BLOGSLACKERS MUST BE FLOGGED!!!

I thought it would be nice to shoot off a post before an angry mob starts forming at Lock 29.

I've slowed down with my training for the winter. No I'm not in hibernation, I've just rearranged my schedule. I'm busy with catering gigs, kids, family, Church and I'm still working evenings at one of those popular delivery service companies. I've been trying to running two to three weekday mornings or at lunchtime and a long run on Sat. or Sun.
The plan is still in place to run the Winter BT50K. The plan is Run with Nick V & Brett S.
No time limit or pr's to set...Just run and have fun.
I'm also going to run the 2nd annual end of the year Falls Run, hosted by Nick Billick. We will run from Lock 29 to Pine Lane then to Brandywine Falls (Stop for pictures) then to Blue Hen Falls (stop for another picture) then to Buttermilk falls(more Pitures). It's a total of 17 or 18 miles. Out of all the falls Buttermilk is my favorite. It's not real big, it cascades down some rocks. It's really cool looking. I can't wait for spring & summer...Winter already sucks.

"Never eat more than you can lift."
Miss Piggy

Sasquatch Found in CVNP

Again I have to apologize for blogslacking.
I've taken a two week break from running. I know I can hear you hardcore runners screaming at me, "What in cornbread hell!!!" "A break from running?" "There's no break in running, unless you break something."I never made it to Columbus, I had a catering gig to work, so if your counting I ran 3 50k's and only 3 marathons (Not the 4). I've had a busy couple of weeks with family, work and catering gigs. I'm planning to get back on track this week. I'll run pine lane tonight and another part of BT tomorrow night. Wed. I'll run at noon, but I'm not sure if it will be roads or trails.
My next race will be BT winter 50K.

Yesterday was the Second Annual Running With Scissors. Catered by my catering company, Playing With Knives & Fire. Sat. & Sun. I was up to my eyeballs in catering. RWS we served Minestrone soup(Vegan), Whole Penne Pasta & Marinara Sauce (Vegan) and a Grill Chicken & Roasted Red Pepper Wrap (Whole Wheat). Race Director Roy Heger (Great Job Roy)

I'm not sure of the total number of runners...I think it was about 30 or 40 total???. It couldn't have been a better day to run a double marathon. Cool for the start then at about 4-5 pm it warmed up.

I had a chance to take one picture of one runner, I think she was right around mile 45.

Great Job to all the runners, I had fun feeding all of you, I hope everyone enjoyed the food. I'll see you all out on there next year, I'm planning on run the double marathon. No worries Playing With Knives & Fire will still provide the food.

P.S. Melissa,

Halloween is in a few days...Another night run through dark spooky Happy Days and the cemetery? This time I'll stage some runners dressed as monsters.

I'm a squid in the bottom of the ocean

Akron Marathon 2008 Race report

What a great day! I had a simple plan RUN & FUN. Run as comfortable as my body will allow and have fun with all the sights & sounds of the event.

I didn't plan to set a PR, run a particular pace, or have a goal in mind. As I walked through the expo I caught Llyod & Brett Hines at the paceteam table. Brett was pacing the four hour group. I thought OK I'll run with Brett for awhile and see what happens.

Brett Shriver & I decided to carpool and ride together to the start. He picked me up at 5:15am, this way we had prime parking and time to deliver the goods to the port-o-potty if needed. Brett was really excited...All bug eyed and read to go.

OK here's a better picture of brett. It was his birthday, on his bid it says MY B-DAY

Before the race we gathered a group for a VR Training & Vertical Runner Friends photo. Hey Where's Vince???

Here's Rose praying for good run and Sean in the back hexing her with his Heavy Metal Devil Horns.

Here's E-Speed, She was pacing the group just in front of us.

I caught Rob & Jim at the start of the race I thought they were going to run with the 4:00 group, but decided at the last minute to move up with E-Speed's group. This would come back to haunt Jim later. I pasted Jim & Rob (Rob was pacing Jim) on Portage Path, he didn't look good. I also pasted Nick B. he was walking. Nick needs to run an Anchorage AL marathon. Like last week at Yut-c, Nick was plagued by the heat.

Here's a blurry shot on the Y-Bridge.

