39th State, New Mexico

GHOST TOWN 38.5 RACE, Hillsboro, NM

On January 18th I ran the Ghost Town 38.5 mile race in New Mexico. I have been to the area three times in my life on vacations and always thought the area was a beautiful sight. So when I saw the race listed in Ultrarunning several years ago, I was determined to make it my New Mexico state race.
The race starts and finishes at Susan the race director's home. The hospitality was great as well as the pre race meal held at the Community Center or old high school.
The building was restored and very nice facility.
Betty, my wife and I drove down to NM. It took three days but was a nice trip. This is the greatest distance I want to drive in the future. I must be getting old.

Rob Powell flew down on Saturday night and crashed at my digs in Truth or Consequences. He arrived at 11:45 PM and we got up to head to Hillsboro at 4:30 AM on Sunday. I told Rob I drove the first 6.3 miles the day before and found it to be rolling with some ups and downs. I don't know what I had been smoking when I checked it out, since the first 6.3 miles only goes one direction and that is up!

We arrived at the race start and Rob spent time sucking up to the RD while I meditated on the up coming start.

The race started at 6 AM in the dark with 25 degrees and quite windy. In fact the wind was blowing in our faces for the first 6.3 miles.
We were off and I saw Rob disappear into the distance and would not see him for at leat two hours on an out and back section.
The first portion of the race gained from 5,500 feet to 7,000 feet of elevation. I did notice the altitude and thought this will be an interesting day.
Now first, I was not well trained for this race. Knew altituted would be a factor.
And had excess weight on the old chasis. But hey it was beautiful course and what a setting.
Now I could desribe every little complaint that I had during the race, but who doesn't have them.
My race was more of a survival trudge, as the course was rocky and rough in places and I made a mistake in the trail shoes I wore causing much pain.
I did finish in 51st place out of 72 in a time of 9:02:13.
I did meet Greg Murray a member of NEO Trail Runners as well as his brother, Brian. Brian is from New Mexico.
There were a total of five Ohio runners: Rob Powell, Robert Kazar, Greg Murray , Melissa Johnson, and of course me. The temperature did get up to 58 degrees and sunny. What a day. I say let the photos tell the story. Now to get ready for 'Forget the PR', Mohican 50 KM; a Mohican Trail 100 sampler.

Ghost Town 38.5 -- Quickie!

Ok, here's the fast and dirty version until I get back home to do the long drawn out edition.
Finished.....................
9:02:13.
Beautiful location.
Hard ass course.
Suffered much! Due to lack of training, altitude, and wrong footwear.
State #39!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Photo has the 5-Ohio runners: Rob Powell, Robert Kazar, Greg Murray, Melissa Johnson, and me.

Truth or Consequences

Friday I arrive at TOC, NM and went for a quick 5 mile run from the hotel we are staying at.
I headed west into the desert on what turned out to be gravel roads. The temperature was 63 degrees and sunny. Had a nice run. Saw no wildlife, even with a sign warning to watchout for rattlesnakes.
I will take Saturday off since no benefit will be had for the race on Sunday. Rest will be more benefit.
I did notice on my run Friday the higher altitude (5,000'+) than
I'm usually accustomed (900-1,300').
I will report my race on Sunday, I know all will be on pins and needles to hear all about the adventure.

Did the Treadmill 3 Mile.

With the strong winds, snow and ice my 10 miler went down the drain. But not to worry as I don't want to be tired for next Sunday, I ran 3 miles on my treadmill. Yes, I know exciting.
Now, tomorrow I hope to start my travels to New Mexico. Well let's hope things aren't to bad in the morning.

Oh yes if my drive is not toooooooooooooo long to my destination tomorrow, I will let you know how the day went via laptop.

Run Run Run New Mexico here I come.

I'm chomping at the bit to get on the road and down to New Mexico to run the Ghost Town 38.5 mile run. But I have been finishing off the training so I can survive the run.
Sunday I ran 17 miles in Mohican with Rob Powell, Michelle Bichsel, and Nick. Check out their blogs for all the good stories. All you get here today is a photo thanks to Nick, our run photographer. It was a neat run with much untouched trail. until we went through.

Today I ran another 5 miles on snow, Mohican. It's January in Ohio, what does one expect.
So there you have it

Two in a Row.

Yep, two blogs in a row. Now if I can keep the streak going that will be great.

Today's run was 3 miles on the treadmill. I think it would have been fine outside, but I will save it for tomorrow--20 miles on snowy trails.

Ghost Town 38.5 miles in New Mexico is in 1 week. Let the adventure begin...................................

Running in the Snow, Running in the Snow, oh what...

Drove to the B+O Trail at Butler around 2:30 PM today to do a 10 miler. It was starting to snow fairly hard as I began, but needed to get this 10 miles completed. As I ran the snow continued to accumulate but I had the correct shoes on for the conditions and the surroundings were so surreal.
Made it to Bellville and turned around at the 5 mile post. It kept snowing and I kept trudging.
With 3.5 miles to go a guy riding a bike pulled alongside me and low and behold it was Ryan O'Dell, race director for the Mohican Trail 100. He rode and I trudged for the remaining 3.5 miles talking away.
I actually ran much faster second half thanks to Ryan.
Now that was a fun run. Tomorrow if the snow continues as predicted I will use my Katoohlas.

Ten Mile Trail Run

Today was supposed to be a 25 mile run. I bulked, so Sunday is now distance day.

I did go and run 10 miles at Mohican on trails. Had an enjoyable run. Tempts. were 37 and windy, but nice. Ran into two hikers. They were in shorts and made me feel quite overdressed. I was comfortable, so the young lady in shorts had to be chilled. I would have offered her my running pants, but her boyfriend may have objected. I know at that point I would have had a chilly run in my briefs.

Ten.....More.....Mile

My run counts to the first month and a ten mile run. I wish more people would enter this challenge.

Let the New Year Begin

I am always impressed how many runners take the time on the first day of the year to review and plan their race plans for the new year.
I in fact always did that and tried my best to follow said plan.
Last year was a disaster for me running wise. The first race I ran was in Kansas, The Wyco Psycho 50 km trail race. Worst 50 km I ever ran. I was trained but conditions caused a dismal day.

Had an acceptable 50km race in Connecticut, the Lake Waramaug 50 km. Both Rob Powell and I drove over to CT. and did this race. It was a fun time. I should partner up more.

Had some unplanned family illness that consumed my time and caused me to abort my schedule as planned. I did attain 25,000 recorded miles. Small to some but mind boggling to me.
Currently coaching high school indoor track and will be coaching outdoor track this spring. My last year, freeing up some excellent races for 2010.
Will be coaching cross country in the fall and from then on as long as it remains fun.

Race Goals for 2009:
Jan-Dec. ten.....more....miles Challenge Where ever
Jan. 18 Ghost Town 38.5 mile race New Mexico
April 19 Forget the PR 50 KM Mohican, Ohio
May 30 No Frills 6 hr. Ohio
June 20 Mohican Trail 100
Oct. 4 Portland Marathon Maine

Well this is a start as I am sure it will change over the year. Mohican is my focus race.

I did begin the year with a short run of 3 miles on the tread mill. Tomorrow I plan on 25 miles.

Happy New Years To All!

8 Degrees and I Did It!

At 3:30 PM I went and ran 5 miles at Mohican in the Class A area with a few miles of trail. Was going to do 10 miles today, but with the temperatures and wind I opted for 5 today and 10 miles tomorrow. I was properly dressed for the run, not to warm and not to cold.
It was still very cold out thar.

20 Miles in an Unconventional Way

Last weekend I was sick with sinus infection, swollen glands, and sore throat. Missed 4 days of running and when I did run I was really unmotivated. Probably weather related.
Today I had a twenty miler scheduled, but knew if I went out to do the 20, it would not be completed. I decided to do 4X5 mile runs.
9 AM ran from my house to the lodge.
11:30 AM ran in Loudonville. Ran into one of my CC runners and we ran together for 2 miles.
Thanks Haley!!!!!!!!!!!!!
1:30 PM ran on the B+O Trail in Butler, Ohio.
4:30 PM ran at the Mohican State Park Class A campground area.
Temperature fluctuated from 23 - 27 degrees. Wind was present and only gloom (no sun).
I hope to get a 23 miler in next week.

Tomorrow 10 miles. It better be in the morning as the weather is going in a hand basket later in the day with strong wind in the 25-25 mph range.

Very Windy Trot!

11:30 Am I headed out to run to the lodge from my house. Around a 5 mile road run.
Very hilly. Today it was windy with snow flurries. Probably nice views except for the snow flurries. Hard to see when they hit you in the eyeballs.

Tomorrow I am suppose to do 20 miles with Rob and Michelle. It is snowing and there will be accumulation of snow on those trails. However the 40 degrees for a high tomorrow will take care of that snow and make mud. Let the adventure begin.

No Mo Sno!

