Compression

Mile 1: I'm at the track, but I almost didn't make it out at all. I don't know why I'm so tired and so sore all the time. This, even though yesterday was fairly easy. Sunday's Hinckley hills and Saturday's long run must be what's doing it. As expected, I run slowly. I had been sort of thinking of doing mile intervals, or else a ladder workout (sets of say, 1600/1200/800). Now I know I will need at least a second mile to wake up.

Mile 2: Things are not getting better. I'll need a third mile. This is not typical of my last few track workouts, by the way. I'm usually getting started on the intervals by this time.

Mile 3: I'm only running marginally faster than I did for my first two. I will need still more time to wake up. I know. It's getting ridiculous.

Mile 4: Hey, I know. Maybe I will just do a tempo run. Maybe I will start that at mile 5.

Mile 5: I'm still not woke. Although my pace has continued to get marginally faster with each passing mile, I'm still not anywhere near tempo pace. Maybe I can still get down to tempo pace at mile 6. On the other hand, perhaps I won't do anything at all of substance today. We'll see what mile 6 brings.

Mile 6: We'll, mile 6 did not bring tempo pace. The pace that I am running has gotten better still, but it's not where it needs to be. Maybe I will just call this an Aerobic Threshold (AT) run and call it a day. But I still want to do ten, and who knows? Maybe I can still get down to tempo pace.

Mile 7: There's one more chance to be able to call this a tempo run. It will involve running each of the last three miles at eight-ish minute per mile pace. This is my best mile yet, but I'm still more than a half-minute too slow. I stop for water and collect myself. Okay, time to fly.

Mile 8: I fly. It's tough, but not quite as bad as anticipating. But can I do two more?

Mile 9: That's one more, and it's even a wee bit faster than the previous one.

Mile 10: The pace is better still, and I complete the tempo run with flying colors.

Mile 10+: I don't have time to cool down as much as I would have liked. I'm exhausted anyway. Not a great run today, but at least it was something of substance. One other thing. With each mile getting faster than the previous one, I can also call this a compression run.

Group Run

Group runs used to be quite the thing. Most Saturdays would see a decent-sized bunch heading out from the Medina Square on some sort of long-run or segments thereof. Not so much anymore; Covid-19 has taken care of that. Some still get together, but not like before. For me, it's been only very small groups and only on rare occasions. Today, though, things appear nearly normal.

At 5:00 AM, I arrive at the Square to meet up with Michelle, Andy, Maureen (Mo), and Mallory. It's been a while since I've even run with this many, and it's also been a long time since I've seen Mo and Mallory. We run the "Poop Loop," so named after the series of toilets in some front yard along the way.

At around 6:00 AM, Andy and I find ourselves sans women. We even backtrack a little to try to retrieve them, but they simply aren't to be found. No matter, we head back to the Square regardless. We have to meet the 6:30 bunch.

6:30 rolls around, and we do locate the ladies back at the Square; they'd returned a little early. Now Beth, Jenn, and Audrie join up. We start out going North along the Medina Half Marathon route. After a while, some of the others turn back, and now it's only Jenn, Beth, Audrie, and me.

About 45 minutes into this portion of the run, we arrive at Lake Medina. I learn that our usual entry point is shut down for construction. We bypass it and run on the lower trail instead. As we emerge onto Route 18, I remember, not in a good way, that there's a big hill here. Now that we're off the usual MHM course, we discuss options. Most want to do about ten miles, we continue to do a modified version of the course.

A little after 8:00 AM, we are back at the Square with ten miles under our belts. In combination with the previous eight, I now have enough to call this a long run. But Jenn wants to do two more, and what the heck, I join her. She leads me through the cemetery. It's nice and peaceful. And it's good to catch up with her recent running exploits. Turns out that we're both doing next week's Brick Run, and probably the Northern Ohio Marathon and Half.

We finally complete our journey. It's getting warm. The Farmers Market is going on at the Square. Group Runs are a good thing.

They don't always end well

If all the runs were gems, then we wouldn't appreciate the good ones. Today's Brunswick Lake ten started off fairly well. But the wall came at about mile six or seven. Then my tired old muscles came nearly to a grinding halt. It was a struggle to get back home.

Yesterday was better. Maybe tomorrow will be as well. We can only hope.

How Low?

How low can I go? Two weeks ago, I averaged 3:40 for my Yassos. Last week, it was 3:39. Today? 3:37. Having said all that, it's getting pretty tough. One cannot keep improving forever. I think the answer might be to try something new on the track next week. Maybe mile intervals, or maybe something else.

My mileage appears to be a little on the low side as well as my times. But that's only because I'm no longer including walking mileage in my running log. When I started GVRAT, I thought I should include the walking to ensure that I can make the distance (1269 miles in 4 months). Now that the four months are nearly over (and I completed my overall mileage), I am trying to see whether I could indeed have done it without the walking mileage. Well, I can tell you that since I've kept the walking designated as such, I can say that I will have those 1269 running miles within another day or so.

