A PR at Columbus!

No, not me; Denise!!! This was the 9th Marathon that she has run and was not really sure of what to expect. She loves the Columbus course and as always, was shooting for a sub 4-hour finish. The day started off COLD, at least for us watching, but perfect running weather with sunshine and 30-something degrees.

Gina, Abby, and I watched the start and then waited for all of the 15,000 runners to pass by so that we could get to the Starbucks across the street! The plan was to get coffee/hot cocoa and then catch Denise at the 8 mile and 12 mile points on the course. These locations were within 3 blocks of the starting line, making it pretty easy to get around. The line at Starbucks was loooonnnnnggggg, but we had plenty of time to get to the 8 mile marker. We watched as E-Speed flew by on her way to a 3:05 finish and saw Jim pacing the 3:20 group. I would like to be able to run that fast, yet alone pacing that fast....wow!

Denise came by and said that she was going much faster than expected but was going to hang on as long as she could. I exchanged some full bottles for her empty ones and she was off! We walked the short distance to High Street and listened to the National Guard band as they played for the runners. Denise came by again and this time said, "I am going to crash and I don't care! This is fun!" Oh boy...

We made our way back to the car and made the short drive to the 19 mile point. The sun was shining bright and it was a great morning! Denise came by again and said "I am dying here..." I replied, "Just keep moving!" Back into the car we went and drove to the finish line.

It is fun to watch the expressions of the runners as they complete the last few tenths of a mile. Some look overjoyed, others look like death warmed over.... The crowds here are great and almost every runner gets that "I am almost done" grin on their face. Other who realize a PR is near or a BQ is in hand, have even bigger smiles!

We see Denise coming and a quick glance at my watch shows that she is well under 4 hours and dangerously close to a PR. I borrowed/modified a line from Lance Armstrong and shouted "Run like you stole something!" She turned the corner towards the finish and we started down the hill to meet her, all with smiles on our faces!

As we waited for Denise, Abby received a 'tweet' with the finish time and we realized that Denise PR'd by 11 seconds!!! Whoohoo!!!

Two days later, Denise is still smiling....

The "REAL" Run with Scissors Route...

Of course, after I posted the route/map yesterday, I discovered that the route has changed. The Run With Scissors site contains all of the details...

The route will be much better than the earlier one since the towpath section is eliminated! Instead, we will be treated to the Riding Run and Perkins Trails, in reverse direction than usual. Should be a fun fun day.

26.2 mile route Map and Description

The course description is what Roy handed to us on one of the "Run with Scissors" training runs. I have updated this post to reflect the fact that the course for the race has changed but I will leave this here as a reference. This is a great loop to run regardless...

The start/finish line is at the Ledges Shelter, on the right-hand-side of the map, halfway down... This is also the start/finish line for the Winter Run for Regis race (Winter BT50K).

Course Description

The run begins at the Ledges Shelter. Follow the Ledges Shelter access road, cross Truxell Road, and turn right.
Enter Kendall Lake parking lot and make an immediate left onto the Lake Trail.
Follow the Lake Trail until it intersects the Cross Country Trail and turn left.
Stay on the Cross Country Trail staying to the right when you reach the Little Meadow Fork. You will turn left at the trail post and run two large, steep hills ending at the Pine Hollow Aid Station. (Mile 4 and 30.2) There is crew access at Pine Hollow.

Leave Pine Hollow Aid Station to the South on the grass next to the parking area. You will pass Crowfoot Gully and turn right at the the south end of the Little Meadow parking lot.
After crossing Quick Road, take an immediate left onto Wetmore Trail.
Make a left turn onto Langes Run Trail at the orange fence marking the closed area of Wetmore Trail.
Upon reaching Robinson Field, exit over the bridge and down the driveway to the Akron Peninsula Road crossing at the entrance to the Valley Bridle Trail.
The Valley Bridle Trail section ends with a short Bolanz Road section, crossing the Cuyohoga River, ending at the Bolanz Road Aid Station. (Mile 9.9 and 36.1)

Depart Bolanz Road Aid Station to the north on the Towpath Trail. Stay on the Towpath Trail ending at the Boston Store Aid Station. (Mile 15.7 and 41.9) There is crew access at this aid station.

Follow the Towpath Trail south to it's junction with the Valley and Buckeye Trails, turn left on Valley/Buckeye Trail and left again on the Buckeye Trail. The Buckeye Trail section ends at the Pine Lane Aid Station. (Mile 19.9 and 46.1) There will be limited aid at Pine Lane.

