Running Down A Dream

Follow me on DailyMile

2011-02-04T14:45:00.002-05:00

I am taking a break from making posts here on my blog, but I have started using DailyMile and will be logging my miles there. To view my log – Click Here

Treadmill Workout

2011-01-26T23:30:00.000-05:00

Hopped on the treadmill tonight and did an hour of walking at a 5% incline at 4 mph for a total of approx. 750 cals burned. I felt pretty good throughout the entire workout. Soaked my foot in hot water afterwards with epson salts, which felt good, and am continuing to take cod liver oil and magnesium citrate pills at night. After resting for awhile following a workout, the soreness on the bottom of my left foot still seems to flare up. But I’m hoping it will begin to ease and I’ll be able to train through it.

5 on the roads

2011-01-24T20:30:00.000-05:00

I felt ready to attempt another run tonight to see how my foot would respond so I headed downtown and back for a relatively quick 5 miles. I was happy that I felt no pain during the run, but had a little soreness later in the evening.

Plantar Fasciitis Update

2011-01-12T19:30:00.002-05:00

Well.. I thought I was finally starting to get over the pain I've been having in the arch of my left foot, but after several runs here and there I found that my plantar fasciitis issue is still trying to hang around. For those that don't know, plantar fasciitis is the inflammation of the tissue that surrounds the heel and arch of the foot (as shown above).

So, I decided to make an appointment last Friday to see Dr. Turkali, who some of my running friends see when they have injuries. He is a big proponent of nutrition and stretching, which makes sense especially when you are a runner. While at his office, he did the Graston technique on my legs and feet (this consists of using tools to massage and eliminate scar tissue) and also had me do some active release therapy stretching. While laying on the table, the Graston technique was certainly painful at times, but afterwards my legs felt great and relaxed. The following couple days after my appointment it seemed like the work he had done on me definitely helped. He told me to continue taking cod liver oil once a day and also gave me some magnesium citrate pills to take. So, I will continue doing what the Doc tell me to do, but I may have to resort to running through some discomfort soon whether I like it or not. Hopefully the pain will totally go away though sooner than later.

Snowshoeing in the CVNP

2010-12-17T20:45:00.000-05:00

This afternoon I met my brother and Dan Bellinger in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park for a couple hours of snowshoeing. This was my first time wearing the new snowshoes that I bought last week and they performed really well. We had a great time and enjoyed hiking through approx. 8 inches of snow in areas that weren’t packed down.

I’m Back!

2010-12-14T22:30:00.000-05:00

The arch of my left foot started to get really sore during the 2nd half of Bills Bad Ass 50K last month and lingered around for awhile afterwards, so I decided I better take some time off to rest it. I believe what I’ve been dealing with for the past 4 weeks is plantar fasciitis – a common injury among runners. The other day I felt like I was finally turning the corner though and could start running again. So, of course I picked today to do it, with temperatures in the teens and sub zero 30 mph wind gusts. I guess you could say that the weather elements gave me the added incentive I needed to get outside and challenge myself. Winning a spot in next year’s Massanutten Mountain Trails 100 miler for the 3rd year in a row has also helped rekindle my fire. Even though I felt some soreness in my left arch after tonight’s run I felt pretty good overall during the run. I’ll just have to keep reminding myself to gradually increase my mileage to avoid any issues.

Bill’s Bad Ass 50K

2010-11-13T22:19:00.000-05:00

For the 2nd year in a row I proved to be a bad ass at Bill’s Bad Ass 50K by finishing in a time of 6 hours, 49 minutes.

Click here for complete results and photos.

Oil Creek 100 Miler

2010-10-16T22:38:00.000-05:00

Today I earned my 3rd 100 mile belt buckle by finishing the 2nd Annual Oil Creek 100 Miler in a time of 31:35:57. It wasn’t easy but my pacer Suzanne Weightman did a great job keeping me on track throughout the night and into the next morning. The hardest part of the entire race was getting out of the mile 68 aid station in the middle of the night. I was shivering by the fire and could hardly get down solid foods, but somehow managed to get myself back on the trail and continue moving forward. After the 2nd sunrise I was running strong once again and became more and more determined to finish. Overall it was a terrific experience that I was able to share with many friends.

Big Schloss FA 50K

2010-09-26T20:30:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I completed the 8th running of the Big Schloss FA 50K, which takes place on the border of Virginia and West Virginia, in 8 hours and 46 minutes. Click here for complete results. The course offers spectacular views, beautiful trails with lots of ridge running, and of course the opportunity to scramble on Virginia’s famous rocks! Steve and Amy Platt do a tremendous job putting together this free, event each year. The post-run food and partying is top notch and I look forward to seeing everyone here again next year!

North Country Brewing & Moraine State Park

2010-09-19T21:55:00.000-05:00

This afternoon I drove over to Slippery Rock, PA and had lunch at the North Country Brewing Co. This was my first visit here and I was very impressed. The food was delicious and their beer was just as good. I enjoyed their portabello “shroomben”, which is a grilled rye bread sandwich topped with grilled portabellas, sauerkraut, swiss cheese, and homemade Russian dressing. As for beers, I had the Paleo IPA, Buck Snort Stout, and their cask ale selection.

After lunch my brother, sister, and I then headed over to Moraine State Park for 2+ hours of hiking. This was also my first visit to this park and I was very happy with what I saw – a large lake surrounded by 20+ miles of beautiful trails. We hiked on the North Country Trail which is blue blazed just like the Buckeye Trail, has nice bridges, technical terrain, and some scenic views. Can’t wait to come back to this park again for a run!

Click Here to view more photos from the day

15 in the CVNP

2010-09-17T21:30:00.000-05:00

Headed over to the Cuyahoga Valley this evening and got in 15 miles on the Buckeye Trail and Valley Bridal Trail. Great weather (sunny & low 60s), excellent company, and post-run nourishment at the Winking Lizard made for a very enjoyable evening! Dogfish Head’s seasonal “Punkin Ale” is now on tap, which I enjoy having each year. This is a full-bodied brown ale with smooth hints of pumpkin and brown sugar, topped off with brown sugar around the rim of the glass. Yum!

Back to Back Weekends on the BT

2010-09-10T18:09:00.000-05:00

Once again, I headed over to the Pine Lane trailhead this morning and ran another out and back 50K on the Buckeye Trail. Kirk was thinking of joining me but he had a job interview to attend so I ended up running solo today with a stop at Heinen’s again for lunch. Felt good during and after the run. Much like last week the weather was cool and comfortable.

31 miles on the BT

2010-09-04T16:30:00.000-05:00

This morning my brother and I headed over to the Pine Lane trailhead in Peninsula and ran the Buckeye Trail 50K course in reverse. At the turnaround point we stopped and had lunch at Heinen’s in Brecksville. A couple other runners eventually joined us… Kirk Harrison met us at the Boston Store (mile 4) and Dan Bellinger met up with us just before Snowville Rd. as we were on our return trip. The weather was absolutely perfect for running today – sunshine and 60s with a strong constant breeze – and my body felt good throughout the entire run.

3 in a row

2010-08-31T23:40:00.000-05:00

Hopped on the treadmill late tonight and busted out 50 minutes at an 11% incline at 3.5 mph. Feeling strong and looking forward to bigger miles on the weekend.

Keep on climbin’

2010-08-30T12:30:00.000-05:00

Just finished another treadhill workout - 11% grade, 3.5 speed for 30 min, then 10% grade, 4.0 speed for an hour = 5.5 miles uphill and 1200 calories burned! Bring it on Oil Creek 100!

Incline Workout

2010-08-29T10:00:00.000-05:00

Got in a treadmill workout this morning – walking for 45 minutes at a 10% incline, alternating between 3.5 and 4 speed. Finished up with 2.5 miles.

