Today's tip-top track tempo training trot

It's my first run in the new Nike ZoomX Vaporfly NEXT% 2 shoes. I start out by wearing them around the house. Feels like I want to bounce my way forward. Getting out of the car at the Claggett Middle School track is fun as well. Once again, forward seems to be the direction the shoes want me to go. And with a bounce in my step. Do they really make you faster? Google sure thinks so. We shall see.

The new Vapoflys

After a two-mile warmup, I'm ready to try to take them to tempo pace. Those three miles go well, and they feel fairly easy. After an easy mile, I decide to do one 800 at about the pace I've been doing during previous Tuesday Track sessions. Once again, it feels pretty easy.

Now, let's talk about perception vs reality. My heart rate during the fast portions of today's run was in the neighborhood of 144 (avg) to 152 (high). Looking back at my heart rate for previous speedwork was... almost exactly the same! So my perception is that they felt good and they made me feel fast, the true impact was tough to quantify. As they say... more study is needed.

That said, there won't be a whole lot more experimentation. Maybe just one more training run. I'm saving them for the Erie Marathon.

Volume

In my research for this post, I only just realized something that I must have misremembered: that there were two, not one, First Citywide Change Bank commercials on Saturday Night Live. It's like there were two parts by design. The first fake commercial is the setup, and the second one delivers a great punchline. It goes like this. "How do you make money (giving exact change all the time)?" The answer: Volume! 

Volume is the name of the game for me so far this Spring and Summer. I'm now up to 70 miles per week, including long runs of 20 miles or more. Pretty good, eh?

We'll see about that. Erie is in two weeks.

The best deadly sin of all

Sloth: the avoidance of work. I like it. Okay, maybe lust would nudge it out from the top of the list of Seven Deadly Sins. Oh, alright; gluttony ain't bad either. But the rest aren't nearly as much fun.

I engaged in some sloth by not running yesterday. It was my first day off in several weeks, but I think I earned it. I earned it by running 71 miles in a week for the first time in forever, and by running 21 miles the previous day.

Said day off enabled me to wake up energetic and ready for a good run today. I burst out the door, and although my run started off fast, I increased the pace as the run went on, and I finished strong.

Nothing - not one word - in the above paragraph is even remotely true. At least I did make it out the door, I'm hoping tomorrow's run will be less slothy.

Distant Thunder

The sky is clear (I had just pointed to Betelgeuse for those who wanted to see him), yet we can still see intermittent flashing lights near the horizon. It is lightning from a faraway storm, perhaps over Lake Erie. There really isn't any thunder to be heard, but for some reason, I like the post title Distant Thunder better than Distant Lightning.

What's the occasion, you ask? Why it's none other than our usual 5:00 AM Wednesday run at Lake Medina. We've been pretty consistent about these mid-week jogs, and consistency is vital for running success... I think.

For this particular Wednesday run, we have a slightly larger than usual gaggle of runners. There's Andy and Michelle Wolff, who (to no one's surprise) somehow managed to start even earlier than the rest of us. We have Debbie Hicks and Mallory Bergstresser, educators just beginning their new school year. Harold Dravenstott is here to discuss his upcoming work day along with yesterday's speedwork session. And then there is the surprise visit from Michelle Kelly-Daum, who is training for an ultra, yet has to finish fast to get home to get her kids off to their first days of school.

Back and forth we go, doing the lower and the upper trails near the lake. It's a great morning for a run. Yet it's difficult for me; yesterday's Yasso 800 workout is still in my legs. I think the same is true for a few of my companions, especially Michelle Wolff. As we keep returning to the trailhead, we keep losing folks. Eventually, it is just Michelle Kelly-Daum and me running the final few miles. 

We finish as it's getting light. My watch tells me that I've completed the planned ten miles. That should get me through. Until tomorrow.

Akron Goodyear Half-Marathon Race Report

I am usually pretty even-tempered about my running, and I also don't generally like to brag, but just let me say one thing: Yipeeee!

The Akron Goodyear Half-Marathon Race was a keeper, for all the best reasons:

• Great organization for a fairly big race.
• A Swenson's burger and two (2) beers at the finish.
• Great company (my friends, Theresa Wright and Julie Boggs traveled with me).
• Absolutely perfect running weather.
• A blimp.

Julie, Theresa, and Dan before the start. Oh yeah, and the Blimp too

With the blimp overhead nearly the entire race, I managed to keep my pace fairly steady at around nine minutes per mile. After the nifty start at the Goodyear Proving Grounds, Julie and Theresa pulled ahead, and I settled into my groove. Just like last week's race, I had some trouble in the middle miles (mostly due to the slightly rolling hills) but then found my mojo again for the last few. That downhill finish helped. 

My time was 1:58:28, good once again for second in my ancient age group. Yet another 65-year-old kid beat me once again. Oh well. This run felt way better than last week's brain-baker. I will take it. Gladly.

Autumn is Coming

Yes, I spotted it this morning, rising in the Southeast, as it is wont to do each August. I didn't hesitate to point it (my first sighting of the Orion constellation) out to my running companions, who gave a collective, enthusiastic. "Meh."

When I see Orion coming up in the morning, I know that Autumn is on its way. I know I can also do this by looking at the calendar (only to see that there's really still a month of Summer left), but sometimes I like being old-fashioned.

It's been a long, hot summer, so this is welcome news.

Hofbrauhaus Half-Marathon Race Report

It's mile 10, and I'm just getting over a bad patch. 

But wait: bad patch seems to imply that that slowdown will be followed by some sort of recovery and subsequent speedup. Unfortunately, my experience with bad patches is that they're almost always followed by worse patches. It's hard to imagine anything else on this HHHH (Heat, Hills, Humidity, and Humility) kind of day. Okay, the hills aren't so bad on this course, but the excessive heat, humidity, and humility more than make up for that.

This is my first experience with the Hofbrauhaus Half-Marathon (I'd been attracted by the offer of free beer),  Other than the not-so-serious Brunswick Half-Marathon last January, this is my first half in a year and a half. I averaged around 9:30 per mile at that Boston 2.1 race, where my overall time was 2:06. Picking up where I left off seemed like a good idea, so I started today's race at that pace.

Did I mention the heat and humidity? It was oppressive even at the start. As the sun rose higher, things would go from bad to worse. All of my miles were at 9:30 or better until about halfway. Those middle miles are on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, through Rockefeller Park, along Cleveland's Cultural Gardens. It's relatively nice and shady, but that's where I lost it. Could I get "it" back?

Somehow, with three miles to go, I do. I start running at about the pace I went out at, and now I'm passing people once again. Some of them had recently passed me. A lot of runners are staying in shaded areas, even when they're out of the way. Me? I'm running tangents, despite the hot sun.

That final 5K turns out pretty decent; about like the first 5K. I guess I did get over the bad patch. I finish in about 2:04, good for 2nd in my age group. I suppose the electrolytes and multiple gels I took helped. Not to mention the promise of the free beer at the finish.

Consistency and Comfort

The 60-plus mile weeks are coming fast and furious, and now, so are the long runs and interval workouts. And yet, I'm still in a kind of comfort zone of my own making. Consistency is essential, and comfort is nice. But improvement requires at least some amount of dis-comfort. To that end, I am:

1) Running a couple half-marathons, including one this Sunday. This will require a slight disruption to my weekly mileage and rest-day routines.

2) Working even a little harder on the speedwork. This week's 800s were my best yet. Since the surgery, of course.

3) Running on trails occasionally. Often, this is on the trails in the field behind our subdivision. Other times on nicer, easier trails like LRT.