I had to get a shot of the Half way sign. This is on the towpath.

Pacer Bret kept us on our mark. He got us, I think about 1:40(Min/Sec.) head of 4:00 to make up for the time we would loose in Sand Run & THE HILL. Every now and then you'd hear him bark out "Guy's slowdown." This was a big help. I found myself wanting to pick up the pace, but thought I would just loose it later in the race.

I found the wall in West Akron again. I told Pacer Bret once out of Sand run I would hit a wall near the school. He kept an eye on me and once he noticed I was falling behind he came back and ran me back to the group. This was awesome, I've never had a pacer do this. Not just me, he ran back for others who fell behind.

I fell behind again on the HILL, I was set to just stay back and run a 4:15 or what ever...Once I got into Stan Hywet I saw the group on the other side of the turn around driveway and found energy to catch up to them. After about a 1/4 mile Pacer Bret told a group of girls to take off. I didn't run their pace but I followed them. I got to my favorite part of the course, Market Street. I picked up the pace and let the hill do the work for me. I wanted to look back to see how far I was from the pace group,but didn't want to break the pace or ruin any momentum I had going mentally and physically. at the bottom of Market street my calves started to cramp. I ignored the pain and kept on running. I know I didn't have fat to go.

So my time again 3:57:31. I got to see my family this time. They've never seen me finish a race. I missed seeing Pacer Bret and the group finish, I couldn't find them.

Bret...I have two beers for you. THANKS!!!!!

Next is Columbus in 3wks.

Akron Marathon Race Report
NEW MARATHON PR!!!!! 3:57:31 (last years Akron Marathon was 3:57:47)

I'll write a full report later a few points...
1.The Expo SUCKED
2.Thank You Pacer Brett I have two beers for you.

Rocks are only heavy when you lift them

I spend two years driving around the Youngstown area without setting foot in Mill Creek Park. I working for a food brokers peddling deep-fried goodies to the fine folks of Y-Town. In the middle of this rusted-out steel town is a crown jewel. Mill Creek Metropolitan Park District preserves open spaces within the urbanized Mahoning Valley. Mill Creek Park encompasses approximately 2,600 acres, 20 miles of drives, and 15 miles of foot trails, and a rare collection of gardens, streams, lakes, woodlands, meadows and wildlife for all to enjoy.
For the last four years it's been home to the Youngstown Ultra Trail Classic (YUT-C). This would be my first time running YUT-C, I almost pasted it up because of my plans to run the Akron Marathon on Sept. 27th. I'm glad I didn't the course was great. The morning temp was cool, but once the sun came out it warmed up, with low humidity. I think we hit a high in the high 70's. I met Vince, Rob, & Dave at Vertical Runner at 5:45am. Rob drive us in his high-tech sportwagon. Vince manned the CD/music so we listen to parts of every CD in the car. Before we left we were chatting and I mentioned/(was whining about) being sick, working late, and other whiny things. I said I may only run the half(25K), if I'm still feeling sick. Vince said,"What? "The Half, then why are you here?" "You signed up for the 50K right?" "Then run the 50K." I kept this with me the entire run. It motivated me to keep running.... "I'm here to run the 50K". I've said it before, you can find more excuses/reasons not to run then to run.
I had the same plan as my Green Lake 50k a few weeks ago. The plan was to get to the next aid station. I didn't look at my garmin thinking, "man I got 15 miles to go!" I kept thinking I only have four miles to go. It worked really well. I felt really good out there. Except for a swarm of bees that got us. I got stung four times in the leg. The guy if front of me got it five times. The storm must have taken out a hive. I was in the grove jamming to my MP3 player, then out of nowhere Vince came up scaring me with his yelling. He was on his last leg of the race. I tried to keep up with his pace but couldn't do it. He was cruising up the hills like a cheetah after a gazelle. The last 9-10 miles I ran with Tanya. We motivated each other and talked about chugging gallons of recovery chocolate milkshakes after the run. We also got Walt (Tayna's Husband) to come out to pace us for the last 7 miles. Tayna would serge ahead of me a few times then I would catch up once I got to a hill. I got an energy boost in the last two miles and serge ahead...Tanya said, "Go ahead Bill, but not to far ahead." Once I got to the finish line I ran back to Tayna and ran her into the finish. What great fun! I was beat after the run I went home and slept for a few hours. Sunday I felt good, after church the family & I when on a hike.

next weekend Akron....

