August Summary

August was a great month for running. The predominant weather was sunny, hot, and humid, with a little cooler weather sneaking in toward the end. I was running relatively injury free, with the exception of the ITB flare-up, which is about already healed and feeling fine. I attributed the ITB problems to biking, so you'll notice in my summary table that the biking miles are way down. I took nearly two weeks off the bike to let myself heal, and I adjusted the seat to the correct height which seems to have helped as well. While letting the bike collect some dust, I kept running, motived by the need to get my training miles in for the Punxsutawney 50k, which is now just a five days away. I regret not having done a long run of 22 miles or more, but I am happy that I was able to run through the ITB issue so I could keep my total miles up. I ended the month with 244 running miles.
Yesterday was interesting. I cut my usual long Sunday run down to only 12 miles, with Punxsy less than a week away. After finishing, I went immediately to the soccer field and played for two hours. I played right back, but I regularly sprinted forward to try to create some pressure on offense. After two hours of running in cleats on very hard, dry ground, my legs were ready for a rest. It did feel good to kick the ball around. I made a couple of well-placed passes, but I missed so many opportunities because I could not put the ball where I wanted it to go.

Plan for the next few days is for low low mileage. I won't push too hard, rather I'll let my legs recover and get ready for Punxsy.


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It was a warm, muggy, foggy Saturday morning. I arrived at Lock 29 about an hour ahead of the group, allowing me to run Pine Lane loop and take a few photos.

The forest has nearly completely reclaimed this disused brick road. Picturesque, but those bricks are very slippery on a damp morning.

Moss-covered log


A blue blaze on the Buckeye Trail


A little, white house just south of Peninsula

Trail Running in South Mountain Reservation

Sue and I are in Millburn, New Jersey for the Fourth of July weekend, visiting my sister, brother-in-law, and niece. We always have a great time with them, but my one regret was that I would miss the Lock 29 trail run on Saturday and the last and longest of the BT50k familiarization runs on Sunday. I know I am not ready for the 50k in two weeks, so I wanted to get those runs in. The good news, we are less than a mile from the South Mountain Reservation, which although only 2400 acres, is full of trails.



Within an hour of our arrival on Wednesday, I set off to explore the trails. Armed with a map my sister got from the local running store, I set out. The first thing I learned was that the trails in this part of the world have occasional sections that are almost unrunnable because of the rocks. Not long after that, I learned lessons #2 and #3. Lesson#2: Once you leave the wide primary trails and get on to the narrow foot trails, they are really well marked, except for when they aren't. On the Lenape trail, I believe they left the trail marking to someone with a profound case of ADD. The yellow blazes occur every 100 feet or so in the beginning, then just disappear for a couple of hundred yard, then start up again. I lost the trail a few times, but fortunately I was able to refer to the map, get myself oriented, and eventually pick up the trail again.

Lesson #3: Just when you think you can put the hammer down and run, the roots and rocks jump out and bite you in the ankles. This is actually a variation of Lesson #1, with roots.South Mountain is full of beautiful views. At one point, after following a very narrow section of trail, heavily covered with low-hanging branches, it suddenly opened up to broad, flat area bordered with Rhododendrons.
Although the rocks were mostly a nuisance when trying to run, they do provide handy material for building very sturdy little bridges. I counted four of them, and there are probably more.
Just a quarter mile past this bridge, a waterfall was tucked into a wooded nook.

Despite the name South Mountain, the trails was not overly hilly, at least not in comparison with the Buckeye Trail, but still there were some very scenic overlooks, like the one below. I don't want to give the wrong impression; Many sections of the trails were well groomed and very runnable, as well as beautiful. Look at this trail which ran down to one of the lakes.

So, after doing about 10 miles here on Wednesday, I got a 17 miler in on Friday. My bro-in-law,Phil, ran 2.25 mile out and back, then I ran another 12 miles, taking the Lanape trail as far as it goes. Although I had to slow the pace down due to the footing and my own unfamiliarity with the trails, it was still a good run.

More Trails...More Mud

It was another weekend of muddy trail running...evidenced by the now requisite 'muddy legs' photo. Northeast Ohio is the place to be if you enjoy cold, wet Springs followed by slightly warmer, wet Summers. Is there an export market for mud? With the weak dollar, the economically depressed Rust Belt area could be revitalized as the Mud Belt.
At least, should the rains continue into July, I will be well prepared for a very mucky Buckeye Trail 50k. Most veterans of the race have said that is unlikely. Although there is a chance it will be wet, it is more likely that by the third week of July, the weather will be less wet. I frankly don't see how it could get much more wet.



