18.5

I will spare you the details if you do not wish to read the through the blog. I ran 18.5 miles this past Saturday.

The run started the night before... I know this sounds nuts, but I had to get into my frame of mind early. I ate a hearty pasta fueled dinner and then went to bed. The next day I woke up a little later than I wanted to, but overall well rested. I checked the weather and that is when I really woke up. The temperature was 36. I think not. I was prepared to run for over 3 hours, but I was not going to start in a parka. The plan was to meet a co-worker at Ault Park at 8. Carrie has already run 2 marathons and many halves. She is signed up for the Flying Pig half marathon. She was joining me for the first half of my run. Upon seeing the weather, I abruptly texted her to reschedule for 9 am when it would warm up to 42. It actually worked out well because it gave me a chance to further digest my gargantuan bowl of oatmeal.

We met atop Ault Park at 9 and we were soon off. There was one small matter to take care of - I was well hydrated prior to the run. Too well hydrated. Lucky me, the bathrooms were all closed for the season. Luckier me, I am a dude and the world is one big potential restroom. I hide behind some shrubs and then I was truly ready to go.

The thing about Ault Park is that it is a truly pretty park and overlooks a lot of Ohio. That is great for short runs and jogs, but what runs down, must run up back. The first two miles were a nice downhill stroll at a good pace. Not at all a prelude for the tortuous hills we were facing. It was almost ominous how comfortable a downhill run it was. After we decided to turn around and make our way back up, the steep hills caught us. Pace slowed, breath heavier, talking less. We made it up the super steep hill which felt longer than it looked. I would like to tell you that was it, but the gradient was a precursor to a longer, less steep, but equally challenging hill. We did make it back up and once again we were atop Ault Park with about 3.5-4 miles under our belt.

There are two roads that lead to Ault Park. That was one. Next we decided to try the other. Again, a nice steady downhill that was like a breath of fresh air. About half way down we found an off road trail and decided it would be fun to go on an adventure. The trail was gravel for about 1/2 mile and dirt for another 1/4 mile. Half way down the trail we heard a voice yelling from up ahead. A woman called out a name. The stranger was looking for her black and gray dog. The search and rescue was on. We called out too as we ran the opposite direction from the woman. From above the trail we heard a man's voice yell if someone has lost a dog. He found the black and gray dog and the dog was united with its owner. As we finished the trail, which included jumping a felled tree, we saw a car with no less than 7 medium sized barking dogs. Carrie and I hoped the woman was not hording dogs or something.

We forged on and Carrie in exclamation figured out where we were. A street I never heard of, in a town that I vaguely recall hearing about. Moreover she knew where to go. We jogged along, talking, logging miles and before we knew it, I kind of knew where we were too. I had no idea how to get back but I knew where we were. We ran through Hyde Park which incidentally is not a park by any stretch of the imagination. We ran until about 9 miles and decided to turn around. We made our way back to the park. The park was not as close as we initially thought and it took 3 miles to get back to the cars. The last mile or so was a grueling hill. It was long, deceitfully winding and never ending. When we came to the stop sign it ended. When we reached the cars, we were at 12 miles. Two mile further than Carrie thought she would run. I was just getting started. We high fived and departed ways. Carrie in a car and me on foot.

I ate a gu and continued on. The next two miles were not bad. I jogged along tired legs and all. I ran back to the trail and decided to jog down to the end and then back. I was fine until mile 15 and then it started. My legs started to get a tried fast. I walked a little. I made it back to the trail and jogged and walked. I was dreading the inevitable. When I finally reached the end of the trail, there was that big hill. Mocking me the entire way back up with its turns and steepness. I slowly made it back up and was at 16 miles or so. My goal was 18-20 and I knew I had to log the miles.

I decided to jog around the top of Ault Park. Ault Park itself has some slight ups and downs, but nothing like the hills sloping from either side. The downhills were not bad and I could even jog on them. The uphills I walked and jogged. Then mile 17 came along and something happened. My legs came back and I was able to regain my pace and finish 18.5 miles strong, relatively speaking.

I drove back home exhausted but content with my run. I was sore the entire ride back and most of the rest of the day. That night was rather restless due to the soreness. However, the next day was not too bad. I was even able to log a 3.5 mile run/walk with Ann. I am confident that I will finish the marathon. Not sure what my pace will be or my final time, but I know I can finish. Best estimates are 4 to 4 and half hours. But we will see. I know there are steep uphills early, but I think the marathon is downhill for the rest. Here's hoping.

By the way, the 18.5 miles took me 3 hours and 20 minutes.

The Away Runs / Other Activities

The past few days have made for interesting / different workouts. I have been away from home for three days the past week on a business trip. This makes running very difficult. On Tuesday, I was still sore from the Mini Heart marathon, but I sucked it up and hopped on the treadmill for 25 minutes and then the ellipticle for a little. The fitness room also had 10 pound weights that I used to do a quick weight workout. The workout helped a little, but everything was compounded by walking in some manufacturing plants for hours at time. I was able to do my job, but with some soreness and discomfort. Wednesday was a little tougher. The hotel I was at had a gym with three pieces of equipment: a treadmill, a bike and an ellipticle. I thought the equipment would work well, all the machines had fans built in. There were also 3 medicine balls. However, the treadmill would stick when I was running, the ellipticle was broken and the stationary bike was permanently stuck on pause. Awesome! So, I did what I could with what I had. Tossed the medicine ball around and then hit the hot tub. Good workout or great workout?

Friday Mary and I drove up to Toledo for the weekend where I did get an hour and 20 minute run in. The Sunday I ran about 4 more miles. Nothing impressive to speak of, but it is better than nothing. The marathon is right around the corner and I will have to put in a long run next weekend whether I want to or not. After that it will be shorter and shorter runs until the big day.