A Tale of Two Showrooms

Yesterday we returned the '06 Jeep Grand Cherokee lease we've had for the last 39 months. The dealer we got it from originally, has been among the many to lose their Chrylser/Jeep franchises. The dealer we were instructed to return it to is a Dodge dealer, among other brands. Let me say, the showroom was completely empty when we arrived. Not a person to be seen. We eventually met our contact person coming around a corner. We took care of all the end-of-lease stuff fairly quickly and easily. On our way out, all the salesmen had appeared. Turns out they were in a meeting earlier. But the place was still dead. It must not have been a good meeting.

To contrast that, we left, heading directly across the street to the Honda dealership where we had leased our Civic from in May. What a difference! The showroom was full. People were talking and laughing. We were greeted immediately by one gentleman while others were taking phone calls. We met with our salesman Tom, easily and painlessly taking delivery of our new CRV. Which is so much more versatile than the Jeep was, by the way.

Two dealers, separated physically by just a road, but so much farther apart than that.

2009 Run With Scissors

I awoke last Sunday morning at 2:00 AM. Why would I want to do that? I had a race of course! More of a run than a race, really. It was a "fun run"! It also started at 5:00 in the morning, so I had to get up very early to accommodate. I took part in the Run With Scissors Trail Marathon +. There was also a double marathon, but I wasn't planning on running that far. Not yet, anyway. The + part means the distance was slightly over 26.2 miles. As far as I know, the distance was about 26.7 miles for the single loop.

The run was great! We began in the dark and we ran in the dark for the better part of the next three hours. I found myself off-course twice, having missed turn markers. There were hills, rocks, roots, mud, hills, steps, horse poop, mud, water crossings, and hills. It was an AWESOME course! I really can't wait to run it again next year! Here are some photos from the event:

Here we are lined up for the start. I'm on the far right.

A view from the valley floor just after sunrise.

The Sound of Music Hills on the return trip. It had been totally dark the first time we crossed them.

A better resolution image of the Sound of Music Hills. They were before mile 4 on the way out and just after mile 22 on the way back!

About to finish the Marathon +.

This was the turn around point for the Double Marathon. Those runners needed to turn around and do it all over again!

Muddy shoes: Check!

Wet and muddy socks: Check!

Cold, tired, and wrinkled feet: Check!

My "tires" were in need of some serious cleaning after this event!

The weather for this run was amazing. The course was really hard, but tons of fun. My first trail race was supposed to be Bobcat next weekend, but I ended up signing up for this one at the last moment. I am so glad I did. Not only does it give me a really good idea of what to expect next weekend, but I would have missed an absolutely perfect running experience had I missed it. I'm already looking forward to next year's event (which may be on Halloween morning) and I'm thinking about definitely going longer.

But for now, it's off to work, where I will gaze longingly out the window at the sunshine because it will be almost dark by the time I get to leave the office.

Last Thursday's Return to the Trails

I was really looking forward to returning to the secluded trails of the Hinckley Reservation last week. I had gone WAY too long without running there. Imagine my surprise and disappointment when no one else was there upon my arrival. I waited a couple minutes while gathering my gear, and still when no one arrived, I set off alone into the woods. Here are some pictures I captured on film of my adventure. That's right, FILM! I stopped by Dodd Camera, picked up a new battery, and a roll of film just for the occasion. This little 35 mm camera is smaller than any of the digital cameras we have. Enjoy!

My run took me out the Bridle Trail to Parker Rd., which is 4.5 to 5.0 miles. All the photos were taken while en route to the turn around point, because I was rapidly loosing daylight. By the time I reached Parker Rd., dusk had fallen, and it was time to put on my new headlamp and give it a try.

I had spotted what I thought were bats, while it was still light enough to see, on the way out. I assumed they were still flying just above my head in the dark, even though I couldn't see them. What other creatures would be out in the dark? What creatures would awaiting my return trip? By myself. I could not let thoughts like that penetrate my imagination or I was seriously screwed. So with a blank mind I set off back down the path.

