Day 102 - 501 run

I drove out to 501 and 78 to meet my friend Frank at 7 a.m. From there we drove to the top of the mountain where the AT crosses 501. Approaching the top it looked white. The closer I got to the top there was a fresh coating of snow. We headed east and the start was very rocky, wet and covered with a coating of snow.

We ran out about 6 miles until we hit a pipeline. We both agreed to run down to the bottom or close to it. It was steep but the footing was good. There was a sign with the number "18" on it and that is where we turned around and headed back up. Below is a picture looking up. That is the top of the first section. The hill went up another half mile after the top of what you can see on the picture.

After reaching the top we ran out north about a mile on the pipeline. A red-tailed hawk was flying over for a little. We turned around and headed back to the AT and headed back to the 501. All the snow was gone by the time we got back. It was a nice easy 16 mile run and I will see Frank at the Hat Run 50k next week.

Around 2 p.m. I went for my second run up to Pulpit Rock. There were a lot more people on the trails down here then at 501. I passed a bigger group that was going to be spending the night. It was nice to open the legs up on the road. Running on the rocks in the morning was slow running. Overall it was a good day of running.

3-12-2011 - 16 miles - 3:35 - run
3-12-2011 - 7 miles - 1:04 - run

Day 101 - No run

No running today. Saving my energy for the weekend.

Day 100 - Water run

With the temps in the 50’s and the rain falling meant for a great night of splashing in the water. I left the house around 7 p.m. It was raining and there was water running everywhere. Being out in the rain when it is warm is so much fun. My feet where soak within the first 50 yards of the start. Sloshing in my shoes the whole run. The Schuylkill river was very high and moving fast. The power of water is amazing. It was another nice easy run and I am ready for the weekend.

3-10-2011 - 7 miles - 1:01 - run

Day 99 - Easy again

Today was another nice and easy paced run. I left around 5 p.m. for a road run. My legs are still a little sore right now. I guess that means a couple more days of easy running are on the way. Let the rain fall!

3-9-2011 - 7 miles - 58:00 - run

Day 98 - Easy day

Tonight was a nice easy 4 mile run in the mountain. My legs are still trashed after running the Buzzard on Sunday. It was nice to get out and not worry about a thing. The water was really flowing down the mountain from all the rain on Sunday. A lot of trees were down with the soft ground. I guess this is nature’s way of removing the weak and only let the strong standing. After making it to Pulpit Rock I headed over to the run the road down. Before I got to the open area there were 3 deer looking my way. As I got closer to them they started to run away and I noticed that one of them had a problem with its front leg and could not run to well. The other deer stood there kind of protecting the injured one until I went by them. I could really feel my legs running the downhill tonight. A couple more days and they should be back to normal.


3-8-2011 - 4 miles - 45:00 - run

Day 97 - No running

My legs a really beat up today. I am taking one more day off and will be back at it Tuesday.

Day 96 - Buzzard run

I woke up around 6:15 a.m. made some coffee, ate a banana and oatmeal. Then I mixed 2 bottles of Perpetuem, grabbed some gels, packed the car and I was out on the road driving by 7:10. The rain was very heavy at times on the drive out. The weather man was calling for 1 to 2 inches rain. The temp was right around 50 and felt like it stayed right there the entire run. Arriving at the parking lot where the race starts there were not too many parking spots left. I pulled in a spot and the front end of my car slid on the mud. Yes I got stuck and had to get pushed out before the event even started – a fun way to start the day. The course was changed due to flooding of a creek we have to cross before the last big climb. After talking to a couple of the runners we decided to run the old course and cross the water. That was before the race and we didn’t think the creek would be that high.

After a couple of words from the event organizer Harry we were off running. I guessing there were 30 to 40 people that started the event. The rain fell the entire run. This was probably the most rain I ever ran in. Lucky for me the temps were warm enough that I didn’t get cold. I got to meet Jason a runner from Lancaster. He has some great times at some well know long races. We got to run off and on the entire day and talk about training and races. For most of the day I ran with Stephan, Steve and Jason. We all pushed each other the entire time so there was no time to back off. This is not a race but it was fun to be pushing it the entire run with a great group of runners/friends.

