Meet my new running buddy!

When I was a kid, growing up we’ve always had a dog and up until 7 years ago? (I am so terrible with time) I’ve had a dog in my adult life as well.  The kids have been asking for another for quite some time now and I’ve been putting it off.  Well, I finally broke.  Maybe it was the fact that I felt guilty cuz I told them we MAYBE we could get one after I got back from our Grand Canyon run, maybe it was that I really wanted one.  Whatever the case may be — I love our new pooch and am so glad that I caved.

I had an idea of the kind of dog I wanted us to get, the kids did too.  Although their requirement was; it had to be cute.  My requirement was a little more particular.  I wanted a dog that I could run with and I don’t mean 5-10k’s. I wanted a dog that, after properly trained could run a 50k plus with me!  So we started checking all the local shelters and some not so local ones.  There were so many dogs that needed adopted and it was so hard not to just adopt the first few we found.

After a while of searching we thought we finally found one.  It was in a kennel just over an hour away.  He was a Blue Tick Coon Hound and would’ve fit perfectly with our family.  I visited him, told the shelter about our house, our cat and played with the dog for about 20-30min.  I thought it was a good fit, so I told the kids about him and a couple days later we drove back down to visit.  I again told the kennel about our house and cat and we played with the dog outside for about 45min.  I asked the kids if they wanted to take him home and they said, “YES!!”  So we went inside to fill out all the papers.  I filled them out and the kids played with the dog through the glass door he was behind.  It was then when one of the workers noticed our form and quickly came over to let us know we couldn’t take him home because he wasn’t good with cats!  I was kinda pissed and the kids a little heartbroken.  But as I keep saying — everything in my life seems to happen for a reason.

So our search continued.  One night I was on our local “Buy/Sell/Trade” Facebook pages and came across a post from a family that had to get rid of one of their dogs.  I checked out the pictures and their description.  Many people that are getting rid of dogs on those sites get harassed about doing so and a few quite deserving so because it seems they are trying to make a buck or are basically a “puppy mill”.  Not this family.  They adopted two puppies from the same litter and as the dogs got older they began to experience “litter-mate syndrome”.  I’ve never even heard of that before, but apparently male dogs from the same litter will become combative and fight.  Which is what they were doing.  It was obvious that this family loved these dogs.  They’ve already had them fixed, put them through obedience training, had an invisible fence, plus their kids loved them.  They didn’t want any money for the dog, they just wanted to find it a good home.

I showed the kids the pictures of the dogs and submitted our “resume”, telling them about our family, our home, and how we would love to come meet them.

Our fist glimpse of Cato and Finn!

Finn

Cato

We scheduled a time to come meet Cato and Finn and at this time weren’t sure which one they were going to part with.  When we got there the kids and I were so hoping it was going to be Cato.  Not that Finn wasn’t cute or playful, but it was something about Cato.  Maybe it was his two different colored eyes but when they said it was Cato that they were willing to part with before we even said anything — I had a feeling he was going to be ours.

The kids played with the dogs for a little while, while I chatted with their current owners (Joe and Lisa).  Well… long story short (yeah right, huh?  Too late.)  We took Cato home.  Their kids were pretty sad to see him go, but I think since they knew he was going to a good home they were able to deal with it easier.  Not to mention that I’m now Facebook friends with Joe and Lisa and their kids are Instagram friends with Jeremy and Emily so they’ll be able to see what Cato is up to.  Plus we suggested meeting up from time to time with them at the dog park for visits.

Well… without further ado.  Let the barrage of photos begin — say hello to CATO!!!!!

Cato’s first night at his new home

Cato is an amazing puppy.  Well behaved (except maybe barks a little too much), attentive, obedient (as much as a puppy could be) and is turning into quite the runner!  I’ve started him out slow.  First with just a few miles building him up to where he is now — 10miles.  He won’t be a year old till the end of March so I’m not going to let him go any further till after he’s one and gets a check up.  Properly trained, he should have no problem busting out a 50k with me!

I’ll end this post with a quick little video of Cato testing out one of his new harnesses.  Such a well behaved dog – love him and yet again, proving what I always say — Everything happens for a reason.  More exciting news along those lines later, very exciting happenings!!

