Wet Feet

Another good weekend of running! I ventured into the CVNP for a very muddy 24 miles. I felt pretty good during the entire time and just tried to keep moving. It was much easier to just plow down the middle of the trail rather than try to find an easier path around the edges. There was not an easier path...

Sunday I went back to South Chagrin Reservation and ran another 16 miles on the muddy bridle trails. I headed downhill from Harper Ridge towards Richmond road. This section of the trail is pretty grassy, but was very wet and soggy. I was a muddy mess when I arrived back at my car to refill my water bottles.

A Land Rover SUV (redundant, I know) pulled into the parking space next to my car. "Barbie and Ken" along with their little "foo-foo" white dog which was smaller than our cat, climbed out. These two people were immaculately coiffed and stared at me and my mud-covered shoes and legs with an incredulous look... It was priceless as I nodded my head and asked "Hey, How are you doing?"

I grabbed a banana, closed the trunk, and headed back out onto the trail towards Miles Road. This section has three stream crossings and I have in the past used rocks, or fallen trees to avoid getting wet. I admit, I am a bit of a wuss when it comes to wet feet. Today, I decided that since I was already muddy and my feet were already wet, what harm could a little water do? So when the stream crossings arrived, I simply went straight through them. Big fun! I felt like a kid again. AND, it washed some of the mud off of my shoes. Sure, I had some squishy shoes for a couple of minutes, but they drained pretty fast and my feet really were not any wetter than they already were. It was also a lot easier to run through the water rather than trying to pick a path around it.

My new race plan: Flow with the trail, don't fight it. It is much more fun!

A win!

The weather forecast for the weekend said rain/snow mix and mid thirties for the temperature. I needed to get a long run in and decided that 40 and dark was better than mid-30s and wet. So I started running friday night after work and completed the Inaugural Twinsburg Marathon! I won the race outright for my first win ever! Of course, I was the only one running, but that is a minor point...

Getting the run out of the way friday evening allowed me to nearly complete the bathroom remodel project yesterday! Denise and Abby cleaned the excess grout from the tile friday, allowing me to set the granite vanity and reset the toilet. I added all of the necessary caulking around the tub and back-splash, and this afternoon I remounted the mirror and replaced the light fixture. Project is now complete! I will post some before and after pictures later this week.

My training for the Laurel Highlands race is going ok. My mileage is not as high as I would like since I have not been getting all of my mid-week runs completed. This crazy thing called "life" keeps getting in the way. However, I have had some great weekend runs and those are the ones that really matter. Friday night's marathon was a good confidence booster and mental test. The next two months is when the real training starts; the prior work has been 'training to train'.

I will start heading to the CVNP for some hills and start to get my nutrition plan in place. The aid stations are farther apart at Laurel and I will need to carry more stuff with me. Choosing the right food(s) and packing it for easy access will be important.

"Goosed" on the "Fool's" Course

First of all, I want to wish everyone running the Fool's 50K tomorrow a safe and fun run! I ventured out this morning and ran one lap of the course and threw on an extra loop of the Boston Run for a nice 18-19ish miles.

I was happy that it was cold this morning since the trail was nice and frozen. There were lots of shoe/boot prints in the frozen mud and tomorrow's cold temps should provide a fast course. I started at Happy Days and eventually made my way over to Ledges and Pine Grove. Nice quiet morning with the sun shining strong. I crossed over to Kendall Lake and was running across the dam when I noticed two canadian geese on the trail ahead of me. I started making noise in an effort to get them to wander over to the side of the trail. One goose cooperated, the other one however wanted to be difficult. It started hissing and spread its wings and started to charge at me! The goose made a lunge at me but missed as I ran by it. I had a couple of chuckles as I started up the hill on the Salt Run Trail.

As I passed by the short-loop connector, my right foot caught a root and I started to fall. I almost caught myself but started down. As I felt the gravel start to embed into my gloved hand, things started to move in slow motion. I realized that I really need to learn how to tuck and roll when I fall. I then relaxed my arms and started to roll onto my right shoulder. That worked and I found myself flat on my back with my waist propped up on my water bottles. The slow-motion mode stopped as I wondered "How did I get here?" I picked myself up and brushed off the dirt and had another laugh to myself...

The rest of the run was uneventful. Nice morning, great route, good hills! It does not get much better than the CVNP on an early saturday morning!

Watching the snow melt,,,

The past couple of weeks has provided a wild mix of weather here in NE Ohio. My training through the week has been pretty spotty, but I have managed to get my long runs in on the weekends. Last weekend I went 10 saturday and 20 sunday. Yesterday I managed 12 miles in the slush and another 20 miles today.