Running down the first pipeline was very slippery with the mud and some ice. I opened it up here a little because I knew the group was going to reel me back in on the flats. Running on what I call the roller coaster we kept a good pace. Then on the railroad bed we split up a little bit. Steve, Jason and another guy Adam were ahead of Stephan and me going up the climb at the Water Tank trail. The water was running everywhere right before we got on to Marcia’s Madness. Halfway up I passed Adam. In another 50 yards I yelled ahead to let Jason and Steve know I was going to do the new course. After seeing the amount of water flowing down the mountain I didn’t want to cross the creek. They waited for me at the top and we all agreed to run the new course. They started to run and I waited a little down the trail to yell back to Stephan to turn left and do the new course. From here it is fire road to the bottom on the mountain. Right when the road starts to go down I ditched my backpack that had one full bottle in. I thought why carry it down to the bottom of the mountain if I will be running right back up. Further down the road we were all running pretty close to each other. Adam started to break away a little. I was feeling pretty good running down the hill so I thought I would open my pace up. Getting by Adam and I hammered the hill as fast as I could to the bottom. The aid station was at the bottom and that is where the turnaround was. I had about a quarter of a bottle of my drink left so I didn’t need to stop. Heading right back up the hill I ran down my legs could feel the beating I just gave them. I found a pace I could run at that I didn’t get out of breath with and stayed with it. When the hill got a little too steep I just power hiked. Stephan was right back up to me in no time and Jason was there towards the top of the hill. We ran together until Marcia’s Madness. I went first and I was slipping a lot. I told Jason to go ahead so I didn’t slow him down. Once on the Water Tank trail it was crazy with all the water running down. It felt good but it was hard to follow the trail. We hit the railroad bed and both had a gel. Keeping a nice pace on the railroad bed Stephan was right back up with us after falling back a little on the steep downhill. He was having some slipping issues with his road shoes running down the slippery steep rocky trails. All three of us ran together right before the turn to go back up the pipeline which is the last big climb of the day. I ran some of the pipeline until it got too steep for me. Then I got into power hiking mode. Reaching the top of the pipeline was a relief. From there it is only 2 miles downhill to the finish. After making it back to the parking lot I could not wait to get into some dry clothes.

Overall it was a great day to be on the trail with everyone and hang out after. This is one event I will come back to every year.

3-6-2011 - 24 miles - 3:47:23 - run

Days 94/95 - No running

I took off these days from running and walking for one last break before the Buzzard run on Sunday. I should be fully rested and ready to go.

Day 93 - Town loop

I decided I needed another confidence boast with a timed run. The last week I got burned out big time and I have to start rebuilding my running confidence again. I know that sounds funny but after taking only a couple of days off and not feeling well it feels like I have been away from it for awhile. The base is there I just need another fast run to find out where I am at with my training.

Tonight I am going with a longer loop of 7 miles that I have been running for the last couple of years. I started off with a 6:11 first mile which felt very fast but my breathing and legs were fine. I backed off a little a kept on pushing. To me these runs are really hard but fun. Concentrating on every stride, breathing and not losing focus of what I am out here for. Only looking at my watch the first mile split I looked down to find out I ran a 46:11 a 6:38 pace. That is over a minute faster than I have ever ran on that route. That is what I needed and gives me a boast going into the Buzzard fat ass trail run this weekend.

3-3-2011 - 7 miles - 46:11 - run

Day 92 - Running again

Today I am feeling a little better. I did not walk again and I am planning on not walking the rest of this week. Tonight I decided to time myself running from the parking lot up to Pulpit Rock. It is a good way to see where my running is at right now. It is 2.2 miles to the top. My legs were not to happy when I started on the road section. It was a struggle to the top but I kept pushing. It just felt like I couldn't move my legs. After getting to the single track on the AT things felt better and I just tried to stay focused on moving my legs a fast as I could. When I finally touched the tree at the top I looked at my watch and it said 21:35. That I think is my best time ever. Some days you feel like your not moving that well but at the end of this run it worked out.

3-2-2011 - 5 miles - 48:00 - run

Day 91 - No running or walking

No running or walking again. I am still drained from training and this cold.

Day 90 - No running or walking

No running or walking today. Drained from training and this cold.

Day 89 - Pinnacle

After yesterday doing the hills I took a nice and easy 12 mile run up to the Pinnacle. My energy is very low with this cold. This weekend was not as big as some of my other weekends but it was good to take it easy. You need a break every once and a while - mine is usually a forced one due to pushing the limits with running.


