Thanksgiving Week

Yes, Thanksgiving, like Christmas, is more of a season than a day. And let me be clear: I like it that way. This is the holiday when it's only about family getting together. IMHO, it's the best of all holidays.

Veronica stayed with us for a week, and it was wonderful to have her around. She helped out a whole lot, especially with the preparations for Thanksgiving Day itself. Valerie and Barry made it in on Thanksgiving Eve, as did the usual bunch for Thanksgiving Eve dinner featuring my two lasagnas. We also had the usual bunch for Thanksgiving Day itself. Lots of fun and good food. No one starved.

Barry and Veronica ventured out before 5am on Black Friday. They did get the deals they were after, as well as a GPS for us. Then we all went to the Cleveland Botanical Gardens where they had Christmas displays and their usual indoor gardens. I think that turned out to be a good activity for everyone.

Valerie left Friday, and Barry and Veronica went home Saturday. The house is nearly (except for Mom) empty again. Sigh.

Did I run during the week, you ask? Yes, but poorly. After that pretty-good half marathon, my runs were slow and then got worse. Worst of all was an 11-miler on Black Friday morning. We got a snowstorm, with about 3 inches falling during the run. I often used to enjoy these kinds of runs in new snow, but I wasn't dressed properly, and this one turned out to be miserable.

To recap, it was a wonderful week with the family, not so wonderful running-wise. I did manage to get my 70 miles in however. And I should be thankful that I'm not injured. All I really need to do is continue to maintain this mileage level, and also lose those extra ten or so pounds.

2009 CWRRC Fall Classic Half Marathon

Ninety Minutes. It wasn't too big a deal for much of my running career. I even broke 90 for a tough half (Stomp the Grapes) last year. But this year has been even more mediocre than last, and I haven't come close for the two halves I've run. Therefore today's expectations weren't high: to run around 92 minutes. Even that seemed a bit ambitious. That's 7 minutes per mile, and it's what I did here last year on a cold day. Yes, if I could do 92 minutes today, it would be a good one.

Temperatures were nice - low 40s and some fog. I started a little too fast, but I felt good the whole time, so I stayed with it. I came through the half-way point at around 44 and a half minutes. This was going better than expected. I did begin to slow down a bit in the second half. A couple energy gels perked me up some, and I did pick it back up, but I never got the pace back to as fast as those first few miles.

I passed a few runners in the final miles, and was closing in on a guy who looked to be in my age group, when we suddenly ran out of real estate. He was in my age group, so I missed out on an AG win by about 10 seconds. Sound familiar? My last three longer races have been like that, except that I did win one of the three. Although I did not manage to break 90, my 90:42 time was a good one. I'll definitely take it.

One other thing to add: I absolutely love this race. I see so many new and old friends that it's like a homecoming run. I'll never stop doing it!

Long on Lester, Achieving Eightness, and Other Stories

After Saturday's 14 on the towpath I hit the trail again on Sunday. This time it was the Lester Rail Trail for my usual four loops of six miles. I say usual because that's usually what I do run there. It has, however, been a while since I've run there. It's much simpler to just run from home, but I like the softer surface of the trail as well as the lack of traffic. The goal was, as usual, to run each loop a little faster, and this time I succeeded: the approximate times were something on the order of: 54.5, 51.5, 50, 47.5 minutes. Good trend. I'm reasonably happy with it.

It took a lot, however, to get down to eight minute pace for that last lap. This has been the case quite a bit lately: it's just tough to run the kind of speeds that used to be routine a couple years ago. In fact, it wasn't so far back in the past when I would average eight minute pace for the entire year! This year my average pace per mile has been hovering around 8 and a half. Is it any wonder that my race times are also slower?

How was the rest of the week, you ask. It's been going ok, and I'm reasonably happy with it. Slow going Monday morning and then evening with the MCRR gang prior to the meeting (and it was a good meeting, with Mark Croghan as the speaker). A little better for Tuesday's twelve, and then better still today (Wednesday): I just barely managed a tempo run as part of the 11-mile course, which I completed, along with an additional three, at exactly eight-minute pace.

