Thursday Circuits

I went to circuits today for the first time since early May. That is, not counting the very similar Cardo Conditioning class from a couple weeks ago on Wednesday night.

Anyhow, circuits hasn't changed too much. It was a smaller class today with only 11 students plus Chris the instructor.

Chris' new idea / torture today was a series of pushups with "hovering" in the down push-up position: 8 push-ups, then hover, then 7 push-ups, then hover ... all the way down to 1 push-up. I failed miserably.

I'll probably do circuits a little more often now that Fall has arrived and the weather isn't always as nice out.

Elyria Apple Festival 5K Results

The Elyria Apple Festival 5K Results from Sunday, September 23, 2007 are now posted on the Lorain County Community College website.

Separation Tuesday

I ran the homeless route today with Rick, Peter, & Milica, more or less.

I was last to the fitness center. Rick was already dressed, but then he heard it was muggy out (and it was!) so he came back to the locker room to take his inhaler. By the time we got out to the hall, Peter & Milica had left without us.

We ran the lakeshore route yesterday so Rick guessed (correctly) that they had run the homeless route. We ran partway into the flats and then cut over to try to meet up with them. We actually were a little too far ahead of them and didn't see them right away.

Rick was struggling and fell behind. At one point I turned to run a little extra up a sidestreet to allow Rick to catch up. But then I misjudged and went too far and I ended up behind all 3 of them. I caught up and then Rick fell back again.

It seemed like almost never the entire group of us was together.

Total distance about 4 1/2 miles.

Weight = 182 lbs.

Marginal Monday

Rick, Milica, and I ran along the lake today. We run through the warehouse district towards the lake, then cut through a parking lot to end up right by Cleveland Browns Stadium. Around the back of the stadium, past the Science Center and the Rock Hall, and we hit the path along North Marginal.

As you can see, we run alongside the Marginal until the first overpass, at which time we cross the highway and come back along the South Marginal. Up the walking steps across from the football stadium, past Mall C, across public square, and we're back where we started.

This was a slow, easy run for me, which was a good idea due to the race I ran Sunday.

Weight = 181 lbs

How 'Bout Them Apples?

I got up early this morning to run a small local race, the Apple Festival 5K. I've never run it before but my friend Brad has and I knew it was a smaller race. My 10-year old son "Levi" also wanted to run another 5k, having finished the Firelands 5k earlier in the month in just over 30 minutes.

My goal for the race was actually to beat Brad, who had beat me by 1:49 at the Firelands 5K, and also to finish under 20 minutes.

Levi and I got to the race plenty early, picked up our shirts, and warmed up a little. We visited with Brad, Jeremy, Angel & Don, and Paul, Cindy, & Steven. At 8:30 we toed the line, the gun went off, and away we went.

The top 3 quickly distanced themselves from the pack, 2 other high school looking kids were together in 4-5, and I settled into 6th place for the first part of the race. Concentration and focus were good. The course was flat and I hit the mile in 5:43.

The 2nd mile went down a hill, made a couple turns, and then started back up the hill. Brad caught me at the bottom of the hill and we stayed pretty close together through the turns. He took the lead just before we started up the hills. Now I was in 7th. I thought I could possibly reel Brad back in once I got up to the top of the hill.

My 2 mile split was 13:02, just a couple seconds behind Brad. 6:19 for the 2nd mile was pretty good for me.

I worked up the hill and tried to surge a little on the top, but I could never gain much ground on Brad, in fact he ended up pulling away. Also, during probably the last 600 meters, 2 other guys passed me. My fear was that they were both in my age division, but luckily for me, one of them was 50. I ended up 9th overall out of 117 runners, with a time of 19:53. My final 1.1 mile was 6:51, very solid.

I didn't beat Brad but I did break 20 minutes, and I got a trophy for 3rd in my age group!

But the surprise of the day was "Levi", who ran 25:36, about 4 1/2 minutes faster than his 5K a few weeks ago! He finished 65th overall, right around the middle of the race. His age group was 13 and under, so he got beat by several older kids, and unfortunately didn't get a trophy.

Great job son!

Official results should be posted on the LCCC website, and I'll add a link once they are up.