The run back was uneventful, though lonely. The darkness of the night combined with my understanding that I was far removed from other human beings as to create a physical weight upon my shoulders. With the realization of my isolation weighing down on me, I ran.

Fortunately I was familiar with the trails and knew which direction to take at each fork I came to. Had I been any less familiar with them, I would have been in some real trouble. But I arrived back at the car in one piece. The rustlings in the woods did not follow me out. Or did they? I did hear something on the fallen leaves, so it was a quick unload into the trunk and then I was in the car with the doors locked, engine started, and on my way home.

This was my first trail run in the dark. My second run in the dark was going to come only three days later. But that's a different story.

2009 Columbus Marathon

As the sun slowly sets over the horizon, the lights begin to come on in downtown Columbus. The view out our window at the Doubletree over the Scioto River is amazing. We stayed at this hotel once before, for the Genesis concert last year. We had the view that time as well, which made it easy to decide to stay here again. This year we had made it through all the running around: The drive down from Medina, finding Sugardaddy's Bakery and purchasing some succulent brownies, stopping for lunch at Max and Erma's, getting to the expo in the convention center and dodging all the cheerleaders who were there, checking in at the hotel, stopping at Easton to visit the LEGO Store and Glad Tidings, dropping Bailey off with his great-grandparents in Johnstown, driving back into Columbus and picking up dinner at Plank's, and finally unloading the car and getting into the room. It was a busy Saturday! As nightfall descends, Mrs. P and I are ready to eat and get to sleep. We've got a busy day awaiting us.

The view from our window at around 5:00 AM.

The night passed both slowly and quickly. We fell asleep easily enough, only to be awoken by a crying baby from the next room at 1:30. Even with the TV back on, I had a hard time falling back to sleep. What is with our luck staying downtown and having noisy neighbors? I was up first, promptly at 4:30, and nothing was moving down on the street. I was hungry so breakfast consisted of not only the peanut butter and jelly on bread I had intended, but the rest of the pizza from the night before, as well as some delicious brownie. Add to that some Gatorade/Motortab mixture and a few sips of coffee, and I was ready, figuratively bouncing off the walls and literally jumping on the bed! The odd thing was, considering how hard I was planning to run, I felt absolutely NO PRESSURE. I felt GREAT! I knew I was going to have a FUN race. I was thrilled to be feeling that way.

Plank's has the best pizza we've had anywhere! Romeo's back home is a close second. I mean, where else can you get a pepperoni and bratwurst pizza?

Gear bag is stuffed and ready to be handed to the people at the truck. Just some warm clothes to put on afterward.

Cold morning temps meant sleeves. But I wasn't planning on wearing too much.

The walk from the hotel to the starting area didn't take long at all, and we were there within a couple minutes. We were going to try to meet up at a specific meeting place with the other Medina runners, but that kind of fell through. I found Rachel easily enough as I was handing over my gear bag. She looked as excited and relaxed as I felt. That was a good thing. We both had big plans for the day and didn't need nerves getting in the way.

We left to get in line a hair later than I would have liked. The corral was already shoulder to shoulder so we walked forward on the sidewalk and hopped the fence just behind the 3:10 pacer. We were up far. Nearly as far forward as at Rite Aid, but with much less room to move around. After only a few minutes it was nearly start time. The National Anthem sounded good but there was no military fly-over. With only a of couple minutes left, I decided to ditch the garbage bag I had been wearing. We were ready to get the show started and see if all our training would yield the results we desired.

Race start!

I could go through a mile by mile account of our race. But that's not the most exciting thing for anyone to read, nor is it entirely necessary. Our race was one thing: Consistent! We ran behind the 3:10 pacer and stayed there. We didn't deviate pace. We didn't slow down. We didn't speed up. We grabbed fluids at every aid station and I took a race split at every mile marker. And man, did those mile markers come by us quickly! We were cruising, and if felt great! The pacer knew his stuff and brought us through each mile slightly ahead of pace, building us a little cushion for the later miles.