I signed up for the Fall Classic Half this Sunday, and then just yesterday learned that there's a little 5k in Brunswick on Saturday. Now running the 5k would probably slow me down to some extent for the half. But I'd like to do the 5k, and I really don't know how much slowing would occur. Decision time.

Floors and Countertops and Appliances, Oh My

As with the countertops, the floors - just finished a couple days ago - look great. The scary part is that some of the bills are now starting to come through. Then there's the really scary electrical problem the other day - the light fixture in the back bedroom shorted out two circuits. Oh and the weird car problems. You'd think it was Halloween again. I got it- it was all the stuff leading up to yesterday: Friday the Thirteenth. Scary.

We visited with Mike and Iris and Bob and Linda at the Rafalski's last night. Lots of laughs.

Taking Mom out for her birthday tomorrow.

Recent Running

After Monday's long run, I took Tuesday off, ran my 11-mile loop on Wednesday, including a pretty-good tempo portion, and then on Thursday drove to AND FROM the Stop&Go to run with the MCRR gang. I also ran a few extra with Ladd afterwards. Friday was an off-day, so I felt fairly well-rested for today's run on the towpath with Dave. We did the usual - from Station Rd. to Peninsula and back for a 14-mile total. And it wasn't a bad run at all - about 61 minutes out and 54 back. Now I will try to recover for a long run tomorrow.

The Joke and The Challenge

After last week's fiasco with being locked out of the car and having to run home, Ladd, Chuck and I joked about me running all the way to the Stop&Go, running the loop with the MCCR gang, and then running back home for a grand total distance of 26 miles.

But then yesterday I started to think about it. I had been considering a long run for sometime during the week. Monday would be a good day for it because the weather would be good and I could work around any possible conflicts. And I like to try different things to inject some adventure into my running. Some, but not too much. So at some point during my muddled thinking yesterday, this whole concept began to change from a joke to a challenge. It would be tough: I'd have to leave the house by 3:30am to arrive in time for the 5:05am start. I'd have to plan for my hydration, fueling and bathroom needs. I'd have to run fast enough to get there on time, and then fast enough to get home by 8am. Yes, it would be a challenge for sure.

Awake before 3am, I was out of the house and running by 3:33. I didn't think that nine minute miles would be a problem, but there was that pit stop along the way. Arriving after everyone left would be a disappointment. I had started fairly slowly, but got faster as I went on. I could still feel yesterday's race in my old legs. But at least I was moving in the right direction. I made it with a couple minutes to spare.

Jeannine, Ladd, Marsha, Steve, Chuck, Shelby and I had a nice run together. The only thing was that it felt like a fast pace but it turned out that it really wasn't. We were several minutes slower than last week's run, but it still felt pretty durn fast. Of course everyone thought I was nuts. "Last week I forgot the keys, this week I forgot the car." And so on. Afterwards we talked a bit, and Jeannine donated some water. I took a gel and used the restroom before continuing my Odyssey.

Now I had to get home, and I had an hour forty-five to do it. At least I knew the distance. I started slow, but once I got north of the Medina square, I felt better and began to run better. I took one last gel with some water at the golf course and then embarked on the final 4.5 mile leg up Hamilton and Substation. By about 7am, the traffic was picking up, making the running less safe and definitely less pleasant.

By about 7:45am, I was back home. The last 10 were a bit slower than the first 10, but not by much. The challenge was met. I don't think I'll feel the need to do this particular sort of thing again, thank you. Now excuse me; it's time for a nap.

Dick's Horseradish 5K

Run the course, run the race, run the course. That always seems to be the plan for 5k runs, especially when Connie is involved. Today it was Ladd, Chuck and I, along with Connie making the trip to Canton to run Dick's Horseradish 5K. The weather was perfect - just about 50F and clear.

