Drake Well Marathon Race Report

First of all, Dan would like to point out that he developed three goals for today's race:

A) Sub 3:50 would be very nice. He ran a 3:49 three years ago, B.S. (Before Surgery). Such a feat would very much be a stretch, however.

B) 3:55. Dan would like to point out that he ran this time in Tallahassee, about eight months ago.

C) 3:59. Or, at least, just finishing in a vertical fashion (okay, maybe that's a D goal).

The alarm had gone off at 2:30, and after some coffee and beet juice, Dan was in the car by 3:30. He arrived a little after 6:00; plenty of time to check in, stretch out, and get ready to go. Dan would like to point out that after this and some similar experiences, he may decide to stop using the beet juice. It may work, a little, but it also seems to work in other ways. Ways that forced Dan to make a stop along the way, and another as he arrived. Hopefully, his tummy has now settled down as the race is about to start.

Dan would like to point out that Titusville, Pennsylvania, home of the Drake Well Museum and Park to celebrate the first successfully drilled oil well, is incredibly scenic. Dan couldn't see much during his dark ride in, but now the sun is coming up as the 7:00 race start approaches, and it's gorgeous. The museum and park are surrounded by huge hills, and the misty fog is rising between them as it begins to warm up.

Dan would like to point out that warming up is not necessarily a good thing. It's in the 50s right now - cool and comfy. It won't stay that way. Dan struggles to run nine-minute miles for his first few. It should be easier, he thinks. But somehow, by the time he completes the in-town loops (miles 1-7), he settles into a little bit of a rhythm. 

The Drake Well Marathon is a cupless race. Runners are provided with a collapsable cup that they are to carry in order to receive refills at the aid stations. Dan is extremely focused on environmental factors, including litter. Thousands of cups all over is not a good thing, so Dan gets it. However, he still does not like carrying this dumb cup thing. He tries to stuff it in his pocket, but then spends gobs of time getting it in and out, and even drops it once. He finally decides to just carry it and eventually gets the hang of using it. It STILL forces him to stop completely for the refills, however.

Miles 8-26 are on the Oil Creek Bike Trail. What a beauty! The trail is mostly above and alongside the creek, and it's about as scenic as you can get. Dan loves every minute of this. It's a small race, and everyone is friendly. Dan says hi, and good job to everyone coming and going. The half-marathon turnaround is at mile 10, and the full turnaround is at mile 16.5. But before we get there,,,

Dan would like to point out that the beet juice wasn't done with him. He begins debating the pros and cons of stopping in the woods, when a wonderful thing presents itself: a porta-john! After powdering his nose, Dan realizes that he's lost several minutes. That's not all that big a deal for a marathon, but it causes Dan to reach the 13-mile mark in right around two hours. It would have been at least a couple of minutes faster, otherwise.

At Tallahassee, Dan ran the first half in around two hours, and the second half in about 1:55. Could he repeat that today. It is getting warmer and warmer as he reaches the turnaround. But Dan would like to point out that his mile splits have improved, Now, they're mostly in the 8:40 range.

Dan begins to slow down a little with about five miles to go. Maybe it's the heat, or maybe just general fatigue from trying to pick up the pace. Even though it's warm now (mid-70s), the trail is very well-shaded, and that surely helps. Dan passes a handful of other runners, but it's mostly pretty lonely out here. One of the guys he passes is even north of Dan's own advanced age. Imagine that. Another is a high-school kid who winds up finishing the final couple miles together with Dan.

Dan would like to point out that this race is about as good as it gets for scenery, fun, and overall joy of running. Dan's time, 3:55:34, is within a second or two of his time at Tallahassee. He's first in his ancient age group. Now, all he has to do is drive two and a half hours back home.

Dan would like to point out that he actually had a cheering section for this race: his peeps back at Hinckley sent him some good vibes. It worked.

All dressed up, nowhere to go

Danny-boy shows up at the Lester trailhead at 5:00 A.M. as usual for a Friday. He runs the first six-mile loop with his friends as usual. At this point, he's finally fully awake and ready/able to run some more - more six-mile loops - ... as usual.

