A strange group on a strange run

Today run was noteworthy in that many of the regulars were missing, a few members who rarely make it on Saturday's showed up, and we got lost (or at least disoriented) too many times.

I was later than usual arriving, and was worried that the group might start without me. I found a parking spot and ran to the Lock 29 entrance gate where we gather before the runs, but no one was there. I checked my watch, and it was right at 8:00 AM, so I was sure they hadn't left yet (we always leave a few minutes later than 8:00.) Eventually, runners began arriving, surprisingly including Daisy Duc and e-speed, making a very rare appearance together. It was the smallest group since the worst of the mid-winter blizzard runs. Someone mentioned that there was a Veritcal Runner sponsored race in Hudson. I assume most of the missing regulars where there, including Steve Hawthorne.

So, with many of the regulars missing, and with the addition of Daisy and e-speed, we started out at a slow pace. It was a very warm, very humid morning, and within a few minutes, sweat was dripping from us, especially Daisy. No...wait a minute, that was just her water bottle leaking. ;-) Once we picked up the pace a bit, and got into the hilly and muddy parts of the run, the heat and humidity made it a very tough morning. I took off my shirt after three or four miles, in part to cool off and also to use as a swatter against the particularly pesky deer flies that harassed us all morning.



Steve chose to follow some unfamiliar paths, and as a result, there were four or five comical moments where we were unsure of where we were or which way to go. We did some backtracking, and some second guessing, and lost Steve momentarily, but eventually, 13.25 miles and 2 hours and 9 minutes later, we made it back to Lock 29. Here is a satellite image of the route.

That run was a tough one, and by the end I was done in. I had a bottle of Endurox R4 in the car, and I drank it down fast. Respect to e-speed for running strong for the last mile, coming up from behind and blowing past me. I rinsed off, put on a dry pair of shorts, said good-bye to the group and headed home. I've been eating since: a Dutch pancake which is basically a pie shell with a mixture of vegetables and cheese, about a quart of water, a tuna salad sandwich, some cheese and crackers, a beer, and various snack foods.

BEAUTIFUL Sunday

This morning started ominously. At 5:30, the skies were gray and a cold wind was blowing from the north. I wore my long sleeve Boston Marathon 2008 shirt and another under it, but still felt under dressed. I drove by and dropped a Gatorade at the 9 mile mark, then parked at the plaza to meet up with the group. The few early arrivers were trying to keep from shivering. Paul Romanic, Steve Hawthorne, and I decided to do a few warm-up laps That seemed to help, and when the group eventually got started, I felt alright.
It was an odd day Normally, we go out slow (except for Eileen who has only one speed). Typically the first mile is at around 7:50 pace, but today we were uner 7:00. I blame Wyatt who shot at of the gate like he was running the Kentucky Derby. I caught Eileen, and we agreed to keep a more reasonable pace. We ran the rest of the morning together.
At about the 8 mile mark, the skies began to clear, and the sun broke through. By 10 miles, the sun had won the battle, and the clouds were beating a retreat. It made for perfect running conditions. We finished 14 miles, and met up with the rest of the group at the bagel shop.
The day kept getting better. When I got home, I watched the first half of Liverpool v. Man City, a relatively meaningless game as neither team could change their fate, although City will definitely sack the manager. (Sven, we hardly knew ye.) The future looks bright for Liverpool, especially with the young Torres. So at the half, I turned it off and we went to Lowes to buy landscaping needs.

We scored a real bargain, finding a two year old Cleveland Select Pair tree for only ten dollars. I dug hole about two feet in diameter by about two feet deep, added some better quality soil, and planted it at the back, near the patio. After that, I cleaned the patio, retrieved the sun umbrellas and lounge chairs from the shed, and generally set everything right for the outdoor season.

That done, I fetched the radio, PC, and a beer (Sierra Nevada Pale Ale which I highly recommend as one of the best domestic pale ales.) I planted my butt in a lounge chair, turned on the game, and sipped at my ale, and started updating my blog. That's where I am now, on a gorgeous, sunny, warm, spring Sunday afternoon in Solon, Ohio. Here is the view from my perspective.

There's No Place Like Home

A very sore Achilles kept me from running on Tuesday, and was not feeling much better today. I had trouble walking down the hall at work. I was getting very down, thinking bad thoughts about how I had screwed up my chances for Boston with only 26 days left. After a couple of days of those thoughts, I determined that I had to do something to prove to myself that I was going to be alright, so I decided to run home from work. There is no 'try' in this...once I leave the building, my next stop is home. I would rather crawl home than face the embarassment of going back to get my car and driving home, after I said I was running it. I made it, and my Achilles hurt no worse than when I started. The sun was shining, and the temperature was around 40 degrees F, and I easily made it home before dark. I kept a reasonable pace, averaging a 7:40 pace which is acceptable for a longish training run.

A noteworthy milestone, with five days left in March, I am at 204 miles for the month, my first month over 200 miles. Not much for the ultra runners among us, but a lot of miles for me. I am feeling better than ever that I will come in at 3:15 in Boston. I am much better prepared than I was for Columbus in November, and I managed a 3:19 there.

In a follow-up to my post about the Plain Dealer report Zachary Lewis, and his quest for a personal record in Cleveland this year, he replied to my e-mail and said he would consider joining SERC. From the tone, I suspect he is not all that keen to do so, but he didn't want to offend us. He did thank me for the invitation, and for my explanation of how running with the club has helped so much, and therefore he was thinking of including a discussion of running clubs in a future article. Of course, I offered our cooperation. Favorable mention of SERC in the local press would be nice.

Well....that was stupid.

Yesterday (Wednesday), I started work early, had not a moment's break, had meetings stacked all morning, through lunch, and all afternoon, so there was no time to run. Finally, about 4:30 PM, I saw an opportunity. We reached a transition point in the working session, and I announced that I had to leave early. I was gone from the room before there were any objections.
I thought I would do one of my usual routes around work, then shower and drive home. but instead I decided to run home from work. I've never tried this before, but I had been thinking about it. I didn't know how bad the weather had turned; the last time I was outside was 6:00 AM and it was looking like a nice day. I did have a rain shell, but no gloves or hat, and only shorts.
When I started, it was a bit messy, rain and sleet, but that very soon changed to snow... and sleet. I managed to keep my socks dry for about two miles, after which both shoes were filled with ice water. My hands went from cold, to very cold, to painfully cold, to 'I have no feelings in my hands' cold. By the time I got home (about 11 miles), I couldn't get my fingers to work, so Sue was nice enough to untie my shoes. As I slowly warmed, I began to feel nauseous,... not sure why. That lasted for about an hour or so, but it was still better to be warm and nauseous than frozen.
Good news: If my left calf was hurting, I couldn't tell.