After the warmup run of the course, we started the race. As always, there was a mad sprint at the start. I was determined not to start too fast, and I didn't. The first mile, the hilliest, as in about 6:27. The second mile was close to the same. I felt pretty good, so I tried to pick it up for the third mile. It turned out to be only a little faster than the first two, but just enough to pass a few folks, including Connie just before the finish. "You're not going to let an old man beat you, are you?" I shouted as I went by. She only replied, "you're not old!". I think she lies. I was also trying to catch Ladd and Chuck, but I wasn't able to.

I hit my watch as I crossed the line: 19:59. I usually lose a second or two somewhere, and sure enough, the official results did show me at 20:02 or something like that. Oh well. I wound up second in the age group. Don Cassidy was first. Oh well.

It was my best 5k in a couple years, so I'm pretty happy with it.

I

Stupid Dan Tricks, Number 3,247

Today's plan was to run 6.2 miles at 5am with some of my MCRR friends. We met at Stop&Go at Sturbridge and Rte 3, south of Medina. And we had a very nice brisk run, finishing the hilly 10k loop in a bit over 50 minutes. Afterwards, we talked for a couple minutes and everyone left. I then realized I had locked my keys in the car.

Now it was a bit after 6am, and I was ten to twelve miles (wasn't at all sure) from home. I didn't want to wake Debbie up, but I did have to get home by 8am for a meeting. Would I make it? Only one way to find out.

Luckily, it wasn't as far south as I thought, and I was into Medina in no time. Then it was past Walmart, Second Sole, and up to Hamilton. At this point I knew I was only 4.5 miles from home (via Substation) and I'd been running at a good clip, so I'd make it in good time. Of course I did slow down for those final miles on Substation, but I did make it.

Final tally: 9.91 miles in 83 minutes. Only the final four were slower than 8 minute pace.

Other stupid Dan tricks: after Sunday's marathon, I did a couple on the mill on Monday and didn't feel too bad. On Tuesday, I DID feel bad as I did my 11-mile loop at an excruciatingly slow 9 minutes per mile. Wednesday was decidedly much better: I did my 12-mile route to/around North Park under 8.5 minutes per mile, with a nice strong finish.

Now I have almost all the miles I wanted for the week and it's only Thursday. I DO need a rest.

Inland Trail Marathon

I've said this before, but it bears repeating: *almost* nothing feels as good as running strong at the end of a marathon. It had been a while: nearly all my recent efforts have been marked by either a gradual slowdown or an outright crash and burn. But I was determined not to let that happen at today's Inland Trail Marathon. I would be running it for the third consecutive year of the four years of its existence. It is fairly scenic, very straight, very flat and very well managed for such a small race. I always run fairly well there, in part because the weather's always perfect.

Today was no exception on any of those counts. The weather was once again exceptional: mostly cloudy with very light winds and temperatures in the forties. I ran most of the first half with Chuck D. We both wanted to pick it up about half-way, but we both figured that Chuck would pick it up faster than me. I hit that half-way mark on this out and back course at about 1:42. I had been thinking that it would be 1:40 and that a 3:20 finish would be nice. Regardless of the time, I just wanted to be strong through the finish.

Chuck was well ahead of me as I turned and picked it up to a 7:30 to 7:45 per mile pace. He ended up with a great second half and a great all-round effort. I think I hit mile 20 at about 2:33 or 2:34, and I picked it up just a bit more, to 7:30 or better for each of the final 6 miles. I passed several people, including one guy who turned out to be in my age group. I finished very strong and crossed the line in 3:20:30, good for the age group win. Note that the opposite occurred (I was the one passed in the final mile) at the Towpath Marathon a couple weeks ago.

It may be obvious, but I'm very happy with this one. I finally did what I thought I was capable of, and I actually got that rush as I finished strong. Just to temper that optimism just a bit, here's a disturbing trend of my Inland Trail times for the past three years: 2007: 3:14, 2008: 3:17, 2009: 3:20. I'll try to reverse this in 2010.

