The Hinckley 9, Number 282

You probably think that Dan is kidding about this being his two-hundred-eighty-second running of the Hinckley Nine. Think whatever you like. But he does have them all documented. Dan can be pretty scary sometimes.

Katherine Kinsey had set this one up, and Dan thought that it would be just her, Chadwick Sunday, Ella, Julie Boggs, Theresa Wright, and Dan himself. This group runs together a lot, and everyone is fairly reliable, especially Ella. But this time, said small group unexpectedly becomes part of a much larger one as Connie Gardner and a bunch of her friends show up. The more, the merrier.

And is quite merry. Until the hills start. Of course, if you're familiar with the clockwise running of the Hinckley Nine, you are well aware that said hills begin with the first few steps. Katherine, Chadwick, and Ella zoom on up Bellus Road, whilst the rest of us have slightly more difficulty. Connie and several of the other smart ones walk most of it. Not Dan. Dan tries to keep running, yet he's not able to keep up with the walkers. Dan hates it when this happens.

Dan struggles mightily to catch up with everyone as the big hills give way to slightly smaller rolling ones. Between huffs and puffs, he is barely able to carry on snippets of conversations. Then comes Effie. This time, Dan does have to walk, a little. But of course, he falls further behind again, anyway. Evidently, it doesn't matter whether he runs, walks, or crawls, he's going to fall behind.

Several runners unexpectedly turn into the trails for the rest of their run, and now Dan is really alone. He sets out to try to catch Julie. By the time she is hitting the final downhill miles on Kellogg Road, he does manage this feat. He informs her, between huffs and puffs, that now that she's caught, she has to stay caught. Dan begins telling stories that Julie has heard before. Just like everyone else has.

They turn onto Route 606, run down some more hills, and then turn onto Bellus. Julie finishes strong; Dan transitions to a slow saunter as soon as he hits the entrance to the parking lot. Chadwick, Katherine, and Ella are waiting patiently. Some (the ones who have issues) jog around to try to get their GPS watches to say ten miles. It's a good thing Dan doesn't have issues such as this (ignore the fact that he ran some before the start of the nine).

It's been one of Dan's better Hinckley runs. Too bad it nearly killed him.

Hinckley X 3

After a couple good night's sleeps in a row, I find myself awake at 2am. The night splint/boot that I wear at night for my Plantar Fasciitis is bugging me as usual. But even after I tear it off, I still can't get back to sleep. The PF seems a bit better these days, but this little bout of insomnia is no fun either.

At 3am I get up and realize that by default, I've made a decision. I will get to Hinckley at 4am. We're there every Sunday, and I'm one of the organizers / regulars. The runs traditionally begin at 7am and include a big loop around Hinckley Metropark. This means starting at the Spillway parking lot, going east on Bellus, turning onto Parker which becomes Harter, then turning onto Medina Line, Ledge, Kellogg and Hinckley Hills before the return onto Bellus and back into the parking lot. It's a beautiful 9.2 mile route that circumnavigates the park, getting away from it in a couple places. And, oh yes, it's quite hilly. The entire course is rolling, but there are two really notable hills: the one starting out onto Bellus Road, and the one about half-way through on Ledge that we affectionately refer to as "Effie". (When we were discussing possible names for her, Angie Kovaks said, "I just call it, 'F' This Hill.")

I arrive just a bit after 4am. It's cold and there's snow about. Yesterday's cold was really down there - -4F when we (Debbie, Michelle, Brad and I) began our run on the parkway - but today's +10 to 12F actually feels colder. The difference is the wind and the snow; they make it feel colder. The snow on the roads makes footing bad, and this also contributes to the overall difficulty.

Since a loop takes anywhere from 75 to 85 or more minutes, I must hurry. It's difficult, but I manage to arrive back within a minute or two of 5:30am. That's just in time to talk to Jack before he takes off on his 5:30 loop. There are often other 5:30 runners as well, but today there is only Jack. And me. I tell Jack that he can begin without me as I need to go to the car for refreshments.

It turns out that I never catch him until the very end of the loop; we each wind up running alone. There is even more snow on the road this second time around, and I run the loop about two minutes slower.

As Jack and I return to the Spillway lot, a small throng of runners has gathered for the 7am loop. This is usually when we have the most folks, and today is no different. I am surprised to be able to keep up with Connie, Bob and Dave during that initial climb on Bellus. It's after the hill when I find I can no longer hang with them.

I run the next mile or two with Michelle, but eventually find that I can't keep up with her either. I'm getting slower and slower as I arrive at the base of Effie to have some refreshments out of Jack's stash. I'm beginning to seriously doubt whether I'll be able to finish this loop at all. Jack arrives at our aid station just after I do, and after some gel and sports drink, we tackle Effie together.

The weather has actually gotten worse; the snow is still slippery, and the wind is at least as cold now as when I began.

Somehow, I manage to stay with Jack for the remainder of the loop. It isn't easy, and I suspect that he slowed down just to help me out. The gel probably helped as well. I shuffle back to the Spillway lot for the last time, say goodbye to Jack and the rest, get into my car and drive home.

Debbie is waiting; she had come home yesterday to visit for the week. We will spend the day visiting Mom and then going to a concert at BW put on by Bob Mayerovitch. We have dinner with Bob and Laura, and also Mike and Judy George.

Whew. What a day.