But he doesn't! Instead, he says goodbye to his friends, stretches for a minute, fixes up his anti-sweat car seat cover, gets in his car, and heads home. This, and it hasn't even gotten light yet. He arrives back home at 6:30, and the sun has still not yet risen. This isn't too usual. Not usual, at all. Danny-boy will need to figure out what to do with himself considering all this extra time he has on his hands.

It was just a week ago when Danny-boy ran his final long run to prepare for this upcoming marathon. On other occasions, he's written about the Hay being in the barn. That analogy certainly applies here as well. Now, the famous Drake Well Marathon is just two short days away. 

Yes, everything is ready to go. Except for the weather. The forecast is for hot (80s) weather in Titusville this Sunday. Danny-boy obsesses about that. He shouldn't.

He should chill.

Last Long One

Should you do your final long run two weeks, or three weeks prior to your marathon?

How about one week? Okay, one week and two days, to be exact. I'd originally planned to keep today's mileage somewhat south of the eighteen-mile long-run barrier. I failed. But hey, I had my reasons. The main one being that my friends, Michelle Kelly-Daum, Shannon Barnes, Chadwick Sunday, and Ella were doing all or most of it with me. Another reason is that I had just looked up my just-prior-to-marathon training in my running log for recent races. Turns out, I always do this. I just forgot.

How did the run go, you ask? While I did not set the world on fire (it already is), I'd have to answer, not half bad. Lester Rail Trail was the venue, and I and my friends (except for Speedy-Shannon, who finished very strong) mostly stayed at a pretty steady pace. It felt good, so I'll take it. What other choice was there?

Hofbrauhaus Half Marathon Race Report

It isn't ideal conditions. Low 70s and humid at the start, and upper 70s and humid by later on in the run. At least the sun is not out. I suppose it's okay; this isn't an 'A' race anyway.

Walking for hours around the Cleveland Zoo to witness the Asian Lantern Festival and not getting to sleep until close to midnight was not optimal. But I suppose it's okay; this isn't an 'A' race anyway.

Running a challenging 18-miler with my friends two days ago (they were the ones who made it challenging, by the way) wasn't the best idea for today's race. I guess that's alright; this isn't an 'A' race anyway.

I didn't even don my Nike Alphafly magic shoes; just the Saucony Endorphin Pro 2 nearly magic ones. Shouldn't be too big a deal; this isn't an 'A' race anyway.

By now, you get the picture that this is more of a 'B'-ish type of race. I only want to run a steady pace. AN average of 9 minutes per mile would be nice. I was thinking about such goals, modest as they are, during my drive downtown this morning, when the radio plays, You Can't Always Get What You Want, by the Rolling Stones. I wondered whether I should be concerned. Maybe the morning's shot of beet juice will help.

I manage to find my friend, Larry Orwin before the race. We warm up a bit. but it's already pretty warm. We agree to try to find each other afterward. As the race starts, I fall into an 8:45 or so per mile pace. Suddenly, my goal of averaging 9 minutes per mile morphs into keep all the miles faster than 9 minutes. That is a little more challenging. Actually, much more.

The course takes us along Chester Avenue and eventually down through the Cleveland Cultural Gardens of Rockefeller Park. It's similar to the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame course. I love it. As I reach half-way at around 57 minutes, my main concern is whether I can hold it together, especially with miles 9 and 10 being slightly uphill.

Although those miles are indeed slower than the rest, they're still under nine minutes. Now back on Chester, I can push it for the final three miles.

Pedal to the metal, here I go. I do pick it up, but I can't say I'm setting the world on fire; just 8:30-ish pace. I manage to cross the finish line in 1:52:47. 

First in my ancient age group. Not bad for a B race.

The Beet Goes On

My friend Chadwick Sunday sent me a comprehensive article about beet juice, Using Beet Juice to Improve Performance in TrainingPeaks. Besides, of course, my recent blog post, I think it's the best information about beet juice yet. 

