Taters and bees....

Fall brings unpredictable - but super fun - racing.  I love it! (settle in...this is a long one)

Potato Stomp 2005

If you're from Northeast Ohio and you've never Potato Stomped, I don't know what you are waiting for.  I first ran this race back in 2005, back when I was so cool (or maybe far more confident is a better way to look at it) I would race in a sports bra.  Evidence to the right.

The beauty of the Mantua Potato Stomp is the beauty of the course.  This is a stunning course through the countryside of Portage County....that is, if you are like me and love farm land.  The course probably passes more cows, horses and goats than there are runners on the course. 

And there are the hills.  I love running hills (insane, yeah, I got it, stop picking on me).  This course rolls for 9 miles.  Flat parts?  Few and far between. 

This year I wanted to return to this race (haven't run it since 2006 or 2007) to do a early fall fitness check.  Basically, I wanted to use a course I was comfortable with (not flat but not excessively hill....my best running conditions) and a race I didn't have much chance in placing in.  My goal - shoot for a solid 8:30 per mile average pace.

It was supposed to be a rainy day.  It was cool (LOVE IT!) and most people hung out inside until race time to keep from turning blue.  I even got caught by the race camera pinning on my number (sorry, I just sort of like this photo for some reason...not your typical race photo).

When it came time to cozy up to the start line, we almost had a false start when the race director noticed that the traditional potato chips hadn't been spread across the start.  Problem solved, we headed out. 

I made two mistakes.  I went out too fast.  My first mile was an 8:02 and my second mile was a 7:44.  I burned too much keeping with the front pack instead of running my race.  I settled down in mile 3 and then just enjoyed the scenery, determined just to focus on my own goal and not what others were doing around me.

My body was feeling great.  I was mentally in the run and felt comfortable just holding a pretty steady pace wavering in the 8:20s.  I was already winning because I was beating my goal.

That's her, back there kicking in....

I played a bit of leap frog with an older lady for much of the course, but was happy to finally put her behind me (she was a bit smelly) around mile 5 or 6.  Coming into the home stretch, I checked the watch, knew I was going to achieve my goal for the race and smiled to myself...happy.

That's when it happened.  I was approaching the finish line, happy with what I accomplished and knowing that there was no reason to push the limits when a women caught me in the last 100 meters.  After all, I had no shot of placing.  Grrr, here's where it's hard to be happy with achieving your goals some times. 

I let that girl pass me and didn't make an effort to hold her off, though I could have.  I crossed that finish line happy as a crow knowing I came out and crushed my goal.  Then, knowing I would at least walk home with the consolation prize for having traveled the farthest for the race, we waited for the awards ceremony. 

We chatted, we read travel literature, we pulled Baby K out of a gazillion mud puddles.  Then the awards began, and disappointment set it. 

Wouldn't you know, that woman who passed me in the final stretch went home with third place in my age group.  Third place.  Though I didn't know it, that was mine for the taking and mine for the losing.  I remained very happy with my performance but that one moment, when the girl who passed me took home the age group award, I started "what if" 'ing myself.  Don't do that.  If you hit your goal, then celebrate and ride the high.

More recently, I took to the NCR Trail in Maryland for the Charm City Run 20-miler....another race and course I really like, though for very different reasons.  My bud Lara introduced me to this one four years ago on a super sweaty, steamy August day.

This year, the race moved a month to the end of September and the weather couldn't have been much better.  It was cool, the rain held off, the leaves were green, and I had my great running buddy Kelly by my side.     

The start line butts up against the Pennsylvania state line, and shoves 350 runners onto a narrow old railroad bed about a quarter mile from the closest parking drop off.  The walk warmed us up a bit and gave us the opportunity to check out who else was among us crazies for this year's jaunt back to Cockeysville.

The trail is a very pretty rail trail (I like running these trails....check out my post from July on the Headwaters Trail in Ohio) cut through the hills of Hunt Valley.  The trail meanders past large, carved boulders, over babbling brooks and past railroad bridges that have seen better days. 

Best of all, it runs right past the gnome hill.  I have no idea what prompted these folks to turn this hill into a village for garden gnomes, but God love them.  Kelly and I decided that next year we'll run with a garden gnome of our own to add to their collection.  It's truly a Kodak photo spot.

It was shortly after (or maybe before...I can't really remember) that we ran through the swarm of bees.  Yep, no Savage Race made up obstacles for us.  Who needs them when mother nature sends you swarming insects to sting you?  Many people got stung (I wasn't one of them....though a good 10-12 bees did swirl around my face for a short period of time.  I feel bad for the woman who got stung five time in the....derriere.  At the next water station (as my husband tells me) she whipped down her running tights with no care for who was watching to ask her friends how bad it was.

