THE Final Post of 2009

I have some time while waiting for my ride to North Carolina, so I thought it would be good to discuss 24 hour strategy. I have a few ideas in mind:

1. Start out by running either a hard marathon or 50K. I'm talking sub-8 minute miles. Get a good start by logging 26 to 31 miles in under 4 hours. Then take a break. Do some walking. Eat something. After I'm rested, do it again! I ran this idea past Ladd and Dan and neither one thought it was a very smart plan. I agree!

2. Do whatever feels good. If I feel like running, I run. If I feel like walking, I walk. If I feel like running faster, I speed up. Slow down? Sure, why not! Another version of this plan involved me not looking at how many laps or miles I've logged at all until after finishing. I still like the not knowing part, especially for this first try at 24 hours, but I don't think I could do it.

3. The third and most likely option will be to run for a prescribed number of minutes and/or miles, and then walk for a certain amount of time or distance. This is probably the way to go, as I've already set the countdown timer on my watch to 20 minutes. That means every 20 minutes it's time to take a walking break. We'll see how that works out. On a one mile loop course, I'm thinking the way to go will be to run 2 to 3 laps, then walk half a lap after grabbing some drinks and food at the aid station. We'll see...

I'm hoping for decently dry weather. It can be chilly if it wants to. It can even snow! I'm just hoping for a minimum of rain. But if it does rain, we've been there and done that. For 31 miles! We'll just have to tough it out a little longer this time.

Happy New Year!

Ending and Beginning

2009 is nearly done. 2010 is there lurking around the corner. I'm happy to have accomplished all the things I did this year. I ran distances I'm comfortable with, finished my first triathlon, completed a half Ironman triathlon, ran a trio of fast marathons, qualified for Boston, discovered trail running and literally had an epiphany, became an ultra-marathoner, and maybe inspired some other people to push themselves and try some new things. But I'm still very sad at how this year wound down. We lost a dear member of our family just before Christmas, Penny, our 12 year old Golden Retriever whom Mrs. P and I got before we were even married. The decision we had to make doesn't hurt as much as it did last week, but the pain is still there for me to find whenever I want to go looking for it. It was with a heavy heart that I went for a much needed run on Christmas Eve, by myself on the Hinckley trails, and captured some winter images which reflected how I was feeling as well.

The end of 2009 and the beginning of 2010 are going to be different this year. By running in this 24 hour ultra I will be able to bring in the new year exactly how I'm finishing the old one. They will be tied together for me in a way other years have not been. I've had no "off" season this year. The transition from one season to the next has been an active one. I fully anticipate a recovery period following the 24 hour, but it will be just that, "recovery" and not "off".

As I look forward to this run, which will be my longest one so far, I worry a little. The weather forecast isn't looking good at this point: rain, freezing rain, snow, wind. Yuck! My feet have been hurting lately too, and I don't know why. I'm worried my knee will give me problems. I'm anticipating a miserable, physically and emotionally painful experience. But when it gets to that point I'm going to remind myself how hard it was to make the decision we made last week, and it's going to pale in comparison.

Finally, in an attempt to finish my last post of 2009 a little more upbeat, Happy New Year to all! Hopefully it will find everyone happy and healthy. Best of luck to Team Ohio down in North Carolina. There will be a half dozen or so of us representing the state in Morganton. I hope to come back with stories and lots of photos!

See ya' next year!

Our Family is Missing Someone This Christmas

Rest in peace Penny (1997 - 2009)

Another High Mileage Weekend

Notice I said "weekend" and not "week". That's because all my mileage this week took place on Saturday and Sunday. That's right, I didn't run at all on the week days. I wanted to and planned to, but stuff and weather prevented me from getting out and running. I did some cross training though. Two mornings of weights and 50 minutes on the elliptical on a third morning. Am I worried about not getting enough miles under my belt going into this 24 hour run? Yes. But I'm also worried about over training. Maybe even more worried about over training.

Everything was a little frosty.

This weekend alleviated my fears about not running for five days in a row. Saturday, Ladd and I ran 21 miles, including a trip down to Chippewa Lake and back, and then around the south side of Medina. Temperatures were in the upper teens to very low twenties, but it was sunny and that made us feel a little better. The gusty wind however, did not.

Just a little frozen trail work.

