10 More Miles......

Today was the last day for me to get in 40 miles for the 10 More Miles challenge. I did not do it today so I am out of the challenge. I would never have thought I would be undone by 40 mile run.
The challenge requires 10 miles for January and an additional 10 miles every month, so Feb. is 20, March is 30, and April 40 and so on till only one is left. That will not be me.

So I went out and ran 10 miles in Mohican as a conciliatory run and 10 more miles for the month.
My wife dropped me off at the Mohican Class A campground. I ran from there to the covered bridge and then to the dam. Had a good run going, then a downpour of rain began as I entered the Lyons Falls section (Purple). It rained hard and high winds all the way home.

So that's my end to April and running.

Forget the PR or I must be getting older!

Sunday, April 19 started the Forget the PR at Mohican in what was a perfect day for a trail run.
Had my plan, put in adequate training, and was ready to go.
Rob Powell did an outstanding job organizing this event. Everything from the runners perspective was great. Volunteers where there to provide the assistance every runner needed to get the job done.
Every runner who toed the lined, finished.
So congratulation to all the runners who had an opportunity to experience a taste of Mohican.
Many thanks to all the volunteers who where there to help me have a great experience. And Rob Powell who took a chance by putting a race on for others.

Now for my race: I had set a goal of 6:15 for my race. This was based on my performance at Fools 50 Km two weeks earlier. I had ran the first 25 KM at the pace I had hoped for this entire race. The second 25 km was at my Mohican Trail 100 pace. My finish time was 6:47.
I know Mohican 'Forget the PR' was a tougher course, but figured I was up to the challenge.

From the start with all the girls screaming at us (memories from my high school days) to the first aid station at Hickory Ridge, I ran conservatively due to the two mile up hill and still got the the aid station ahead of schedule. By the way Mike and crew did a great job of 'Wizard from Oz'.
From Hickory Ridge to the Covered Bridge, I knew the course had more downhill, so I pushed the pace. I got to the Covered Bridge on schedule. The Mansfield Running Club, which I belong,
did a great job trying to make use think we were in some south pacific location but no sun. It was nice to see so many cheerful smiling faces.
The next section was going to be very technical and lots of elevation ascent to the Lodge. I did falter a little in this section getting to the Lodge aid station 9 minutes behind schedule. No concern much runable trail was ahead. From the Lodge to the Covered Bridge, I started to get back spasms. This in all my years running was a first. They were painful causing me lose what little running form I had. I did push on and it seemed where there were downhills my back would spasm more. I made it to the covered bridge losing more time and figured that my goal time was now gone, especially with the Covered Bridge to the Fire Tower section ahead (11 miles to go). This section was pretty much ascent all the way to the fire tower. This section was my greatest loss of time. Even though it was a beautiful section, it was slow going for me. I made the tower being 30 minutes over my goal time and with 8.5 miles to go, not much chance of making up that much time.
Kim 'The Trail Goddess' was captain at the fire tower aid station. She and her crew did a wonderful job and she even gave me drugs for my back (No not that kind!!!!). Kim did tell all the runners at the aid station I had something to do with the course at which time I was attacked. Due to the many punches I took in the back or the Nsaids, my back was starting to feel better.

Now back to the covered bridge via 4.5 miles of trail mostly descent. This was a good section for me. And was I happy to see the Mansfield Running Club once more before heading to the finish line. This journey was along the flattest 3 miles of the course. However the race director and only the race director can take credit for the final 1.25 miles. 300 feet of steep ascent took place at the beginning of this last 1.25 miles. Cruel and sadistic were my thoughts, and I have been know to do some of this stuff in my cross country workouts.
But at last the finish line and the conclusion of a beautiful day. 6:56:01----80 th place/128.
Nice belt buckle for my achievement and friendly faces at the finish. Again may thanks for a nice race and day.