Day 7: Eagle at Hinckley

Today I only ran two miles outside before coming back in and doing eight more on the mill. Why? It was cold, that's why! Remember, I ask you not to judge me.

Speaking of which, I mentioned in that same post that I am counting walking miles for GVRAT. Today, after those ten running miles, Debbie and I hiked the three miles around Hinckley Lake.

I've run and walked thousands of miles at Hinckley. Yes, thousands. And I have never once, until today, spotted a bald eagle there. But this day, there was not one, but two swooping over the lake. It was a sight to see! I wonder where their nest is?

Hiking Hinckley, just after spotting the eagles

General Info about The Great Virtual Race Across Tennessee 1000K
Info about my own participation in GVRAT

Hill Yes!

Debbie Scheel wanted to do the Hinckley loop backwards. This threw us all for a loop, so to speak. We nearly always run this hilly, 9.2 mile route around Hinckley Reservation in a clockwise direction, and for good reason: the (substantial) downhill sections are less steep that way. Of course this makes the uphill sections more steep, but that's not so bad. Steep downhills: bad; steep uphills: not quite so bad. But backwards we went. The final mile down Bellus is the most painful downhill part, but somehow we did it.

We'd started at five, and now at six-thirty, it was only beginning to think about getting light out. Debbie and a couple others were done; Will Bertemes and I were set to do another. There were other MCRR runners around, many making snarky remarks about this "marathon training" I am doing. (It's not - really!) The others would be running their own pace, so it was only Will and I doing the loop in the correct direction this time.

And that one went well too. After not doing Hinckley for some time, and especially after not doing two loops at Hinckley for an even longer time, this was a pretty good day.

Do you think I'll ever get back to doing three loops?

The Kid WILL Stop Talking About Himself, but First This About His Recent Running

No one really wants to hear The Kid talk about himself so much, so he's going to stop. Really. Except that he does want to say this first (Notice he's not saying when he will stop).

The Kid is up at 3:30 AM. That's not too unusual. He had decided the night before not to run outside in the cold today, and had promptly gone to bed at 8:30 PM. It is unusual for The Kid to miss a Sunday run in the hills of Hinckley, but he really didn't want to fight the sub-zero temperatures today.

Last Sunday, The Kid did manage to run two of the infamous 9-Mile Hinckley loops. That actually went quite well for him. He was also gratified to be joined by so many of his running friends doing this or that in beautiful Hinckley.

The rest of the week consisted of a couple quite lousy outside runs in the snow, and some treadmill speedwork on days when the snow was even worse. The Kid had managed to stay off the mill for almost all of the mild winter, but this week had been a little different.

And so was today. Today called for a long run, and it had been years (yes, years) since The Kid had run long on the mill. Way back, way, way back, he had run as much as 24 miles on the mill, and he thought he'd try it again today.

He gets the brand-new pair of Mizuno Wave Riders out of the box. The Kid absolutely loves Wave Riders. He starts up his movie, Black Hat, and begins running. Within the first mill mile, The Kid realizes that he's seen this movie before. Well that wasn't very smart. Good thing he has a backup movie, Ex Machina.

This movie isn't bad, and neither is The Kid's run. He makes it to 24, and he's not too much the worse for wear.

And maybe he'll go on talking about himself a little while longer.

Day 66: Back in the Hinckley Saddle

What with travel and most notably, the Coronavirus, I have hardly been doing any of my used-to-be-weekly Hinckley 9-mile runs. In fact, I've only done a couple this entire year, and none since early March. But today, I was back.

I've written about the Hinckley Nine before. I've listed the instances (I've done lots more since this list was published), and I've written about doing multiple loops, sometimes as many as three.

I realized how much I missed it. I missed the hills. I missed running with my friends. Today, it was good - real good - to be back. I was joined by running friends Julie Boggs, Dennis Amstutz, and Theresa Wright. The morning was cool and pretty, the hills - especially Effie - were challenging, and I loved my run.

Now then. Next week starts the big push.

Free the Hinckley Nine!

This is another one that required an explanation. I will get to that.

The usual gang, Debbie, Theresa, Frank, Dennis and I, complete our 9-mile circuit. There are other runners, some of whom I know, hanging around in the parking lot. We chat a bit. Suddenly dozens of others come running into the lot; they had just gone around the lake. Presently, more running for everyone but a few of us, would ensue.

My thinking, such as it is, is this: wow - lots of runners. Cool!

Why do I think that a lot of runners, as opposed to just a few, is such a cool thing? I have no idea. I'm actually happy to run with anyone, be that a few or a lot. I've been posting these Hinckley runs as Facebook events lately, but it's nearly always the same usual suspects that make it each week. I'm okay with that, since this bunch I go with are fine people. But bigger crowds are fun as well.

Tomorrow's run should involve a bigger crowd. It's the monthly Medina Half-Marathon training run, and the weather is looking fantastic. In fact it was today as well. One of today's runner's said, "it doesn't get any better than this," and I agree wholeheartedly.

The Hinckley Nine? Well, that's the name of our usual road loop. But it also sounded to me like some kind of notorious group of people. Maybe outlaws or terrorists. Or maybe people who are more innocent, but are being unjustly persecuted. In the event that you can think about the name in terms of people instead of miles, freeing them would seem like a good idea.