Here is an update about my own experimentation. I've taken the reconstituted beet juice powder a few times now. Although the stuff appeared to work well for a particular long run, I wondered what it would do over a week or so. I'm now taking a tablespoon a day, at least most mornings. Would the buildup over several days or a week be helpful? I noted that some of the studies had participants take the stuff for one to two weeks. I'm not sure that I'm making any improvements yet. But I have a long run tomorrow and a half-marathon on Sunday, so we'll see.

One other thing: the taste. After mixing a tablespoon of the powder in a glass of water and trying to gulp it down first thing in the morning, it's all I can do to keep the stuff down. Someone mentioned that although it definitely tastes like beets, it also tastes like there is plenty of dirt and grass included in the mix as well. I think that's a fair description. But, this morning, I tried mixing it with vegetable juice. Guess what? It ain't so bad this way. In fact, it tasted like vegetable juice.  I'll keep at it.

Mugrage Morning Moonset

Just like yesterday. Just like several times in recent weeks. Just like five billion other times in my life, it happens again this morning. My friends have completed their running, and they've gone and left me all alone. And here I am, trying mightily to get a few more miles in. Most of the time when this happens, said extra miles are pretty darn awful. They may possibly be doing me more harm than good. But I am a numbers guy, and I generally aspire to more mileage.

Regarding how unpretty these miles truly are, there can be rare exceptions, and sometimes I'll post about those. Today is not one of them, however. Even though the first few loops around Mugrage Park were not super fast, these last few are surely super slow. Eventually, I decide to stop at the car and get my phone to photograph the nearly full, setting moon. Being photography-minded is a worthy distraction from poor running.

It works, sort of. Here are a couple pics.

2 x 5K

Danny Boy has completed his initial 5K track workout with moderate success. Said workout is made up of ten 400-meter repeats, with 100-meter recoveries. Add that up, and it makes 5,000 meters, AKA 5K. The idea is that you run the repeats at about 5K pace, but of course, slower for the recoveries. Although you can track the 400 times, they're not all-out. You also consider the overall time for the 5K. This would probably be slower than a road 5K, where there are no recoveries, but perhaps not all that far off.

'Moderate Success,' in this case, means that Danny Boy averaged around 1:54 for his 400s, and that his overall time was 26:40. 

Danny Boy is keen on talking about how he used to do a version of this workout that entailed twenty 400s, rather than ten, That added up to 10,000 meters, a 10K workout. Not that his running partners care all that much, but Danny Boy no longer feels up to this much speedwork. 

Or does he? Now that his friends have wisely finished for the day, he starts back up again. A short ten minutes ago, he wasn't so sure he'd be able to run anymore at all, much less another intensive set of ten 400s. The mid-workout coffee may have helped him get (re)started.

The first 400 is well North of two minutes, and the next couple are only slightly better. But then something funny happens. Danny Boy picks up the pace to nearly that of those first ten. Perhaps the coffee kicked in even more. He winds up with an average 400 time of 1:58, and 27:41 for the 5K. That's a minute slower than the first set, but still not bad.

Although his running was by no means outstanding, Danny Boy is feeling pretty good about himself right now. He had better watch out for that reality hammer about to club him on the head.

A wee bit of redemption

 

Double loop finishers Julie Boggs and Dan Horvath

If it's Hinckley, this must be Sunday. Yes, the hills are alive here, especially when you do two (9-mile) loops. Theresa and Katherine joined Julie and I for the first nine, but for the second one, it was just the two of us. After a poor outcome on Friday, we both managed to complete the double today. The cooler weather sure helped. But so did the companionship.

A Y among double-X's

Why o why did it have to happen this way? On its surface, getting all hot and sweaty with a bunch of beautiful women would be the dream of many a young man, such as myself. For a while this morning, it did seem like a dream. Until it (suddenly) didn't. You might say that turned into a nightmare.

New guy Steve wisely calls it a day after the first loop, but now Julie, Shannon, Debbie, Kelly, Katherine, and I were joined by Sarah and Theresa. In case you're bad at math, that's seven lovely ladies... and me. I'm not thinking too very much about these gender issues (although the subject does arise in the conversation). I'm thinking of just getting through today's planned long run. It's getting quite warm as we begin our second six. Now, it gets serious.