The race was well organized, with one water stop (that we passed twice, once out and once back). There were no raffle prizes, but there were apples, bagels, and granola bars, and of course plenty of water.

Friday Tremont 5.5 Miles - All Alone

I ran alone today and decided to go a little farther and try to increase the tempo in a few sections. I ran the Tremont route which is just over 5 1/2 miles.

My faster sections were up the hill on Jefferson (all the way to Lincoln Park, then again for most of the straight stretch of Scranton, and then finally up Commercial Hill.

I did get a break just before 4 miles when I had to wait about 5 minutes for the drawbridge to be lowered.

Bridges Plus

I ran the "Bridges Plus" route today with Rick. We also ran the first part with Vicki and Blondie, but they didn't run the "Plus". On my wife's suggestion, I am including a map of the route.

This was my first day running with Rick since I upset him about 3 weeks ago by not waiting for the walk signal. I like running with Rick so I was extra-cautious today when crossing any streets.

We had a morbid discussion crossing the Lorain-Carnegie Bridge about a former co-worker whose body was found below the bridge last week. None of us know any details so I will refrain from posting any rumor or speculation, just that it is a sad and tragic situation.

Weight = 183 lbs

Tuesday Night Running Club - 4.5 Miles

Tonight's story actually starts last night. I had just finished refereeing a soccer match when Keith phoned me on the cell phone. His car had broken down in Cleveland on his way to the Indians game and he and his wife were stranded in Lakewood. I drove right in and picked him up and brought him back to my house, where his mother Linda picked them up and took them the rest of the way home.

Now to tonight . . .

I didn't have my kids and it has started getting dark sooner so soccer practice ended at 7:30 and I was able to make it to Oberlin in time for the run. Ken, Randy, and Cassie (Randy's daughter) were waiting and Brad arrived shortly after. The topic of discussion was Keith and his dilemma from the night before.

Come to find out, Randy had been at Friday's game and Brad was at the game last night, both of which included late inning come-backs and Casey Blake home runs!

Well, Keith and Greg arrived and it was quickly worked out that Ken would take Keith on in to Lakewood to pick up his car. But they had to be there by 10 PM. Even though the towing business is open 24 hours.

Our run was uneventful, straight and flat. Ken seemed to be setting the pace on the way out. I fell back a little bit, with Randy and Cassie right behind me. We turned around together and then we met up again with Ken, with Greg, Keith, & Brad up ahead of us.

Keith & Ken quickly took off, Keith transporting soccer uniforms and books to my sister Chris. Meanwhile, the rest of us were bummed about the grocery store closing.

Greg quickly ran over to CVS which was about to close at 9 PM, and we enjoyed a box of Fla-Vor-Ice. They were nice, but nothing compared to the Dole Fruit and Juice bars we used to get at Missler's IGA.

Monday 6.5 Miles

Just a quick post, ran the Aviation HS route today. Weather was beautiful, like a warm fall day. Legs don't hurt anymore (from Wednesday).

Wednesday Cardio Conditioning Class

I had to stay late at work tonight for a software upgrade we are performing at 8 PM. So last week when I saw a sign in the fitness center for a new Cardio Contitioning class, I decided to try to attend.

Well the class was pretty close to the Circuits class I used to attend (and will again once the weather makes it less comfortable to run outside). There were no stations, all group exercises, but the exercises were pretty much the same.

After a warm up of walking, jogging, & jumping jacks, we started off with a series of 1 jumping jack, 1 push-up, 2 jumping jacks, 2 push-ups, ... all the way up to 10 jumping jacks and 10 push ups.

It was a good class, but towards the end, after a series of lunges, squats, high-knees, and a couple sprints, my left hamstring got a little twinge. I hope I'm not injured again, but I think I'm taking the rest of the week off just to be safe.

No More Popcicles?

This is bad news for our Tuesday night running group.

The grocery store that we park next to, and get our popsicles from, is closing at the end of the month. None of us runners live in that town, but we've given them alot of business over the years.

Besides popcicles whenever the weather isn't freezing, we've bought our share of Gatorade there as well. Greg also frequently gets a few donuts from their bakery.

This news will certainly be a blow to the morale of our group.