 

OUTRUNning the Grand Canyon

This, by far, has been my biggest running adventure yet!  I don’t really recall who thought of the idea for us to head out to the Grand Canyon.  All I remember is us talking about it for months on end and at first when it was in discussion, I think we were all probably several beers and a couple of shots into a good night.  I guess the saying still holds true – Some of the best ideas are conjured up whilst partaking in debauchery… or something like that.  We talked and talked about it, then when airfare was at its cheapest and the trigger was pulled, it got real.  Airline tickets were bought, hotels were being planned, I was figuring out who was taking care of my kids while I was gone, and then gear was being assembled/purchased.

I think the last real vacation I took was in 2011 when we went down to Florida to be in a friend of mine’s wedding.  Sure I took long weekend running trips but not a real vacation so the planning and the anticipation leading up to this trip was off the charts!  There ended up being so much that I purchased for this trip.  Some I never used, and probably never will.  Some I probably could have done without, but who doesn’t need a new SJ Ultimate Direction vest and trekking poles, right?  In addition to those I bought a water filter, emergency blanket, new mount for my GoPro, and new shoes (Saucony Exodus of course).  Then more of my usual consumables – enough GU, E-caps (only cuz I couldn’t find S-caps), NUUN, trail mix, and uncrustables to last for the planned 18-19hr journey.

Gear for just a day?  hard to believe all this fit in my SJ vest!  But STILL wasn’t enough…

As far as training went, I didn’t really train too much differently for this run than I do many others, (which really isn’t a good thing) although I did do some hill repeats vs. no hill repeats.  I increased my mileage a little but that was about it.  I know it sounds like excuses – and probably is, but training time is still hard to come by.  The kids are still not huge fans of being home alone while I run, whether it’s at night or the early morning while they sleep and I still feel terribly guilty if I sneak in a run while they are home.  Although Emily did help me get more miles by joining me on her bike. I made one last training run with a full pack and Mike S. at North Chagrin and then the time to go was upon us.

Emily helping me get some miles in

Ten of us ended up going on this adventure; Mike and his wife Beth, Des and her husband Glenn, Laurie and her husband Paul, Dave and his wife Sandra, Michele and myself.  Michele’s husband isn’t a runner and I think is convinced we are all nuts.  Sandra used to run, but I know she’s convinced we are all nuts!

So the time had come.  All the planning has finally come to a head.  I’ve never seen the Grand Canyon before and WOW!  It was amazing!

After a little bit of sight-seeing we had a nice dinner together then it was off to bed.  We had to catch a cab at 4:30am from our hotel to the South Kaibab Trailhead.

We arrived at the trail head on time, hoping to beat the mule train so we didn’t get stuck behind it, but we didn’t.  Luckily the mule train headed down the trail a half hour before we got there so even though we didn’t beat it – we didn’t have to worry about getting stuck.

South Kaibab Trailhead

My favorite sign as I’m sure it is anyone’s who ran across the canyon in a day

Our run started out amazing.  Unfortunately it was so dark that most of my pictures all looked the same.  The only thing that I didn’t care much for was the dust.  The dirt on the trail was so fine that while running behind someone you literally ran in a cloud of dust.  So much so that we had to place our bandanas over our faces to keep from breathing it the entire time.  Two days later, I was STILL coughing this stuff up!

Heading down the trail

… And down….

Capturing some of the dust particles in the air. This was even after we stopped for a few moments and it had a chance to settle.

After reaching the bottom, and crossing the Colorado river, we made it to Phantom Ranch within a few hours.  After filling up our water bottles, and getting something to eat, we said our goodbyes to Beth, Glenn, Paul, and Laurie.  They were making the turn at the ranch and headed back up to the South Rim via the Bright Angel Trail.  Mike, Dave, Des, Michele and myself headed up the North Kaibab Trail to the North Rim.

Eating at Phantom Ranch

Mike, Dave, Des and myself – heading out onto North Kaibab

This is where my run took an unexpected turn.  Problems late into my runs seems to be the norm lately and I think this was finally the eye opener I needed to make an adjustment.  Apparently my nutrition plan that I’ve been clinging to since I ran my 100 miler was no longer working.  I started getting dizzy and had to eat a GU and take several E-caps.  I would feel decent and this held me over for about a half hour at best after which I would get dizzy again.  It was VERY unnerving to get dizzy heading up the North Kaibab Trail.  One side of me was the canyon wall, the other was sheer drop into the canyon (you’ll see what I mean in Dave’s video below).  Several times the others would say, “My God.  Look at that!”  A couple of times I turned to look but that wasn’t a good idea.  A helicopter even buzzed the us in the canyon and landed to bring supplies so they could fix the water line break, but I had to keep blinders on.  After about the third time this happened, I realized that I was blowing through all of my supplies and at this rate, I would never make it back.  I made a quick check of my watch and was quite relieved to realize that I was going to make it to the North Rim in time to hop a shuttle bus back to the South Rim.  We made it to the North Rim in about 8hrs.  I climbed out of the canyon just as the shuttle bus was pulling up.  Luckily my friends had my back and gave me the shuttle fee.  I ran up to the van and my conversation with the drive went like this;

Me:  “You’re going back to the South Rim?”