4) Picking berries. I did this today whilst trail running behind our sub. The slow pace was comfortable, but stopping to pick amidst prickers, poison ivy, bugs, and more bugs was not.

My I.Q. vs my weight

The weight wins, of course. But both the I.Q. and the weight are coming down. That's a good thing for the latter; not so much for the former. 

The scale showed 160 this morning. That means that I've lost about 18 pounds since the Achilles surgery a little over a year ago. It also means I'm approaching my fighting weight.

But I don't usually fight; I run. I'm trying to improve that as well. But although my weekly mileage is now in the mid-sixties and I'm working on quality, I still have ways to go.

Finish Strong

And now, I'm alone. It's been a pretty good Saturday-morning run, with a pretty good group. We've come and gone from the Medina Square, time and time again, all for the purpose of dropping people off or picking them up. But this is the last time. It's a little before 8:00, and everyone else is done. Except me.

My watch tells me I've got four and a half miles to go in order to hit that 20-mile mark. I'm hot, sweaty, and very tired. How the heck am I going to make it all that way? I say goodbye to everyone and start my slow, dragging slog for this final leg. Suddenly, a thought occurs to me: I can head over to the track and finish up there.

Tracks are wonderful things. A quarter-mile of soft, bouncy surface where you're never too far away from home: just what the doctor ordered. Best of all, I can better concentrate on my pace to ensure that I'm not losing form or function. I wind up running my fastest three and a half miles of the day. 

Of course, I slow way down during my slog back to the Square, but I'm very pleased with the way this run wound up. It feels great to finish strong.

The Next Level

60 miles per week. Check. One day off per week. Check. One long run per week. Check. One speedwork or other Something of Substance run per week. Check. The 60-mile weeks have been a thing for me for a good month and a half now. The long runs, the day off, and the occasional speedwork have been gradually worked into my weekly routine. Today's goal: take it to the next level. At least by a smidge. My usual 18-mile long run would be a 20-mile long run. And the total weekly mileage would be up from around 61 to 65 or so. Nothing Earth-shattering. But the next level, nonetheless.

It's raining here at Plum Creek. We needed the precip, but did it have to happen during this run? I only manage to get a short two miles in before Andy and Michelle Wolff show up. We run North on the new and the under-construction trails until we emerge at Mooney park. From there, we head West, do a loop, and then return in order to meet the 6:00 gang. Now I'm up to six and a half miles.

Now that Harold Dravenstott, Mallory Bergstresser, and Chadwick Sunday have joined, things get serious. Not really. But we've got a pretty good group now. We go back to the North, back on the same trails, back through Mooney park, but this time we continue North and go all the way around Brunswick Lake. We return via a different route. Now everyone is getting ready to go home, and with 14 miles, I still have six to go.

It's back to the North once again. This time I head West out to Mooney park, but I take a slightly different route from the one we did earlier. When I return, I'm a little over 19 total miles (and 64 for the week), but I have to quit. It's past time to get home and take care of my daughter's cats.

Yeah, I know. As far as flimsy excuses go, that one was particularly so. Maybe we should say that I only made it to the next half-level.

Today's Tempo Trot in backwards order

Mile 10: This is just awful. Will I even be able to finish? I'm sure it's my slowest mile, and the tiny little final uphill portion on my street is nearly enough to make me stop and walk. Okay. I finally make it to the house.

Mile 9: Even though I've got some downhill portions, this is not going well at all.

Mile 8: I can't believe how much I slowed down. It seems like the moment I started back home from the track, it got bad. Then, step by step, it got worse. Then, much worse. I wish I could just stop, but I've got to get home anyway.

Mile 7: This mile is not nearly as fast as the last three, but it's still going to be under ten minutes, so I can still consider it part of the tempo portion of the run. I'd been worried that I would get kicked off the track, but I'm still the only one here. I've got no excuse, and it seems that I need none. But that run home for the final 3 will probably be a challenge.

Mile 6: This is shaping up to be the best of the 3 tempo-ish paced miles here at the track. After it's done, I'll take it easy. Okay, easy-er.

Mile 5: For some reason, this mile starts slower than the last one. I have some catching up to do, but I manage to speed up and do it. The time (8:46) is identical to Mile 4.

Mile 4: The track is OPEN!!!! I hadn't expected that! I'd figured on running around Brunswick, and I'd been wondering whether I would be able to make that into a tempo run. But now that the track is available, I can do it here. This is great! Perhaps over-enthusiastically, I run this mile not only faster than ten-minute pace, but even faster than nine-minute pace. It doesn't feel too awful. But... Will I be able to continue?

Mile 3: It's time to decide whether to head towards Brunswick Lake or North Park. I pick North Park. My pace is improving.

Mile 2: It's humid, but I'm slowly picking up the pace.

Mile 1: I am out the door. It's later than I'd have liked, but I'm feeling pretty good. Maybe I will be able to get that tempo run in after all. I decide to head up and across 303. That way I can put the decision off (at least for a couple miles) as to whether to go to Brunswick Lake, North Park, or whatever. I hope it will go okay.

Lost on the one road through Rock Creek Parkway

There's one road through Rock Creek, and I got lost on it.

We spent a couple days in D.C. with the grandkids. Stayed in nearby Silver Spring, MD. One day, I ran to Rock Creek Park and back, and the next day, I managed to get into the park to continue the run a bit. 

The road itself is closed in parts to allow non-vehicular traffic to enjoy itself. I did. Then I got to the Rock Creek Trail, a paved trail that goes on quite a way. After turning around, I came back to the trailhead and promptly got lost. This was on the one road that went by. I guess I went the wrong way; I had to turn back after a while and go back the other way.

Other than my confusion, it's nice running through there. I think I've run the Rock Creek Parkway years ago, but it was probably a different part. Oh and by the way: most of my run was along Rock Creek. After hearing this babbling brook for a while I managed to get a glimpse later on. It's a creek with some rocks in it.

Twin Sizzler 2022

Dan arrives in Medina early enough to pick up his packet and hopefully get a few warmup miles in. But then he starts talking with new and not-so-new friends, and before he knows it, there's only time for a mile or two. Jogging a little with Ladd Clifford, he does manage to get about that far. Now it's time to line up for the 5K.

It's still fairly cool, and the shadows are still fairly long. This is all good, since it will get hot later on. The downhill start is nice, but as the course levels out and begins going uphill, it all quickly becomes real. Dan is talking with friends, and it's all a lot of fun. When he reaches mile 2, it's time to unleash the beast. He passes a few people on the downhill portion of this final mile. It's fine. Until it isn't. The last hill heading up to the Square is a killer, and it pretty much slays Old Dan. He manages to do a sub-nine-minute mile, only just manages to get his final 5K time under 28. It's still a better time and effort than other recent races.

The cooldown/warmup between the races isn't much. Dan spends too much time catching up with everyone. Again. With some, like Tom Bieniosek, it's been literally years. So it's understandable that he isn't running as much as he'd like.

The 10K promises to be tougher. Yes, it's longer, but it's also hillier and much hotter. Even in his faster days, Dan has never run this race all that well. The third mile is the most difficult and the slowest. After that, Dan somehow manages to pull himself back together enough to pick the pace back up. The shady areas and downhills help. When he reaches mile 5, it's time to unleash the beast. He passes a few people on the downhill portion of this final mile. It's fine. Until it isn't. The last hill heading up to the Square is a killer, and it pretty much slays Old Dan. (Those last five sentences may sound a little familiar. Sorry.) Dan finishes the race in around 58 and a half minutes. Once again, Dan considers this not too awful.

Later, after a cooldown mile that actually heated him up more, Dan learns that he finished third in his age group in each race. He's got a way to go. But today was fun.

