I Lived

Good lyrics by OneRepublic...

Hope when you take that jump

You don't fear the fall

Hope when the water rises

You build a wall

Hope when the crowd screams out

They're screaming your name

Hope if everybody runs

You choose to stay

Hope that you fall in love

And it hurts so bad

The only way you can know

Is give it all you have

And I hope that you don't suffer

But take the pain

Hope when the moment comes

You'll say...

[Chorus]

I, I did it all

I, I did it all

I owned every second

That this world could give

I saw so many places

The things that I did

Yeah, with every broken bone

I swear I lived

[Verse 2]

Hope that you spend your days

But they all add up

And when that sun goes down

Hope you raise your cup

I wish that I could witness

All your joy and all your pain

But until my moment comes

I'll say...

[Chorus]

I, I did it all

I, I did it all

I owned every second

That this world could give

I saw so many places

The things that I did

Yeah, with every broken bone

I swear I lived

[Bridge]

Whoa

Whoa

Whoa

Oh

Oh

Yeah, with every broken bone

I swear I lived

Yeah, with every broken bone

I swear I lived

[Chorus]

I, I did it all

I, I did it all

I owned every second

That this world could give

I saw so many places

The things that I did

Yeah, with every broken bone

I swear I lived

[Outro]

Whoa

Whoa

Whoa

Oh

Oh

2013 URINEO

Back again for another URINEO.  I got to Mill Creek this morning at 8AM and met other runners at the Old Log Cabin.  It was drizzling out this morning and unseasonably warm.  We waited around until 8:10 for other runners to show up then left for a clock-wise loop to the Mill. 

A lot of people had on their screwed shoes.  I haven't had a pair for quite a few years and didn't have time (or the old shoes) to make them, so I just wore my Brooks Cascadias and hoped that there weren't any really icy areas.

The trail was really muddy as expected since the snow had melted and we were getting rain.  Probably the worst section was the Monkey Hills.  A couple people were attempting the Monkey Hill Marathon, so this really made the downhills slippery.  At a few spots, I felt like I was skiing rather than running.  I hurdled toward a tree a few times and knew if I missed it, I'd be falling down the hill further.

The trail was ice-free for the most part.  The iciest section was down by the creek headed towards the Mill.  The temperature also dropped quite a bit since it's down in a valley.  We switched running through warm and cold patches of air pretty frequently.

I met 3 runners from Pittsburgh who had never been to Mill Creek Park before.  It was fun seeing their reaction to the park.  Most people from out of town are surprised of the variety Mill Creek has and how technical and hilly some sections are.

I finished the first loop with the group and decided to call it a day with about 8  miles in.  I went inside the cabin and warmed up.  Moose was starting a fire, so I talked to him for awhile.  The rest of the runners slowly trickled in and soon we had everyone enjoying the food, fire and good company.

I always have a good time at URINEO.  It's great to catch up with runners I haven't seen in awhile and see what races they have planned. 

2013 Columbus Marathon

This weekend I traveled down to the capital for the Columbus Marathon.  Kelly came down to cheer me on.  We met my friend Marc, who was also running, at the expo and then grabbed a beer at Gordon Biersch Brewery right by the hockey arena.

We stayed a little outside the city, but still only 15 minutes away.  I woke up early to get my stuff together before the 7:30 AM start.  I like to get to the start line early, so I ended up having to wait in the cold for about half an hour.

I knew coming into this that I hadn't put in the training for a full marathon, so I was a little nervous about how the day was going to unfold.  I met Marc by the 7:20 pace group. 

Columbus was my first marathon and first Boston qualifier, so it's a fun race for me that brings back memories.  The course is nice and flat and perfect for a PR.  I hadn't run it since they changed the course to go through the Horseshoe.  I'd never been in the Buckeyes' football stadium so I was pumped to see it.

A band at the start line played some good music, a lot from the 70s, to get the runners pumped up.  A guy with a good set of lungs belted the national anthem, the mayor counted down from 10 the start of the race, the gun went off and to everyone's surprise some fireworks went off over the start line.