Drive: “yep”

Me: “Can I get a lift”

Driver: “Do you have a reservation?”

Me: “No, but I will pay you ANY AMOUNT of money to give me a ride!”  It was the best $90.00 ($85+tip) that I spent in my life!.

I actually felt quite defeated not being able to make it back with my friends as planned.  But I had an hour to wait for the next shuttle to the South Rim and then a four and a half hour ride back, to think about it and deal with it.  I came up with my reasoning for not running back.  I decided that rather than say I didn’t make it – I would just say, “Eh, I ran all the way across the Grand Canyon in 8hrs.  From the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, down South Kaibab trail, across the Colorado River, and up North Kaibab Trail on the other side, and you know what?  It was nice and all, but it didn’t really impress me so I didn’t feel the need to turn around and see it again.” 🙂

Mike, Michele, Dave, and Des made the turn and headed back down the North Kaibab Trail, back to Phantom Ranch and then up Bright Angel.  It took them a bit over 16hours round trip.  Amazing.

I had my GoPro, Dave had his, and Glenn had his.  Most of my videos were taken at the start and looked very similar.  With the dull lighting conditions and all the dust that accumulated on my camera that I didn’t realize was there, a lot of the footage came out grainy.  Dave got some great shots on his.  Love the ones on the North Kaibab Trail.  You could really see how close to the edge you were running the entire time — you’ll see why being dizzy there wasn’t good.

Here’s mine.  The song I chose was from a guy in the lodge at the top of the South Rim when we were done.  He played this and I thought it fit our trip perfectly.

Here’s Dave’s.  Love the shots he got on the North Rim.  Unfortunately, I haven’t seen Glenn’s footage yet.  I think we are still planning to get together and put all of ours together.

UPDATE!!!!!  Here is the video Des made from the video and images Glenn captured on his camera.  Nice job Des!

We are already planning our next big adventure in 2016.  What’s one of yours?

 Hope this all makes sense and I don’t have too many grammatical errors or anything.  It’s late and I’m going to bed! 🙂

OUTRUN 24 version 2014

The third running of O24 took place on April 26th and once again – it. was. amazing.  The turnout this year exceeded what we expected.  The inaugural running of O24 in 2012 had 66 runners toe the line, 2013 there were 85, and in 2014?  ONE HUNDRED FIFTY FOUR!  Love how this race is drawing so many new folks into the world of ultra running.

This ultra trail race is probably one of the most runner friendly, walker friendly, family friendly events there are.  For those that haven’t read my posts before about O24 and have never heard of it; a brief description.

A race for beginners and ultra veterans alike, the unique Outrun 24 Hour Trail Race is held in the Lake Metroparks Chapin Forest Reservation in Kirtland, OH approx. 30 mins East of Cleveland. With its distinctive rock formations and mature woodland trails, the park provides a scenic setting for the endurance run. Runners will follow a 1.00244mi USATF certified loop and may run any distance or time up to 24 hours. If you are looking for a great atmosphere to come out and test yourself, come and check it out! Course:  The USATF certified (# OH11035MW) and IAU Bronze Labeled course is a 1.002445 mi loop on trails that consists primarily (93%) of crushed limestone, dirt, and a short bit (7%) of asphalt. The loop is rolling with one main hill. There is approximately 65 feet of elevation gain & loss per lap. Please see additional tabs for course photos, video, directions, and other information.

Zack Johnson, the RD for this race and the head of OUTRUN,  puts an amazing personal touch on this event.  From before the event starts with email blasts to all registrants, to a prerace video –

 

To running laps along side participants –

To finally making sure he personally hands each finisher their well deserved medal and takes a photo with them, no matter what time of day, or night, or well… even the next day.  I mean, after all, the race does start at 8am on Saturday and doesn’t end till 8am on Sunday.

 

 

 

 

 

 

My goal for this race when I registered was 100 miles.  My plan is to run at least one, 100 mile race each year.  Two years ago it was BR100.  Last year it was supposed to be NYM100 – but you know how that turned out.. So, after Yo Momma kicked my ass again, I decided that O24 is the perfect place to knock out 100 miles and ensure I get at least one in and then tackle YM again with a hundo under my belt for the year already.

