice that this runner is making some wild-looking gestures. As he comes closer still, we can see him waving his arms like a crazy man. He’s even hitting himself on the head.

That was me. That was I. That was the author of this post. I wound up with big welts all over my neck and upper back. The thing is, this was a miserable excuse for a run anyway. It was hot and muggy already, and for whatever reason, the ‘ole legs were not moving as they should’ve.

Today’s long run was much better. I felt better, ran better, and I got out even earlier to beat those doggone flies to the punch. By the time it was getting light, I was done on the country roads and well into the subdivision part of the run.

Altogether today: 20 in 2:37.5.

Wedding, Tired Run and Dirt

Lily's wedding was really memorable. It was a unique event in rural western Virginia. The Bluegrass band, the barbeque, the scenery was all wonderful. We drove home Sunday via the scenic route through almost-heaven West Virginia.

I had done 4 on the hotel dreadmill before that trip. Yesterday I was going to run long, but got a slightly later than planned start, and wound up only doing 11. And that 11 was extremely poor. I was just plain tired from the 15 hours of driving the previous 2 days.

To make me more tired and sore, we got 10 yeards of sweet peat mulch yesterday. That's a lot of dirt. I'm taking a class, but after that I joined Debbie in distributing the dirt around the yard. This, on the hottest day of the year so far - mid-90s and humid.

Today's Tempo

The ole legs were tired and sore, and I sure started out slow, heading out to the track. Once I got there, however, the 4-mile tempo run went very well. Altogether 11 in 89.5 minutes. Legs *really* tired now.

Improvement

Today I weighed in at 160. That's relatively good - I think it's a tie for my lowest point this year. Still 9 pounds more than my lowest point last year though. Realistically, I'd like to get down below 155 and stay there.

Good speedwork today: 7 x 1200 in (4:49, 4:48, 4:47, 4:47, 4:47, 4:45, 4:42) for an average of 4:46+. That's a definite improvement. Like the weight, however, I still have a long way to go. At least it's in the right direction.

Today's Run 2007-06-13

I did 2 on the mill, then 7 with Amy on the towpath, then 2 up and down the big hill. All this was a bit discouraging because it seemed like I was moving much faster than I actually was.

Yesterday and Today

This lack of work is driving me crazy.

As always, it was nice to see the family at Char's wedding. It wasn't too very lively however. Not as many young people and most left early. Now we're worried that this may happen at Valerie's wedding too.

Went to dinner with Dave and Jill yesterday. Nice time, but worries about some of our mutual friends.

I did 10 very slow miles up to north park yesterday.

Today I did the rail trail 24 in 3:17. It was MUCH better than last week. It helped that the temperature was 10 degrees lower and that I ran fewer miles Saturday and Sunday. But this was a good one nonetheless. Decent strong finish - last 3 were sub-8. 6-mi splits: 51:56, 49:28, 49, 47:18.

Orrville 10k

It was a nice day and I ran a good steady pace. Not fast, but steady. About 2 minutes slower than last year: 42:01. I'll take it though. Maybe I'm improving just a slight bit. Maybe..

I met up with Dave, Amy and Dena for coffee. Wedding tonight.

Today's Run - 2007-06-07

I was so happy when my weight got down to 160 the other day. That's probably the lowest this year. But then yesterday and today it crept back up again. So I'm not going anywhere. But I gotta keep trying.

Did the 11-mile new subs route today at an 8:30 pace. Pretty steady going, with a decent finish. I wish I could do these things faster, but see the weight issue above.

Yesterday we took Mom to lunch and to get her new hearing aids.

Running Yesterday and Today

Yesterday I just managed 5 on the mill. Lucky to get that much in.

Today I felt pretty good, considering Monday's long one. Even so, I started very slow - 38 minutes for the 4 miles over to the track. The speedwork itself went fairly well: 7 x 1200, averaging 4:53. Slow compared to other times in my life. But it was tough, although at least consistent. Decent cooldown back home - <8's. Altogether 14 in 1:53.

Still More Recent Running and Funeral

Last Friday I did 3 on the mill in 22.5 minutes. Down to 161 pounds - the ww is working.

Saturday Dave and I skipped the possible WVa marathon and just ran long on the towpath, along with Amy. I did 4 on the mill ahead of time and then 16 on the old carriage trail and towpath @ a slow 9mpm pace. Afterwards we attended the funeral of Aunt Sue's mother. After that we (me and the ladies) went shopping for dresses.