Breakfast is served

Mom: "Hey kids, wake up. See that bright light coming our way? It's not a firefly, it's a human! They're great for breakfast."

Floyd Fly: "I've never seen one before. Are they all half-naked, smelly, sweaty, and noisy like that?"

Mom: "This one is worse than most."

Frida Fly: "But I'm not hungry yet."

Mom: "That's okay, Frida. He will go back the other way in a while, and then he will return again, just as the sun begins to rise - our normal breakfast time. He will even go back and forth some more after that. I remember seeing him do as many as four out-and-back loops here on the Lester Rail Trail. But he's getting old, so he will probably only do around three today. I'm so happy you kids will have a chance to dine on something other than the usual deer and rabbit. Humans are better for you, and they're also what I would call a 'fun food.'"

~

Flynn Fly: "Hey, here he comes again. I'm really hungry now."

Mom: "Okay, kids. Get ready to feast!"

Frida Fly: "Eww. What's that smell?"

Mom: "Oh no. He must have sprayed deet on himself. Now that stuff is mixed with his sweat, and he's even more disgusting than before. Try to land on a patch of his skin without so much deet smell. It'll still be worth the effort. You will have a wonderful meal."

Floyd Fly: "I don't think he likes us. Why is he waving his arms and slapping himself like that? Does he think that will keep us away?"

Mom: "Humans are stupid, and this one is especially so. If they weren't so good to eat, I would say just leave them alone."

~

Flynn Fly: "Why isn't he coming back? I wasn't finished eating."

Mom: "He must have kept going East into the Medina subdivisions where he knows we won't follow. Maybe he's not quite as dumb as I thought. But don't worry. I know he has to come back this way again, sooner or later."

~

Mom: "What did I tell you? He's coming back. Get ready for Second Breakfast."

Eight is Enough

 Today's run, by the numbers:

5:15 - The approximate start time of my interval workout at Buckeye High School. It was nice and cool, and just beginning to get light.

6:00 - The approximate time that the mowers started. The BHS athletic fields include acres and acres of grass. The mowers are over, around, and through the track where I'm trying to run. It bothers me a bit, but I keep going. I suppose I bother them as well.

800 - The half-mile distance of each repeat today, and most interval workout days. You might say it's my go-to speed distance.

90 - The percentage of effort I try to give to most each repeat. You know: keep that imaginary potato chip between your thumb and first two fingers. Keep your eyelids at half-mast. Still run fast; just not all-out.  All that stuff.

90 - The percentage of each repeat that I try to give 90% of my effort. The last 10% of each one should get 100% effort. That's when I clench my teeth, allow my eyes to bulge, and dig deep.

4:17 - My average time for the 800s today. I am not proud of this, since it wasn't so long ago that I could do them around 45 seconds faster. But, like Attila the Hun says, it is what it is.

80% - The percentage of a Yasso workout that I achieved today. That is, I did 8 800s, rather than the 10 I would need to consider this a true Yasso. But since I did only 5 last week, and since I'm still on the comeback trail, I'm not unhappy about this. At least I got this far.

I'll be much happier when I can report a 100% on that last one, however.

Connie Gardner: A year in the life of an ultrarunner

This article originally appeared in the Nov/Dec 2009 issue of Marathon & Beyond. Enjoy.

Going For It

Connie was going for it. She had been on pace (about ten minutes per mile) for nearly the entire event, the 2007 Ultracentric 24-Hour US Championship in Grapevine, Texas. The conditions were certainly not conducive to a record; the daytime temperatures had been in the 80s, and there was considerable humidity. Yet she definitely had a shot. We’re talking about a shot at the American Women’s 24-hour record of 145.28 miles by Sue Ellen Trapp 14 years earlier.

For the final two frenetic hours, time seemed to stand still as she ground out mile after mile at the required pace. For the final 45 minutes, runners were moved off the 2-mile course and onto a ¼ mile course so that their distance could be monitored more closely. Then Connie heard the words she was so desperate for. Those wonderful words she heard from race officials, including the race director, was something to the effect that "You've made it - you have the record!" “I was completely exhausted, and almost completely out of time. I immediately stopped and collapsed,” she said. There had been only minutes to spare. But that's not the end of the story.

 

Gardner was happy not only to have the record but also because she could surely use that $4,000 bonus check, on top of the $4,000 she'd get for the win. But here is the rest of the story. Race officials re-measured the course and determined that it was shorter than they had originally thought. Now Connie was informed that she had run 145.26 miles - about 40 meters short of the record. The record would now stand a while longer. She wasn’t pleased.

The Ultracentric race capped off an excellent 2007 year for Gardner. In the months leading up to the event, she had won the Mohican Trail 100 Mile Run, the Buckeye Trail 50k, and the Javelina Jundred 100-mile run. She also won her age group at the Akron Marathon as well as several other events.

The “year” in the life of Connie Gardner referenced by the title of this article is 2008, but we just had to include at least this run that happened to be at the end of 2007. The year 2008 was also an extraordinary one for marathon and ultra-marathon running. Slight correction: ordinary by Connie’s; extraordinary by almost any other human standards. Besides the Ultrcentric race and the ones that followed for the next 13 months, we’ll also take a look at how Connie got to this point of being one of America’s top ultra runners, and also a bit about what makes her tick.

The most fascinating aspect of Gardner’s life and times has been her struggle. After a decade at or near the top of the ultra running world, she is still as competitive as ever. And yet, making ends meet continues to be a major effort. Regardless, it’s a safe bet that she’d be doing this even if it weren’t for the money. But the money helps. 

For over 35 years, top runners at shorter distances, up to and including the marathon, have been able to make a living through their sport. With perhaps only one or two notable exceptions, this has not been the case with ultra running. No, Connie isn’t poor, but she’s also not able to rest on her laurels. 

In more than a decade of competitive running, Connie Gardner has had many such running experiences, great, good, and a few not-so-wonderful ones. During this illustrious career, Connie has been: 

    • National 100 Mile Trail Champion

    • National 100 Mile Road Champion

    • National 100K Champion

    • National 24-hour Champion

    • USATF Ultra-Runner of the Year

    • Member of multiple USA National Ultra Teams

    • Winner of Many other Ultra Races

Some Early 2008 Marathons

On January 5, 2008, Gardner ran the competitive and hilly Mississippi Blues Marathon. With a time of 3:15, she placed 6th among women and was the first master.

A month later, she traveled to Jacksonville Beach, Florida to run the “26.2 with Donna: The National Marathon to Fight Breast Cancer” Marathon. This time she ran a minute faster at 3:14 but was only the second master. Bummer.

Only a couple weeks later, on March 1, Gardner ran the Snickers Marathon Energy Bar Marathon in Albany, Georgia. With an excellent time of 3:05, she won the masters division.

That same month, Gardner drove to southwestern Ohio to run the small, but well-regarded Ohio River Road Runners Club Marathon. Although the weather was nice, Gardner ran a bit slower than she did for her previous efforts. In spite of this, she won the overall female division with a 3:17.

There would be one more spring marathon for our prolific subject: the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon on May 18. This, along with Akron, is Gardner’s hometown race, and she ran well: 3:09 to finish as the second female and first female master. 

Run for the Money

“Taxes were coming due, and I needed some money.” On April 12th 2008 Gardner competed in the Mad City 100k. She needed to place well in order to garner that prize money, and she did; she finished second in a time of 8:52:07. “So I did manage to get those taxes paid for the year,” said Connie. Whew.