I ran 10 miles today down at Mohican. All on road (OK 0.2 mile every three miles was not on road).
It was a balmy 41 degrees all the snow had vanished probably due to the rain. Yes, it rained and rained more. In fact it rained the whole dam time I was running. But..it was warmer, so that's a plus.

Went to indoor track practice after my run. Ironic indoor track was practiced outside. At Loudonville we don't have the luxury of practicing indoors unless we go to some one else s facility.
But since it was above 40 degrees we practice outside.

Now I am heading to yoga. I will have two athletes with me tonight. I think they do it so they can show the coach how flexible they are compared to me. If you are 16 you better be more flexible than me. That's enough for now, so two aleve and yoga.

There is something to be said about winter. #@*%!!

I came to the conclusion today my mood about running wasn't going to change since winter is here and will be here for some time. I hate winter. It's cold and there's snow and ice. Dreary!
Of course I could do like Rob Powell and run on my treadmill for 2 hours. Now that's worse than the cold, snow and ice.

So yesterday I implemented my new plan. Run long and meditate while running all the good things about winter. Then after a minute or two of meditation, finish the planned run.

Yesterday I ran at Mohican for 5 miles. Snow and ice...yes. 18 degrees...yes, and a little wind.

Today ran on the B+O Trail for 10 miles. Warmer than Sunday, 28 degrees. The rest was the same plus a little rain.

With my wife's health situation I have modified my race plans. Dropping URINEO 50 on 12/20 and Rocky Raccoon 100 on 2/7. Plus I'm not in condition to go the distance.
Still going to New Mexico on 1/18 to run Ghost Town 38.5 mile race. So I better get ready.

Nippy Run

I ran 8.8 miles in Loudonville due to deer gun season in the woods. Felt a little safer that way.
I ran several of the runs I have the cross country and track runners do on the roads of Loudonville.
It was nice to see all the people driving about. It was to cold to be out and about walking.
So ended up with 8.8 miles.

I actually was sitting at home planing on doing the run once it warmed up a little. The temperature was at 29 at 1:00 pm. Within 5 minutes it dropped to 25 degrees. I aborted the wait until it warms up and headed down to L'ville to do my run before the temperature dropped more. It didn't. Had a nice invigorating run.

Braking Stagnation

Yesterday I was in Boardman visiting my parents for Thanksgiving. I got up early in the morning to do my run from their home and to Mill Creek Park just down the road. I have a 10 km loop I like to run. The morning was crisp and clear with the temperature at 32 degrees.
As I was running traversing Newport Lake I was amazed how invigorating the run was to me.
I just wanted to run on for miles, but unfortunately family had some expectation of my visit.
There were many walkers and runners out and about doing their exercise before the gluttony of the day was to take place.
My run was very refreshing and hopefully will help with the stagnation that has taken place in my own running.
Here's hoping all had a Happy Thanksgiving.

Yoga 2 A Better Day!

I did Yoga at the YMCA last night and it went a little better. I am still as inflexible as a brick, but it's nice to know some younger folks are less flexible than me. I hope yoga will give me the ability down the road to run like a gazelle.

Ran 3 miles yesterday to the lodge road.
Ran 5 miles on Monday at Mohican, partly trail and partly road. Also, did my ab workout.
This is officially my Week #1 workout towards the Ghost Town 38.5 mile run, New Mexico.

15 Miles on the Trails of Mohican

Today I ran 15 miles on the trails of Mohican. Meeting with the early birds at 8 AM, we ran the infamous purple loop (Rob, Michelle, and Mike from Columbus). At the 3 mile point of the run we ran into the Medina Connection (Roy Heger, Patrick, and others---oops at 58 you tend to forget names and other things.). After returning to the covered bridge we headed out the red loop to the bridle staging area and continued to a point where me and Rob planned to abort to do a section of trail to be used on 'Forget the PR 50KM' race to be held on April 19th. The others went on to Rock Point then back to the covered bridge via south park and fire tower.
I was pleased with my 15 miles and seeing a section of trail I have not run before.
The weather was much cooler and some runners not to be named made fun of my attire. I was however very comfortable and did not get overheated.
Thanks Rob for making me do the additional 0.3 miles to make 15 miles even.

Here's a challenge for 'One-More-Mile'

Many people are very generous and give to charities all the time and some people don't.
There is a race or challenge going on as we speak to raise money for two charities. The winner's charity and the race director's charity. The contestants each pledge an entry and how these monies will be distributed is based on running one mile starting November 1st, then adding one mile each continuing day. So on November 30 they will run 30 miles and December 1st it will be 31 miles.
Lot's of miles. Now my challenge isn't just to see the monies for the charities. I think the suffering by the runners is much more desirable. If the monies are high they won't cave as easy, so let's make them suffer for the win (Last Athlete STanding). If you would like to follow the venture go to http://1milechallenge.blogspot.com/ I know they will keep this up if the donations pour in and I would to see just who is willing to endure the most pain for their charity.

Oh by the way I ran 10 miles today in the pouring rain at 53 degrees. Now that's running weather.

Yoga and running.

I told some of my cross country runners who are very tight and inflexible, that they should try yoga. They pointed out that I was also very inflexible. My inflexibility has to do with age and stubbornness. Now let's get back to running and yoga.
So I found a class or yoga session at a nearby YMCA and we tried it out on Tuesday night.
Welllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll, I must say that was some workout for something I thought was more in the meditation and reflection mode. You actually have to do stuff. I was exhausted after the first session. Hold on, so were the kids. One even asked if I thought they might be sore the next day.
I think over time we may become more flexible so we are going to continue the weekly routine.
The instructor did tell us that we did fairly well considering she did not start us out in basic mode, but we did more advanced yoga.

Now to running. I ran 3 on Tuesday, 5 on Wednesday and shortly will be doing 10 on Mohican trails. On-on!

I Know Why I Don't Like To Put It In Writing!

I thought Blogging was a great tool and would keep one on task once a plan was laid out.
Well I laid out a plan and laid an egg. Since I got side tracked my plan went out the window.
So now Plan Redo.
I will begin my 10 week plan next Sunday heading to the Ghost Town 38.5 mile race in New Mexico in February. This week I have challenged myself with 10's. Ten miles every day through Friday.

I ran 11.7 miles on Saturday with Rob 'My Aching Back' Powell, formerly Rob '?' Powell. It was a nice run and we ran a section of the Mohican 50km. I will be #13 and I am entered.
Today I ran the 1st 10 miler. What a nice day. I hope winter is like this every day.

Tomorrow I will start core strengthening and Yoga. Yes I said Yoga. I can't believe I am really going to do this. I talked several cross country runners into doing it and they would if I did.
So I will do it until they quit, then it will probably be history. Who knows.

Race plan for the next several months: 12/13 Urineo 50 miles, OH
1/18 Ghost Town 38.5 Miles, NM
2/7 Rocky Raccoon 100, TX
3/21 National Marathon, DC
4/18 Forget the PR, Mohican 50 km, OH
5/30 No Frills Just Hills 6 Hour, OH
There you have it. See you later..........................................

Houston, we got a problem.

It has come to my attention via Nick, that I have not Blogged since October 3.
Well to my surprise, my trusted house elf did not keep my posts up to date. Shame, shame, shame!

Thanks Nick for making that known to me. I would not want people to think I was pulling a Josh and taking an extended brake from my blog.

Now for the update: My training schedule is shot. So I will start anew with week #1 next week.
For some reason cross country got very active for me and I got side tracked on my own training.
I did volunteer at an Ultra last weekend. I worked an aid station with Rob 'puke your guts out' Powell. We worked the Kendall Lake aid station at 'Running with Scissors Double Marathon'.

Speaking of Rob, he has been working diligently on the 'Forget the PR 50 km or Mohican 50 km Ultra' here at Mohican. It looks to be an exciting 50 km.

Review Week #2

I must confess that I faltered a little this week. I was to do 40 miles however only completed 32 as I took two days off instead of the one. I guess I will pay the price next week without a day off.

Sunday (9/28) - 5 miles
Monday (9/29) - 3 miles
Tuesday (9/30) - 16 miles
Wednesday (10/1) - 3 miles
Thursday and Saturday - off
Friday (10/3) - 5 miles

Week #3: 58 miles with an 18 mile long run and 2- Tempo runs of 8 miles.
Since Sunday is the 1st day of the new week I did run an 8 mile tempo run on the B+O Trail from Butler, Ohio. It was an excellent run pushing the heart rate to 80-85%. So the week started off well. Will do the weight measurement tomorrow morning.
Chow!!!!!!!!!

B+O Trail - 16 miles

I finally got out and did my long run for the week. I know it's only Tuesday, but I was supposed to do this run on Sunday. I put it off as I was to lazy to do it on Sunday and settled for a 5 miler at Mohican. Monday was no better and I did my scheduled 3 miler at Mohican. This morning I was so inspired to get out and run, I put the whole 16 miles in. It was nice being 58, cloudy and breezy. It was rather humid though. The trail was isolated with hardly a sole to be past.
Oh well it's in the books so to speak. Tomorrow a tempo run of 8 miles. On on!