Near Tempo Experiences (NTE's)

Near Death Experiences (NDE's) are well documented cases where people near death experience various visions. You can guess what a Near Tempo Experience would be - a close, but unsuccessful encounter with a tempo run. Not to put too fine a point on it, but I've always defined a tempo run as three or more consecutive sub-seven minute miles. Tempo runs were never really easy, and I've had other attempts that failed. But by and large, most of the time, when I wanted to do one, I could do it.

Not so lately. I've recently had more failures than successes. A failure would be any of the three miles at over seven minute pace. Today's run was a case in point. Twice I tried to get down to seven-minute pace, and twice I failed. Not that the ten-miler in 79 minutes was bad, mind you, it just wasn't as good, or as tempo-y as I wanted.

Signing up for Sunday's Inland Trail Marathon. It won't be one of my fastest.

Felt Like I was Flying

I felt surprisingly good this morning. Got out early and did my 11-mile loop, followed by my 3-mile loop. The running was strong and smooth, and I felt like I could keep on going and going. That's the good news. Only one little problem: these things called chronometers. They time your activity, and when that time/duration is combined with a known distance, your running speed is determined. And that running speed on this day when I felt like I was flying, pretty much told me just the opposite: that I was grounded. So whereas, for these sorts of training runs, on a good day when I'm in really good shape I'd average around 7:30 per mile, and on a good day when I'm in decent shape, which is as good as I got this year, I'd average about 8 minutes per mile, and on a good day these days, I averaged about 8:20 per mile. A month or two ago, I'd be disappointed to run so slow when I felt so fast, but today I'll just have to take what I can get.

Since I did feel so good for today's run, I probably *will* run the Inland Trail Marathon this Sunday. I'd been leaning against it, but now I'm leaning the other way. It'll be slow, mind you. Very slow. But it would be nice to run a smooth, strong, pain free marathon, regardless of what the chronometer says.

Run with Scissors

Training since the Towpath Marathon two weeks ago has been pretty abysmal. That cold didn't help, but even since it's been better, the running hasn't improved. But maybe it would all come together for Run with Scissors.

Since Roy Heger was such a great help for NC24, I asked what I could do to help with is race, Run with Scissors. He said, "run it". In other words, he needed runners more than he needed helpers. So although I knew that RWS is not my type of race, I lined up, and figured I might as well do the double, not the single marathon. After all, I ought to get my money's worth, right? Roy had made it clear that anyone could change events.

It was a cold (37F) start in the dark. I took the early start option in order to give myself enough time to do the entire 54+ miles. Note that each of the RWS "marathons" were something like 27 1/2 miles. And the reason these things aren't usually my cup of tea? The tough, tough, tough, and extremely muddy CVNP trails.

My new cheap headlamp wasn't doing too well on those trails, and it wouldn't get light for another 3 1/2 hours, so I was very lucky to catch up with Jim Fisher, who had a great little flashlight. Jim and I wound up running almost the entire way together. Nice conversations.

The pace felt easy, but soon the mountainous hills and the mud began to take their toll. I simply felt beat up. All along we talked about whether to do the double, but this seemed less likely as we kept going. At the 10/11 mile mark by the Covered Bridge they handed us scissors. At about half-way, we came upon a skeleton sitting on a chair and holding some books in the middle of a stream. We had to cut out a page and bring it back. Of course there were artistic pictures of nude models in the one book, and of course that's what I cut from.

That middle loop on the Perkins Trail turned out to be the toughest. As we returned to the covered bridge, it was beginning to get light. Now we were able to pick up the pace a bit. It felt like we were flying, but we were probably only doing 10 to 11 minute miles. We did manage to run the rest of the way at that decent pace.

Also as it got light, the great fall foliage in the valley began to really show itself. It was almost beautiful enough to make the whole thing worthwhile. Almost. As we came in at 9:35 or so, it was painfully obvious that neither of us would be heading back out for round two. We were just too beat up. Enough is enough. I'm glad I did it, but NEVER AGAIN!!