On Saturday, we met at Lock 29 as usual. We ran a loop starting south on Akron Peninsula Road, then east on the trail that runs parallel to Quick Road. Again, there were fewer runners than typical, since only a few who ran the Mohican 100 Mile showed, and even though the Western States 100 Mile was called-off due to the wild fires, those who went to run or crew had not made it back. Steve G. led the way, and took us on some interesting 'nearly' trails. At one point, he claimed to be avoiding the poison ivy by taking bush-whacking through the woods, only to run us right through a huge patch of...you guessed it...poison ivy. I rinsed my legs at the nearest creek, and I think it helped.


Sunday was an interesting run, basically covering half of the Buckeye Trail 50k route. More thunderstorms and very heavy rain on Saturday afternoon and evening made Sunday a pig-slopping good time. We ran a 15.2 mile point to point from Oak Grove in Brecksville, to Pine Lane in Peninsula. We all met at the Pine Lane trail head parking lot, consolidated and car pooled north to the start. I rode with e-speed and Daisy Duc and started the run with them as well. I decided to push the pace a little, so I caught up with Shaun, Aron, and George (Doctor T) from Vertical Runner.

We kept an aggressive pace through-out the 15 miles, despite the mud which was recharge by heavy thunderstorms on Saturday. George, who was our alleged 'guide' took us on a wrong turn after only four miles or so, and we had to stop and back track. Shaun and Aron kept up the good pace and eventually, at around ten miles, I noticed that we had left George behind. Not too much farther than that, I heard footsteps behind me which I though might be him, catching up, but it was not. It was Beth, a very good runner who I have seen on a few of the BT50k familiarization runs. She ran with us the rest of the way. I think she will have a good shot at a first place finish among the women but e-speed will be right there, so it could be interesting.

Again this week, I tried my new fuel belt, and it worked out well enough. I snugged it up as tight as possible, but it still flopped around a bit. Also, despite the Sports Shield I smeared on at all friction points, in the first three miles, I felt my shirt abrading my nipples. The fuel belt apparently tugged just enough on my shirt to draw the fabric down across my nipples and increase the friction. I took off my shirt, tucked in into the belt, and the problem was solved.

This might be the last of my Sunday BT50k preparation trail runs, as I will be in New York next weekend, and then tapering the weekend after that.

More Buckeye Trail, and Swollen Feet

How do you like the new layout? I wanted to try something simpler, less cluttered, easier on the eyes. Also, I added a beautiful countdown clock for the Buckeye Trail. Now, aren't you glad you stopped by today? ;-)

I'm probably irritating those of you with RSS feeds, because I keep updating the same post, but I reread this one and frankly, I found it boring. For your convenience if you had already read the first version, I'll put my revisions in italics.
On Sunday, I met up with the group from Vertical Runner for another of the Buckeye Trail familiarization runs. I looked around at the start and didn't see a single SERC runner buddy. Where is everyone? And I was looking forward to showing off my new fuel belt, all loaded up with my newest fluid experiment: 3/5 Gatorade + 2/5 water + 2 teaspoons of salt per 20 ounces.
I decided to run with the leader-type guy from Vertical Runner. We started at Boston Mill store and ran the Pine Lane trail out and back, about 8.5 miles. To get the majority of my planned 22 miles in, I had planned to repeat that run to get to 17 miles, then add 5 more along the tow path. Just as I was about to head out again, Kurt and Christina from SERC finished the run. I don't know how I missed them at the start, but I think they arrived just as we were heading out. I told them that I wanted to rerun it, but they wanted to run north on the tow path rather than repeat the Pine Lane trail, so we did. Kurt is training for an Iron Man in n July. Christina did about three miles out, then turned back. Kurt and I continued and ran the Old Carriage trail, just to add some more climbing and trail running to the day. I was really glad to have someone to run with, and it gave me a chance to catch up with Kurt who I have not seen much of since Boston. After that, Kurt turned back, and I continued north to Brecksville station, then turned back. I was back at Boston Mill at 20,5 miles, so I did another mile and a half out and back to make it to 22 miles.

Om Monday, I did an easy recovery run of about 6 miles. I was feeling OK, but not exactly energetic. I biked 26 miles to work and back on Tuesday, but after the ride home, I didn't feel up to the track workout. My legs had been feeling tight since the weekend, and I was worried about overdoing it and reaggravating the knee and Achilles. On Wednesday, the guilt of skipping the speed work on Tuesday got to me. I did an 8 mile tempo run, averaging 6:40 per mile, despite the fact that my legs were still stiff, and I my head was saying, 'Don't do it.' After the run, in the shower, I noticed my feet and ankles looked swollen. On Thursday, I biked to work, and did six slow miles at lunch. They were slow miles, because I really could barely run. Initially, I blamed it on running too soon after eating, but when I finished I noticed my lower legs and feet were swollen again. I kept them elivated whenever possible for the rest of the day, and decided to take Friday off.