Hinckley Buzzard 50K/25K

It was **just** the 25K for me. There was once a time when I would never, ever run anything but the longest possible race of the day. I would say that I was simply trying to get my money's worth, since one does generally get more miles per dollar for the longer runs. But for last autumn's Run with Scissors (where I **just** did a marathon), and now this here buzzard run, I opted for the shorter events.

Notice the overuse and emphasis of the word just. People use the word all the time when running a shorter race if a longer one is available. I may need to expunge that word from my own vocabulary, since I am finding myself using it so much lately.

About half-way through, and making that face again.                            Photo by John McCarroll

I was under no illusions about how tough this would be, shorter race though it was. I like the Hinckley trails, but I'm quite aware that they present quite the challenge to road sissies like myself. Since I had no illusions, I also had no expectations about running especially fast, or placing especially well. I only hoped to finish.

And even just finishing appeared to be somewhat in doubt as we started off. The footing, especially at during the first mile or two, was very bad. There was:

• snow
• ice
• uneven ruts of frozen mud
• the usual steep hills

No, this was not going to be an easy day. I considered simply turning around and walking back, but I somehow managed to keep running forward. I eventually got used to the conditions, and just rolled with them. Did I mention that it was also quite cold? Temperatures were in the low 20s at the start, but during the run probably got up to the low 30s. The sunshine helped. But even that, combined with a couple hundred thousand footfalls, presented some problems. At some point some of the ice and frozen mud became transformed into ice and shoe-sucking mud.

How did the run go for me, you ask? Actually not too bad. I'd like to say that I exceeded expectations, but that wouldn't be quite right since I didn't have any. I ran the two 7.85 mile (or whatever) loops in about even splits to finish in 2:35. That's really okay. I'm fine with it. Really. I won't even mention that it's yet another Personal Worst time, or that my last 25K run was in the neighborhood of an hour faster with a time of 1:42.

It was wonderful to run in those Hinckley woods; they truly are beautiful. I'll never take them for granted. It was also wonderful to see so many of my club and otherwise ultra friends out there running and/or organizing the race. I had a blast.

Hit the Ground Running

That was the thought as I returned home from Egypt. As I'd expected, the running there was not what I was used to in terms of running volume or quality. I was OK with this; I'd been due for an easy week or two. But now it was time to get serious once again. Time to get back up to 70 miles per week, with some more quality thrown in. That's where I'd been before the trip. Getting back at it shouldn't be a problem.

But it was a problem. Actually, it was several problems. The first morning I ran for an hour and a half and this went OK. The next day was a twenty-miler with Debbie, Debbie, Frank and Dave. We started slow and then tried to pick it up for the second half. Everything went fine for a while, until I crashed and burned big-time at about mile 17. This was tough to take. I did run alright the next day for the usual Sunday Hinckley run, but the damage had been done: the combination of sitting next to a lady with a bad cold on the plane for 8 hours, along with all that tough running landed me a cold too. A really bad one - the worst in years. This curtailed the running for last week such that I could only get 60 in, and most of that was of poor quality on the mill.

Of course there's the weighty issue of body weight. My racing weight last fall was around 157, give or take a pound. That crept up only a little during the holidays, and I was still under 160 for the Freedom Park 24-Hour Run. After this effort I did put on a couple more and was at about 163 when I left for Egypt. And when I returned, after all those buffets and poor running? 166! That's OK, thought I. After running and eating normally for a couple days, it should come right back down, right? It didn't, and a week later, I'm still at that same lofty (or should I say porky) level.

One other problem is the weather. Late February ought to be a time when things are at least beginning to get a little warmer, and maybe even thaw out a bit. But not THIS late February. We've been getting some snow, cold and wind almost every day, with a foot or so coming yesterday. I decided not to meet my friends this morning because I couldn't see risking my life just to drive to a place to run. Not to mention that the running itself would be less than ideal.

All this has kept me on the mill that much more. As I began to climb out of this bad cold I got in a pretty decent 15-miler on Thursday. And then I decided to make today a combination-type of run, and did 6 outside, fighting snow, slush and snowplows, followed by 14 inside, fighting boredom.

Suffice it to say that I've had better running months than February, 2010. I should add a "NOT!" as a suffix to this post's title. Tomorrow I'll be at Hinckley once again to lead the charge. Maybe things will begin to look better for me running-wise, but we shall see. Should be interesting.

There are a few other things happening. I haven't mentioned it in this blog yet, but Debbie and I are going to be grandparents. Veronica and Barry are due in August. This is exciting news, of course.

Brother Dave is having some health problems and is in the hospital at this time. He's had one major operation, and they're watching him for other problems.

Finally, I should mention that I'm writing a book about fixed-time and multi-day running, along with Lynn Newton. We've only just begun, but already it's been an interesting project.

Sunday Addendum: After cancelling the Hinckley run, I managed to get another twenty in today. This time it was nine outside (slower than ever due to still more snow), followed by eleven inside. The inside run was half-way decent this time. I'll take it.

Seventy

Seventy is yet another number to live by. It's been my target for number of miles to run in a week for some time now. (Other numbers to live by are four, the hour I usually get up for my early morning runs, three, the number of months till Boston, and so on.) In the weeks leading up to the Freedom Park 24-hour Run, I had been doing seventy and more per week fairly consistently. Now in the weeks Since that run, I've still managed to maintain my mileage at that level. I think this is a good thing.