For the first half of the race I felt great.  I had gotten new shoes just a couple weeks before the race and only went on a 4 mile run in them.  Not something I usually do or like doing.  I was going to stick with Nike Pegasus since I've had 13 or so pairs, but after looking at the other shoes at Second Sole, the Pegasus seemed clunky.  I ended up getting a light pair of florescent yellow New Balance shoes.

So back to the race...  I felt good up to mile 13 and that's when things started declining....quickly.  Usually in marathons I start to feel my legs tighten around mile 18-20.  This was too early and not a good sign.  I tried to keep form and landed every stride with purpose not wanting to expend any extra energy.

I came through the half in 1:36:23.  Way too fast!

By the time I got to the Horseshoe, my legs were beat.  The crowd at the stadium and excitement of seeing it pushed me through there.  I heard someone yell my name, looked back, and it was Allison Holko!

The next 8 miles were torture.

I was relieved when I finally got to the final turn and headed downhill to the finish.  The crowd was really rooting on the runners and I feel especially for me since I probably looked spent.

It's funny because I wasn't sure if I was going to run this race since I hadn't trained enough to run a PR.  I talked to my dad before deciding to do it.  He said whether it was a PR race or not, he always felt satisfaction when finishing a marathon.  Inside I wasn't sure if I'd feel satisfaction with doing another road marathon in a time way off my PR.

When I crossed the finish line, I felt a great deal of satisfaction and pride and knew what my dad meant.  Each race has a different struggle and you never know what that will be until you toe the line.  In this case, the satisfaction came from not giving into the pain.  Even though I didn't train nearly hard enough to run a sub-3:08, I gutted it out and finished in 3:33:46.  That could have easily been over 4 hours if I had packed it up at the stadium and coasted in to the finish. 

Mill Creek Park Group Run

Today after work, I decided to drive to Mill Creek Park to go on a group run that Jim Harris posted on the NEO Trail forum.  Usually I'd rather run at the CVNP mid-week since it's closer, but I had an itchin' to run at Mill Creek.

There ended up being 4 other people including Tim Knapp, Jim, Frank and Todd Hanks.  I wasn't sure how far I'd end up going since I didn't want to get back to Akron too late.  They planned on running a full YUT-C loop.  When we got to Covered Bridge, I stuck with them and we finished with about 13.5 miles.

Tim signed up for the Oil Creek 100 miler and Frank is training for YUT-C 50K.  Always good to see others reaching for big goals.  I had a fun time tonight!  Afterward, even though it was getting late, I stopped at JibJab in Girard to get some hot dogs, fries and a milkshake.

Got a YUT-C 50K finisher's award (bottle opener) from Jim!

Boston Marathon Bombing

This afternoon at work, a coworker messaged me and said there had been an explosion at the Boston Marathon.  I first thought this must be something small or an accident.  I searched online and found a picture of the blast.  It looked much bigger than what I thought.  I then saw that a couple of people were dead and many injured. 

Many thoughts went through my head and I wondered whether all the local runners were safe.  I heard it happened around 4:09 into the race and knew there would still be big crowds coming in at this time.  I've run Boston twice in 2008 and 2010 with times of 3:42 and 3:45, so I felt chills learning of when this happened during the race.  I also thought of my parents.  They came both times to watch my sister and me and usually stand close to the finish line where this bomb exploded.  It makes you feel fortunate for family and friends and those things you take for granted.  It also makes you sad that this is the world we live in.  Innocent spectators enjoying a normally joyous day in Boston killed and injured for no good reason.

Another event in history that came to mind was the killing of Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics.  Although a different circumstance from what happened today, it was a terrorist attack at a major sporting event - a place that should be void of violence, politics, war and religion.

“This killing of Israel athletes is an act of war. And if there’s one place that war doesn’t belong, it’s here. 1200 years. From 776 B.C. to 393 A.D., your fellow Olympians laid down their arms to take part in these games. They understood there was more honor in out running a man than in killing him. I hope the competition will resume, and if it does, you must not think that running… or throwing… or jumping… is frivolous. The games were once your fellow Olympians answer to war – competition, not conquest. Now, they must be your answer.”