Running through German Village nearing mile 11.

Rachel and I ran together for nearly the entire 26.2 miles. We both started feeling tired at about the same time, but my legs began getting pretty stiff not too long after that. Going around a turn in Upper Arlington, she had a bit of a gap on me, and I could not close it. I maintained the distance for a mile or so, but there was no way I was going to close that distance. When she pulled past the pacer at about mile 21 or 22, I decided the best place for me was to stay with the group. I was able to hang with the now much smaller pace group up until mile 23, when I began slowing a bit to prevent all-out cramping in my legs. They were right there on the verge and I wanted to avoid that at all costs.

My final miles were solo miles, the first of the race. Oh, there were plenty of other runners around me still, but I was no longer part of a group, and my running partner was somewhere up ahead about to smash her previous PR. So I put my head down and pushed. It was hard and it hurt, but I've been in much more pain than that before. So much more pain that I realized I was feeling good by comparison. I needed to keep control of my thoughts. Everything could still be undone if I began getting panicky.

So I ran. And I would check my splits every so often to see where I was. I couldn't let the fear of being caught by the 3:15 group take control of me. I couldn't let my imagination show me getting passed by them and not being able to keep up with them. I had only a couple miles left. I could make it. As my mile splits began to prove to me, I wasn't slowing as much as I feared. I was running faster than at Rite Aid. I wasn't going to let myself be caught. And I wasn't going to waste all the hard work I had put in. Not in the last miles I wasn't!

Coming around Goodale Park, there were volunteers handing out chocolate buckeyes. I knew I wasn't going to be eating anything right then, but I saw a few children holding out their arms, each holding a buckeye and made my decision. I got my candy buckeye from a little boy, there with his family. I offered him a genuine "thank you" and made as nice a smile as I could. You can't say no to kids at these things. It turns out the chocolate confections were all wrapped in plastic. This little piece of candy was going to get me to that finish line. I tucked it into the palm of my hand and kept running.

The crowds heading into the Arena District really started to grow shortly after that. All the noise and cheering helped to propel me along. The pain began to fade to just a memory. The finish was almost here and this was the part I needed to enjoy. The part I needed to take in. To remember.

Check my watch.

3:15 group hadn't caught me.

I was going to go to Boston!

Up a hill and a right turn with crowds lining both sides of the street now, many people deep. So much noise that I couldn't hear anything else. There was the finish line. I could see the race clock now, showing 3:11. I really was going to make it.

But wait! I didn't start when the gun went off. We were too far back to start moving right away. My chip time has a discrepancy to the official time. I check my watch again. It's below 3:10. If I pick up my pace, I can beat 3:10:59 and qualify in the 18 - 34 year old bracket. I don't sprint, I can't do that now anyway. But I can stride. And I begin to pick it up. Oh, and don't forget to smile. I was going to f***ing Boston! That deserved a smile!

And then I was crossing the line. And I was done. I wasn't glad to be done. I wasn't happy it was over. I was ecstatic I had finally achieved the goal I had been chasing since early this year. That little buckeye was just burning a hole in my hand. And I was grateful.

Finish line photos:

Rachel was there at the finish line waiting for me. She ran a 3:08! Finished 4th in her AG! And 19th overall female! My official time was 3:10:44. I finished 45th of 416 in my AG and 274th of 4118 total finishers. And you know me. I've gotta' list my splits, so here they are:

7:37 / 7:01 / 7:14 / 7:18 / 7:06 / 7:05 / 7:18 / 7:17 / 7:01 / 7:05 / 7:07 / 7:16 / 7:07 / 7:24 / 7:24 / 7:18 / 7:11 / 7:16 / 7:11 / 7:03 / 6:59 (Are you kidding me?) / 7:00 / 7:08 / 7:36 / 7:53 / 8:09 / 1:35 (final .2).