On my most recent trip to Second Sole, I purchased three new pairs of running shoes. Why so many? Well, the shoes I have been running in for more than a year, the Asics Gel Stratus, have been discontinued and I need to find an entirely new "perfect" shoe. I began the Saturday morning run with one of the new pairs, the NIKE Lunar Glides. They felt great when I tried them on in the store, but didn't feel so good out on the road. After only a few miles I knew I they weren't for me and that I would need to return them. I was able to change into another pair mid-run, some Asics Gel Nimbus. They, on the other hand, are very comfortable. But still, they're going to take some getting used to.

My right foot still felt a little banged up heading into Sunday's long run of 30 miles. Ladd and I met Dan H. back at the Hinckley Metropark to run 3 mile loops. How fun! During our second loop the rain/freezing rain began to fall. The weather deteriorated steadily from that point. It was a miserable outing. My shoes were soaked and the trail socks I was wearing weren't able to drain, leaving me with numb feet. I became thoroughly soaked all over, freezing whenever the wind would gust. Parts of the trail began to ice over, giving us unsure footing in spots. We were very close to calling it quits! But we realized at some point that it wasn't getting any worse, so we kept running. Ten times around Hinckley Lake, which is hilly, is certainly overkill training for a basically flat one mile loop. My Garmin showed 3,000 + feet of elevation gain. It was a very tough physical and mental run.

So tough that I'm still looking at taking a rest day today. My feet hurt in places they normally don't. Some tendons or ligaments or something. They just feel abused. I don't know if it was the new shoes or the 52 miles in two days, but something just wore them out. Everything else feels just fine! I'm pretty confident that the 24 Hour run is going to go well as long as I go into it rested and healthy. I may feel miserable during it, but as long as I can keep moving forward, the worst shouldn't hit me until after I'm done.

Building Mileage, Lots of Mileage!

This weekend was the first long back-to-back running I have done in a while. Probably since before Columbus. Why am I running for hours on end in the cold and building mileage in December? That answer will be at the end. First, lets see what happened this weekend!



I met Dan H. and his running buddy Dave on Saturday morning at the Station Road Bridge area of the Valley. It's in Brecksville, or right next door at least. It was still dark when I arrived precisely at 7:00. The Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad has a stop here and as I was crossing the tracks on my way to the restroom, I slid a little. It seems that the temperatures had dipped pretty low overnight and things were finally beginning to behave as if winter were here. I'm finding it very annoying not having a thermometer in the new car.



As the sun rose somewhere above the thick overcast clouds, we were gradually blessed with light. It didn't warm the morning air at all, but at least we could see fine. There were a few others hitting the Towpath Trail at the same time as us, but we were pretty much left to ourselves for most of the run. Heading south for seven miles, we made our way down to Peninsula, where we turned around to make the return trip.



I had to stop to get a photo of Brandywine Ski Resort making snow. Both they and Boston Mills were pumping out the fake stuff Saturday morning. They might as well, since the real stuff isn't falling in any major quantities yet!



Once back at the parking lot, Dan and Dave headed home while I made a quick stop at the car and went back out the other direction for some more miles. Three miles north and back would bring my total to 20, which is about how much I wanted to get in that morning. I don't know if it was the cold or if my metabolism has kicked up another notch, but I was so hungry during those final six miles. I ended up eating all the emergency food I was carrying, which wasn't much, and began working on my freezing Gatorade stores. I felt pretty darn miserable, which is a good thing. I'm going to need to get used to pushing through that feeling.



That run took me a little over three hours. We pushed the pace on the seven coming back from Peninsula, but otherwise they were comfortable miles. Fortunately Sunday's run would be comprised of comfortable miles too!

I met Dan in the morning again, this time in Hinckley and at 5:00! We just ran loops around Hinckley Lake, mostly on the hilly all-purpose trail, but with the final two down on the lake trail. I finished with another 21.5 miles in about 3.5 hours. It was even colder Sunday morning and there was the occasional tiny snowflake streaking across the beam from my headlamp. I dressed in the most layers I've worn since last winter and I stayed comfortable for the entire run. The Asics mittens I picked up this spring have really kept my fingers warm while switching to trail socks has done wonders for my toe comfort. I was never this warm running last winter!

