20.5 on the Towpath

While running on the Towpath Saturday, I envisioned the photographs I was capturing as black and white images rather than color. Little did I know how these simple austere images would fit my mood as I publish them today, the day I learned of the passing of my grandmother. I don't get too personal on here, and I'm not going to start now, but I regret not acting on one of our many thoughts: "You know, we should probably go visit her." I know she has been battling illness lately and I hope she is at peace.

There isn't much story to accompany the photos. I simply felt like running long on the Towpath and these are some of the things I saw. There's actually quite a bit to see down there before the jungle begins to fill in the gaps and everything turns green. There was green here and there, but mostly browns. And browns just don't make very interesting images.

I was actually very pleased with how they turned out. Some of them are keepers! All images were shot between the parking area south of W. Bath Rd to about 1 mile north of the Boston Store.

BR100 Training - Week 17

Wow. Week 17 means there are only 13 more weeks till race day. That's really not much time. I mean, how much time does it take for someone to be prepared to run 100 miles? I don't know if there is an answer to that, but 13 weeks sure isn't enough. Now is the time for me to be putting in the miles. And that's what I'm trying to do.

This was my biggest week in a long time. After taking Monday as a "lazy" day (I really didn't want to go out in the rain that evening), I hit the track on Tuesday in very nice conditions for some decent 200, 400, and 800 meter repeats. An extended cool-down found Bob P. and me ratcheting up the intensity level well beyond your typical "cool-down."

Strength training went well on Wednesday with me working my legs again. I don't remember what the numbers were, but I know I was working to get in my reps.

Thursday was a soaker of a run in Hinckley. I was slammed at work, stressing and worrying all day, leaving late, that I needed to either run or do some shots. Run it was! It was just the de-stresser I needed.

Saturday was going to be the "nice" weekend day so I went long on the Towpath. Normally I don't exactly enjoy running on it. It's just so flat and crowded. I grabbed my camera and just went out to log some miles.

And today, Sunday, I went back to Hinckley to run the Lake Trail loop a few times. I thought a decent 10 mile run the day after doing 20 would be a low impact way to really tire myself out the weekend before my 50 miler. And judging by the fact that I took a two hour nap after I got back home, I think that was a correct idea!

Monday - Lazy day off
Tuesday - 10.3 miles, track and cool-down
Wednesday - Leg strength (PT)
Thursday - 9.3 miles, trails
Friday - Rest
Saturday - 20.5 miles, Towpath
Sunday - 10.0 miles, trail

Weekly total = 50.1 miles

Two Snake Run

Two Snake Run, AKA my 20 miler from 4/23/11, wasn't anything special. This happened to be Holy Saturday and I needed a long run for the weekend. Easter would be out as we usually travel to Columbus, so Saturday was my day. Everything is so wet around here that I was beginning to tire of running muddy trails. I thought 20 miles on pavement would be a nice change of pace. So with that in mind, I headed to Buckeye Woods Park to begin my run.

My course was simple: South along the Chippewa Inlet Trail to Chippewa Road, head east to pick up the Chippewa Rail Trail, up and down that a couple times and back to Buckeye Woods. I returned to my car with 15 miles done and wanting to stop. I was tired and both hot and cold. The day was extremely windy and would be chilly running into the wind, but very warm running with it at my back. I took a gel and set out on the big field loop in the park. After 3 laps I calculated I had run far enough to hit 20 at or near my car, and I made my way back.

The reasoning for this run was that I have been training for my trail runs without doing any hard pavement training for Rite Aid, which is now only two weeks away. The following photos chronicle the terrain, conditions, and my journey around central Medina County.

Frequent visitors should recognize the abandoned piece of machinery along the Inlet Trail.

The Inlet Canal went from really moving up by Rt. 162 to just really high as I got closer to Chippewa Road.

There was much debris on the trail. As it had rained heavily overnight I could only imagine that the entire trail was under water at some point before I got there.