Sunday I did a few around the hood at 9mpm pace, and then 2 on the mill after some weights.

Today I awoke early so I did my long run - the 24-mile Lester Rail Trail run. I had hoped to have each 6-mile segment get faster as I've done in the past. Not today. The 6-mile splits were: 52:03, 49:53, 48:40, 50:56 for a total of 3:21:30. Not that bad, and at least it was steady, but I don't know when I'm going to improve. And lose weight - I was back to 164 today.

Recent Running

I wanted to get some kind of speedwork in on Tuesday, even if it wasn't stellar. It wasn't, but at least I did get something in: 5 x 1200 in about 4:54. 9 altogether that day.

I took Wednesday off because I was dead tired. We had to get going early anyway - had to take Mom to the ear doctor.

For today's run I wanted to at least get down to 8 minute pace. I did, but only for the beginning and end of the 11-mile course. The overall time was 90. I was sweating buckets.

Gotta decide about the West Virginia Marathon today...

Recent Running

Yesterday I did 4 on the mill and then met up with George, Rob, Bob H., Tom B., Laura and company for a run at Rocky River. Good to see everyone. We did 6 there.

Today I was going to do 15-16, but as my legs were getting tired I changed it to the 11-mile Substation course. Although I had been slowing down, I managed to pick it back up for the last 2. Finished in 92.5 minutes. Not too bad.

After some chores, but before lunch, I got out again to do my 3-mile Presidents course. This was much better than expected - 22 minutes.

I'm still learning the nuances of this GPS thingie. Today I set lap on auto (so it takes a checkpoint every mile) and I ran a course for the second time (not sure I liked this)..

Medina 4-mile, Diana and Allissa

It was pouring rain for parts of today's 4-mile race, but that didn't slow me down too much. Being so fat and out of shape did. I did it in 27:51. Probably a pw for a 4-miler, but I'm too lazy to look it up.

Dave, Carol and Debbie and I went to the Pricess Diana exhibit at the Western Reverse Hysterical Society today. Then we went to Allissa's graduation party.

Lies, Damn Lies, and GPS Data

This is also a subtitle of a section of an article about measurement, but I think it applies to what I'm about to say. I had considered using "Sex, Lies and GPS Data, without the Sex" as the subject, but I like the Mark Twain thing better.

I got my Forerunner 305 toy a few days ago, and now I've had a couple runs with it. I'm still in the process of figuring things out, but I've noticed a few things and have a few questions right off the bat.

For one thing, based on doing some of my standard courses with the device, everything is shorter than I thought. Even the courses that I measured on gmaps pedometer. Even the ones where I drove the course. This may be because I cut tangents when I run. Or it's because I'm losing the signal under trees and the device thinks I'm cutting tangents when I'm not. Regardless, I find it mildly upsetting to learn that my 6-mile course is really 5.85 miles, and that my 11-mile course is really 10.87 miles.

Here's something weird: I've checked the distance from my house to the end of the street several times. I've come up with .28, .30 and .31 miles. I can imagine that it all depends on EXACTLY where I started and where I crossed the street, etc. But when I measured it walking, I came up with .34 miles. Everything else seemed longer by walking than running as well. These are just preliminary findings, but has anyones else experienced this?

Another thought: This may be a silly question, but does arm movement have an effect on distance?

One other initial finding: after determining that at least some of my courses are shorter than I thought, I figured that running at the track would come up with distances much shorter than I've logged. This is for a couple of reasons: 1) running four laps in the inside lane is indeed less than a mile, and 2) with all the turning, the forerunner may lose some distance and determine tangents. But here, the distance measured was *long*. The first 4 laps showed up as 1.04 miles. Subsequent miles were also long. What's this all about?

The main thing I'm doing here initially though, is gathering data. This early analysis (especially when I map it out) is interesting, but I can do more later. This applies to the HRM data too. That's another story.

ORN: Just my 3-mile course today. This one actually did measure out very close to what I thought. This was my most decent run of the week, since the marathon. Now I've got a 4-mile race tomorrow.

Recent Running

I did 10 yesterday, but it wasn't easy. Still sore and tired. Got over to the track to get some slightly faster stuff in. 86 minutes. Not too terrible.

