Heart Mini Turns Out Great!

Well, I was not in this lead pack, but I sure felt strong the entire way!

I woke up Sunday morning and poked my head out the front door to check the weather. The forecast called for rain all day but it didn't happen. So, instead of heading back to bed, I dressed in my running gear and headed for the kitchen. I grabbed a power bar, a bottle of water and headed downtown for the 8am start. A light drizzle blanketed my car as I made my way along the river to Fountain Square...was there more rain to follow?

7:45...the rain was gone and all 3,500 of us made our way to the start. It was cool and breezy, but dry! 15 minutes went fast and we were off on our 15k (9.35mi) trek down Columbia Parkway.

Temperature was a perfect 45-50 degrees and I felt strong the entire way, but I held back at the beginning because I knew some long, gradual hills were in my future. It paid off in the end. I kept an average 7:30 pace the entire way for a 1:10 finish and was very pleased with the result, coming in 36th out of 202 in my age group and 350th overall; top 10%! Not bad for 47!

TTFN

Finally Got a Real Suit!

Ok, so for all of the years I have been swimming (which has only been about 8), I have always used the traditional tourist-style suit. You know... long, baggy with that tacky Hawaiian print. Well, with reluctance, I finally "upgraded" to a real competition-style suit; partly for comfort, but also because I wanted to see if it would truly make a difference in performance.

WOW! After 8 years swimming in a sea anchor I am now free. Just a simple equipment change shaved a minute off my 500...without any extra effort. So, I can now swim longer, faster and easier and it only took 8 years to figure it out, or maybe I was just too bashful to put one on. In addition to a new suit, I read the book Total Immersion by Terry Laughlin. A real eye-opener. They also have a good website.

Anyway, the Heart Mini 15k is tomorrow and I'm still deciding if I want to trade a warm bed for wind, rain and cooler temps, but I have until 7:00 am tomorrow to make that decision :o]

Runnin' on the River

Spring is almost here, and with all of the rain we have had the Ohio River is on the rise in Cincinnati! We are at flood stage in the Queen City, so I thought it might be cool to take a camera with me on my 5 mile lunch-time jog across the Cincinnati bridges. As you can see, there ain't much room left on the banks. Anyway, I had a great afternoon trek and look forward to the rest of the weeks' mild weather.

Training-wise, I'm probably going to run the Heart Mini-marathon later this month, a deceptively difficult 9 miler along Columbia parkway. This should ease me into the Flying Pig Half in early May. My long distance runs have become just too damn painful to continue training for the full marathon. I'm cool with that.

Time for taxes...ack!
TTFN
A

Snow, snow and more snow.

I really miss running downtown during lunch – which I have not been able to do for a week + because of this white crap, and with about 13" in most spots and cold temps, it's probably going to last a while. Fortunately, the track around Lunken Airport is cleared off, so I did run 5 miles there on Saturday, but it was very cold and windy. Then Sunday, I glided through a mile swim in the YMCA's over-heated pool. Boy, is that relaxing. I think I almost fell asleep in the water.
Meanwhile, the girls have had the last two day off, one for Pres. Day and the other for snow, but I think they're eager to get back to it.
TTFN

Beautiful Snow Run

On Saturday morning, I headed down to the Newtown-Loveland bike trail to enjoy the fresh snow. I was the only one out there when I started, and it was great!
We had about 3-4" total, though nothing compared to the east, which is still digging out of 2+ feet. But, on my Saturday run, I wasn't concerned about that. It was too nice.


The cool thing was, after my eight mile run, I only saw 4 other people, and about eight dogs, oh, and I felt great!

Cold and Clumsy

Mt. Airy forest is a beautiful place to hit the trails in Cincinnati. There are long, uninterrupted stretches, gradual as well as intense climbs to keep us challenged, and many, many rocks and roots to test your knees, ankles and arches. I tripped over most of them on this cold and windy Saturday and left for home after 5 miles miles...sore. I haven't been on a trail in months, and my legs had joints had forgotten about what it can be like. Here are a couple photos of the trails. Some are easy while other sections are brutal like the infamous Stone Steps.

Ursuline Father Daughter Dance

What can I say? Hanley, her friends and I all had a great time. Dinner at the Montgomery Inn Boathouse followed by a very crowded dance at the Hyatt Regency downtown.

By the way, 14 miles last week...getting better every day!
TTFN.

House Guests...Oh, and I can run again!

What a trio! This week, Courage (left) is hosing some friends, Penny and Real. All is well, except for some casual rolls in deer poop this afternoon. Penny (Center) found the best load of droppings and had to jump in the shower with Maura. I didn't ask what they talked about during their intimate moment, but I'm sure is was just casual conversation :o). Anyway, everyone is getting along just fine except for me! My allergies are not multi-dog friendly!
Good new on the knee front...all is well thanks to good advice from Sophie and the aleve and strength exercise advice. I managed a solid 4+ mile run today with very little discomfort. I just have to remain disciplined in my strength and stretching regimen.
In other news, the Ursuline Father-Daughter dance is tomorrow night. Hanley and I are heading to the Montgomery Inn Boathouse for dinner with 7 other dads and daughters, then off to the Hyatt Regency for the dance. I think we are both nervously excited! It's her first dance...
Photos to come.

Take care and TTFN!

It's Getting Better!

