Beer and Hike

This afternoon my brother, parents and I met my sister at the North Country Brewing Co. for food and drinks. This was my first time here and the atmosphere was great. The inside had wood everywhere including carved wooden doors, beam supports, and bar. We ate outside on their backyard patio which had a nice stone wall with an outdoor fireplace. I got a couple beers and the The Leroy Brown burger which had BBQ sauce, sugar-glazed peppercorn bacon, onions, and American cheese....delicious!!

Afterward, Brian, Jamie and I went for a hike at Moraine State Park just 15-20 minutes south of the brewery. We parked at the Marina and hiked on the North Country Trail and some mountain bike trails. We got a good 2 hours in and enjoyed the beautiful scenery. All three of us agreed we needed to visit this park again for a run.

6th Annual YUT-C

(photo by Nick Billock)

I signed up for the Youngstown Ultra Trail Classic again this year, but decided not to run it since my IT band has been hurting. Instead I helped out at the log cabin aid station at the start/finish line, refilling water bottles and handing out drinks. I had a great time helping other trail runners reach their goal. I realized how much a few words of encouragement can help someone when a runner finished and thanked me for pushing him along out of the aid station and telling him to do another loop. Click to see results and photos from today.

Poem

People come and people go

Life is short, don't say it's so
Do your work, do your chores
Not today for there is more
Love your brother, love your neighbor
Fill your belly and always savor
The joys of life and sound of nature
Yesterday was once a today
So live for today before it goes away.

Long May You Run

Today Brian and I drove to Pine Lane to run a 50K to Brecksville. We waited in the parking lot till a little after 8 in case anyone showed up then headed out. The day was perfect, cool temps with a nice breeze. At the Boston Store, we met up with Kirk Harrison who planned to go to Brecksville with us. I've only run once with Kirk a year ago and had a fun time running with him today.

When we got to the halfway point, we stopped at Heinen's grocery store to get lunch. On the way back before Snowville Road, Dan Bellinger met up with us to run back to Pine Lane. I felt great the entire run and feel confident about my training 2 weeks before YUT-C.

Run on!

Enjoy...