Today's Run - 2007-05-23

I strapped the heart rate monitor on today and went out for my second GPS run. Once again, my course proved shorter than the GPS said, once again by the same amount - .13 Miles or so. This was for the 11-mile new subs route.

Once again, I ran slowly anyway - over 9 mpm pace. But it really wasn't all that bad. I'll come around. You'll see...

First Run with GPS

Of course I learned that I hadn't been running as far or as fast as I thought. I did my 6-mile "east" course and learned that it's only 5.85 miles. I could only manage about 9 mpm today. This is going to be interesting as I continue to use it.

Cleveland Marathon

I ran ok for a while, but then I got tired and slowed down.

Many of you recognize my standard race report, which applies to about 60% of my races and 80% of my marathons. It did last Sunday. But what did you expect? Let's consider the excuses:

<2007>
10) I have zero race experience for the year.
9) Cleveland was windy as usual, although it has been worse other years.
8) Temperatures were in the low 60s. Not bad, but I still would've liked 10 degrees less.
7) With all the traveling this year, training in general has not been where it should be.
6) With all the traveling this year, I haven't been able to do as many quality long runs as I wanted.
5) Since my last race (Columbus, last October), I've had several illnesses and at least one major injury.
4) I got home from Portugal only about 36 hours before the start.
3) With all the traveling this year, I have managed to put on a few pounds.
2) They've been more than a few pounds.
1) I'm old, bald, fat and ugly.

They had big numbers for this year's race: over 9,000 for the marathon, half and 10K. I think there were something like 2,800 marathoners. The start of the combined full and half didn't seem very crowded however. I didn't have any real plan, other than I wanted to run smoothly. To do under 8 minute pace would be nice. Negative split would be grand. So when I figured out that my first couple miles were at 7:30 pace, continuing at that pace seemed as good an idea as any.

It was nice talking with TJ Hawk and his buddies, as well as Mike George and his brother a good part of the first 11 miles or so. TJ mentioned that after the race he would clean up as much as possible and change in his car in order to get to church on time. I told him that God wouldn't mind the smell. TJ replied that he didn't think so either, but some of the people may mind. Paul Lane, running on TJ's other side, said that TJ may wind up with a pew all to himself.

The half marathoners peeled off, and things got lonelier as I headed east on Chester toward University Circle. The half-way point was 1:38 and change: still 7:30 pace. It was probably somewhere about the circle itself where I began to slow down. I wasn't watching each and every mile split like usual, but I figure those 7:30s slowly became 7:45s or so.

Even while slowing, I was still passing folks who were slowing more. I went by and talked a bit with Nancy Schubring, an old running acquaintance from Michigan. By the time I was heading back towards downtown on North Marginal (miles 19-24), I began slowing even more. Going up the short hill on West 3 was difficult for me - it felt like a mountain at that point.

So the wheels never came off completely, but there was a general slowing. The last mile was decent, and I finished in 3:22 and change.

This had been the 30th edition, and I'd been there for the 1st, 10th, 25th, and about seven others. This may have been my slowest. But now that I've got my 1st race of the year out of the way, they can only get better now. Right?

Getting Home, Saturday Run, other stuff

I got home from Portugal a day earlier than originally planned. This would help for the marathon. Mom would be staying with us for a few days, so she and Debbie picked me up.

Saturday I did 3 on the president streets. No big deal. I then went to the expo. No big deal there either. Actually kind of boring. Big, but boring. The course bus tour was interesting. No information about the race, but plenty about Cleveland. Saturday night we took Debbie out for her birthday - Olive Garden.

Stay tuned for the race report.

Dan in Iberia III - this time it's Portugal

I arrived in the morning on the Sunday before work. Since the afternoon was free, colleague David and I took a cruise on the Tagus River. It was nice and peaceful. The river opens up to a large bay, so it seems extremely wide. We saw many fine sights. I had seen many of the same things from shore during my previous trip, but it was nice to see them by boat as well. Some of them were:
The Parque Noches area, which has extremely modern architecture and is where my client's office is and where a triathlon was in progress. We could see the runners along the shore.
The Tower of Belem - a castle guarding the mouth of the river.
The 25th of April Bridge, a replica of the Golden Gate Bridge.
The Statue of Jesus Christ, a replica of the one in Rio de Janeiro
Other neat stuff.
Almost every day brings fish for lunch and then fish for dinner. Not that I’m complaining; the food’s great. Like the Spanish, the Portuguese like to have huge lunches, and then small dinners late in the evening. Of course this means that I have huge lunches AND huge dinners to go along with my huge breakfasts. Thank goodness the dinners aren’t quite so late as for Spain – I haven’t had to wait until 8:30 for dinner yet.