That quickly changed when my training wasn’t going as planned.  I really hate talking about things that ail me because I don’t want to be labeled “that guy who makes up excuses”, or be “that guy who always has something wrong”, but I couldn’t ignore this much longer.  I finally sucked it up, went to get checked out, and get myself back on track.  I have to admit that it was quite relaxing to go into this race with no goal at all – talk about no pressure!  I charged up my GoPro camera and after my race committee responsibilities were completed I made sure to get some footage.  Here is a glimpse at the start of the race.

Here a few other pics from the race —

No that isn’t a real tattoo but an arm sleeve. I do have three tattoos and actually never wanted a full sleeve. Hmmmm. until after seeing this picture – now I want one! LOL

Peg getting her leg rubbed out…

Cheering on all day and night!

Over the last few months, quite a bit of my training has taken place on the road or even worse the dreadmill, so I bought a pair of Hokas to help ease the pain.  I LOVE the Bondis I bought but unfortuantley they didn’t last very long.  I blew both shoes out and took them back with just over 100 miles on them.  They didn’t have the new version of the Bondi’s in (apparently improved because many people were having the same issue) so I took home a pair of Hoka Rapa Nui’s — big mistake.  I started out the race in my regular Saucony Exodus shoes and was feeling pretty well.  Around mile 18 or so I decided to change out of those and put on my new Hokas.  I only wore the shoes walking around a little bit to try and get a feel for them and after only a few miles I started to get a pain in my left foot which progressively got worse; to the point where I was only able to limp around the course now.  I know I didn’t have a “goal” for the race but I had to at least finish a 50k!  So I walked the last 8-10 miles and finished with a new PWR (personal worst record) of 9hrs 58min! YIKES!  Click here for my Runkeeper data for this run.  Took those Rapa Nui’s back the next day and ordered the new Bondi.

So what do you do after you complete a 50k in 9hrs at a 24hr race?  You hang out, cheer on your friends and have a good time.  Also, while your friends are out there trudging along, you get to do this —

Hey —- I wasn’t the only one!

Click here for a full list of 2014 race results.  There was a new record set this year. Jim Van Orman cleared 120 miles!  Every time I saw Jim he would smile and wave.  He made it look so easy!

Huge Congrats Jim!!

Amanda Mowry completed the most miles for the women. Covering 84 miles – Way to go Amanda!!!

Once again there were so many amazing people who came out and pushed themselves to their limits.  There were those that were running the race to raise money for charities, those that were walking the entire way to a distance PR, to the Grandmother, Mother, daughter trio that rocked it!  I could go on and on but rather than taking just my perspective of it, here are a several other blog posts about it.  Enjoy!

HOLY CRAP!!!  I almost forgot!  As was the case last year, this year Chef Bill catered an OUTSTANDING breakfast for everyone again on Sunday morning after the race.  Check him out here at Playing with Knives and Fire.  Have an event you want catered, a party with some friends that you want a rockin’ meal for, or a date with that special someone — he’s your man.  Look him up.  Plus, he’s a fellow ultra runner – as the other half of Bills’ Badass 50k.

Breaking the Pace

Through a Running Lens

and

Kim’s Low Down on the Runs

 

Time to play – I mean train, ah… run — Oh what the hell — PLAY!

Hey there folks!  Remember me??

Things have been plugging along lately and the weather here has been torturous which has really sapped me of quite a bit of my motivation to get outside and run.  I did manage to cover just over 150 miles of running in January including my first 50k of the year.  This was the Art More Fatass 50k, recognizing the contributions that Art Moore has made to Ultra Marathoning.  This was a pretty flat course on all clear multipurpose trails, so it made for an easy first one of the year.  It ended up being just over 32 miles (click here to see my run data) at which I averaged 11:49min/mile pace.  In typical fashion I did take a few pics during this run…

Clear and easy trail

Scenic run through Rocky River

Bad ass “Big Sis” and I

After this – the bottom fell out of our weather.  Temps were so frigid that schools were closed and they had to petition for extra “calamity days”.  Of course with this being some of the coldest temps we’ve seen in years – I couldn’t resist getting out for a few runs!

Time to stop your run when your water freezes

Dress properly!

Starting temp of this night time run

Not a soul on the roads made for an eerie run.