Yes, Gardner will run for money. She will do this even in cases where she knows she won’t be at her best. This is often the case for road races, including marathons. Although definitely more oriented towards trails rather than roads, and to ultra distances rather than marathons, Gardner often finds herself competing for marathon prize money. This is not to say that she doesn’t love to run in general. If necessary, she would do it for free for sure. But it’s interesting how much a person will go through to make a living. Not to mention running for road prize money to support a trail ultra habit.

Like many of us, Gardner juggles her running life with her personal one. Hers may be a bit more hectic than some of ours, however. Most days are spent working in a running specialty store in the morning and early afternoon, followed by her work as a cross country and track coach at a nearby high school. The cross country and track coaching don’t end there, as she also coaches some individual runners from various high schools. Gardner also works part-time at a community swimming pool. Somewhere in there, she finds time to run. This time to run may occur once, twice or three times per day for up to 100 miles per week. But please excuse Connie if she happens to be late for a run or for work; there’s just a lot going on. Oh yes, and one other thing: as a single parent she raises her two teenage daughters, Abby and Gwen. 

 

She admits to being like a fish out of water in at least one area of motherhood: shopping with Gwen for a homecoming dance dress. “Had this been shopping for swimming or running equipment, or simply going out for a run or swim with my daughter, everything would have been just fine.” In this instance, she did her best, but was clearly out of her element. “I managed,” she said, “but that was enough of that.”

Gardner is stunned when she reads a paper Gwen wrote for a high school assignment. It extols her mother’s success and dedication to her sport. This extends back to Connie’s high school years where, unable to compete in any available sports, she worked to create a new cross country team. Although she was one of the slowest on the team, she simply worked hard and kept running. And this work ethic, of course, led to her eventual success at longer distances. “Connie John Gardner has proved to me that hard work is bound to pay off.” Ironically, Connie’s role as a mother of her two girls is the aspect her daughter admires most. “Connie John Gardner is the strongest person I’ve ever met, and I can only hope to be as good of a person as she has become.” She hadn’t thought that her accomplishments ever appeared on her kids’ radar screens, and was flattered to be considered a role model. “I was flabbergasted when I read it,” she says.

The State of Northeast Ohio Ultra Running

On June 21, 2008, Gardner returned to Mohican to run the 100-mile race that kicked off her extraordinary ultra career. It’s a tough one, but she finished in 19:22 – 14 minutes better than the first time, and like the first time, was the first female finisher. 

After dabbling in some road races, including a few marathons, Connie Gardner had begun her ultra career in earnest with the Mohican Trail 100-mile run in 2001. She won the race with a time of 19:36. She was a bit disappointed that two men finished ahead of her.  “I wanted to be the first overall. I wasn’t satisfied to be only the first female,” she says. Over the next few years she continued road racing, but also continued her success at trail ultras. She recorded wins at the USA 100 Mile Road Championship at Olander Park, JFK 50-Mile (twice), Umstead 100-mile endurance run, Groundhog Fall 50K, Buckeye Trail 50k, Toronto 100k, Sunmart Texas Trail Endurance Run 50-mile (twice).

Northeast Ohio is blessed with more than its share of excellent trail and ultra runners. Mark Godale, Steve Godale, Kam Lee, Bob Pokorny, Tim Clement, among others have all won major events. Mark owns the American male 24-hour record. On Saturday mornings and Wednesday evenings Gardner often runs with these folks on the trails in Cuyahoga Valley National Park. She also often leads Tuesday evening speedwork, featuring a variety of runners at a local middle school. Unfortunately, Connie’s most consistent training partner, Kim Martin, has recently relocated to Minnesota.

 

At the Second Sole of Medina running specialty store, Connie is extremely well regarded as the running authority of the area. She will gladly give valuable advice of all kinds to high school track and cross country kids, novice adult runners, walkers, experienced marathoners as well as fellow ultra runners. She is just as comfortable discussing the experiences of others as she is her own. In the process, she will also sell a pair of shoes or two.

At the running specialty shop

Burning River and Other Racing

At the 2008 Burning River 100 Mile race Gardner was going for it once again. This time there was no American Record or prize money; just (hopefully) the satisfaction of winning this grueling race outright. She had started conservatively and gradually moved up until, late in the race found herself in second place. Only one runner, Tim Clement, was between her and this goal of winning outright. Tim was now between 20 and 40 minutes ahead, but Connie was running well and thought she'd have a shot. This was the point where, on the darkening trails, she saw some markers indicating that the race was to proceed in the opposite direction. Connie now knew what had gone wrong. Miles earlier she had emerged from one trail to another and was a bit confused about which way to go – left or right. She had picked the direction that she thought was right, but now found herself going the wrong way around the almost circular route. She could have simply completed this portion and moved on, perhaps not losing any time or ground. And late in the race, this surely was tempting. But Gardner knew the right thing to do: return to the point where she'd gone off course and continue from there. By doing the right thing, Gardner still won the women's division, but was second to Clement in the overall finish. Most runners would be thrilled to be the first of their gender and not even give the overall placement a second thought. And most runners in Connie's situation may not have done the right thing to complete all of the course. For another runner’s view of the previous year’s Burning River Race, see My Most Unforgettable Ultramarathon (And What I Learned From It) by Wyatt Hornsby, Marathon & Beyond, July/August 2008.

 

On Saturday, September 27, 2008, Gardner competed in and won by a few seconds the female masters division of the Akron Marathon. Her time was 3:13. Immediately after accepting her award, which included some amount of cash, she went to her team’s cross country meet, managing to catch the tail-end of it. That evening it was into the car and off to Moline, Illinois. That’s a seven-hour drive. Sunday morning she was to run the Quad Cities Marathon and once again compete for master’s prize money. She won the category at this race too, in 3:19. “I thought these back-to-back marathons would be good training for the upcoming ultra world championships,” she said.

A few shorter races also popped up on the calendar throughout the year. Most notable was the Youngstown Peace Race 10K on October 12. Gardner was the second master with a time of 39:58. “I had never broken 40 minutes for a 10K before,” she said.

World Championships

Gardner had been on US National teams in the past, and for 2008 she had been chosen to be a member of both the National 24-hour and 100k teams.

She had high hopes of placing well at the World Championship 24-hour run in Seoul, Korea on October 20, 2008. Despite the extreme heat, humidity, air pollution; despite the crowded, difficult c-shaped course; despite the mostly concrete surface, she was doing quite well for the first 12 of the 24 hours. It was the blister that got her. Blisters befall many an ultra effort, but Gardner generally doesn’t fall prey to them. She did fall prey this time, however. At 14 hours and 88 miles, she stopped for medical attention with the intention of having the blister lanced and returning to the competition. Her second toe had swollen to well over twice its normal size, but the lancing didn’t hurt too much. It was when the medical person pressed down on her toenail that she felt such intense pain that she immediately vomited. This race was over for her. “If it had only been the concrete surface, the pollution, the heat, or even the blister, I could have made it,” she said. “But all these things together conspired against me. It was just too much.”

After this team race came another: the Ultramaratona degli Etruschi / International Athletics Union (IAU) 100 km World Cup in Tarquinia, Italy on November 8, 2008. Here Gardner gained some measure of redemption after that 24-hour race. “The team’s plan was for some of the runners to ‘go for it’, and for me to run a steady pace,” said Gardner. Running that steady pace as planned, she finished in 29th place among all women and was the fourth American. The USA Women did great to finish second overall.

 Meghan Arborgast, Connie Gardner, Carolyn Smith at World 100K

JFK

To finish off the year, Gardner decided to travel to Maryland to run the JFK 50 Mile on November 22 JFK is one of the country’s oldest, largest, and most prestigious ultras. It was a last-minute decision, and the race had been filled to capacity much earlier. But past winners are allowed to register at any time, and Connie had won the race twice, in 2002 and 2004. She had also finished second and third on other occasions. 

