Day 142 - 5k with family

Today I got out of work early so I headed right home to get some work done and then went for a hike. I did my normal 5 mile route. Not to much action out on the trail but it was a nice hike.

Tonight I decided to do a 5k. The family and I went to pick my dad up around 6 to go to the race. It is the first race of 6 in the series. One each month on the third Thursday of each month for 6 months. Tonights run had 300 finishers. My first mile was fast at 5:32, the 2nd mile was 5:55 and the last was 6:02 for a final time of 18:08. That time tonight was good for first in my age group. I really don't know how to pace myself in 5k's. I just go out fast and see what happens an just try to hold on. I really like jumping in these races because there is always someone to chase and you have to dig deep the last mile to keep moving. After I finished I ran back to my day and ran the rest of the way in with him. He is 67 and finished with a smile in 41:16. It was great to have family and friends at the finish.

4-21-2011 - 5 miles - 1:14 min. - hike
4-21-2011 - 6 miles - 46 min. - run

The view from Pulpit Rock

The view from Pulpit Rock

Day 141 - Colorful bird

Time is really flying by. Every time I look at a calendar it seems like another day is gone. Right now there is less than 24 days to go. That gives me another 2+ weeks of training. After that I will be hiking the rest of the days - maybe;-) I'm not a big taper fan but I won't be running real hard if I do.

Tonight I went for a hike. The last 4 days I had 66 miles and I needed a break from running. I loaded my pack up with two water bottles and carried two bottles to get some more weight. I posted the 5 mile loop below that I have been doing on days I don't run. I really like this hike and the sites you get to see and tonight provided that. After taking a picture at Pulpit rock I hiked about 50 yards and I see a very colorful bird on the trail. I knew this bird should not have been here and I don't know how it got there. I quickly dropped my pack and bottles to get some pictures and some video. I later find out it was a Chinese Pheasant. It was really cool to see a bird with all that color up on the mountain. There was a lot of water on some parts of the trail heading back down to the reservoir. A great night for a hike and the weather was perfect for a hike.

Below I also posted all my mileage for the last 20 weeks. This month as of right now will be my biggest month so far. I also added my total hours for the last 10 weeks.

4-20-2011 - 5 miles - 1:11 - hike

View from Pulpit Rock

Chinese Pheasant

Chinese Pheasant

Sunset 4-20-2011

Week 11

Walk = 16.1

Run = 80

Total Miles = 96.1

Total Time - 17 hrs. 25 min.

Week 12

Walk = 13.5

Run = 60.9

Total Miles = 74.4

Total Time - 13 hrs. 24 min.

Week 13

Walk = 9

Run = 41.4

Total Miles = 50.4

Total Time - 9 hours 8 min.

No more walks at work.

Week 14

Run = 40

Total Time - 6 hrs. 6 min.

Week 15

Run = 71

Total Time - 12 hrs. 16 min.

Week 16

Run = 78.25

Total Time - 13 hrs. 17 min.

Week 17

Run = 67.2

Total Time - 11 hrs. 40 min.

Week 18

Run = 82.2

Hike =8

Total Miles = 90.2

Total Time - 18 hrs. 20 min.

Week 19

Run = 65.5

Hike = 10

Total Miles = 75.5

Total Time - 12 hrs. 37 min.

Week 20

Run = 77.6
Total Time - 13 hrs. 2 min.


First 10 weeks below:

Week 1
Walk = 4.5

Run = 72.25

Total Miles = 76.75

Week 2

Walk = 10.6

Run = 68.7

Total Miles = 79.3

Week 3

Walk = 14

Run = 69.5

Total Miles = 83.5

Week 4 (Disney 3 days off of running)

Walk = 5.8

Run = 21.35

Total Miles = 27.15

Week 5 (Disney 3 days off of running)

Walk = 5.6

Run = 38.75

Total Miles = 44.35

Week 6

Walk = 14

Run = 68

Total Miles = 82

Week 7

Walk = 11

Run = 56.75

Total Miles = 67.75

Week 8

Walk = 15.4

Run = 62

Total Miles = 77.4

Week 9

Walk = 15.8

Run = 61

Total Miles = 76.8

Week 10

Walk = 15.6

Run = 51

Total Miles = 66.6

Day 140 - Legs were heavy

Tonight my legs were heavy and a little sore. The last 3 days really tired my legs out which that is what I was trying to do. Tonight was a nice slower run. I met my friend Donny out on my run and we did a loop around town and by the river. I think I am ready for an easy hike night.