The race field was friendly, people were jovial and we had some laughs along the way.  Most of all, it was truly a strong 20-mile effort in advance of the fall marathon season.

I can't wait.  I'm feeling strong, my training has been solid.  I've got two more weeks before my first marathon of the season, but first I'll tackle Ragnar DC and the Metric Marathon this weekend.  Hope my legs stay on.  Happy trails!!!

2015 miles to date:  942.47 miles

Observations:  I'm going into a tough weekend of rainy running with a soleus that is a little sore.  Hopefully I can work that out in the next couple days with shorter, slower shake out runs.  Other than that, my body feels ready.  I can do this and I will. 

Running on the go...

Training and travel are a tough combination.  I've seen even the most dedicated of athletes skip workouts when on the road, often for silly reasons.  But, it doesn't have to be that way.

It's true...I did eat that bowl of goodness.

Yes, I sometimes skip a workout or two when on vacation.  Maybe even on a business trip.  But when that guilty voice in the back of my head reminds me that I opted to finish my dinner with the famous apple streudel at Café Schwarzenberg or that I spent most of the day sitting in conference rooms, I can't help but push myself into the gym even if it means getting in the miles on the dreadmill.

Oh yeah, traveling often means not running outside, either because it's not particularly safe, or I don't want to risk getting lost.  So, I spent two sessions on the dreadmill this week.  That's about all I can take before I have a flair up of my good old buddy - lower back pain...excruciating lower back pain.  And a little bit of boredom, that comes into play too.

But today, what a breath of fresh air.  Sometimes you find that spot on a business trip that gives you the freedom to stretch your legs and catch the sites in a beautiful city after a long day of meetings.  Today I got to run through The Hague - or Den Haag if you're a local.

My hotel offered a decently (we'll get to this in a minute) outlined map of several running routes based on distance.  Though none of them went through the section of town with the Parliament and Prime Minister's offices (some really cool buildings architecturally that sit along a canal as if built into the water...I got to see them during lunch), I did get to cruise through some residential areas and a couple of parks along canals.

Have I mentioned the weather yet?  Oh boy what a treat!  If you've been slogging through a central Maryland summer, you will understand the sigh of relief I released when I walked outside the hotel to run in 60 degree weather (and a slight sprinkle for the first part) with a nice stiff breeze coming in off the North Sea.  It felt like fall already, but with sunlight until 9pm.

While Den Haag isn't the tourist destination that Amsterdam is, it isn't without some pretty cool sites of its own, like a few museums, the OPCW and all the embassies/ambassador's residences.   Though honestly?, I wish the street signs were a bit easier to follow.  Yeah, that map the hotel handed out may have included street by street directions, but the map only included major streets, most streets turn into other streets, the signs aren't in obvious places and often only on one side of the road.  That said, I successfully fumbled my way along the route.

Ultimately, toward the end of my journey, I deviated from the route offered by the hotel so that I could plod along the narrow paths of one of the canals.  The canals provide a pretty break from the buildings and rowhouses, and are soothing in a way I don't have the words to describe.  I'm glad I made the detour to capture some of the spaces tucked away in one of the parks.

In other news that I like to categorize under "awesome," I've finally broken through whatever barrier sat between me and increasing my speed again.  I'm feeling like I'm finding my stride and it's all downhill from here (not really, actually I should say uphill because I'm a better uphill runner).  If this keeps up, I'm on the right path toward achieving one of my big speed goals.  So, I'm going to add today's fun run through Den Haag, to last week's two great races (including pacing the Annapolis 10-miler and conquering the brutal hills at Dreaded Druid) and the fact that I am caught up on my mileage for the first time this year (logged 145 miles running in August) and call it a win.

I'm hoping to ride this tidal wave of great running vibes through the fall racing season and come out on top.  Happy trails!!!

2015 miles to date:   824.77 miles

Observations:  Not to beat my own drum, but I feel like I'm killing it.  Aside from that dreaded back pain as a result of treadmill runs, everything else is holding together.  The added strength training sessions are also paying dividends.  I just may make it out of my overzealous fall racing schedule unscathed.  The one thing I need to do soon is buy new shoes.  I can feel this current pair beginning to give and I'll need time to break in another pair before the race season kicks into high gear.
 

The early run...

That house with a lonely light on at 4am (or earlier)...that's my house.  The stars and the moon still light the sky.  The tree frogs and crickets still make the music in the air.  That's the time of day I become productive.