Running in the Smokies and Other post-TP Running

Only slow going for the few days spent in the Smokies. It was VERY vertical there, and I was mostly shuffling around. It even took a while to find my way into the close-by park, but even that run wasn't the greatest. Another problem: a post-TP cold.

This, the following weekend is better. I did about 11 muddy trail miles with Dave and then with Roy as an orientation run at the covered bridge yesterday. Today I did the old Substation 20 mile course, and it was slow, but fairly steady.

This is another situation where I've got to train a lot and then taper for the Run with Scissors. I'm duly concerned.

Towpath Marathon 2009

The Towpath Marathon remains one of my favorites. Maybe it's just the familiarity, but the Cuyahoga Valley in general, and the towpath trail area in particular are, in my humble opinion, extremely high among the most beautiful places on the planet in which to run (or walk, or crawl or slither for that matter). The best time of year to experience the the Cuyahoga Valley is surely autumn. So it's no mystery why I like this race so much. This fall has been as beautiful as any in recent memory. Something about having plenty of rain and generally cool to average temperatures in recent weeks and months. So today the valley was ablaze in glory; a feast for the eyes. I just can't imagine a more beautiful place for a race. Add to this the great temperatures (mostly in the 40s for the entire time of the race), and you have the perfect day for a marathon.

Too bad I would actually have to run 26.2 miles to get the full enjoyment. The percentage of marathons where everything goes well - I feel good throughout, I run a steady pace but finish strong, I finish with a time that I had planned for, I place well, etc. - is exceedingly small. And the trouble is, it's getting smaller. On the other hand, the number of marathons that are complete disasters isn't that large either. The vast majority are the type where I just gradually slow down during the race, don't finish strong, and therefore fail to accomplish my time goal, whatever it is. Those goals always seem to be reasonable when I think about them before-hand. And I keep ratcheting them down toward slower and slower times.

It was fun to talk to several friends, including several from MCRR, before and during the race. Couldn't stick around afterward - I had to open the store at noon. In fact, I figured I'd have to run a 3:20 to finish at 11:20, get over to the car and drive to Medina in order to open in time. So this would be my time goal. 3:20 cand be a tall order, but I thought I just might be capable.

After starting out with Debbie Scheel, I picked it up and eventually caught up with Jim Chaney, who was practicing at 7:37 pace in order to be the 3:20 pace leader in Columbus next week. This suited me just fine, so we ran together for many of the middle miles. Went through 13.1 in 1:39+. I slowed a bit at mile 19, and Jim dropped out as planned at 20. That, of course, is where it got tough for me. Those last miles were generally painful - nothing specific, just general pain. And of course they were slower than the rest. The wheels never came off completely, but they were wobbly. I'd say the last 6 averaged between 7:50 and 8:30. I passed a few, and a couple passed me, but I was mostly running alone. In the last mile I heard footsteps behind me and picked it up to try for a strong finish. A man and a woman still managed to pass me in the final 10 yards or so. And wouldn't you know it? He was in my age group. I finished in 3:25.

A couple unknowns: 1) were there any other geezers ahead of us?, and 2) in the event that they score age groups by net time, where did that guy start in relation to me? The results aren't posted yet, but whatever will be will be. Right now I just want the pain to mercifully go away.

And remember how I figured I needed a 3:20 to get to the store by noon? With my 3:25 I got there at 12:05. Don't tell anyone.

NC24: A Race Director’s Perspective

It all started with a little conversation about a year ago. “We should have one around here”, said Connie Gardner. She and I had been discussing other 24-hour events. “Yeah,” I said, “I want to do one too.” Connie immediately started to say that we would be able to attract the best ultra runners in the country, including several who lived nearby in Northeast Ohio. Whoa, thought I - we weren’t even off the ground yet. But this talk did turn out to be the start of what was to become the NorthCoast 24-Hour Endurance Run.