So, 41.5 miles in two consecutive days is a lot of mileage for me. The most for me so far, in fact! Why would I possibly be doing this now? Here's why:


I was "persuaded" to run a 24 hour run in North Carolina over the New Year's holiday. For reasons known only to myself, I said "sure"! Now I'm trying to intelligently ramp up not only my weekly mileage but my weekend totals too. I've heard the best way to train for a 24 hour race is to "run a lot." That, and back-to-back long weekend runs. I'm hoping the weather continues to partially cooperate and not give us anything nasty. But the cold is good to train in as the temperature in last year's race dipped to 9 degrees overnight. Now THAT'S cold running! Aside from the weather, I'm pretty excited about taking part in this event. I like the challenge presented by running for that long. I want to know how far I can go. And there's something about beginning a run in one year and finishing it in the next!

We Three Dans, The Triumvirate of Dans, Three Dan Night...

Whatever you want to call it, Dan H., Dan B., and myself hit the track Tuesday night for some speed work. It was dark, as seen by the photo below, where you can also make out some Christmas lights toward the right. What you can't see, and I wasn't able to get a good photo of, was the HUGE full moon in the cloudless sky. It really helped around the backside of the track where the light from the stands fails to reach.


We had a decent workout. After a nearly two mile warm-up we decided on alternating 400 and 800 meter repeats X three sets. With a mildly gusting breeze out of the south, it was a darn near as perfect a December night as we could hope for. Splits were: 1:36 / 3:13 / 1:34 / 3:02 / 1:24 / 3:09. I think I really could have busted out a nice final 800 except I had a tight hamstring and I didn't want to injure anything. Not with what I have planned for 4 weeks from today. Details to follow...

nuR sllafretaW

No, I haven't lost my mind (completely), the run was the Waterfalls Run course run in reverse. Hence the backward spelling. I was debating about joining in on this group run in the Valley until yesterday. I decided that if I didn't drive over to run I probably wasn't going to get one in today. So once again on a Saturday, my alarm went off at 4:00 and I was up and about getting ready.

The drive over was dark, so I missed the snow remnants hanging around in the shady spots that I saw on the drive home. It was still a little dark as we got underway at 7:00, but light enough to see where we were going. As it was a clear sky overnight, once the sun crested the horizon it got bright out in a hurry. Since I didn't know where I was going, I had to make sure to keep with the group, so I didn't have time to snap as many photos as I would have liked. But I managed to get some decent ones.

The course consisted of three distinct loops, the first of which we ran in reverse to get back to the parking lot. The course and details of the run can be viewed here: Garmin Connect - Activity Details for Reverse Waterfalls Group Run. We began at the Lock 29 parking area in Peninsula. We then ran up an old brick road that parallels Rt. 303. Of all the times I've driven past there, I never knew that old street was there. From there we picked up the Pine Lane Trail which we followed up and down and around till we came out at the Boston Store. We ran past both I-80 and I-271 on our way.

The breakaway group I was running with coming down towards the Towpath, about to pass underneath I-271.

The sun was lighting everything up early.

After stopping for a quick restroom break we headed out loop number two. We were in search of waterfall #1, the Brandywine Falls. We found it easy enough and posed for a group picture there. I'll post it and the other group pictures once they become available.

Brandywine Falls

After leaving the falls we finished the loop back at the Boston Store. We had a close call with some deer crossing the trail, but nothing too exciting. Two deer came through some tall grass pretty fast directly ahead of us. As we got closer to the spot, we could see at least four more back in there looking at us, trying to decide to follow the others or wait. They decided not to follow the others. At least not with us there in between them. Good for us. I don't think anyone wanted to be run over by a deer. Even if they weren't reindeer!

Loop number two saw us run through the Boston Mills ski resort to get to the back of their property where waterfall number two was waiting for us. It felt like we were sneaking our way to the back, which I suppose we were. I'm sure they frown on anyone using their land as a cut-through. We had run through mud and had a couple easy water crossings and up until this point my shoes had stayed dry for the most part. This is where all that changed! You see, to get to the bottom of the falls for the group picture, we had to either try to cross a debris field consisting of some fallen trees and lots of leaves covering everything, or walk through nearly knee deep cold water. I tried to stick to the dry route, but with a little help from someone losing her balance behind me, leg number one went into the water. At that point I just thought "screw it" and leg number two followed right behind. The water was cold, yes, but it washed the mud off and my Cascadias quickly drained, leaving my feet a little squishy and cold, but not bad at all.

Waterfall #2. (not sure of it's name), with more debris at it's base.

Closer to the falls.

