RTYP

Summer Event #1
Jo and I will be headed to Utah towards the end of June to participate in the Ragnar Relay. This is a Hood to Coast type event where you are a member of a 12 person team and run a total of about 180 miles. We are on a mixed masters (all over 40) team and it should be a lot of fun. The race starts in Logan, UT and finishes in Park City, UT. The route takes us around, over, and through the Wasatch Mountains in Utah. I am hoping that the views are great. It is also a historical route. The Donner Party was a group of California-bound American emigrants caught up in the "westering fever" of the 1840s. After becoming snowbound in the Sierra Nevada in the winter of 1846–1847, some of them resorted to cannibalism. We are following part of their route through the mountains.

Our team name is RTYP which stands for Run 'Till You Puke. I hope we don't.

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Next Chapter

It has been quite a week. I found out on Friday that my last day at Anglebar Solutions would be Thursday April 30th. I have been at Anglebar from the very beginning. I have also worked with the same group of people for many many years, and have been associated with some for more than 20 years. I knew this would be happening for some time so it is not a total shock. We had a great run at Anglebar and the possibilities were always there, but like anything in life it was time for it to end. So begins the next chapter...

My running is on to its next chapter as well. The injury I have been battling has taken me out of the Pittsburgh Marathon and any thoughts of the Cleveland Marathon. I continue to slowly get my legs back. It is frustrating when just a few weeks ago I was in nearly the best shape of my life...now I am a slug with a bad wheel. I am still heading to Pittsburgh to support my friends in the marathon. I will tank my way through the Half Marathon and use it as a long run. Anyone have a Team in Training singlet I can borrow?

The next adventure will be the Burning River 100. I plan on writing about my training and journey in this blog on an almost daily basis. If for no other reason than to document three months of my life for my kids to read decades from now. Maybe when their kids look at Grandpa Jim they will have a better understanding of who I was as a younger man.

So it's time to turn the page, move on to the next chapter. How will the story end? Stay tuned.

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Facebook Manners And You

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Take Two Point One

OK....after my last post I had a relapse. I still could hardly walk let alone run. Another week off from running. The good news is that my scar tissue broke free Wednesday night and I am now pain free. I told the PT that I would not run until the 20th. I have also modified my training / racing schedule to go at Cleveland. I will still travel to Pittsburgh and run the half as an easy run. I have always enjoyed Cleveland in spite of the poor race organization and course presentation, but that is another story.

Good luck to everyone running Boston. I wish I had gone.

Training Schedule
Mon: 5 easy miles
Tue: 8 easy miles
Wed: 13 group miles
Thu: 6 easy miles
Fri: Damon Tempo - 2 mile warm up + 8 mile tempo + 2 mile cool down
Sat: 8 easy miles
Sun: 22 easy miles

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Take Two

After a week off of running I am ready to get back in the saddle for Pittsburgh. I ran with a group on Saturday and gimped my way through 10.5 miles. I now know it will take a few days to shake the rust and get back to normal. I also start Physical Therapy on Monday. Hopefully with an aggressive PT schedule, stretching, compression, and an easy running plan this week I will be at full strength by Pittsburgh. I considered not running Pittsburgh and going for Cleveland, but we have a graduation party for Logan in Waverly that weekend....so it's Pittsburgh or bust. Burning River training starts right after that. I plan on blogging / documenting my entire journey from the first day of training to the finish of the 100.

Thursday night Logan and I head down to Cincinnati for a campus visit on Friday. He is almost a month away from prom and graduating. Yes I am old.

Training Schedule

Mon: 8 easy miles

Tue: 10 easy miles

Wed: 9 easy miles

Thu: 4 easy miles

Fri: 8 easy miles

Sat: 12 easy miles

Sun: 2 mile warm up / 2x6 miles @ marathon pace w/1 mile fartlek between / 2 mile cool down

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Dodged a Bullet

I have been hampered with a nagging left quad since the Green Jewel 50K. It came to a head over the past weekend at the Athens Half Marathon. I could hardly walk the rest of Sunday and the pain was intense. I was convinced I had a stress fracture and that was it for the racing season. I saw the good Dr. Shah early Monday and was shuttled to the MRI unit that afternoon. Results came back today. No stress fracture, but most likely a deep muscle strain. So that means no running the rest of the week and PT starting next Monday. I should be OK for Pittsburgh and more importantly Burning River 100 training. I will be undergoing treatment using the Graston Technique. Should be interesting.

Training Schedule
No running until next week

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