"Runs with Sox"

At least that is what I am calling myself today as I get to Blacklick Park for a quick run and realized I forgot my gloves at home.
I was planning on going to Crossfit afterwards and had brought an extra set of clothes including an extra pair of socks. They would do just fine against the cold temps.
It was about 21 degrees out and to my surprise I was keeping a nice steady pace down the trail.

I went exploring the new part of the trail that they are building. Seems I found it to be a dead end. Once it is completed it will run a little closer to my house. It's about time they made more trails in this area.

I've been debating on trying to stick to a "Plan" in terms of running.
I'm still not sure if I will be doing this or not. As of right now, I have running goals per week but nothing "planned" for each day.
I think this will take a little of the pressure off me for the time being.


Totals: 4.20 miles...9:48 pace - Trail with 3 feet of snow, up hill both ways.
Crossfit WOD: 29:16

No Run tonight

Instead I went off to the gym for a little cross training. I was wanting to go to Crossfit, but decided to utilize my other gym membership a little bit.
I have a few things I wanted to work on that seem to be lacking.
For instance, my gym has an assisted pull-up machine that allows you to offset a percentage of your bodyweight to assist in the pull up. No, I wasn't using all of my bodyweight to help me.

I have found that pull ups are a real weak point in my CF work outs. Typically I use a large rubber band for assistance.
Here is a picture of yours truly getting killed during a WOD with pull ups. As you can see I am hanging on the band that would help raise the fat boy up in the air during the pull up.
Enough with the pull ups.

I went off for some leg presses and found these to be much easier than I last remembered.
After that I headed off for 10 minutes on the Stairmaster.

I didn't get a chance to run today, and may not get to until Thursday. We'll see.

Totals:
Pull ups - 6 sets with 50lbs of assistance
Leg presses: 4 sets of 20 reps
Stairmaster: 10 minutes

Post Slackin

Okay I have been a little off schedule and have not been able to make it to the actual Crossfit facility.

I have however, been working at home on Pull ups, push ups and KB swings, etc....

I ran 12.5 miles on Sunday and wasn't able to make it into Crossfit in time. I heard the WOD was brutal.

Tonight I was able to make it for a nice little "Welcome Back" and "Welcome to the New Year" workout.

Here is a snapshot of the WOD and the Skill.

I finished up with 3 1/2 rounds. My class had to do 500m Row while the other class did 250m Row.

I ended up using lighter weight on the Power Cleans, but I got a good workout regardless.

Hope everyone had a great New Years.
It's time to get back at it.

Post Slackin

Okay I have been a little off schedule and have not been able to make it to the actual Crossfit facility.

I have however, been working at home on Pull ups, push ups and KB swings, etc....

I ran 12.5 miles on Sunday and wasn't able to make it into Crossfit in time. I heard the WOD was brutal.

Tonight I was able to make it for a nice little "Welcome Back" and "Welcome to the New Year" workout.

Here is a snapshot of the WOD and the Skill.

I finished up with 3 1/2 rounds. My class had to do 500m Row while the other class did 250m Row.

I ended up using lighter weight on the Power Cleans, but I got a good workout regardless.

Hope everyone had a great New Years.
It's time to get back at it.

What goes up must come down...Right?

I was asking myself this today as I started the big climb up Cemetery Ridge Trail at Clear Creek Metro Park. What goes up must come down. At least I hoped anyway.

I love this place. I seriously don't know why I don't use this park more. It reminds me of Mohican but in a smaller package.
This park is situated on the northern part of the Hocking Hills Region in South East Ohio.
Best of all, I hardly ever see anyone out on the trails.

I had it in my head that I was going to get 15 miles in, but that would not be the case today.
When I got to the trailhead, I realized I had no fuel with me. I started laughing when I was searching my wife's car and was only able to come up with Ketchup packets and salt. This would not be good fuel. All I had with me was a water bottle and my camera.

Oh well, I took what I had, which was nothing, and started out on the trail.
Mainly this park consists of single track trail and fire road.
The first climb is a little fun, but when you reach the top you are awarded with a great view from the gas line intersection.

I knew the next section was going to be even more fun. I remembered from the times I've ran the Chestnut Trail section before that there were relentless ups and downs to deal with. To my surprise I was able to run up most of it.

