Beer Run

Tonight I met up with Autumn, and her group tonight for a Beer Run at Hal and Al's in Columbus.
I've been wanting to get back to this group run for a while now, I just seem to always have something come up and I can never make it.
I was a tad nervous as the last couple of times I've done this beer run, I've ended up with a terrible headaches. I would have a beer and then have a headache before we reached our next destination. It kinda sucks if you are at a Beer Run and not drinking.
We started off at about 7:00PM, and clicked off a little less than a mile and a half to Roosters in German Village for a beer. Rita buys two pitchers and for some reason, I have to help finish the second pitcher. I had two pints of Bud Light and we were off to the next.

I cannot remember the next two places, and it had nothing to do with the beer. We ran past Schmidt's Sausage Haus. I wanted to keep running right into the place and scarf all the cream puffs and Bahama Mama's and German Beer I could get. Maybe next time.

I know I was having a blast and chatting it up with Rita Barnes who is a Mohican veteran and a Vol State finisher (a 500k Ultra Run across Tennessee). It was great to meet new people on this run. To me, this is what it is all about.

I do remember I had a Stella Artois for the first time and it was really good. The third stop was an IPA from Avery Brewing Company. It was a good IPA, but not my favorite. I think I am forever ruined by Stoudt's Double IPA. To me the best IIPA I have ever had. Funny I remember the names of the beer, but not the places we went. Hmmmm.

The final stop was back at Hal and Al's where we were treated to Pizza and I had a Rogue Dead Guy Ale. I wished I didn't have to go to work, but I had to get going, enough fun for the night, and not too much beer. I will be back in November for the end of the month Beer Run. I am sure it will be beyond cold at that point. I think we got down to below 50 degrees during the run.
It didn't feel like it really.



Totals: 4 1/2 miles: road

What an Awesome Sunday.

I met up with a great group of ultra runners on Sunday for another awesome day of running at Mohican State Park.
This group of runners consisted of some of the best around: Mark, Rob and Michelle.

Mark apparently didn't get the memo regarding the Mandatory Red Shirt rule for this run.
He was excused for this mix up cause he had the same shorts on as me and he went and changed into a Red shirt.
After looking at this picture, It appears that Mark and Rob have skirts on, but I cannot confirm nor deny this. I know I didn't. You be the judge.

The rain was coming down but the forest canopy kept us somewhat dry for a little while.
I knew I was gonna be in trouble, cause Mark was leading the charge up the Red Hill switchbacks and he made it look like it was all effortless, Rob was a quick second behind and Michelle seemed to be running in place gnashing at the chance to blow by us all.

"Man, I am in for it." I thought. "I hope they take it easy on me."
This rain wasn't going to help any with my lack of clothing. I was cold at first, but it was soon to change. By the time we reached the top of the hill, I was burning up, and wishing no one was around so I could take my shirt off. -I know, bad mental image.

Anyway, we were cruising along catching up with each others' lives and laughing so hard at the small talk and great stories that come from these long trail runs. There is nothing like being out on the trail with this group of runners. All of them are so inspiring.
It was brought up that every ones advise always sucks, but with these guys, I love to hear what they have to say because they have been there and seen it all.

A mile or two into the green loop we happened upon a old man who ran his car off a driveway bridge. The car was near it's flipping point and the poor guy was unable to move.
Officer Richard Noggin and Deputy Douchebag from the Loudonville Police Department arrived on the scene beating on their chest and acting like a couple of jackasses. Before they arrived, Rob and Mark were talking to the guy assessing the situation and trying to keep the poor guy calm. These guys show up barking orders and talking like they were King and Queen of the Hill.

Before any of us said something to set them off even more, we decided to exit the situation. We couldn't help anymore because the Calvary was there and they needed no help because they had all the solutions. These dumb asses are what give good Police Officers a bad name.