4-19-2011 - 10.40 miles - 1:33 - run

Day 139 - Monday longer run

Today I woke up and my legs were feeling really good after all the hills I ran yesterday. I wanted to get more miles in yesterday but I ran out of time and felt tired when I was thinking about a second run. I got dressed and ready to go but never made it out the door. It was a good decision because tonight I had energy.

I left the house around 5:45 and wasn't coming home until I hit 15 miles. When I go for a distance over 10 I usually head up to Pulpit Rock. It gives me one big hill and slows my pace down. It was cloudy up there tonight. I passed a couple of people but mainly I had the mountain to myself. After running back down I hit the road down to town. Baseball is in full swing and more people are around at the park. That is great to see because it has been a ghost town all winter. The river is up high after all the rain. I made it home hitting 15 miles in an 8:23 pace. What a great night of running.

4-18-2011 - 15 miles - 2:06 - run

Sunrise 4-18-2011

Day 138 - Hills and then some

Today I left the house around 11 a.m. to do hill repeats. The sun was in and out all day and the wind never stopped. Sometimes I had gloves and a winter hat on. Then when the sun came out from behind the clouds it got warm. I felt pretty good today and pushed them more then I usually do. I drank 3 full bottles of Gatorade, 4 gels and 4 electrolytes. There were a lot of people hiking today and that is always good for a conversation or two in passing. One girl was hiking with her family and rolled here ankle running down the hill. She seemed to be walking ok after I passed them later on. I ran everything but a 40 or 50 yard section on the last couple of laps. On those I tried to power hike the steep sections as fast as I could. The last lap I really worked hard to keep moving. After finishing my 10th hill I went over to Pulpit Rock to get a couple of quick pics and head back down to the car. If I stay to long I really get tight and cold. It is also quite painful to run the last 1.6 miles back to the car that way. 26 more days until MMT and a lot of work to be done.

4-17-2011 - 21 miles - 3:43 - run - elevation 6,720ft up/6,720 down

The view from Pulpit Rock

The view from Pulpit Rock

Day 137 - A lot of weather

Today I met a group of runners at the Hamburg Reservoir at 8 a.m. We headed up the left side of the reservoir to a trail we don't run a lot. A little bit of  bushwhacking was a fun way to start the run off. The trail doesn't get used that much so the growth was a little higher. From there we head down towards Eckville and then cut back up to the Port Clinton fire tower. We all grouped back together and then decided to run the power line trail. It goes straight down a very rocky section which was very slow moving because you could fall in between rocks. Then we went right back up the other side and that was one of the steepest trails I think I ever went up. Everyone was glad to be up at the top and it was cold so we had to keep moving. We ran the Appalachian Trail back to the parking lot from there. It was another great day with friends on the trail.



I went for a second run around 4. It was raining when I left. Splashing around town was a lot of fun. Then with around 3 miles to go I saw a flash and it was lighting. That made me run a little faster. Then the rain started to fall and the thunder started. I kept moving forward and made it home safe and soaking wet. It was a lot of fun out there before the lighting came. It was a good day of running.


4-16-2011 - 11 miles - 2:40 - run
4-16-2011 - 9 miles - 1:10 - run

Day 136 - No running

No running today.

4-15-2011

Day 135 - Great weather

Tonight I didn't have much time to run. I left the house with plans on running the road from my house up to Pulpit Rock and back. The legs are feeling good so I was moving a little faster then the rest of the week. With the great weather there were a lot more people hiking tonight. After reaching Pulpit I thought I would run the downhill at a faster pace and the legs held up. Making if home in 57 min. I was happy with the run.