I did go back out on the course for 1.5 miles to meet a good friend and pace her in to the finish. She just inspired me when I heard she was still running. Ruta Mazellis, director of the former 'Dan Rossi 100' stayed at my house the night before and told me her training was pretty much not. But she wanted to at least participate and get to the covered bridge the first time. I saw her heading to the Lodge on an out and back section. She was doing great and look well. I told her with 13 miles in she should finish it out. While sitting at the finish line I ask Rob Powell if Ruta had dropped.
He told me no one had drop. He called up to the fire tower and asked Kim if Ruta had gone through her aid station. She had. So back out I went and Ruta finished with a fine time.
Congratulations Ruta.....................................

Running in the Rain.

This morning I went out for a nice 8 mile run. Perfect weather for ducks. Raining and windy.
But I needed to prove I could taper for the big run on Sunday - Forget the PR 50 KM at Mohican.
So I went and ran an easy 8. Felt great with the rain falling and the need to stay warm made me push just a little harder then I had planned, but hey it was great and I had a good time and run. So be it!

Fools 50 KM Trail Race

April 5; I got up at 4 AM to pick up Rob Powell and Michelle 'Speed Demon' Bichsel at Walmart in Ashland. Got them at 5:30 AM and we head for the start at Pine Hollow in CVNP.
Nice to be there early as we had a prim o parking spot.
The excitement was in the air as well as a cool 31 degrees on a clear morning.
Approximately 200 runners toed the line as both the 25 KM and 50 Km races started at 7:30 AM.
My plan for the day was to run the first 25 KM at the pace I wanted for 'Forget the PR 50 Km' in two weeks (2:57/25k) and the pace for the Mohican Trail 100 (3:55/25k). I was doing pretty well through the 1st 25 k hitting all my time goals at each aid station. The 2nd 25k was better with slightly better splits through the aid stations. I thought I would have a race at the end as I had one runner on my rear and one just ahead of me. The one ahead had passed me a mile earlier, so I was determined to get him back. I pushed the last 3/4 miles and got ahead of both runners who were still close. So I pushed real hard to get an advantage going into the finish line. After crossing the finish, I turned to see who was behind me. No one for some time....Wowwww!
6:46:59 unofficial.
Michelle decided to do the 25k from the get go. Good choice on her part as Boston Marathon will be in two weeks. She did place 3rd overall and 1st female. Congrats Michelle!!!!
Rob was to do 50k, but bowed out at 25k. Now it was hard to see both of them lounging around at the start/finish line while I had to push through for another lap. It did cost Rob a beer at the Winking Lizard after said race.
While at the winking lizard much conversation was had. Some bolstering, some on the qualities of beer, and much gossip. I did not participate much in the later.
Nick was nice enough to bring a bottle of his current brewing. I can't wait to give it a try. I'm sure it is great. Many thanks Nick and it was nice to see you at the Fools.............................

8.4, Busy, Busy, Busy

Thursday I ran 8.4 miles from the Loudonville High School to Mohican State Park Class A into the cabin area. With the return trip it was 8.4 miles. Nice run on a beautiful day-68, sun, and ample amount of wind.
Sorry for not keeping you all up to date on my running trials and tribulations, but it is either blogging to let you know how I am doing or doing it.
Visits to the doctors, track and training have me running ragged. And guess what the grass is growing, so one more thing going on the list.
So keep trucking out there and all will fall in line.

Sunday Fools 50 KM. Plan is to run the 1st 25 KM fast and trudge the last 25 km. This will be a training run.

Did You Miss Me?

Well here I am. It is hard to believe that I can get so busy I have to decide whether to Blog or chat we the wife.
That's where I have been. My training while slightly wavering at times is pretty much on schedule.
Indoor track season ended last Saturday at the State meet at Akron University. I had two boys make the dance. Bryan Derr (10th grade) in the 800, running for 5th place with a time of 2:01.98 and Mack Taylor (11th grade) in the Weight throw with a toss of 46 feet 4.5 inches for 11th place.
Not too bad....................
Of course outdoor track has been in progress since March 9th.
As for the rest of my time it just flies bye.