Review Week #1

I thought I would be doing a fantastic job of updating my progress daily, NOT!
So here is my week number #1 training update towards Rocky Raccoon 100:

Weight has dropped from 155# to 150#. Goal: 128.
Miles for the week: 41.25 Goal: 30 miles
Sunday: 15 miles
Monday: 5 miles
Tuesday: Off- Home CC meet. (Planned)
Wednesday: Tempo run of 8.2 miles - 4 miles tempo pace.
Thursday: 5 miles
Friday: 3.25 miles
Saturday: Off- away invitational (Unplanned)
So, I exceeded the mileage, took an extra day off, lost 5#'s and got all major runs done.

Week #2: (9/28-10/4) 40 miles: includes 16 mile long and a tempo run.

We continue......................................

Catch Up Time

Since Sunday I have been so busy time has just flew by.
Monday I did a run of 5 miles at Mohican. They included road and trail.
Tuesday I was to run 3 miles, but did not. I will do two runs on Thursday. Tuesday was a 4-way cross country meet at our school, so with set up, races and tear down, the day was a blurrrrr!
Today I ran an 8 mile tempo run. It was a worker and I'm 4 weeks out of shape. Did the run down at Mohican where I know the distances. At CC practice today I told the athletes the whinnying had to go or the whiners were going. I also told them they would be at practice during the Loudonville street fair or they would be gone baby gone.
So there you have it quick and dirty......
Thursday two - three mile runs. Now give me a break, this is a 30 mile week and doing 15 miles on Sunday left little mileage to distribute for the week. Don't worry I will pay in the weeks of 60 and 70 miles.

Mansfield Running Club

This morning Rob Powell and I planned on doing a 15 mile run.
Rob called last night, Saturday and asked if I would be interested in running with the Mansfield Running Club in Lexington at the B+O Trail. Running with people is usually better than running alone, so I said sure.
So we met in Lexington at 7 AM. Quite a large group to start, but that dwindled down pretty quickly. Michelle the speed demon was running with me and Rob as things broke up. Michelle was doing a 17 mile run and wanted to do it at marathon pace, so after a mile to 2 miles she was off on a 7:15 pace. That left me and Rob. My plan was to run 15 and try and keep it at under 10 minute miles. Rob had some thoughts of his own. He would run with me to the 7.5 mile turn around and do his marathon pace for the return 7.5 miles. That would be 8:30 pace. So we parted ways.
I returned to the parking lot at the end of the run with a group still waiting to greet the lingerers.
To find out Rob ran 7:15-7:30 pace on the return. This is good as he has a marathon next weekend. Good Luck Rob at Akron Marathon.........
The Mansfield Running Club were a nice group and I enjoyed meeting them and look forward to running with them in the future.

Mohican Forest 4 and the plan.

5:30 PM I went to the Mohican forest headquarters and ran 4 miles of road. There was not a person to be found and very pleasant to run.

So, for those of you who want to know how I plan on getting ready for my 100 miler, take a look:

Wk #1 (9/21-27) 30 miles: includes 15 mile long one and a tempo run. Weight 155#.
Wk#2 (9/28-10/4) 40 miles: includes 16 mile long and a tempo run.
Wk#3 (10/5-10/11) 50 miles: includes 18 mile long and a tempo run.
wk#4 (10/12-10/18) 60 miles: includes 20 mile long, a tempo run, and moderate 10 mile.
Weight down to 145.
Wk#5 (10/19-10/25) 70 miles: includes 25 mile long, 2-10 mile, 1-12 mile, and a tempo run.
Wk#6 (10/26-11/1) 60 miles: 20 mile long, 1-10 mile, and a tempo run.
Wk#7 (11/2-11/8) 50 miles: 25 mile long and a tempo run.
Wk#8 (11/9-11/15) 50 miles: 30 mile long and a tempo run. Weight 135#.
Wk#9 (11/16-11/22) 50 miles: 18 miles long and a tempo run.
Wk#10 (11/23-11/29) 50+miles: Nifty 50, RI if they have it and a tempo run.
Let's just go to week 10 for now and see how I do. There will be an additional 10 weeks to Rocky Raccoon 100.

Simple Run for an Uncomplicated Person

Well to keep it simple I ran 3.5 miles with my cross country team. Actually parts there of. Ran very little with the fast runners, more with Haley, and surpassed a few of the extremely slow ones.
Haley just happens to run my pace.
The run was from LHS to the pool and back. So not much to talk about, but there will be more tomorrow.

Pushing Up Daisies!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm Back!!
Yesterday I wanted to give my runners a long run after their Tuesday meet. However I wanted to do a hill workout, so I came up with a run that would accommodate both.
From the Loudonville High School there is a road that heads west called Maple Heights and has a horrendous hill with over a 300 foot climb. From there the runners continue on a roller coaster to the State Forest Entrance. Basically 4 miles out and return 4 miles. Some of the slower runners I had run 3.3 miles out and 3.3 miles back.
Well they were thrilled!
I was not planning on running the run since it would be to painful and I was going to do an easy flat run with are lesser runners. But no, several of my runners conned me into doing the hill run.
I went out with my top girl runner. We headed up Maple Heights hill. One third of the way up I bonked. I told her to go on as I could not do it on the day. She continued on and I thought if she could get up over that g-dam hill so could I. So on I went. I whole purpose of the run was to work the hills. On on!
I finally caught up we Haley at 2.1 miles and we headed on together. My number 5 boy (Jon) was to turn around at the 2.1 mile mark and head back. The number 4 boy (Andrew) asked him to run to the 3.3 mile turn around before they started. I told Jon he should turn around at the 2.1 mile turn around as he was not capable of making it to the 3.3 mile turnaround and back.
Well my strategy worked as he continued on with Andrew.
Haley and I ran on also. This is an up and down run the whole way. We made it out and back again. I can tell you I slept well last night and I'm sure all those kids did too.

I think this run and last Sunday's trail run with Rob and Michelle were a true wake up call for me to get my ass in gear. Lose 20 pounds and get 50 - 70 mile running weeks back in place.
How else am I going to run a sub-20 hour Rocky Raccoon 100.

This Sunday I will run 15 miles at Mohican, anyone interested?

Now I have a goal.

Today I entered the Ghost Town 38.5 Mile Ultra in New Mexico. The race will be run on January 18. Some asphalt road, some dirt road and some primitive trail in the beautiful high desert of New Mexico.
This will give me the needed focus to do the training in preparation for the race. I am more likely to do a training plan when it has a race connected to it. So now the training begins.
I am also planning on doing Rocky Raccoon 100 in February. Let the pain begin.
So far my scheduled races are as follows: 11/23 Nifty Fifty, RI (if they have it.), 12/13 URINEO 50, 1/18 Ghost Town 38.5, NM, 2/7 Rocky Raccoon 100.
That's a start to 2009.
You probably noted the Nifty Fifty race as if they have it. I have been wanting to do this race over the years, but always something gets in the way. Then the race was dropped. This year I noticed it was part of the New England Ultra Series. Which did not happen. I have been in contact with the race director and he said he may have it if there was enough interest. He said he wanted to do it on November 23 instead if the December 13 date that was listed in the N.E. Ultra Series. I have not heard from him if it is a go or not. If it is I will be there.

Now cross country, which has taken a lot of my spare time. My number 1 boy runner won his 3rd invitational in 4 meets. As a sophomore he is doing great and this coming Saturday will be his true test, as there will be 3 to 4 runners at his level. We will see what kind of metal he has.
I think he will break the school record of 16:24. Of course he does not know how fast he can really go. He does have a 16:30 under his belt.
My number 1 girl has been doing well, but was having problems getting a PR. I finally figured out her problem. She was running her races, but not competing in the races. Her first mile she races for position, then her 2nd and 3rd she maintains position even if the girls in front of her slow down. I told her she needs to be more aggressive and after the first mile go after the next girl and then the next and so on. Her last invitational she did that and got her PR. She said she felt great and had a focus throughout her race. Even though many of those girls on the line may be nice, after the guns goes off each and everyone of them are the enemy and should be trampled. I think she gets the picture now.

21 miles on a Beautiful Morning

Sunday morning Rob Powell arrived at my house at 7:00 am for a nice trail run in Mohican.
Rob wanted to do a longer run in preparation for the marathons he has coming up in September, and I wanted to kick start my training. What better way than a nice 21 mile run on trails.
It was 50 degrees with a lot of moisture in the air at the start of our journey. We decided to do the red and green loops of the Mohican Trail 100. It was such an enjoyable run. We did take it slow as Rob was so out of shape and drinking beer like a drunk sailor while watching the Ohio State game on Saturday. I was just out of shape!!!!!! My downfall is all the ice cream I eat during the summer.
We got to Rock point in around 2 hours with a little more than half way to go. On our way there we ran into a friend we both knew. Paul Bower was out walking his two dogs. Paul knew Rob as a young boy and was good friends with his dad. Rob hasn't seen Paul for years and I don't think Paul recognized him at first, so it was a nice reunion.
After Rock Point we stopped to pickup our stashed water about a half mile down the trail. The rest of the run was uneventful except more people were out and about. Temperatures were rising and our vim and vigor was waining. After the fire tower, a new section of trail was had going around a gas well. While I don't think it added too much extra distance, the trail was excellent removing a 1/10th mile of gravel access road. All and all a nice run, now it's time to get back into the full swing of training for a race in November.