We had a hard time getting started again as we were freezing cold from standing around and the rain never stopped. The stream crossings were cold, yet refreshing.
My energy level seemed consistent throughout the run. I felt as good if not better than when we started. I was running along and I looked back and noticed at times I was alone. Opps. I was kind of in a zone and didn't think about it. I waited for everyone to catch up.

Now, this is nothing really because, Rob is coming back from a debilitating injury that he has been dealing with for a while now, Michelle was up all night with her duties of being a mother and working. She had maybe a few hours of sleep. Plus she ran 20 miles the day before.
Mark had ran a 50k the previous week with an incredible 5:17 for a (from what I hear) very technical race course. He was probably still sore and recovering.

Any of these runners, Michelle who is attempting to run a sub-3 hour race for Columbus Marathon coming up, Rob who ran the Green Jewel 50k in 4:12, and Mark who is one of the modest guys I know, but will kick your ass down the trail on any given day.
I was feeling good and just excited as always for being out on the Mohican trails and running through the rain.

Mark and I challenged each other to run up the biggest, baddest hill on the Green Trail.
I have never ever ran up this hill. When you think it sucks, it gets worse. When you look up at the top of this hill, you have to get it out of your mind that you have to go up there. It just goes on and on and gets steeper with every step. You actually cannot see the top of it.

Mark sent me a reply signal as he neared the top in response to me yelling "Come On Mark"
We were both wiped out, but we both ran up that beast.

It was a day I never wanted to end. I tried to get them to run the Purple loop with me, but in reality, I didn't have enough time.
I was headed to Peninsula Ohio to run with another group of runners at the Virginia Kendall Park which is part of the CVNP.

I met up with Brian and Jeff Musick. I pleaded for them to take it easy on me as I just ran 21 miles and drove and hour and a half. I was freezing up. Brian told me there would be no fast running today.
There were supposed to be more people showing up, but in the end, it was just us three.

We started at the Happy Days visitor center and I was feeling like an old man.
Each steps was a little achy. "Suck it up" I said to myself. "It's only 10 miles."

The more I run these trails, the more I like them. I'm envious of those who live so close to such a great park system.
One of these days, I will run the Burning River 100 and see for myself the Beautiful Jewel this park really is. Here is a picture at the overlook trail. You can see the Cuyahoga Valley in the background.

The pace seemed fast, but in reality it wasn't. I was still trying to warm back up from the run at Mohican. My body was too cooled down. I needed this push to help with leg turn over. We descended down a hill that helped a little. These two brothers are no newbies at running and have a feeling this run was effortless. I was shocked to see Jeff, who was only carrying a camera and no water. This is a sign of incredible efficiency. I suck down water like drain. I don't even think they were sweating.
We decided to cut the run short and instead of running, we'd head to the Winking Lizard for a beer. All we could think about for the last 4 miles was Beer! It was my fault, I got it started.
Then I started craving the "Hanson Burger" as you see below. I just had to get one.

After the Winking Lizard, I headed my sorry sore ass back to Pickerington which was 3 hours away. I was gonna attempt to make it in 2 1/2 hours.....which I did.
Today, I am a little sore but, nothing that is too bad. I will make today a rest day and get back at it tomorrow.

Totals:
31 miles on Trail

Loving the Rain

Not sure why, but rain seems to bring me outdoors more often than not. I am an inclement weather runner.....to a certain degree.
I decided to stay home tonight and follow the Rogue WOD posted on the Facebook homepage.
Since I love Clean and Jerks I jumped at the opportunity to work on these.
I skipped the warm up and since I don't have anyone looking at my form, I did a few C&J's just to get a feel for the weight. My bumper selection is lacking as I only have 45 pounders, so, 135 lbs for the C&J workout is was. This weight is about my limit for multiple reps on these.

After the run I hopped into my running gear and off for a slight off road (trail)/road run.
The pace was a little faster than I planned but, slow none the less.
This was to be a test to see how my foot would do with the bruising. Turns out it did just fine.
The trail I was running wasn't technical enough to fully test it out but, in overall the foot never hurt one bit.
The run was uneventful other than the pouring down rain and being dark and foggy. Made for a great atmosphere to run in.