We found ourselves climbing a bit to get out of the ravine. It was nice to get moving again as the temperature dropped down there. We didn't have to go far to reach the waterfall number 3. It had a little paved trail leading down to it from a parking area. We would climb our way out that route after, but arrived from down stream. This is where I had my only spill. While trying to step up onto a large rock for the group photo, my slippery shoe went out from under me sending me down hard. I hit with my right shin and right palm, both of which are sporting some sore spots right now.

Waterfall #3.

A nice long flight of steps to climb up to the road on.

Once out on the ridge above the last two waterfalls, it was time to make our way back down to the Boston Store. We followed the Buckeye Trail as it wound down and around and switch-backed in spots. It was a fun descent with only one super slippery muddy downhill section that could have turned into a slide.

Our return trip back to Pine Lane was scenic, as the sun was at just the right angle to create some interesting shadows. Our group began to get very spread out on this section as we kind of knew where we were going. Here are some images from that last section, as I was able to stop without getting in any one's way.

Fallen tree across the path.

When in doubt, follow the Buckeye Trail.

I would have enjoyed this pine stand more without all the roots.

Roots.

This was much more fun going down than it was climbing up at the beginning.

Water crossing.

Almost all these fallen trees had significant moss growth on them. I didn't notice the light flare as I was taking the pic.

Still more steps near the end.

It turned out to be a great run. Nearly 18 miles in just under 4 hours. And I didn't stop the time at any point so some of that was just standing around. I would like to get some road miles in tomorrow, but I'll just need to see how the day shapes up. But now I think I need a nap!

2009 Flying Feather 4 Miler

For the third Thanksgiving in a row, we drove down to central Ohio early to run the Flying Feather 4 Miler before heading over to Johnstown for dinner. I was pleasantly surprised to see the sky clear out the further south we went. We left home in a light rain and I was worried we would get wet during the run. And while that wouldn't bother me so much, I was worried how much Jr. P would not like it, as he was going to be running his longest race to date.

Clear skies on Interstate 71.

The highway was as empty as it would be for Thanksgiving Day and we had a nice drive down. We didn't get to park as close as we wanted to the start/finish line, but we found a spot close enough. After getting our numbers and visiting the trailer contained port-o-potties, John and i ran the course in reverse for a warm-up. Well, a warm-up for him and a good run for me. You see, Mrs. P was running hard today so Jr. P and I would be taking on the four miles together.

We ended up running nearly 4.5 miles at a 7:27 average pace, with our max pace being a 6:02. The course was in great condition with only a few puddles left on the paved trail. It felt good to get out and run after the nearly 2 hour drive down. And I knew there would be much walking during the second time around.

Before the start, Jr. P was looking a little nervous.

Jr. and Mrs. P waiting in the cold. Notice the large yellow creature walking past in the background.

He was heading over to his trailer for either a costume change or a break.

It was actually quite funny watching them try to pull his head off. That thing was on tight!

John and I after our warm-up, waiting for the start.

Team Pythagoras was running this morning.

We cued up toward the rear of the field, which had filled it's 3,000 person capacity.

Once in the crowd, Jr. P was starting to relax a bit.

He did pretty good, running the downhills, (mostly) running the flats, and walking the uphills.

This is where we began to get sleeted and/or freezing rained upon. (Thanks Mrs. P for jinxing us by saying, "I don't think it's going to rain on us!") Well there was rain in there too!

Out on the course.

For a shorter distance race, there were certainly a lot of people running.

Jr. P had a case of the yawns during the run. I told him it was because he wasn't running enough!

Half way!

Right before John made his way back and found us (after finishing in 25 minutes) the clouds broke apart and gave us some sunshine. It was nice while it lasted, which wasn't very long, and didn't do anything to help my hungry stomach.

We had a decent run, finishing in 53:18, averaging 13:03 per mile. Mrs. P found us too and ran us in. She managed to cut a HUGE chunk of time off of last year's race! I was proud of Jr. P for pushing through the cold to finish. We saw one mother giving a piggy-back ride to her daughter who "couldn't" go any further, but he made it all the way by himself. Not bad for someone who doesn't do any running other than at recess. And with my back, I couldn't have given him a ride anyway.

With my 8.5 miles in I was prepared to tackle the Thanksgiving Day dinner table with a clean conscience. And that I did, eating a little too much like I always do on Thanksgiving. The drive back home that afternoon was different from the one down in the morning given the additional traffic and the snow. That's right. SNOW. I'm so not ready for snow that I will write no more about it. Except that we had enough this morning to cover the grass. Ugh.