As for excuses, I have a bunch. Would you like to hear them? Of course, you would. Yesterday's run at Mugrage was as soupy as it gets. Seven miles did me in for the day. So did the afternoon yard work and beer sampling. This morning had started with an attempt to guzzle beet juice and coffee. Neither went down well. I was still not entirely good when we started our 5:00 A.M. run on this warm and humid Friday.

A half-mile or so into this second loop, I begin to feel like myself again. Maybe the beet juice and caffeine are starting to kick in. I try to take the lead at times so that I can slow everyone down (we're on the Lester Rail Trail, which isn't exactly narrow, but you can't have more than two or three abreast).  Other times, the faster folk take over and it's all I can do to stay with them. That's all kind of normal with this bunch.

What isn't quite so normal is me hitting the wall at around mile eleven. I drastically slow down, and I watch everyone slowly get smaller and nearly disappear in front of me. My pace goes from around 9:30 minutes per mile to 11 and then to 12. It's all I can do to shuffle back to the trailhead. I am done done (I used to use this terminology to refer to a work project as really and truly finished). I say goodbye and good luck to the intrepid three-loopers. 

Like junkies trying to plan their next hit of drugs, just minutes after a bad trip, Julie and I immediately begin plotting our next attempt at a long run: two loops at Hinckley this Sunday.

Beets me

For the first time in several years, I tried drinking beet root juice as I awoke. This was in order to help with today's run. It was a good long run for me; I would have to say that (other than tasting nasty) the stuff certainly didn't hurt, and it may well have helped. My friends seemed interested, so here's what I've learned about beet juice. 

I gather that beet juice, beetroot juice, and beet root juice are all different ways to refer to the same thing: juice made from beets. To me, adding the word root does nothing to enhance understanding or description, since beets are roots anyway. I'll not engage further in the redundancy and refer to it as beet juice from here on. I should add that I do like the taste of beets. I eat them cooked, canned, or pickled. I can't say that I like the taste of beet juice, however. It does taste like liquid beets, but in this form, at four-ish in the morning, yuch.

Here are the results of the research I did regarding beet juice.

1) Although beet juice provides several important nutrients, nitrates are considered the most important. According to Healthline, beets are healthy no matter how you prepare them. But juicing beets is a superior way to consume them because cooking beets reduces their nutritional value.

2) According to a WebMD article, the nitrates are converted by your body into nitric oxide, which helps with blood flow and blood pressure. Some additional benefits of beet juice in general are improved exercise stamina, improved muscle power in people with heart failure, possible slowing of the progression of dementia, possible help with maintaining a healthy weight, and possible help with the prevention of cancer. Note that better exercise stamina and improved muscle power may be of interest to runners.

3) In a Runners World article, Andrew Jones, Associate Dean of Research in the College of Life and Environmental Sciences at the University of Exeter, states that “Nitric oxide acts on muscle cells and blood vessels, and being able to produce more nitric oxide might both improve muscle efficiency (and therefore running economy) and improve blood blow to muscle,”

4) Several studies provide insight. One found that supplementing with beetroot juice at least six days prior to intense exercise or athletic events for improved stamina and recovery. Other research found that active healthy adults supplementing with beet juice for 15 days showed an increase in power and oxygen during sustained exercise. Determination of the best way to use beet juice may require some individual experimentation.

This is the powder form that I acquired from Amazon 

Although it's available to buy as a liquid, this morning's dose was in powder form. I mixed a tablespoon in a glass of water. I'm not sure whether anything is lost by using powder, but it's certainly less expensive. I'll keep using it and see what happens.

Finally, here is a blog post from a few years ago about a relatively successful marathon where I chugged the beet juice on the way up to the race in Erie.

One final thought: from my perspective, it's not possible to say for sure that any particular factor weighs more than any other in influencing running performance. There's simply too much going on. I don't do controlled experimentation. All I can say for sure is that it tasted awful, but it certainly didn't hurt me for today's run.