CAREFULLY cross State Route 303 on the Valley Bridle Trail and proceed on Valley to the tower, down the gravel driveway, and make a left turn onto the dirt trail leading to the next Akron Peninsula Road crossing at the Golf Course.
When the Valley Trail intersects Akron Peninsula Road again, turn left onto Akron Peninsula Road, facing traffic.
Enter the Salt Run Trailhead and turn to the left when you reach the main trail.
Salt Run will return you to the Lake Trail.
Turn right onto the Lake Trail, keeping Kendall Lake to your left.
Follow the trail through the tunnel ending at the Kendall Shelter Aid Station. (Mile 24.6 and 50.8 )

Head north into the parking lot, cross Truxell Road and climb the trail to Ledges Trail.
A rocky climb will take you to the overlook and on into the open field ending loop one at 26.2 miles. There is crew access at the Ledges Shelter Aid station.

Double marathon runners repeat this loop.

It seems like yesterday...

I seems like just yesterday that I was changing her diapers! Last night was Gina's first high-school home-coming dance and she looked magnificent! (Yes, I am biased, but I have every right to be!) She had a good time with her friends and we are all pretty tired today. The rain finally stopped yesterday and the fall colors are in full bloom! We are trying to enjoy this as much as we can before the snow starts flying!

0-dark-thirty

"O-dark-thirty" is a phrase that I heard a while back that typically is used in context of very early morning... The Twinsburg High School Band was on Fox 8 news this morning, meaning that Gina had to be at school at 4:45am! I decided to take advantage of this and started my run this morning at 5am. 10 miles of trails, in the dark, watching the eyes(deer) watching me, listening to the owls call out to each other, and trying not to trip too much on the roots!

It was a great run! I had a mild bout of stomach upset from the cup of tea I drank but a Tums quickly calmed that down. I felt good running and it was nice and quiet in the woods. I attached my smaller headlamp to my waist belt and the extra contrast helped me miss most of the roots. A single headlamp, on your head, will usually wash-out the roots due to lack-of-contrast from the line-of-sight and line-of-illumination being the same. Having another light at a different angle helps to illuminate obstacles better. I just have to pick up my feet enough to avoid them...

Another crazy weekend in store for us. Cross-country meet, football game, basement painting, etc. It will be busy but fun. The leaves are really starting to drop from the trees and

It is dark out!

I will try to recap the past week or so since I have been blog-slacking a bit.... Last friday I used my last vacation day and ran a lap of the Run With Scissors course. I managed to run the correct course! and also managed to shave approx 30 minutes of time off too! I will not run the race at that pace but my estimate of sub-10 hours seems realistic, depending upon the weather/trail conditions. A nice 10 mile follow-up run Sunday went very well and I was able to hold a great pace throughout.

I have been running in the mornings before work and this means that my headlamp is required. My pace is a lot slower in the dark, but I don't have to worry about crowded trails either! An interesting encounter this morning occurred as I exited the woods onto the bike path. There was an elderly couple standing on the bike path looking back towards me. Of course, I turn to look behind me to see what they were looking at! The gentleman stated "That is what we saw in the woods!" They were looking at me! They had seen my headlamp as I ran along the ridge and could not figure out what it was. We had a short walk/talk together and I turned off into the woods again to complete my 8 miles.

Life just keeps getting crazier and crazier this fall. School activities for the girls, home projects, work, etc. are all adding up to make training very challenging. Denise and I are becoming more creative than usual in an attempt to get the miles in. Fortunately, there are only a few short weeks left before Columbus(Denise) and Run With Scissors(me). This is both good and bad: Good because we can take a break, bad because we never feel like we have trained enough!

This is where experience comes to play: Trust the training, have a plan, and be prepared to adjust/adapt when things don't go as planned! Because rarely does a race, or life, go as planned...

Kamikaze groundhog

I am still out here, just not blogging much. The family schedule this fall is crazier than expected, leaving little spare time...

A funny story from yesterday's run: I was running in the Center Valley Park in Twinsburg for a fast 6 miles (fast for me anyways) and as I rounded a corner of the trail, a groundhog was running full-speed straight at me! It took a moment or two for me to realize that indeed, this stupid critter was running at me! I started my attempts at stopping/slowing down/changing direction to avoid this thing when suddenly he darted into his burrow at the edge of the trail, just 3 feet from me! I guess that he thought it better to run to safety toward the threat than away from it... Anyways, I had a good chuckle from this and I am guessing that the groundhog was feeling pretty good about himself also.

I am taking my last vacation day this friday and am going to run one lap of the "Run With Scissors" course again. I should throw on a few extra miles at the end for 30, but we'll see how I feel. I love this fall weather and will try to take advantage of it as long as I can.