Thursday, May 28, 2009

OUR SON THE ULTRA MARATHONER

Pat did it. Our son completed his goal. He wanted to run an ultra marathon to celebrate his 30th birthday. his 30 miles would have been fine...but since I had run a 50 k about 6 weeks ago, he mapped out a course that was 31.8 miles...just over 50 k. Why not one-up the old man??
He recruited his friend Bridget, who is married to his longtime pal, Chuck. Bridget used to be a bike messenger and she knew she could go the hilly mileage. They started in Chardon. Pat had the camelback..Bridget had lots of water in the back of the bike, and I packed lots in a cooler.
I was gonna sherpa the run. Diving in and out along the way and running about half the mileage.
Chucks house is about 1200 feet above sea level. Chardon is one of the high points in north east ohio. So the run would take two big elevation drops and climbs before finishing in Ohio City where Pat lives.
I ran the first 2.5 miles, said so long and ran back to the starting point to get the car. Pat wanted to do 6 hours. It was warm but not real hot. There was a breeze and some cloud cover. Driving to catch up to the pair, I did not see them... "No way they have gone this far"?? But they had. He was making good progress.
Near 12 miles is Chagrin River Road and Wilson Mills. The bridge was being worked on. I tried to talk the construction guys into letting them walk through when they got that far. Nope. So, we had to put the bike in the trunk and drive a detour of 5 miles to got to the other side of the bridge which was only 200 feet away. I told Pat, that its just a long water break. Don't let it get you down. We got to the other side..Pat ran 200 feet extra to make sure and off we went. I ran 2 miles up Wilson Mills, then ran back down to the parking lot on the south end of North Chagrin.
They were making good time. By the 22 mile mark (Monticello & Mayfield), Pat was feeling dizzy and storm clouds were coming. We rested a bit...he ate more and drank more and the air cooled, but the rains came. Not heavy rains, but cooling rains.

Pat was struggling at the point and I could see the doubt on his face. The Bride called and was worried about the weather. I called Fox 8 and the experts said the storms were lessening in intensity and any new ones to come would not have thunder. That reassured the pair and of course The Bride.
He kept motoring. The run down Carnegie is more than 5 miles. Then a tour past Progressive field and then over the Detroit/Superior bridge and home free. Finish point was The Old Angle Tavern on West 25th. Pat and I went to his apartment two blocks away and Bridgets family joined her in the Tavern. I got Pat the bag of ice...15 in the ice bath and he was on the road to recovery. Though he felt lousy the rest of the night..he was very happy to reach his goal.
We are very proud of the two of them. Pat ran in just over 6 hours. I tallied 15.9 miles in my sherpa-running buddy role. As I write this the next day, Pat is demolishing a good chunk of pork grilled on our grill. I think he's gonna be fine.
This Saturday I am aiming for an 18 mile trail run. Anyone game???

Sunday, May 24, 2009

TRAILS TRADITION AND FRIENDS

I write this on a Sunday with a thousand things going on. First, the training. This past week, I had 2 strong upper body workouts and 2 leg workouts. I had two 6.0 mile trail runs and I capped the week off with a very strong 15.9 mile trail run at North Chagrin. I treated the first hour as a very quick paced, out and back down on the Bridle Path. It was cool and very pleasant. I felt real strong and definitely feel the effects of weighing 11 pounds less than when I started the Clean Eating Lifestyle. I got in just under 7 miles in the hour..stopped...got plenty of fluids,..a Gu Roctane, and half of a pb and j. Saw Betty, Andy (props on Rite Aid marathon) and Pat. I took off and worked on getting 16 miles in. Weaved all over the trails and got the workout in. Near the end, I saw Mike, Tim and others and they were trying to see if I wanted to run the Punxtawney 50 K in September. We'll see. After, an ice bath, I was good to go, but somewhat ravenous. Ate under control on Saturday, but today, I am going bonkers. We are cooking out at the station and look out!!!! Monday AM, I will get in a solid weight workout and then 45 minute run and then, its one of the favorite days of the year. We honor the veterans and our family in Euclid, always mans a corner and cheers wildly for all the vets. We really appreciate the service to our country. The Bride and I will entertain family as per usual and burn a few more burgers and dogs.... Work has been insane with the Cavs in the Eastern Conf finals and perhaps you saw LeBron James miracle shot friday night. Nothing he does amazes me. I have seen this stuff for years. He made that shot after being on the cover of Sports Illustrated and usually the cover means some kinda jinx. Didn't work this time. Cavs have a tough battle with the Magic. Weds, my oldest son Patrick turns 30 and he will be running 30 miles to celebrate it!!! I will run about 12 miles with him and another friend of his will be on her bike with him the whole way. He will run from near Chardon to his apartment in Ohio City on Clevelands near west side. I am really proud of Pat. He is now in year #3 of triathlons and I love racing with him and training too. Its pretty special.