I'm really more of an afternoon runner.  But heat, humidity and a busy schedule have driven me to change the majority of my training runs to the pre-dawn hours this summer.  Three, four, five days a week you can find me out on the pavement before the sun crests the horizon.  It's at least an hour or more until my family will even think about waking up.

What I'm learning about myself is that I can be very productive as a runner in the early morning hours.  I'm still faster in the afternoon, probably because I'm better fueled at that point in the day.  I'm still more loose.  But in the morning, I'm more focused and alert in the silence.  I'm more in tune with my body.  I love watching the sun begin to peak above the trees or the edges of the water.  I have also found camaraderie in the morning run.  (These things don't seem to exist if you run at night...like after 9pm).

Dare I say, am I becoming that elusive unicorn called the morning runner?

This week, on a couple of early morning runs, I had a number of critter encounters too.  I crossed paths with a family of raccoons, came face to face with a large buck.  Sadly, I didn't see my normal morning friend, the fox that lives in my neighborhood.  I can almost always count on him checking out my run.  Alas, he was absent.  

During the week, my morning runs all radiate from my house, so I have limited options for routes.  I can run to the high school.  I can run to the State Park.  I can go in and out of the neighborhoods skirting the waterfront.

But the weekends, the early mornings on the weekends are for exploring the best spots for sunrise over the Chesapeake Bay or the many rivers and creeks around Annapolis.  Running through Bay Ridge, Greenbury Point, across the Academy Bridge, City Dock...there are so many great options.  If you haven't experienced one of our sunrises, you really should.  

So, if you, like me, are not much of a morning runner, give it a try.  You might learn you actually enjoy the torture of a 4am alarm ringing at your bedside.  Happy trails!!!

2015 miles to date:  753.45 miles

Observations:  My body is currently firing on all cylinders.  I've got now pain, no twinges, nothing.  How long this lasts is the only real question.  This past month I did a 30-day nutritional cleanse that rid my body of all the processed, fatty food I'd been feeding it.  I've even give up caffeine and am feeling more energy and alertness.  As I'm ramping up my mileage toward marathon season, this has been helpful in achieving my goals.  I just need to stay committed to leaving out the coffee, tea and soda, and skipping the easy boxed food for meals I prepare from fresh ingredients.
 

Take me home...

Country roads (and trails)  provide endless inspiration for a good, long run.  I find I can lose myself in the quiet solitude - the slap of my shoes on the pavement underpinned by the chirp of the birds and the babble of brooks - and the miles just melt away.

This past weekend, while on travel that took me briefly through my home town, I hit the Headwaters Rail Trail for my long run.  The Headwaters Rail Trail runs from Garrettsville, OH to Mantua, OH and follows the route of the old Cleveland-Mahoning Railroad line.  Incidentally, the last great train robbery occurred on this line at the depot in Garrettsville in 1935 (#coolhistoryfacts #garrettsvilleismorethanlifesavers #moveoverhartcrane).  The crushed gravel trail is growing in popularity for hikers, cyclists and horseback riders. 

I grew up crossing this trail, which ran between my grandfather's house and the old pony track behind it, when the trail still held railroad tracks and ties.  I remember crossing the railroad, not just on horseback, but also with packs of friends to the creek to hunt newts and crayfish.  So, coming back and running almost the full eight miles out (and then back) felt a bit nostalgic. 

The run was strong...oh boy was it strong. 

There are days you walk out the door, hit your stride and never look back.  Sunday was one of those days.  The first mile was a bit of a drag which wasn't real surprising...it was on roads through town en route to the trail.  Once I hit the trail, though, everything just clicked into place.  The air was cool, the ground was forgiving, my mind was focused and my body was engaged.

Don't get me wrong, I wasn't so focused that I couldn't enjoy the scenery around me.  Brilliant green trees, Queen Anne's lace and daisies dotting the edges of the trail, scenic yet functional barns peaking out from the farms, and the occasional sound of water rumbling over rocks just off the side of the trail.  And the silence broken only by the sound of my shoes and the chirping of the birds.  I couldn't have made up a more peaceful environment in a deep daydream.

Now, it wasn't all fun and games.  I would be remiss if I didn't confess to the pain in my rear that ended up being a horse fly biting in and going for a ride.  Yikes that was a bit painful....and now I've succeeded in causing you to imagine that sight.

All this bucolic bliss gave me additional endurance I didn't know I possessed when I slinked out the door earlier that morning.  Rather than the twelve-mile out and back I planned, I pushed out an extra mile...and got stronger on the second half of my run rather than slowing to exhaustion. 