Running Zone

Wow, 72 degrees very low humidity, now that's running in the zone. Ran to the lodge at noon. Bright sun on a hilly course, but all was fine as it felt great.
Time to head down to the school to get ready for the first cross country meet of the season.
Hopefully the kids are ready, since it really doesn't matter at this time....It's show time!

Schools Out For Summer, NOT!!!!!!!!!

I was reflecting on my summer after viewing many blogs I frequent. The one thing that seem to stick out was the many wonderful vacations many had this year. I unfortunately did not get to venture out this summer for many reason. So those of you who put fantastic glossies of your trips, thank you. I for one did enjoy them.
Cross country season is upon us. We start racing next week. I traditionally fight with our athletic director not to schedule any meets during the first week. I like to torture the kids an extra week before we have a meet. This year we will go to Mapleton Invitational on Tues., August 26 as our first meet. The boys have won this invite 5 of 6 years since it's inception, all the last 5 years. We will not this year.
I have a strong top 4 runners, however one is out for three meets for disciplinary reasons. The rest of the team is weak, so we are very unlikely to prevail.
The girls are slow, slow, slow. My one hope this year is Haley who is running strong and should do well individually. We shall see, we shall see!
One of the new boys out for CC has improved drastically. He wasn't going to come out this year after having mono at the end of the school year. I told him I would bring him along slowly...he believed me.
On last Thursday we had a long run of 8 miles. I told Andrew to just do 6 miles. I caught up with him around 1.5 miles into the run and decided to run the rest of his 6 miles with him. We got to the turn around and he wanted to do the full eight miles. I was impressed and we pushed on.
The last mile of the 8 he did slow a little, but he has improved a lot. And I got in an 8 mile run.
Now that's progress.

Canalways 5 km

Saturday I took three of my cross country runners for a road race near Navarre.
I have ran this one before and thought it would be a nice tune up race for this coming CC season.
Of course the boys felt I should run it also.
As not to embarrass the boys I did not get on the line with them. Instead held back about twenty feet. The field was pretty large with 386 runners, 209 men.
The blast horn went off and that was the last I saw of the boys. So I concentrated on my race. I was having trouble breathing for some reason, but still had a nice 7:01 mile. The first 3/4 mile is on road , then goes onto the bike path for the next 2 miles. The bike path is flat. The end of the race has a hill, but not to bad. I past at least 10 runners on the hill and a couple more on the straight away into the finish. All in all not bad as I am sooooo out of shape. My time was 23:42, 9th of 18 age group, 111th of 209 men, and 148th of 386 overall.
Now the boys faired a little better than me. Brian came in 3rd overall in 16:34, Jace 1st AG in 18:02, and Brandon 4th AG in 19:18.
The first cross country race for Loudonville will be August 26 at the Mapleton Invitational.

Weekly Update

I just realized it's been one week since my last Blog. I know what you are thinking and may be somewhat correct. I have not been running, not. I have been running, just not the workouts I had planned for my marathon training.
To many distractions and not enough focus.
My numbers were down in cross country, but we lowered our standards and I think we will be ok, just not as fast as I would have liked.
My run today was a 1.58 mile loop in Mohican Forest at the education forest. I did 5 loops for 7.9 miles.
So there you have it.

Low Down on Low Humidity

Ran 5.5 miles on mountain bike trails in Mohican. Nice and hilly. No Bugs. No humidity.
Wow if only I had the time I could have ran all day.
However, time being at a premium I only had enough for the 5.5 mile run.
I must say that humidity can really put a damper on performance. I have run at high altitudes making breathing labored, but humidity makes for a total miserable experience.

Tomorrow starts cross country practice. This should be a challenging year as the girls team will be small, and I am not picking on Mary Ann. The boys may not have enough to field a team, a first in my 10 years as head coach. However, there are two boys who should do well. Maybe state?????

No Big Deal, Just 3

Today I was supposed to do 8 miles, but time was at a premium so did 3 miles.
Ran from my house to the lodge road and returned. Felt ok, thank goodness for the breeze as it was already 81 and humid.
Tomorrow intervals on the track. 8 X 200!

Three by Ones's

10 AM went to the B+O Trail in Butler to do my 3 x 1 mile intervals.
I waited to long since the temperature was at 79 and kind of humid. Lots of sun.
I began with a 2 mile warm up then did 1 mile intervals at a goal of 8:05.
The first mile was 8:01, 2nd 8:00, and 3rd 8:03. Three minute rest was allowed between each mile. I actually thought I would run at 7:30 but my chest and lungs just burned. I was trying but not much gas in the tank today.
Followed up with a mile cool down.

Boom Boom Boom!

3:30 PM I headed out from my house to do a 5 mile run to the Lodge and back. Nice partly sunny skies with temperatures around 70 and low humidity. I did notice while running that a black spot loamed in the distance to the west. I trudged on and all of the sudden the black spot caught up and over me. Now the skies were very dark with strong winds and torrential rain down pour. Then the loud booms came from the skies but no lightning. I was concerned but no place to get cover.
So I figured if I made it to the lodge I would seek shelter there.
As sudden as it came the skies lightened up with refreshing showers. On my return and before arriving back at home it was again partly sunny.

10 Miles of Trail

At 7 am I went down to Mohican S. P. Class A Campground and met up with one of my cross country runners. He wants to get out and run some miles on trails. Jace and I headed out to the covered bridge and then to Big Lyons Falls. We returned the way we came. Jace wanted to increase the pace so I told him he knew the way back and I would see him there. It was a pleasant 75 degrees with high humidity. Nice run. Tomorrow I will take him out on the bike trail to the covered bridge and return to the campground for 13 miles.
One benefit is he runs the trails in road shoes, so that helps me keep up with him on the trail runs.

25,000 Miles

OK, there you have it, it is now in the books and I can work towards 50,000 miles.
At 10 am I met Rob Powell down at the covered bridge at Mohican. We were both going to run the 4 miles I needed but he decided not to go the distance as he payed dearly at the Buckeye Trail 50 km yesterday. It was probably best as I didn't want to run him into the ground on this day.
So out I went feeling fine. Got to Little Lyons Falls and proceeded to climb out and headed to the dam. Then up the climb towards the lodge entrance and back down the trail. At Big Lyons Falls with less than a mile to go I was quite impressed with my time and headed back to the covered bridge, reaching it in 48:10. Now that is a good time for me and it has been some time since I have ran that section that fast.
At the end Rob 'Buckeye the Nut' Powell, Colleen 'Purple Lady' Theusch, Leo 'The Lion' Lightner, and Marcia Fry were there to cheer for me.
Many thanks for the cake, food and excellent friendship. This made all those miles worth while.

4 to Go................................................................

Today and yesterday I started my runs at the same time (12:37 PM). Both days were equally warm and humid, but today had a favorable breeze.
Yesterday I ran my normal 5 miler at Mohican S.P. Campground with 2 miles of trail. It was a nice run.
Today's run began from my house to the Mohican Lodge Rd. 3 miles round trip, so I added 53 feet to the end to make 3.01. Why? That leaves exactly 4 miles for tomorrow to attain 25,000 miles of recorded running.

Tempo Run

Today I ran a 7 mile run with 3 miles at tempo pace. Ran with one of my athletes and a friend.
Began at the LHS track and ran 2 miles at aerobic pace, then 3 miles at tempo. I used my heart monitor to get between 75-80% HR. I went to 163 at the end of the 3 miles or 85%. We finished the run off with a final 2 miles. Not to bad with temperature at 70 and very high humidity. This is going to be a warm day. All road.

Yesterday, I ran 5 miles at Mohican S.P., Class A campground around 3 pm. It included 2 miles of trails. 89 degrees, very humid, calm.....WOW did I suffer through this run.

14.01 miles to the magic 25,000 recorded miles.

Intervals on the Track

This is my 1st week into the 12 week training program in preparation for New Hampshire Marathon.
Monday I ran 3.1 mile trail run near Mohican Forest Headquarters.
Today, however was the 1st interval workout. A 2 mile warm up, 5 x 800 at 3:30 , and finish with a 2 mile cool down. Not to bad as I averaged 3:32, had one bad interval that was over. My heart rate hit 170 as a high with a quick recovery during the 3 minute rest between intervals. Being 58 years old, my measured Max. HR is 192, 170 should be 85% of max. Not to bad.

Count down to 25,000 recorded miles on my log: 24.01 miles to go (24,975.99). Sunday at 10 am at the covered bridge. Will run the purple Lyons Falls loop to make 25,000 miles even. Join us.