Today I ran 8 miles of road.
I have been keeping my schedule so my mileage has been around 50 miles per week.
Two trail runs for training for the Forget the PR 50 km this weekend (15.05 & 23.?? miles).
So there you have it.

Actually, I figured I better put up a post since someone might take my blog away if I don't keep it up to date. I know this has happen in at least one situation. Josh 'The Pickle' Dillingham has been AWOL for some time. Recently, someone has been putting posts on his blog using his name.
However, look closely at the photos of this person. He looks like some mountain man whose been in the wilderness for years, obviously, not Josh who is a recent graduate of college, very clean cut and respectable.

Covered Bridge FA 50 KM

6 AM at the Old Log Cabin in Mill Creek Park, Youngstown, Ohio; met a hardy group of runners for the start of the run. There was an 8 AM start which we planned on returning to go out with them.
It was a foggy 55 as we took off. Within two minutes it was pouring rain with thunder and lightning. I can remember all of us on a steel staircase within the 1s half mile of the run, when a big flash of lightning and a thunderous boom occurred. We moved rather quickly up those stairs.
The trails were clear of snow and ice, but due the the rain were becoming muddy and soaked pretty quickly.
Once at the Monkey Trail it was a slip and slide going up and sliding down in the mud. Once at the Covered Bridge by Laterman Falls we returned via trails along the west side of Mill Creek.
Once back at the log cabin we waited about ten minutes for the 8 AM group, then took off again following the loop back to the covered bridge via the Monkey Trail. At the covered bridge we had to run the Newport lake section twice (about 4 miles each time). The trails in this section are easier running but many sections were under water. The second time through I ran into one large deer. It was big and did not seem to concerned about getting out of my way. After taking a good sniff in my direction, he decided to yield. On I went.
Upon returning to the covered bridge, I continued on the west side trails to the old log cabin.
I ran about twenty mile pretty much on my own, occasionally seeing runners on the eastern shore.
At the old log cabin I prepared to go out for my last short loop. Headed out with temperatures now at 70 and foggy, but no more rain. The Monkey Trail was rather difficult to negotiate this time around. I took another spectacular spill in the mud and leaves for number 4 for the day.
Chugged up to the covered bridge and continued along the west trails back to the old log cabin.
I was tried and ready for the run to be done for the day. Finished in 7:43:28.
Got the chance to run on my birthday number 59.....................................

Covered Bridge FA 50 KM Fun Run

Saturday is the 50 km fun run at Millcreek Park in Youngstown. I played there as a youngster and now I will play there as an oldster.
I am looking forward to the run. It should be fun and the nicer temperatures will be a bonus.
Plus there will be a few people there I know.

I have been keeping my training up, it is just life getting in the way to post. I now have Indoor track as well as outdoor track going on. Life goes on.
Today I ran 8 mile at Mohican.........nice!
Yesterday was mile repeats at the Wooster indoor track and actually hit my goal times. It's nice not being sick.

More after the 50 km.

Tempo Run

This weather is driving me nuts. It's cold again and snowing. The snow is not accumulating thank goodness.
Today's run was 4.5 miles at temp pace or 153 Heart rate. I ranged from 144 to 163. I felt comfortable. With the warm up and cool down I had 6.67 miles. It was all done at the Wooster indoor track. Very nice temperatures there.
Tomorrow it will be cold with lows at 18 degrees. So the 3rd Forget the PR familiarization run should be like a normal run this winter. 23.75 miles...............................8 AM

400's at Wooster

Went up to Wooster indoor track to do 2 mile warm up, 8 X 400's at 85% MHR, and a 2 mile cool down.
Now this work out hurt, but I was under my target times. My average was 1:43.
Total miles for the day: 6.37.
Thanks Michelle for the use of the image.