Getting Stuck In A Truck While Up Chunking

BolgSlacking....Sorry
It's been a rough couple of weeks. Kids started school, I started working for one of those reputable delivery companies, while keeping up with a training schedule. This weeks YUT-C. Plans are to just go out and have a good this without getting lost. With my new work schedule I'll work 6pm -12am then wake up early to get to the race. It's not going to be a PR day. It's going to be a FL (Finish Line) day.

sitting around watching cucumbers pickle in a jar...

Saturday was VR Training's 20 Mile Akron Marathon training run. We had a pretty big group (see picture at http://rtrsbm.blogspot.com/). Started at Canal Park Stadium and loop around West Akron and back. I felt good even after running a 50K the previous Sunday. I ran slow...I stuck with Brett & Nick V.
Ran with Nick & Brett Labor day (7 mile Silver Lake Route), Tues. Ran with Nick V. (5:15AM Call Farm Route). Wed. Noon will be trails. Thursday & Friday not sure...Sat. AM Trails.
I've been running my weekday runs with Nick V. and now the kids are in school I'll be have a mid-day training run. This will be good in the winter.

NEW 50K PR

I've been blogslacking again.

I've been busy with running, kids, catering, etc. This pasted weekend Vince Rucci, Tanya Cady, & I headed east to Green Lake State Park in New York.

Vince took 4th place running a 4:25

Tanya took first place woman running a 5:38

I ran my first sub six hour 50K...5:57:23.

When we pulled into the parking lot we found someone running a warmup run. Normally this is OK, but when your running a 50 or 100K most ultra runners don't run a warmup, but most runners aren't Valmir Nunes winner of 2007 135 mile Badwater and the 50K world record holder. Valmir was running and won the 100K(8:22:45) that's an 8:05 pace!!!! I was honored to be lapped by him three times.

Ask Vince about trying to run a lap with him.

The race started at 6:15am for the 100K runners and at 6:45am for the 50K runners.

Valmir Nunes
The loop is 12.5 km equals 7.77 miles. The race goes clockwise around the 3 main sections of the course which are joined together by 2 connecting trails. The sections are: Green Lake ( about 2 miles) Round Lake ( about 1 mile)
The Meadows, aka The Serengeti, and upland forest ( about 4.75 miles)
The 2 connecting trails are each about 150 meters long. One connects Green Lake to Round Lake. One connects Round Lake to the upland forest trails that lead to the Serengeti. As the races progress, the connecting trails will have two way traffic with some runners going out and some on their way back.
It was a hot one...the temp. was about 85 degrees. I ran a smart race, my focus was staying hydrated. I didn't have my garmin and only relied on the race clock. So I didn't focus on time, or pace. The Serengeti section was an open grassy path. No shade, very hot. The humidity was low which was good, but still very hot. The trail around the lake was a nice break from the sun. Very runnable trail with few roots, rock and hills. The first loop I couldn't get into a groove, I was trying to find a good pace to run without knocking myself out of the race. Loop 2-3 I felt really good. Hydration was good, fuel was good, no pain, just hot. The last loop my momentum started to fail. Sore muscle pain set in, No amount of fuel could get me to move faster. It was all mental from here on in.
I hit a wall in the Serengeti, I started to slowdown and found myself walking. I kept telling myself get to the trail with the woods you'll feel better. Then I would start run again. Once on the trail in the woods I would say to myself, "It's only 3.5 miles...I run loner training runs than this." We could see the beach through the trees on the last leg of the race. It was like our own Bird Nest Stadium. I got a chance to check the time on my garmin it was 12:25 pm. Most of you know I'm not real good at done math in my head, I struggled for and 5 minutes to figure out I could break 6 hours. This pick me up and pushed me to the finish along with seeing the beach.

What a great place to run; the water was that greenish blue looking shade, the trees around the lake looked awesome. Fall would be a colorful time to run. The trail was a soft on your feet mulch packed surface. Although the Serengeti meadow was hot it was a beautiful. Once you hike/run up the hills your eyes adjust to all the purple colored flowers, chest high grasses hiding tigers that could jump out at any time to eat you...OK maybe not tigers...ticks. There were a few place with a cool view of the lake below.