My first call was to my friend, Joe Jurczyk. Joe has directed more ultra events than I’ve even run. Calling Joe turned out to be the best thing I did, as the race wouldn’t have been nearly as successful without him. I also contacted several other experienced ultrarunners, including Rita Barnes, Dan Fox, Roy Heger and Shannon Fisher to form the core race committee. I can’t imagine a better group of people to put on an event like this. “Anyone want the RD job, so that I can run the race?” I asked. Nope, it would be me.

Determining an appropriate location and date took longer than I thought it would. It was March before we settled on Edgewater and the first weekend in October. Edgewater is a scenic state park on the shore of Lake Erie, just a couple miles from downtown Cleveland. There is a .9 mile all-purpose trail loop. The only concern would be the wind coming off the lake – we would just have to hope for the best. The first weekend in October was one of the few early autumn weekends without some other major local marathon or ultra event.

Early on, we managed to convince the American UltraRunning Association (AUA) that we had organized our race committee and chosen a location and time frame well enough to qualify our event as the 2009 U.S. National 24-Hour Run National Championship. The AUA would have liked for us to offer substantial prize money to further legitimize the event and attract more high-profile runners, but by starting later in the year, lack of major sponsorship was a problem. I was concerned, in fact, about getting enough runners to simply break even, given our other expenses. Who would be on the hook if we didn’t? Me. Within the last couple months we finally did land some sponsorship, thanks to the hard work of committee member Charles Elkins as well as several others. And we also saw the number of race entries increase such that we eventually exceeded 100 runners.

Several of those runners signing up were the best in the country. It became very obvious that we would have a “dream” field of top runners for the event. The AUA announced that the national teams would include the top three Americans at NC24, provided that they also met a minimum standard of miles. We were also attracting a wide variety of other runners: everyone from experienced ultrarunners to those who had run marathons but nothing further and wanted to see how far they could go.

Monthly meetings became weekly ones as the race date approached. Training runs were held. I answered email questions. Meetings and other communication took place with our timer, Jim Chaney of Terry Lewis’ RS Racing Systems. The course was certified. Volunteers were recruited. Also lined up to help were Dr. Andrew Lovy and his medical students, as well as the Podiatry College. Shannon ordered the food and Roy got the generators. I helped where I could, and also kept an eye on the weather. Before we knew it, race day was upon us.

The set-up, the registration, the pre-race meeting all went by much too fast for me; it almost seemed like a blur. I’m just happy to have had all the great help from Shannon and the volunteers. I thought things would settle down as the race got going. They didn’t. There were probably too few volunteers for the first five or six hours, so I had to help at the aid station and wherever else I could. I also checked in with the Jim several times to make sure the timing was going well. And I did sneak a little time to watch the race unfold.

And watching that race unfold turned out to be a most satisfactory activity. Now and then I had to stop myself from doing something that seemed important at the time, to just think: this is what we’ve all worked so hard for. These runners were the best in the country, and here they were, doing their thing. It was incredibly exciting. All of the runners were truly an inspiration, and any of us who watched the event won’t soon forget it.

I never slept, or even sat down. Some of the runners, especially some of the top finishers could say the same thing. The one aspect of the day that we had no control over was the weather, and the weather held up just fine. There was cloudiness, some wind at times, but no appreciable rain. The temperature was mostly in the fifties. The wind calmed down during the night, so that was actually the most comfortable time. Shannon and the volunteers kept the food coming at all times.

Of course there were a few race-day glitches. The most important one was traffic control at the parking lot entrance. I had several conversations with the park rangers about that, and we eventually got it under control.

By and by I managed to talk with most of the volunteers and most of the runners. What a great bunch of people. UltraRunners rule! Eventually the event ended and for me, once again, time speeded up. We had to do the final measurements to determine the winners and places. The winners, by the way, were truly spectacular. Earlier along the way we also had to work with three age group records. For more on the race itself, check out our website. The awards ceremony went well, but of course this also felt like a blur to me.