4-14-2011 - 6.4 miles - 57 min. - run

Day 134 - Club run

Ran with the running club tonight. It was fun night running around the trails down in Reading. A little mud, bushwhacking and a fence climb. Then off to supper for some running talk.


4-13-2011 - 4.80 miles - 53 min - run

Day 130 - Bull Run Run 50

First off I want to thank my family! They are the ones that are a big part of my running. Without their support my training runs or races would not be possible. To leave on a weekday for 3 hours or 6 hours on a weekend to run knowing that I have their support makes training a lot easier. Thanks! :-)

Shoes, Bib# and empty gels!

The day started with an early 4:30 a.m. wake up for me and my roommates Phil, Stephan and Donny. There were another 24 running club members from the Pagoda Pacers scattered around the area doing the same thing. Yes that is right we had 28 people from one club running 50 miles – amazing – and they all finished!!! I had my breakfast ready to go when I woke up. It included 1 bagel(no cream cheese), 1 banana and a small can of Starbucks Doubleshot Espresso. I was going to use a back pack to carry all my gels but decided to go with a smaller waist pack instead. I loaded my pocks up with gels and safety pinned them shut so they won’t fall out and shoved the rest of them in a waist pack. I had 9 electrolytes ready in a plastic bag in my hand held water bottle holder pocket. I also had all my clothes ready to head to the showers after the race so I would not have to do a lot of thinking after I was done. The main thing I wanted to concentrate on after the race was making it up the little hill to where the showers are located. I think that is the hardest hill of the day. It is not that long maybe 30 yards but after you finish and sit down for a while and try to go up that little hill it can be painful. That is where a lot of pictures should be taken;-) After we all had our stuff packed we head down and loaded the car up with all are bags. We waited for some other runners and drive over to the start. When we get to the parking area there is a line of traffic. I think after we parked the car we only had about 10 min. until the start of the race.

At the starting line I talked to some of the other runners and in no time all 344 runners were off and running. Looking out at the front there was one runner that went out crazy fast. That was Matt Woods and he went on to set the course record with a time of 6:08:14 – smoking fast. My friend Stephan and I ran together for some of the first part of the race. It was nice to talk a little with someone you know. I went out at a pace I could breathe and my legs were not getting tired. If my legs started to burn on the hills I started to power hike and I stayed with that strategy the whole race. If someone tried to pass I let them go. Racing my own race is what works best for me. My plan for the day was to drink Gatorade, take a electrolyte every hour and take a gel every 23 min. I set my watch to beep every 23 min. as a reminder. Not sure where I came up with every 23 min. but it seemed to work. I hit the Centreville Road aid station 7.2 miles and topped my bottle off. There is always tons of people here cheering everyone on. The aid station volunteers are an amazing part of this race. They always ask to take your bottle so you can go and eat and when you are done they give your bottle back filled and send you on your way. From here the course runs out 2.2 mile to a turn around and come right back to the same aid station which is now mile 11.6. Topping off my bottle again and head down some steps and head back to where we stated in the morning.

I came into Hemlock aid station mile 16.6 and the clock there said 2:18 something. This is where we started in the morning. I topped my bottle off and start running down the trail. Our car was right near the trail and that is where I had the rest of my gels in my waist pack. I picked them up and headed out for the last 33 miles. Wow! That does that sound far when I write it down. You have to break these races up in smaller blocks or it can get overwhelming. In the next couple of miles I passed and got passed by Dan Rose. We did that the rest of the day. Dan ran with another one of our club members Anna Piskorska at the 2010 24-Hour Run World Championship in France. It was really nice to meet him and he gave me some great tips out there. Thanks Dan for the encouragement! I made a pace chart on Thursday and I’m not sure why. I didn’t use it until I wanted to know the distance after I was out of the Do Loop 35.5 miles. Once you hit mile 35.5 you feel a little better because you are heading back to the finish.

