Bad day at Mohican, but gonna stay positve.

I went to Mohican today a little reluctant as I was still not fully over my cold that I caught last week. I felt okay enough to go, but should have stayed home regardless of how I felt.

I got up there to a nice chill in the air, but who cared, we were going running!

I look like Captain Dumbass with my hunter orange "Bubba" hat on. -That thing is getting burned. I guess I would have rather had it on and not gotten my head shot off from the deer hunters.

Anyway, we started off on the new "Orange Loop" and as always the scenery out at Mohican can make you forget all about your worries. Here is a shot of the group rounding up one of the many hills on this new section.

About 2 miles into the run, I developed a nice little migraine that made it all the more fun to run. This happens a lot so, I just slowed down to let it wear off.
Pretty much the whole time, my heart rate was really high and I tried to walk a little to let it come down. About 7 miles into the run, I told Kim I was going to head back to the Covered Bridge and see how I felt. When I parted from her, I started down an old Jeep trail and found where the end of the North Rim Trail and the beginning of the Hemlock Gorge Trail meet. It was basically a 5 minute walk to the trail head.

What made me decided to bail on the group was my new Nathan waist pack was irritating my stomach. I felt really sick and wasn't taking in any Perpetuem or water. Everything at this point was not looking good for me to continue. On top of that, my headache was coming back.
I will from here to eternity never wear a waist pack again. They just don't work for me.

As I was running down the Hemlock trail, I saw a dog ahead of me. It scared the hell out of me because it looked like a small pit-bull. At this point, I pulled out my razor knife.

I brought the knife this time because last week Regis Jr. said he saw 3 huge English Mastiff's while he was running. I wasn’t taking any chances.

The dog and I had a stand off at one point after he charged at me and stopped. He then turned around and ran the same way I was going. After a minute of thinking whether I wanted to continue or not, I started down the trail only to see the dog and his owner with a big Black Lab further down the trail. Turns out, the dog in question was a small something (not sure), and most likely harmless. I think my mind created a bigger dog than it actually was. I talked to the lady and pet the Lab a little bit before heading down the trail.

As I went off down the trail laughing at my idiotic fright, I hear this big crunching sound across the Clear Fork River. I look over and there were these 3 mammoth English Mastiff's walking near the edge of the river bank. They sounded like dinosaurs, and looked the part.

At that point, I almost had a heart attack. (I'm laughing now about it) These were the dogs that Regis Jr. saw last weekend. I couldn't even guess how much they weighed. Their heads were as big as giant pumpkins. I saw the owner with the dogs and yelled “hello” and silently said to myself: "Thank God"
Now I know what Regis was thinking when he saw them last week.

I got back to my Jeep and decided to call it a day. I only got 10.5 miles in, but at least I got out there.
I was just so exhausted from my high heart rate. I’ve got to figure out what the hell is going on. I’m going to stay positive, and just keep plugging away.

I’d like to hear how Rob and Kim did on their runs. Rob was planning 40 miles, and Kim, I think was aiming for around 20 or so. The other two guys, not sure what they got.
I just hope that had a great day.


Totals: 10.5 miles....Time: 2:29:11....Pace: slow as a rock formation


Clear Fork River today.

Be right back.....

After going to Mohican last week, I ended up getting sick somehow in between Mo' and Christmas. It seems to always start in my head and work its way into my chest.
I decided to take a few days off...again....and just rest up so I can start hammering again.

I'll be back to running hopefully on Sunday. I have not decided fully whether I will be going to Mo this weekend or not. I may end up doing a lot of cross training on Sunday and bake in the sauna for a while.

Merry Christmas Everyone.......

Merry Christmas to everyone.

I decided to take today off even though I was supposed to run. To much to do today, and I still have to go to work tonight.

Awesome wild day at Mohican...I wished it had rained

From Left to right: Regis, Brad, Kim, Don, Nick (kneeling), Steve, Rob, Mitch.

Kidding of course. It was awesome, but poured down with a lot of fun wind to deal with.

Despite the monsoon that hammered us most of the day, we all had a great time. At times, I saw the rain coming down sideways through the trees.

We started out at 8:00 AM and took the new Mountain Bike trail that is the start of the Orange section of the Mohican 100. This part eventually meets up with the trail close to CR3600.

