No Frills, Just Hills 6 Hr. FA

Saturday, I went up to CVNP to run the No Frills, Just Hills FA . I got out of bed at 5:30 am, left the house at 6am for an 8 am start. The course consisted of a 2 mile loop with alot of hills. My goal for the day was to run 30 miles in the 6 hrs. At the start, the heat and humidity wasn't too bad but by the time we were done, it was brutal and it took a toll on this old body!! It took a couple of laps before I started feeling good but I didn't want to push to hard. I wanted to see how my legs were recovering before I decide weither of not to run MO 100. I would say the half of the 2 mile loop was in the sun and by mile 20, the heat was starting to get to me but I pressed on to reach my goal. I tried to eat and drink like I would in a 100 miler which I think really helped. I got my 30 miles in right at the 6 hr. mark and was beat. All in all, a good run sooooo, you know what that means, Mohican here I come ready or not!!!!!! Thanks to Brian Musick who put the FA together. Also it was great seeing and running with alot of my running buddies, Kim Boner, Laurie Colon, Kevin Martin, Bob Combs, Mike Keller, Julie Miller-Bowen, Tom Patten and Brian Musick!!!!!! Well, as I stated earlier, I have decided to run MO 100 :) Hopefully, it's not a mistake. All I have to do now, is make sure that I'm recovered from MMT and take my taper very serious!! Since the FA, I have not been running and only lifted today! I will probably not run until Wednesday, lift a couple times a week and cut the swimming and spinning out until after MO. Hopefully, that will bring my legs back and I will be ready to roll in three weeks!!

A Change Of Mind (I Think)

Ok, here I go again! I think I have changed plans on my summer racing. I think I will be doing Mohican 100 and then turn around and do Burning River 100 in August. That takes out Laurel Highland and pacing at MO. I will wait and make my final decision after one more long run this weekend. I will have to take my tapering very serious and hope that my body will be recovered. I don't know what the hell is the matter with me, it seems like I can't decide on anything these days!! I can't even decide on where to do my long run this weekend!!
I ran 5.5 miles on the trails today at Mohican. I started at the PR start and ran the orange trail but only did the short loop. Lifted weights, went grocery shopping, did some laundry, ironed, fixed supper, helped Keith study for a BIO test and now it is time for bed! Thank goodness!!!!!

Resting, Well Maybe :)

Monday was a much needed day off from running. I started lifting again after two weeks off and was sore on Tuesday. Also, swam 1 and 1/4 miles at the Y. It will be nice when the outdoor pool in Loudonville opens this weekend so I don't have to make the trip to Mansfield.

Tuesday, Kim Boner, Dan Bellinger and myself got together at MO for a 20 miler. We started at the Covered Bridge and ran the red/green loop. I was not hurting but I could tell that my legs were tired. I struggled to keep up but it was a nice day to be out on the trails!! Kim and Dan had a great run and Kim was an animal on those down hills!! Way to run!!! When I got home, I was to tired to lift so, I just did some core work.

Today, another much needed day off of running!! Lifted weights and back up to the Y for a swim. Felt pretty good in the water so I went 1 and 1/2 miles.

I think I have my summer racing figured out :) I plan on running Laurel Highland 100k on June 12th, pace at Mohican 100, the next weekend and run Burning River 100, the first of August. Oh, I forgot about the Buckeye Trail 50k in July. The key will be how well I can recover and not to over train. You know me, my OCD will kick in and I will want to train to hard without letting myself recover and rest!! I'll keep everyone informed on how that goes!!

Mohican Training Weekend

This weekend was the Mohican training run for the Mohican 100. It's so runners can get together and run the course in the space of three days. A special thanks to Roy Hegar for organizing the weekend. I wasn't planning on running all three days but I get caught up in the excitement and can help myself! It is so fun to be out on the trails running with so many great people. I knew I would still be sore and tired from last weekends attempt at running MMT 100 but I wanted to prove to myself that I could still run!!!! I also realized that I would be running pretty slow but I knew that with the great group of runners that would be there, I would be in good company! The weekend went like this -

Friday - 22 miles starting at 8:00pm. I ran slow, it got dark and I ran even slower!! By the end of the run, my quads were killing me. I had a wonderful time running with Wild Bill, Tara and Cheryl.