Keep the calendar open for next year, I'll be heading back to Green Lake and would like to take a group from Ohio with me. I'll keep everyone posted on the date & details for next year.

Next is Yut-C Sept. 20 then Akron Marathon Sept. 27 (yes that's seven days later) and Columbus Marathon in Oct.

A Fist Full Of Nails And No Hammer

Thursday I changed my schedule and planned to run 8 miles of pine lane. My wife pulled in the drive I chatted for a minute grabbed my gear and head out. I drove barefoot and planned to put my shoes on when I got the Lock 29. You know where this is going...Yes, I forgot to grab my trail shoes. I had to go back home, so I decided to run to Glens & Highbridge ended up with 6.78 mins. with New Merrell Trail Shoe.

Friday 4:45am
Met Nick V. at my house and we ran my "To GOJO & Back" route. 13.5 miles.

Sat. BT50K GOOD LUCK LOOK FOR ME AT THE BT POST RACE GRUB TENT
Nathan Adkins, Mark Anson, Cindy Antenucci, Jamie Atkinson, Courtney Baker, Rick Barnhart
Jennifer Begue, Mack Bell, Andrea Berninger, Nick Billock, Damon Blackford, Starshine Blackford, Todd Blackledge, Melissa Bolgrin, Kyle Bowman, Barbara Broad, John Brogan,
Patrick Brogan, Brent Bucey, Brett Buffa, Jeff Burke, Dustin Burkholder, John Burns, Tanya
Cady, John Cairns, Melissa Cairns, Jamie Carr, David Case, Bob Cassill, Mark Cecil, Jim Chaney,
Bob Clark, Dave Coffee, Peter Cooper, Beth Coyne, Robyn Cutler, Jeff Darling, Ronald Dee, Doug
Delahanty, Suzanne Deming, Ron Demyan, Kathleen Dickson, Nancy Dillon, Chris Dolan, Michael
Donnelly, Frank Duchossois, Helen Dunbar, Greg Dykes, Janet Edwards, Jennifer Erhardt, Mike
Erhardt, Steve, Gary Fell, James Fisher, Patrick Fisher, Shannon Fisher, Laura Flachbart, Denise Flores, Running Fool, Shannon Francis Brayer, Ted Friedman, Mark Gallagher, Mike
George, Jean Gerstein, Debi Glinsek, Mark Godale, Steve Godale, Pamela Goldfarb, Ed Goubeaux, Ann Graney, Kristi Gunyula, Mike Halkovich, Carla Hamilton, Laura Hammer,
Steven Hammer, Elizabeth Hansen, Jim Harris, TJ Hawk, Aaron Hawkins, Steve Hawthorne, Robert Haywood, Maria Healy, Roy Heger, Carson Heiner, Rick Henderson, Tom Henterly,
Andrea Hill, Karl Hiltner, Brett Himes, Bill Hofeldt, Don Holtzapple, Wyatt Hornsby, Brandon
Huff, Gerald Hurd, Melanie Irvine, Dave Jenosko, Julie Jenson, Melissa Johnson, Zachary
Johnson, Joe Jurczyk, Jeff Kassouf, Michael Kazar, Robert Kazar, Chris Kellis, Steve King, Douglas Klein, David Klimas, Gary Klubnik, David Koch, Gerri Kornblut, Stephan Kremer,
Jay Layshock, Kam Lee, Paul Lefelhocz, Leo Lightner, Mark Loeper, Lindsey Loftus, Susan
Louis, Dawn Malone, Bill Mann, Mark marshalek, Kevin Martin, Timothy McGinity, Bruce
McMurray, Marty McPeak, Scott Miller, matt Minichillo, Lawence Mino, Matt Mistor,
Sean Mooney, Stephen Morris, Greg Murray, Brian Musick, Bob Neiderman, Paul Neugebauer
Rose Nicastro, Joec Novicky, Kurt Osadchuk, Sarah Ostrowski, Samuel Pak, Brian Passell,
Mark Paul, Matt Pazderak, Robert Pekare, Kim Penzone, Pete Penzone, David Peterman
Joe Petkac, Carl Phillips, Suzanne Pokorny, Brad Polman, John Pope, Rob Powell, Cory Reichert,
Tom Reilley, Andrew Riggins, Patty Roberts, J. Paul Romanic, John Ropar, Ronald Ross,
Brandon Russell, John Russell, Amy Sage, Joe Salwan, Derrick Schuring, Matt Shaheen,
Ryan Shoemaker, Brett Shriver, matthew Sidel, Paul Siegferth Jr., IJ Skalsky, Elizabeth
Sosan, George Themelis, Allen Thomas, Llyod Thomas, Hannnah Thompson, Mitch Thompson,
Kellie Truesdell, Jeff Ubersax, Sean Wade, Melissa Ward, Brook Warehime, Valerie Watson,
Gareth Webley, Suzanne Weigand, Jim Weiskittel, David Williams, Jay Williams, Rich Wisneski,
Scott Woodruff, Beth Woodward, John Young, Brian Zele