When I hit the Wolf Run Shoals aid station 39.9 miles I topped my bottle off and I heard people calling my name. It was a lot of friends/club members that came down to support all the runners we had there. I handed my gloves to Beth and glared over at everyone said hi and ran into the woods. It really gave me a boast but this next section was my hardest. I just felt like I couldn’t move my legs a fast as I wanted to. Then when I hit the Marina aid station 44.9 miles and I looked at my pace chart it said I had to be at 6:43 to run a final time of 7:30 my watch read 6:20. From there I just had to keep my legs moving. I caught back up to Dan and we ran most of the last section together. Right before we crossed the finish line he let me go ahead of him. It was a victory for both of us and I hope to get to run with him another day. This was a big PR for me. My best time at this race was here in 2008 and I ran an 8:20:24. This year I ran a 7:15:27. With more consistent training this year it is paying off but I still have a lot of work to do in the next couple of weeks before MMT.

After getting all cleaned up and eating I got to watch a lot of my friends/club member’s finish. It was really cool seeing them cross the line. What a day out there and I can’t wait to do it next year. Below are some pictures of my running club and me from the race.

4-9-2011 - 50.4 miles - 7:15:27 - run

Pagoda Pacer runners. Photo: © 2011 Bobby Gill

Photo: © 2011 Robert Fabia

Photo: © 2011 Robert Fabia

Photo: © 2011 Robert Fabia

Photo: © 2011 Desiree Williams

Photo: © 2011 Bobby Gill

Day 133 - Dreadmill run

Today I was going to take the day off but then I read a post by my friend Ken. It gave me a push to run and I thought I would try the treadmill. I started with 5mph at a 10% grade for maybe 10 or 15 min. Then went up to 5.5, 6 and finished the last 5 min. at 7 mph all with the grade staying at 10%. For some reason it went good. I was looking at the"red" stop button and the "green" go button to start or stop the treadmill and it got me thinking. The more you stare at the red button the more you want to stop it. Just like the discomfort in a race the more you focus on it the more you want to stop. But if you can find a way to focus on something else and keep looking for the green button you can go a little further.

4-12-2011 - 4.25 miles - 45 min - run

Day 132 - Recovery hike #2

My legs are feeling a little better today. I went for another hike and it was very warm today. I could move the legs a lot faster today. Should be running soon.


4-11-2011 - 5 miles - 1:18 - hike

Day 131 - Recovery hike

Today was a day to move the legs. I went for a 5 mile hike and my hamstrings were very tight and sore. Trying to take long strides was not that fun on the downhills but I made it and will keep moving forward. 


4-10-2011 - 5 miles - 1:11 - hike

Day 129 - No running day

Today I leave for VA for the Bull Run Run 50 on Saturday.


4-8-2011

Day 128 - Easy run

Tonight was an easy night of running in the mountains. I wanted to get out and keep the legs moving. Bull Run Run 50 is this weekend and I am trying not to over do it!


4-7-2011 - 5 miles - 1:18 - run

Day 127 - Club run

Ran with the club at a nice easy pace and then out for a nice supper with a lot of running talk. Another great night with the running club!


4-6-2011 - 5.85 miles - 50 min.+ - run

Day 126 - No running

No running today. Giving the legs a rest day!

4-5-2011

Day 125 - Hiking

The weekend really beat me up. Below my right knee cap it is sore and the joint above my big toe on my right foot is very sore. I am taking this as a message to slow down. Back to hiking for tonight to see if it feels better going slower. About half way through my hike I hear some noise and when I look over there were thousands of little bugs jumping around on the leaves. The first pic below looks a little purple but the bugs were black. Maybe they all were out because if was very warm out. It was great being out in the warmer weather and can't wait to run in it every night.

4-4-2011 - 5 miles - 1:25 - hike

Day 124 - Legs feel very sore

Today started with a nice 4 mile hike with my wife. We hiked the AT to Pulpit Rock and back the road hill loop. We got to meet a very nice 67 year young lady that hikes up there about 5 or 6 days a week with here dog. She even said she runs down the road hill to the parking lot. That is one of the tricks to living longer - keep moving forward.

