Week 9 and Doing Fine!

What a busy week. I knew going into this week I had a lot of extra things to do besides run, so I planned accordingly. On Monday I dropped off my car at the Honda dealer to have a rear strut replaced. I attended my fire department meeting and training and then headed out the door at 8:00 p.m. for a run around town. I went for 28 minutes of hard running, pushing every hill. It was a warm 33 degrees and I ran in shorts for about 3 ½ miles.

On Tuesday I went and coached swimming until 7:00 and decided I would run on an unscheduled day in case plans changed later in the week. I needed to get my miles in and I wanted to remove all the possible excuses that could come up. I again ran hard around town for 38 minutes and at one point I passed Taylor and his girlfriend who were out walking and Taylor asked me why I was running so fast. That felt good so I continued to run fast until I was home. I covered 4 ½ miles. I got to run in shorts again and it felt great!

On Wednesday I picked Elle up and she sounded great. No noise. I went to the YMCA and coached my final swim practice for the season and went home to relax. I was tired and enjoyed a quiet evening at home.

On Thursday it was a beautiful day. At 50 degrees and sunshine it was one of the nicest days I had seen in a long time. I didn’t feel like running. But instead of sitting on my butt, I put on my shoes and headed out the door. I really believe that everything happens for a reason. As I was about 10 minutes into my run, I happened upon one of my friends (Ed Robinson) in McDonald who was also out running. He asked if I wanted someone to run with. I said absolutely! We ran for 41 minutes and covered about 5 miles. Thank God Ed came along or I might have been home in less than 20 minutes. I thanked him for making my run better.

On Friday I had taken the day off of work so that I could get my long run in. Knowing that I would be gone all weekend and would have little chance to run, I knew it was Friday or never. I would run 16 miles this day in 2 hours 30 minutes. I chose a loop around Lake Newport (clockwise) and then a loop around the “historic” district of the park and then another loop around Newport (counter-clockwise). By having my car parked at the Mill parking lot, I could stop and refuel if needed. It was a very comfortable run. It lightly drizzled the whole time and I enjoyed every minute of it. I passed by one other person out walking the whole morning. There has always been something peaceful about Mill Creek to me, but this was a special day. I hope to have many more long runs in the park prior to the marathon.

Later in the day, I traveled to Cleveland for the Zone Swim Meet, which is the greatest YMCA swimmers from 5 states. We had 30 swimmers representing the Youngstown Y-Neptunes. The kids all did great and I will be posting pictures later today of the meet.

After the swimming was completed on Saturday, we got back to the hotel around 5:30. I decided that gave me just enough daylight to get in a run in downtown Cleveland. What an adventure. I would run straight if I caught a cross-walk with the “walk sign” lighted or I would turn if was a “do not walk” sign. I criss-crossed and zigzagged all over downtown Cleveland in an effort to reach Lake Erie and see the sights that this great city has to offer. After about 10 minutes, there it was….. Cleveland Browns Stadium, the Science Center and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I made my way there and ran by each of them. I thought to myself, in about two months from now I will be running by these places again in the marathon.

I made my way back to the hotel by traveling different roads but much in the same way. I cut back, took a turn, and zigzagged all over town again and made it back to the hotel in about 30 minutes. I was quite satisfied.

Total Miles Run = 32
Long run = 16
Total Minutes Running = 285
Weight 200 (too much food at the swim meet)

Interesting Notes: Next week I am slated to run 29 miles. I hope to do more now that I have a little more time on my hands. 32 miles last week did not leave me sore and a 16 mile run actually felt very comfortable.

Later today I will post some pictures of the Zone Meet. Stay Tuned!!!!