Pine Lane to Columbia Rd

2010-08-27T19:30:00.000-05:00

This morning my sister and I headed over to Pine Lane for a run on the Buckeye Trail. It was a perfect morning for a run. Much different than the hot weather and humidity we’ve been having for most of this summer. Temps started out somewhere around 50 degrees and it actually felt pretty chilly. We ran past the Boston Store, Blue Hen Falls, and turned around somewhere past Columbia Rd. when my GPS said 8 miles. Finished up with a total of 16 miles and felt really good.

20.5 Mile Trail Run

2010-08-14T17:00:00.000-05:00

This morning I met Greg Murray, John Buerhle, Rachel Nypaver, and Melissa Cairns at the Boston Store. The plan was to get in a long run and use our cars at the Boston Store as an aid stop. I ran an out & back to Pine Lane, then did a Brandywine loop, then finished up with an out & back to Snowville Rd. for a total of 20.5 miles. Felt pretty good despite the high humidity. Good times!

Walk On

2010-08-12T20:36:00.000-05:00

Met up with Bob Combs again tonight for 5 miles of power walking. Still very hot and humid but at least we're getting in time on our feet! Looking forward to bigger miles this weekend.

Happy Days to Pine Hollow

2010-08-10T20:45:00.003-05:00

Tonight I met up with one of my coaching clients and we got in 6 miles from Happy Days to Pine Hollow. Still very hot and humid. Looking forward to a break in the weather next week.

Ledges Run

2010-08-09T21:30:00.002-05:00

This evening I met up with my brother and sister at Happy Days for a 4 mile trail run around the ledges. Dan Bellinger also showed up. It was extremely humid with temps close to 90, but we ended up running a pretty quick pace and got in a good workout. I could tell by my shirt, which was completely soaked at the end of our run.

Running Down A Dream

2010-08-08T15:55:00.000-05:00

4 More

2010-08-04T20:00:00.002-05:00

After work Bob Combs and I got in 4 miles through the neighborhood streets of Warren. It's tough to do much quality running when the humidity is 90% but power walking will definitely help us prepare for our upcoming ultras. Thankfully the heat is supposed to take a break this weekend.

Imperial and back

2010-07-30T21:30:00.000-05:00

This evening my brother, sister, and I ran an out and back route to the old Imperial Motel in downtown Warren and threw in a little extra for a total of 5.5 miles.

3 In A Row

2010-07-28T21:50:00.001-05:00

Tonight was the 3rd night in a row that Bob Combs and I got in 4-5 miles through the streets of Warren.

Hot and Humid 18.5

2010-07-19T23:24:00.001-05:00

This morning I met Dan Bellinger at Happy Days and we ran through the ledges, over to Kendall Lake, and continued on to the Wetmore Trail and Salt Run, before heading back to our cars with a total of 10.5 miles. It was incredibly humid today and my shirt was soaked throughout the entire run. Somehow though, I mustered up enough motivation to meet up with my brother later in the day and get in a 2nd run (an 8 mile out-and-back from Pine Lane to the Boston Store). This gave me 18.5 miles for the day and a great start to the week!

Happy Days to Kendall Hills

2010-07-10T16:30:00.000-05:00

This morning I met up with my brother, sister and her boyfriend Dave at Happy Days for a trail run over to Kendall Hills and back. This was Dave’s first visit to the Cuyahoga Valley National Park and he really enjoyed it. Despite the humidity, we had a great run and finished up with 6 miles.

Pine Lane to Boston Store

2010-06-29T19:40:00.000-05:00

After seeing Dan Bellinger’s reply on Facebook this evening, I decided to meet up with him at the Pine Lane parking lot for a run to the Boston Store and back (8 miles). I showed up about 15-20 minutes late though due to traffic so when I arrived I knew that Dan was already out on the trail. As a result, I decided to try and push the pace in an attempt to minimize the distance between us. I actually got pretty close to the Boston Store before I saw Dan running towards me. I made it to the Boston Store in 40 minutes and ended up doing the return trip in about 50 minutes. I was really happy with the way I felt tonight and attributed a lot of it to the decreased humidity. After all the recent heat we’ve been having lately, tonight’s weather was absolutely perfect!

Frazee House to Bedford

2010-06-26T23:30:00.000-05:00

This morning I met Bob Drake, Greg Murray, and my brother at the Frazee House parking lot and we ran the Buckeye Trail up to Viaduct Park in Bedford and back for a total of 16 miles. The humidity really tired me out on the second half of the run, but overall it was a great time and we had a lot of fun crossing through the large tunnel at Viaduct Park.

Hot & Humid 5

2010-06-22T22:45:00.001-05:00

This evening I met my brother at Happy Days and we got in an easy 5 miles to the Pine Grove Trail and back. The temperature got up to around 85 today and the air felt extremely thick. I’ll be glad when some thunderstorms finally move through our area to break up the humidity. As for my running, I’m looking to start increasing my mileage again and getting in more long runs in prep for my fall goals.

Easy 5

2010-06-15T19:45:00.000-05:00

This evening my brother and I met at Happy Days and got in an easy 5 miles. The humidity was still very high and my shirt was completely soaked when we got back to our cars. Always glad to be outside, enjoying the trails though!

21 Miler & Phish Concert

2010-06-12T22:30:00.001-05:00

This morning I met Mike Keller in Cuyahoga Falls near the finish line of the Burning River 100 Miler. We left his car there and then drove mine over to our starting location at the Everett Rd. Covered Bridge. Our plan, since I’ll be pacing Mike at Burning River this year, was to run the last 21 miles of the course into Falls Square. It turned out to be perfect BR training, with temps in the mid 80’s and very high humidity. We stuck to a 15 min/mile pace just about the entire way and had a lot of fun throughout the entire run.

Following our run I headed over to the Blossom Music Center for the Phish concert with two of my other running buddies, Greg Murray and Trevor Shilling. Click here to check out some photos before and during the show. You can also click here to listen to and/or download the entire concert for free!

Moose B-Day Run

2010-06-10T21:30:00.000-05:00

This evening I met Joe Novicky (aka “Moose”) and my brother at Happy Days. We ran towards Kendall Lake, did a loop on the Salt Run Trail, and finished up with 8.5 miles. Afterwards we headed over to the Winking Lizard where I bought Moose a tall birthday ale. (he turns 50 tomorrow)

Pine Lane to Boston Store

2010-06-02T22:30:00.000-05:00

Had a great 8 mile trail run with Shaun Pope, Bob Clark, and my brother tonight. I was really happy with how I felt and the effort that I put forth. We ran from Pine Lane to the Boston Store in 40 minutes and finished back at our cars in just over 80 minutes.

No Frills, Just Hills FA

2010-05-29T20:30:00.000-05:00

Today marked the 3rd installment of the annual No Frills, Just Hills FA that I help organize each year. And to keep with tradition, it was once again hot and sunny for the 3rd year in a row. Still recovering from my MMT 100 finish a couple weeks ago, I decided not to push it too hard today but ended up doing 7 loops for a total of 14 miles. A new course record was set today by Bob Pokorny with a total of 17 loops (34 miles). Also, a new attendance record was set, as this free N.E. Ohio Trail Club event continues to gain popularity each year.

For complete results and photos - Click Here

I Got My Buckle!

2010-05-19T22:30:00.000-05:00

This past weekend I completed the 2010 Massanutten 100 Miler for the first time in a time of 32 hours, 53 minutes, and 13 seconds and placed 81st out of 170 starters. This race is considered the toughest 100 miler in the East and features over 18,000 ft. of elevation gain. Right now I’m still trying to catch up on my rest but I promise to have a race report posted here soon.

Bald Eagles in Brecksville!

2010-05-07T17:30:00.000-05:00

This afternoon my sister came up to my place and we drove over to the Station Rd. bridge in Brecksville for a short 5 mile trail run and to check out the bald eagle nest that everyone has been talking about lately. From the Station Rd. bridge parking lot you have to hop on the Towpath and then head north for approx. a 1/2 mile. The viewing area is indicated by a couple signs and the large nest can be seen to the left in the distance.