After returning home from our hike I ate, packed my drinks, food and I was out the door for my run. I think this run should of been called the "Leg Burner or Legs Feel Very Sore" run. My legs were shot today but I wanted to get a back to back long run in. I did a lot of the trails I usually do. Up the Pulpit Rock road hill, down to the campground, up to Pinnacle, back to Pulpit Rock and then onto the road. That is when the fun started. My legs really felt sore during the 8 miles on the road. I kept just over a 10 min. pace. and with tired legs I was happy with that. My legs felt just like they do in a long event and pushing through is what you have to do and forget about the discomfort the best you can.

4-3-2011 - 20 miles - 3:55 - run
4-3-2011 - 4 miles - 1:22 - hike

The view from Pulpit Rock

The view from Pulpit Rock

Looking up at Pulpit Rock from the campground

The view from the Pinnacle

The plantains I was talking about on Thursdays run. The coconut and grapefruit were gone.

A trail at Kaercher Creek Park

Kaercher Creek Park - Pulpit Rock is located on the mountain in the middle. 

Kaercher Creek overflow water tunnel 

Day 123 - Leg Burner run

The Leg Burner run I just mapped out a couple days ago. Basically it is a route with as many hills as I could find to make a great hilly fun run. Not to many people use hilly and fun in the same sentence but with MMT fastly approaching you need to get them in now. With me there were 7 of us that started the run. The run started with 2.6 mile loop up the AT heading west, down a pipeline and back to the parking lot. We all warmed up on the first climb. When we hit the steep downhill pipeline the leaves were very slippery and with the loose rocks made it a challenge but we all made it down safely. From there we headed east on the AT to a pole line that went straight down to Rattling Run creek and straight back up to the road near the Port Clinton fire tower. The rest of the group head back to the parking lot from the creek and Steve and I headed out for the rest of the loop. We then ran by the fire town, down to Drehersville seeing some bear tracks in the snow and back up to the fire tower. Then we ran down the road to the Rattle Snake trail, Moss trail and back on the AT to the parking lot. We hit 20 miles as we went under the 61 bridge. From there we agreed to run the loop we did in the morning in the reverse direction. The pipeline was very steep but there was no slippery leaves just a lot of loose rocks. After getting back to the cars we headed up a steep road to some game land parking lot turned around and ran back to the cars. Steve is also running MMT and today was great training for both of us.

Later at night I did a 4 mile hike with my friend Donny to get the legs moving after the beating they took earlier in the day. What a great hilly run and hike in the mountains today.

4-2-2011 - 25.44 miles - 5:44 - run
4-2-2011 - 4 miles - 1:12 - hike

Run down the Pipeline

Day 122 - Easy run

Tonight the family and a friend of the girls went to the movies. I went for a nice easy run. I left from the house and went up to Pulpit Rock and around the mountain. Hopefully this will be some of the last pics of snow I will be posting form spring. I only passed two people the whole run. The mountain was all mine other than all the animals watching me run by. Tonight I ran on some other trails that I didn't run for a couple of weeks and I could really see the damage that the ice storms and winds caused. Come on spring we are waiting;-)


4-1-2011 - 8 miles - 1:25 - run

The view from Pulpit Rock

Spring on the Appalachian Trail

Spring on the Appalachian Trail

Day 121 - Weird

Today I met Donny out on part of my run. We ran the loop at Kaercher Creek, cut through the Hamburg Centre State Hospital grounds to Mountain road. From there we ran down Mountain road to the towpath trail. Right before we ran under the 78 bridge I looked over to the right and there were about 6 or 7 plantains, a coconut and I think a grapefruit laying on the ground. It look like someone just laid them there and left. It was really weird to find them laying on the ground in the middle of nowhere. Maybe we were on camera to get our reaction. We headed back by his house and I kept run and finished with just under 9.75 miles.


3-31-2011 - 9.75 miles - 1:35 - run