Airnow.gov

Airnow.gov is the website I use to check the air quality. I checked Airnow.gov this morning before heading over to the Tuesday Track session. The air now was in the "unhealthy" range: not so good. I'd hoped for better, especially since the forecast was calling for better air. Incidentally, I was calling for better air myself.

Yesterday's air now was even worse. It was so bad that I skipped running outside and stayed on the mill. That was no fun, and neither was today's early mill running. What I'd decided to do was to run some of the miles on the mill, a few easy ones at the track with the gang (but without breathing too very much), and then the rest back on the mill.

Once again, it was no fun. Except for the middle part.

UP-Scale Running

I don't do much up-scale running, but I do do running in the U.P. and that's what this post will be all about.

It's our second attempt to get to Isle Royale and this time we're gonna make it or else. After stopping in Chicago, we spend the night in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, where I do my first run, It isn't particularly fast, and it's not even pretty. Google Maps had displayed what looked like a bombed-out area, and I learn that that's because it is a bombed-out area. Bombed by the Wisconsin Army National Guard, no less. I didn't attempt to get too close, so back around the long way I went.

Our staging area for the ferry to Isle Royale is Copper Harbor, Michigan. It's at the tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula. I am up and out early this morning. It's like old times: out the door before four. The reason? The ferry leaves at 8, but check-in is 45 minutes prior to that. Brekkie is 20 minutes before that. And shower and other preparation is a good half-hour before that. But the real reason I'm out so early is that aurora borealis is forecasted.

On the one hand, we're so far North that we stand a good chance of seeing the northern lights. But on the other hand, the nights are short up here in mid-July. That's why I'm really out so early. I'd been worried that it might be cloudy, but I do see stars. Yet they're not super bright, even here in this dark-sky area. I figure there must be some high clouds.

Try as I might, I don't see any aurora. I decide to try to get out of this small town and into the woods where it will be darker still. This doesn't take long - soon it's so dark I can't see a thing. I still see only a smattering of stars. 

But then there's a sudden flash of brilliant light. It's so bright that the woods all around me are completely illuminated. It only lasts a split second, but it nearly knocks me down. Not that there's any shock or even any sound at all, but the unexpected suddenness of it all completely overwhelms me. Naturally, I stop running to take stock of what happened. Was it lightning? There were no clouds that I could see. Aurora? Too sudden, I think. At the moment, I'm at a loss. 

Scared and shaken now, I stumble back into town. I jog around some more, now even slower than before. Eventually, I spot some more of what I determine to be far-away lightning. I now even see the source clouds that happen to be low in the sky.

It's getting light as I am about to complete the run, and the flies and mosquitos are already out and about. I get a couple bites. Now I am (finally) running fast.

Later in the day, Lady Adventurer and I actually make it to Isle Royale, where we set off on our planned hike on the Stoll trail to Scoville Point. When Lady A. turns back early, I walk/shuffle/scoot/run the rest of the way out and then all the way back, so I suppose you can count this as a run as well. You can read more about this part of the adventure in my travel blog post.

Our final stop for this trip is Bay City, more than halfway home. There's a Menards, a Meijer, a Ponderosa, a Culver's, an Uno. There are gobs of banks, churches, and what they call party-stores. There are a couple of hotels, including ours. But what do they not have here? A place to run! It seems to happen a lot when I travel to Southeast Michigan - nothing but busy five-lane roads with no sidewalks. After dancing around parking lots and taking my life in my hands on the five-lane (it wasn't all that busy on a Sunday morning), I finally find some residential streets on which to run. So it's a not-so-memorable end to an otherwise nice trip.

Long on Lester

Danny Boy has done a whole lot of long runs on Lester. Today, running gods willing, will be yet another.

 A thought occurs to him. Maybe it would be better to do 19 miles, rather than the usual long run total of 18. Wouldn't that be crazy? 19 seems like a good number today because: 1) 18 doesn't seem like quite enough, and 2) 20 would be too much. Sound reasoning, right?