On a side note, I am sure many of you being Ultrarunners and all have heard about the story of the two very experienced Ultrarunners in California being lost for over 3 days without food or water. Maria "Gina" Natero-Armento and her brother-in-law Fidel Diaz, were lost in the Cleveland National Forest. Search parties were sent out to look for them and many Ultrarunners in the community united in the search. When I heard of the story all I could think about was their well-being and the hope for their safe return. I had no idea who these people were but, it didn't matter. They are part of a tight-knit community of people who love run in the most extreme conditions. This week probably proved to be the toughest test of their endurance and instincts to survive. Please read more about the story here: Ultrarunners Found Safe

I was thinking about purchasing one of these GPS tracking devices for emergencies like this.Can't tell you how many times I have ran alone out at Mohican. There is no cell phone coverage out there and far and few homes and people to seek help from. At only a $100.00 it would seem like a bargain to save your life if you were stranded. Check them out:
SPOT

Totals: 4.5 miles
CrossFit WOD: Clean & Jerk with 135lbs
400m Run
AMRAP in 15 minutes
I was able to get 2 1/2 rounds.

Back at it

I pretty much took all last week off to relax and get my severely bruised foot healed up a little.

Today I decided to go to CrossFit and workout a little before heading off for a run at Blendon Woods Metro Park with Cat.

At CrossFit, things seemed weird. Actually the last two or three times I've been in there the atmosphere has been different.

Seems like the number of clients at CrossFit are dwindling.

It got me thinking a while back and I just attributed it to being Summer time. Not sure why exactly but I have not seen a lot of people I once worked out with in a long time.

I think CrossFit for me has ran it's course. I will continue to do CrossFit but probably on my own. To me, it's wasting my time and money when I go in there for a workout and end up with a massive headache in the middle of the workout. My Endocrinologist says I can still run and workout, but to keep an eye on myself and stop when needed.

Thank goodness we have great instructors that allow me to scale back my workouts and intensities.

As a runner, I think I am going to begin focusing on doing more Kettlebell work and throw in CrossFit workouts on my own in my garage. That way, I have control over how things go and what works for me. Oh yeah, I need to focus more on running.

Last year as some may remember, I messed up my foot at the Columbus Marathon. To this day, it still has not healed fully. I wanted to do CrossFit to supplement my running. I definitely think it has done it's job. I still remember my first Month of CrossFit. I wanted to throw up every time on my way home from the gym. Thanks Eddie!

CrossFit will still be with me, I'm just sure it will soon take a back seat to other adventures.

Today's run:

I met up with Cat (aka: "Snake Wrangler") - more on that in a minute. We decided to get a few miles in on trail at Blendon Woods Metro Park. We ran a few loops to give us about 5 1/2-6 miles.

This run was a lot of work. I felt like I was running with a Barbell loaded down with weights.

The terrain wasn't that hilly, but I felt like I just smoked a carton of cigarettes and was wearing lead shoes. I think this was because I wasn't recovered enough from last week. Plus, I'm not eating enough Bison......Note to self: "Buy more Bison......Eat more Bison......Will run like Bison"

Okay, back to the "Snake Wrangler". We were running along and I jumped about 3 feet into the air. I was totally freaked out by what I saw on the ground....a snake.

Now, I don't give a flying hoot how big a snake is, I hate them, always and forever, hate snakes.

I went back and looked at the poor little guy. We started laughing cause the snake was probably about 5 inches long....if that. I'm not sure what kind it is. Cat seemed to think it was a Copperhead. All I cared about was that it didn't bite me.

She grabbed a stick and started poking at it. The poor little thing seemed to be dead.

When we were driving back out we spotted a flock of Wild "City" Turkeys.

They just stood there and could have given a crap less if we were gawkin at them. Real Wild Turkeys, like the ones at Mohican, would have been long gone.