But back to the fish: here’s how it goes every time. They place a huge chunk of fish in front of me. It takes up the whole plate, and it looks and smells great. Without thinking, (my brain shuts down whenever there’s food to be had), I slice a big piece and get it into my mouth as quickly as possible. And then, “Aaaargh – what’s all this hard, sharp stuff?” And then I spit out the bones as delicately and politely as is possible, which it isn’t. I wish I had a euro for every fishbone I’ve eaten on this trip.

Once upon a time, a lady appeared to 3 children, told them she was the Virgin Mary, and made some predictions that may have come true, depending on your belief system, and where you heard about it. Each year many thousands of pilgrims converge on Fatima on May 13 to commemorate the anniversary of the first appearance. They actually arrive the previous day in order to take part in all the activities and to watch the procession that night.

So there I was, a pilgrim converging upon Fatima on May 12, just like the 500,000 other pilgrims. This wasn’t just any anniversary either; this was a special one: the 90th. I had signed up for a tour of Fatima along with some other places, and we arrived with all the multitudes. Most of the people were arriving on foot. Many were camping. Thousands attended a mass that overflowed into the basilica courtyard. Others were lined up to pay respects to a shrine at the exact place of the appearances. Many crawled or scooted on their knees. It was all quite a spectacle.

There were plenty of other sights to be had this day: a gothic cathedral and monastery in Batalba. Another one in Alcobaca. Lunch at a fantastic little seaside fishing and beach village called Nazare’. And finally, there was the walled medieval village of Obidos. Obidos is a bit like Rhodes, and perhaps Toledo, even though I’ve yet to go there. It was a stunning setting. I’d have liked to have spent more time there and in Nazare’.

Speaking of stunning settings, I spent another day in Sintra, along with another consultant I’m working with, Ravish. I’d been to Sintra as part of another tour last year, but all I did that time was walk around the village. It was ok, but I didn’t even know what the deal was about the palaces and castles in the area. Having enough time made a big difference.

Ravish and I took a train from Lisbon to Sintra, and then took a bus to the top of the Big Hill / Mountain. At the very top is Pena National Palace in a spectacular setting. The palace itself is like something out of a fairy tale, with fantastic structures, shapes and colors. And did I mention the view? It was great; we could see the sea many miles away on three sides of us (Sintra is in the middle of a large peninsula, which includes Lisbon far to the south).

Next we headed down, but not too far down, to the Moorish Castle. This was about 1,000 years older than the palace, but it was impressive in it’s own way. There were walls galore, and a steep walk to the top. The walls are built on the side of a cliff, so it appears to be a very high wall. In fact, it is a very high wall. As it was for Pena Palace, the panoramic view was wonderful.

Then it was down again. This time way, way down, back to the village. We toured the Sintra National Palace, which had only some very nice views. Some of the 16th century rooms were neat.
And that’s about all the ways you can cook shrimp, I mean… that’s about all the ways you can see Portugal from Lisbon.~

Running in Portugal

05-07-07
Today I wanted to run fast, so I stayed in the hotel and just did the dreadmill thing. Not bad - 10 x 1200 in 4:47. Altogether 13 in 91 minutes. Tomorrow I'll explore.

05-08-07
I ran over to the university today. It's close, and there's some trails there. I ran around, getting lost a few times. It's probably a mile and a half around. I'll check that when I run *only* around and time it. I spent a lot of time trying, unsuccessfully, to get into the 400 meter track. Maybe they open it later. Decent but slow run overall - 1:03 - I'll call it 7.

05-09-07
For some reason my quads were extremely sore last night. Must have been Monday's speedwork or elliptical running. Strange that it didn't hit later Monday or Tuesday morning. They were still sore today, but I went over to the university again and did the trail loop 5 times. I figure each one is about 1.6 miles and the times were: 17:31 (with some extra), 13:47, 13:00, 12:57, 12:13. Along with the run there and back and a bit more extra, I'm calling it 10 in 82.5. I need to recover these quads and get in a long run, some speedwork and then a taper. All in a week and a half.