Wet Muddy Sloppy Trails of Mohican

6:00 AM I met Rob for a 10.75 mile trail run on the orange loop of the Mohican 100 course, slightly modified. It was raining and very humid. I have more problems with breathing in high humidity than high altitude running, go figure. The trails were wet, muddy and surreal. Just loved it. Rob finished with me then met Luc at the covered bridge to run with him on his 20 mile run. They should be finishing about now. I went home and watched the Tour De France. A nice day. Tomorrow will start my marathon focus training, week 1 of 12.

Summer Blogger Blues

Yesterday I ran 6 miles of trails in the wilds of Mohican and had an excellent run. It was an eerie one at that, but a good one. The eerie part was the lack of sound. Dead quiet, not even a bird. Strange! There were lots of hikers out on the trails, but quiet. Strange!
Well what's this got to do with the blues. Nothing, I just wanted to document my run yesterday.
Now the 'Summer Blogger Blues'. I noticed I have a hard time during the summer sitting down and writing a blog. I thought it was me, but I noticed other bloggers wrote a lot less at this time then when the season was not as warm. In fact the only one with an excuse for not blogging for a period was Josh 'On The Run' aka pickle who was on vacation in Yellowstone. A poor excuse not to Blog as I took my laptop while on trips and Blogged all the same. But anyhow there is less Blogging going on by all. I think it comes down to sitting at the computer while the weather is to nice to be inside.
So there you have it many of us are most likely doing our runs and enjoying the outdoors at this time, we aren't letting the rest of the world know.
Tomorrow morning Rob 'Buckeye' Powell and myself are going for a trail run in Mohican at 6 am. We will do 10+ miles and return in time for Rob to run with Luc. Rob plans 20 miles with Luc. I will however go back to bed.
On July 19, Rob and anyone else who wants to run and celebrate my 25,000 recorded mile will run from the Covered Bridge in Mohican. The run will be the purple loop of Mohican 100 the 4 miles I will need to make the distance. Then some photos to be taken for documentations and onward for more running. Time to be announced.

Ashland Balloonfest 5KM

Saturday I ran the Ashland Balloonfest 5Km race. Well I did place 2nd of 8 in my age group, my time indicated I was way behind in race preparation. My time was 24:06 finishing 129th out of 327.
You could not ask for a nicer day being in the 70's, sun, clear. Several of the Loudonville CC runners were there as well as Terri Lemke. Here's there results: 20th Jace Wolford 19:18, 22nd and 2nd overall women Terri Lemke 19:22, and 137th Haley Young 24:24. Haley was out to beat me and I had hope she would have. I even told her my strategy. I had planned to go out fast the first mile. She was with me and faded a little on the inclines. Well I faded too as I was not able to hold 7:45 pace per mile. Oh well, I guess I need to work some more. Haley is training well and should be able to take me in a few weeks, but we shall see.

I will change my projection again for the 25,000 mile day back to July 20th. Oh yeah!

Playing Catchup Again!

No I'm not trying to catchup on my miles, just catchup my BLOG.
On Wednesday I went to visit my parents in Boardman so did a run on both Wednesday and Thursday in Millcreek Park. This is a beautiful setting for running. My play area as a child.
On Wednesday I ran a little 3 miler after it had just rained. That was nice.
Thursday I ran a 6.2 mile loop I have from my parents house and it travels around Newport Lake. Always enjoy running in the park. Should do it more often.
Friday I was back home so ran my three mile loop at Mohican. Lots of people, but one would expect it for 4th of July.

I am getting closer to that magic 25,000 miles of running. I have 63.25 miles to go. I thought I would hit it on the 19th of July, but now the 13th looks more likely. Do you see this Rob?

The Core of the Problem.

On Monday I began a core body strengthening program to get me stronger. With some upper body weights and an ab workouts I hope to be on course for support of the central core, which will help on the long haul.

Tuesday I ran 5.6 miles to the lodge and back. This is a nice hilly road run from my house. It was warm, but the breeze did help. I plan on visiting my parent on Wednesday and Thursday. Will update on my return. Of course while I'm there I will run in Millcreek Park, home of TEAM PR and NEO Trail Runners.

Decision Time

Tonight I ran a group run with cross country at Mohican. Had a pleasant 5 miler, partially road and part trail. Temperature was 63, damp and wet.

Decision>>>>>>>>>>>
I have decided not to do Burning River 100 due to lack of preparation. If I'm going to do a 100 I better be in darn good shape because I'm not as young as I once was when I did them in the past.
And they were tough then. I do wish Rob the best in his pursuit of Burning River.

86.32

86.32 Miles

I will tell you about that number in a few.
Today I ran 8 miles on the Mohican Mountain Bike Trail. I had Betty drop me off at the group area and I ran from the 8 mile post to the Class A check in or the 0 mile post. The temperature was 77 with a nice breeze. The humidity was high and the trails were wet and slippery. So some caution was had. Had a great run and did a lot of thinking of how down in the dumps I am, probably about this coming CC season and lack of numbers and my lack of enthusiasm to train. One needs goals to train as that is the end result. So some goals, loose 15, no 20 pounds before New Hampshire Marathon. Train diligently for the marathon. And maybe and just maybe, enter Burning River 100. That would give me a whole month to get ready.

While I'm at it run the Ashland Baloonfest 5km this coming weekend. I will have some CC runners doing the race, so I will embarrass myself a little. I know one Young lady who will be gunning for me, but she will crumble like a flack y crust on a homemade apple pie. No names to be mentioned. Hummmmmmmmm!

Now for the 86.32 miles. I started keeping a running log back in 1987. I tell the athletes I coach to keep a log because one day it might have some interesting things to look back on.
The one thing for me in recorded miles is the number 24,913.68. Wow that is a large number and the number of miles I have ran since 1987. Just think if I had kept a log way back in my high school years that number might exceed 26,000 miles. Anyhow I only need 86.32 miles to record 25,000 miles of running. A mile stone for me. That should come about in a couple of weeks.

It's Now History, Turn the Page for the Next Chapter.

So much has transpired since my last post, so where to start.

Mohican Trail 100.
I have been involved with Mohican 100 since it's inception back in 1990. I have and have known runners who towed the line but failed to make the goal. A 100 miles is a long distance and quite cruel at that. When I designed the 1991 course I was much younger and wanted a challenging trail race where runners from the mountainous regions of the west would say, 'that is one tough race'. I think I succeeded in that desire. Now that I am a little older and plan one day to do Mohican again, I wish people would say that course is a piece of cake and real easy, but that is not to be.
So why am I babbling on about Mohican. This past weekend the 19th edition was run and I knew many runners towing the line. For some their goals were met and others they were dashed.
I was to pace my friend Rob from the 75 mile mark or Grist Mill Aid Station. I had checked on him throughout the day and he was doing well, keeping to his game plan. Unfortunately, as I was starting to prepare for meeting him I received a phone call. Rob had abandoned his run at 63 miles. Now 63 miles ain't nothing to sneeze at unless your goal is 100. I must say I was surprised and shocked by his dnf. Why? Rob had put in one heck of a training program in preparation for this race. I did not think he could be defeated mentally or physically. He was undermined by nausea and throwing up from 55 miles and on. This has happened at everyone of his 100's, even though he was successful on two occasions: Mother Road 100 and Rocky Raccoon 100. I'm not talking just a little barfing, but lot's of barfing to making one sick. He made adjustment in food, salt, water; but to no avail. I certainly could not come up with an answer.
Rob congratulations for a superb training program, hard work during those miserable winter days, and sticking to the plan as best the body would allow.
There were others I know who I pat on the back for taking on the challenge, but falling short: Kim who made it to 75 miles to run out of time (just a mere 75 miles) and Mike who went 45 miles before calling it a day. I hope most people realize that 95% of all running races are less then these runners achieved in their 100 mile race. Mohican Trail 100 2008 is now history, so time to turn to the next chapter of ones life.

Fred Davis III congratulations on your 1,000 mile Mohican Trail 100 Buckle, what an achievement.

Now on my do and did nots. I did not run for three days; Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Shame on me. I did run twice on Monday. Apparently a little guilt trip so did a two a day.
Noon I ran 5 miles to the Lodge from my house in what was ideal temperatures with a slight breeze and low humidity, it felt great. At 7 PM went down to Mohican S.P. for a cross country group run. Ran with Jace Wolford on the trails for a 6 mile run. It was wet, muddy with tempts. still in the 60's but much more humid. Jace did balance the run in my favor as he wore road shoe on trails.
He slipped and fell a couple of times as I was able to run like a gazelle through the fields. Jace is one of my faster cross country runners, so it was nice to run ahead of him.
One must have the correct equipment for the right situations. It was an nice run and fairly quick.

So there we have it, a little history.

I Know Where I Am!

Thursday at 7 am I met Haley and Terri for some mile repeats on the cross country course. We did a 2 mile warm up then started our first mile repeat. Our goal was 7:15 miles. That was the time Haley needed to indicate she was able to acheive 22:30 goal pace for 5 km later in the fall. She consistently did around 7:30 pace, while I on the other hand was at 7:45 pace. Other than the first interval where I just beat her, she smoked me on the other two. I have some work ahead of me. Haley a little and Terri is way ahead of us both. But she can do 19:50 5 km. We finished the workout off with a 2 mile cool down.. Great morning with tempts in the 50's, misty and quite damp.