'FORGET THE PR' Familiarization Run #2

8:00 AM the group running the 2nd familiarization run met at the covered bridge. The group included: Terri Lemke; Rob Powell; Mike Patton; Wayne ?, from Mansfiled Running Club (Sorry Wayne forgot your last name); Michelle Bichsel, and me.
We started from the covered bridge and headed to Little Lyons Falls. The trails were snow covered and very runnable. From the falls to the dam and up the big ass hill to the trail to the lodge.
At this point everyone left me in the snow dust and flew up the big ass hill. I was not concerned since I knew the course. I ran to the lodge, but did not see the others so they were in the loop by the lodge. This meant I was not too far behind them.
From the lodge via the Big Lyons Falls to the covered bridge.
After getting a little aid from my car I headed onward to the fire tower. I did not see the others, but heard them. I was probably 1 mile from the tower and that would put them about 1/2 mile on the other side of the tower. Or 1 1/2 miles ahead of me.
From the tower I headed to the bike trail and ran the next 4 miles on the bike trail to the covered bridge. Welllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll over 3 hours for the 15.17 miles. Still not breathing well since being sick which slowed me some.
When I got back at the covered bridge all were gone. Michelle's car was there so she was probably running an extra 10 to 20 miles.
Glad it's done, wish I was feeling better.

200 Repeats

I have been sick for the last week battling the sinus, upper respiratory crud.
I have put off this workout since Tuesday, but decided it was time to see how I am doing.
One mile warm up, then 8X200 at 40 seconds.
I had great speed through 2/3 of the interval, but lacked oxygen from there on. It was like running using one lung. The lung that was working burnt.
So the average for the 8x200's were 42.8. Oh well I still got them in at a respectable time.
Finished up with another mile cool down.

Tomorrow will be the second 'Forget the PR' familiarization run. 15.05 miles.

The Elongated Run

Last night I received a call from Mike Keller letting me know he would be interested in running Mohican today. I told him my plans for 8 miles and he thought that would be great.
We started at the starting line for the 'Forget the PR 50 km' in Mohican S.P..
From there we ran to the trails in howling winds and no visibility towards the trail to the covered bridge. Ran 4 miles in new snow along the Clearfork of the Mohican River. It was beautiful, but cold being 20 degrees. Once at the covered bridge we were to head back to the start, but Mike wanted to elongate and not truncate the run. So we fast paced to the fire tower (2.5 miles).
Once at the tower Mike braves the elements and in the Art Moore tradition, climbs the tower.
Upon returning to terrafirma we headed to the covered bridge and then ran back to the start.
Nice adventure, plus added an additional 5 miles on the day for 13 miles, Mike gets 13.1.

Hacker 5

Ran on the B+O Trail out of Butler, Ohio. Ran 2.5 miles out and of course had to return.
The run was nice with a stiff breeze. I did a lot of hacking as I must be getting some type of bug. It seems it is in my right chest. Tomorrows workout will be the true teller of pain. I will be doing 200 meter repeats. Then we will see if I cough out a lung.
Also, did my ab workout. Abs on Mon, Wed.,& Friday. Weight workout on Tues. & Thursdays.

'Forget the PR' Familiarization Run #1

Today I was meeting up with runners doing the first, yes the very first, 'Forget the PR' familiarization run #1. It would be 15.45 miles. I also needed to get a 20 miler in for the 10 more mile challenge. So I decided to be down at Mohican at 7:00 am to get an initial 5 miles in before the other runners showed up. I did and got back in time to have a glossy taken of the group and off we went for another 15.45 miles.
The others that were there today included Terri Lemke, I coached a couple of her sons in track and one in cross country. Rob 'Race Director ' Powell, Michelle 'the rocket' Bichsel, Dan Bellinger, and Ron Dukes.
We started at the Pavilion at the Class A campground, Mohican S.P.. We proceeded north to the Mountain Bike Trail and followed it to Hickory Ridge. There were lots of trees down on the trail.
We all made it to hickory ridge and from there the group took off and left me in the dust to run all by my lonesome. I ran on the the covered bridge where the #2 aide station will be during the race.
I waited to see if Ron Dukes would appear and I would run with him to the pavilion. After 5 minutes I decided to move on along the river for the last 4.25 miles. It is always so beautiful running through this section of trail. Once back at the cabin area the trail follows the 'North Rim Hiking Trail' for one mile, then plunges down to the class A check in for a 0.25 mile to the finish.
It was a rather slow run for me probably due in some part to the trees down on the trail.
Ten minutes after I was done, Ron Dukes finished.
All in all a nice run.