You know, now that I think about it, Pateller Tendonitis is also called "Jumpers Knee." I've been doing a ton of swimming lately, and wonder if pushing of the wall too hard is causing this? Anyway, feels better today. As long as I keep moving, all is good. I did try (Stupidly) to run today, but after one stride I had to call it quits. I'll wait...
TTFN

Crap-WIll I Ever Recover?

Ok, so I went running last week, and have not run since...seems I have Pateller Tendonitis or bursitis. It is extremely painful to go down hills, ride a bike, walk, and whatever else I do. This sucks since Flying Pig training should be well under way. I have no idea what caused this, but it came on suddenly with a bang. I did run in the snow, which may have screwed up my stride, but did I mention this sucks?
This could take several weeks to fully heal from what I've read...:o(
More to come. Ack!

Sheesh! Post Something!

Well, the New Year is here, Christmas is past, and I am finally posting something, for God's sake! We all had a wonderful Christmas with Maura's family on the eve of, then off to my parents for Christmas dinner. I was a great time at both occasions, though I have to admit, I'm glad to be back at work at DeanHouston doing a lot of multimedia and 3D design...love it!
I recently entered a logo design contest for my sister-in-law's running club, VHTRC, and just found out that my submission was the winner! That is so cool and can't wait till they start using the design.
My hope this year is to train through the winter and run in the Flying Pig Marathon this May, then, maybe, head to West Virginia and run with the VHTRC group at the Highlands Sky 40 miler in June (with a new VHTRC t-shirt). We'll see how it goes. Cincinnati weather has been bitter cold the last week+, so training has been a bit slow.
That's it for now. Be happy and stay tuned!
A

Happy Thanksgiving

On Thursday, Maura and I did the 100th anniversary Thanksgiving Day race in downtown Cincinnati. Maura walked the 10k course while I ran. The weather was perfect for running...a little chilly, but all good. I had a great time of 47:17, just over 7:30 per mile and Maura finished just about an hour later. Great day!

7th Grade Champs!

Nagel Middle School beat three other teams, Milford, Kings and Loveland, to become the 7th grade champs! WOO HOO!

T'was a foggy morning in Cincinnati today. I snapped this on the way to work down at Lunken Airport. This shot overlooks the golf course. High temp was about 65 and perfect weather fora lunchtime 4-miler. Legs are getting stronger and confidence is high for a good running season.
The StoneSteps 50k is on Sunday, but count me out unless I'm feeling strong enough to do a portion ofthe run.
TTFN

Cool Clouds of Cincinnati

We've had a really rainy couple of days, but it stopped for a little while this afternoon. The sun was trying to break through over this tower in Over the Rhine, but no success.
No running for me today...had a double workout yesterday with a swim in the AM and an afternoon 5-miler.
TTFN

Cooler Weather is Here

Temperatures are finally settling to the mid to upper 60s, which has been great for running. I always thought I was a warm-weather runner, but these temps are perfect! And although I still get sore, the IT band and right knee pains are not as chronic as they were last month...thank god! Runs have been slow and steady and I try to walk down the steep hills to reduce the stress.
More to come...gotta go back to work!

FItness & Volyball Updates

Still undefeated, Ursuline freshman continue to dominate the Cincinnati volleyball courts. Hanley, number 8, is doing well so far, usually starting as the Right Hitter. This is a very competitive program, so she is going to have to stay focused and give it 100% every time.

Greta's team also continued undefeated. She plays the entire rotation and has a very good serve. Her future looks very encouraging! I don't have their team photo yet, but will post when I get it.

Meanwhile, my running is getting off to a slow start. I think I started too early after my knee injury (while tiling the bathroom. Huh?). I took about 2 weeks off, focusing on swimming and some cycling, but went for a run today and the pain resurfaced after about 2 easy miles. It's probably time to see the Orthopedic doc to get some diagnosis and PT.

Volleyball Update

Ok...as of tonight, both of the girl's teams are UNDEFEATED!
And that is all I need to say.

Oh, and my stupid knee still is in pain. No running for over a week, but still keeping up with swimming and biking.

A new Lifestyle...Ack!

Well, the girls have started their season off with a bang! Ursuline played Saturday and beat Lakota East in a close match-up, then turned right around and pulverized Turpin (My alma mater) 2 games to zip. Greta's team, the Nagel Nighthawks stepped up and beat Norwood easily in two games.
No photos from Greta's game, but she played an awesome first match, and ultimately won the game ball!! Way to go.

On the running front, I've been struggling with some IT and knee issues the past few weeks, which has been really frustrating! So, I'm taking it easy, icing and stretching, and focusing on swimming, weight lifting and cycling until I'm back on the trail. It sucks...big time! Running is such a stress reliever and I miss the miles.
Anyway, TTFN

East Fork Trail Run

Last weekend was the final race of the Dances With Dirt Trail series. This race was different in that it started the slowest from the series starting first, with the faster runners starting later in hopes that we would all finish close to the same time. As it turned out, the elite runners caught up with everyone at about the 4 mile mark in the 5 mile race and passed us all like a herd of spooked deer. And while it was impressive to watch these fast CC runners explode through the trails, I think it left all the slower runners little bit stunned by their approach.
Anyway, I was able to rally at the end for a happy 44:15 finish and a great after-race brunch catered by Heather Poast. It was a great time!