2-27-2011 - 12 miles - 2:25 - run

Day 88 - Hills

Today I felt a little better when I woke up. I was meeting some other runners to do hills at 8 a.m. There were 6 runners ready to conquer the hill when I got there. 2 more showed up a little later. 9 runners is the most ever to run the hill at one time to do hill repeats. It was really cool to have that many runners going up and down the mountain at one time. My plan was to do ten of them. After doing my 3rd I was really struggling and I knew that was not going to happen. I wound up hanging in there for 5. Everyone else did 4 or 5 also. It was also really cool to have a lot of them say they want to come back another time to do them.


2-26-2011 - 11 miles - 2:05 - run

Day 87 - ....again

I woke up feeling not so well again and the rest of the day didn't get any better. It felt like I was in slow motion all day. There was no energy to walk or run. It definitely was good mental training today. Just to keep moving forward was a big effort just like the last miles of an ultra for me. Tomorrow is another day:-)

Day 86 - Only a walk

Today I had another fast walk and it felt great. The weather was nice and very little wind. After I got home from work I wasn't feeling the best.  I thought I would wait until later to run. When later came around I still wasn't feeling any better. I think I am reaching my breaking point again and have to back off a little. No run tonight just sleep.


2-24-2011 - 3 miles - 36:45 - walk

Day 85 - Club run

The weather is not as warm as last week but the sun is shining during my walk. I am starting to see some other people out of their houses. With the spring on the way people are starting to move.

Tonight I went for a club run. It has been way to long since I made one of these runs. It is always nice to catch up with other runners. There must of been maybe 40+ people there tonight.  A great night of running with friends.

2-23-2011 - 3 miles - 36:51 - walk 

2-23-2011 - 6.4 miles - 52:00 - run

Day 84 - 80 days to go

There are only 80 days left until the race. It’s time to start making plans for that weekend on where to sleep and crew. I was looking at some of the info for the race this year and came across this video from last year’s race that someone made. It shows some of the course, runners and other things at the race. After watching the video it really gets you in the mood to run. It also looks really cool running in the warm weather :-)

My walk went real well today. Sunny and clear – you can’t beat that. Tonight I left for my run around 5 p.m. I talked to my friend Al tonight before I left and he said the black vultures were at Pulpit Rock. So that is where I headed. When I made it to Pulpit Rock they were not there but the view was very clear. The trails were all cover in snow again from Monday. Once I got back on the road I went down town to add some more time and miles. I finished with 15 miles of walking and running for the day in a little over 2 ½ hours. The time just flew by today!

2-23-2011 - 3 miles - 36:36 - walk 

2-23-2011 - 12 miles - 1:55 - run

Day 83 - No run day

No walk at work today. I left early to pick the little ones up. After a long weekend of running for me I started to feel the effects. Tired and a little bit of a head cold. I left for my run around 6 to do some loops and I didn’t get very far. I could not warm up and though I better back off and not push through this time. I headed back home and did some walking on the treadmill and finished with 3 miles. Not a big day but a smart one in the long run.

2-22-2011 - 3 miles - 38:00 - walk/run

Day 82 - Tired legs

Today I was trying for 20 slow miles with one long run. I left around 12:00 p.m. and headed to the mountain. The route was the same as the last couple of days - up to Pulpit Rock, out to the Pinnacle and back to the road to add some more miles. It’s was a good route to test myself on with all the rocks and with tired legs. After doing a lot of road running with a flat surface I have to get use to lifting my legs over rocks again. A lot more hikers today then in past few weekends. They are also getting the itch to get back on the trail. The views were really clear and the trails were still a little icy at places. Once I hit the road and made the turn on Mountain road I was at 11 miles. That is where the legs said they didn’t want to go anymore. My pace slowed close to a 10 min. mile on a gradual downhill. I fought through the discomfort for the next 7 miles. I hit my driveway and my watch said 17.87. I went in and changed into my road shoes and started to leave when the rest family pulled in the driveway returning from a movie party. That meant my running was done for the day. I finished with 17.87 miles and just over fifty miles of running in the last 3 days. Life is good!

2-20-2011 - 17.87 miles - 3:21 - run