Swept past the old grist mill downtown

.

That is such a great feeling.  When I finish stronger than I start, it gives me confidence that a bad start to a run never has to mean a bad run (though this run didn't have a bad start...it was just a good run that grew great).

I'm so happy to have the opportunity to experience runs like the one on the Headwaters Rail Trail.  Truly, country running helps me find a happy place that settles my training into a comfortable place.  I hope others feel the same about trails like this.  Happy trails!!!

2015 miles to date:  609.12 miles

Observations:  The back pain I was experiencing last week has passed.  I switched to a standing desk at work since it was sitting that increased the pain.  That seemed to help a bit.  I'm still riding the high from Sunday and hope to drive that all the way through to my long run this weekend.

 

Dedicated and determined...

Milestones are important.  They demonstrate forward progress.  They are an acknowledgement of achievement.  They validate and reassure.  Passing by the 500 mile mark (and 600 miles before this weekend is up) evinces my dedication and determination to be a better runner.

I may not be the definition of a dedicated and determined runner.  Sometimes I pass up a run to take the diva and baby K to the playground.  Sometimes a workout session gets sidelined because the office calls.  Sometimes the weather app on my phone tells me it's just too hot outside and I'd rather read a book. 

But here's why I believe I'm the picture of a dedicated and determined runner.  I love running and, no matter what, I always come back to my running shoes.  It's as simple as that. 

That love of running sends me back out in my running shoes time and time again.  The thrill of finishing a race strong...the knowledge that my body and mind work together seamlessly...the setting of and hitting goals...the joy of excitement when my daughter asks how my run went. 

Tying on those running shoes and taking that first step out the door day after day, in cold weather and hot weather (it was near 100 degrees yesterday when I ran), through sickness and during stressful days - that is dedication and determination.

So today, as I head out for yet another hot run, I'm digging deep to find that determination to keep going and relying on my dedication to my sport to push all the way through to the end of the run.  Happy trails!!!

2015 miles to date:  586.86  (I'm still in the hole against where I believe I should be for the year so far, but I'm closing that gap as my monthly mileage totals are back to pushing over 100)

Observations:  Right now I'm battling pain in my SI joint.  This flair up of the old injury happens a couple times a year.  It doesn't stop me from running.  Actually it pushes me out the door because running is one of the few activities that seems to ease the pain...seems contradictory.  It will pass.  It always does.  In the meantime, I'm feeling like I've finally hit my stride for the year and am on an upward trajectory toward hitting my goals.   

Finding luck and beating the hills...

I was raised in small town (farm town) Ohio, surrounded by rolling hills and acres upon acres of pastureland and corn fields.  It can be constricting and inspiring in equal measure...depending on your point of view or mood.  Recently it was inspiring.

This past weekend I found myself back in my hometown for an event at my former high school.  Being Saturday, I was looking for a long run to get in some miles and sweat off the stress of what had turned out to be a very stressful week (filled with long days at work and sick kids at home with a husband on work travel).

I have a usual route that I run when I'm in my hometown, but it's only five miles.  I needed more. 

My mom says to me: "How about going out 82 to Pioneer Trail, looping around Ryder and back...it's about 6 miles.  It does have Hiram hill (read big hill) but otherwise pretty flat."  Sounds good to me.  I'm in.

The morning was perfect.  About 36 degrees, but comfortable, with a start at 1,029 ft above sea level. 

Within my first half mile, I even found some new luck in the shape of a horseshoe, thrown from one of the Amish buggy horses that go up and down the road regularly.  With that kind of start, how could it be anything but a good run!  (And yes, I did pick the shoe up on the return and plan to hang it in my house for luck this whole season).

Running on that high, it didn't occur to me until my watch flashed the first mile complete, that I had been going up since I left my mother's house.  Huh, no biggie.  Small incline and I was going to have the down at Hiram hill. 

But I kept going up....not much.  I hit 1,082 ft above sea level before the downhill.  Doesn't seem like much.  Relatively unnoticeable.  And then I went down. Straight down, to 1,020 ft above sea level.  (I always thought that hill was bigger, at least it always felt that way growing up).

Looking up ahead of me after coming down Hiram hill, I noticed the road climbed again.  And climbed.  And climbed.  Where was this flat route my mother told me about?  And after driving these roads my entire life, why had I never noticed the hills?