The new section is awesome. I think once people try it, they will see how nice it is. There are plenty of hills, with very runnable sections. Also, there are some nice downhills to give you a break if you need it. The trail is well maintained by Ryan O'dell, and the Mountain Bike group, as well as the Mohican Trails Club.

I would definitely say this crushes the old section with ease. This should have enough variety to keep everyone satisfied. No more road section here though.

Here is a picture of Kim and Steve. He had drove clear up from North Carolina to run with us.

We came out of Hickory Ridge and the rain was relentless at this point. We were the last of the group but no big deal,
We like running slow becasue it allows us to see more of the trail longer.


I was feeling great and broke away from the small group of runners I was running with. At this point, I was running hard from about two miles out of Hickory Ridge to Campground "A".




On the final section of the trail leading into the campground (at the 1 mile marker), I performed a face plant in the dirt. I hit so hard that I barely had time to put a hand out to catch myself.

I layed there for a second to take in nature up close. I looked around as if trying not to get noticed by the by anyone, then realized, no one is out here except a few squirrels getting ready for winter.
Once at Campground "A", I looked for water Kim had stashed, but I could not find it. I took off and headed back towards the covered bridge.

When I ran this section on Monday, it was covered in snow ankle deep. Today, the trail was nice and soggy but at least I could see it.

The river was down today and the water seemed to be under control compared to Monday's run.

The final 4 miles are hard to run since the rocks and trail are so cut up. There are steep sections that are not runnable, while other sections allow you to fly. I was careful in this section because I didn't want to do another face plant into a sharp rock. I fell once towards a steep muddy embankment trying to avoid falling in the Clear Fork River.


I got back to the covered Bridge soaking wet and cold. I was talking to Regis Jr, and he had told me about 3 huge English Mastiffs on the opposite side of the river that he was on. He said they ran to the edge of the water barking hysterically. He thinks if they would have made it across the river that they would have made him into hamburger.

mmmmm.....Hamburger.

It was a long day even though we only ran 15 miles. I drove as fast as I could back home only to have my wife rip me out of my recliner to go shopping.


Totals: 15 Miles.......Time: 3:23:49.......Pace: Slow as dirt.


Looking at this time and the time I had on Monday seems a little off. I'll have to check and see what happened.

Cardio killer and Salty Bacon Sanwiches...mmmmm

I was thinking tonight half way through my cardio session that it is Friday night, and I am not out doing something else. Like eating a huge Steak or Wings.
What the hell was I thinking? This was the moment, this was the time for me to kick it in gear and get ready for 2008. No more eating stuff like that. I am on a mission.
I think I was craving steak because I was working so hard and burning so many calories and probably a little muscle (which it isn't good to burn muscle).
I used to crave Salty Bacon Sandwiches during marathons and other long runs.
I got the idea once when I read that British runners eat Bacon Sandwiches after marathons. Damn that sounds good right now.
American's eat something but I cannot remember exactly what it was. Burgers? Pizza? not sure.
All I could think about was my British roots and Salty Bacon Sandwiches!!!!!

One time when I was running a 21 miler with Kim Love-Ottobre and Tanya Senne at Mohican, I was thinking about the Mushroom and Swiss Angus Burger from McDonalds. At the time they had just brought them out since Columbus is a Test Market for new products. Those burgers were made by the Devil himself. I once ate two in one day.
I used to be on a Chipotle kick for a while.

Anyway, back to my run. I went to the gym tonight to run and work out.
I started my workout with a warm-up of 5 minutes of jump rope, then hit the Stairmaster for 30 minutes, then jumped on the treadmill for another 30 minutes. I was wiped out when I was done.
I need to rest up for Mohican on Sunday. I cannot wait. It is just what I am looking for.


Totals: 3.05 miles........ Time: 29:05......... Pace 9:32

Hamster Wheel tonight...

I decided to go out to the gym tonight to work out and run. It seems someone has built a bonfire under my ass, and has been stoking it. I have been thinking about Buckeye Trail 50k coming up. I will be lucky to make it through comfortably.
I was doing what I do best on the treadmill or while running, is to : think.
I think about all kinds of things while running. I was thinking about my future goals be it running or whatever.
It seems that my goals for the first year of running Ultras will be to just experience the distances. In 2009 I will try to set some PR's.
I believe with my current focus, I will overcome my chronic injuries, and be able to run as much as I want.
I have another goal for 2008 and that is to shed about 20 lbs. I know this will be tough, but I have been there before, and I know I can do it. I want to do this by the end of March.

