Graduation

Today my son Logan graduates from High School. I clearly remember the first day I took him to Kindergarten. Time really does fly as you get older. For those with children...take advantage of the time you have with your kids when they are young. One of my favorite moments was when Logan was in first grade. He had a cycling t-shirt that said "Europe" on it. He once asked me what his shirt said as I was getting him ready for school. I said "It says Europe". He paused and said "yep...I'm up." Classic. Logan is heading to Ohio University this Fall, and our relationship will surely change as he gets older. I am looking forward to our next chapter together. Great Job Logan. You earned it!

The No Frills All Hills fun run is over. I ended up running 33.75 miles in 5 hrs and 28 minutes. This was an excellent test for me as my 100 miler training really begins in June. The course was tough and I really got a workout hitting the Sound of Music hill repeatedly. Thanks to Rich and Matt for running a few hours each with me.

The Cavs lost last night. I couldn't watch it. They have got to find a new generation big man for the middle. Z is fine but his time has passed. Bigger Better Stronger is the name of the game.

I will be timing my first solo race next weekend using the ChampionChip system. I have been able to learn the system over the last two weeks and look forward to using it at the Race for the Parks in Hudson on the 6th.

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Tuesday Trail Report

I met Wild Bill and Chef Bill this morning to map out a possible revision to the Burning River 100 course. It rained for more than half of the run, making it a fun day in the mud and rain. I like the route that we did and it is almost the exact distance as the current course route...so I am giving it a thumbs up!



Speaking of Thumbs Up. My buddy Ben is having a Glasnost Movie party the same weekend I am in Utah. K sozhaleniyu, ya poka ne govoryu po russki. Bummer. It looks like my comrades will have a good time.

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A No Frills All Hills Week

Monday is here and I have a bit of a recovery week ending with a test. As with any test there is an urge to cram in order to do your best, but that won't be the case this week. Tuesday I will be running easy with Wild Bill from Station Road Bridge to Ottawa Point. There seems to be a general concern about my course correction for the Burning River 100 in that section. Bill has an idea that we will explore and map out. Wednesday will be the normal "let's run easy but not really" group run at 4:50am. Always a good time to catch up and complain about who is not feeling good (while picking up the pace). Thursday will be another EASY trail run with the 6:30pm group. Friday is still up in the air. Saturday is test day. I will be running the "No Frills All Hills" event at Kendall Hills. It is a continuous 2 mile loop over the course of 6 hours. The deal is that you see how many of the 2 mile loops you can do within that time period. There are no rules other than you cannot cut the loop. I am going to practice my BR100 pace and fueling plan for as much of the 6 hours as possible. The only variation I will make is reversing the loop every 4 miles. I want to make sure that I don't get too bored, as well as mixing up the terrain. Thanks to Brian Musick for arranging this deranged run.

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Buckeye Trail Sundays

Our Run with Ed group was looking to hook up with a larger group for some trail miles today. I sent out an invite to the Wednesday morning group to join us. We met at the Jaite parking lot at 7am. Our group ended up being me, Ed, Vince, Damon, Matt, and Kyle. We started easy then picked up the pace to Ottawa Point. We decided to continue to Oak Grove...then made the turn and doubled back. Overall it was faster than I had planned, so I skipped tacking on my final 5 miles. I will be meeting a small group later tonight to do 7-8 miles starting from Pine Lane.

* Much to his surprise, Logan had fun at Prom last night. I'm glad he ended his High School experience on a positive note. Ohio University is the next stop.

* I will be timing the Tallmadge Memorial 5K tomorrow morning. It is a good event and I kind of wish I was running rather than timing, but I am in no shape to crank out a good 5K right now.

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Return to the Carriage Trail

I had a solid workout today. Started at Station Road Bridge and ran the mile 30 to 36.4 section of the Burning River 100 course. This is the Carriage Trail Loop....the same loop where I ran out of gas two years ago...with the same bench where I sat for 15 minutes and wondered what I had done to myself and why I was there. The loop is somewhat sacred ground for me. I ran very easy with Glenn and Dan to the bottom of the loop. It is always nice to run with others. I had warned them that I was doing a workout and would be pushing it once we arrived at the bridge. I picked it up and pushed it the entire loop. This is the first hard run I have done in about 6 weeks and it felt awesome. I hit the bottom of the loop I headed back on the towpath at a pretty good pace. Once I made it back to Station Road Bridge, the Thursday trail group had assembled and was going to do 4 miles. I jumped in with them and ran a nice cool down 4 with David P. Each day that I run I feel stronger which is key right now.

* I received my training plan for the next two weeks. I have a test on May 30th at the No Frills All Hills 6 hour run. I really hope to run the entire 6 hours at my BR100 pace. It is a two mile loop at Kendall Hills, and because it is a Fat Ass event...there are no official rules. I will probably reverse direction on the loop every 4 miles to keep me sane.

* For the first time in a long time I did not listen to the radio or watch ESPN at all today. The loss last night by the Cavs was reminiscent of the Browns losses in the 1980's. I know it's only a game...but painful none the less

* Logan has his Senior Prom on Saturday night, which means I probably won't get much sleep worrying about him. Can you say Parachute Parent?

* I may have a running related opportunity for this Fall. Stay tuned.

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7x9 is not equal to 9x7

Today was one of those days where things were just right. I met the Wednesday morning group at our usual 4:50am start. I was fully expecting a sluggish run after Damon, Nilesh, and Matt had just run the Cleveland Marathon 3 days earlier. A nice run down to Portage Path and back. 7 or so miles at 9 minute pace would have been right. I should have known better. We started easy enough, but once everyone got their legs back...we decided to do the 9 mile loop. Once we got up Merriman the pace dropped below 6:50 per mile. We actually averaged about 7:10...but my math had it at 9 miles @ 7 minute pace. Oh well.

