Monday, September 29, 2008

Akron Marathon: Irish Jig Race Team

For the fourth year in a row I have particapted in the Akron Marathon. Three times running the marathon, and twice now running the 5-person relay. This year I was running the third leg. This worked out great. I didn't really want anything too hilly and just wanted to run my planned race pace for Wineglass Marathon (my first run at Boston) the following week.

The morning went well. I got to meet up with my family at the start. My bro-n-law was running the full with his new flag back pack (more to come on this) he built for the Air Force Marathon a week earlier. We watched the start, then had time to catch everyone heading past mile three.

We then headed over to watch the 8K US Women's championship. We had just missed the start, but still had time to head down to the finish to watch them fly in. Wow. Very fast. Once that was over, it was time to take our positions. I decided to run to the exchange point to get a few extra miles in for the day.

So, here is how it went down...Tom was our lead off and was off to a great start. His hand off went well to Stacey who also ran awesome. Her hand off didn't go so well. Why? Well, I wasn't there. Pretty good reason. Yeah, the most veteran person on the team was tooling around taking his sweet-ass time. I did manage to get to her and off I went towards the University. I had forgot this is actually a pretty cool part of the race. I passed Mom and Dad at one of their usual spots with a wave.

Just after that, I ran into Vince who was running with Mailman Mike just past downtown. Talked them a bit until I hit the downhills heading down to the Towpath section. I did pick it a up a bit here hitting a sub 6 minute mile pace. I backed it off once I got to the towpath and tried to settle back into my planned pace of 7:15.

While on the towpath I ran into tons of folks. E-speed was pacing the 3:50 crowd. Sporting a cool mohawk. Brett with fellow Coach Chef Bill was with the 4 hour crew. By buddy Jim and Rob were there, too. Jim was running his first marathon and was doing awesome. another fine product of VR Training! (PLUG!)

The towpath came to an end and so did my leg. I was the Indian statue and headed to the exchange point where Jeff was waiting for me. We decided it would be more fun to rid back together on the buses so I ran with Jeff up Sandrun. Always a treat. Jeff did awesome despite the extremely difficult portion of the race. His hand off to Missy went...well..fine. Better than mine was! HA! Missy hit it hard back to the finish and brought us in at 3:55!

Way to go Team Irish Jig! Thanks for having me on the team!

Next up...Wineglass Marathon. The big day.

Saturday, September 20, 2008

2nd Place Overall at the Hudson Chilli 5K!!

On a spur of the moment, I decided to run the Chilli 5K in Hudson. Still not feeling 100% from the cold wasn’t sure what to expect. I had a chance to run the course the night before. A bit rolling with about ½ mile uphill at the start and ½ downhill at the end.

I met up with Jim, Kevin and saw Brett at the start. Talked a bit with Kevin before the start and off we went. The first mile was a bit slow and the pace car didn’t get moving very fast. Kevin and another runner had taken the lead and a few guys and I were chasing them. Things thinned out after mile 1 leaving me just behind Kevin when he went off course. I tried yelling his name, but he didn’t hear me and headed down the wrong road…leaving me in second place. First place guy had really pulled ahead and I had a few guys on my back. We held pace until the big downhill at the end rounded the last turn. By now I was thinking I might actually be able to PR if I can hold the pace.

Heading to the finish line I could see the clock…I might be able to! No! I crossed the line hitting my 5K PR to the very second…18:49. Well maybe next time!

The next morning I headed up to Cleveland for the Heroes 5 mile. I still needed a 5 mile on my PR list. This one looked pretty fun. The weather was perfect and the course was great, but not easy. We ran down into the Brecksville Reservation. I hadn’t run there since the Green Jewell 100K. Things worked out well even with a killer hill at mile 4. Pulled off a 5 Mile PR! Leaving just 5K and Marathon!

The race was a great event. Well ran with lots of folks there. The proceeds went to the Families of fallen Police and Firemen of Cleveland. Post race was really nice. I had to laugh…at the finish line was the biggest assortment of doughnuts I have ever seen. Cops know how to eat after they run! I had to point that out to some officers who ran the race I was talking to afterwards. After some laughs, they then asked me how I did. My reply was “Great! I have been running from cops for years and now I finally have proof!”

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

It’s Cold Time

Once again…like clock work. Ran a half and got in a plane. Guess who has a cold!?! Same thing happened almost to the exact day last year. Going to be a long winter I can tell already.

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Erie Half Marathon

Each fall race season, I like to kick things off with a half marathon. Half marathons are great, because just when it starts to suck…it’s over! Except with Erie this year…when it starts to suck, you still have a looooong way to go.

At 5 AM on race day, it was already 80 degrees and the humidity really bad. Now you would think that I would take that into consideration and adjust my goal of trying to break 1:30. Noooooo. Why would I do that???

I still managed to finish. That, in itself, was an accomplishment. I seriously have not been that close to hanging things up in a race without actually quitting. My real goal for the day was to mark the half marathon off my 2008 PR list, which I did. It wasn’t easy. I wasn’t the only person out there hurting I guess….I managed to place 23rd out 456 finishers (not sure how many dropped) and 3rd in my age group. Even got a little lighthouse trophy with my name on it!