At 7 pm I went down to Mohican S. P. for the high school group run. No high schoolers were there, but new Jr. High coach Craig Weber had a bunch of 7th and 8th grade runners there. So we ran a 3 mile trail run. Felt good!

3 + 3

Today and yesterday I ran three miles. Tuesday at Mohican S.P. Class A campground at around 4 pm and today at Mohican Forest Headquarters at 5 pm. I felt sluggish today and fine yesterday.
Could it be the difference in the time of day I ran. The weather was almost identical. Oh well there in the books. Tomorrow will be mile interval day. I hope I do well, as I want to run well against one of my athletes.

I Know, I Know!

Yes, I know it's been well over a week since I last Blogged. I took a mental vacation.
Track season is over and I started to run again in earnest. So my focus was to go forward and not waste your time on the boring details.

Cross country begins with me encouraging hopeful runners into get prepared by doing summer miles. This is always a challenge as young high school runners have the belief that to show up on the first day of practice is all that is needed. Then they learn the true meaning of pain. This year is a rebuilding year for the boys team and the girls while all veterans, look more like turtles going against the tide. So this will be an interesting year. Enough said!

I did receive a note from one of my track athletes who graduated. He sent a very kind thank you for being his coach and appreciated all I did for him. His parents also wrote a note with high praises and appreciation. I really treasure a favorable nod from parents and the athletes. When they take the time to put it in writing it is truly heartfelt and very meaningful.

Now for my training. I am now up to 40-50 miles per week and will continue to increase the miles. Mid-July I will begin my marathon training anew. My focus will be for the New Hampshire Marathon on October 4th. This coming Thursday I will do an interval workout with one of my athletes and another friend. The workout is a measure of where one is at at this time. Two mile warm up with 3 X 1 mile at 5 KM pace or for the athlete the goal 5 km pace. Then finish off with another 2 mile cool down. Haley is the athlete and she should be able to do hers in 7:15 pace. She ran the Miss Ohio 5 km race in 24:30 so her goal time should be 22:30 for this fall. We shall seeeeeeee!

So here's my schedule for the next two weeks:
6/17 3 miles
6/18 3 miles
6/19 9 miles 2+(3X1@7:15)+2 also, group run in evening 3-5 miles
6/20 8 miles
6/21 25 miles pacing Rob 'Buckeye' Powell at the Mohican Trail 100
6/22 Rest
6/23 5 miles
6/24 6 miles
6/25 3 miles
6/26 3 miles
6/27 8 miles
6/28 5 miles
6/29 Rest
6/30 5 miles So there you have it, now I will post daily to see if I do the deed.

So Hot and Humid the Deer Flies were Suffering!

5:30 am Rob and I were at the covered bridge to begin our 21 mile run. Already 74 degrees with very high humidity. We opted to do the purple loop first (Lions Falls section). It was slow going as it was hard to get air into the lungs. It is so nice at this time in the morning. No pain in the butt tourons out there making the scenery even better.
Pause at the car after the purple loop and began the orange. The first two miles are up hill making the run even more challenging. I noticed the deer flies preferred Rob's head over mine. They were buzzing him and just driving him crazy. That's ok as long it's not me they are buzzing. I did notice the deer flies were struggling today, also. They normally buzz your head and take bites on the head. Not today, the poor flies were buzzing Rob's head, but instead of biting they had their little mouths open gasping for air. Oh well, even nature has bad days.
We chugged on to Hickory Ridge were I had stashed water the night before. When we went to my hiding place the water bottle were strewn around the area and no water in the bottles. Apparently some raccoons decided we did not need the water. This did create a problem for Rob and I. We did not have enough water to get us to the Class A check in (4 miles), so we took the short bike trail route to the check in and water. After fueling up we headed to the grist mill, then returned to the covered bridge. To make up the lost miles by taking the short bike route we continued to the dam and returned to the covered bridge. Rob said he would not been able to do 100 miles today and told him I would not have completed 22 miles.

A camper along the river asked me if I had been in the river swimming. I said no why do you ask. Your clothes are all wet and you are soaked. That's good old sweat, I just ran 21 miles and it's very humid today. You could imagine what I was thinking in descriptive terms of this person.

Mud, Mud, and more Mud.

I went out today and ran 8 miles of the Mohican trails. It was so nice since not one other sole was out there. It was probably due to the wet muddy conditions. However it was nice to be a solitary runner in the wilds of Mohican. Now let me make clear, that even though there was mud out on the trails it was not even close to the Kansas mud.
We had the track end of year banquet or pizza pig out. It was nice seeing all the cheerful faces. I am referring to the coaches as they know another season has come to a close. Yes another year of school comes to an end and another season of track season. Now I will prepare for cross country season. This will be number 10 as the head coach. This will be a challenging year as the boys will be in a rebuilding year and the girls hopefully will be different from the last two years. Scary!

Decision: I have decided not to do Teton Dam Marathon in Rexburg, Idaho on June 14. It seems I am not trained enough and I don't want to an expensive trip just to have a bummer of a race. I know I would complete it, but I am still competitive enough to want to do well.

Rob Powell's daughter Molly says she wants to do cross country. Now that's one smart girl. She should do well and hopefully she doesn't have her fathers knees.

Crash and Burn

Today I planned a nice trail run of 20 miles. As I was getting ready to go out the door, Rob Powell called and was planning a 21 mile run. So I opted to wait for him and we headed to the covered bridge to do red and green of the Mohican 100 course. I had ran a little over 3 miles when I noticed I was getting dizzy and having some difficulties. Around 6 miles I told Rob I was aborting the planned run and heading home. He said no problem he would head back to the car with me.
I figured we ran near 9 miles, but it wasn't pretty.
Rob graciously said it wasn't a problem as we headed to my home in his car.
That's the first time I had that problem so early in a run. It was not hot, only 73. I was hydrated.
May not have been carbed up enough, but problems in 5 miles?
I'm considering aborting my planned marathon in Idaho in 2 weeks. I am not adequately trained, gas cost are way up, and I can train properly for another day.
Reality Check!

Steak and Shake!!!!!!

Yesterday after the long trail run, Rob Powell and myself met at the Road House Steak place.
Oh yeah we brought our significant others plus one. I plunged into a 16 oz. porterhouse, medium rare with an extremely large bake potato (of course butter and sour cream). With the steak I slushed down a few ice cold beverages. Now that was an excellent meal.
Today I had planned on a 5 mile run, but due to the pain and extended stomach problems I reduced it to 3 miles. So to Mohican I went and ran three miles, shaking the remnants of the meal the previous evening. My run went well once the sloshing ceased and no more STEAK and SHAKE.
Some times you just have to pig out!

So Much to Talk About

Today I met the group of Mohican runners to do around 22 miles on the trails. I was there for 8 am, the rest showed up prior to 9 am. I guess it is important to read the emails with information on the group run. However, traditions says the earlier the better.
We cheerfully ran the purple loop and pretty much stayed together. Once we started the orange loop a few rabbits headed out and scampered away up the trail, not to be seen until the run was done. I ended up running with Rob and Chris. I did get a little dehydrated towards the end of the run and they graciously ran with me. The key to not getting dehydrated is drink the dam water that's in the bottle in your hand.
Yesterday I did run 5 miles down at Mohican with some trails. Nice run with lots of tourons out.

The girls ended the track season on Friday with the only competitors left being the miler and two miler. They did not have a good day, so all in all the season was done for them. Next year.
The boys on the other hand got the 4X800 team, 4x400 team and two 800 runs to region meet.
I coach the 800 and up runners, so there is still more work to do. Our one 800 runner broke the school record again in 1:58.7, hopefully he breaks it two more times. He should. He is right where he should be.

Indoor Track Awards

Last night we had the indoor track team awards. Yes, outdoor track is almost over, but it took some time to get the awards. It was a fun time with the team in a good mood, except maybe Liz who is always sarcastic. This was the first time for an indoor team at Loudonville High School, so there were many established school records. They should fall easily next year, with the exception of the 800m time set by Kyle Lemke at 2:03.0.
Well done team and good luck in 2009.

I ran to the Lodge yesterday for a hilly 5 miler and plan on doing a track workout today. 5X800.
This week is district track meet and a few of my athletes should make it to the regional meet. We shall see. I hope to link up with the runners doing a training run at Mohican Friday night. It was to be a night run, but sounds to be altered to an extended evening run, which I will not be able to run. The track meet should run into late evening. Of course I can go out on my own for a night run.

RAIN, RAIN, RAIN, RAIN, RAIN.............