In 2008, having just turned 45, Gardner took the lead early during the hilly and technical Appalachian Trail portion of the race. “This was my plan; there were some fast runners behind, including a 2:40 marathoner,” she said. “ I thought I’d better run fast while I have the advantage on the trail.” By the time she hit the towpath (mile 16 or so), she had a 20-minute lead. She ran a steady pace, despite the wind, cold, and mud. Losing only a few minutes, she held that lead for the entire 26-mile towpath section, and also on the final road section.  She won with a time of 7:15, only 4 minutes slower than her previous fastest time there. What a great way to polish off the year! 

JFK

So what does make Connie tick? Yes, she definitely is blessed with those slow-twitch muscle fibers, but she also definitely works at it. The hard work is the thing. Other than that, to answer the question more directly, it sure beats the heck out of us.

To be sure, 2008 was quite a year. And it will only serve as prolog for 2009. Sound familiar?

a Few of Connie Gardner’s Major Ultra running awards and accomplishments

• Mohican Trail 100-mile; female champion 2001, 2007, 2008
• Kentucky 50-mile; female champion 2001
• Buckeye Trail 50K; female champion 2001, 2002, 2003, 2007; course
record 2006
• JFK 50-mile ultramarathon; female champion 2002, 2004, 2008
• Sunmart Texas Trail 50-Mile; female champion 2002, 2004
• Western States 100-mile; top 10 finisher 2002, 2003, 2004
• Umstead 100-mile trail; female champion 2002, 2006; female champion
and course record 2005
• Umstead 50-mile trail; female champion 2003
• 100K USATF national champion 2003
• 100-mile USATF national champion 2003, 2004
• USATF national team member: World Cup 2003, 2006, 2008
• Named USA Track and Field Ultrarunner of the Year 2003
• Named in most interesting people, Cleveland Magazine, 2003
• Chicago Lakefront 52-mile; female champion 2004
• Groundhog Fall 50K; female champion 2005; female champion and
course record 2006
• Rocky Raccoon 100-Mile Trail Championship; female champion
2006
• Toronto 100 K/Canadian National Championship; female champion
and course record 2006
• Laurel Highlands 70-mile; female champion 2006
• Hocking Hills 60K; female champion and course record 2006
• Ultracentric 24-Hour national championship; third female 2006; female
champion 2007
• 100K World Championship; participant 2003, 8:15 PR; 2007, 2008
• Javelina Jundred 100-mile; female champion 2007
• Mad City 100K national championship; second female 2008
• Burning River 100-mile; female champion 2008

long

You've heard it here before: 18 or more miles is a long run. Why that particular minimum? Because 17 just isn't long enough, and 19 is too long (for a minimum,, that is). There. That should explain it.

To add some much-needed clarity here, I'm thinking of long runs in relation to marathon training. You must be able to run 18-mile or longer training runs if you have a marathon in your future. And that I do. Running long is especially important for me at this time because I haven't done so in well over a year. Getting back to this kind of distance has not been easy for me.

~

Dan arrives at the Medina Square at 4:45, a good 75 minutes early. But it's not entirely all that good since he wanted to get started by 4:30. This means that he will probably need to run a few extra miles alone after everyone else gets done in a few hours in order to get up to 18. Oh, the things he goes through.

He zips over to the Claggett Middle School track and back for 6 1/2 miles. It's a clear morning and he witnesses the spectacular and rare planet alignment. The sun is beginning to rise by the time he's getting his gel and water and meeting up with his peeps. The four fellow runners happen to be all female this day.  Oh, the things he goes through.

The group run pace begins easy enough, but it quickly devolves into something less comfortable for Dan. Hey, take it easy on the old guy, he wants to say. But he doesn't. He's huffing and puffing too much to talk much. Eventually, Dan finds himself alone again as the others complete their runs for the day. He has 16 and change on his Garmin, so only two to go. 

Even though two miles don't seem like they should be a lot, Dan knows they will be painful. And slow.

Guess what? They are! Despite this, he makes it back. It's a little past 8:00 and the Square is buzzing with activity as the farmers market is about to begin. Dan is tired and sore, but he limps through the gauntlet of booths and over to the car. 

He's pretty darn happy with himself. The notification alarm in his head tells him that he can take a day off tomorrow. A well-earned one.

different

I feel like I'm a different runner than I was a couple years ago. What's changed? Of course, I had that Achilles surgery. And I'll admit it: I'm older too. But it's a little strange, like every day is new. I'm not sure whether that's good or bad, but I am sure that I miss my old semi-speedy, semi-ultra self.

Two years ago, I was running every day. I was running a lot. And I was running fast. Fast? Well, remember that speed is, in Einstein's words, relativistic. All that volume enabled me to complete a 60K birthday run with Larry Orwin, a pretty good early-fall marathon, and a late-fall 50K. 

2021 was not so stellar. In the months leading up to the May surgery, I was not running well at all. Maybe all those 2020 miles took their toll. Or maybe it's just the age thing. After the surgery, I was forced to go several months without running at all. When my running finally did start, it was next to nothing, at least to begin with.

This year, I've been running more and more, but I am still nowhere near my 2020 level of fitness. And running just feels different. Tedious and more difficult. Will I ever get that old mojo back? Will I become that guy again?

Time will tell.

Belated Race Report: Ohio/Michigan Marathon, July 10, 1994

A great local runner died last week. With this post, I am reminding myself of the first time I met him.

~

This race consists of a 5K out and back loop that runners have to traverse eight times for a marathon. It starts north of Toledo and crosses the Ohio/Michigan border so that each competitor crosses over 16 times during the race. The start is at 6:00 A.M. to mitigate the problem of running in mid-July heat, which is indeed stifling. There are around 60 of us runners, and the volunteers include several lap-counters. Sound like fun? It does to me.

The early-morning hour-long drive south from Farmington Hills is uneventful. As I pick up my bib (#13), I learn that a majority of the competitors are from Ohio. I meet my designated counter. I'll be sure to make eye contact with her each time I come around for a lap. 

The race begins, and I fall in with the lead pack of about five. For someone who has never had the sensation, it's pretty cool sharing the lead, even though the field is so small. 

I strike up a conversation with some of my competitors. Two of them are brothers from Aurora, Ohio. The two seem very young (maybe college-age) and quite different from one another. One has glasses and long beach-blonde hair and is outgoing and talkative. The other is quieter and more serious, yet not unfriendly. Their names are Steve and Mark Godale.

Our pack stays together past the halfway mark and the clock tells us that we're 90 minutes into the event. That's about when the 5K and 10K races begin. Now there are hundreds more runners on the course with us. They spread out quickly (and they're moving faster than we are), so it's not crowded. We manage to continue our pace without much trouble. Having decided that eye contact just isn't quite enough, I make sure to wave and sometimes yell hello to my lap counter each time I go by.

One guy begins to pull away. I don't think the rest of us slowed down; he has just picked it up. After a few minutes, Mark goes after him. Steve and I stay back and continue talking and doing our sub-seven-minute miles. The conversation helps the miles go by easier. One or two other runners join us at times, but we're doing most of the talking and keeping the pace steady. I wish I could go for the win, but I just don't think I can run any faster without paying an impossible price.