Some sections were still under water. So much for dry shoes!

The sun was trying to come out, but having limited success. It wouldn't be for another five miles or so that the clouds would clear completely and things would begin to warm considerably.

The water was draining from left to right and looks to be a little farther than it actually was. However, there was no getting through there without getting wet.

Looking down from the Chippewa Rail Trail. Lots of runoff.

Snake #1 of the "Two Snakes". I found this garter snake along the Rail Trail as I was making my north for the second time.

"Snake eye view" of the not-so-little guy. He was about 12"long.

Back on the Inlet Trail heading back to Buckeye Woods.

Still wet, but a little less gloomy with the sun out.

I wish I would have had my camera out when this Great Blue Heron came swooping in directly overhead to land in the marsh. These birds are much bigger than you can sense from the photo. It sounded like a glider of sorts sailing past.

Snake #2. I almost missed this tiny little guy on the field loop. He was only about 6" long and blended in perfectly with the fallen branches and twigs the wind had taken down.

So, I had a good sub-3 hour 20 miler in windy conditions. I won't be going for a fast time at Rite Aid, but it was nice to run something a little different. Yesterday I hit the Towpath for another 20 miles, also with my camera. Look for that post sometime this week.

BR100 Training - Week 16

Water. Water everywhere. That has been the theme for April and Week 16 lived up to that moniker. I've been hesitant to get back out on the pavement since coming back from my injury, fearing the pavment may have helped to cause it in the first place, but I returned to the hard stuff this week in the hopes that a good pounding would help with strength and conditioning. Not to mention I have the Rite Aid Marathon coming up in two weeks and need some road miles.

Having taken Sunday off due to the high winds (I really didn't want to go run in that), I ran roads Monday after work. I was pushing, but not going very fast. I just don't have any speed right now.

Tuesday was nearly a complete washout at the track. A sizable thunderstorm came through canceling the track meet and literally flooding one end of the track. I waited for the lightning to pass the the rain to lighten somewhat and headed out for some wet miles in my raincoat. Eventually Dan H. joined me and the rain stopped, giving us quite a nice evening to run.

Wednesday strength training continued this week, moving to the legs where I need it most. It was a good workout that left me mildly sore. That soreness would grow considerably both during and after our Thursday night Hinckley trail run. But that's a very good hurt! We had a long run and finished in near dark. It was almost time to turn the headlamps on.

Saturday I stayed close to home, running the Chippewa Inlet and Rail Trails as well as around Buckeye Woods. I'll write more about this "2 Snake Run" in a separate post. Sunday, being Easter, was an off day. But after another decent week, I needed it.

Monday - 6 mile run, road
Tuesday - Elliptical and core work AM / 6 mile run at the track
Wednesday - Strength Training (PT) Legs
Thursday - 12.77 mile trail run
Friday - Off
Saturday - 20 mile run, road (some trail)
Sunday - Happy Easter!

Weekly totals = 44.77 miles

BR100 Training - Week 15

Half way. Half way there and finally feeling GOOD! There was running and more this week. My long run has reappeared as well as some mid-week runs including speedwork. And in addition to the miles I began a weekly meeting with a personal trainer for some strength training. Stuff I have the ability to do at home (in the basement) but never will. Getting out in a real gym with someone telling me what to do next makes the difference.

I'm relieved to be running pain free and to be able to get my mileage back up somewhere near where it needs to be. In response to a question I recieved regarding weekday mileage VS long weekend runs: my mileage is low on both counts. The plan I was hoping to follow calls for more mileage during the week than I'm doing, with runs T,W,T. Monday and Friday are rest days. I'm good at running one long day each weekend but the plan calls for long runs both days. My problems are time, motivation, and rest. I don't have enough time to do everything I need to do as it is, let alone running one more day during the week and both days on the weekend. I also suffer from lack of motivation from time to time that I can't shake. I'm hoping to have kicked that now that I'm healthy again. The rest is self-explanatory. There was a time when I couldn't run back-to-back days. I can, and do, now, but with mileage creeping higher I worry about over-training. There is an old addage: It's better to be under-trained than over-trained. Honestly though, if I was able to run more I would.