That sub-seven minute mile for mile 21 elicited a much deserved F-bomb from me as I took that split. I managed to hang tough for two more miles before beginning to slow down. But where my pain-filled slow miles at Rite Aid were in the nine minute mile range, these final miles were great! I'm so glad I had that five minute cushion to work with.

Everyone else who made the trek to Columbus had a successful day as well. Mrs. P, Mrs. P's mom, and Janet all PR'd in their half marathons, and Ladd helped pace Jeannine to a PR sub-4 hour marathon! Everyone had a good day.

But no rest for the weary. As I type this, Marsha and Charles are preparing to run their own sub-4 hour marathons at Niagara Falls and Ladd is hoping to hit his BQ time of 3:20:59. Godspeed to you all!

As for me, on one week's rest I'm planning on running the Run With Scissors Trail Marathon tomorrow morning. Just for fun, of course. Road races are hard work but trail running is fun!

And now that I'm finally done, I'm going to go downstairs and eat that Buckeye I've been saving since last week at mile 25.5.

Catching Boston

I've been chasing my Boston Marathon qualifying time for most of 2009. I'm very happy to say that yesterday in Columbus, I finally caught it. I needed a 3:15:59 and I ran a 3:10:44. I qualified with a time that's good for the 18 - 34 age group! I'm very sore today, with aches all over the place. Look for a detailed race report soon!

A Little Bit of Confidence

After last night's track workout, I've found just a little bit of confidence that I might be able to finish in under 3:15:59. For the past few weeks I have felt sluggish and tired when running. The speed sessions have been OK, but trying to run at race pace out on the road has been tough. Maybe because I've been out doing that alone and on the track I've had company, people to keep my pace honest and to push me. The problem is, there is only a handful of people I run with who push me.

Pete, whom I haven't seen since February, was just finishing last night when I arrived. It turns out he had knee surgery over the summer and is just getting back into running again. Maybe I can actually keep up with him now! Bob was there, but he was just doing some easy laps, still recovering from the NC 24 and possibly preparing for another 24 hour run in Iowa. And then there was Rachel, who has probably pushed me harder than just about anyone else. She's incredibly fast and it's about all I can do to keep up with her sometimes.

We ran 3 X 1 mile repeats at marathon race pace last night. After some of our workouts, it felt incredibly easy and I couldn't believe just how fast we were really going. Each mile was under 7:15, which is our target pace for Sunday. Rachel and I are going to run together in Columbus, lining up with the 3:10 pace group. She only needs a 3:40 to qualify for Boston, but she can go much faster than that, as witnessed by her 1/2 marathon PR of 1:28! I need a 3:15, but the extra cushion might be a good idea. We can at least keep each other motivated and although I like going it alone, having a friendly face with you along the way makes things just a tiny bit easier.

Four Days and Some Hours To Go

It's hard to believe that yet another Columbus Marathon is nearly upon me. It seems like it has come around again so quickly, yet I know there have been many days of hard workouts and long runs in between this year and last. I'm now under five days until race day. I'm tapering. I'm caught up with things at work. I'm bustling with unused energy! I'm trying my best to stick with the taper plans I have on paper. It's hard though. I'd really love to go out and hit some trails, but those are off limits until after race day. I'm tiring of the pavement and would really like to go off road again. I must be satisfied with biding my time.

With some extra time on my hands this week, I've been pouring over the race website, making sure I know exactly what to expect this weekend. I've received my hotel confirmation and I know the hours of the race expo on Saturday. There are a few people heading down from the area, but I don't expect to run into many of them. We already have a list of places we need to stop at while in the Columbus metro area. There's a bakery Mrs. P saw on TV that she wants to stop at. And Jr. P needs to stop at the new LEGO Store as well. All I want is to pick up my number and chip, check into the hotel, and get some Plank's Pizza for dinner. Pepperoni and bratwurst, of course! And a solid night's sleep would be great too.

I'll be able to get some track time in tonight and burn off some excess energy. But I'll need to keep it within reason, just 200's and 400's. This is going to be one of those long weeks. I can tell. Oh well, at least the X-Box is fixed and we can distract ourselves with some Guitar Hero and Rock Band jams at night.