Not one to be beat, I kept climbing.  It had to end at some point, and in the meantime I had the farmland to distract my mind.  When I finally stopped climbing, at mile 3.15, I was at 1,328 ft above sea level.  That had been a relatively steady 3 mile climb up hill.  Whew.

It flattened out and then went down hill after that, except for going back up Hiram hill on the return (though I will tell you, Hiram hill was easy and puny after the first 3 miles of road). 

In all, the 6 mile loop with only one hill turned out to be a 7.5 mile loop that was all hills...but it felt great.  My whole body was alive and engaged in the run. I loved the route.  I loved the views.  I loved the fast (for training) pace I was able to maintain.  All cylinders were firing together.

I guess the moral of the story is that sometimes you get more out of the completely unexpected and really enjoy the outcomes.  I'm not much for surprises and I always make sure I've studied course maps and elevation charts before I run.  But this was a great change of pace and I would encourage others to take on an unexpected challenge too.  Happy trails!!!

2015 miles to date:  329.91 (I'm 70 miles in the hole right now, but can catch that back in a short couple months with the right approach.)

Observations:  My body is giving me more that I expected at this point.  It's feeling good, things are working.  I'm still not as fast as I was before baby, but I'm finally feeling like I'll get there.  I even added a second marathon in to my fall schedule because things are just feeling good.  Let's hope that sticks.

Run with a view...

Some races are about speed.  Some races are about the difficulty of the course.  Some races are about finishing.  And some races (or training runs) are simply about the views. 

Last weekend I traveled with two of my "besties" (oh goodness, did I actually just use that word?) to Charleston, SC for the 38th Annual Cooper River Bridge Run.  We enjoyed food, shopping, friendship...and, oh yeah, we ran a race too.  A race with a view.

Going to Charleston was a little nostalgic for me.  When I was growing up, every other summer my mom would take my sister and I to Myrtle Beach for vacation and we'd almost always finish the vacation with a trip to Charleston.  The history buff in me LOVES Charleston.  I loved Rainbow Row.   I loved the Civil War forts and historic tours.  I loved the old market.  Leading up to this race weekend, I looked forward to reliving some of those memories....this time with my friends.

The Cooper River Bridge Run starts in Mt Pleasant, across the Cooper River from Charleston, ascends the bridge and finishes on Meeting Street right after turning off of Wentworth.  Between the drop off at the start line and the mimosas at brunch after the finish, there was no end to the entertainment and the varying views.

It all begins in the starting corrals (very well organized by most race standards, let alone one with 40,000+ registered runners).  As we waited for our start, dude in front of us was using a gatorade bottle for his spit cup, then left said spit bottle on the ground for 30,000 runners to trip over.  Sort of gross...or really gross.  Then we get started.

To say this race committee knew how to provide quality entertainment would be an understatement.  We were provided great Southern bands just about every third to half a mile along the race course.  Just as the sounds of one band began to fade, another began to grow in volume.  And not just your local high school bands or whoever was available to make a little noise.  These were the types of bands you would pay money to go hear. 

Most importantly, with few exceptions, everywhere you looked were the types of views you expect to see running a race in Charleston.  From the picturesque salt marshes with the long piers reaching out through the cordgrass to the waterway, dappled with bird houses on stilts, to the weathered brick-faced buildings that you could imagine rehabbing into something beautiful, every where you look there was an amazing view.  But much of it paled as we climbed the 5.6% slope to the top of the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge.  Looking down on Charleston, and all that makes Charleston as charming as lore would have it, is amazing.  And the new bridge is a beautiful example of what a bridge can look like.

Race finished, we immediately needed a new view....preferably one with mimosas...and biscuits...and grits (we were in the South).  We parted with money and made our own personal investments in the economy at the shops.  We strolled the water front parks and historic streets (wondering at the street-side doors that lead to no where but the porch).  We ate in amazing restaurants.  And I even gracefully sipped a whiskey cocktail at Cannon Green.

I capped off the weekend with a short run on Sunday morning to Folly Beach.  It was a windy, brisk morning.  But when the views consist of the salt marshes, signs promising womanless beauty pageants or fresh shrimp and end at the Folly Beach fishing pier, who notices brisk temperatures.

Thank you Leah and Ann for a fantastic adventure.  I really look forward to the next one.  Happy trails!!!

2015 miles to date:  246.86

Observations:  In trying to ramp up my weekly mileage to where it should be, I'm wearing my body out and risking injury.  I've decided to take the ramp a little slower and, to keep from pushing too far too fast, I've decided to opt out of the spring 50K I planned to run in April....eyes on the prize in November, not going to risk losing my summer training because I'm sidelined.