But the real kicker for the day was to find out one of my running buddies, Rose, has a brother who was actually a friend of mine in college when I was a freshman. After my freshman year, I had lost track of him. How cool is that??? We actually just stood there for a while laughing and scratching our heads and looking at Rose wondering how we this was possible.

“It’s a small, small world. But I wouldn’t want to paint it.” –Steven Wright

Friday, September 12, 2008

Indians Game

Got to catch another Indians game. One of the last games of the year. I finally got to see Cliff Lee pitch. It was a great game. Weather was perfect and the Tribe won!

During the game, they showed one of Jeff’s videos on the jumbotron. It was very, very cool. People in the stands around me commented about how good it was.

When the game was over, they had some fireworks. I am really starting to realize that the summer is over…

Saturday, September 06, 2008

Running in Boulder: Part 3 – Estes Park

After my run at Hall Ranch, I decided to head up north to the city Estes Park which sits at about 7,500 ft above sea level. When I left Lyons, it was in the low 60s. When I got to Estes Park, it was only 43 degrees. Brrrr! No wonder they had hats on there! I got some strange looks walking around in shorts and running shirt with my arm warmers on. Go figure!

Besides seeing the town a bit, the real reason I headed up there was to see the Stanley Hotel . Now, you probably have not heard of The Stanley, but I bet you know the hotel. It is the inspiration and location of Steven King’s novel The Shining. In the book, it was actually called the Overlook Hotel. King actually stayed there while he was writing the book. However, it isn’t where the movie was filmed. That was filmed on a set in England and at the Timberline Lodge at the base of Mt Hood.

The Stanley is listed as one of the most haunted locations in the United States. Legend has it the hotel is still haunted by the late Mr. Stanley of Stanley Carpet Cleaners who built the Hotel at the turn of the century. I want to make it back for an overnight there one day…


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Running in Boulder: Part 2 – Hall Ranch

While out in Boulder, I did a really nice run at the Hall Ranch just outside of the cool little town called Lyons. Amazing run while the sun set in the sky. Busted out my headlamp and finished the run under a moon.

Hall Ranch had it all...rocks, trail, forest, grassland, rock, more rock. elevation bounced around in the 6-7,000 ft range. Another good elevation run for me while out there.

Had a bit of an issue with a buck in the area who didn’t like me running close to some little ones. We had a "talk" and everything was worked out. Ok, he came bouncing at me. I turned and started screaming with my arms in the air. Well, it works with pissed off horses and cattle...thought it might work here as well. It did. We both went on our way.

Heading out, this is the first sign I see...have a feeling the picture isn't to scale.

The view heading up Bitterbush trail.

Running down Antelope Trail.

Outside the Nelson Ranch House on the Nelson Trail Loop.
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Thursday, September 04, 2008

Running in Boulder: Part 1 – Bear Peak Mountain

I got a chance to run/climb to the summit of Bear Peak Mountain while in Boulder, Colorado. It was awesome. The summit measured just less than 8,500 ft. Starting at 5,500 feet and climbing about 1,000 feet per mile the first three miles.



The run was worth it when I got to the top to see the view.

I have been wanting to get some high elevation runs in. There are some really sweet races out west that have these things called "mountains" we midwesterners have never seen. Good news was I was able to run pretty well up there. Better than I had expected. Now, I just need to see what 10,000 ft feels like...

Me at the Mesa trailhead getting ready to go.

From the trail on the way up. Bear Peak is the highest point on the right side of the picture.

The view from just below the summit. This is facing Boulder.

Self portrait from the top...85,000 ft...I made it!
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Monday, September 01, 2008

Aurora Labor Day 5K


A last minute change of plans left me around the area for Labor Day. I decided to hit a local race: the Aurora Labor Day 5K.

This 5k is at a nice little park named Sunny Lake Park in outskirts of Aurora. The course takes place on a pretty flat running path which is 1.75 miles around a lake (hence the name!)

I had just hit my highest mileage week/month yet (man, this is starting to sound like a broken record) and didn’t have any real big expectations for the race. I arrived at the park and got registered and got to talk a bit with Steve and Elizabeth (aka E-Speed) before the start of the 1 mile race. It was tempting to run the 1 mile for the sheer fact I have not ran a timed mile since my track days in high school. Been curious how my times would look now…seriously doubt I can still break 5 minutes.

After a lap and some around the lake, I was ready to go. We got lined up and off we went. As usual, I went out a bit too fast but then backed off and a steady pace through the first mile and started to bring a few folks in. By second mile I had passed a few folks and only been caught by two guys. One of the guys I hung with the rest of the race and just barely pulled a head of in the last part of the race.

After I crossed the finish line, I think my week caught up with me. I suddenly felt my calves starting to tighten up BIG time like a slow cramp. Steve saw my face and my limp and quickly said, “C’mon, you have to run. Let’s go.” We slowly did another lap around the lake (which REALLY helped, thanks Steve!) and got some great running and high mileage training advice from him along with the big question I keep getting…”So when you going to do your first 100 miler?”

Today wasn’t a PR, 19:20 on the clock, but I did mange to place 6th overall and 1st in my age group 30-49. It was good to see Steve took home first place, as he did last year, and E was first female overall. Great job, guys! Even nicer treat was a big group of folks I know showed up to run some miles and see the awards presentation.

The picture taken above is with my shazzy new digital camera which has this cool builtin panoramic picture taking thingy. Will miss my old camera...but this one is pretty sweet!