17 Miles

Today I ran 17 miles out-and-back on the Portage County Hike & Bike path. I caught it in Kent on Crain Ave and took it all the way to the end in Ravenna. I started at 9:30, but it was already 75 degrees out and sunny. This made for a tough run and I felt pretty tired and dehydrated on the way back. However, it was good conditioning to get acclimated to the hot weather in case it is like this for Cleveland.

T-Pain Concert

I drove to Clarion earlier today and stayed with my friend Adam. Tonight we saw T-Pain in concert. It always makes me laugh how little old Clarion gets these rappers for CampusFest. My sophomore year I saw Ludacris at Clarion.

The concert lasted about 2.5 hours. The concert was good overall, but unfortunately I couldn't take videos or pictures since they didn't allow cameras. One of the highlights was when T-Pain came out in a golf cart decked out with hydraulics and spinners. I also enjoyed the last song "I'm On A Boat" which was an SNL video he appeared in. Below is a video of him performing it at another concert.

Cavs-Pistons Playoff Game 2

Tonight I drove up to Cleveland with my friend Brian to go to the first round Cavaliers-Pistons playoff game 2. My brother also got a ticket and was going to meet up with us. I ended up running into him at Tower City so it worked out good.

Our actual seats were in the upper deck and we sat there during half of the first period. Then my brother spotted 3 seats on the main level behind the hoop. We moved down there and stayed there the rest of the game. Excellent value for our tickets!! :)

The Cavs had a pretty easy time staying ahead of the Pistons. They even stretched the lead to near 30 points, but that lead dwindled in the late 4th to just 8 points. Lebron and the rest of the starters came in to settle this and the Cavs went on to win 94-82. Below is a video of the awesome intro the Cavs have before the game.

20 Mile Run and Banff Mountain Film Festival

This morning at 9:00, Brian and I started a run at Boston Store. We ran on the Blue Hen Falls side on the Buckeye Trail and took that 10 miles out to the Brecksville Stables. The day was beautiful. It felt nice and cool early in the run, but started to really heat up after we turned around since the high was 71. To see more pics of the run click here.

Later that night, we went to the Banff Mountain Film Festival held at Playhouse Theater in Cleveland, OH. This is always a good time! I didn't think the films were as good as last year, but still interesting to watch nonetheless.

Boston Store Group Run

Tracy Meder, John Buehrle, Nick Billock, Dale Liff, Mindy Wolcott, Brian Musick, Jim Chaney, and me (left to right)

Tonight my brother and I drove over to Boston Store to meet up for a group run that Nick Billock posted on VR. There were a bunch of people that showed up. We started on the Valley Bridle Trail, hopped on the Buckeye Trail at Snowville Rd. and back to Boston Store. It was fun since I had never been on the Valley Bridle Trail before. We ended up with 8 miles total which gave me 45 for the week.

Indians Opening Day 2009

Today I met my sister up in Cleveland for the Indians Opening Day. Brian and Tami got us tickets for Christmas, but unfortunately he couldn't go since they were in California. The festivities before the game were fun. STO's Bruce Drennan aired his show "All Bets Are Off" live in front of the Jake. He interviewed Indians GM Mark Shapiro, so I told Mark "GO TRIBE!" after the interview :) Also, WTAM 1100 was there and they also interviewed Shapiro as well as long-time Indians drummer John Adams. Ohio State's marching band played before and during the game which was cool.

The first pitch was thrown by Herb Score's wife in memory of Herb. It's always nice to see the Jake (or Prog) for Opening Day with a sellout crowd after a long Ohio winter. It started raining in the 4th and they delayed the game with the Tribe down 5-4.

Jamie and I took a walk over to the bleachers and talked to John Adams for a bit. We then waited out the rain delay as many others left. They finally started back up after 4 hours!! The good thing about everyone leaving is we got to sit in the 1st row of the first base line.

The Indians came back and tied it 7-7 in the 7th inning but then gave up 6 runs in the 8th and lost it. It was a fun time even though we lost. I later read that we were one of the 500 fans that waited out the rain delay! We ended up being at the stadium for over 7 hours and left Cleveland at 1 AM!

For more pictures click here.

New Shoes!!

I drove over to Vertical Runner today to get a new pair of Nike Pegasus shoes. My current ones have over 500 miles on them and I wanted to break in new ones before the marathon. This is my 9th pair of Pegs and I really like the bright red color.


I then went to the Boston Store for a run on the Towpath. It was a beautiful day with blue skies and in the mid-40s. Far better than the snow we had yesterday. I started out North to Mile 19 then turned around South to Mile 23 and back to Boston Store for 8 miles. The shoes felt great! That's one thing I like about Pegasus shoes is that they seem to be good running in even on the first run.

Last Minute 50

I only had to run 4 miles today to get 50 miles for the week, but I put it off all day. I drove home to my parents' house in Warren and went out to eat at Red Lobster with my parents and sister to celebrate their anniversary. We got home around 8:30, I waited a bit to let the seafood settle, then ran 4 miles on the treadmill. Even though 46 isn't much different than 50 in the scheme of things, it sure is nicer seeing 50 on my training log :)

16 Mile Tempo Run

I drove over to the Boston Store parking lot today at 1:00 to do a long run on the Towpath. I headed South and turned around at mile marker 29 and then ran to mile marker 21 and back to the parking lot. Yesterday was pretty rainy and dreary, but today was opposite. Blue skies and sunshine with a few strong gusts of wind especially towards the end. It was nice to see alot of bikers, walkers, and runners on the Towpath today. I finished the run with 16 miles in 1:51:18 (6:58/mile).

I would like to maintain 7 minute pace at Cleveland for as long as possible. Does anyone have any advice as to the better method: even pace OR start out faster and bank time for later on? I've heard an even pace is the better method, but I always feel like I'm tired at the end no matter what.