I had a second run with Vince on the trails from Pine Lane. It was a nice easy pace fortunately since I had about 2.5 hours rest between the runs.

I had an I Like My Life moment today. I stopped at a gas station to get gas. Inside there were three sales reps for some cigarette company getting chewed out by the low hourly wage employee working, saying that they are losing business because the ciggy guys weren't delivering enough smokes. It was her moment to dump on someone...and their moment to take it. What a way to live.

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Don't Shoot (I'm A Man)

DEVO will be releasing their first studio album since 1990 this coming Fall. After seeing and meeting them last year I am expecting it to be good. Here is the first video from the upcoming release.

"DON'T SHOOT" - DEVO from DEVO Channel on Vimeo.

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Sub 3 Club

Injuries bite. After missing any chance of running the marathon in Pittsburgh due to my quad injury, I "watched" my training partners all go under three hours today at Cleveland via text updates. I really wish I could have been there to run or at least watch. Matt earned a new PR of 2:37. Damon nailed a 2:40 on a very short training time table. Nilesh collected a 2:55 as well. My PR window is closing soon....so it's probably this Fall or bust.

BR100 training is well under way. Karl won the MMT 100 this weekend. I feel that we have a good relationship going now and look forward to the challenge he is about to throw my way.

Logan's graduation party was this weekend as well. We did have fun and I managed to stay dry until the very end. Once again Jo deserves the MVP for weathering the storm I call family.

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Five in a Row

I have now run five consecutive days on the trails. Each day I have felt more and more like myself. This is great news! We are off to Southern Ohio for the weekend for a graduation party for my son Logan. There are plenty of hills in Southern Ohio...but I will be hitting the road for two long runs. I am really looking forward to seeing how I feel on pavement.

Good luck to everyone who is running Cleveland. I hope the runner tracking actually works.

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Happy Days to Kendall Lake

Perfect morning for a trail run. Hoped to be a little lighter on my feet...but felt sort of sluggish for most of the run. Weather and solitude made it worthwhile. Happy Days to Kendall Lake and back on the BR100 course. I know the lower part of the course very well. I think I will spend some time on the northern part during this training cycle.

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May 11 - Up the Hill

Ran 7 very easy miles this morning then headed to the Cuyahoga Falls Natatorium. Felt good most of the run. Did my minimal weights workout and decided to walk on the treadmill for 30 minutes, of which 15 minutes was at a 15% grade. I may weave in a few running at severe grade runs before the Ragnar Relay race in June. One of my legs is 4 miles with a total of 1800 feet of climb.

* Went to the mall with Logan yesterday to pick out his tuxedo for prom. Half of the tuxes looked nice. Half looked "Gangsta". We went with the traditional look.

* The shuttle heads up today. My mom is in Florida with my brother Kevin. I hope she gets to see it.

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May 10th - Pine Lane to Boston Store

First official entry for the BR100 training program. Ed Goubeaux, Rich Wisneski and I did the Pine Lane to Boston Store and back route. Great to be back on the trails. Today was the first time I have felt like myself since March. Up on my toes...no sore spots or stiffness...good effort. Trails were dry with a few muddy spots. Soaked my shoes to get the mud off near Pine Lane. I am really looking forward to the next few months of training.

Weather: mid-40's and mostly sunny. Perfect conditions.

* Logan's graduation party is next weekend in Waverly, Ohio. I plan on scoping out some new trails while we are down there.

* Cavs looked strong last night.

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Let the Games Begin

I just received my first two weeks of training from Karl. We are going to ease into the training so I don't blow my leg out again. Smart approach. I am really looking forward to getting started, but I am also a little timid right now. My running gait is still out of whack. One month of limping around has brought about more knocks and pings than I care to recognize. Another few weeks of running and I should be back to my old self.

Last weekend was the Pittsburgh Marathon, an event I trained most of the Winter for. I ran the half after one solid month of minimal running (total April miles were 70 and I gained 10 pounds). It was the farthest run and fastest pace I have sustained in over 30 days. Starting over sucks....but it is a starting point so it is upward and onward from here.

Logan, Maddie, Jo, and I are heading to the Cavs game tonight. It should be a blast.

I am officially one week into my unemployment. I will no longer refer to it as unemployment as I know I am lucky in being able to take this time off to spend with the kids and train. Many opportunities lie ahead...so stay tuned.

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Prologue - May 1st

As I have stated before, this blog will be the vehicle in which I document my Burning River 100 training experience. I will also be throwing in tidbits of info, advice that I find beneficial, and notes about my weight/diet/etc. So....on with the show!

My official start day will be May 11th, but since I have only run a grand total of 70 miles in the month of April, I am going to need to work up to training condition over the next 10 days. What better way to start than to run the Boston Store to (almost) Pine Lane parking lot and back! I met Nick Billock for 3 miles as he finished up his 30 mile run in the mud. I am glad I jumped in at that point of the run. I am out of shape and stiff as a board. The great news is that my leg feels totally healed. I know I can get my shape back...but when your brain and body are not in sync it can be a drag. I was able to slowly loosen up and chopped 8 minutes on my return trip to the car. I will be running a Personal Worst (PW) this Sunday in Pittsburgh...but so what. It should be a fun trip and I am looking forward to running with the mid-packers.

I also bought a new car today on my first official day of being unemployed. This has eliminated any fear of my vehicle breaking down or needing major repair for the next couple of years. The car is a Kia Rondo and should be much better on gas and getting around.

I also stopped in to visit Vince at Vertical Runner. The new space looks great! I am looking forward to becoming more involved with VR over the next year.

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