A good way to do 19 would be to do one mile before the rest of the gang arrives. That way, he'd only have to worry about the last 18, and much of that running would be with friends. But even though he arrives ten minutes early, he's unable to get that first mile in. It seems that one of today's companions, Katherine Kinsey, has also arrived early, and Danny Boy winds up spending the extra time kibbitzing with her. Oh well, he thinks; if he does only 18 today, it won't be a total failure.

Within a few minutes, Shannon Barnes, Chadwick Sunday (and Ella), Julie Boggs, and Kelly Parker arrive. Yes, it's four tough and accomplished runners (plus Ella), and Old Danny Boy. We do one 6-mile loop in the early morning gloom, return back to York Township Municipality Park, and pick up yet two more friends: Harold Dravenstott and Debbie Hicks. Now we have seven (not including Ella). And it's getting real.

The humidity makes it tough but we get through another loop. People begin dropping off (Katherine has run her longest ever), but Julie, Chadwick, and Danny Boy soldier on. Somehow, the number 19 arrives on their watches, and they can stop.

Been a good one. Let's keep it going, thinks Danny Boy. He's thankful for his friends.

2023 Medina Twin SIzzler Race Report

The Sizzler sizzled today. It nearly never fails to live up to its name. It's also loads of fun each year, and once again, it didn't disappoint.

The 5K was fast like always. Of course, it could've been faster as far as I'm concerned. I ran it in 24:41; 7:57 pace. I suppose I'll take it.

The 10K was slow like always. Of course, it could've been slower. My time was 53:54, good for 8:40 pace. I suppose I'll take this one too.

Some fast old guy showed up and beat me in both races. I'll have to trip him up next time.

Julie and son Ben Boggs in the 10K, I am up ahead

The Twin Sizzler is one of those events where everyone knows your name. I love seeing the Square alive with activity and bumping into all of my friends, new and not quite so new. I'll be back again next year.

2023 Mid-year report

Don't worry. This will be brief.

It's been a pretty decent year, so far. I'm getting the miles in: 1,613 for these first six months. I'm also doing some racing, some of which isn't so bad (two marathons, a couple halfs. 

The best part is that I've managed to have some new and unique running experiences, which I'll relate and review in my end-of-year report. I like those and I aim to keep them coming. Stay tuned.

Who was that masked runner?

I need a long run. You know, like the one that didn't happen yesterday.The one that I was choosing to blame on the awful air quality. I had been wishfully thinking that today's AQI would be better and that I'd be able to get that eighteen-plus miler in.

My first action upon getting out of bed is to check the current AQI. Dang: it is still in the red ('Unhealthy') zone. My second action is to begin gulping my coffee. And just like that, a plan begins to form in my brain. I will get a few treadmill miles in, but then still show up to run with my friends on the Lester Rail Trail. That way, at least I'll have some non-outdoor miles, and yet I won't miss this run with my peeps. I post a comment that I'll still be there but with curtailed pace and distance plans/goals.

I step on the mill at 3:45 A.M. It should have been earlier. I'm only able to get five miles in before I have to get myself changed (I'm dripping with sweat) and into the car for my drive over to LRT.

As I arrive at five, everyone is ready to go. I, alone, wear a mask, an N95. Running with a mask is a first for me. I don't mind it a whole lot. Until I do. That comes at around four miles into the run. It's getting really tough to breathe, and that's partially because I'm getting pooped, but also partially because the pace has quickened up. You see, I was no longer able to get up in front in order to slow everyone else down. Six was enough for the masked and the unmasked runners today. Tomorrow will be another day.

As I drive back home, I begin to reconsider whether or not to call the day's run done. I decide that it's not. I get back on the mill and run another seven miles, to get up and over eighteen total for the day. It's a long run of the poor but done variety.

Dan Horvath, Harold Dravenstott, Shannon Barnes

Air? You want air? I'll give you air

I believe that quote, "Air? You want air? I'll give you air." came from the movie, Public Enemy, but I originally thought it was White Heat. Of course, I knew for sure that the words were spoken by James Cagney. This post will be about air, not James Cagney or his movies. Except for one thing: I'll let you know about the next thing that happens. The next thing that happens is, according to Alec Baldwin (who was imitating Cagney at the time), "Boom-boom-boom - he shoots him (the guy who had originally asked for air because he was locked in a trunk) right through the trunk of the car." It's such an iconic scene, yet I can't find it on Youtube.