Good?: maybe; great?: we're not there yet. Determined not to fall into complete slug-dom as I did last winter, I've been trying hard to stay consistent. I've got a ways to go before I can say I'm doing a lot of quality stuff, but even in this area, at least I've been doing some hills. That's Hills with a Capital H, as in Heavenly, Hilly Hinckley, and the roads up and around Cuyahoga Valley National Park. The speed hasn't come around yet (and here's hoping that it will someday), and the weight, in the low 160's, is still a few pounds too high.

So the last few weeks I've done semi-long runs with friends on both Saturday and Sunday, followed by slightly shorter runs mid-week. I've usually managed to take two days off per week, and this is a good thing. It's enabled me to be at least a little fresh for the demanding weekend running.

Last weekend it was Debbie, Debbie, Dave and I who ran up and out of the valley to chalk up some big hills. And then I met Dan for 18 plus at Hilly Hinckley. I know: too many Debbies and Dans, but what can I do?

This weekend was even tougher. Dave and I ran with Connie, Bob and Frank at near-tempo pace for a good part of the first seven miles. Then Dave and I did 7-8 more. Today was the first of the Hinckley group runs that Connie and I are organizing for spring marathon and half-marathon training. I did 19 plus, mostly with Debbie and Debbie. To add to the fun: a nice, cold rain. My favorite running conditions. Oh, and did I mention the hills?

The plan is to keep this stuff up for another couple weeks, and then taking it easier for a couple weeks in mid-February. We will see how that all works out. Here's hoping I won't need much de-plumpification anywhere along the line.

Cool(er) Runnings

A Chronicle of Dan's Running and Other Stories Since Returning Home from Jamaica


Really Cool Runnings

Debbie and I got into the house at 1am Sunday, and darned if I was going to miss another Sunday morning run at Hinckley. Now I wasn't quite so silly as to try to make the 5:30 loop, but 7am seemed doable.

So a few hours and 75 degrees later, I was there at the Spillway looking for all my running companions. Nary a one showed up. What, was 9 degrees too cold for them? Hey, if I can go from Jamaica in the mid-eighties to Cleveland in the upper single digits in a couple hours, they should've been able to make it too.

But they didn't. So I did the big loop (only one of them, thank you) alone. It was actually a pretty peaceful, nice run. The cold didn't bother me at all.


Later That Week

It got a wee bit warmer. I ran at Hinckley a couple more times. Once I did two of the big loops including the first one with Mandy (whew, that was tough). The other was my Boxing Day Run. More on that one later.

In the mean time, I did a few other runs, including a 15-miler from home and ten with Dave on the parkway on Christmas Eve day.


Family and Friends

There is Life Outside of Running, and sometimes *I* even have some. Veronica, Barry and Malcolm came for almost a week, and Valerie made it for a day. At my suggestion, we had an open house on the 23rd in order to show Malcolm off to family and friends. Besides everyone else, Dave and Carol brought Mom so that she could see the Baby as well.

Sandy and Nancy's Christmas Eve Party was fun as usual. Christmas Day itself was rather quiet. We visited Mom and prepared for our trip to Connecticut, which included taking down the tree and decorations.


The Great Snowstorm of 2010

We knew it was coming, and we knew that our plans had us driving into the thick of it. Should we leave a half-day early on Christmas night in order to beat the storm? We decided against driving all night. Should we simply leave extremely early on Boxing Day? Yes, but in retrospect, it should've been earlier.

I did manage to get in one Hinckley loop with the gang. I really wanted to do the second 7am loop as well since I had set the thing up and there were more folks ready to go at that time. But I didn't want to be the one holding everyone up with us driving into the storm.

And wouldn't you know it? We drove into the storm just when it was at it's worst. It got so bad that we had to stop and get into a hotel in Middletown, NY. Luckily it was a fast moving one, and Monday was cold and extremely windy, but, by mid-day, generally drivable. That is, assuming one has four good tires. Somehow Barry's Ford Edge had gotten a flat, and the tire needed to be replaced.

So it was an eventful trip, but it wasn't quite over yet. We had to dig our way into the driveway. And with drifts several feet high, this wasn't easy at all.

I should say that out of the five human beings in the car, the one least troubled by all these events was the smallest one. Malcolm just seemed to take it all in stride.


Running in CT

I tried to take running in Connecticut in stride as well.

Who was Daniel, and why did he put his farm at the top of such a long, arduous hill? That is, of course, what I was asking myself as I was running up Daniels Farm Road. It's quite a hill, but the worst of it was that the footing was so bad. With all the traffic I was relegated to the sidewalks, which had been plowed, but were nonetheless still snowy and very icy. It was even tougher coming down than going up.

Hearing from new Ohio resident Dave James that he was in Connecticut caused me to send him a message wondering if he was close by and if so, whether he would like to go for a run. He responded that he was and he would. In fact, we'd be meeting a group of runners at the Housitonic (or whatever you call that durn thing) trail head - the place I run all the time.

Well it didn't work out. Dave got sick - just like everyone else around here - and I decided to just run around and get back a bit earlier than planned.

Speaking of sickness: Veronica, Barry and Malcolm all had colds, and Debbie got some kind of stomach illness. They're all recovering while I'm knocking on wood.


2010

This morning's run here in Connecticut is my last for 2010. The grand totals:

3,465 miles, the most ever in a year for me. don't know why..
8:31 per mile average. not nearly as slow as last year, but my second slowest ever. don't know why.
gobs of races, including 4 or so marathons and 5 or so ultras.