- Bill Bowerman

 Today is a sad day for our sport and our country, but we will rise again as runners and as Americans.

Long Tempo Towpath Run

My friend Marc, from Kent State, was up in town this weekend from Cincinnati for his birthday.  This morning we went on a run starting from the Boston Store.  Marc is running the Glass City Marathon in Toledo in a few weeks, so he's in pretty good shape.  We ran on the Towpath since he didn't want to do any big hills.  Plus, neither of us really wanted to battle the muddy trails after the big rain we had.

We ran past Peninsula and to mile marker 26.  I was feeling pretty tired all over.  My breathing was especially heavy and he could definitely tell.  I wasn't surprised though since I haven't gone this fast in awhile.  He wanted to get 13 in today, so once we got back to Boston Store, I stopped and he went on a little further.  I got 9 miles in and we figured we probably ran around 7:15 pace.  I'm really happy with this and it felt good to gut it out.  There were plenty of times during the run where I wanted to walk and let him go, but didn't.  We talked about the Columbus Marathon.  I'm already signed up and it sounds like he would like to do it also!  We both have a goal of qualifying for Boston under the new standard.  I would also like to break 3 for the first time.

Muddy 10

I met Jamie at Boston Store this morning to go on a run.  We decided to head out toward Snowville Rd for 10 miles.  It was a beautiful day for a long run!  The sunshine dried out the trail some, but there were still plenty of muddy sections.  We both felt good at the end and got a bite to eat at the Winking Lizard afterward.

Tonight I signed up for the Columbus Marathon in October!  Jamie's also thinking of signing up.  This was her and my first marathon in which we both qualified for Boston, so it'll be fun coming back.  I'm hoping to break 3 hours, so I'll have to build a good base all summer and kick it up heading into Fall.

2013 Covered Bridge FA - LHHT

This weekend was the Covered Bridge FA held at Ohiopyle, PA this year.  I had no set goal since I'm coming back from an injury, but wanted to get at least a double digit run in.  I met Brian at my parents house in Warren and we drove together to PA.

When we got to the Yough Inn, it was dark out and everyone else who was staying at the hotel had already arrived including Jim Harris, Kimba and Allison Holko.  We enjoyed a "few" beers and had some interesting conversation as always.

In the morning, Brian and I decided to sleep in a little, got breakfast at the local restaurant/grocery store, then started out on the trail around 10.  We saw many others enjoying the trail as well as other NEO Trail members on their way back.  The weather was perfect - 40s and blue sky!

Brian and I ran out to mile 5 and decided that was good for today to give us 10 total.  We both felt great the whole time and were glad we didn't overexert ourselves.  It was nice for a change enjoying the trail in a different way.  It's about impossible to do much running the first 8 miles, so there was no sense risking an injury.

When we got back to the Gate, we showered up then got a bite to eat at Falls City Pub right by the trail.  I got a turkey melt Panini's style sandwich with fries on it.  Barefoot Johnny "O", Allison, Rich Vrbonic were in there already eating.

Another night of rehydration with beer ensued as well as hanging with locals back at the pub. 

The next morning, I woke up and ran a short 3.5 mile run on the trails across the river.  I had never been on these, so I was excited to see the falls close up from this side. 

Another great Covered Bridge FA and another great NEO Trail event!  Next club event, No Frills Just Hills FA in May.

Blog posts for past year's Covered Bridge FA:
2012: Mohican State Park
2009: Mill Creek Park
2008: Mill Creek Park

Three

I ran three runs this week at Firestone MetroPark, each 3 miles.  I felt stronger on each one.  On the first run, my calves started tightening up just from not being used to running for awhile.  On the third run, today, I felt great and was going at a fast pace the entire time.  My breathing felt like I haven't lost anything since I've been swimming laps at the rec.  It feels great being outside and back running again.  Nothing like a cold winter run!