Four Mile Tempo Run

Friday went to Wooster indoor track to do a 4 mile tempo run. Usually I like to have 2 miles easy, 4 miles at tempo, and finish with 2 miles easy, however time was a problem today so it was 1 mile on the front easy and 1 mile on the back easy.
My max heart rate is tested at 192. That's great for a 58 year old(pretty dam close to 59).
So 80-85% should be around 153 bpm. I range from the beginning at 145 and finished at 159.
So it went pretty well. Felt great. My average for tempo pace was 9:19. That sound off even for me. Two years ago that mile pace was 8:15.
So not overly upset, I know I'm off my game plan slightly.

Looking forward to the Sunday familiarization run for "FORGET THE PR" Mohican 50 km at 8am.

Indoor 800 Workout

Wednesday I completed a workout at the Wooster Indoor Track.
The workout was one of two focus workouts for the week.
2 mile warm up.
5X800 meters @ 3:50 or better
2 mile cool down

The 800's went well ranging from 3:38 to 3:50 for 3:44 average.
Ran a total of 6.59 miles.

Mon.: 5 miles
Tues.: Off
Wed.: 6.59 miles
Thurs.: 8 miles planned
Fri.: 2+4Tempo+2 = 8 miles planned
Sat.: 5 miles planned
Sun.: 20 miles planned

Running Week in Review

I was going to keep up with daily blogs on my running last week, but look I didn't.
So here's Feb. 2 through Feb. 8 in summary: 37.5 miles.
Mon, Wed., & Friday did an ab workout. Tues & Thursday completed a weight workout.

Mon: Wooster indoor track. 2 mile warm up with 6X200m @ 41.7. Followed by 2 mile cool down.
Tuesday: 5 mile run in Loudonville with indoor track team.
Wed. & Thurs: Bad boy with no run.
Fri.: Wooster indoor track. 2 mile warm up with 3X1 mile @ 8:02. Followed by 2 mile cool down.
Yes I am out of shape. The miles were to be at 7:45.
Sat.: Ran with Rob Powell for 12 miles in Mohican. Lots of snow and ice on the ground. Did meet up with Kim, Wendy, Gabe, Regis, and Mike. They did their run the hard way by breaking
trail in deep snow. It was a trudge fest.
Sun.: Ran 10 miles on road in Lexington with Rob and Michell. Did run some with Scott and Leslie.

Today, Monday I did run 5 miles in Mohican with some on trails. I wanted to see if the snow had
gone away with clear trails. About 15% clear with the rest deep snow and ice. If it is 60
degrees tomorrow, then the snow should all go bye bye!!!!!!!!!!!

Winter Blahs.

Just watch it snow. It's just peachy here in Ohio.
Tuesday ran 5 miles in Loudonville on the ice and snow.
Wednesday ran 3 mile on the dreaded treadmill. Was to take Betty out for her 50th birthday. Tomorrow will have to do.

Thursday: 8 miles or 2 miles+3 at tempo + 2 miles
Friday: All day at the OAT&CCC conference in Columbus.
Saturday: The one not done on Thursday.
Sunday: 10 miles early.

Quiet 5 in Mohican

3:00 pm ran at Mohican in snow and ice. It was real quiet with no one out and about, just me. Put a couple miles on the trail. My first day in the process of a 12 week plan for the 'Forget the PR', Mohican 50 KM. Tomorrow 8m miles..........

Sqeezed in three!

Ran down at Mohican only doing 3 miles today. It was a busy day, so 3 was fine. I start my serious training on Sunday. It's a 12 week program, so here we go!
Tomorrow is a high school indoor track meet at Ohio State. I hope to get another short run in after the meet.

I will soon be posting the 9 days for training runs on the 'Forget the PR' 50 km. Of course it will in no other than Mohican!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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!