Hey I've got an idea! Start 2011 off with a marathon!! I'll discuss this one in my next post.

Today's Running - 2006-01-22

What a great run today. It was cold (about 27) and frosty, but a wonderful day for a run. I got to Hinckley Lake early enough to do 12 before the rest of the Dead Runners showed up. And they were a most excellent 12 miles. The 3-mile splits were: 24, 22, 20.5, 20.5. So I can call the entire 6 miles for laps 3 and 4 a tempo run. First 6-mile tempo in a long long time. I felt good, and although the hills were tough, I did good too.

Things slowed down when the gang arrived, because we hit the trails. Mostly about a 9.5 minute pace, although some seemed faster. Lots of hills out there today, too.

Debbie met all of us at DoubleSides for breakfast afterwards.

Here's Rita's take:

Dear neodeads,
Dan Horvath, Dan Fox, listgod Bob Hart, Tom Bieniosek,
George and I met at Hinckley this morning for our hour-or-so run.
Dan H ran 12 miles before the rest of us arrived. We stood
for a bit waiting for the 8:30 am start time as the men
exchanged kidney-stone horror stories. We were all
thinking of Charlie Kirchner this weekend.

Almost everyone ran in shorts today.

This morning's encounter was greatly enhanced by the
company of Tom Bieniosek's older daughter Genevieve
and her boyfriend Bren, both visiting from Maryland.
They are very fit young people who tackled the hills
of Hinckley with aplomb.

The course seemed hillier than ever to me today! We ran from
the lot maybe a little faster than usual? Dan H seemed
not a bit tired, in spite of his 12-mile warm-up. Drat.
We departed the paved path at the crest of the first hill
in favor of the frozen trails.

A downed log across the trail inspired us to consider
cross-training in the form of power lifting. Listgod Bob
declined, saying that the only thing that would move
if he tried to lift the log would be the disks in his spine.
For the supple among us (including George and Bren and
maybe Dan Fox, but certainly not I), the log provided the
chance to practice hurdling technique.

From there we split into groups going different directions. I
went with the group that set out for the Buckeye Trail, which
seems to go only uphill from that point. After the largest,
longest, I-had-to-walk-a-bit hill, we descended slightly and
eventually reached a road (I don't know which one) that
intersects State Rd, so we returned to the pavement. Dan
Fox remarked that the decision to run on the paved surface
and the ensuing damage to his legs will certainly shorten (by
minutes!) his lifetime running career. On the plus side,
the rolling ups and downs of the roads provided a clear
preview for Dan Horvath of what running on Maui will be like.

Bob Hart and I charged down one of the longer descents,
reminiscent of the early days of the neodeads.
Back then, Joe J, Charlie, Tom, Bob, Mike George, and
any other of those guys overly burdened with testosterone
would plunge down the hill from Carriage Trail to the towpath,
with utter disregard for downed logs, ruts, rocks, and rough
surface. Yikes! I always held back, avoiding what could
be truly breakneck speed on the rough trail.

Today on the smooth pavement I was much braver. I need
to practice my downhills for Boston anyway, so I kept up
with Bob. Dr Tom and the two Dans stayed behind us a bit,
but they all passed us easily on the ascents.

En route back to the parking lot, we encountered Bren running
solo. He turned to follow us, and soon afterwards we met
Genevieve running solo. She turned and was swept up in
our wake as well. We reached the lot after this tough (for
me) run that lasted a mere 58 minutes and measured
5.93 miles on my Forerunner.

All together again, we used Bob Hart's tripod and George's
camera for a group photo (next email) before we got too chilled.
Girl Scout Trefoil cookies were served, and the running gods
were toasted with hot dark-roasted coffee---with the customary
neodead additive---by those who brought their freaking coffee mugs.

Debbie Horvath joined us afterwards, breakfast for nine at
DoubleSides. Dan Fox got the Boca burger; perhaps he should
have got two in order to build strength for Rocky Racoon in 2 weeks.
We talked for a long time about digging wells, gmail,
the early days of the World Wide Web and Mosaic and bitnet,
strange dialects and inflections in the American English language,
upcoming neodead race agendas, lost Boston t-shirts, and
a town called Athol. So many conversational threads
escaped me but these are a few.

After the encounter, George and I entered I-71 northbound just
before what looked like a coyote bounded across the ramp in
front of us. Dan Fox, I assume you saw it too?

No plans for next week yet.

If it's Sunday, This Must be Hinckley

About a year ago, I published my list of Hinckley runs, extracted from my running log. If there had been any doubts about my sanity, a quick look at that list will quickly dispell them. This post will be a bit different. It's about what actually happens during one particular Sunday at Hinckley.

It's 5:30 A.M., and I'm only now just trying to pull into the Spillway parking lot. There have been times when I've arrived early (as early as 4), but this is not one of them; 5:30 in the A.M. is just fine today, thank you. I say I am trying to pull in. The road into the park from Bellus is barricaded off. This is a first. I guess that it's because of the snow that has been falling steadily for a couple hours now, although it's remained open during times of more snow than this.

A car just ahead of me is turning around at the barricade as well. It's Frank Dwyer, who is equally flummoxed. We decide to park at the ranger station just down the road. There are already two cars in the lot, and running back to the lot we see Caitlin Oblander and Rick Roman. Over-achievers that they are, they had arrived at 5 to run a three-mile loop around the lake as a warm-up. Now they're cheerfully imparting tales of running on the barricaded/deserted, snow-covered road, since the all-purpose trail's footing was worse.