It was nice to be back on the track this week for some speedwork. There were quite a few people either recovering from a race or preparing for a race, so we took it easy with 3 miles worth of 100 meter striders. Wednesday I had a great upper body strength workout. Thursday was a nice run around the Hinckley trails. But the big day of the week belonged to Saturday, when I joined a few others for 27 miles on the Burning River course. We ran north from Station Road along the course to near Shadow Lake, where we turned around. This was all in the wind and rain that dogged us that day. The water crossings were all deeper on the way back. So much so that I didn't recognize them. Patches of blue sky and sunlight were few and far between but it was an enjoyable run.

So far Week 16 is plugging right along and I am pleased. We'll see how Easter affects my mileage this weekend.

Monday - Rest
Tuesday - 6.12 mile run - Track
Wedesnday - Strength Training (PT)
Thursday - 11.22 mile trail run
Friday - Rest
Saturday - 27 mile trail run
Sunday - Strength Training

Weekly mileage = 44.34 miles

BR100 Training - Week 14

With more miles during Week 13 than I've had in a long time, and no pain, it's time to start ramping up my long runs and weekly mileage again. Not only am I counting down to the 100 miles of Burning River, but I have a 50 mile training race in about a month and a double trail marathon to run in early June. Gots to get my runnin' on!

Monday - 15 minutes Elliptical + 10 minutes ab work
Tuesday - 5 mile run
Wednesday - off
Thursday - 12 mile trail run
Friday - off
Saturday - Really busy
Sunday - 20 mile trail run

Weekly mileage = 37.0 miles

Pine Hollow to the Perkins Loop and Back

With 80 degree temperatures predicted for Sunday, I couldn't help but plan a long trail run. The question was: Where do I want to run? Hinckley would be close, but I wanted to get back down into The Valley. There was one problem going into Friday, however: The government had yet to agree on a budget for 2011 and there was the possibility of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park being closed. I was among the vast majority of trail runners who were going to run there regardless, so in the end it was just a matter of where I would be parking. In the end, the knuckleheads in Washington came to an agreement, so I could legally run my (not their, MY) trails this weekend. My run began well enough, with me leaving the Pine Hollow parking area for the Wetmore Trail. This section of trail I've only run during the Run With Scissors races. This would be my first trip down them without trail markings or other runners to follow. As a result, I took a wrong turn and got a little lost. I was on unfamiliar trail for a while, but it was the large water crossing above and below that made me turn around and try another route. After a short backtrack I found a fork in the trail which led me to the Wetmore trail head. I studied the map provided and decided my course. The course I chose was also unfamiliar, but it was taking me where I wanted to go: down to Akron-Peninsula Road. From there I could at least find the trail crossing and get back on track. This section of trail was wet. Really wet. And muddy. Upon coming around a bend, I found the little guy below. At first I thought it was just a garter snake, but it went into a coiled defensive posture. After some research online and talking with a co-worker, we're guessing it's a DeKay's snake (city snake). About the size of a garter snake but more aggressive. I shot my photo and went on my way. I eventually made my way to the trail crossing Akron-Peninsula Road and was back on track. I saw where I should have come out and made a mental note to head back the other way. For this section I was running on the Valley Bridle Trail. Super wet and super muddy! In the photo below you can see the puddles, but you can't see that all that grass is sticking up through either deep mud or water. No dry shoes were getting through this section, not that mine were anywhere near dry. Plus the thorny branches alongside the trail kept you from skirting too far to the sides. Past the chicken farm, through some muddy farm fields, and across the Cuyahoga, on and right back off the Towpath, across Riverview Road, I crossed the CVNP Scenic Railroad tracks. The train had passed while I was still about a mile away so I couldn't get any photos of it coming or going. On to the Everett Road Covered Bridge and the Perkins Loop I went, finally coming upon some other folks out on the trails. No runners, just some hikers. I guess the other runners were out earlier in the day. Perkins Loop was tough, as usual, and I began having some problems with my Peregrine trail shoes. I must have accumulated a layer of mud between my sock liner and the in-sole because on the steep descents the sock liners would slide forward and bunch up painfully under my toes. Twice I needed to stop and fix the problem. I'm now second guessing purchasing another pair of those shoes.