I'll leave you with a photo of Mrs. P and her mom finishing the half marathon last year. The image was one of just a few that have been featured on the race's website for the last year. I'm sure they will be replaced shortly after this weekend, so enjoy! And never mind that it looks like her mom is blind. She's not!

Taper Weekend

Not much to report from the weekend, being as it's the final weekend prior to Columbus. Two runs scheduled. Two runs completed: A short four miler on Saturday and eight on Sunday.

I joined Marsha, Charles, and Janet on Saturday as they were passing by my house on their long run. I ended up with just under five, but that's all good. It was a nice easy pace and we had a good run considering the chilly wind we were running into. The hot McCafe Mocha was a nice reward afterward.

Sunday I slept in later than normal, not getting out of bed until 8:30. It was comfortable and I wasn't in any hurry to be up and about. But once we were up, the plan was for Mrs. P to get her run in first and I would do mine second as I was going a little farther. The weather yesterday morning was a mixed bag with clouds, cold overnight temps, and wind early, giving way to some nice sunshine a little later in the morning. It was into the sunshine that I went. I fretted over how to dress as the wind would make things cold, but the sun would make things hot. In the end however, I was dressed perfectly.

My run took me out the Lester Rail Trail. It's a nine mile round trip to the trail's end, but I turned around promptly four miles into the run. I'm trying very hard to go as close to the training schedule as possible. I'm thinking that my recent sluggishness is possibly due to some over training and I'm hoping a good taper will find me energetic and sharp on Sunday morning.

As you can see in the above photo, the trail was beautiful this weekend. Most of the leaves are at their peak color right now. It would have been nice to have my camera with me, but my camera phone will have to do. The trail was empty for being around noon. I only came across two dog walkers, a couple riding a tandem bike, and a woman riding by herself. I thought about all the folks running the Towpath Marathon that morning over in the Valley. I'm sure it must have been beautiful down there. Chilly, but gorgeous. Pretty soon all the leaves will be down and things will be cold, grey, and depressing here again. Best to enjoy this time of year while I still can!

I'm not the only one hoping for good weather next weekend. The forecast is calling for mid 40's overnight and only 50's for highs on Sunday. But scattered showers were mentioned and I've seen the "S" word mentioned a couple times as well. Snow would be better than rain, but I'll deal with whatever we get. Who knows? Maybe less than ideal weather conditions will yield the results that near perfect conditions have not.

Three Runs, Three Days

After resting the remainder of Sunday, I decided to go out for an easy 3 miles Monday after work. The weather was amazing and I didn't want to miss a chance to enjoy it. I ended up with 3.1 miles, a 5K, in 23:34. That's the kind of time I was looking for, but it sure felt like I was running much harder than that. I'm going to chalk that up to still being tired from the weekend.

Tuesday was speed night so it was off to the track I went. Charles and Marsha were already in the throes of their 10 X 800 meter set, but Chuck was jogging around so I joined him for a warm-up. He wasn't going to be doing any speed work on account of a nerve issue in his leg, so it was just Rachel and I. I forgot it was my turn to pick the workout and came up with a ladder: 200, 400, 800, 1600, 800, 400, 200. She agreed but suggested we turn the 1600 into a 1200. That was fine by me! Our splits: 200m - :42 / 400m - 1:31 / 800m - 3:07 / 1200m - 4:57 / 800m - 3:11 / 400m - 1:33 / 200m - :43. Some of those were a little on the fast side for where we are in training, but we felt good finishing each one. The weather was windy and chilly, so can't complain.