Chugging Coffee with A Heart Surgeon

Wednesday 4:45am
Met Nick at the Hudson Clock tower and ran a 4 mile loop through town. We finished up our run with a 6 mile run with Dr. Steve. Total 10 miles.
Changing plans for the next two days...I'm going to an 8 mile trail run for thurs. pm then run 14 miles with Nick V. Friday early am. surgeon

Playing hide-n-seek with alzheimer

Sat. I met Nick Billock at Pine Hollow at 5am to run 6 mile trail route.
I was whipped. I didn't have any energy.
Sunday I took the day off. Went to Crystal Lake with the Family.
Monday was a 5:30 am Call Farm run with Nick V. 6 mile road route.
Tuesday Nick V. met at my house for a 6 mile run to Glens & Gorage Trail. (NEW MERRELL SHOES) I'm going to keep track of my miles on my new shoes.

MUDDY PAWS 2008

A great turn out for this years Muddy Paws event. Race director Vince Rucci, owner/operator of Vertical Runner in Hudson OH, organized the event. Proceeds benefit the Greater Akron Human Society. Lots of dogs (and humans) socializing, There were approx. 300 people show up to run two, five and ten mile loops around the beautiful Little Meadows/Pine Hollow trails in Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

Here is a link to photos: MUDDY PAWS 2008 Picture Gallery
Picture taken by Chef Bill Bailey.

NEXT WEEK BUCKEYE TRAIL 50K

ARE YOU READY!!!!! "Can't Quit Until You Try" (SIXX AM)

Running with the Nicks

I was all set for my run Wednesday Morning with Nick V. in Hudson. My clothes we laid out, garmin charged, alarm set...Nick called at 5:30am "Where are you at man?" The alarm was set but not turned on. I tossed back over and went back to sleep. I've said before, "It's easier to talk yourself out of running (or any exercise) than talk yourself into running." Especially when your trying to get up really early in the morning. The other saying is "If it was easy everyone would be doing it."
I made up for my morning run Wednesday evening. Nick B. met me at my house and I took him to the Gorge. We ran Glens, Highbridge/Signal Tree, and the Gorge trails. He's jealous because I have these trails so close to my house. We covered 11 miles. We also ran to the finish line of the Burning River 100.


THURSDAY 6AM Run
Thursday am Nick V. met me at my house and I took him on my 7 mile loop around Silver Lake. Nice run, slow pace which I was OK with. Plans for my second run of the day was sideline because Jen (my wife) was home sick. I was PIC (Parent In Charge) while she recouped. The kids & I ended up at the Akron Zoo all day. FYI: If you drive down the road behind the Zoo, I think its Perkin St, Look to your Left. Yes those are Blue Blazes on the telephone poles. It's part of the Buckeye Trail.

Friday AM my dreams were shattered by voices from the outside. The flippin papperboy..er dude was yelling out house address to his driver. Once I got back to sleep our dog, Monet was barking in code telling me to get up and look at what she left for me by the backdoor. luckily it was just a little wet. So it's 4am I'm up know...I through on my running gear and headed out for a 5 mile run. 11 miles later I was back home, very thirsty.

Sat. AM is Muddy Paws Nick B. & I are going to get there early 5am run for 45-1 hour then help out with the race and I'll be selling PURE FUEL BARS.