Trail Weekend: Part Deux

The Buckeye Trail 50k is organized and sponsored by Vertical Runner, and they hold familiarization runs along different sections of the trail every Sunday for the six weeks before the race. This morning, about twenty-five runners gathered at the Jaite trail head and ran an out-and-back to Boston Mills store, 10.85 miles. It was not as muddy as yesterday, thanks to 24 sunny, rain-free hours. Most of the runners were experienced trail runners, but there was a mix of ability levels, so the group broke into many different little clusters. I ran for a while with Vince and his dog Dex, and Steve Hawthorne. Steve tripped on a root and stumbled (or so he says) and grabbed Vince's butt to keep from falling. Steve then reported that Vince's butt was '...really firm'. Later, at the rest room, Vince asked Steve to '...hold this while I take a pi55'. He claimed to be referring to the leash for Dex the dog. After that, I started running with a different group.

After we finished the BT run, I added another 9 miles on the tow path, on my own, to bring me over 20 miles for the morning. I kept a moderate pace, although the last mile was a bit slow. I was really about done in by then. I got to my car, sucked down an Endurox recovery drink, and drove home. Sue had an asparagus and mushroom quiche ready for me (very nice), which I washed down with a couple glasses of water. Right now, I'm sitting on the patio with my notebook, updating my blog and listening to the Indians game on the radio. I'll be going in the house in a little while to watch the Switzerland v. Portugal and Check Republic V. Turkey Euro 2008 matches. The Portugal v. Switzerland match is meaningless as Portugal is already guaranteed to advance to the next round and Switzerland has already been eliminated, but the Check Rep. v. Turkey match should be good as the winner will advance and the loser will go home.

We ran this section of the Buckeye trail today.

Muck-Romping in the Cuyahoga Valley

Does the phrase, 'wet Saturday morning' sound familiar? Good. Shows you've been paying attention for the last month or so. As usual, a SERC group of about 15 runners left from Lock 29 in Peninsula at around 8:15 AM, in the rain. We followed the tow path north to Boston Mills store, then followed a section of the Buckeye Trail. You know what...the trail was muddy. Yes it was. Again. We were all drenched and covered in muck very quickly.
It was a good run. I mingled, ran with different people at different times, had some interesting conversations, caught up with some people I had not talked with in a while. I ran the last few miles with Paul, e-speed, and Tom. I didn't wear my Garmin, but based on Paul's, I think I did right about 15 miles. I put a towel over the seat of the car and drove home.
When I got home, I took this photo. By then, most of the mud on my legs had dried, but you get the idea.

Better Get Serious About Ultra Training

In 36 days, I'll be running my first ultramarathon, the BT 50k. With all that has been going on over the last few months (a couple of marathons come to mind), I have not really focused on this...but I need to. My longest run since Cleveland has been 15 miles, hardly adequate preparation for a 31 miler. I must get serious about training, I mean starting now. The 'BT' in BT50k does not stand for 'Bad Training', but it might stand for 'Brutal Torture' if I don't start getting some miles in.
As a kick-off to my 'Get Serious About Training' period, on Monday evening I attended a runners' seminar presented by the Cleveland Clinic. The featured speaker was Dr. Jack Andrish, a veteran ultramarathoner who coincidentally happens to be a renowned Orthopaedic Surgeon. He vividly described the ultra experience, focusing on the Western States Endurance Run, and showed photos and short video excerpts from the movie 'Race for the Soul'. It was a very inspiring session. At the end, I asked him what advice he would give me as I approached my first ultra. "Just keep in mind, eventually you'll cross the finish, and you will, and when you do, the feeling will be unlike anything you've felt before." I'll keep that in mind.

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Recap of the week so far:

Sunday: I started out with the group, but dropped back to join a runner who was going a bit slower. He said the heat and humidity were affecting his asthma, and so I stayed with him. He seemed to be struggling, so I asked if he wanted to cut the run short. He decided that would be best, so I stayed with him and we ran slowly back to the start. Once I was sure he was OK, I took off to try to catch up with the group, and did eventually at the top of the hill on Route 91. I ran back with Wyatt, Paul, and Jeff U. It ended up being only 10.25 miles, but after a tough Saturday trail run, that felt right to me.

Monday: I ran a nice 6 miles at a moderate pace, down into the valley, along the tow path, and back.

Tuesday: This is normally speed-work day, but it happened to fall on our 33rd wedding anniversary, so I ran 6 miles at lunch, then we had a lovely evening, barbecuing marlin and asparagus on the patio. Some neighbors came over to celebrate with us. We had a few beers and talked for a few hours, enjoying the beautiful weather.


Wednesday: Another 6 miles (am I in a rut?) at lunch. Lots of hills.

Today: I rode my bike in and will ride home as well (about 26 miles round trip). I hope to sneak a tempo run in at lunch, but schedule may not allow for this. I hope to avoid doing yet another 6 miler.