05-10-07
I set out in a different direction for a change, and - I found my way over to the big green hill. Didn't have time to do much else. I'll explore more there later.

05-11-07
20 on the dreadmill. I didn't have much more time than that, and I wanted to ensure a good pace. I also wanted to get this one last long one in before the race. Decent enough of a run. The last 9 were at MP. Altogether, I did the 20 in 2:26.

05-12-07
More dreadmill running. Not so great this time, but I wanted to get 6 in to get 60 for the week. Just barely managed.

05-13-07
This was a really nice run. I felt good and strong, but a lot of it was slow because of the hills and trails. I found my way to Monsanto park, like I did the other day. This time I hit the hills and trails a lot. The hills are pretty durn big. It's a beautiful park. I managed to run for 2:09, so I'll call it 15.

05-14-07
I only did 6 today - tough to get out the door. Once I did, I started slow, but then got moving ok. I did 2 loops around the university in just over 12 minutes each - not bad. Altogether a decent run after all. Here's something from today's post to DRS:

After being such a strong proponent of measurement, I suppose it was time to
get a GPS. So I ordered a Forerunner 305 just before the deadline for the
rebate. It's bound to be oodles of fun to figure out. I'm mostly concerned
with getting too caught up in technology at the expense of running enjoyment
and running improvement. I hope that this will not be the case here. Stay
tuned... details at 11.
ORN: I'm in Lisbon and I did a few loops of the university grounds. Nice,
soft dirt trails. Only problem is that there aren't enough of them. I figure
the longest loop possible is just over a mile and a half. But this was
pretty nice.
I suppose I ought to write about yesterday's run as well. I'd been able to
see this Big Green Hill from my hotel room. It looked pretty inviting. I'd
been running at the university, which has some nice trails, but I only wish
there were more of them. So this time I found my way over, past the zoo, up
and across a pedestrian bridge over train tracks and a highway, and up the
Big Green Hill into so-called Monsanto Park.
What a great place to run. The hills are big and bad, but it was very quiet
- at least on a Sunday. There are well maintained trails galore. I had a
really nice, peaceful but challenging Sunday morning run there.

Dan Horvath, Brunswick, Ohio, USA, but currently in Lovely Lisbon

05-15-07
I wanted to get one more speedwork session in before the marathon. So I did 10 x 1200 on the mill once again. It turned out not too bad - I did them at about 4:46 (15kph) with the last one just a bit faster. Altogether 12 in 82. Now I'm ready. I think.

05-16-06
Feeling very tired, I didn't get out as early as I wanted. So with only an hour to work with, I made it over to Monsanto Park to explore a bit more. I did go past one area where I ran Sunday. Lotso big hills and trails again. But it was extremely slow going. I'm calling it 7 in 63.

05-17-07
My last run for this trip, and it was a good one. As always, the weather was perfect. I got over to the university and did 6 loops. Each one generally got faster, and I did a few faster than any before, so I'm happy with this run. Here are the splits: 13:16,12:31,11:49,11:53,11:30,11:04. Altogether, 10 in 78.

Today's Running - 2007-05-05

I'm finally feeling better. Still tired, but generally better. I did 3 on the mill and then 14 on the towpath with Dave and Amy. Not the greatest run, but I'll take it. Just happy to be (almost) normal again.

Taking off for Portugal today.

Jury Duty, Val's Visit, Recent Running, Etc.

Debbie has jury duty this week. She's involved with a civil suit.

Valerie came to visit for a day and I got to see her for a change. While Debbie was at jury duty, we took mom out to lunch and to the park. When Debbie got home she worked with Val to do the final alterations on the dress.

I've felt sick since Monday. Don't know what it is. No appetite (none!), extremely tired all the time. I felt a bit better yesterday and ran 6 with no problems. But today's 5 was awful. I'm hoping to get better soon.

Today's Run - 2007-04-30

My speedwork today was real work, coming after yesterday's 20. But it was a good one. It was warm (upper 50s) and there was a beautiful sunrise over Brunswick (yes, Brunswick) track as I managed 8 x 1200 in about 4:54. That's a good one.