When we first arrived, one of the two adult eagles was sitting right on a branch above the nest. After awhile a group of birdwatchers came along and we were lucky enough to view the eagles and take photos with my camera through this lady’s viewing scope. Right now there are at least 2 adult eagles and 2 eaglets in this nest. This was my first time seeing a bald eagle in the wild and it was a neat experience. They are very powerful looking.

Click Here to view the rest of the photos

Tree Farm Trail

2010-05-06T19:45:00.000-05:00

I headed over to the Lock 29 trailhead this evening and met my brother and about 30 other people that showed up for tonight’s Crooked River Trail Runners group run. We did a loop around the Tree Farm Trail and then headed back for 5 miles. Afterwards I enjoyed a Sierra Nevada Bigfoot and Torpedo ale!

Overlook Storm Photos

2010-05-05T20:30:00.000-05:00

This evening my brother and I drove over to the Overlook in the CVNP and were able to witness a wide variety of weather conditions. The Overlook faces west but the approaching storm was moving northeast and we just happened to be right on the edge of the storm, enabling us to see both sunny and stormy skies without ever feeling a drop of rain.

Portage Lakes Run

2010-05-02T19:45:00.003-05:00

This afternoon my brother and I headed over to Portage Lakes State Park for a short 4 mile run on the Shoreline Trail. This was my first visit to the park, which is pretty nice but has a limited amount of trails to run on. I'm always interested in visiting new places though...

Chippewa Creek Run

2010-04-30T13:30:00.000-05:00

This morning I met Bill Wagner at the Station Road bridge and we did a run through Chippewa Creek up to Rt. 82 in Brecksville and back. I planned this run in preparation for the rocks that are to come at the MMT 100 in a couple weeks. We had a great time today and the weather was phenomenal. It felt like a summer day with highs near 80 but with a nice breeze. Perfect for going in and out of the cold water…

Click Here to view all of the photos from today

Covered Bridge Hill Work

2010-04-29T20:35:00.000-05:00

This evening my brother and I met Bill Wagner and Tara Schweitzer at the Everett Road Covered Bridge in the CVNP and did a couple hours of hill work on each side of the bridge. It was really nice out tonight. Dry air and temperatures in the mid 60s.

I’m in!!

2010-04-26T21:30:00.000-05:00

A section of the MMT 100 Trail

Well, after starting out at #48 on the waitlist and slowly making my way up as people dropped out, I finally became an official entrant of the 2010 Massanutten Mountain Trails 100 Miler today! This is considered by many as the toughest 100 miler in the East and notably so, with many large rocks/boulders and over 18,000 ft. of elevation gain on the course. Last year this race was my first attempt at the 100 mile distance and I ended up timing out at mile 65 after dealing with temperatures in the mid 80’s, a severe storm with hail & lightening, and an all night cold rain. Since then I was able to complete my first 100 miler though at the 2009 Burning River 100 and have been training each month with my sights still set on this year’s MMT 100. Here’s a picture of my “visitor award” from last year’s MMT that I’ve kept above my computer all year long to remind me of my ultimate goal. In a couple weeks I hope to replace this rock with a nice pewter belt buckle finishing award!

Laurel Highlands Training Run

2010-04-24T21:30:00.000-05:00

This morning I drove from Pittsburgh to Ohiopyle to meet Beth Miller for a run on the Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail. Before going to bed last night I glanced at the radar and saw that the entire Midwest was filled with rain and storms. I really wasn’t anticipating any good weather during our run but was pleasantly surprised when the rain stopped at the beginning of our run and then the skies turned sunny and blue later on. During the middle of the day temperatures were in the mid to upper 60s, the sun felt warm, and the strong breeze was nice and cool. Once again the trail gods were looking out for us! We ended up getting in 26 miles after running to mile 8 and back, to the overlook and back, and then up to Cucumber Falls and back. All around it was a great day!

Click Here to view all photos taken during the run

Three Rivers Heritage Trail Run

2010-04-23T19:30:00.000-05:00

This afternoon I drove to my sister’s place in Shadyside, PA, which is just outside of downtown Pittsburgh, and we headed over to run on the Three Rivers Heritage Trail. We had thought about running park trails, but my sister suggested this scenic route which passes by many downtown landmarks including PNC Park, Heinz Field, Station Square, and most importantly the Mr. Rodgers statue! It was a beautiful day to run and we ended up getting in 10 miles. Then we ate at one of my favorite restaurants, the Spaghetti Warehouse, afterwards.

Click Here to view all the photos I took throughout the day

Happy Birthday John Muir!

2010-04-21T19:45:00.000-05:00

On the birthday of “the father of the national park system”, Kellie Truesdell and I met at the Happy Days Lodge and we ran the Ledges Trail over to Kendall Lake. We did a Pine Grove loop on the way and then ran up to Pine Hollow before heading back to the Overlook to view the sunset. We then ran the ridge along the Overlook and finished up with 7 miles back at our cars. The weather today was gorgeous – mid 60’s, warm sun, and cool air. It doesn’t get much better.

Happy Days to Ledges Shelter

2010-04-20T20:30:00.000-05:00

Tonight I ran from Happy Days to the Ledges Shelter up by the Overlook and did a few laps around the large field to get in an easy 5 miles. Temperature was around 60 and the air was nice and cool.

Happy Days to Kendall Hills

2010-04-18T19:30:00.000-05:00

7 miles today…. thats all….

Pine Lane to Boston Store

2010-04-15T22:35:00.000-05:00

This evening I met Greg Murray and Brandon Russell at the Pine Lane trailhead and we ran the Buckeye Trail north to the Boston Store and back for a total of 8 miles. My legs started off a little sluggish but continued to feel better as the run went on. Once again today we experienced above average temperatures with the high getting up around 80 degrees. The cool air that filtered in through the valleys felt nice though. Unfortunately the rest of the weekend is supposed to be in the 40’s with lows in the 30’s. A reminder that the calendar still says April!

Happy Days to Kendall Hills

2010-04-14T21:45:00.000-05:00

This evening my brother and I ran an easy 6 miles from Happy Days to Kendall Hills and back. The weather was perfect for running – cool air with temperatures in the 60s. A little tired from yesterday’s workout but overall I felt pretty good.

Currently I’m #16 on the MMT 100 waitlist with 12 days left to go for lottery winners to withdraw and still receive a refund. It’s looking pretty good right now that I’ll have the chance to go back to Virginia in May to finish the toughest hundred miler east of the Mississippi, but only time will tell!

TreadHill Workout

2010-04-13T21:35:00.000-05:00

This evening I went over to my fitness center and got in a great workout, which consisted of alternating between a 10 and 15 percent incline every 15 minutes at 3.5 mph. After doing this for an hour, I lowered the treadmill back down and managed to run a 6:25 mile.

Pine Lane to Columbia Rd.

2010-04-10T13:00:00.000-05:00

This morning I met Bill Billock at the Pine Lane trailhead and we ran the Buckeye Trail north all the way past Columbiana Road before turning back. The weather was absolutely perfect for running today – sunny and mid to upper 50s. I started the run very tired after a late night but as the run progressed I was amazed how well I felt, especially after my long run yesterday. We finished up with 16 miles today, giving me a total of 30 between today and yesterday.

Frazee House to Bedford

2010-04-09T14:30:00.000-05:00

I met Kellie Truesdell this morning at the Frazee House for a trail run to Bedford and back. As you can see from the photo above, we also encountered a few other visitors on the Buckeye Trail. I came within about 30 feet of this deer. Temperatures were very chilly throughout the entire run and probably didn’t go above the mid 30s, but the air was much easier to breathe than earlier in the week. It snowed a little and we finished up our run during a nice ice pellet storm! Total mileage – 14.5

Repeat Run

2010-04-07T20:30:00.000-05:00

I met my brother at the Happy Days Lodge this evening for an easy 6.5 miles. We ran the same route that I took last night, which included the ledges, overlook, and Pine Grove trail. As we reached the overlook the sun was beginning to dip below the clouds so we stopped and I took a couple photos….