I did receive my GVRAT 1,000 pin and BAT map,

11 of 9

I ran eleven miles out of the Hinckley nine-mile loop today. It appears that Ledge Road is closed for a while due to bridge construction, and the detour takes us farther south, to Remsen Road. While others have ventured those extra couple miles at times, the route was new to me.

My thought was that it couldn't be any more hilly than the original nine. Au contraire; my Garmin tells me the total elevation gain was 998 feet today, whereas I believe that it's around 750 for the usual course. And I felt every single one of those extra 248 feet. And we haven't lost Effie. Slow going, but at least I made it.

I made it back up to 80 miles this week. It wasn't easy, but now I'll try to do it again. And again.

Tale of a Tremendous Towpath Training Trot

A few weeks ago, I met Larry Orwin for a nice little long run on the Towpath. Today, we did it again.

It was warm and humid. It's been an oppressive summer. We ran out and back a bit, then dropped our headlamps at the cars, and headed south from the Station Road Bridge area. Along the way, we bumped into long-time runner and mutual friend, Gail Conner. Upon arriving to Lock 29 in Peninsula, we picked up Joe Salwan, and continued south.

Our Southern turn-around occurred at Hunt Farm. There we ran into Jimmy Heun. I should say that we also ran into other old friends along the way. Finally, after dropping Joe back off, we got back to Brecksville. My Garmin tells me it was well over 23 miles: the longest I've run since Larry's Birthday run in June.

I'll have to do this more often.

Things are Looking Up

Not running-wise. Oh, I suppose running is okay, although I'm sore all the time as the speedwork and long runs seem to be taking more out of me than ever. But some of said runs turn out okay. But worst of all is that my Achilles Tendonitis seems to be returning after a several-month hiatus. 

What us definitely looking up is me, at the heavens. It's Orion-rise time, and also Perseid Meteor time. The sky is downright interesting these days. I am taking full advantage, looking up at every opportunity until it begins to get light - which is a bit after 6:00 AM these days. I spotted two meteors today, and one yesterday.

You can't possibly have a bad run when there's a meteor shower going on!

It's Gonna Hurt

The track always hurts. But I love it nonetheless. I guess the corollary to 'you always hurt the ones you love' is, 'what you love always hurts you'. Or something like that.

There's a police car at the entrance to Buckeye High School. I had been about to pull in, but instead, I drive on. The cop is watching for speedsters but would have certainly asked why I was going in. It probably wouldn't have helped to explain that I was going to do my speeding around the track. Even though that may be okay, it's just that it seems weird at 5:00 AM.

Whilst driving on, I wonder what to do now. I'm heading toward the Lester Rail Trail trailhead, so I may as well run there. Maybe I can still do something of substance? I pull into the dark lot. I think about this upcoming run. It's dark, and I don't have a headlamp. And even though it will hurt, I really ought to do real speedwork at the track.

I pull out and drive toward Claggett Middle School track in Medina. Yes, it's surely going to hurt, but I love it and I need it. By the time I arrive there, I have barely enough time to complete a ten-mile run, including the usual 10 x 800 Yasso workout. I do need to get moving, however.

Or should I? It's gonna hurt to try to duplicate last week's performance. It certainly did then during and after that run. Today, it's even warmer and more humid. Hey, I know. Maybe I'll do something different. Like maybe 1-mile intervals or something else. Maybe that won't hurt so much.

Nope. It would still hurt, and I really should do the 800s again for a variety of reasons. I'll start with one of them. 3:48; slower than last week's 3:40 average, but not terribly awful. Maybe I'll try another. 3:40; hey, maybe I can do this. After another 3:40, I start getting them under 3:40. And by the time I'm finishing up, I'm doing okay with the tedium of it all. I wind up with an average of 3:39.

Now it's time for a cooldown. Oooh boy. It does hurt. I guess I was right.

Change of Venue, Parts 2 and 3

Saturday's run featured a change of venue from LRT to the track. It resulted in turning a poor run into a pretty good one. Yesterday and today's runs were also going poorly, and (in both cases), I switched to the mill. 

I hadn't been on the mill in a while. And I didn't do much mileage either day. But it turned out better than if I'd continued out in the neighborhood. It enabled me to concentrate a little better on my pace.

Such as it was (slow).

Change of Venue

Notice that there's no day-number as part of the post title. That's because I'm done with GVRAT, Except for trying to make the distance with running miles only. I'll keep track of that and report back by the end of August.

It's cool, crisp, and clear as I begin my long run on the Lester Rail Trail. For the first time this season, I spot Orion rising in the east. This is about as good as it gets for mid-summer running. I didn't run long or hard the last two days. I've got no injuries to speak of. In short, I've got no excuse for not running well today.

Except that I'm not. I'm moving slowly. Too slowly. The bathroom stops don't help, but I've dealt with those kinds of problems before. Mostly, I just can't seem to wake up. This, despite my usual gallon of coffee this morning. So I'm having a lousy run for no reason at all. 

I'd thought about running 24 here this morning. I often do that, but more often, I wind up settling for 18 as a long run total. Today, I am beginning to doubt that I can even do that. I may need to quit altogether. It's too bad that I don't even have an excuse. Other than quitting early, there's only one possible option left for me: a change of venue.