Yesterday was sunny and mid-40s. The snow was literally melting as I ran laps on the Old Hickory Trail. My foot-prints became larger and larger as the snow melted and by the last lap, the trail surface was visible. I decided early on in the run to simply run through any water/slush/snow/whatever since it would be impossible to stay out of it. My feet were cold and wet for most of the day, but it was very very fun to splash around through the muck.

Today's run provided a good mental challenge and victory since I was letting the gray sky and the thought of running another 20 miles around Twinsburg get me down. I realized that I should stop thinking about the entire distance; break it into manageable chunks, just like an ultra! Also, I need to get my attitude adjusted back and be thankful that I am able to run, yet alone be able to run long... I finished the day tired, but with a smile on my face.

Laurel Highlands is coming up fast! With the winter that we have had, I am sure that race day will be hot and humid! But you know what? I am ready to sweat...

Boot Camp: Day #1

I needed a boost, or a swift kick in the pants, in order to start to get some strength back into my core and upper body. Denise found a 'deal' on Living Social for a boot camp package. Today was my first day...

I used muscles that I forgot that I had...

It was a lot of fun and as someone in the class commented, "The hardest 45-minutes of the day!" I will go again Thursday and then start a Tue-Thur set for the remaining sessions. I think that it will be a good thing. I expect to be a bit sore tomorrow and really sore on Wednesday... The ole 48-hour DOMS will be in full force!

Had a good week of running. 42.5 miles total. Yesterday's 20-miles in Bedford Reservation went well. I managed to finish just before the snow/sleet/freezing rain started! I saw my friend Andy on the trail near the end of my run and it was good to catch up a bit with him. Last week's warmer weather was great change and it allowed almost all of the snow to melt from the trails. I am getting anxious for spring even though I know that there is a lot of winter left.

Busy Beavers

Completed a good week with a total of 35 miles! Yesterday's 12.5 miles were tough on the snowy trails. I was going to do a few laps of the Old Hickory trail but there was only one other set of tracks through the snow. (Probably mine from last week!) I was not looking forward to 4 laps of this until I completed my first lap and saw the Twinsburg Hiking club gathered at the top of the hill. Great! They would pack down the snow for me! I completed a loop down in the park and then headed back up to Old Hickory. Yes indeed, the snow was knocked down, but packed? Not really... It was like mashed potatoes and each footstep was more of a foot-slip! I just kept moving the best that I could and ended up with a great 2.5 hours on the trails. Slow moving, but moving...

Today's 8 miles went much better! The snow had a chance to solidify overnight and the Old Hickory trail was in much better shape. Still a bit sloppy in places but over-all pretty good. I will take it.

As I left our garage at the start of my run, a hawk let out a screech that nearly made me jump out of my skin. It was about 20 feet up in the tree next to the house... Good thing I was not a mouse! Down by the creek, the local beaver family had chewed through a tree last night and it had fallen across the trail. It was pretty neat to see the pile of wood-chips at the base of the tree and to see the tracks of the beavers as they removed branches and pulled them down to the creek. They were pretty busy...

Looks like another week of winter weather ahead. Snow early in the week and then cold for the weekend. At least the snow should be hard for the weekend long run...

Spring is coming...right?

Not the sharpest tool in the shed...

Last friday I was feeling a cold coming on and decided saturday morning that I would skip my planned run for the day since I was feeling pretty crappy. I thought that common sense should prevail for a change and I would rest in an effort to reduce the effects of the cold. Then my friend Paul called and asked "Do you want to run this afternoon?" Of course, I said "Yes!" So much for common sense...

We left from Shelter House in South Chagrin metro park and headed towards the Polo Fields. The snow was anywhere from 6-12 inches deep and there was 'mostly' a path formed in the snow from hikers, XC skiers, and show-shoes. The temperature was warm enough to keep the snow soft, but the wind kept the chill factor low. It was a slow go but a great chance to catch up with Paul and enjoy the day. I was feeling pretty beat but started to feel a bit better after an hour of slogging. We managed to get 1.5 hours of movement in. (It was sort-of running, but movement may be a better description.) A stop at Caribou for coffee on the way home and it was a good day!

I crashed early saturday evening and woke up at 10:30pm in a crazy wet sweat! My shirt was totally soaked through but I felt much better... I am feeling better each day and now, I just need to rid of this lingering cough. I hate being sick, but now maybe I am done with the colds for the winter??

I am now off a week for my Laurel Highlands training, but at this early stage, one week is not really going to matter much. I have to always keep the big picture in mind. Don't worry about numbers on a printout or schedule, those are just guidelines. Listen to your body and keep healthy.

I need to keep working on that "keep healthy" part...