Runner’s High

2010-04-06T22:15:00.000-05:00

Today was just too nice of a day to pass up a run. Cleveland and most of northeast Ohio reached new record highs with temperatures climbing as high as 86 degrees. I started my run from Happy Days and did a few loops around the ledges area before heading up to the ridge by the Overlook to check out the sunset. The strong warm breeze felt nice as it passed through the pines and the orange sunlight casted a wonderful glow on everything around me. It was one of those moments when everything seemed just right. As the sun set below the horizon I continued running over to the Pine Grove loop and then headed back to my car in the dark to finish up 6.5 miles.

Boston Store to Brecksville Stables

2010-04-03T16:20:00.000-05:00

My plan this morning was to meet a group at the Boston Store at 6:30. I fell back asleep though after my alarm went off and ended up waking up at 6, which didn’t allow me enough time to get there on time. Mike Keller called me around 6 though and said he’d wait for me at the Boston Store, so we ended up starting our run a little before 7. The temperature was perfect when we first started… mid to upper 50s. The air was nice and cool but had the smell of summer. Later in the day temps rose close to 80. Our plan was to take it easy and just make sure that we got the miles in. About 5 miles into the run my sister called me and said that her and my brother were on their way. They met us at Snowville Rd. and ran with Mike and I to the Brecksville Stables and then back to their car. The good thing about starting late was that we got to see all the other runners as they ran past us on their way back to the Boston Store. We had a lot of fun out there today and Mike and I finished up with a total of 20 miles. Today’s run gave me 43 miles in the past 3 days.

Click here to view other photos from the day.

Frazee House to Viaduct Park

2010-04-02T16:30:00.002-05:00

I met Brandon Russell, along with both Brian’s that I ran with last Saturday, at the Frazee House parking lot this morning at 9 o’clock. We ran the Buckeye Trail northeast up to Bedford. Once we got to the Egbert Pavillion both Brians turned around to get a little over an hour out. Brandon and I continued on to the “Great Falls” at Viaduct Park. With a forecasted high of 83 degrees we were definitely looking to cool ourselves down so we did a waist deep stream crossing in Tinker’s Creek and proceeded to make our way through “The Arch” tunnel to the other side. The water was nice and cool but the stream inside the tunnel was moving very fast as you’ll see from the video below. After playing around in this area for awhile we headed back to the Frazee House and finished up with 16.5 miles and 3 1/2 hours of time on our feet. Towards the end of our run it was getting very warm and we were low on energy, so we were both glad to be done.

Click Here to view the rest of the photos from the day

April Fools Run

2010-04-01T22:48:00.000-05:00

I met my brother at the Happy Days Lodge this evening and we ran the Ledges Trail over to the Pine Grove Loop. We then finished up by doing the outside loop around Kendall Lake before heading back for a total of 7 miles. Today’s unseasonably warm high temperature of 80 degrees made me feel pretty sluggish, but I’m not complaining…. Spring is finally here in N.E. Ohio!

Happy Days to Kendall Hills

2010-03-27T15:58:00.001-05:00

I headed over to the Happy Days Visitor Center during the middle of the day and ended up meeting two other runners that were also starting from there. Ironically, both of their names were Brian too. I thought that was pretty funny. We ended up running over to the Pine Grove loop and then over to Kendall Hills, before finishing up with 9 miles. It was a great day to be outside – mid 50’s and warm sunshine. Trails were very muddy in spots though. Hopefully the warm up at the end of next week will dry things up.

After my run I met my friend Bob and his son Shamus for some hiking in the ledges area. Here’s a picture of Shamus crossing a stream.

Signed up for Oil Creek 100!

2010-03-23T22:30:00.005-05:00

This past weekend I signed up for the 2nd Annual Oil Creek 100 Miler, which will take place in Oil Creek State Park (located between Titusville and Oil City) on October 16th. I ran the 50 miler at last year's inaugural event and enjoyed it so much that I decided to step up to the challenge of the 100 miler this year. Participants are given 32 hours to finish a course which totals close to 18,000 ft. of elevation gain!

Frazee House to Bedford

2010-03-20T22:12:00.000-05:00

This morning I ran with Bob Baldwin for the first time and his friend PJ Moore. We started at the Frazee House at 9am and took the Buckeye Trail east all the way to Bedford before turning around. Temperature was very nice in the 50’s with sunshine. We ended up with 16 miles and even got some off-piste climbing in. I’ve been very happy with my recent mileage. This run gave me a total of 66 miles logged for the past week since Saturday.

West Branch Run

2010-03-19T19:30:00.000-05:00

This afternoon I met Bob Combs and his son Shamus over at West Branch State Park in Ravenna. We got in about 6 miles and enjoyed above average temperatures in the mid 60’s.

Happy Days to Pine Grove

2010-03-18T20:30:00.000-05:00

I met Greg Murray at the Happy Days Lodge this evening and we ran over to the Pine Grove loop and back for 5 1/2 miles. It was a beautiful, warm, spring like day. Was able to see a great sunset also.

Click here to view the rest of my photos from today.

Bedford Reservation

2010-03-15T13:00:00.001-05:00

This morning I met Dan Bellinger at the Frazee House for a run on the Buckeye Trail. We took the BT east all the way over to “Viaduct Park” (which is really cool by the way) in Bedford and then turned around for a total of 15 miles. The waterfalls were flowing awesome due to recent rain and snowmelt. I really enjoyed this run and got to see a lot of areas in the Bedford Reservation that I only previously saw at night. I was also happy how well my body felt following my 24 miler on Saturday.

Click here to view the rest of the photos I took today.

Covered Bridge FA

2010-03-13T17:00:00.001-05:00

I woke up bright and early this morning at 5am for the Covered Bridge FA, which takes place in Mill Creek Park (Youngstown, OH) and is organized each year by the N.E. Ohio Trail Club. My sister Jamie and I arrived at the Lily Pond parking lot around 6 o’clock and everyone began running at 6:15, which was the optional early start time. Others arrived for the official 8am start time. There were a decent amount of people that showed up, including a few new faces.

The weather was awesome – 50 degrees with a cool breeze. It only got chilly when it was raining and the wind picked up, but there weren’t many times when the rain was very heavy. The trails were also in pretty good shape. There was a lot of water and mud but about 95% of the ice on the trail had melted. Much better than in previous years when the trail had solid inches of ice on it.

I ended up doing 3 loops and one big bear section for a total of 24 miles. Click here to view final ‘results’ and some photos from the day.

Downtown and back

2010-03-12T17:30:00.000-05:00

I met my sister at my parent’s house in Warren this evening and we did our usual “Imperial and back” run which is a 5 mile out and back route on pavement to where the old Imperial motel used to be. We ran at a pretty decent pace and my legs felt good during and after.

Red Rock Canyon

2010-03-07T16:40:00.000-05:00

Before flying into Las Vegas yesterday, my friend Bill Billock and I had planned to meet and do a trail run in the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, which is only about 15-20 miles from the Vegas Strip. He picked me up from my hotel in the early afternoon and we started our run from the visitor center parking lot. After talking with an employee there we decided to do the 11 mile “Grand Circle” loop. The scenery was awesome, with beautiful rock cliffs and sandstone. During our run we noticed rain clouds all around us (mainly above the mountaintops) but we never ended up feeling a drop. The funny thing was when we had finished and got back to our car, we noticed that the ground was soaked at the visitor center while we were out on the trail.

Click Here to view all the photos taken during our run

Happy Days to Pine Grove

2010-03-02T22:43:00.002-05:00

I headed over to the Happy Days Lodge around 6:30 tonight and did a solo run over to the Pine Grove trail. Did one loop of this trail and then headed back to my car after running a loop around the big field next to the Overlook for a total of 5 1/2 miles. These trails are heavily used so the snow was packed down nicely and made for very runable conditions. One more warm day or a little rain though and they're going to be a sheet of ice.

