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!