Waylayed in Cincinnati and Limerick Pork

I had to spend a night in Cincinnati because of missed connections. This meant that I missed my morning run with Dave and Amy, but we met up at Brueggers later. Debbie gave Amy the quilt, and we expressed our simpathy for Puf who had been put to sleep. As a result, I had to do my long run Sunday, thinking of Limerick Pork. Read on:

Until I went to Ireland, I wasn't aware that there is an actual city called Limerick. I still had to chuckle a bit when I saw "Limerick Pork" on a dinner menu. I figured they meant that the recipe came from there or that's the way they prepare it there, or something. Even so, I still somehow pictured a pork chop spouting a dirty little five-line poem.
So during this morning's long run, I came up with this thought about Limerick Pork:

There once was a piglet in Limerick
Who thought: to escape would be mighty slick
He tried to run away
But the farmer held him at bay
And that's him on the dinner table; so much for that swine trick

orn: Besides thinking about Limerick Pork, I somehow ran 20 miles in decent fashion. I managed to generally get faster as I went on, with the last few being fastest of all. The only disappointment was not quite getting down to sub-7 minute pace for those last couple - it was more like 7:15 or so. Maybe next time.

Dan in Dublin

“I’m kind of tired. I was out celebrating my wife’s birthday until 4am. Boy was she mad when I got home!” That was just one of the stories from one of the drivers of the City “hop on, hop off” tour that I took here in Dublin. Another is, “My wife ran off with a policeman. Now whenever I hear a siren, I get worried. What if he’s bringing her back?” One more: “Here is the smallest pub in Dublin. It holds no more than 14 people, including the barman. It’s very safe, because you can’t fall down.” Yes, some of these drivers were pretty darn funny. One of them sang quite a bit. And quite well, too. I took this tour in order to see Dublin sort of on my own, but with a bit of guidance. Some of the memorable stops that I did were: Christchurch and St. Patrick’s Cathedrals, Phoenix Park (a very nice city park where a 10K race was just finishing), Trinity College and St. Stephens Green (a smaller, but still very nice city park).

The folks I work with are extremely friendly. It’s nice to work at a place where they like you. As usual, however, I’m out in the middle of nowhere, so I have to take a tram any time I do into town. But I’m managing ok. It’s a good thing that I took that tour when I arrived – most days all I see is what’s on the 400 or so meter walk from the hotel to the office. Except, of course, what I see on my daily runs.

Those daily runs have really been, to put it as an Irishman would, brilliant. No, I don’t mean the quality of the running; I mean the scenery and the sensory experience. From the suburb of Leopardstown, I head east on bike-paths and sidewalks along the not-too-busy road down (and I do mean down) to the sea. Even this part of the run is very pleasant. There are stonewalls, blossoming trees, flowering gardens, birds singing, and the village of Newtown.

Once I reach the sea, it gets even better. I turn south and run along the shore. There are more stonewalls and villages along the way, along with harbors and seawalls. I go through the village of Dun Laoghaire (pronounced dun leery, but you probably knew that), past Dalkey Castle and turn around at an abbey placed by God on the sea in the village of Dalkey. Heading back the way I came, I have to push it to get back up the hills, but I don’t mind; running doesn’t get much better.

I’d seen a lot of Dublin, and I’d certainly seen enough of Leopardstown, so for the weekend in between the workweeks, I made my way to the countryside in order to stay at the Marriott Johnstown House Enfield Hotel and Spa. Enfield is in County Meath, about 40 miles from Dublin. Might as well be 400. Friday evening, I got my laptop bag and two other small bags, walked 15 minutes to the tram, rode 30 minutes to Dublin city center, walked 30 minutes to Conolly Station, waited for and then took the train to Enfield (45 minutes), and finally walked 30 minutes from the village to the hotel. The things I do to earn Marriott points.

I thought my Ireland running couldn’t be much nicer than that run to the sea, but it’s really nice in County Meath as well. I ran to the village and then along a canal, where there was a path of variable quality – some mud, some rocks, some cow flops, some cows, some sheep, some crushed gravel, etc. But all of it very serene. The green Irish hills and pastures loom in the background. Trees line most parts of the canal. Maybe running did get a bit better.

So after nearly 2 hours and 40 minutes of slow trail running, I get back to the hotel and, for reasons that I can’t think of, went into the spa/gymnasium. There I saw a notice about the Spa’s annual triathlon. It was to take place that very same day. I somehow gathered that there were both individuals and teams, and then, of course, asked if there were any teams that needed a runner. Of course there was. Before I knew it, I was involved. Show up at half-past 11. “Oh yeah,” I said as an afterthought, “how far is this run?” 5.2 kilometers.