The 5K and 10K speedsters are finishing up; it's back to just us marathoners and a few other stragglers. I see all of the other runners twice on each 5K circuit, so it's easy to figure out who's in what place. I watch Mark catch the other guy, and take the lead for good. Several minutes behind now, Steve and I continue our comfortable pace and conversation. I am hopeful that I can break three hours today, despite the heat and humidity. Steve seems non-plussed by the whole thing; he loves to run but refuses to become overly concerned about any one aspect of it. I'm impressed with his (and his brother's) maturity. Not to mention talent, of course.

He and I finish together with a time of 2:58. It's a P.R. for me by a minute; my third sub-three. I also tied for third place. I'm thrilled! 

Mark and the other guy had finished several minutes earlier. I notice that there is now a heated argument. The second-place guy is trying to claim victory, accusing Mark of missing a lap. Mark is denying it, but he's not saying a whole lot; he's mostly turning red and fuming. Steve and I argue vehemently that Mark did indeed complete the entire run and did not miss any laps at all. Thank goodness common sense wins the day, and Mark is rightfully declared the victor.

~

I believe this is one of Mark's earliest marathon wins. He went on to much bigger and better things like becoming a national champion and an American record holder. I moved back to the Cleveland area in 2000, becoming much more familiar with both Mark and Steve. I was shocked and saddened when I learned that Mark passed away on June 13, 2022. Here is a brief summary of some of his running accomplishments. For more depth and detail about his ultrarunning, click here as well.

Concrete

It's 9.96 miles into my 10-mile run. One second I'm vertical, and the next, WHAM, I'm not.

This is not as bad as the last time I encountered the Earth's surface with body parts that are supposed to stay away from it. Today, I manage to break the fall with the palm of my hand, so other than a jarring experience, I'm mostly okay. 

What caused the fall? Uneven concrete sidewalk sections to which I should have paid more attention. I hate concrete. Besides being uneven, its hardness also takes a long-term goal on us runners. Asphalt is better, and dirt, grass, crushed limestone, etc. are better still. Rubberized tracks are high among my favorite surfaces, and had I just remained on one for one more mile today, I would be having a different conversation with myself right now. 

After those first nine miles at Claggett Middle School track, why did I leave? Well, I was bored and decided my post-speedwork cooldown mile could be elsewhere. Secondly, a team of soccer girls had shown up, and I decided to stop showing off my half-naked body by running circles around them any longer.

The speedwork itself went better than expected. 5 x 800, the first in a long while. Now to improve on this. And remain vertical.

A word about pace

Volume and intensity are the two main ingredients required for improvement. Volume is generally the more critical, and should be attended to first. I usually think of pace as being more concerned with intensity (read: speed) than volume. That said, I can't help thinking a little about my pace, even as I concern myself mostly with weekly mileage and long-ish run length.

I am trying hard to get back up to 60 or more miles per week, and also to get my long-ish runs back up to truly long-run lengths of 18 miles and up. Today's goal was 14 miles - the distance from Peninsula to Brecksville and back via the Towpath. I wasn't concerned about the pace; I just needed the distance.

But it's hard to not think, just a little, about how fast I go. After getting started all alone in the dark, fireflies lighting the way, I start slow, but then I begin to run each mile a little faster. Would I be able to continue the trend for all 14 miles? Short answer: no. But 1 through 13 did indeed fit the trend.

It's my longest and best-paced run in a long while. It was also a beautiful morning. Great to be back on the towpath once again. Sorry for being so pleased with myself.

Oppressive

 

Heck yes, it's oppressive. And I don't use that term lightly. This is about as hot, hazy, and humid as it can get. I don't like it.

I've only been back for a few days, but I'm trying to make up for lost time. My peeps didn't make it yesterday due to the thunderstorms, but I managed to run ten miles as things were calming down. Those were ten humid miles, and the run was tougher than it would have otherwise been. Today is worse. Much worse. At least I have my peeps back.

Five of us meet at Lake Medina in the early morning gloom. It's in the mid/upper seventies and the humidity is thick enough to cut with a knife. But there are fireflies galore! the woods are lighting up all around us. It almost makes everything else worthwhile. I say almost, because there are other bugs as well. Tons of other bugs, and some are of the biting variety. The others just get in our eyes, noses, and mouths.

We get back to the parking area to pick up two latecomers. Now we're a real troupe. Later, we return once again to drop four of us off. 

Now it's just us three. We're doing around four more miles. It's getting lighter, and there aren't quite so many bugs. The only ones that I notice now are the deerflies that take bites out of my back, neck, and head. They seem to like my greasy/oily/sweat-covered skin. They seem to like to make me more miserable than I already am.

I'm pretty exhausted when I finally return for the final time (I ran the last mile all alone to get my total up to ten for the day). I doubt whether I could have done this without a little help from my friends.

Running in Scandinavia

Copenhagen, Denmark

It's bright daylight at 4:45 AM, so I don't need my headlamp or reflective gear. The sun is just about to rise, but there's no darkness to be found. The days are long up north here, and I think this will be the southernmost point on this trip. A half-mile on, I cross the Copenhagen Port River, to Christianshaven, which I believe is an island lying between Denmark and Sweden. But don't quote me; it's difficult to figure out what's a river, what's an island, what's a canal, etc. The place is almost like Venice, with its canals and waterways of all kinds, all over the place.

Right away, I'm running on trails through the woods, with watery canals nearby and all around. The sun is coming up, and everything is nice and pretty. I wind up on a bike trail through a very strange neighborhood. There are homes that appear to be shacks, but well-maintained shacks. They're close to the bike path, but there are no cars or even roads anywhere nearby. This seems to go on for miles. The only navigational marker I see is the tall church steeple with the swirling, curling wrap-around staircase.

Me, on the trail

The church steeple to navigate by

At some point, I become a little confused. I cross over some of the canals and swamps in an attempt to find my way back. There are more of the shacks, but some have cars now. Eventually, I find the church steeple again, and it's right smack-dab where I thought it would be.

Other than my slow pace and a few moments of uncertainty, it's been a pretty good run. It's always good to explore.

Randers, Denmark

There's a nice dirt trail along the river here. It took a while to find it, but now that I'm on it, it's quite enjoyable. Too bad I don't have more time. And that complaint includes time to clean and dry my running clothes and shoes before we move on later this morning.

Stavanger, Norway

Too bad I (once again) have so little time. At least it's not raining.  I do manage to get around the nearby small lake, and over to the port area. Best part of all? I stay vertical, despite the cobblestones, the bane of my (running) existence. 

Bergen, Norway

I know what you're thinking: he doesn't have enough time to get in a good run. You are incorrect. There is plenty of time here in the Gateway to the Fjords, Norway's second-largest city. But there are other constraints: traveling with wet clothes (after I wash them) and the cold rain. It's pouring, and the temps are in the low 40s. Not my fav conditions.

But I do manage to explore a little. I run around a small lake, and over to the port area. Sounds just like my Stavanger run, but there's more to see here. And I double my mileage from yesterday. But one of these days I need to get a real run in.

Later in the day, I get a real run in. Five miles at a blistering pace! This time, it's in the afternoon from a different hotel in the Bergen area. The run and the distance aren't really remarkable, but I'm happy to do it.

Sognefjord, Norway

I'm locked out! I had left the hotel carrying a piece of scrap paper with the combination to get back in. That's because there is no one on duty during the nighttime (and early morning) hours. The code doesn't seem to work for me, and I struggle with the door until I realize that I have to push, not pull on it.

The run had been nice; all along the Sognefjord Fjord. Very quiet, peaceful, and incredibly scenic. It was quite memorable.