A scary thing happened early in the run as I was running the ledges trail... Just before the small bridge leading up to the Ice Box Cave I slipped on a very icy downhill section and my legs went airborne. Usually I pay special attention to this area since the ledge next to the trail blocks any snow from falling here, thus leaving nothing but ice from any snow melt. The fall sent me flying backwards and briefly hit the back of my head. For a second it felt like everything was in slow motion. Thankfully it was only a glancing blow and my arms/elbows took the brunt of the fall. As I sat on the ground stunned for a second, I thought to myself that I was lucky it wasn't any worse considering nobody else was with me at the time. These kind of experiences are a good reminder that you need to be ready to take full responsibility of your actions on the trail and be ready to respond accordingly.

Pine Lane to Brecksville

2010-02-27T22:30:00.001-05:00

This morning my brother and I met at Pine Lane at 9 o’clock for a long snowy run on the Buckeye Trail. Our original plan was to go to Brecksville and back for a 50K but a couple variables changed this.

The first issue arose when we reached the first stream crossing after Pine Lane. This crossing is always pretty tough when any water is flowing but today it seemed almost impossible to get across without getting wet. We looked up and down stream for an easier way to cross, but had no such luck. So, we decided to just run across where the trail normally goes.

As Jeff was preparing to cross I was still looking for the most shallow area… when all of a sudden I heard… whoosh! I looked back and Jeff was almost up to his waist in water! I couldn’t believe it and started laughing. When he finally got across to the other side though he was limping a bit and was obviously in some pain. Not only did he get soaked, but he sprained his ankle a bit as he was racing to get to the other side. We waited about 10-15 minutes for him to walk it off and then continued on. He was still able to run/walk pretty good and it didn’t seem to be real serious, but it was enough to limit his distance today. Here’s a picture of what his ankle looked like this evening…

Here’s a video Jeff took of me crossing the same stream just to the right of where he went….

After this last storm we got on Thurs/Friday the snow on the trail was up to our shins the entire way, with snow drifts up to our knees in spots and even up to my thighs on sections past Snowville Rd. Once we reached the Boston Store Jeff said he was going to turn around and head back to his car, so I continued heading north towards Brecksville by myself. At first I was a little disappointed I wouldn’t have anyone to chat with, but eventually I began to really enjoy being out on the trail alone and enjoyed trudging through the snow and taking in the scenery and solitude around me.

The closer I got to Brecksville the more I could tell that the snow was beginning to wear on me. Not in a bad way. I was enjoying every minute of this run and the effort needed to keep pushing forward. But, my legs were gradually getting more tired from having to lift them up so high with each step. Plus, I was coming to the realization that I was running out of time in the day to complete the entire 50K. So, I decided to call it a day and have lunch with my brother who was planning on meeting me at Heinen’s in Brecksville. I ended up with a total of 16 miles and 6 hours of time on my feet. Very happy with my effort today.

Click Here to view all my photos from the day

Here’s a couple other videos I took along the way…..

Blue Hen Falls

Pine section before Snowville Rd.

Big ledge jump to avoid water

Snowshoeing

2010-02-21T20:00:00.000-05:00

Large hawk we saw at the beginning of our hike

This morning I met my dad over at the Kendall Lake Sports Center and we rented snowshoes. This was his first time trying out snowshoes and he really enjoyed the experience. It was supposed to be cloudy today but thankfully the skies turned all blue after we got started. The warm sunshine and 40+ degrees felt awesome and the snow had a crusty glaze on top which made for a fun day of snowshoeing. We ended up doing a big loop and hiked for about an hour and 40 minutes.

5 Road Miles

2010-02-20T16:30:00.000-05:00

After looking outside during the middle of the day and seeing nothing but blue skies and 40 degree temps, I decided to do something I haven’t done in quite some time… get in a few road miles! I took to the neighborhood streets behind my apt. complex and did my usual route which includes going primarily uphill for about 2.5 miles and then cruising back down downhill for the last 2.5. I started off slow intentionally and just enjoyed taking in the sunshine but as usual, as the run progressed I continued speeding up. My first mile was 8:27, second mile was 8:08, third was 7:48, fourth was 7:43, and I finished up with a 7:30 last mile. Felt great and was happy to finally run on roads without any snow!

Happy Days – 5 Miles

2010-02-19T21:30:00.000-05:00

Ledges Trail

The Overlook

More Snowshoeing

2010-02-14T16:30:00.000-05:00

This morning I met my brother again over at Kendall Lake and we rented snowshoes for the day. Got in about 3 hours of exercise and filmed final footage for the upcoming show “Man vs. Mild”. The snow was not as fluffy as it was last weekend so it made for a good workout.

Super Sunday

2010-02-07T17:30:00.000-05:00

After receiving 8+ inches of fresh snow Friday night, I decided to meet Courtney Baker, Brandon Russell, Gavin White, and my brother at the Kendall Lake Sports Center for a day full of snowshoeing. After renting snowshoes from here for my first time about a month ago, I was really looking forward to doing it again. You can’t beat all day rental for $5!

We started off by heading over to Kendall Hills and then continued off-trail in that direction for quite some time. After about an hour and a half of aimless wandering we decided to turn around and attempt to navigate our way back to Kendall Lake. We finished up with about 3 hours total and got in a lot of big climbs and downhills. It looks like I might be doing this again next weekend too because they’re calling for another big snow storm Tuesday night that will dump an additional 6-9 inches on us.

Click Here to view the rest of the photos I took today.

Easy 5

2010-02-02T23:30:00.002-05:00

I met my brother at the Happy Days lodge this evening and we ran to the Pine Grove loop and back for a total of 5 miles. Just wanted to get the body moving again after this past weekend's runs. Felt good.. no issues.

52 Miles in 2 Days

2010-01-31T22:00:00.000-05:00

It all started yesterday morning when I headed over to Pine Lane by myself to attempt a back-to-back 50K in consecutive days. This was my plan after finding out that Tanya Cady was organizing a Winter Buckeye Trail FA 50K for this Saturday. The only difficulty… low temps were forecasted to be in the single digits on both days with high temps only reaching the teens. Not really a problem, but it definitely added to the challenge.

Since I was starting my run from Pine Lane, my first challenge was to get past the large water crossing about a mile or so into the run. After running downstream to see if there was an easy way to cross I realized that there wasn’t going to be an easy way. The snowmelt from our last warm-up had added a lot of water to the stream and despite all the cold weather we’ve had recently, there was still a lot of flowing water and thin ice. I eventually decided to cross the stream where there was a rock in the center, just in case the ice began to break. As I stepped across I could hear the ice slowly crack so I hurried across and luckily made it without getting wet.

I continued heading north on the Buckeye Trail and realized that the first 4-5 miles were very rutted up from the recent warm-up and freeze that followed. I told myself to pay special attention to areas where the trail had frozen over but still had water/slush underneath. Even with this in mind, I eventually made the mistake of stepping in the wrong spot and soaked my right foot. This normally wouldn’t be a problem with wool socks on, but since the temperature was around 10-12 degrees I knew I had to quickly change into new socks that I had brought along in my Camelbak.

I picked up the pace and soon made it to the Boston Store (4 miles in) where I stopped for a moment to get dry. The lady inside thought I was crazy for being out in the cold and told me that I was the first visitor of the day. After changing into new socks, I continued heading north on the trail. I made it all the way to the stream crossing before Snowville Rd. and decided to turn around because this crossing was even more difficult to navigate than the last and I didn’t feel like getting wet for a second time.

Once I arrived back at the Boston Store I decided to run some of the Brandywine Trail and the Towpath. After doing this for awhile my mileage was beginning to near 20 and with the middle of the afternoon closing in I was starting to get very hungry. So, I decided to take the Towpath east towards the town of Peninsula and head up the old brick road back to my car at Pine Lane. I finished up with 20 miles (a little short of my goal) but decided to save the rest of my energy for Saturday’s 50K.