Totals: 6.02 Miles.......... Time: 57:26.......... Pace: 9:32

Quick Treadmill Tempo Run

I had a dinner party to go to tonight, so off to the gym for a quick treadmill run. I was planning a 6 miler, but before I started, I decided to warm up by doing 5-1 minute intervals of jump rope.
After I was done with jumping rope, I developed a migraine. I don't think it was a true migraine. I went to the Sauna, and sat in 160 degree heat for about 15 minutes. After that, I felt great and decided to go for my run. By this time, it was fast approaching 4:30. I felt great the entire run and had no heart rate spikes.

Totals: 3 Miles Time: 27:23 Pace: 9:08

Mohican....Partial Orange Loop

Proof I was there:

Yes, I have tights on.




I went to Mohican today as I was in desperate need of a long(er) run. Longer than what I have been doing lately.
I parked at Campground "A" as I knew I would not be done until after dark.
I took my headlamp since I knew it would get dark in the woods way before it was time.
I started off, and the first thing I noticed, was that no one had been out there at all. I guess people think it is too cold or something. Or possibly, they are smarter than I am.
As I finished up the North Rim trail, and started on the Hemlock Gorge Trail, I noticed I was ever so slowly being surrounded by water. Even though I knew about where the trail was, I decided to just make my own to save time from looking for it. I think in the end, I was really on the trail, just never could confirm it. The trail in that part was flooded from the river, but runnable if you didn't mind getting wet. It was only 24 degrees out!
Anyway, I had my Rocky Boots Goretex sock liners on which helped a lot. At least I never got wet.
I started to think about running the rest of the Orange loop as it was already 3:30. The trail up till now was hard to find. I thought maybe it would be better if I didn't run the rest of the Orange Loop since there was a potential for me to get lost if the trail was snowed over and it was getting dark. I played it safe and decided to run up the Bill Hill to the shelter then down the road to CR 3006. I turned around there and headed back towards the Covered Bridge. Once there, I decided to run up the hill towards Bridle Staging, and then turned around to reconnect back with the Hemlock Gorge Trail.




I took some pictures of the waterfalls on the way through the first time. I just had to stop on the way back and listen to the water rushing down.
As I headed back towards Campground "A", I stopped one of the Rangers and told him I was parked in the parking lot, and that I was almost done. He was cool with it, and I headed down the road to finish out 14 miles.
The snow really made it a difficult run today. I walked a lot as it was just too difficult to keep a steady pace. It was great to get out there and just run in the snow.

Totals: 14 miles Time: 2:47:52 Pace: slow as dirt

Rebuilding

A quick trip to the gym tonight. Felt better than last night, but still seemed to be a little exhausting towards the end.


Totals: 3.01 miles Time: 28:44 Pace: 9:33/mile

Slowly back at it

I went to the gym last night to do a little workout and run.
After finishing my workout, I jumped onto the treadmill, and started running. It felt pretty good at first, but soon it gave way to pain in my stomach.
I only ended up with 2 miles. After that I went and sat in the Sauna for about 20 minutes trying to sweat out this bad feeling.

Totals: 2 Miles Time: 18:56 Pace: 9:28

Bad week....

Sorry for the absence. I got really sick on Friday, and have been feeling the effects up until now. At first I thought I had food poisoning. It turns out I believe I caught a 48 hr virus going around. My manager said he knew of a lot of people who caught the same thing.
Anyway, I was going to go to the gym tonight and run, but, I had no energy at all. I will try and make an effort tomorrow as I need to get myself in gear.
I feel as if I am spinning my wheels and making no headway in my training.

Cold 8 mile Run

Tonight, I decided to go out and run either 6 or 8. It is 17 degrees out right now.

I felt kinda tired not even two miles into the run. It was hard running on the sidewalks at times because all of the snow. There was ice everywhere. I ran on the road when I could which allowed me to run a little faster. I stopped and hooked up my heart monitor after I noticed it was high. It wasn't pegged like other times, but I wanted to be sure.

I ran my usual loop around Pickerington, and when I got to 4 miles, I simply turned around and headed back the way I came. I walked some allowing my heart rate to come back down. Some of the hills were too difficult to run up due to ice and snow, so I just walked instead. It was nice to be out and see all the Christmas lights lighting up the neighborhoods.