Could I go out and do it again after all that trail running? I figured I could probably make the distance. After breakfast and a cold bath to recover, I went back down to the spa. Do I owe any money? No. Who and where are my teammates? They’re around somewhere – don’t worry about them. Follow Liz to get started. But it’s only ten after 11. Doesn’t matter, we’re just starting everyone in groups of 3, and in this case, 2. You can go now.

So me and Jenny started running towards town, hoping to not get lost (the directions were pretty simple, and there was a biker on the course to help). I got ahead of Jenny and then saw the biker, who yelled some words of encouragement as I went by. He was escorting another runner in. Later on he caught up and rode along with me as I looped through town and began heading back to the hotel. He continued to encourage me, and at one point told me I was doing 10 miles per hour. I slowed a bit towards the finish because there’s a hill to overcome, not to mention strong winds. I finished strong with the biker almost alongside and with Liz and about two others cheering madly. Liz kissed me. You just don’t get this kind of running experience (at least by race officials) at home. My time was 20:26, a PR for 5.2 km. And better yet, by beating Jenny, I had “won” the third or so race of my life. The others were equally low-key. I wish I knew how I did in relation to the other runners. When will I know the official results? There will be a picnic in July where they will be announced. How did my team do? Who knows?
I thought that being in County Meath would bring me close enough to easily get to some historical and archeological sites. Close I was, but there was no easy way to get to any of them. I hired a taxi for 25 Euros each way, and went to Trim. Trim is a medieval village with a large historical castle. From the tour I learned that the castle was built in the 12th century. The keep is quite tall, but only partially intact. Same with the walls. From the top of the keep I could see all around the county, including the Hill of Tara, another famous site. Trim castle is where the movie Braveheart (which is about Scotland) was filmed.

One more thought - Limerick Pork:

Until I went to Ireland, I wasn't aware that there is an actual city called Limerick. I still had to chuckle a bit when I saw "Limerick Pork" on a dinner menu. I figured they meant that the recipe came from there or that's the way they prepare it there, or something. Even so, I still somehow pictured a pork chop spouting a dirty little five-line poem.

So during this morning's long run, I came up with this thought about Limerick Pork:

There once was a piglet in Limerick
Who thought: to escape would be mighty slick
He tried to run away
But the farmer held him at bay
And that's him on the dinner table; so much for that swine trick

Running in Dublin

04-16-07
For my first run in Dublin it was cool (about 50) and raining (mostly a light drizzle). This is usually a bad combination for me, but today I had a really nice run. The rain was actually refreshing, and I enjoyed running through Ireland. There are plenty of bike paths, but I didn't quite get to the sea as I wanted - maybe tomorrow. I'll call it 13 in 1:52.

04-17-07
After talking with some of my clients, I learned that I was indeed very close to the sea during yesterday's run - I just didn't know it. So I figured out how to go to get along the seaside road (about 2.5 miles) and then ran along the road for miles and miles. The sun was just beginning to come up. I went through Dun Lougri and past the Dalkey Castle, up to an abbey on the sea. It was really a beautiful run. It was tough coming back to the hotel with some challenging hills. I'm calling it 13 miles with splits of 56, 55 minutes.

04-18-07
I enjoyed yesterday's run so much, I did it again. This one was just as enjoyable, but a wee bit faster: splits were 54, 53 minutes. Not too bad because I didn't feel all that great. I do wish I could get down to below 8 minute pace though. I'll take it anyway.

04-20-07
Same route once again. This time was the fastest yet. The day off helped. My splits were 52.5 and 51.5, so I finally achieved 8 minute per mile pace. Woo hoo. It sure *felt* fast. And just as enjoyable as the other runs.

04-21-07
Here I'll take from my Dan in Dublin blog:
I thought my Ireland running couldn’t be much nicer than that run to the sea, but it’s really nice in County Meath as well. I ran to the village and then along a canal, where there was a path of variable quality – some mud, some rocks, some cow flops, some cows, some sheep, some crushed gravel, etc. But all of it very serene. The green Irish hills and pastures loom in the background. Trees line most parts of the canal. Maybe running did get a bit better.