The next morning I met a group of about 15 people at the Oak Grove Pavillion in Brecksville for the 7am start of the Winter Buckeye Trail 50K FA. I ran with Mike George for the first half, all the way to the Boston Store where he had to stop early. From there I ran the last 10 miles or so with Mark Anson. I felt good throughout most of the day despite running 20 miles the day before, so I was very happy about that! Mark and I did the last 10 miles at a fairly easy pace since we were tired and not in any rush, and finished up in 8 hours and 26 minutes.

Click Here to view photos from the run.

Icy Trails!

2010-01-23T16:50:00.000-05:00

Jeff and I met at Happy Days today and took the Ledges Trail over to the Octagon. From there we headed over to Kendall Lake, did a loop around the lake, and finished up with 6 miles. With the recent warm-up we’ve been having lately, the highly traveled trails were very icy. This should all melt tomorrow though when it rains and temps rise to near 50.

In Deer We Trust

2010-01-20T22:38:00.001-05:00

This evening my brother and I met at the Happy Days parking lot for an off-piste trail run. We decided to head north over the steep hillside on the far end of the parking lot and do some exploring over there. The snow had a nice crusty layer on top which made the downhills very fun and manageable. We did a lot of bushwhacking and found some awesome hills and ridges to climb up as we headed north towards Akron Peninsula Rd. The one thing that we both noticed were a lot of very nice game trails made by deer in this area. We also noticed that these trails usually ended up being a good route to take and put us where we wanted to be. Deer might be stupid on the road, but they’re pretty smart in the woods!

When we reached the top of this one high point and looked north we could see a pretty massive hill not too far from us. It looked pretty challenging and tempting, but we both wanted to get back at a decent time so we turned around at this point and headed back to our cars, basically completing one big loop in an hour and a half. Just after crossing the main stream for the last time and before we headed up our final climb, I had to stop for a moment and take a picture of the moon resting on top of the ridge we were about to climb up….

It was the perfect way to end a fun evening and I’m already looking forward to exploring more of this area another time.

MLK Trail Run

2010-01-18T19:30:00.001-05:00

This morning I met a couple “trail newbies”, Kevin and Kirstie Farley, at Kendall Lake for a trail run over at Camp Manatoc. By the end of the run however, I found out and I think they also found out that they are better running on trails (and off-trail) than they once thought.

We started by picking up the yellow Boy Scout trail right next to Truxell Road. Then we followed that up to the “Kendall View” sign and continued on over to Lake Litchfield. After running down a ridge that led to a dead-end with the lake on both sides of us, we backtracked and ran around the lake and up to the administration building near the maintenance area.

Then we continued over to the climbing tower, made our way through the Manatoc Council Ring, and finished up our 4 mile loop by going off-piste and reconnecting with the trail we started on. Here's Kirsite practicing her balance at the obstacle course...

Just after passing through the Manatoc Council Ring we then spotted this large deer…

Back at Kendall Lake, Kirstie and Kevin called it a day since they had just done a long run yesterday. I decided to continue on though and drove over to Happy Days to see if Wild Bill Wagner was still running around collecting trail markings that were used during this past weekend’s Run for Regis 50K. I didn’t see his car there so I ran over to the Ledges Trail and put in another 5 miles to the Pine Grove Trail and back, for a total of 9 miles for the day.

Then I headed over to the Winking Lizard and took advantage of a lunch special they had by ordering a delicious Bayou Burger topped with spices and lots of mushrooms. Any vacation day is certainly enjoyable, but today was one of those days that was extra fun! To view a few other photos from the day, click here.

Treadmill Workout

2010-01-17T16:15:00.000-05:00

I headed over to my fitness center after lunch today and got in a workout while watching some NFL playoff action on TV. I set the treadmill at the maximum 15% incline and decided to “up the ante” a bit by alternating between 10 minutes of walking at 3 mph and 5 minutes of running at 4 mph. Towards the end I could tell I gave my legs a good solid workout but still felt strong and pain free. I love that feeling of walking on flat ground again after climbing for a straight hour!

Kendall Lake Area

2010-01-16T17:35:00.000-05:00

This afternoon my brother and I met at Kendall Lake for a 7 mile trail run. We headed over to the cross country trail and decided to take the long straight route that follows alongside the big open field and leads to the Buckeye Sports Center. Eventually we came up to a sign that said “Leaving the CVNP”, so we knew that we were now heading onto someone else’s property. We decided to do a little exploring but stay within the general vicinity of the park. We followed alongside the property line and were surprised to see these crosses in the very back of someone’s field. We were hoping that they just buried their pets here…

We began to wonder though as we went a little further and spotted what appeared to be some sort of Halloween maze. There was white string tied from tree to tree, but also attached to the string were these skull bags…

We keep moving and eventually came up to a pond. Luckily we were able to follow a game trail along the left side of it, which then looped around and took us back to the trails next to the Kendall Hills area.

Just a reminder… these aren’t chocolate expresso beans!

Andrew Skurka Presentation & Trail Run

2010-01-12T23:50:00.001-05:00

This evening my brother and I headed over to the Happy Days Lodge to listen to a presentation by Andrew Skurka, a 28 year old outdoor adventurer who since 2002 has trekked over 23,000 miles. His recent projects have been intense, off-trail endeavors through premier wilderness in Alaska, Iceland, the Colorado Plateau, and California. His earlier achievements include two monumental long-distance hiking firsts - the 6,875-mile Great Western Loop and the 7,778-mile Sea-to-Sea Route. Skurka has been recognized as "Adventurer of the Year" by National Geographic Adventure Magazine and "Person of the Year" by Backpacker Magazine.

I attended his presentation last year when he came to the Cuyahoga Valley and this year was just as good. He always has a good story to tell and always makes me just want to drop everything in life and go out into the wilderness. Tonight, he informed everyone of his most recent plan - a 4,000 to 4,500 mile loop around the state of Alaska and the Canadian territory of Yukon. This trek is not an official trail or route, and has never been completed, attempted, and possibly even conceived until now. It is almost entirely off-trail and crosses only about 10 roads for its entire length. Click Here to read more about it.

Following his presentation, Jeff and I headed out onto the Ledges Trail and ran to the Pine Grove Trail, did a loop and came back for 5 miles. It was a beautiful clear cold night to be out on the trails and the finely packed down snow felt great to run on. Afterwards, we stopped by the Winking Lizard for a couple beers and some trail talk with a few of our friends and Andrew Skurka. It was a lot of fun!

Snowshoeing

2010-01-09T20:30:00.000-05:00

This morning Tami and I headed over to the Kendall Lake Winter Sports Center and rented all-day snowshoes for $5. We hiked for about an hour and did a lot of off-trail exploring over by the Kendall Hills. It was an absolutely beautiful day and there were lots of people out sled riding. We had a great time and then enjoyed dinner later in the evening at the Rosewood Grill, a new restaurant in Hudson.

CLICK HERE to view the rest of my pictures from today

More Off-Piste

2010-01-08T15:30:00.000-05:00

Today I met Dan Bellinger at the Kendall Lake parking lot around noon. We headed over to Camp Manatoc and did some more exploring. There was quite a bit of snow on the ground as you can tell from this picture…. The more traveled trails were packed down though.

After leaving Camp Manatoc, we hooked up with the Salt Run trail and did a loop before finishing with about 7.25 miles.

CLICK HERE to view all of the other pictures I took

Happy Days to Kendall

2010-01-06T23:50:00.000-05:00

This evening I met my brother at Happy Days for a trail run. On our way there we experienced a lot of freezing drizzle since temps were in the upper 20’s. By the time we finished, our cars were a complete glaze of ice. Thankfully the roads were salted very well.