The theme for the weekend was Rain.
Friday I had a track meet at Hillsdale HS. I was thinking all evening of the night run at Mohican and how I wish I was there and not where I was. Around 8 PM it started to rain and rained and rained. We left the meet around 11 PM. I was soaked and wondered how the runners at Mohican were. Wet of course.
Saturday, once I got my ass out of bed I went to play catch up with the runners at Mohican. I found Rob between Rock Point and South Park. We ran together and I told him who was in front of him and how far. That seemed to cause his nostrils to flare. We ran at a good pace and then we saw a group of three runners in front of us. I told Rob or is it Bullet now, that we would catch them on the big hill a half mile away. Not so..we passed them with in two minutes and there was no stopping the bullet. I was exchanging some pleasantries as Rob was putting lots of distance between me and him. I knew once we got to the down hill I could catch up. And I did. Now what to do. I decided we needed to make them not want to pursue us, so I increased the pace up to the big hill. I also knew Rob would leave his friend in the dust and behind. And he did. I waved good bye, as I knew the next place I would see him was at the covered bridge. Unless, of course, Sir Fallsalot got him. He did not. Ran about 14 miles.
Well to make a long story somewhat shorter, I finished and no one passed me. Saw Rob at the Covered Bridge. Rob smashed the pace as hard as the tree smashed a car at the covered bridge.

Sunday was a miserable morning. Hard boiled runners I have know for years refused to run because it was so wet. They were seen slinking off in a most shameful manner. We had no choice but to let them go home to there nice warm beds and cry to someone who was inclined to hear them.
The 10 hardy soles that decided to go on and run, headed out. Did I mention it was raining and cold. I error ed in my running gear. Only wearing a tee shirt and running short we headed out in 48 degree temperatures, and did I mention it was raining. Well it was.
I decided the best way to do this run was to get it over with quickly. So when I took the lead I pushed the pace. Everyone followed and we had a good wet, cold run. I actually had an excellent run. Why is it that my best runs are at 50 degrees and pouring rain? I don't know and I don't like it. So I will cease the whining and say after a nice hot shower all was fine. Enough said!
17.2 miles - Orange loop.

Repeats at LHS & More..............

What a beautiful day, so after taking Betty to Cleveland Clinic for a MRA, I did my scheduled repeat workout. Nothing fancy or long: 1.25 mile warm up, 8 - 200 meter intervals at 35 seconds, then a mile cool down.
Afterwards I had track practice.
I did talk to a parent of a former cross country runner and found out he is doing a three race series in Utah where he lives. The races are ultra distances and on trail. I surely corrupted him.
I hope and plan on doing some of the Mohican Group Training runs this weekend. Friday nights out do to a track invitational. Saturday if I can get my ass out of bed after getting home after mid night on Friday. However, Sunday is for sure.

Dogwood Morning

fter completing my many chores, I headed from my house to Mohican Resort Lodge. This is a 5 mile run on hilly roads. The most notable thing noticed were the blooming dogwoods. They were in full bloom and line my running route. I also noticed the new section of trail going from the purple loop of Mohican to the lodge and presumably to Malabar Farm State Park. I will have to run this one day soon.
What a gorgeous day; 68, sun and dogwoods. It is good to be alive.

Deep Fried!

Yes, I know it has been over a week since I last blogged. I have been busy, busy, busy.
Not that I want any sympathy, it came down to choices and writing my blog came in last.

1st. I have been running, nothing to brag about, just runs, mostly in Mohican. I hope to incorporate some long runs into my training soon.

2nd Track consumed most of my time last week. A tri-meet on April 22 which the girls won handily, worked the Jr. High meet on April 24, went to Elgin Relays on the west side of Marion, Ohio and got home after midnight, and finally hosted our own Mohican Elite Track meet.
Our girls came in 14th overall, but that's not bad considering some of the best teams in the state are at this meet. We placed thanks to Tori Mowery our high jumper who cleared 4 feet 10 inches for 4th place. That's her in the photo 'I'm Cool!'.


3rd. I took this cute photo of my wife Betty wearing a neat little granny cap. Every time she wears the cap it makes me smile. She can be found sporting the cap when the dreaded lady bugs are on the attack. Not only is the cap on, but it includes cotton in the ears, coat covering the arms, neck, and body. The poor gal has had her problems with severe migraines and trigeminal neuralgia. At least one migraine per week. The Cleveland Clinic is working on getting them under control.

4th. Mohican 50 mile race has also been a bit too active. I have laid out the course and measured it once. I still have portions to measure a second time. If current measurements hold it should be 50.34 miles. The map is done and the purple loop will be had by them.
Need to do the course description, aid station/elevation information, and directions for support crews. Then I am done with the 2008 Mohican.

So that's what I have been up to. Hope to post more often.

Number 38!!!!!!

First, last Wednesday (4/16/08) Kyle Lemke one of the high school athletes I coach broke the school record in the 800 meter run. The record had been in place since 1992. There had been several boys I coached over the years who, I thought might break it, but at last Kyle did the deed in 1:59.2. Congratulations Kyle.

Second, on Saturday Rob Powell and I headed east to Connecticut to run in the Jack Bristol Lake Waramaug 50 km race. We left my house at 7:00 am and drove 553 miles to Danbury, Ct. where we spent the night. It only took us eight hours and 50 minutes. After eating we went to bed at 7:30 pm and got up at 5:45 am. Definitely had a good night sleep.
We arrive at Lake Waramaug and began the race at 7:30 am. The race followed a loop road around a lake. It was a 7.6 mile loop. We ran a 2.2 miles out and returned at the start finish. From there we ran around the lake three times. Then ran a 1.9 miles out and returned 1.9 miles to the finish.
A beautiful setting with the temperature at 53, cloudy, and breezy. The high was near 65.

The plans:
Rob's was to run conservatively using this as a training run for Mohican. What a line of crap!
Anyone who knows Rob, knows he is going to go like hell and give it his all until the finish or the wheels drop off. Thats what he did and he finish 3rd.

I on the other hand knowing my training was deficient, laid out a plan with a goal of 5:41. I finished in 5:46:44, just 5 minutes off my goal. I planned on hitting the 12 mile mark in 2 hours and it is what I did. In 19.6 miles 3:23 (actual was 3:26), 27.2 mile in 4:55 (actual was 4:58).
Felt great through the whole race. Got to run with many nice runners.
Rob and I left the race at 2 pm and arrive at my home at 11:45 pm. Not to bad turn around.
So in summary we were gone for 40 hours and 45 minutes. Drove 1,138 miles, ran 31 miles, and slept 10 hours and 45 minutes.
That's all worth it for STATE #38. 12 TO GO!

8 Mile Trail Run - Tuesday

Tuesday, I ran an 8 mile trail run in Mohican. The weather was perfect being 50 with sun and a slight breeze. This type of weather has given me a new energy, looking forward to running more and more. Wow, what a little sunshine will do for one's soul.
I still need to get the final mile measurements done for the 50 mile race at Mohican this year. Time is flying bye quickly and so much to still finish.

Paying the Price

Paying the price can be had many ways. The girls track team competed in 5 meets or invitationals in the past 11 days. It took its toll on them physically and emotionally. Being that most are only 9th and 10th grade it was a difficult task to get through, but they did and now the meets will be spaced out better. They will rebound and do well. I did have one young lady who tripped over a hurdle during the 300 IM Hurdles. I think she thought it was a 400 meter run, except someone left a hurdle on the track. She fell very ungracefully and had a little itty bitty scratch on her knee.
See the photo of the tape job she put on her knee. One would think it was a major injury, but we humor her.

Now for me and my training or lack of training. I will pay this coming Sunday at Lake Waramaug Ultras when I do the 50 km. Oh yes I will suffer soooooooooo! I have not kept me mileage up over the past two weeks, but what is one to do? Suffer I guess. I do tend to take it out on the track team, as it should be.

Mohican Comes To Life

Today I ran 5 miles in Mohican, partially on the orange loop. Wow, it is so nice to run with nice temperatures and a light breeze. Everything is coming to life and looking much greener. The trails are nice to run, no mud up to the ankles. My only regret is I did not run longer. However track practice was calling.

Speaking of track practice, I have an athlete who has done a PR in every event she competed in since January 19 at indoor track meet. I figure she has 16 straight Pr's in the 800, 1600, & 3200.
I wonder how long this can continue. She won't let me throw her into a 4th event. Probably thinks it will curse her Pr's. Believe it or not it's a girl and her name is Haley 'PR' Young.........

200's

Tuesday I ran 6x200 repeats. 71 degrees, nice and sunny. Did a 1 mile warm up and cool down.
The 200's were ran at 90-95% MHR. Went well, a little slower than my goal of 38 seconds each.

Plan to run 18+ miles with Rob Powell on Sunday at Mohican. We will do the orange loop, I think.

The reason for the sporadic reporting is track. The girls did not fair well at the Newcomerstown Relays last Friday, coming in 8th. They also lost in a tri meet at home on Tuesday. Since the team is made up of mostly 9th and 10th graders, it is hard to compete at a level of the teams with dominance of upperclassmen. Most were getting personal best, so what more could one ask for.