Kudos to Darrell Nagy aka "Pudge". He's my childhood buddy who qualified for Boston and realized a long time dream this past April.
Heres a picture. (He is 17430 in white cap, arms raised) Pudge ran a 3:52:49...very strong . Us 50's guys gotta stick together.

Finally, you heard of the turtle who was mugged by two snails. Cops asked him what happened and he said "I'd don't know, it happened so fast". Its a little joke I use when I speak but it means more to me. Everything is relative. My speed might not make an Ironman champ blush, but my speed is my speed and my progress as an athlete is MY progress. I train hard and you trained hard as well. Don't be discouraged if a part of your training is not moving at the speed you want. It will come. Just keep plugging along.
I also want to thank the Sherwin Williams Womens Club for having me speak at their annual dinner. I love my public speaking and I always use the forum to try to motivate others and keep people reaching for more in their lives. Several of the women told me afterwards they are working on their running and biking and I simply encourage them to try their best.
and ohhhh yeah...Life's a Blast.

Monday, May 18, 2009

MAN ON FIRE!!!!

Greetings from the city that TNT buffoon Charles Barkley refers to as "The Mistake by the Lake" Cleveland Ohio. Charles is harmless and memo to Chuck. The joke is about 25 years old. Get some new material. Another memo to Chuck. You'll feel differently Mr. when you need to come to the world class Cleveland Clinic for health concerns. I will give him credit for one thing. He predicted the Nuggets would make the finals and he might be right.

Enough of that. Our city just put on the Cleveland Rite Aid Marathon and 10K on Sunday and a record amount of runners took part. 12,400 according to officials. Many Cleveland runners, both road and trail know Elizabeth Hansen. Wow!!! what a race she ran. She finished second overall in the womens division of the Half Marathon. I was really excited for her and mentioned her on the 10pm news. Great job E-Speed. Check out her blog (on sidebar) and I am sure she wrote about it.

Finished a great week of training. The effects of dropping 9-10 pounds have been great. More zip. Quicker stints when skipping rope. Weight training is more intense. Its all good. Capped off week with a 12 mile trail run Saturday and followed by some tempo on the treadmill for a 14 mile day.

However, I am an endurance weenie compared to Epic Bill Bradley. His motto is "Show up and Suffer" Heres the link to his website and check out the video on the Triple Ironman. That says it all. The man is on fire!!!!~! Wow!! He never claimed to be a great runner. He is just mentally tough and he will out work most people. He is getting me all charged up. The 50 miler is gonna get done...Hell, if I focus on Bill, it won't be long before I do a 100 miler.

Join me on Twitter "telichtwit8"

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Enjoy your training...your racing and your Life!!

Life's a Blast!!

Friday, May 15, 2009

JT is Alive

Greetings.. quick note to let you know that yes...I am still alive. Some notes and then a promise to be more punctual with posts.

1. Last 2 and a half weeks have built up my long trail runs to 15 miles...gonna go 16 Saturday.
2. My weight has dropped 9 pounds due to the Eat Clean Plan.
3. I have not decided on a 50 miler. Mohican sounds great but there is likely a conflict.
4. Not running the Rite Aid Half Marathon. Might still go there and cheer on some runners from my bike.
5. Been Tweeting more on Twitter and getting lots of feedback on Facebook. Facebook response is more from folks who comment on sports stuff, although I always post about other things... Twitter seems to be filled with lots of marketing types but there are cool things too.
6. Wanted Mike to win Biggest Loser but props to Helen for winning.
7. Gilles should win the Dancing competition on ABC. The Bride loves how hot he is. She still loves me however.
8. Enjoying watching and covering the Cavs in playoffs. They are 8-0 and won't play again till next Weds vs the Celts/Magic winner.
9. Have a creative way to use Horse Poop to run my fartlek workouts on the Bridle Paths. Will explain in future post.
10. Good Luck to everyone running in the Rite Aid....

Lifes' a Blast