Saturday, January 29, 2011

Day 59 - More snow

Today was one of those days I didn’t feel quit on. My stomach didn’t feel the best when I woke up and my energy was low. When I went for my walk and put some music on things started to feel a little better. I love the power of music. About a half mile into my run I looked over at one tree and it looked like a face. So I had to get a quick picture of that. I know what you thinking I’m loosing it from walking and running too much :-) Oh well at least I am having fun out here. Some more snow was falling the whole walk but no accumulation on the roads.



Tonight the family and I went to Ruby Tuesday's for supper. Then the little ones watched their movie and my wife and I watched The Blind Side. There was not to much time for a run. There will be plenty of time this weekend for running, sledding and some more snow.

1-28-2011 - 3.4 miles - 43:50 - walk



Friday, January 28, 2011

Day 58 - It's a beautiful day

Waking up to the snow was great today. It was not enough to stay home from work which I was hoping for:-) I shoveled for a good hour before work and about an hour at work and it felt great to be outside. Living along a heavily traveled road means the snow plow just doesn’t throw the snow in front of your driveway one time. They throw snow it in front of your driveway all night long. It looks like the rest of the snow in your driveway but it is a lot heavier. 

What a pretty day for a walk. A lot of the trees still had some snow on them. You could see which way the wind was blowing when the snow was falling during the storm. Only one side of the trees were covered in snow.



View from my walk


Tonight’s run was to get time on my feet and enjoy the views. I drove up to the mountain so I could get to the top before dark. First tracks again to the top after getting to the road hill. There were about 5 or 6 inches of new snow. The conditions are really nice right now and are only going to be getting better with more snow that might be falling this weekend. On the way back down to the parking lot is was dark. I could hear 2 owls which made for a nice finish to my run.


The road hill up to Pulpit Rock

The view from Pulpit Rock

The view from Pulpit Rock

The side view from Pulpit Rock

The side view from Pulpit Rock

The side view from Pulpit Rock

The side view from Pulpit Rock

The side view from Pulpit Rock

The side view from Pulpit Rock

View from the Appalachian Trail 
1-27-2011 - 3 miles - 39:16 - walk
1-27-2011 - 4 miles - 55:00 - run 


Thursday, January 27, 2011

Day 57 - Snow pelting

By the time I went out for my walk the first batch of snow was mostly melted on the road. My legs felt a little slow at the start but felt better after a couple minutes. The walk felt rushed today because the little ones had a half day of school. As soon as I was finished with my walk I was off to pick them up at school and back to work with me to finish my day.

I was out the door tonight around 5 and drove over to the mountain. I ran straight up the road hill to the top tonight. Hitting my first mile in 14:28. That sounds funny after running my first mile last night in 6:34 but the snow covered Pulpit Rock road hill will do that to your time. Running up the road I was hoping to get there for a couple pics at Pulpit Rock before it was to dark and I just made it. It was very windy with snow falling. I snapped a couple of shots and I was on my way. Down the AT I ran back to the car. It is so cool running in the middle of the woods in the dark and snowing. The route was only 4 miles so after I drove home I decided to go run through town. Tonight was also a night you had to run with your eyes almost closed do to the snow pelting you in the eyes the whole time. The snow made it so bright everywhere. There were very few people out driving which made it like I had the whole town to myself. I could really feel my energy level was low and my legs were really sore from my run last night. Keep moving forward is what I kept telling myself.

1-26-2011 - 3 miles - 37:50 - walk
1-26-2011 - 11 miles - 1:58 - run (4 mile trail/7 mile road)


The snowy view from Pulpit Rock

The snowy view from Pulpit Rock

The snowy view from Pulpit Rock

The snowy view from Pulpit Rock



Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Day 56 - Ready to run

I did my three mile loop again on my walk today. I wish I had more time because I am not ready to stop after three miles. The temps were up and it felt real comfortable outside. No face cover needed today. The legs felt great after a night off of running. The count down is on to spring for most but there looks like some more fun with the snow is on the way again.

Usually when I take a day off from running I am ready go the next day. Well tonight I was ready. I went out knowing I wanted to run ten miles. 6 p.m. I was off running hitting 6:34 on my first mile and thought this could be a fun night. It was a little fast but sometimes it is hard to hold back even when you know your going to pay for it. At that point of the run I was thinking maybe I will try to keep moving at this pace for five miles and then take it easy. Well after moving along and not feeling like the energy was leaving after five miles I was in for the whole ten. I could feel my legs getting tired but I know now when these times come around you have to relax and try to keep moving. The beep from my watch went off and I looked down and it read nine miles - 1:03 something. I closed my eyes for a couple of seconds and dug down deep. I hit 6:41 on my last mile and finished at 1:10:35 with a big smile on my face. Some people say your legs only have so many races in them don't waste it on training run. I say you only live once and if your feeling good go for it you could die tomorrow. And one more thing I will pay for this tomorrow but it was worth it! Bring on the snow!