Back to air. I am also having trouble finding air.

Northeast Ohio had some of the poorest quality air on the planet yesterday according to airnow. The smoke from Canadian wildfires seemed to roll in just after the usual morning run. The run itself seemed hazy though fine, but during the ride home, I noticed the anemic sun trying, mostly unsuccessfully, to rise amid the haze, fog, and smoke.  I believe that the Air Quality Index (AQI) in parts of our very own Medina County reached above 300, considered the Hazardous zone. That's nearly as bad as air can get, according to airnow. I stayed indoors for most of the rest of the day.

This morning the AQI was merely in the Unhealthy Zone. To me, it's still awful enough to cancel my role in today's planned group run at Mugrage County Park. I'm not sure whether anyone else managed to run outdoors. Me? I hit the mill.

The movie du jour was From Here to Eternity, yet another oldie but goodie. The mill run went okay. Until it didn't. After thirteen-plus miles, I got tired. So, in true Forest Gump fashion, I stopped running. It's too bad. I had been starting to have thoughts of making it a long run. 

To paraphrase another quote, "There will be days when you are able to do a long run. Today is not that day."

In a flurry of activity

 In a flurry of registration-related activity, I registered for two marathons and a half. A couple of factors played their part:

1) For several events, there will be a price increase soon. 

2) I prefer smaller races (not so much the big-city variety), yet races that aren't overly arduous. 

3) I had to work around our late summer and early fall travel plans.

The result?

Hofbrauhaus Half Marathon in Cleveland August 6

Drake Well Marathon in Titusville, PA August 20

InFirst Bank Veterans Marathon in Saylors Park, PA November 5

I suppose I should start training.

What bugs me

Yes, it's time for my annual bug post. This time it's mostly good news.

During the past week, our early morning group runs took us to Lake Medina, Mugrage County Park, and the Lester Rail Trail. Since we just had our Summer Solstice, the days have been long, and it's been quite light, even early in the runs. But, I've learned, if you start early enough - like before 5:00 A.M., you can still find some darkness.

Why look for darkness, you ask? To see the fireflies, of course. This week, they were the best at Lake Medina, where they lit the way for us, especially on the lower level, close to the woods. Seeing them makes the run what I would call enchanting.

And we can all use a little enchantment now and then.

GCI Half Marathon Race Report or, is it Running Loose Half Marathon Race Report, or maybe just *Run* Half Marathon Race Report

"Columbus wouldn't allow us to call the race, 'Running Loose,' so we had to change it to just, 'Run.'" That's what it says on the T-shirts: Run. The emails, website, and social media had originally called it Running Loose, but the latest email I received from them referred to the event as the GCI Half-Marathon. GCI stands for Grafton Correctional Institution, and this may give you a clue as to why the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation & Correction didn't want the word, loose, in the title.

Regardless of the name, running inside a prison (actually, just being inside it) was a unique, profound, inspiring, and deeply moving experience for me, and I don’t say that kind of thing often. I am extremely grateful to Keith Johnston of Running2BWell, Warden Keith Foley, and all of the incarcerated people who helped make the race such a wonderful experience. I'll do my best to recount the events of this morning's little jog.

This photo is from the race website, not from race day itself. But I ran with several of these folks

I will start with the pre-race instructions from Keith J., who has been working with the inmates to help them prepare for the race.

"I've enjoyed spending time with them and I'm sure you will as well. They are working hard to improve their physical and mental health and we all have a great opportunity to support them so that when they come home, they'll be healthier on all levels. That being said, they are incarcerated for good reasons so be wise about your interactions.

Bring a photo ID

You cannot bring in any electronics or phones; watches are ok.

Don't wear tank tops or singlets.

Don't bring in water, drinks, energy gels, etc. You can bring a hand-carry empty bottle (like TSA) and then fill it with water once you get there. There will be snacks available after your race.

Hats are OK. They'll likely be searched.