Wednesday I was able to run from Stimie's house as the women were preparing food for a party tonight. They live on the south side of Medina, in the hills. I hit one of the bigger ones within the first mile. After that it was a net downhill to my turnaround point. I felt good with the wind at my back, but started getting a little warm. On the way back though, I was starting to feel the cold. The wind and chill had not left from Tuesday. I maintained my pace better than I could have expected coming back the last 4 miles with the headwind and the hills. I even went up the big one, Mt. Crumpet as I like to call it, one last time before returning to their house. 8.2 miles in 1:05:12, which is a 7:50-something pace. Very good, all things considered. A stop at Panera on the way home to pick up dinner and I was pretty much done for the evening.

I'm taking rest days from running today and tomorrow. I have to keep reminding myself that I need to be tapering right now. I need to be fresh and ready to go in 10 days. Maybe some cross-training is in order?

Tales From the Aid Station

The inaugural North Coast 24 Hour Endurance Run was held this past weekend at Edgewater State Park in Cleveland. It was also host to the U.S. 24 Hour National Championships. A very cool event to bring home, let alone in it's first year. The Medina County Road Runners Club was involved with the production of the event, led by Race Director Dan H., whom I get to run with on a regular basis. In fact, a number of people I know were entrants in the race. Eight runners, to be exact. Some had a good day. Some not as good as they might have hoped. But to even show up at the starting line for such an event is an accomplishment in itself!


My Saturday began with my long run for the weekend. On tap was a 12 miler. However, because I needed to shift my days to accommodate working the event, and due to Mrs. P being slapped in the face by a Christmas tree on Friday (long story), I missed my pace run on Friday and decided to lengthen my long run to 14 miles. They were supposed to be 14 easy miles but I ended up running them a bit harder, an 8:11 average pace. This left me a little more tired than I was hoping to be, knowing I was going to be up all night. I tried to take a nap Saturday afternoon, but wasn't very successful. So, without being able to rest much, I decided to head up to the race a little earlier than I had planned.


I arrived at the race and was put to work around 6:00 PM. The runners had already been running for nine hours by the time I arrived. That alone is longer than any race I've ever competed in! My first job was to make some peanut butter sandwiches (how fitting!) which were then cut into quarters. From then on I helped maintain the aid station. We needed to have not just water cups ready to be grabbed, but Gatorade and HEED as well. While also watching the levels of the 5 gallon coolers they were dispensing from. We also had a selection of pop including Coke/Pepsi, Ginger Ale, Mountain Dew, Dr. Pepper, and 7-Up. Some of these were kept ready to be grabbed as they were favorites among the runners. They were also favorites among the yellow jackets. We were swarmed from the time I arrived till just after dark. Other beverages we provided were coffee, tea, and hot chocolate. Those became more popular after dark when it started getting cold.


On the food side of things, soup and broth were popular due to the mild flavor and high sodium content. We also had rice on hand for most of the race. Pizza Hut delivered a ton of pizzas at one point and were gobbled up by not just the runners, but the volunteers as well. The coolest part of the food service was what would come out of the prep area behind us. There was always someone back there working on the next round of food. Always something different so the runners wouldn't get tired of eating the same thing. Some of the offerings included: Grilled cheese sandwiches, grilled peanut butter and jelly, scalloped potatoes, sausage egg and cheese wraps, egg and cheese sandwiches, french toast, and probably others I've forgotten already.

I ended up working the aid station the entire time I was down there, save for a walk around the race course to make sure everyone was still moving forward, which turned out to be 15 hours. 24 hours is a long time to run, but 15 hours of standing at a table busying myself with odds and ends is long enough to start getting stiff and sore in spots. I never felt sleepy, just a little tired towards the morning. I could tell I had gone too long without sleeping. The night flew by, bringing us a full moon which would occasionally break through the clouds hugging the shoreline and all the stars out over the lake which was perfectly clear. The overnight was comfortable, dry, and relatively quiet. Some of the runners stopped to rest and the yellow jackets were non-existent. They returned just before dawn though, just like clockwork.

