Buckeye Trail 50k

Wow... tough day. I finished the Buckeye Trail 50k in 6 hours and 10 minutes. It was hot, hazy and humid for the entire run. I don't think I've ever sweat so much. Nonetheless, I did it and can enjoy the next few days knowing I completed a very tough race in tough conditions and didn't quit. Pictured with me is my good friend Bob Clarke. Bob had a very good race finishing in 5 hours and 35 minutes.

Happier Running Days for Sure...

I finished the Cleveland Marathon in 3:38 and change... not bad when you consider I didn't train hard for a road race. We were coming off Bull Run (50 miles) but still running mostly trails for our long runs. So all is good. However, last Saturday I meet a large group at Boston Store for a 13 - 15 mile trail run and 2 miles down the trail and "pop", my left calf decides enough is enough - I can't run - I can't run at all. I limp back to the car thinking it will get better. It doesn't. I head home, ice, motrin, ice, motrin, heat, motrin, etc., etc... I don't run for 4 days and it starts to feel better. I decide to run on Thursday morning with Bob and as we head down the road it feels o.k., as we start up the first hill it starts to fatigue... by the time we're at the top, it is tight and screaming at me. We stop and walk back home... I can't go. I'm going to rest it for a week and hopefully be back by mid-June. Ah, such is life... never had this happen before... guess it's my time. Happy running... I'll see you on the trails sometime. At left, I decided to salute the camera guys at the Cleveland Marathon... happier running days for sure!

Perfect Trails

The trails were perfect today. Bob (far left) and I started and finished at Pine Lane. We ran to Boston Store and back. It was cool when we started but we quickly warmed up. We did the loop in 1:20 at a moderate pace and really enjoyed the morning. When we finished, Mike (far right) and Kurt were just starting. Kurt is taking photos of the BR 100 course and asked for a photo - so here we are... feeling good and enjoying the trails.

Recovery!

Well, we recovered from Bull Run... it is hard to believe it had been two weeks. Time flies. Bob and I set our sights on Cleveland in May and the Buckeye Trail summer 50k in July. Then, the Burning River 100. I don't know if I'm scared or stupid? We will see... At any rate, running on the Buckeye Trail last weekend and looking forward to this weekend is good... very good... We are so fortunate to have the Cuyahoga Valley National Park in our back yard. See you on the trails!