The four of us, including Fank in his shorts (!), are about to start out on our nine-mile loop, when Debbie Scheel shows up. It occurs to us that several runners may be a little late today due to the snow on the roads. Regulars Jack Reilly and Michelle Wolff would not be among them at all this time. I am surprised that this many made it so far.

The five of us are about to begin running when more cars begin to arrive. It's Cristina Sparks, Rob Lisy and Alan Dravenstott. Once again, the weather had slowed them down a bit. I'm now quite surprised at the showing.

The eight of us start out running up the hill on Bellus. But we don't get too far. Other cars are also arriving. We decide to turn back, trying to get word to everyone to not bother trying to get into the normal parking lot. It doesn't work; everyone tries to make the turn, finds the barricades, and then decides to park back with the rest of us.

This time it's Jeannine Nicholson and Ladd Clifford. They ask us to wait yet another minute for Connie Gardner, who was just behind. I haven't seen these folks here, this early on a Sunday, for many a moon. Ladd and I briefly reminisce about an early morning 24-hour training run we did here a few years ago, in which we did ten three-mile lake loops in cold, icy conditions.

Connie is still getting out of her car as the rest of us begin our run, for good this time. It occurs to me that there is no one - not one person - who's my speed. Well possibly Cristina, but even she usually leaves me in the dust the last couple miles. I consider letting everyone go on without me and doing lake loops, but when I voice this thought, Debbie and the rest reassure me that I won't need to run alone.

Dan running up Effie on a similar Sunday

Heading up Bellus Hill, not to be confused with Effie, I have my doubts. It's oxygen debt almost from the get-go. Bellus is actually even higher than Effie, but at least Bellus is over with rather quickly. We're forced to watch and contemplate Effie for about two miles after turning onto Ledge Road. And of course Effie hits half-way through the run, when one is already somewhat beat up from all the other hills.

Throughout the run, I'm enjoying the conversation, especially with some of the folks whom I hadn't run with for a while. Connie, Jeannine and Ladd are the same as ever, and of course the conversation quickly heads down into the gutter. I suppose I'm partly responsible, but I would never admit it.

We're doing our share of slipping and sliding on the partially snow-covered roads. Ladd says that he would rather run on trails, but I point out that when snow covers roads like this, they're just like trails.

Rick and Caitlin are long gone. Debbie, Alan and Connie pull away on or just before Effie. The rest of us more or less stick together, gathering at the top of Effie to complete the last miles as a group. I am very pleasantly surprised that I've been able to keep up with all these great runners today.

We turn onto Kellogg Road. It has more snow than ledge, and of course it's still coming down. We talk about how some will be heading out for a second loop. I am jealous; it's been quite a while since I've been able to manage that much running. These cold, snowy nine would be plenty for me today.

As we finish up, John Pavlik appears in the parking lot, ready to run with the second loopers. this time the direction would be counter-clockwise. What a bunch of rebels. I start out with them, but I don't go too far before turning back.

Another Hickley Sunday run in the books. Nothing special about this one, but then they're all special in some ways. I am so glad I stuck with this one.

Hinckley History (Now I've Really Done It)

Now I’ve really done it: extracted all of the runs I’ve done on the Hinckley 9 mile course. In so doing, I am certifying my total insanity. Sorry..