Saturday - After finishing around 1:30am on Saturday morning, we were back at it at 8:30am to run the road section of the course. This part wasn't to bad, other than it was hilly and humid! Once again, I felt fine except for the quads. 25 miles for the day!!

Sunday - Back on the trails for the first 20 miles of the course. I felt much better today than the other days but I still kept it at a slow pace. How wonderful it was to be able to run with so many different people! Thanks Cheryl, Mark, Suzanne, Don, Mitch, Kim, Roy, Shannon, Lisa, Roy and many more for making this weekend special!!

I think tomorrow will be a day off!!!!!!!!!

Gettin Back Into It

It was time today to get my sorry ass moving again!!! It is time to regroup and get back to the grindstone!! My left knee is still bothering me so I figured the pool would be the best place to start. I swam 1 and 1/4 miles doing a variety of things. Regular freestyle, on my back with flippers, kickboard and pulling. At first, I felt pretty bad but the longer I swam, the better I felt. I also did an ab workout that Kyle uses. Tomorrow, I will swim agian and then this weekend, I plan on doing the training runs at MO for the 100. We will see what happens??

An update on the Lemke boy's - Coery is still looking for an apartment and waiting to start EMT school in June. Kyle is doing his internships in the Columbus area, and Keith is finishing up track season and his Soph.year of HS. Always something going on!!!!

Massanutten

OK! My first DNF of my live in all my running years!! MMT 100 was the hardest thing I have ever attempted in my life! I thought I was ready but I wasn't. I had no idea that it would actually be as difficult as it was. Stupid me!! So many, mountains to go up and down and with all the rocks, it got the best of me!!So unprepared and didn't run it very smart! Not sure what really happened. I got to 77 miles and sat down in a chair and quit. That's not like me but I just couldn't go on!! Maybe I went out to fast and didn't eat right, not really sure but I need to try and fix the problem. So very disappointed at myself :) I put all that hard work in and thought I would be strong enough. What a humbling experience. It's now time to recover, get my head on straight and look to the next race. Maybe Mohican, Burning River and maybe nothing!!

A special thanks to my husband, who crewed me and kept me going for as long as he could. Also, to David Huss, who paced me and had to put up with the slow walk and all the complaining. I'm so sorry I had to put him through that!!! That will probably be the last time he paces a slow, old lady!

LIFE WILL GO ON!!!!!!!!!!

Busy

And I thought a taper week was suppose to be relaxing! NOT!!
As I type this, it is 2 and1/2 days until Massanutten 100 and it has not been a very restful week but at least I'm busy and not laying around thinking of the race! Most of my stuff is packed and ready to go, I hope!! We will be leaving for VA on Friday morning and not get back until Monday morning. I hope the boys will take care of the house and dog!
Last Sunday, Corey graduated from Marietta college and has moved back into the house until the first of June. Right now, we are busy looking for an apartment for him in the Cuyahoga Falls area. He will be starting EMT school in Cleveland and then paramedic school after that.
I had to go to Kyle's house in Delaware, where he will be staying for the summer, clean his room and show him how to go grocery shopping!
Keith has the MBC conference track meet this week and has qualified for the finals in the open 400 and will be doing the relays tomorrow night
Signing off until after MMT!!

An Easy, Taper Run

What a beautiful day for an easy run on the trails!! I had to take our dog to the groomer first thing in the morning and didn't get out to the trails until about 9:30. I decided to run along the river to the Covered Bridge and back for, a total of 8 miles. It was so gorgeous with the sun shining on the river, birds chirping and small animal scurrying about! Can't ask for much more, except rested legs! LOL They are getting there but I hate to taper! It makes me feel sluggish, sore and fat!! LOL Hopefully, by the time next weekend rolls around, the taper will pay off and I'll be ready to go! I'm kind of in a panic at this point! It's all the things I have to do and get ready before the race. Hopefully, I won't forget anything when I pack, plus I'm trying to memorize the aid stations and the miles between each. There is always something to think about when getting ready for one of these ultras! David Huss told me something very valuable tonight, enjoy your time of tapering and do something fun!! I think I will!!!