Green Lakes Endurance 50K

I found another 50K to run, it's in Syracuse/ Fayetteville New York. August 24, 2008 it's about 5-6 hour drive. I talked Mr. Rucci to go with me ( I need someone to make fun of on the way up) we're going to head up Sat. Aug. 23 the day before the race. I pulled this description from their website.

The Course
The 12.5 km course has a varied trail surface. Two ascents and one long descent traverse the upland forest. These steep shaded trails have some roots, ruts, and stones. The trails in the upper meadows are mostly grassy, rolling, and unshaded. The meadows are referred to as the Serengeti. Each lap's 4 miles of running in the Serengeti can make for a challenging summer ultra if Mother Nature offers a warm sunny day. The lake trails are shaded, have a few roots and are generally flat. Overall, the course lends itself to quick running without technical hikes.
Race start is the only time the runners will pass by the right side of the building. The runners will enter the main aid station and run around the left side of the building on each subsequent lap.

TRAILS

BURNING RIVER 100 TRAINING RUN

Micheal George Planned a BR100 night run from Happy Days to River Falls Plaza (BR100 Finish Line.) After several e-mail, planning and changes; we were able to get on our way with two groups. The first group starting at 3:30pm from Happy Days and the second starting at 7:00pm from the covered bridge. I ran with group one so I could finish up at the finish and run home.

The original message post said the run would be 35 miles, but after recalculating the mileage ended up being 31. I was looking forward to the 35 miles, because that would give me the most I've ever ran. I've ran 2 50k's, so I want to see how I'd do with a 35 mile run. I parked my car at Merrimen Rd. & Portage Path to serve as an aid station. I drove down then ran 5 miles back home to give me extra miles for the day.

Brian, Cortney, & Nick Climbing the Sound Of Music Hill near Pine Hollow.

Hale Farm

Hale farm cow

Group one started with Jim, Rich, Cortney, Brian, Nick. Brian & Cortney split from the group and ran back to Happy Days. Jim was also filming sections of the course for the BR100 website. Jim had a plan of 14 minute mile pace so he could document the course and meet the second group on time. We met up with Group Two here. Mike, Brandon, Melissa 1, Melissa 2, Kurt, Jerry,Susan, Connie, and a few others. (Nick took a group picture I'll post later). Nick wasn't feeling up to par and started walking more and more of the course. I stayed back with him to make sure he was ok.

Nick's Blog RUNNING THE RACE STE BEFORE ME has more pictures and his story about the run.

Corn will be good this year..."Knee high by the fourth of July."

We beat the train across the tracks.

Cortney lost her shoe in the mud.

Once we got to Merrimen Towpath it started to get dark. Once on the tow path I was running very slow, last one in the pack. We walked up Uler Street then made our way to Signal Tree trail head. I caught up the Nick and he was back to walking. I told Jim to take the group and not to wait, I was on familiar grounds to make it back to the finish. We made it out of Signal Tree & Highbridge trail. We opted out of running Glens trail and made our way back to the finish running up Front Street. Nick made his was to his car and I headed back home with 36 miles for the day and 31 miles in 7:01.

Thursday Run 4/3/2008

I didn't plan to run to far on Thursday, so I ran down to Glen's & Gorge Trail. The last leg of the Burning River 100.

Looks like a nice run in these pictures, and it was...but it rained the whole time I was running.

Me running towards the Gorge trailhead.
I didn't get a picture of the falls this time. There was a Major down pour and didn't want my camera to get wet.

This is a smaller waterfall. inside the gorge. Ran 6 miles, I'm getting ready to run 30+ Sat. evening. I think I found a 50K to run, August 24 in New York. I'll blog about it later.

Happy Independence Day!!!

Water Stop

It's hot out there, are you staying hydrated? I thought I'd take this picture of all the hydration equipment I have for running. Last summer I ventured out on a mid-day run. It was hot...I remember sucking down over 100 oz. of water in two hours.
I see so many people running around without water or sports drink. I can't (and won't) do it. I've ran to many miles on empty I'll stick to my "Sherpa Pack". My new pack is the 50 oz. Camelbak.
Need info on staying hydrated? http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/features/hydration-key-to-exercise-success