Log ID	Date	Time	Description of Run
1	1/31/2010	77.5	Cold run at Hinckley with Brian. Hills were tough in the cold.
2	2/21/2010	76.5	I was sore, but managed to keep up with the fast crowd, so this was a good one! I'm also catching a cold.
3	3/7/2010	89	This was almost 10 minute pace. I ran with Scott and Michele, who didn't mind that pace. I wasn't too sore, but I sure was tired.
4	3/14/2010	84	this was a slow run of the loop, but faster than last week. Not so bad.
5	3/20/2010	81.5	not too bad - one of the better runs on this course. With Debbie, Debbie, Brad.
6	3/21/2010	80.5	I arrived early to do this Hinckley loop by myself. Not bad.
7	3/21/2010	79.5	This time it was with the group, mostly Greg. Just slightly better than the first round. First time I did it twice.
8	4/11/2010	74	The big loop around the lake with the gang. This was pretty tough after yesterday's race and today's early running. Still a PR however. I think.
9	4/25/2010	77	with the whole gang. Tough run on the hills.
10	4/25/2010	77	second big loop - wasn't sure I would make it, but I did. Not bad at all.
11	5/2/2010	79	first loop with Connie and Bob. Pretty easy going.
12	5/2/2010	77.5	second loop with Debbie and Debbie - Connie and Bob were ahead by a bit. Not bad.
13	5/2/2010	77.5	third loop by myself - way behind Connie and Bob. Still not bad, but it was tough
14	5/9/2010	78.5	an early loop with Debbie
15	5/30/2010	77.5	First big loop with Debbie. Not bad.
16	5/30/2010	90	later loop with the rest of the gang. Sure didn't feel that slow.
17	6/6/2010	82	Surprizingly good considering yesterday. I was at my best for the last few miles.
18	6/13/2010	78.5	this time it was the full loop with the rest of the bunch. Some bugs, but not nearly as bad - must have been the hour. Good run considering the distance and yesterday's race.
19	7/11/2010	83	A pretty decent early loop around the lake with Debbie, Scott, Michele. Fairly easy going.
20	7/11/2010	70.5	A much faster second loop with Mandy Yates and a couple of the guys. One of the fastest on this course. Pretty darn good running.
21	7/18/2010	82	first loop with Scott. Not too bad.
22	7/18/2010	67.5	MUCH faster loop with Brian and Mandy. Pretty sure this is a PR. Really tough in the heat/humiltiy.
23	8/8/2010	70.5	1st loop with Mandy. Pretty good.
24	8/8/2010	76.5	second loop with Debbie, finish with Ladd. Last two were very fast.
25	9/26/2010	72	felt like I was flying running with Mandy. Good run considering yesterday.
26	10/24/2010	76	1st loop at 5:30 with Jess - not too bad
27	10/24/2010	74.5	second Hinckley loop with Jess and Lee. A bit better.
28	10/27/2010	72	A really good solid hilly run with Dave.
29	11/3/2010	72.5	good hill running with Dave. Pretty cold out!
30	11/7/2010	71.5	first loop was fast with Mandy
31	11/7/2010	83	second loop with Jack, Dan D., Brad and Michelle. Slower, but at least I finished fast
32	11/14/2010	89	with Brian.
33	11/28/2010	78	pretty good running with Lee and Jack.
34	12/19/2010	78.5	not too bad - I ran by myself in the opposite direction - kept a steady pace
35	12/22/2010	72	first lap was fast with Mandy
36	12/22/2010	82	second lap with Debbie and Ladd. A little slower, but still a good one.
37	12/26/2010	79.5	good run in Hinckley with Brad. Not easy with the snow and wind.
38	1/2/2011	1:16:00	partially with Mandy, then she left me at Ledge hill. Not a bad run considering yesterday
39	1/9/2011	1:14:00	MUCH faster the second time around. Tried to keep up with Connie and Bob, but only did for half the run. Not bad in the cold however.
40	1/9/2011	1:26:00	brrrr. But nice run with Dan, Jack, Michele and Debbie
41	1/16/2011	1:21:00	first loop with Dan, Jack. 2nd half was pretty good
42	1/16/2011	1:24:00	2nd loop with Debbie, Michelle, Ladd, Dan, Jack. Steady.
43	1/23/2011	1:25:00	first loop at 4am. Tough going in the snow and wind.
44	1/23/2011	1:30:30	colder and snowier still. This time with the bunch at 7am. Tough to finish, but I made it.
45	1/23/2011	1:27:30	getting colder and snowier for second loop at 5:30. not to mention slower
46	1/30/2011	1:18:30	better second loop with Jess
47	1/30/2011	1:25:30	first loop. Not too bad.
48	2/6/2011	1:21:00	second loop with Dan, Jack. Finished strong, but felt like I was flying so the time shoulds bin better. Sloppy footing didn't help.
49	2/6/2011	1:23:00	first loop with Jack, Michelle. Finished strong
50	2/13/2011	1:21:00	the third loop with the gang was still good. Stopping for gu at half-way helped a lot!
51	2/13/2011	1:22:00	second loop with Jack. A little slower, but not bad at all
52	2/13/2011	1:20:30	got there at 4am for this one. It was tough to get moving, but then ok.
53	2/20/2011	1:18:30	third loop with the group really good, although second half was slower
54	2/20/2011	1:22:00	second loop with Jack. Still not bad
55	2/20/2011	1:20:00	first loop at 4am. Not bad
56	2/27/2011	1:21:00	didn't wakeup for 4am loop - this was at 5:30 with Jack and Michelle
57	2/27/2011	1:15:30	7am loop with Jack. I took off after Effie and did well to do the last 3 at tempo pace. Best (finish) in a while
58	3/12/2011	1:14:00	second loop, also with Dave. Still very good.
59	3/12/2011	1:12:30	good running with Dave on 1st loop
60	3/13/2011	1:28:00	another slow loop, but more fun with Jack and Wendy
61	3/13/2011	1:26:00	first loop alone. Not so good.
62	4/23/2011	1:16:30	first loop with Dave
63	4/23/2011	1:18:30	second loop was a bit slower, but I'm happy to have it in.
64	4/24/2011	1:21:30	decent enough run in the cool rain with the bunch. Pretty shot for the start of the second loop though.