Geiranger, Norway

This place is even more remote than Sognefjord. I leave the village of around 200, heading Northwest on the road along the fjord. Here, the walls are closer and steeper than those near Sognefjord. I reach the somewhat smaller hamlet of Mollsbygda. From here, the road goes up, way up, the mountain above the fjord - it looks like dozens of switchbacks. I turn back toward Geiranger. Once I return, it's time to try the other side of the fjord. Now, going mostly West, I reach the smallest hamlet of all, Homlong. The road ends there, and I turn back once again. This 10K plus run has been the most scenic and the best yet of all my runs here.

Just starting out from Geiranger

Just before Mollsbygda

Oslo, Norway

It's pretty simple to get down to the Harbor - just a hop, skip, and a jump. Not that I have a spring in my step; I don't. I missed my chance to run in Lillehammer yesterday, due to an upper-respiratory infection. I do manage to get out today because I'm feeling better, and because I have some time here in the afternoon, 

After exploring the harbor area, I make my way back up the hill, past the hotel area, and over to the King's Garden. It's a nicely manicured park that Debbie and I had walked through earlier. All-in-all, not a bad return to running after a couple days off.

Oslo Harbor

Stockholm, Sweden

I'm only a half-mile from the hotel, and I'm hopelessly lost in Stockholm's apartment hell. Good thing I don't have much of a time crunch. I always think that if I only run around in circles, I'll find some familiar landmark and remember my way back from there. Nope. I ought to disavow this religious belief. Eventually, I do manage to find an old wooden church that I'd seen before. Hallelujah. 

Anatomy of being  lost in Stockholm

I'm still here.

It wasn't supposed to be this way. I'm supposed to be home, you see. But there's this little rule that says that in order to fly into the U.S. you have to have a negative Covid test. Debbie and I tested positive the other day, so here we are for several more days. We're both feeling well; we just had minor cold symptoms. But now we are close to 100%. Want to know what hurt the most? Walking over to watch the Stockholm Marathon take place yesterday during the time when we were supposed to be flying home. Since I'm stuck here, I could've run the darn thing! But I'd decided not to try; running a marathon is probably not the smartest thing to do when you have Covid. This is also not to mention that I'm hopelessly out of shape.

Today's run through a nearby park and along the waterfront is quite nice though. I'm feeling fine and enjoying the scenery and the sunshine. That's except for the attacking seagull. I am not sure why it doesn't like me, but it takes several strafing runs at my head. Maybe it thinks it is a landing area. I finally determine that it's a Hitcockian Gull. But I survive this ordeal. And now I'm back up to a whole 5 miles again.

On a hill overlooking Stockholm

Whenever I run on an island, I have this strange urge to try to circumnavigate it. It's the same when there's a lake I can get around. As for islands, there are gobs of them that make up the city of Stockholm. The one I'm on is just a little too big - I have considered it, however. Today would be a four-island run day. Those include a tiny one or two, as well as the one I'm staying on and one that could possibly be part of the mainland (but I can't tell). When I get to the fourth and final one, there's nowhere else to go, and it's fairly small, so I do indeed manage to complete an almost-circumnavigation.

Four-Island run in Stockholm

I'm lost in Stockholm once again. This time, I'm well into my ten-mile run, and I hadn't planned to get off of the 3 1/2 mile trail at the southern shore of the island. I'd planned on just running back and forth as much as it took. But hey, a trail led to a park in the Western part of the island, and I took it. It went up, and then round and round, enough to get me completely turned around. By the time I find myself again, I don't need much more for my double digits today. This turns out to be my best run of the trip. So far.

It's my last run in this here town (we both have negative covid tests now, so we get to go home!), and I'm really moving. I actually pass two other runners, and that's something; they've been doing nothing but passing me the entire time I've been here. It's interesting that Swedish runners seem to be really and truly fit. But unlike my running friends back home, they run almost entirely alone. And they're about 75% male, whereas I think it's about 60% female in my part of the world. All in all, the running here has been pretty good. My runs have improved to the point where I feel that I am beginning to approach the level of fitness I was in when I left home three weeks ago. Today's nine were even faster than my last decent ten described above. See you in Ohio. I hope!

It's the friction, stupid

When I first ran after the accident, I thought it was the bouncing of the boobs that bothered me. It wasn't. Instead, it was the friction.

Once I figured this out, I've managed to run shirtless a couple of times (with the added bonus of being able to show my chest off to my running friends), and shirt-wearing, and even sporting multiple layers other times. This is Northern Ohio, after all, where we go from air-conditioning to running the furnace during any given 24-hour period. When choosing a shirt on the cooler days, I look for something slightly soft, so that I don't feel it on my left nipple each time my foot hits the ground.

Running with friends helps. After any and all initial conversation and silliness, my misfortune is often soon forgotten, and all I need to do is keep up with everyone else. And since our groups have been getting bigger recently, the runs are as much fun as ever. 

Now, I believe that my setback has been overcome, and I have indeed "bounced back." 

Again.

Bouncing Back

It's with some amount of pride that I can say that whatever curveballs fate, karma, or plain stupidity throw at me, I am able to bounce back and return to running, that much older and wiser. Well, older, at least. This Big Comeback, like all comebacks, begins with the first step of the first run.

I am out the door. I don't know what will be in store for me today, but I don't plan to push the envelope too very much. Maybe one to three easy miles, tops. Wednesday's debacle caused me to miss my runs two days in a row, something I hadn't done for months. It's been a month, in fact, since I've missed even one day. I reach the street, and then I take that first (running) step.

Ouch. Second step. Ouch. And so on. My boobs are bouncing, and my left one, the one with the stitches, smarts. Bouncing boons is something a runner of my gender doesn't usually need to be concerned with. And this sort of 'bouncing back' isn't the type I thought would be much of a problem today.

Eventually, I slow down a little, and the pain seems to subside. I run only two very slow miles. That's enough bouncing for today. Maybe I'll be able to bounce back better tomorrow.

Lacerations and Contusions (warning: contains significant bodily injury porn)

 

Some questions probably come to mind right away: 1) Why begin with an image of Dan's mileage? and 2) Lacerations and Contusions? Huh??

The answer to the first question is easy. The first photo in a post usually shows up as an icon when a link to the post is displayed, and Dan didn't want his injury porn to show up like that, all over, willy-nilly. In fact, this is a good time to warn anyone who doesn't want to see bodily injury porn to bug out right now. Don't say you were not warned.

Still here? Good. Now, it's time to answer the second question.

It's 4:30, and Dan is pretty happy. He's gone through his morning routine, and it looks like he will be able to arrive early at Lake Medina, where he is to meet his running friends at 5:15. This may enable him to get an extra mile or so in, ala the Dan of Olde. He puts his stuff in the car but doesn't drive off right away. That's because of Nipper. 

Nipper, his robotic mower, is in the backyard, and even after taking some special measures, he spends too much time there and too little time doing the front. After sending him out on a special mission to do the front at this early hour, Dan realizes that Nipper is mowing the back despite these wishes. Dan decides to walk back there and physically take him to the front. He's done this before, but not in the dark.

Dan walks around the side of the house and spots Nipper, headlights and all, mowing a corner in the back. In a slight hurry (because he still wants to get those extra miles in), Dan begins to stride over to retrieve his wayward pet mower. That's when things begin to happen very quickly. Dan trips over the two-foot-high garden fence (the one that he should have been well aware of) and begins falling into the garden itself. But he's stopped by a three-foot-high metal fence post, the kind with three sides that are rather sharp at the top. The collision occurs on the left side of his chest.

His first thought is that he is completely impaled by the post. His second thought is that perhaps he's not impaled, but why does it hurt so much? And then: will he be able to even get up at all? He prefers not to be found here by his wife, Debbie when she wakes up in three hours or so.