You'll be going through a metal detector.

Don't bring in your car keys, they can be secured in lockers at the front gate

We'll do our best to accommodate your shirt size but please be understanding if we can't. The prison has to order apparel from only state-approved vendors and we may not be able to match everyone. We'll do our best.

The course is a roughly 0.8-mile loop within the yard. So you'll pass the water stop every lap. It's a mixture of sidewalk and paved path with a small hill and a few sharp turns. The 5k will consist of 4 loops and the Half will be 16 loops (12.8 miles). We may be able to add a little to get closer to 13.1 but no promises."

Thank goodness I had talked my running partner, Chadwick Sunday, into joining me. It was good to have a friend with whom to share this unique experience. Another old friend, Roy Heger, participated as well. Altogether, there were about 15 runners from the "outside," and we all cleared security and entered GCI together as a group.

As we made our way to the starting area, we passed the huge vegetable garden, the service dog training area, and the extensive gym. Keith J. gave some further information about the institution and the event, and we were introduced to Warden Keith Foley. Keith F. seemed very nice, and we were interested to learn that he would be participating as a runner along with the rest of us. We also learned that there would be about 90 participants in all, so I guess that about 75 of them were incarcerated. I don't know how many would be doing the 5K versus the Half. Chadwick and I began to meet and chat with some of the other runners. Many were running their first race of any kind, but several said they had trained for this event.

Just before the start, one of the inmates sang the National Anthem. It was as beautiful a rendition as I've ever heard. As the race began, we continued to chat with the other runners between huffs and puffs. The 3/4-mile course was slightly confusing at first, but it quickly became familiar. I found it interesting that we seemed to go through gates that took us through different areas of the prison. The razor wire of the surrounding outside fence was never far away though. We ran by several different buildings as well as the garden and dog training areas. 

The best part, by far, was the enthusiastic support of the incarcerated spectators. A lot of them were outside doing various activities or just cheering on this day. They enthusiastically cheered us on for each and every lap. The guys at the three water stations took their jobs seriously as they also cheered as they made sure we were hydrated. There was music as well. I think several different bands took turns, and everything sounded great.

Chadwick and I continued chatting with each other, as well as with our fellow runners. Hearing that some of the incarcerated runners were doing their first Half-Marathon was inspiring. We gave as much encouragement as we could. They were welcoming to us in a big way as well. Eventually, the two of us became separated, but we continued to see each other as well as everyone else on the course, especially as the 5K runners finished up. Keith F. appeared to love and be loved by everyone at GCI. He gave high-fives to all of the other runners and got them from the spectators. What a great guy!

I managed to pick up my pace a little in the second half. It was beginning to get warm, but I was able to finish my 16 laps fairly well; my finish time was 1:46:25. That would be a very good time for me - my best in years - except for one little unfortunate detail: this Half-Marathon was, according to my Garmin, 11.92 miles long. Darn. I still averaged 8:56 per mile and this is nearly exactly the same as my pace at the recent Medina Half Marathon. So I'll take it. I jogged a couple of miles after the race, including some with Chadwick and Roy. As far as I knew, only one guy passed me and stayed ahead. I thought it possible that I may have been second overall. But I never quite figured out my place because the folks with the results sometimes included the 5K runners who finished earlier, and also sometimes placed the inmates ahead of the visitors regardless of the true times. It would have been nice to know for sure but I'm okay with all that.

16 laps. What do you get? Another day older and deeper in ... (that's from a song called 16 tons)

After the race and the cooldown, Keith F. treated Chadwick and me to a tour of more of the facility. We got to see an actual cell block and met the inmate who inhabits it. He was only too happy to show us around, along with Warden Keith. Keith told us that he feels blessed and that he loves his job. What a great guy! We also met and talked with several other inmates, and all were gracious hosts. We wished them all the best.

Did you know that when you finish a race inside a prison, you can't just get in your car and go home? It was a little bit confusing (and very slightly nerve-racking to me), when Chadwick and I had to search for someone to escort us to the exit. It wasn't any more straightforward than getting in.

And that's about it. I won't forget this one for a very long time.