So after nearly 2 hours and 40 minutes of slow trail running, I get back to the hotel and, for reasons that I can’t think of, went into the spa/gymnasium. There I saw a notice about the Spa’s annual triathlon. It was to take place that very same day. I somehow gathered that there were both individuals and teams, and then, of course, asked if there were any teams that needed a runner. Of course there was. Before I knew it, I was involved. Show up at half-past 11. “Oh yeah,” I said as an afterthought, “how far is this run?” 5.2 kilometers.

Could I go out and do it again after all that trail running? I figured I could probably make the distance. After breakfast and a cold bath to recover, I went back down to the spa. Do I owe any money? No. Who and where are my teammates? They’re around somewhere – don’t worry about them. Follow Liz to get started. But it’s only ten after 11. Doesn’t matter, we’re just starting everyone in groups of 3, and in this case, 2. You can go now.

So me and Jenny started running towards town, hoping to not get lost (the directions were pretty simple, and there was a biker on the course to help). I got ahead of Jenny and then saw the biker, who yelled some words of encouragement as I went by. He was escorting another runner in. Later on he caught up and rode along with me as I looped through town and began heading back to the hotel. He continued to encourage me, and at one point told me I was doing 10 miles per hour. I slowed a bit towards the finish because there’s a hill to overcome, not to mention strong winds. I finished strong with the biker almost alongside and with Liz and about two others cheering madly. Liz kissed me. You just don’t get this kind of running experience (at least by race officials) at home. My time was 20:26, a PR for 5.2 km. And better yet, by beating Jenny, I had “won” the third or so race of my life. The others were equally low-key. I wish I knew how I did in relation to the other runners. When will I know the official results? There will be a picnic in July where they will be announced. How did my team do? Who knows?

04-22-07
Another nice run in County Meath: 18 miles all on roads this time. But some along side the canal too. Narrow, winding roads with high hedge rows made it scary at times. I saw a fox crossing the road in front of me. Herons in the canal too. Another good one here in Ireland.

Afterwards, I did some weights and then it was back to Leopardstown. That means walk, ride train, walk, ride train, walk. I still had time to do some sightseeing that day, but I was so tired I just crashed for the whole afternoon.

04-23-07
Back in Leopardstown, I did the usual 13 once again. I took the camera, hoping for a nice sunrise. It stayed cloudy, but I had a good solid and enjoyable run. 1:43 - the fastest yet. I have a few more days - can I continue to improve these times?

04-24-07
After yesterday's good run, and after lots of miles in the last few, I was pretty worthless today. Too bad I couldn't have made it to the sea because it was a pretty morning. I did jog around Leopardstown a bit: over to the race track and then up to Sandyford and back for 6 total.

04-25-07
Today I felt revived after yesterday's easy one. I went out fast, and stayed strong the whole way. I did the usual Leopardstown to Dalkey run, this time fastest of all: 1:40:4x. There may even have been a tempo run in there somewhere.

It was another beautiful morning, with a few spits and spots of rain, but also a great sunrise.

Later in the day, I almost made it to another race:

Douglas Barry writes:
And to Dan who's in Dublin at the moment. Just up the
road from you at
Leopardstown is Three Rock Mountain (look to the west
and you'll see the
mountain with a mast on it). There's a short race on it
tomorrow (Wed 25th)
at 7.30. Go to www.imra.ie and you'll get the details.
Try it as I should be there too: my eldest son is
running in it.

I tried to catch Douglas a couple hours prior to the race to
ask if he could pick me up. He probably didn't check his email
before the end of the day, because I didn't hear from him. So
I thought I'd try to walk to the race. It appeared to be about
3 miles from my hotel. I can look out my window and see the
mountain. I made it about half-way and then I came to an
extremely narrow road without sidewalks where the traffic was
zooming by. There was no place to walk at all. So I turned
back. Oh well. I had already had my run for the day anyway.

I've probably got only got one more run here in Ireland before
heading home. I'll probably do the usual run to Dalkey and
back. Hard to beat that one.

04-26-07
I wanted to get 10 more in, and I wanted to run down to the sea for one last time on this trip. I was tired, slow and dizzy, but I was generally successful for these things. I got down to some paths right on the sea and went back and forth a bit. Then over to Blackrock and back.

Today's Long Run

I somehow managed to do 24 on the Lester Rail Trail this morning. It was a really good long run - each 6-mile segment got a bit faster. The only disappointment was not being able to get down to MP for the last 3 or 4. Maybe next time.

6-mile splits: 52, 50, 48, 47
overall time: 3:17
I'll take it.