65	5/7/2011	1:20:30	ran the old Hinckley Hills with the gang and felt good.
66	5/28/2011	1:21:00	First loop with Debbie and Michelle. It was slow, but still difficult for me.
67	5/28/2011	1:17:30	second loop with Dave. It was tough too, but at least it was faster.
68	5/29/2011	1:28:30	Slow going with the gang today. I had planned to take the day off, but this was better than nothin.
69	6/26/2011	1:23:00	this run felt slow, but the time wasn't as bad as expected. with several MCRR folks.
70	7/10/2011	1:23:00	first loop with Brad, Michelle, Jack. not too bad.
71	7/10/2011	1:17:30	second loop with Debbie. much faster. felt pretty good. getting warmer.
72	7/17/2011	1:20:00	first loop: not too bad. extremely humid
73	7/17/2011	1:16:00	second loop with Dan- faster!
74	7/30/2011	1:23:00	tough going with the gang in high humidity
75	7/30/2011	1:16:00	much faster second loop with Dave. humidity was even worse
76	8/20/2011	1:20:00	first loop with the bunch. not bad
77	8/20/2011	1:15:00	second loop with Dave. better.
78	10/2/2011	1:19:30	pretty decent run with Jack. maybe I'm turning the corner.
79	10/16/2011	1:23:00	first loop with Jack
80	10/16/2011	1:19:30	second loop with Brian. it was faster, but it felt MUCH faster.
81	10/23/2011	1:20:00	Good first loop with Ladd, Jeannine. Cool morning felt good. 2 shooting stars.
82	10/23/2011	1:21:00	Second loop alone. Not too bad, but I was pushing it. Felt like faster.
83	10/28/2011	1:20:30	pretty good run with Debbie and Michelle
84	11/25/2011	1:20:00	decent run with Dave.
85	12/18/2011	1:25:00	Not bad running with Michelle and Jack
86	12/24/2011	1:17:00	fast first loop with Dave and Debbie
87	12/24/2011	1:19:30	second loop with Dave. A little slower, but still very good
88	12/26/2011	1:20:30	seemed like much faster. I did do at least some fast running to call it a fartlek run
89	1/8/2012	1:24:00	Still suffering with sinus infection. Could've been worse.
90	1/15/2012	1:25:30	fairly slow going with Michelle. Cold day. Sinus' a bit better.
91	1/22/2012	1:14:30	Just about killed me. Tough to stay in step with Pete, Frank and Debbie. But I did it. Happy to have it done.
92	1/28/2012	1:17:30	Good Hinckley Hill run with Dave. Snow made it challenging.
93	1/29/2012	1:13:30	Best one of these in a long time.
94	1/30/2012	1:19:00	Decent enough start to this long run. Did this one alone. The ice was bad.
95	1/30/2012	1:26:30	Second loop with Debbie. Much slower, but okay.
96	3/4/2012	1:26:30	Hey - I did a loop (with Jack). Slow but happy to have it done!
97	3/4/2012	1:30:30	Couldn't get much slower, but I was thrilled to do two. Again with Jack.
98	3/18/2012	1:21:00	Pretty good run through a storm with the gang
99	3/25/2012	1:12:30	Well that was fast. Almost killed me.
100	3/25/2012	1:24:30	Second loop - much slower, but I'm still happy with it. Fun stuff.
101	4/8/2012	1:23:30	first loop - slow, but okay
102	4/8/2012	1:25:30	second loop - better than expected
103	4/15/2012	1:20:00	decent time for first lap
104	4/15/2012	1:26:00	second loop was a little slower. pretty tired. not bad however.
105	4/22/2012	1:30:00
106	4/24/2012	1:21:00	pretty decent run with Dave. I think I'm recovering.
107	4/29/2012	1:21:30	First loop with the bunch. Not bad.
108	4/29/2012	1:18:30	Second loop with Brian - better.
109	5/2/2012	1:23:00	real early first loop - not bad
110	5/2/2012	1:24:00	second loop with the gang - not too bad
111	5/2/2012	1:26:00	third loop - a little slower, but still ok
112	5/13/2012	1:23:30	surprisingly okay run with a few friends
113	6/3/2012	1:24:00	Good Hinckley running for lap 1
114	6/3/2012	1:21:30	good second loop. toe hurts, but other stuff better.
115	6/10/2012	1:19:00	good first loop with a fast finish
116	6/10/2012	1:25:30	Slower second loop. still okay
117	6/24/2012	1:28:00	slower than expected. and look at that weight!!
118	7/8/2012	1:25:00	slow going with Michelle. ok though
119	7/9/2012	1:43:00	could not wake up
120	8/4/2012	1:19:30	Not too bad for the first lap
121	8/4/2012	1:17:00	Better for second half. Good running today!
122	8/19/2012	1:27:30	easy does it run with the gang (they waited for me) still a lot of pain
123	9/2/2012	1:28:00	with friends. least pain in a while, so not bad
124	9/5/2012	1:20:00	best in a long time - with Dave
125	11/4/2012	1:18:30	Pretty fast run with Debbie and the group
126	11/4/2012	1:19:30	Another good one with the group. Altogether much better than expected today!
127	11/11/2012	1:29:00	Very easy does it run with Michelle and Jack. Actually tougher than it shoulda been.
128	12/16/2012	1:20:00	I was tremendously out of breath and had to walk effie. THEN, my knee hurt - bad. Is it the Hokas?
129	2/23/2013	1:21:30	much better run with a strong final 3 miles
130	6/22/2013	1:24:00	First of these in a while. With some MCRR friends. Felt ok.
131	6/29/2013	1:20:00	Nice solid run with Dave
132	8/17/2013	1:15:30	very fast and hard run with the group. but I was still up for more.
133	8/17/2013	1:17:00	a bit slower for 2nd loop with Will. only a bit.
134	11/17/2013	1:21:00	Great run with the bunch. Felt good!
135	12/21/2013	1:14:00	Excellent pace on this soggy run with Will, Renee, Brian B.
136	1/19/2014	1:24:00	First loop - not bad
137	1/19/2014	1:32:00	2nd loop - way slower. at least no knee pain
138	2/23/2014	1:22:30	Slow start, but good run overall! Some ice.
139	3/16/2014	1:30:30	Not bad, but it was pretty slow. With Rick
140	5/3/2014	1:18:30	good run on the hills with Dave