Catching Up

Since finishing the Mohican 100 a couple weeks ago I've been training hard in the build-up towards Burning River 100 on July 31st.  I was lucky to have recovered quickly from Mohican, which is probably due in part to my slow 2nd half and 29 hour overall finishing time.  I have some unfinished business, just because I know I can run much faster if it all comes together and if I can maintain my competetive edge as the day wears on. 

Here's a recap of what's been going on since Mohican:

Wedneday June 23rd: Speed workout with MIT.  After only two days of rest from Mohican I wasn't quite up for the full workout but I did three up-tempo miles bookended by a two mile warm-up and two mile cool-down. 

Friday June 24th: 7 miles @ Highbanks with Mark Carroll, Mike Keller, and my Dad.  It was a pretty relaxed run followed by beers at Winking Lizard.  Good times all around.

Saturday June 25th: 9 miles with MIT.  I managed to keep pace with my 7:30 pace group, which I was pretty happy about.  I haden't run with my group for a few weeks and it was nice to get in a run with my MIT friends.

Wednesday June 30th: 8x800m at 2:52.  Typical yasso workout but only 1/2 rest.  Legs felt great, breathing was strained.  Overall I was surprised to hit that pace only 10 days out from my 100.

Thursday July 1st: Mohican Picnic!  Jay organized a picnic at Highbanks Metropark, where all those Central Ohioans who ran, or supported Mohcan runners were invited to come socialize, celebrate, and show thanks for those who supported us.  It was fantastic.  From memory the attendies were Steve, Leigh, Dave, Katie, Me, my wife Jen, Jay, Shelly and Elliot Smithberger, Julie Miller, Terri and Mark Lemke, Star, Darris, Ted Niemann and his wife, Mark Carroll and his two boys, Mike Keller and his two girls.  I had a blast and I'm pretty sure everyone else did too.  It's so cool to have such a fun group of ultra runners here in Central Ohio.

Saturday July 3rd: 14 miles with MIT.  We did 9 miles at 7:30 pace before kicking up the pace in Worthington Hills.  We hit three miles at 6:45, 6:30, and 6:15, before slowing back to 7:30 pace for the last three miles of the run.  I felt great when we were pushing the pace but felt like crap when we reeled the pace back - not sure why that is but I was sore the rest of the day.

Sunday July 4th: 24 miles at CVNP.  Met up with some friends from NE Ohio for a BT50k training run.  The group included Kevin Martin, Vince Rucci, Sean Pope, Greg Dykes, Sandi Nypaver, Star and Darris Blackford, Lloyd Thomas, and many more.  We started off from Station Rd Bridge, ran to Boston Store, and back.  Felt surprisingly ok after being sore all day Saturday from my run with MIT.  It was really hot but Vince and another runner left aid along the course that was a godsend.  About 2 miles after the turn-around I took a nasty spill which left a nice cut on my leg.  It hurt like hell for about a mile but the pain subsided and I finished the run pretty strong, a few minutes behind Sean.  Again, I was surprised how well the legs are surprising so soon after Mohican...starting to get optimistic about Burning River.  Felt sore the rest of the day but woke up feeling ok the following morning.

Monday July 5th: 22 miles at Hocking Hills.  Met up with Jay, Steve, Ted, Kim, Rob and Michelle for a run at Hocking Hills.  We started at Old Man's Cave, ran south to Ash Cave following the Buckeye Trail.  We then took the BT Alt. Bridle Trail north to Cedar Falls, I had never run this section of trail but they were happy to explore with me.  It's a really great section of trail, except for the fact that it's never travelled and was a little over grown.  From Cedar Falls we took the Upper Falls Red Trail all the way back to Old Man's Cave where our cars were parked, which was 11 miles into our run.  I was starving and managed to down a can of Mountain Dew, a PBJ sandwich, and loads of pretzels and salt&vinegar chips.  I've never ate that much mid-run but I was starving and decided to see how much the stomach could handle.  We headed north from Old Man's Cave along the Buckeye Trail, all the way to Big Pine Rd.  I had never run this section of trail either but again the group were good sports and were up for a little exploring.  This is a really awesome section of trail with some high cliffs and cool rock formations.  When we got to Big Pine Rd Rob was waiting for us with aid, since he had finished up his run - this was a big help on such a hot day.  We ran 0.75 miles west on Big Pine Rd to Concle's Hollow and ran the 2.5 mile loop around the gorge.  This is a really cool loop with high cliffs and great overlooks of the park.  We headed the 0.75 miles east along Big Pine Rd, retracing our route back, all the way to Old Man's Cave.  It was really hot and I don't think I've ever ate or drank more on a run.  The most encouraging thing about the run was that I felt better in the last 5 miles than I had the entire rest of the run.  After a high milage weekend the legs still felt strong, dare I say stronger, later in the weekend.  I think I'll be ready for a good performance at Burning River in a few weeks.

Over and out...