Spring has sprung so lawn work has begun. Removed large downed limbs from yard, prepared the riding mower, and whacked the decorative grass. So now let the grass grow!!!!!!!!

Mile Repeats

On Tuesday night the girls track team was at a 6 way meet. It was cold and very windy. The girls did well for being a few short for the night. They beat two teams, but lost to three. Friday night will be our next meet.....Newcomerstown Relay.

Wednesday I did mile repeats. First did a mile warm up then did 3 - 1 mile repeats at 5 km pace.
Or 7:30's. Follow by a 1 mile cool down. Not a bad work out.

Flip Flop, Part 2

This is the flop part of the flip flop from yesterday. I ran 4 X 3 mile loops down at the Mohican Campground. No particular reason for doing the multiple loops. Thought it would be different.
Boring!!!!!!!! The 12 miles are in the books. I also ran 3 with one of my distance track runners.
Haley is ready to kick something at tomorrows 5 way meet.

Flip Flop

Today I did a flip flop. I was to run 12 miles, but decided to do my Monday's 5 miler instead.
It was 56, however tomorrow will be in the 60's, better to do 12 tomorrow.
I did get some measuring done on the Mohican course. It looks like the 50 miler is now 3.8 miles short.

10 miles on the B+O Trail

This afternoon I ran 10 miles on the B+O Trail from Butler to Bellville. Of course I returned to Butler. The weather was sunny, but windy. Actually the wind was quite stiff at times. Lots of people out and about today.

Then I took my wife to the emergency room around 8 pm and returned home after midnight.
She had another bad migraine and extremely high blood pressure. She's now resting and I'm posting............

Revelation Run

First, here I am heading back to the US after a beverage run in Mexico. Back then I did not actually run, as you can see.

I know I haven't been posting much. This is do to the blue flu. Down in the dumps with the runs and feeling Blah. Was blaming it on the weather, which does get some responsibility. However, during my run today I had a revelation as to my pooh pooh problem, it is cross country and track.

In 1999 I took over as the head coach for Loudonville High School Boys and Girls Cross Country.
In 1998 the were no girls out for CC so the previous coach was asked to retire. A shame as she was the coach who established a sound girls CC team at the school over her ten year tenure. Now my 10th year is coming this fall and destiny looks to repeat, as my boys team may not have the numbers to compete as a boys team. This is a little depressing as the boys teams have been a power 7 of the last 9 years. So will I be asked to retire after my 10th year or should I step down and let a younger coach come in and regenerate the team?
As for the girls, the numbers are there, but the talent or desire is missing.
A delemia for me to sort out. And that's what has been making me so blue, as I still enjoy coaching. Maybe age (mine) is the factor that is limiting the number of athletes heading for cross country and track.

Tomorrow I plan on running 10 miles and 12 miles on Sunday. Monday is the last day of March so I will finish out with 5 miles.

Easter Morning Run

I met Rob Powell at Butler, Ohio to run 15 miles on the B + O Trail. We ran 7.5 miles out past Bellville and almost to I-71 before turning around. It was nice of Rob to coerce me into getting up early for the run. He was convincing since he wanted 20 miles and myself only 15, so he ran 5 miles before I was to run with him. That meant he should be a little worn down.
Some Photos of Rob's past...............................
What a beautiful morning with a nice frosty feeling, probably due to the 17 degrees at 7:15 am. A plus was no wind, at least not aloft and the sun was appreciated. Overall we had a good visit while running and I was glad I got up and did the run.
Rob has Umstead 100 in a couple of weeks and with his training schedule, he should be prepared physically and mentally. Mentally getting all those training miles in in this miserable Ohio winter. Go get it Rob!!!!!!!!

Rob 'Buckeye' Powell, What an inspiration.

Today I received a call from good friend Rob Powell, the one who ran 20 miles on Good Friday. He ran 4 multiple loops to get those miles in. Now that's inspiration. I told Rob I was heading out to do my run when he called and intended to beat his number of loops from yesterday. Rob inquired as to the number of miles I was intending to do.
I told him 5 loops at 1 mile per loop. He thought that was unfair, but I only intended to beat the number of loops he ran. He's the one who's running a 100 mile race in two weeks , not me. I did run the 5 miles down at Mohican in the Campground area.
Now to be fair, I am taking pity on Rob by running 15 miles with him tomorrow morning. He is planning on 20 miles, so he will run 5 miles prior to me showing up at the B+O Trail in Butler. I hope I don't sleep in!!!!!!

5 X 800

This is week #1 of my 12 week marathon training program. Today I did 5x800 at my 5 km pace. I did a 1 mile warm up and a 1 mile cool down. The 800's went well with a 3:36.8 average. The weather made it tough on the LHS track as it was raining and the wind was very strong. However by the end the rain stopped and the wind was much calmer.

5 Hilly Miles.

Ran to the Mohican Resort Lodge, all road and hilly. Felt good with temperatures at 40 and windy. Interesting thing while I did my run, I saw the three fence post taken from my property, they are now 0.7 mile away my my house. They were used to hold up a wooden fence that was loose. Now the reason I know they are my posts, they are painted bright yellow with the top 10 inches painted in bright red. The same color as my face was when I saw them. Not likely a person would take care to paint those post that way for the purpose they used them. Now what to do, call the police or contact my neighbor who lives next to where the posts were taken?

Kyle Does Good!

Kyle Lemke, Loudonville's 800 m runner finished 5th at the State Indoor Track Meet at Akron University on 3/15/08. His time was 2:03.00. He was in 2nd or 3rd most of the race, but two runners got past him with 150 m to go. Still not a bad showing for his 1st trip to the indoor meet. Kyle is a senior.

As for me, I know it's been a while since I blogged. I'm getting as bad as my friend Rob. However, I have been busy, busy, busy. Indoor track, outdoor track, and my running. Speaking of my running, it has slid a little the past two weeks due to being busy and the weather (snow). Now I will get back on track with my running. I decided to start my 12 week marathon training program anew, focusing on the Teton Dam Marathon in June. I will have to go into Lake Waramaug 50 km Ultra not in top form. What's new!

I saw Rob, due to Mike had a PICKLE up on his blog, in tribute to Josh. I am apparently out of the loop on that. Any thoughts?

Snow Storm Done.

Finally the snow stopped and I had the chance to fire up the snow blower. I was beginning to think it would not be used this year. My philosphy is don't clear the snow if it will melt soon. When the snow is 12 inches deep with drifts of 24 inches, you got to clear it so the car can go.

After the snow was cleared today, it was time to do at least a 3 mile run, so I did at Mohican S.P., Class A.

My running schedule went to h........, due to the weather. Next week it's back to salt mines.

On a good note, Kyle Lemke qualified to the state indoor track meet this weekend for the 800m. The 4X400 team are alternates, so if enough top 16 teams don't confirm they may be there also (Lemke, Nick Kopp, Micky Harvey, Jace Wolford).

5 X 1000 /// Comments on last Fridays Indoor Meet

Went to Wooster Indoor Track to do the 5 X 1000 at 5 km pace. This is the true test if you are in shape. I'm not, so lots of work ahead to be semi ready for Lake Waramaug Ultras on April 20.
I ran a mile warm up, did the 1000's in the 4:30's and followed with a cool down mile. There was a 3 minute rest between the 1000's.

The Mt. Union College High School meet went OK last Friday. Had one girl place 4th in the 3200 and the boys 4X400 relay team placed 2nd, giving them a chance for the state meet. My boy 800 runner was 4th, however DQ for running in the wrong heat. Oh well, he had secured his ticket for the state meet at Kenyon College meet.
The 4x400 race was run around 12:30 am. What a long night. Got home around 2:30 am. Notice the parent on the edge of his seat during his son's race. I won't name names.

Kahtoola's Revisited

Today was a beautiful day for a run except the snow on the ground. Rob 'some kind of nut' Powell came over at 7:30 am for a run at Mohican. He ran from my house to the Covered Bridge while I drove to the Covered Bridge. He ran 3.2 miles to that point.
Our plan was to run the MT 100 orange loop (Minus the grist mill section).
Well!!!!!!!!!!! We started from the CB up the bike trail. The snow was deep and no one had traveled that way, at all to do any packing of the snow. Not even a mountain bike? I did notice Rob let me head up the trail first. He must think I'm a real dumb ass. He wanted me to break the trail.
As I led the way we were discussing how tough the entire run was going to be. I was already exhausted. So after a half mile into the run we went back to the car.
New plan, run to the Big Lyons Falls .85 miles (1.7 miles round trip) and to the Pleasant Hill Dam .75 miles (1.5 miles), round trip 3.2 miles. I ran 15.5 miles while Rob did 18.7 miles. If you haven't figured it out we did multiple loops.
The conditions on these trails were snow packed and/or icy.
Now for the Kahtoola's revisited part. I wore my Kahtoola's and they were great. Worked well in deep snow, I didn't. Worked great on packed snow, excellent traction. On ice they gave outstanding traction and no slipping.
So there you have it a nice long run with a nut, snow, ice, and my Kahtoola's. www.kahtoola.com