I was finally hungry by the time I crossed back over the covered bridge and quickly ate a Clif Bar. I was also through one of my two bottles. It was a little warmer than I expected. That's OK I told myself. I'll just refill one at the restroom at the Hunt Farm Visitor Center. The water was on, but only the hot water. Yuck! But wet is wet and I needed some extra fluids.

The mighty Cuyahoga River, above, and some signs of spring (finally), below.

Upon crossing Akron-Peninsula Road on my way back, I chose the other route and immediately recognized the way from those Run With Scissors races, so on I went with at least no worries about getting lost. I was becoming exhausted and was worried about running out of fluids though.

The wind was really beginning to whip up and the sounds it made passing through the stands of pines was impressive.

Below is a sign I haven't noticed posted before. I'm glad I'm a trail runner and not a trail hiker.

I have no need to try and make a dry crossing!

I reached Pine Hollow and immediately mixed another bottle of Gatorade. With just over two more miles to go to hit 20 I was going to need it! I was prepared to run the Salt Run Trail if I needed three or more miles but was relieved to see I didn't need to head down that section. It's tough and I knew I would be walking most of it. Instead I climbed the Sound of Music Hill and did the two mile loop around Kendall Lake. The photo below is from the short section of Salt Run on the way back. A nice finish to a tough run.

The above photo doesn't do justice to how muddy I was when finished. It was pretty bad and I didn't even want to touch those shoes! Glad I brought two towels! Anyway, yesterday was THE day I've been waiting for all winter. It was sunny and warm, the trails weren't crowded or noisy, and I ran PAIN FREE! A great day all around.

BR100 Training - Week 13

Well, that last post worked out somehow. I switched to Edit Html mode from Compose and it seemed to keep my spacing. Guess I'll continue that way.

I had high hopes for running during our week at Disney. We were staying at the WDW Swan Resort which is in the Epcot resort area directly behind the park. With walkways to both Epcot and the Disney Studios, there are plenty of places to run. Alas, I only took advantage of our location twice during our stay. With early park openings requiring me to get up even earlier and late nights to recover from, it's definitely not a training location. We did walk a lot though!

Monday - Walk @ 5 miles
Tuesday - 4.1 mile run / @ 6 miles walking (in the rain)
Wednesday - Walk @ 6 miles
Thursday - Walk @ 5 miles (in the rain)
Friday - Walk @ 3 miles / pack and travel
Saturday - Travel
Sunday - 9.2 mile train run (in the mud)

Weekly mileage = 38.3 miles!

BR100 Training - Week 12

This is getting annoying now. This will be my fifth attempt to recap week 12 and Blogger is screwing up my formatting. It's running everything together as one paragraph, deleting my returns and spaces.

Monday - Dr. Joe
Tuesday - zero
Wednesday - zip
Thursday - Dr. Joe
Friday - Pack and travel
Saturday - Travel
Sunday - 3.44 mile run / @ 4 miles walking at Disney

Weekly mileage = 7.44 miles

Updates ARE Coming!

No, really they are! With vacation last week I didn't have computer access and surprisingly enjoyed that fact. I am trying to get caught up but I'm having some formatting issues with Blogger from this daytime computer so I will do it this weekend. One hint of things to come: mileage is back up!