After a couple of horizontal minutes, Dan somehow manages to get up and out of the garden. His next thought is that perhaps it's just a bruise (albeit a painful one), and he can probably still make it to the run on time. But instead of getting right into the car, he decides to perform a quick self-check in the bathroom mirror.

There's a quarter-sized hole in the running shirt, and some blood around it. Removal and disposal of the shirt (don't worry - he owns other running shirts) reveals a surprise. And not a good surprise. The laceration is deep, wide, thick, and long - about 9 inches long. It goes straight across his left pectoralis major, including the nipple. The pain isn't unbearable, and it's not bleeding a great deal, so Dan cleans it up and waits. He waits for the Cleveland Clinic Express Care Center to open, and for Debbie to wake up and take him.

Debbie takes good care of him and gets him to the hospital, where they transfer him to Emergency. They do a chest x-ray (to diagnose the contusions), give him an antibiotic IV, a tetanus shot, and about a billion stitches. The antiseptic and sewing of the sutures are pretty darn painful at times. But the Emergency Room Doc is friendly and talkative. He clearly enjoys his job.

Now sewn back together, Dan isn't so sure what to do with himself. Maybe go out for a run. But not today.

Read (or just scrolled) down this far? Okay, here's your porn.

In the hospital, just before the stitches

Looks like about 22 stitches

Registered

 Yes, I've gone and done it. I registered.

No, I don't mean to say that I registered for races (although I am indeed all-in for the Twin Sizzler and the Erie Marathon). The registration I'm referring to here is on the machine they erected in my neighborhood. It's a speed monitor that is intended to inform drivers of their current speed compared with the speed limit. When I see these things, I always try to run fast in order to have the machine report my own speed back to me.

The vast majority of the time, I fail to register at all. It's as if I'm invisible. I am not sure whether this is due to my lack of mass (compared with a motor vehicle), or my relatively slow speed (compared with a motor vehicle). I try to run fast(er) in case it's the latter reason.

Thus, I was quite surprised when the machine near me reported "5" as I approached. Whoa, I thought. I can run faster than that. I picked it up and brought my speed all the way up to "6".

My registration is complete.

Consistency

There is something to be said for consistency. I just don't know what. I'll let you know when I find out.

I ran nearly every day in February, March,, April, and now early May. I think the only days I have taken off were ones that required a great deal of traveling. I used to make it a point to take one or two days off per week. Then came my year-long running streak, which was followed by (but surely not related to) my Achilles surgery. Now, I'm back at it.

This is not to say that I don't have some easy days. I do. Lots of them, and they are very easy. After finishing last week with a flurry of miles, I can guess that tomorrow will be such a day.

A flurry of mileage to complete the week? Yes, and I made it to 60 weekly miles for the first time in a year. It's hard to believe that I used to be consistent about doing 60, 70, and more miles each and every week. It was really hard to get back to this level, and the reason also has to do with consistency.

You see, I am still not doing long runs. I define a long run as 18 miles, and nowadays I can only make it up to 12. Twelve is itself an improvement since it wasn't long ago that the most I could do is ten. But without 18-20 milers, I used to consistently do a long run a week. But no longer. Now, I have to be all the more consistent with my medium-length runs and with not missing any days.

I am going to try to keep my weekly mileage up here consistently for at least a while. And I'm also going to try to get back to doing long runs. Consistently.

You read it here first.

Run 4 Fun Race Report

"Nope."

Our Protagonist (let's call him 'Dan') had taken just one step out the door. The cold rain, which he thought he might be able to beat, had made itself known immediately, and Dan just as immediately went back inside his warm, dry hovel.

Down into the basement he goes. and onto the treadmill. He's been trying to avoid the mill this week, but he deems avoiding cold rain more important. He runs ten miles, probably more than he should have.

He runs so much this morning because he figures that the evening's Run 4 Fun may not be optimal due to further chances of cold rain. That's if it happens at all.

"Nope."

Dan steps outside before it's time to drive to Medina for the race. It's still raining and it's still cold. Dan almost, almost, decides not to make the trip at all. In spite of himself, he nevertheless gets into the car and begins driving south. 'I am gonna regret this,' he thinks. At least he can add, ran too hard in the morning to his other excuses for the day, such as it's cold and rainy, I cannot run so late at night, and I am sure to make a fool of myself, etc.

Run 4 Fun is a great little Friday evening 5K to benefit Medina City Schools. Dan hasn't run this particular race for ten years or more. He immediately bumps into old friends galore. It seems that his injury, combined with the Covid Pandemic have caused many of his old friends to become near strangers. It feels great for Dan to re-connect with so many of these great folks.

As he lines up with Harold Dravenstott, who has generously offered to stay with him during the race, Dan begins to feel like old times at the beginning of a race. Oh, the anticipation!

But then the run begins, and everything gets real. He and HD begin at an easy pace, yet he is almost immediately out of breath nonetheless. HD and Dan eventually settle into a 9 to 9:30 per mile pace, only slightly faster than planned.

Somehow, despite a slight slowdown, Dan maintains a nearly even pace and finishes in just under 29 minutes. About three months ago, Dan had run a nearly identical time at the Mardi Gras 5K in Panama City Beach. One may have hoped that Dan would have improved since then, but consider those excuses of his.

Some day, Dan will need to get into shape. Today is not that day.

Dan and HD near the finish, with Dan about to make his Big Move   photo credit: Beth Bugner

Double-Digits

Keen observers of this blog will note that there have been several posts of late in which I lament the fact that I can manage to run up to ten miles, but not much more than that. Things went a little better Saturday when I managed 12 decent miles with my friends. Today, just two days later, I ran another 12 miles, and they were pretty good as well. So maybe I'm pushing that boundary out a little. Just a little. For the rest of this week, I hope to run one or two more double-digit runs, although I won't expect them to be more than 12; maybe next week for that.

Double-digits come into play another way for me, however. Here's we're talking ten-minute pace. The vast majority of my running these days is well north of that. I have to really buckle down and concentrate to run faster, especially for any length of time. Nowadays, I call it a tempo run if I can manage to run three or more consecutive miles under ten. It doesn't happen real often. And I probably shouldn't push the pace so much on my longish runs of ten or more miles.

But I did today. I didn't even intend for it to happen; I only wanted 12 decent miles. But since I started so slow, I began trying to run each mile faster than the previous one, and I somehow succeeded. But this meant that by the time I got to mile 9, there was no place to go but sub-10 (in order to keep each mile faster than the one before). I got back to the car just as my watch said 12 miles, and just as it said that the final mile, at 9:15, was indeed my best.

The average pace for today's run wasn't outstanding, but all's swell that ends swell.

Running How I Feel

It's a nice concept, isn't it? Just run how you feel. Feeling just fine today? Go for it; run long and hard. Not doing quite so fine? Then don't push it; your body needed a break anyway. That's all well and good, and it's the best strategy when recovering from an injury. It's a good plan for preventing injuries as well. But it won't get you (or me, in this case), to the next level. For that, you have to push it past your comfort zone.

My own comfort zone has been up to, but not much more than, about ten miles. Yesterday, with the help of some much-appreciated friends, I did twelve decent miles on the Lester Rail Trail. All that was required of me (besides actually running) was the telling of a few semi-worn-out stories. It felt good (the run, not the stories), but I still have a long way to go.

On a related note, it's the same with my weekly mileage. It's been in the 50-55 range for quite some time now. Time to take it up to 60 and beyond. I'm not quite sure when that will occur, but it'll be in my sights starting tomorrow.

In order to provide some additional incentive to kick things up a notch, I just registered for the Erie Marathon, scheduled for September 11. I'd better start training.