Totals: Run 7 miles plus CrossFit

Warmup

Row 1000m

20 walking lunges ea leg

20 pushups (10 HSPU if able)

20 pullups

20 4 count flutterkicks

20 rollovers

Skill

Overhead Squat5 sets of 7 - Increase weight each time

WOD

21 Deadlifts / 225#M / 150#W

Run 800m

15 Deadlifts

Run 800m

9 Deadlifts

Run 800m

Dances with Dirt - Hell Race Report

A sign for things to come:

My plan was to run the race with no Watch, no Garmin, no Pace Chart, no Drop Bags. In fact the only plan was to just take it easy and get the miles in.

I was ready, feeling great and was going to settle in for a long day.

I met up with Clara at the start of the race. She was running the 50 miler and at the time of this post, I am still unsure if she finished or not. If she did, my hat is off to her. She has not trained running wise that much since Mohican. The times I saw her on the trail, she was looking great and moving right along.....way the hell ahead of me. : )

Well, what can I say. I hate Hell. The race was going good until I got to the section called:

"This Sucks".

This is the section I got totally lost for about a good 15 minutes...no kidding!

Then I get sucked down into a Bog not once, but 2-3 times in sternum deep nastiness. I believe it was the Ann Arbor Sewage Treatment plant. Anyway, I was covered with this thick black nastiness for miles on end. My bottles were covered in it, and there was no way I was drinking from them.

Check out this link for pictures of last years run through this mess: http://www.shutterfly.com/progal/slideshow.jsp?auto=0&aid=768a5498cf3c5052803d

This picture does no justice as to how muddy I really was.

Let's not forget the Stripper Pole. This is a hill aptly named that because it is a 70% grade. Yep we had to climb up it. I wasn't able to get many pictures after my bog incident as I didn't want to chance getting my camera ruined.

My plan was to run the 50 miler and use it as a training run for Javelina coming up in only 7 weeks! The race really wasn't that bad and had they not thrown the craziness in, it would have been an even better race. This is what the Dances with Dirt series are known for: Insanity!

I was mentally and physically drained by mile 18. I had to crouch down and try to run and avoid the low lying trees, briar's, weeds. The constant darting in and away from trees and thick brush while looking for course markings made it so much more difficult.

On a side note, I was a little pissed off that almost every aid station I came upon was out of friggin food. This was uncalled for and they need to make better preparations. I needed a change of pace from my Perpetuem and Hammer Bars. They were out of sandwiches, potatoes, no soup, no real food anywhere. I stayed away from the fruit and candy as it can cause stomach issues.

In fact, I had not one stomach issue...not even a pain. My plan worked very well for me. Thank you Hammer Nutrition!

Everything was going well until about the final 6 miles. The final aid station until the 50k finish, my foot start killing me. I keep plugging away and the pain came and went. Eventually, I pull over and lossen my shoe laces a bit and make some adjustments. It helps a little but, it's too late. At this point I start to mull over the idea of going on and completing what I came here for.

It wasn't until I saw the trail leading back to Half Moon Lake that I knew I should be smart and end my day. Going on could have had serious consequences for my Javelina Race coming up.

I don't need to be nursing injuries leading up to the big day.

I have no idea what my time was, but I did place 5th in my age group. Check out my sweet rock I got.

A huge shout out needs to go to Mark Carroll. He single handedly kept me from getting blisters on my feet by taping them up for me a day before the race. The tape job he done has become a necessity for his Ultras. After a while, I never felt the tape job on my feet. It was smooth and ready to keep my feet friction free. This tape job had no bearing on my foot pain later in the race. I will for sure be taping my feet the way he showed me when I head to Arizona and all subsequent Ultras after that. It worked!

By the way, for the best blog reading ever, read this guys blog. Seriously.

All in all, DWD-Hell was an adventure. These races are notorious for torturing you in the final miles by making it seem to drag on and on.

One thing for sure people in Michigan are really nice and the times I have been there, even in Detroit, they've always been helpful.

DWD Hell Pictures

Devil's Backbone 50 miler

Just signed up for 2010.