And then it was all over, but the clean-up. Where had the last 30 hours gone? If certainly didn’t feel like a day at all. Was it worth it, and would I do it again? You bet!

Recent Running and Prep for TP

I'm not real hopeful about the upcoming Towpath Marathon. Last weekend took a real lot out of me. Not the running (I didn't do any), but just staying on my feet for 30 plus hours. But I'll still go out and do my best.

I ran 8 1-mile intervals on the mill last Friday. Still tired on Monday, I managed to do a slow 10. Yesterday was a little better: I managed to get a tempo run in during my 11-mile loop, but the rest of the run was fairly slow.

I'll try to get something decent in tomorrow, and then begin my two-day taper.

For what it's worth, I'm even less confident about the Run With Scissors event coming up later in the month.

Last Long Run Before TP

Yes, I'm registering for the Towpath Marathon. The race is October 11. Today was my last long run: 24 miles in the cold rain. It wasn't too bad at all, even though I hate cold rain.

Got out at 4:30 and did the 11-mile loop in 95 minutes. Then the fun began. After a pit stop, I went back out, heading up to North Park. Arrived (4 miles in) in 33.5 minutes, ran around for another 8.5 minute mile and then did 10 more laps around the lake, averaging about 2:50 for the .36+ mile loops. Not bad. Got back at 8 minute pace to complete the entire last 13 miles in 1:44. Pretty strong and smooth the whole way. I'm happy with it.

The strange thing is that my sprained right hand is now swollen and sprained once again. It must be from clenching it whilst running in the cold rain.

Chicago

No, this isn't about the upcoming Chicago Marathon. No, this isn't about Chicago's bid to host the 2016 summer Olympics. It's only about a nice family visit, with Debbie and I driving over there to see Val and Dan.

Traffic was bad, and it was worse because we decided to save on tolls, thereby taking some less desirable routes. But we made it and went out for Chicago Pizza and a movie on Friday, and Mexican food and a play ("Fake") on Saturday night. We also went to the Museum of Contemporary Art on Saturday (good for the laughs). All in all, it was a very nice visit.

I didn't run Saturday, but we did a *Lot* of walking around the city on both Friday and Saturday. Sunday I got out early, heading over to the lake from our Courtyard Hotel. Then I turned south and ran about 6 miles total before turning around. It was out in 51, back in 45. The sunrise, the lake and the Chicago skyline were all spectacular.

NorthCoast 24-Hour Endurance Run

The NorthCoast 24-Hour Endurance Run is becoming a full-time job. Luckily, I do have some time to devote to it these days. This is fun, but I'll be happy when it's done!
Check it out by clicking here. And check out the Cleveland Plain Dealer article.

Debbie and I managed to dismantle the counter tops and sink to prepare for the new counter tops. We've also been putting in the ceramic tile in the laundry room in preparation for the new washer and dryer.

Never a dull moment.

More Yassos, and a Long Run

Once again on Tuesday I found myself starting to do 10 x 800 at the track. My first two were just about like last week: both in 3:10. But with this week's heat and humidity and bugs (I guess they weren't midges, but they were still getting into my eyes, mouth and nose), it was tough. So there I was, really struggling, with eight more to go, when Frank showed up. Running those last 8 with someone else made all the difference. Yes, they were still tough, but I managed to get through them - something I may not have been able to do otherwise. I averaged 3:08 - just about like last week.

After some shorter stuff yesterday, I tried to get up early enough today to do 24 or so. Didn't happen - I slept in until 4:30. So ok, I probably wouldn't do 20, and I'd have to move it anyway. I did a few (actually four) on the mill before heading outside. That mill running included a 3-mile tempo run. The ten miles outside included a 3-mile tempo run consisting of 4 3/4 mile laps of the high school. When I got back home I was feeling beat, but I still had six miles to get up to 20. But traffic was getting bad, and I wanted a softer surface, so I hit the mill once again. And once again, I included a tempo run. So I got my 20 in, with some speed as well. But it really wasn't all that pretty.