Totals: 8 miles Time: 1:21:04 Pace: 10:08

I have heard it all now......

Non running post but I cannot resist. I found this on a fellow bloggers website regarding a guy who was now a registered sex offender.

Winter is in full force here, so off to the gym tonight

I decided to stay indoors tonight since Winter has dumped a crap load of snow here in Ohio last night.
We ended up getting around 3 inches or so. When this happens people just turn into morons and forget what to do when it snows while driving. As much as I wanted to hit the roads, or trails, it was safer to run on the old hamster wheel.
I was hooked up to my new contraption the eCardio device. Wouldn't you know it, I had no issues with high heart rate tonight. It did record 4 events that I was unaware of so who knows.
I have to upload these via the phone to a company for analysis.

I felt incredible the entire run. I was planning a Tempo run, but just kept cranking up the speed.
It may have been granny speed, but at least I was increasing it. Again, I felt like I was getting a good run in tonight, and pushed myself during the last mile.
I ended up with:

Totals: 6.01 Time:56:01 Pace/mile: 9:18

My new little running device.....

For the next two weeks anyway. I went to my doctor yesterday regarding my sleep issues. I can be up for two or three days straight. He gave me some wonderful little pills that should help me. Ambien can also have a side effect that makes me Sleep-Eat in the middle of the night.
Much like Sleep-Walking, I get up in the middle of the night and eat a lot of what ever is the most convenient to eat.
If my wife has any junk food, I eat it. I usually eat the things during these times that I typically never eat when I am awake.

I have a few good stories about this medicine that would really make you laugh.

Anyway, I asked my doctor about the heart rate issues I have been having and he gave me this little device. I have to wear it for the next two weeks as previously stated. When ever I notice my heart rate is high, via my heart rate monitor or by feel, I push a little button that records a minute or so of data. Once I get a few records, I can then upload them to the company who makes the device for analysis.

I have to run tonight, so we'll see how it goes.

Off to bed...

Treadmill Fartlek........

Tonight I was planning a 6 mile run, but due to time constraints, (my wife was hungry, and my sister was over helping me out), I had to cut it down to just 3 miles. So, instead of just running 3 boring miles on the treadmill, I decided to run it Fartlek style. I love this type of run.
It would run a little bit, then crank up the treadmill to about 8.5 - 9 mph, and run this speed for about 30-40 seconds. I did this at random intervals, which at times felt really good to let loose.

I had no heart rate issues tonight which was great. I started out at a really slow pace, and built on that after a half mile. In reality to some people ( Liz & Josh ), I went from extremely slow to a faster slow pace. I'm just envious of faster runners is all. It's all good though. I just tell myself I run slow so I can enjoy the scenery longer. These athletes are great runners who just so happen to have the ability to move fast.

Totals: Miles: 3.01 Time: 28:22 Pace per mile: 9:41

Sunday Run Part II......

Okay, I decided to go to the gym and run where the rain couldn't get to me. As boring as it was, it had to be done.

Again, I was running about a 10-9:30 minute mile, and my heart rate was averaging around 188 or more. I made a doctors appointment for Tuesday for my sleeping problems. I need drugs man! Ambien will make you do weird things too. When I was on it before, I would wake up in the middle of the night standing in my kitchen with a huge bowl of cereal in my hands. I was Sleep-Eating! In reality, I can't wait to actually be able to sleep through the night or day sleep eating or not.

Totals: 4:00 Miles Time: 38:16 Pace/mile: 9:34

Sunday Run Part I.....

I decided today to just go out and do a road run. It was raining very little when I started out. By the time I reached mile 2, it was a relentless downpour.

I noticed my heart rate was really high again. Not sure what is going on. I noticed that I just could not run any slower than what I was running. I decided to walk a little bit when I got to the tops of any hills I went up.

My wife was a few miles away, and I decided to give her a call and see if she wanted to go get some lunch. Actually, I wanted her to take me home, so I bribed her with some lunch.

Anyway,

I was planning a longer run, but I was just soaked through my Snowboarding jacket, and running tights. Yes, I said tights. No pictures were taken of course.

Totals: 4.01 miles Time: 40:35 Pace per mile: 10:07