Tuesday 4.5 Miles

I ran today with Milica, Peter, and Vicki. We left a little early as Peter has a meeting at 1 PM. The sky was overcast and a light rain or drizzle was falling when we started. We ran out along the lakeshore.

By the time we returned, the sun had come out an the sky was bright blue, with still some scattered clouds.

We've started a new habit which I think is a good one. We walk a block (around the building) as a cool-down after the run. This is probably especially good for me as I don't do much stretching.

Friday Easy 3.5 Miles

I ran again with Peter and Milica. We ran an easy 3.5 miles, around both the Browns and Indians stadiums.

On West 9th, while waiting for traffic, a beggar asked if we had any spare change. Runners don't carry money. As Rick said, he'd be better off asking someone with pants.

Then as we were coming south on East 9th, we were joined by another runner. An older man, probably in his 50's, with an ipod. He ran right behind us for quite a ways, without saying a word. Even when I turned and spoke to him, he didn't respond. Wierd!

Weight = 182 lbs

Thursday Easy 3.5 Miles

I ran with Peter & Milica today. It was very hot out. We ran the homeless route but I cut out at about 3.5 miles and went up the stairs by the Justice Center. I decided I'd rather try to run tomorrow than totally wear myself out today. Peter & Milica continued onward, good for them.

Weight = 184 lbs.

I found a cool link today, it's to the '300 Workout' as reported in Men's Health Magazine. Basically this is a workout performed by some of the stars of the movie '300'. It looks pretty brutal.

Tuesday 4.5 Miles

I ran today with Peter, Milica, and Vicki. We ran along the lakeshore, a 4.5 mile route. I found another penny, just as we were leaving the building, and carried it for the entire run.

Weight = 185 lbs

2007 Firelands 5K Race Report

Saturday started early. Due to the events of Friday night, I only got about 3+ hours of sleep. I got up early, packed up the van for a long weekend, helped get the kids around, and we headed for New London.

Brooke was the only person in our immediate family running the 1-mile fun run. The fun run is at the local recreation park where the Firelands Festival is held, and there were many people camping out in the woods along the race course. Brooke dropped out after 1 lap (the fun run is 2 laps), complaining that there was too much smoke blowing in her face from the campfires. Nephew Clayton did run the 1-mile.

I then warmed up a little with Ken and Brad, and headed to the starting line. I gave Luke some last minute advice (start slow) for his first ever 5k. I had decided I was going to try to run with Karl and run even splits, so I would be starting slow also.

Bill Spencer, the father of my classmate Eric, was the starter for the race. He fired his pistol and we were off. I was still in a big pack of runners and lost touch with Karl on the first turn. I still could see him but never quite caught up with him. I made it to the 1-mile mark in 6:24.

I thought if I did run even splits I could be pretty close to my mid-19 minute goal. I tried to keep the same level of effort to the turn-around. But in an out-and-back course, it's easy to get distracted once you start seeing the leaders coming back (and the slower runners still coming out after you turn). I dumped a cup of water on my head at the turn around and headed back, cheering for family members as I saw them. Luke was still running, not too far back. My sister Barb and brother-in-law Bob were also at the turnaround to cheer as usual.

My time at the 2-mile mark was 14:00, a 7:36 mile. That was pretty slow! I had fallen behind Shawn T., who I was even with at the turn-around. I started to focus on not falling further behind him, planning to pick up the pace and catch him by the finish.

With just over 1/2 mile to go, I realized that Shawn was a year ahead of me in school, and I was 39, he had to be 40. That meant he was in the next age-group up and I didn't have to try to beat him after all. I pretty much relaxed and coasted in from that point, getting passed in the last 1/4 mile by the 2nd and 3rd girls in the race.

I ended up 4th in my age group, but I did win a $10 Walmart Gift Card!

After I finished, I turned around and ran back to run in with Luke. He ended up with a time of 30:12, and said that he didn't walk until he got to the 2 mile mark. His legs were sore but he's definitely interested in doing another 5k.

Firelands 5K Results

September 1, 2007, New London, Ohio

The results are posted on the NLHS webpage but they are somewhat difficult to find so I put up this link. I'll write more about my race when I have more time.