1-25-2011 - 3 miles - 38:06 - walk

1-25-2011 - 10 miles - 1:10:35 - run
                    1 mile - 9:19 - run(cool down)

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Day 55 - No running today

Today was very cold and sunny out. At least everyone keeps telling me how cold it is out. I didn't think it was that cold but then again I am bundle up when I go out. The more time I spend in the cold this year the more I want to be out in it. I really love the winter this year. My walk at work was warmer than I thought it was going to be. It was around 17 ° and that was a lot warmer then the low single digits in the morning around here or the -39 ° up in Canada I read about.

No running tonight for me. I got very busy with everything else at home and I thought it was a good night to rest after 9 days of running in a row which is a lot for me. With another snow storm on the way I am ready to play and the rest will be good.

1-24-2011 - 3 miles - 38:45 - walk

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Day 54 - Cold but sunny

Today was a great day out on the trails. With all the hikers that were out in the last couple of days the snow is packed down and most of the rocks are hidden. You could fly down most trails and not worry about tripping on a rock. Its slower running up the hills but so much fun on the downs. I ran one of my favorite runs which includes Pulpit Rock, Blue Rocks Campground and the Pinnacle. I started from home and made my way over to the road up to Pulpit Rock which I run a lot and is a great way to get warm. There was good traction to the top with some truck tracks all the way to the top. Heading down to the campground I had first tracks. Heading up the yellow trail from the campground there were four wheeler tracks that made running a lot easier. The views from the Pinnacle were very clear and you could see forever. There was a guy xc skiing with his two dogs. The stayed right aside of him and didn't leave his side. I thought that was pretty cool.


The view from the Pinnacle

The view from the Pinnacle

View off of the Appalachian Trail
On my way back I looked over at some trees that I always run by and the sign below was nailed to one of them. Its funny you can run by things so many times and never see it and one day it pops out and you finally see it. On my way back down from Pulpit Rock I ran into a great runner friend Beth. She was out enjoying a hike with a friend. After I ran down to the bottom I looked to my right and there was another hiker. I said hi and we started taking about hiking and running. He said he has been hiking up in this area for many years and stopped running when he was 40 because of neck problems. He was out hiking today for about 12 miles. I told him I got a pic of a cool sign on a tree that read something about 1936. He said to me before I even showed him the pic "Was it made out of copper?"  and I said yes. I showed him the pic and he said his son and him found that sign around 25 years ago and never could find it again. You just never know what you are going to find or who you will meet on the trail. It happened so many times to me out on the trail with just the word "Hi!" Life on the trail is good!
April 15 1936
Please Protect These
Evergreen Trees
E.D.K & J.R.


1-23-2011 - 15 miles - 3:20 - run

Day 53 - 2 pair of socks

I left the house with the temp at 9°. It was a 2 pair of sock kind of day. Wait I also had 2 pair of gloves on. The plan was to do a 12 1/2 mile loop on the road to the AT over to Port Clinton and back the road. I did this loop a couple of years ago when the temp was around 4° with some friends. Again I had first tracks on the AT to Port Clinton. That is around a 6 mile section. Everything was going well until the last mile down. I forgot there could be drifts on the mountain and they were there the rest of the way down to the bottom. The drifts were deep about 1 to 2 feet deep. My feet were very cold by this point of the run. The drifts made it hard to see where the rocks were. You can usually see bumps in the snow and that usually means theres a rock or stick there. After a good fall from kicking some rocks and almost eating some snow I slowed down and just wanted to get down. I made it down with no more falls. From there I ran through the town of Port Clinton an up to the Bartram Trail. I passed one guy on the Bartram Trail that I meet over the summer. He was doing an 8 mile round trip hike to the library and back. I hit the road section of my run and decided to add a loop at Kaercher Creek and some more road. I finished up with 16 miles. A good day of survival out on the trail. Not a good day for pics since my battery died.
The Appalachian Trail heading up

Pocahontas Spring on the Appalachian Trail
Kaercher Creek
1-22-2011 - 16 miles - 3:13 - run