Eric Clapton Concert

Tonight Jamie and I went to the Eric Clapton concert at Blossom Music Center. Eric Clapton has always been one of my favorite music artists and I couldn't pass up this opportunity to see him.

The weather was perfect with nearly clear skies and a low of 53. We bought lawn seats and brought a blanket to lay on. This was only the second time I've been to Blossom and I forgot how nice of a venue it is and how relaxing it is laying on the lawn.

Below are some videos of the concert:

"Wonderful Tonight"

"Layla"

"Cocaine"

Bath Nature Preserve

I ventured out to the Bath Nature Preserve which is about 10 minutes away from my apartment. It consists of about 5 different trails which are no longer than 3 miles long each.

I started at the North Folk Trail and ran Southeast to the end of it at the Bath Community Activity Center. After I got there, I hopped on the Bridle Trail and ran the Southern half of the loop. I figured I probably ran about 5 miles total.

The scenery was beautiful and the run was pretty relaxing. Some parts of the preserve looked like Amish Country, while other parts looked like Africa. There were a few lakes with dead wood sticking out and high grass all along the trails that just waved back and forth in the wind.

After the run, I drove around some of the new developments and was stunned at the size of the houses. They made some of the biggest houses in the Trumbull/Mahoning County area look like playhouses. One house in particular was a huge log cabin-type house that overlooked a valley with a lake at the bottom.

I'll definitely have to come back here to run on some of the other loops that I didn't get to run on today. Click here for a map of all the trails.

(Pictures will be posted when I get my camera back!)

Mingo & Dogwood

(click on map to enlarge)

Tonight I decided to head back to Sand Run Metro Park and do some of the other trails that I saw last time. I parked by Revere Rd. and started running on the Parkway Jogging trail. I then caught the Mingo Trail which runs right along the Parkway trail except on the other side of the creek. I then got off the Mingo and onto the Dogwood trail on the other side of the Parkway trail. Both Mingo & Dogwood have some pretty long and massive hills. I was pretty out of breath the whole run. Parkway is paved and has some crushed limestone, but Mingo & Dogwood are dirt trails so it was a good mix of surfaces. Once I got off the Dogwood onto Parkway, I pushed it pretty hard. There were some people I passed that were moving pretty fast themselves, so I made sure they wouldn't pass me the mile back to the car that I had left.

Mosquito Lake Trail Run

This morning I wanted to go on a run, but didn't want to run the usual downtown Warren run on the hard concrete and asphalt. I decided to head over to Mosquito Lake and run on the trails starting at the cemetary where the Dirty Dog 10K takes place. Jim Harris puts on this race every February to benefit the Lakeview Athletic Boosters.

The weather was perfect with temps in the 60's and not a cloud in the sky. I haven't run here for awhile and forgot some of the trails. I decided just to keep running and eventually I would find my way back. I ran out to the trail that runs along the lake then turned around and looped around some more trails before heading back. I ended up with about 6.5 miles.

Led Zeppelin Tribute Band

Every Saturday this summer, the Warren Amphitheater will be having tribute bands performing for free. Summit Entertainment 330 is putting on the events with local sponsors providing food. The whole series is called The Time Warner Cable Summit Rock Showcase. Last year they had a few at the end of the summer and I saw an 80's group and Elton John tribute bands.

Tonight, I went and saw Zoso, a tribute band for Led Zeppelin. They were recently voted by Rolling Stone Magazine as the best tribute band. They were great and sounded just like the original group. The lead singer had all the moves as Robert Plant and the guitarist looked identical to Jimmy Page. The Warren Amphitheater has such a great atmosphere with the river in the background and a beautiful architecture structure (in the picture above) around the stage which was built a few years ago. Below are a couple videos of the concert.

Happy Days: Part II

Tonight Brian and I decided to go for another run starting at Happy Days. We started at around 8, so we couldn't go on a really long run since the sun was already down pretty far. We ran by the ledges and then hopped on the Pine Grove trail for 1.5 miles. We ended the run with an easy 5 miles.

Sand Run Metro Park

I ventured out tonight to see what the trails were like at Sand Run Metro Park. I was going to bring my camera but forgot so I'll have to bring it next time for pics.

When I got there, there was a creek that was flowing right over the road. Cars were going right through it. It looked like this happened often because this section of the road was made of concrete with grooves in it.

I parked just off the trail. I decided to go left first and see where that took me. It went out about 2 miles. When I got back to my car, I went the other way which went out for about 1-1.5 miles. I saw a sign that said the total trail was 3 miles (6 miles out-and-back).

The trail was pretty hilly with rolling ups and downs. I ended up running a pretty hard effort and was beat when I finished. I did 6 miles in 41:47 (6:58/mile). I'll definetly have to make it back there b/c I only ran on one of the trails and there are a few others. None of them are more than 3 or 4 miles, but would be good to combine a few for a longer run.

The Different Views

Throughout the year at Kent State, I took some pics out my dorm room window of sunsets, snow storms and thunderstorms. Here they are...

First Energy Internship

I moved into my new apartment in Copley on Sunday night and started my internship at First Energy in Akron on Monday. The apartment is amazing and so far the internship seems like it will be interesting. I'm on a team that develops and improves the SAP system. I'm also going to be working on various other projects including transitioning FE's computers from Windows 2000 to Vista. The apartment is in a great location with the Summit Mall, Cuyahoga Valley, Metroparks and many restaurants nearby.

Sunday, Monday Happy Days...

Brian told me he was going to run with Greg Murray tonight at the Cuyahoga Valley so I decided to go. I haven't run in a little while and thought it'd be good to run some on the trails. The skies were clear and sunny and the temperature was pretty warm. It's really nice now because CVNP is only 20 minutes away from my apartment so I can run more often with my brother.

We met at the Happy Days Visitor Center parking lot at 6:30 and ran out to Kendall Hills. We ran the No Frills, Just Hills course which is 2 miles and then headed back to end up with 7 miles. We saw a bunch of deer along the way, especially by Kendall Lake, and got really close to a few.

Imperial Tempo Run

Today I went for a run on my favorite route, the Imperial, which starts from my parents' house and goes into downtown Warren where the old Imperial hotel used to be. It's a nice 5 mile run with few hills and makes for a good tempo run. When I started out, I felt great. The temperature was in the 50s with a light mist of rain falling down.

On my way back, I was feeling pretty tired and out of breath like I have been lately on my runs after the marathon. Once I get my miles back up, I should be fine beyond 5 or 6 miles again. I started my watch at the beginning of the run to see what kind of shape I was still in. I finished the run in 33:30 which is a 6:42/mile pace. I was really happy with that considering how I felt. My knee has also been hurting me some below the knee cap. It doesn't really affect my running but hopefully it goes away soon and doesn't get any worse.

School's Over!

School's finally over after a couple intense weeks of cramming for tests and finishing up projects. I start my internship at First Energy Monday, so I don't have too much time to relax. However, I'm really looking forward to it. Saturday is my 21st birthday so I'm sure I might be out hydrating a little past my bedtime. Then Sunday, I move into my apartment in Copley which is about 15 mintues west of Akron and about 20 minutes south of Peninsula! I'll definetly have to go on more runs in the Cuyahoga Valley now that I'll be closer to it.

Easy Jog

I ran a short run today because it's been a little while since my last run when I got really sore. Plus, it was really nice out! The temperature was about 78 with clear skies. I ran with my buddy Marc on the bike path that goes through the woods and to the stadium. We just did a loop there and ran around the track at the soccer field once. We got back in 32 minutes (about 4.5 miles).