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.