SNOW JOB

Yes, we were slammed by Mother Nature on Friday night and Saturday morning. I still wanted to meet Aimee, Dale and Eric at the Boston Store and do the 8 mile Pine Lane loop and get more familiar with the terrain for the Buckeye 50k. So I drove out there. 9 inches of snow had fallen. My legs were a little tired as I did an 8 mile trail run at North Chagrin the day before as well. However the ability to move well Friday morning was a stark contrast to running well Saturday Am. Took an hour and 15 minutes to drive what is usually about 40 minutes.

There was about 8-10 inches that had already fallen and it was still coming down. Absolutely gorgeous. Snapped a pic as I wore my festivus cap while waiting for the guys to arrive.

Once Aimee and Dale got there. (Eric was away on business).we started our watches and got going. All that snow and only a handful of guys were already on the trail and so our footing was real hard to establish. I was using my Yaktrax Walkers. We trudged and we trudged.. It was real slow going. About 3 miles into the outing..I stopped and fired off a pic of Aimee up ahead. Then waited and got Dale coming up on me. Once we crossed the second road and rejoined the Buckeye Trail, we came upon this creek.

Thats roughly 3.5 into the run. Dale decided to stay at that point and Aimee and I crossed the 3-4 inches of water and ran-slid-trudge-hoofed it to Pine Lane turnaround. Since it was the first time I went to the turn around point, I kept asking Aimee "Are we there yet"? Surprised she didn't wack me.

We hit the turnaround and returned to the Boston Store. It was extremely slow going and I was doing the math in my head...worried that if these conditions remain next Sunday, I might not make the 50 K in the available time.. We finished the run...8.4 miles on my trusty Garmin 305 in 2 hours and 23 minutes. 2600 feet of ascending on that run. My average heart rate 142 with a high of 159. Great workout..but not as fun as driving home with all the goofballs on the road.

For the week...29 miles run. Sunday, I picked up a pair of trail running shoes and will break them in a little this week..but mostly I am gonna take it easy..Do a bunch of upper body stuff and try to be ready for 7:15 next Sunday AM. Forecast is for very cold and obviously snowy conditions. I am looking forward to the challenge. Thanks to all the veteran trail runners who have emailed advice ...I appreciate it alot.

Best in training to you.. Life's a Blast.