I like the Lester Rail Trail, and I do a great many of my long runs here. But once in a while, it just doesn't work out. Too bad it's not working out today during this beautiful morning. At least I get eleven in before I decide to drive over to the track. But I don't know whether the Buckeye HS track will even be open. It's been locked up lately, and I haven't been there since last year. I suppose that if it's locked, I can go to another track, or truly quit altogether.

Buckeye track is open. Even so, I begin this part of the run at a speed no faster than what I had been doing. Perhaps I really and truly should quit. I try to run a little faster, and I manage to do that. Somehow. Then I go faster and after. Each mile is better than the last. Some soccer or cross-country high school girls begin showing up. The sun is higher and warmer now. And I keep running. And my miles continue to improve.

Until I get eighteen and change, at which point, I'm done. The change of venue worked.

Day 99: I'm a BAT

I am a BAT as of today. I made it *virtually* back across Tennessee (Arkansas to North Carolina, and then back to Arkansas for 1269 miles) in 99 days. Here I am in my backyard with my GVRAT shirt and a celebratory beer.

It happened in Erie. I ran just five and a half before walking around three more. That's all it took.

Now I'm done... Until tomorrow.

Day 98: Erily Done

I'm in Erie, PA, and it's a beautiful, cool summer morning. I'm lost, and that's because the roads don't go straight, and also because they have this habit of repeating otherwise disconnected road and street names in different areas. But all that's okay. I'm still enjoying the run. I eventually find my way back to the hotel. Maybe tomorrow I'll drive to Presque Isle to run. Maybe.

And by the way. I may be done. There and back again across Tennessee. Today's eight and a half running and two walking miles may indeed do it, but I won't know for sure until it's applied tomorrow. If not, then tomorrow will be the day for sure.

More on this GVRAT mileage thing in a near-future post.

Day 97: Ramming Speed

Everyone knows about ramming speed. But were you aware that the speeds leading up to that ultimate pace are 'battle speed' and 'attack speed'? I didn't think so. Here it is: one of my favorite scenes from one of my favorite movies: Ben-Hur.

I bring this up because I just barely made it to tempo speed today. That's three miles, all something on the order of 8:20 or better, all without a break. Sometimes I can go faster. And sometimes I can go longer. Sometimes (although not often) I can do both. Today, it was just the three miles, and just the minimum tempo pace.

But that's okay. I ran quite well yesterday. I'll take anything I can get for today.

I should still finish my BAT (Back Across Tennessee) tomorrow or Friday.

Day 96: Today's Yasso Report

Today's Yasso Report: it indicates that I can run a 3:40 marathon. I can't. But I can do pretty good at Yasso 800s - I averaged 3 minutes, 40 seconds for the ten I did today. And that should predict a 3 hour, 40 minute marathon, shouldn't it? SHOULDN'T IT?

Day 95: They're only Canadian if they're from Canada

Squish. I'm near the backside of Brunswick High School and I step into something (with my brand new Asics Cumulus shoes) that came from the backside of a goose. Until that point, I'd been doing a pretty decent dance to avoid the droppings, but all it took was one brief moment of less than 100% concentration for a misstep to occur. I now notice a few Canada Geese hanging around nearby, snickering at my misfortune.

Notice that I have used the correct plural form of Canada Goose. It is Canada Geese, not Canadian Geese. This common error has festered itself into my psyche such that it's become my life's mission to expunge it from the English Language. Thus I find myself patiently correcting everyone who uses the incorrect form. And that's a lot of people. ("Regardless of their nationality, they're still Canada Geese," I'll say. Such corrections make for a wonderful way to make and keep friends.) I sometimes hedge the correction a little, allowing that in the unlikely event that particular birds truly are from Canada, they would then be Canadian Canada Geese. I've also just now learned that Canada Goose also is the name of a clothing company.

Canada Geese have become somewhat of a nuisance in suburban settings. They're aggressive when guarding their young, and of course, they leave their droppings everywhere. The funny thing is, I am old enough to remember when they were new. Really. At least new to these parts. I think that, like deer, opossums, raccoons, skunks, and a few other animals, they've recently learned to adapt (and quite well) to our human landscapes and lifestyle.

Makes me wonder: why don't we eat them? Seriously. Turns out, some do get eaten, but there are issues to be considered.

Today's run brings me ten miles closer to completion of the Great Virtual Run Across Tennessee (and back). The virtual finish line - back to the Arkansas border - is only a few days away.

Day 94: Piles of Miles

The running mileage total for this past week is on the order of 75. That's one of the lowest weekly totals since GVRAT began. Most weeks are 80 and above. Now, 75 ain't really all that bad, and there were a couple nice and decent runs involved. And these numbers don't include walking miles, which I'm still counting and which I may still delete later. (It was another 400+ mile month when you do include the walking.)

But maybe all these GVRAT miles are beginning to take their toll. Note that I've said this before, and then continued on. Maybe that'll be the case this time as well. I should complete the Back Across Tennessee leg in four or five more days. We'll see what happens then.