My experience helping out at the race was amazing. I'm glad I had the chance to do it. I would surely do it again next year, but I may want to run it too! Watching the elite runners pass by all night was awe inspiring. As was watching everyone else who was tackling the event. I also got to meet some great people who were also working the table from time to time. It was truly a group effort! My work wasn't over when the horn blew at the end of the 24 hours. I was able to give a lift to a trio of out-of-towners after the race. Tim (70 years old/53.1miles) and Suki (61 years old/72.3 miles) were headed to their hotel which I was going to drive right past, and Newton (67 years old/97.7 miles!) was heading to the airport to fly back home. I think he may have been able to sleep on that flight!

The top male ran 151.5 miles and top female 136.3 miles. There were multiple age group records set including female 60-65 and male 80+. Leo Lightner is 81 years old and ran 82.7 miles! Absolutely amazing to watch! Congratulations finally to all the runners whom I knew: Connie (116.19 miles), Roy (108.09 miles), Kim (123.19 miles), Ladd (107.44 miles), Bob (100.88 miles), Suzzanne (89.86 miles), Frank (94.57 miles), and John (74.95 miles), who drove up from Columbus by himself for the race. I'm sure I'll see him back up for the 2nd annual event next year! Way to go everyone! Had NBC been here with their film crew like they do for the Hawaii Ironman (which is this Saturday), there would have been a moving and inspirational sports special as a result.

Bobcat Trail Marathon Elevation Chart

I know the image is small, but check it out. This is the elevation chart for the Bobcat Trail Marathon in November. The race is being promoted as having 2,000 feet of elevation gain and 2,000 feet of elevation loss. Based upon that I was guessing that the course would be either up or down with little to no flats. I had no clue how close I would be. Look at that thing! It's ALL climbing or descending. Some more than others, but it's going to be literally up and down the entire race. AWESOME! I am getting more and more psyched for this one! Flat courses might make for fast times, but flats are boring. Give me something interesting!

Cold and Wet on the Track

I don't mind running in the rain, especially when it's in the summer and is hot a humid. I will actually run better in a nice warm rain shower. However, what we ran in on Tuesday was not, I repeat NOT a nice rain. It was cold rain. On a cold evening. I wasn't ready to don sleeves, a warm-up jacket, and gloves just yet. 50 degrees, rain, and a slight wind do not make for comfortable running. But I was to find out that our workout would completely take my mind off the weather.

Our workout for the night was one of Connie's ideas, although she wasn't there to share our misery. (She's currently tapering for her record attempt at the 24 Hour run this weekend) After a nice enough mile and a half warm-up, which did indeed help to warm me up, we were set to run 3 X 2 mile repeats. That's right, three sets of two miles. And we had negative split time goals to meet for each mile too. It was a team effort as we attacked each mile. Chuck, Rachel, and I ran single file, alternating lead runner each lap. Each of us running with a watch helped us check our splits each 200 to 400 meters, keeping us on pace. Having a Garmin with a current pace readout didn't hurt either.

Here are our splits:

Mile 1 - Goal 7:00 - Actual 7:00
Mile 2 - Goal 6:45 - Actual 6:39

800 meter recovery

Mile 3 - Goal 6:45 - Actual 6:39
Mile 4 - Goal 6:30 - Actual 6:27

800 meter recovery

Mile 5 - Goal 6:30 - Actual 6:25
Mile 6 - Goal 6:30 - Actual 6:25

We decided to just maintain mile 6 rather than try to drop it down to a 6:15. I'm sure we could have hit it, but we agreed the current pace was challenging enough. After a cold three quarter mile cool-down in the rain, we parted ways dripping and shivering. The heater in the car could not warm up fast enough for my liking and I needed to turn on the rear defogger in order to see. That was the coldest run I've done since the spring. All told: 9.5 miles in 1:13.

The sun's out today for the first time since Sunday. Which makes me wish I could get out and run in it. But there's too much going on today for me to be able to take advantage of it. Maybe tomorrow. The big Northcoast 24 Hour Endurance Run is this weekend. I plan to help work it overnight into Sunday morning. I know quite a few of the entrants and it's also the 24 Hour National Championships. It should be fun. Fun for me because I'm not running!