The Lake Trail is my favorite part because you run through a pine section with a few rock formations with a Lake at the end. This loop is only a mile long, but I was able to make it around twice.
When I got to the end of this section the second time, the weather started to deteriorate. I was a little ways from my car and didn't want to get stuck out with no way back if it got really bad.

On the way back I decided to not make the extra loops I wanted to get in 15 miles. I was starting to get a little tired as I had no gels, just water and my iPod. Oooo Yeah, my iPod! I put it on and that was the energy I needed however, the trail to the other sections was already passed.
I'd save that for another day.
My Garmin has never been able to work very well at this park as the hilly sections just don't allow you to pick up reception very well.

Anyway, it was a good day out on the trail. I think this will be a place I will frequently visit when I can't get up to Mohican. Best of all, it's only about 40 minutes from my house.

Check out the picture of Leaning Lena below. Its a giant rock that leans so much it looks like it will fall on you as you drive by. It causes the road to go down to nearly a one lane section:

Totals: 12.5 miles Trail
Foot rub from my wife.

Today was my first run of the year. Why did I make it the 2nd day and not the first?
I guess because I don't like to be the norm and bust outside to run the first day of the year. I'm weird like that.
My wife and I lounged around most of the day on 1/1. For some reason I woke up and felt like I just came out of a coma and couldn't find the energy to do anything.
Instead, I did a quick CF workout at home. Nothing big, just enough to get the blood flowing.

Today, I wanted to go to a trail and do a quick run. The temp (44 degrees) was perfect, and no one was out on the trail.

Again, I went off and forgot my Garmin, so it was a nice freeing run with no worry.

I went to Slate Run Metro Park with the idea to just do a couple of loops and then head off to Crossfit for a beating.
It's only been a few weeks, but already I can tell my fitness level has shot through the roof.
There are hills at Slate Run that I have never been able to fully run up all the way.
Today, was a different story. The first hill was nothing at all. The second, which is the most unforgiving, was no problem at all. I was SHOCKED!
The second loop got me to thinking would I be able to make it up these hills the second time around? You betcha.
I was again shocked that I was able to easily run up them.
This gave me such a boost in confidence.

All I can say is: Crossfit rules. -Push hard until you're about to puke.

Totals:

4.3 mile run

Crossfit Workout

2008 - What a year.

2008 was not a good year for me.
Why? Setbacks.
I allowed this to eat at me for a while until I finally woke up and realized my downward spiral.
Looking back on all the disappointments, I truly started to look at them as moments to learn from.

One thing I realized was that I wasn’t in as good of shape as I would have liked to have been, and not nearly as in shape as I thought I was. I ended up not running many races last year, and I don't believe I will change that much this year either. I'm not setting anything in stone yet, but will be merely evaluating my progress on a monthly basis.

My Training.

My training sucked for many reasons. I ended up getting sick in December of 2007, missed Buckeye Trail 50k and The Mississippi 50. Because of getting sick, and "other issues" I simply fell off the wagon and sporadically trained. I paid dearly.
I had it in my head that I could do certain things, but in reality, I was smoking something illegal. (Not really....I swear!)

I Slipped on a Damn Cup.

I had one "real” race that sucked, I ended up getting hurt, which resulted in my worse marathon time ever. -Kind of a wake up call.

Never Give Up.

One thing I take away from this year and into the next, is that I do not give up.
I have lit the fire, and plan to keep it burning as long as I can.
Will I have failed plans? Probably. Will I give up? No.
It's simply going to be what I make of it. What ever happens, happens.

The only plans I have so far are:
Fools 25k - Up in the air
Mohican 50k - For sure
Mohican 100m - At least I am training for it.
Pacing Kim at Burning River 100
Columbus Marathon - Potential

I need a Trail 100 Race out West - Preferably in California. (There's only a million Ultras out there)
Potential 100's:
Lean Horse 100 - Potential
AC 100 - Potential
The Bear 100 - Potential

Foreseen Variables:

I am not sure what will happen with my foot. So far, it seems to be doing fine. It does hurt some, but thank goodness its not when I am running.
Something will happen regarding my sinuses (headaches). I may end up having surgery which may not have much of an effect on my training.
I need to do something about it because I cannot do any significant altitude. When I was going to North Carolina last year, we passed through the highest part of Virginia and I thought my head was going to split.

I hope everyone had a great year, and I look forward to running with some of you and hearing of your accomplishments.