We ran the Ledges Trail, did the Pine Grove loop twice on our way to and from Kendall Lake, and finished up with 6 miles. The snow on the most used trails was packed down but there were other sections where we were breaking trail in 3-4 inches of snow, making things more difficult. My handheld light started dimming halfway through but I knew it had enough juice to get us through the technical sections and the snow made things bright enough to see everything else. It was a very quiet and relaxing run. Afterwards we stopped by the Winking Lizard to watch the Cavs game and enjoy a few microbrews!

Snowed In

2010-01-04T22:30:00.000-05:00

This past weekend’s lake effect snow storm continued into this week and never seemed to let up today. I ended up staying home from work and watched as snow totals in Streetsboro grew to a whopping 18 inches by afternoon…..

One of my friends in Hudson even decided to do a little off roading…..

We’re still under a lake effect snow warning tonight and they’re talking about the chance of us picking up a maximum of another 10 inches of snow on top of what we already have by tomorrow evening. I sure hope they’re wrong.

Arctic Run

2010-01-03T17:20:00.001-05:00

Well, it definitely looks and feels like the dead of winter in N.E. Ohio now. The high temperature only reached 17 today with wind chills dropping to 5 below zero. And there's already a foot of snow on the ground at my place in Streestboro, with more lake effect snow predicted for the rest of the week.

During a break in the weather today, my brother and I headed over to Kendall Lake for an off-piste run on the grounds of Camp Manatoc. It was amazing how much less snow there was in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park compared to my place, which is only 15 minutes away. The main trails were even entirely packed down and very runable. However, there was just enough snow off trail to make things interesting! We did a loop around the camp and then ran up to the top of the sled riding hill back at Kendall. My watch said we ended up with 5 miles but the effort definitely made it seem longer.

More Climbing

2010-01-02T15:30:00.003-05:00

After getting snowed in this morning and abandoning my original plan for the day, I headed back over to my fitness center and did another two hours on the treadmill at a 15% incline. Legs still felt strong afterwards. Good workout!

15% Effort

2009-12-31T19:30:00.003-05:00

With temperatures rising above freezing and light rain in the air, I decided to stay away from the messy trails and headed over to my fitness center for a treadmill workout. I set the incline at 15% and the speed at 3 mph and managed to stay on for an hour and a half.

Off-Piste Exploration

2009-12-29T20:30:00.002-05:00

This afternoon I met Kirk Harrison at Kendall Lake. Once we crossed over Truxell Road our trail run began with some exploring over by the Boy Scout’s Camp Manatoc. We climbed up and slid down many hills in this area. It wasn’t easy because the ground underneath the 3-4 inches of snow was still wet and muddy. We had a lot of fun though and got to see a lot of things inside the camp that I never saw before, such as the obstacle course and climbing wall.

Once we left the camp we headed back to Kendall Lake and ran up to Pine Hollow. There were a ton of sled riders up there today enjoying the fresh snow.

We then ran the Salt Run loop and headed back to our cars just before sundown. Finished with 8 miles and 2 1/2 hours of time on our feet. It was a great day!

Click Here to see the rest of the photos I took along the way….

Happy Days to Salt Run

2009-12-27T12:30:00.000-05:00

This morning I met my brother and Jason McMains at the Happy Days Visitor Center parking lot. The temperature was in the 30’s with a moderate breeze in the open areas. We ran the Ledges Trail over to the Pine Grove loop and then continued to Kendall Lake and Salt Run before heading back. The dam that was under construction for awhile by Kendall Lake is now finished so we ran across it on our way over to Salt Run. Considering all of the hills, we kept a pretty quick pace throughout the run and I felt great from beginning to end. When we got back to our cars we had finished 10 miles.

Dam next to Kendall Lake

Heading uphill on Salt Run

Christmas Eve Trail Run

2009-12-24T12:30:00.000-05:00

This morning I met Dan Bellinger at the Valley Picnic Area parking lot for a run on the Oak Hill and Plateau Trails. It felt pretty cold at the start with temperatures around 20 but once we got moving it wasn’t too bad. We ran the outer Plateau Trail first and then mixed in the Oak Hill trail on our 2nd loop. Dan stashed some water and Gatorade at the Oak Hill trailhead so that made for a nice stopping point.

We ended up finishing with a total of 8.5 miles… Now it’s time to put back on the calories! =)

7 Miles in the Valley

2009-12-22T23:35:00.000-05:00

I met my brother tonight at Happy Days in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park for a 7 mile trail run to Pine Hollow and back. The trail was snow covered but was packed down enough to make for very nice running. There was probably only an inch of packed snow. Just enough to hide any ice underneath. Temperature was around 30 but it felt very comfortable in the woods without any wind.

Boston Store to Snowville Rd.

2009-12-20T14:15:00.000-05:00

This morning I met my brother at the Boston Store at 9 o’clock. We headed north on the Buckeye Trail and turned around at Snowville Rd. to give us a total of 10 miles for the day. The temperature was close to 30 but there was no wind so I actually felt pretty warm throughout the run. I had a lot of fun today getting used to the new footing since this was probably only my 2nd run of the year on snow covered trails. There was only about an inch of snow, if that, but it was enough to make things interesting in a few spots. The Cuyahoga Valley National Park is always beautiful year-round and today certainly did not disappoint! Here are a few pictures of my favorite section between the Boston Store & Snowville Road….

13 Miles & 20 Degrees

2009-12-12T11:30:00.000-05:00

That was the temperature for most of my trail run this morning. Once you got moving it wasn't too bad though if you had the right clothing on. I met Nick Billock, his brother Bill, and some others at Happy Days around 7:00. We ran the Ledges Trail and Pine Grove Trail, before meeting some other people, including my brother, Kurt Osadchuk, and Mark Anson at the Ledges Shelter at 8. We witnessed a beautiful sunrise and had mostly sunny skies throughout our entire run. From the Ledges Shelter we headed over to Kendall Lake, did the Salt Run loop, and then headed back to the shelter. My IT Band on my right knee had no issues today so I was glad that I rested it enough between last Saturday and today.

URINEO FA

2009-12-05T22:45:00.004-05:00

"Nonsense is nonsense only when we have not yet found that point of view from which it makes sense." - G. Zukov

My brother and I woke up bright and early this morning and headed over to Mill Creek Park in Youngstown for the 4th Annual URINEO FA. This event, which is pronounced "yer-een-o", is organized each year by the N.E. Ohio Trail Club and stands for "Ultra Runners in N.E. Ohio" or "You're in Ohio!". If you're not familiar with FA runs, click here to read a description.

This run, which takes place on the YUT-C 50K/25K course, begins at the Lily Pond parking lot and features many items of interest along a 8.3 mile loop (lakes, waterfalls, creek crossings, historic buildings, the infamous "Love Log", and the infamous "Monkey Trail". The ultimate goal set each year for URINEO is 50 miles. However, since this is an FA everyone is allowed to run as much or as little as they wish.

This year a new option was on the table after NEO Trail Club member Mike Dobies came up with the "brilliant" idea for anyone interested to run twenty-seven .9 mile out and back sections on the Monkey Trail over and over again until the "Monkey Trail Marathon" distance was reached. For anyone that doesn't know, this section is the toughest part of the YUT-C course and includes many undulating climbs. Coincidentally Mike was unable to join us today, but since the idea was now stuck in the minds of Jim Harris, my brother Jeff, and I, we were committed to the task at hand.

Jeff and I arrived at the parking lot on top of the Monkey Trail hills around 5am. We saw Jim's van already parked there since we were a few minutes late, but after a few quick whistle blasts from the emergency whistle that Tanya Cady gave me two weekends ago at Laurel Highlands, we heard Jim yell back at us. He was on his first lap and headed towards us, so we waited and met up with him.

The first 3 laps or so didn't seem too bad since my legs were still fresh and I was trying to stay warm, but around lap 6 or 7 I could tell that this was going to get real old real fast. By repeating the same hills over and over again it definitely became a mentally challenge. Somewhere around this time Jeff and I decided to get the aid (cookies, Pringles, gel, water) that I brought out of his car and set it on the picnic table located in the middle of the Monkey Trail. This became a great re-fueling point on each lap.