Mohican In The Dark

Last Saturday evening and into Sunday morning, a group of us crazy ultrarunners set out for an all nighter on the trails of Mohican. The group included David Huss, Michael Patton, Tom Patton, Stephen Zeidner, Ashley, a friend of Stephen, Jay Smithberger, Star Blackford, Suzanne Pokorny and myself. We started at 9pm on Saturday night from the parking lot across from the Mohican Adventures Campground, hoping that we would get through the night before the thunderstorms hit! I think there would have been more runners joining us, if it wouldn't have been for the high threat of storms!
Off we went with headlamps and flashlights to light our way on the dark trails. It was a cloudy night but very humid and we were all drenched in sweat within a couple of miles. For me, it was all about staying on my feet and trying to keep up. It took me awhile to adapt to the darkness, as we started on the orange loop toward the Covered Bridge. My dear husband, Mark was kind enough to crew for us, with the first stop at about mile 8.5 at the road crossing before the CB. By this time, we had lost Tom and Suzanne, later finding out that Suzanne turned around at about 3 miles and Tom missing the crew wagon altogether. Sorry, Tom! The rest of us continued to the CB and stared on the red loop to the Bridle Staging Area where we met Mark again,to refuel. We even meet a freindly opossum, who was kind enough to lead us down the trail! At this point, I was feeling tired and sluggish but I wanted to keep pushing on knowing it was good training for Massenutten. David and Michael were also struggling with stomach issues :( Three river crossings and some steep uphills, we finally made it to Rock Point where we once again refueled. Michael decided to call it quits at mile 21 because of his stomach which left us with 5 runners, Jay, David, Stephen, Star and myself. Ashley had stopped at the Bridle Staging Area and had declared us all crazy!!
About 14 more miles to go, we started on the green loop. I was definitly feeling the effects of the high miles I had put in during the week. I started to lag behind the others but I knew where I was going so I just started to take my time. Most of the run was rough for me because I think I'm alittle more careful of my footing than the younger runners, who seem to fear nothing! Anyways, we got to the FireTower, where Mark had left us more aid. Down to the CB with about 4-5 miles left. At this point, Jay and Stephen took off with Star not far behind them. David and I, both struggling, took our time through the rocks along the river, over the North Rim hill down to the entrance of the State Park. All five of us meet there and finished the run together!! We ended up with around 37 miles, not sure exactly because everyone's garmins went dead and it took us alittle over eight hours. I sure was tired both, sleepy tired and physically tired! All in all, it was a good run although I struggled, but I guess it will only make me stronger!! The best thing was the weather. No rain until right at the end with a couple of rumbles of thunder and flashes of lightening! Thanks, everyone, it will be a night to remember!! Oh, Tom ended up running down to the CB and then back along the river. Great, running by yourself and from what he told me, he had a great time :)
If you have the chance, you should run the trails of Mohican sometime! It's a whole different world in the darkness and can prove to be a very interesting adventure!!!

Our Scholar-Athlete

I wanted to post this because I'm very proud of Kyle!! Last Monday April 26,2010, we went down to OWU to attend the Dale J. Bruce Scholar-Athlete Awards Dinner. This was to honor the top 50 scholar-athletes of the year. I think it was athletes that had a grade point of 3.7 or higher and who were at the top of their sport. I am proud to say, that Kyle was one of them!!! Kyle works very hard at both his studies and at running so it was nice to see him recognized for this!! Good Job, Kyle!!!! Oh, and by the way, he has his boot off and is able to walk on his foot and hopefully will be running in the near future :)

Got up at 8:00 this morning and took my husband, Mark out to Mohican for a trail run. We were only going to run 5 miles but ended up with 7. We started at the Covered Bridge, ran to the Firetower and from the Firetower, we got on the bike path, back to the Covered Bridge. That was enough, because tonight a group is getting together at MO for a run. We plan on running about 35 miles and from what the weatherman is saying, it sounds like it will be a wet one!! I'll fill everyone on the adventure tomorrow!!