As I approached my 13th lap on the Monkey Trail I started to reconsider completing the entire 26 miles here. I've been putting in a lot of big mileage runs lately and thought to myself that it might not be a good idea to run my body too far into the ground. My main decision for getting off the Monkey Trail hills though was just the monotony of not having new scenery to look at. So, as I reached mile 13 I told Jeff and Jim that I was going to finish the rest of my mileage on the standard URINEO course which loops around Lake Glacier and Lake Cohasset.

I was slightly disappointed to be abandoning my original plan of finishing 26 miles on the Monkey Trail, but once I got off of these hills I could feel my IT band on my right knee starting to get sore and tighten up a bit. I guess my body wasn't too happy with me doing 4 1/2 hours of non-stop climbing 2 weeks after a 64 miler. So, at this point I realized that I had made the right decision. For the rest of the day I did a lot of walking on the URINEO course to give my IT Band a break and it seemed to help quite a bit. Yes, I was slightly disappointed to abandon my original plan for the day. But by the time it was all said and done I was still able to finish 26 miles and live for another day.

Click here to see the final results and other blog reports. Congrats to Slim Jim for being the first and only finisher of the Monkey Trail Marathon! Also congrats to Todd Hanks and Gavin White, who both completed their first ultra marathon distance today!

Afterwards we all enjoyed hot soup and beverages in the Lily Pond parking lot and had a great time talking about trail running and anything that came to mind. This fun run is just one of many NEO Trail Club events that truly exemplify what ultra running is all about!

10 Miles in the Sun

2009-11-29T12:36:00.001-05:00

This morning I headed over to the Happy Days Visitor Center and got in a great 10 mile run that included the Ledges trail, Pine Grove trail, Kendall Hills, and Salt Run. It was sunny out, close to 50 degrees, and there was a very nice breeze. No one showed up to join me so I just put on my iPod and enjoyed leaping from rock to rock while listening to a straight hour of non-stop techno music. When I got to the restrooms at Pine Hollow though I saw Roy Heger running with someone and joined them on the Salt Run trail before heading back to my car. Today was definitely one of those days when you wished the run would never end. I wanted to stay outside longer but figured that 10 miles was enough with the URINEO FA coming up this weekend.

Warren Turkey Trot 5 Miler

2009-11-26T23:30:00.003-05:00

Today I continued my annual Thanksgiving tradition by participating in the 31st Annual Warren Turkey Trot 5 Miler with my brother, sister, and wife. This race is held each year at the Kent State Trumbull campus in Warren, Ohio and always draws a lot of runners. This year, between the 5 mile and 2 mile races, the event set a record crowd of nearly 2,200 people. The weather definitely played a role in this with temps around 40 and sunny.

After my 64 mile ultra marathon last weekend I really wasn't anticipating that fast of a time today. I figured I'd get about halfway and my legs would suddenly turn into concrete. Well, I hit the first mile in 7 minutes flat. I thought to myself... Hmm, I'm probably starting off the race too fast again as usual. However, I hit the second mile again on a 7 minute/mile pace. At this point I was beginning to near the turnaround point and was anticipating a gradual slow down, but I tried to continue focusing on the pace that I was moving at and see how long I could hold it. Once I reached mile 3 I was surprised to see 21:30 on the clock. At this point I told myself, OK... let's try to turn this into a race now.

I knew the 4th mile would be the toughest, both mentally and physically, since it brings you just about to the last long road to the finish. In my head I kept thinking about the David Goggins video I watched last night where he says, "In a race you will hit a wall and you have a choice to make. You can either stop right there or you can go parallel left or parallel right. You're looking for that door and when you reach that door you have a decision to make. Should I open it? Or should I keep it closed? If you keep it closed you've made the decision to quit. If you choose to open it then you've decided to continue on with your plan or mission."

Thinking about this quote and the fact that I've done many races much longer than this kept me mentally tough at the end. There have been times when I've decided to take the easy way out and ended up regretting it afterwards. So, I told myself... not today. Before I knew it I was making the final turn to the finish and was able to sprint in with a time of 35 minutes, 50 seconds. I was very pleased with my finish and glad to be able to share this day with my friends and family. Happy Thanksgiving! I definitely have much to be thankful for!

Tami, Jeff, Me & Jamie

Awesome Weekend

2009-11-23T23:30:00.001-05:00

This past Saturday I headed over to Pennsylvania with members of the N.E. Ohio Trail Club for the 4th Annual Slim Pickins FA. This free, no frills members only run took place on the Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail. I ended up completing a total of 64 miles in 19 hours and 48 minutes! Report to follow...

Bill's Bad Ass FA 50K

2009-11-14T23:30:00.009-05:00

This morning I woke up around 5:30 and headed over to the Covered Bridge in the Cuyahoga Valley for the 1st Annual Bills' Bad Ass 50K. This free FA run consisted of six 5-mile loops of the Perkins/Riding Run Trail with the last mile going up a bunch of steps to the top of Oak Hill.

The drive over this morning was very nice with the sun rising and a very thin crescent moon in the sky. My plan was to meet Mike Keller and Brett Shriver at 6:30 so that I could get in an early loop before everyone else started. Mike & Brett had already finished one loop when I arrived. The temperature this morning was pretty chilly, but as the day progressed the high temperature got up into the mid-upper 60's! We are still having unseasonably warm weather for this time of the year but nobody is complaining.

So, after parking at the Church in the Valley I jogged about a quarter mile down the road and met Mike and Brett at the Covered Bridge. Mike had to move his vehicle over to the church lot so Brett and I took off ahead of him. On this loop we probably saw about 3-4 deer with one of them having a nice rack. Since we've been having a lot of warm, dry weather lately, the course was in pretty decent shape. Very unusual for this trail since it's usually muddy and rutted due to horses traveling on it. The only thing we had to watch out for were the stream crossings and all the rocks and roots hidden underneath the leaves. A couple times I thought I was heading for the ground but somehow saved myself from falling.

Brett and I got back to the parking lot after our first loop just as everyone was beginning to gather for the official start. It was awesome to once again see so many familiar faces and be able to catch up with those that I haven't seen for awhile. After a brief course overview from Chef Bill Bailey he gave us the go ahead and we were off.

My first and second loops seemed to go by pretty quick since everyone was together and chatting. The third loop I began to feel a little fatigue but it mainly hit me on the fourth loop as I figured it would. Overall though my body felt pretty good and I was able to run almost every loop in around an hour. I can tell that my endurance base from my recent ultras is paying off and helping to keep me strong during and after my runs. The weather today also made it very enjoyable to just be out there in the woods.

Me & Kirk

The middle part of the run I spent some time with Kirk Harrison, Bob Drake, "Pacer Marie", and both Bills'. The 4th loop I was alone for quite awhile but then ran into Mike Kazar on the trail. When I arrived back at the parking lot to start my last loop Mike Keller was there, so I decided to do the entire 5th loop with him since he lives in Columbus now and I don't get to see him as often as I used to. After finishing our last loop we now had to head up to the top of Oak Hill and pick up a Dum Dum lollipop (I chose the Pink Lemonade flavor) to prove that we had finished. This last climb wasn't too bad today, but if the course is muddier in the future it will definitely add insult to injury. I ended up finishing with a time of 6:53. Not bad considering all the breaks I took.

Mike & I

Overall, I had a blast today and would like to thank Bill Wagner & Bill Bailey for organizing a great run which included free aid and a free tech shirt to those who finished the entire 50K. Here's a picture of what this year's shirt looked like. I thought the logo was pretty cool and am already looking forward to next year's event...

Afterwards I stopped by the Winking Lizard in Peninsula with Bob Combs and we enjoyed a couple microbrews on the patio. Then later on Tami and I then headed over to Chagrin Falls for a free clambake with a bunch of other runners. It was a perfect ending to a perfect day!