Ending temp — yes that says -2F

So while some of my friends have been pushing through and getting their runs in — I.have.not.  And I’m not feeling too good about it.  Honestly, I feel like I am in the worst shape I’ve been in a LONG time   BUT that IS changing!

The weather has also been messing up not just my training plans but my race schedule.  We were supposed to run the Pilot Mountain Payback again this year (click here for my race report from 2013) but North Carolina got hit with nasty weather as well so they wouldn’t let us on the mountain.  The race was rescheduled for April 12th, but I already have the Forget the PR Trifecta that weekend in Mohican.  After finding out our race was canceled I quickly shot Tanya (RD for Winter Run for Regis) a facebook message.  WRFR was my first 50k attempt and a race I’ve run for the past three years (click here for 2011 data, 2012 data, 2013 data, and 2014 data).  This race is typically in early January (click here for last year’s race report), but she changed the date and it happened to fall on the day we were already registered for PMPB.  I explained to Tanya that I just wanted to run a little bit of the course and play with my GoPro camera.  I was going to start with the half-marathoners and carry my own aid and record a bit of both loops.  Tanya explained (for those that know her well – in the nicest way Tanya could, ehehem… LOL) that she was not happy about me banditting the course.  Luckily tho she said someone dropped from the half and I could buy her bib – so I bought the bib, started with the 9:25am wave of half marathoners and made my first real GoPro running video.  I’m pretty happy with my first real attempt, there is a lot to get to know about this camera.  I’m excited about getting better with this thing as I make more and more. —-  Here is the entire Run for Regis course – enjoy 🙂

Woodstock 2013 – For most, what happens in Woodstock…….

I’ve been anxious to start using my new toys to catch up on my blog and have been experimenting with the GoPro, trying to figure the best settings to use while running.  I know what you are thinking, “videos of running?  Boooorrrriiiiinnngggg…”.  Sounds it, I know, right?  But just wait.  Quite a few of our runs are pretty technical, very scenic, and always ridiculously fun!  So much fun that, recording some of them is highly forbidden.  You’ll understand in a moment.

I’ve been trying to decide how I want to approach this post.  Should I make it a tell all about this weekend of running, or should I keep it more serious, discuss the run and SOME of the fun……  I’m not shy – I’ll tell all for my part, but leave everyone else out of the shenanigans…

Run Woodstock is a weekend long event consisting of a crazy amount of fun.  North East Ohio was very well represented at this run.  Not just from our OUTRUN group but from quite a few of our other friends that just happened to be there.  We camped out all weekend – drank well, ate well, and RAN well!

This run is at Hell Creek Ranch in Michigan.  We arrived Friday afternoon, pitched our tents and were ready to start our weekend.  There are a number of events that take place over the course of the weekend.  You register for either a 100 miler, 100k, 50k, marathon, or half marathon.  Also taking place over the weekend is a “Hippie Hike”, yoga, “Hippie Dipping”, tie die t-shirt making, the “Natural 5K”, and the “Trippin 5k/10k”.  All of the events you get a button for and part of the weekend challenge is to collect all the buttons – I got the important ones 😉

Tents pitched and time to soak this all in

Once the task of setting up our campsite was done, we did what usually follows — broke out some drinks and went checking out the place.  The 100k and 100milers started their race Friday evening — crazy huh?  Go away for a party/run weekend and run all night Friday??  No thank you — in addition to the other activities, our “main event” for the weekend was split between the 50k and the half marathon.  We wanted to make sure we maximized our “vacation” while squeezing in some quality running 🙂

Ummm… Yeah, that’s me onstage high fiving our MC for the weekend — this was the start of day one, shortly after we arrived.  Any guess as to how the rest of the weekend went??

The weekend kicked off with the National Anthem being  played by Lemon James.  Lemon is an incredible guitarist/artist.  Inspired by such icons like Jimmy Hendrix, Pink Floyd, Booker T, Janis Joplin, and Stevie Wonder she performed all weekend long and even participated in some of the events.

Lemon meeting Peg, Mike and I

After playing an incredible rendition of the National Anthem we watched the 100milers and 100k’ers start their races and went back to our sites for a few adult beverages, some great grub and to change into running clothes for Friday night’s run.  Tonight’s run was called the “Natural 5K”.  I left the shirt on that I had in these pictures but donned my kilt (and yes it was properly worn — could you tell where tonight’s run got it’s name from??  There was roughly 25-30+ of us that ran the Natural Run.  It was a 5k run like none I’ve ever run before.  It started out normal – well, as normal as it could be when you are properly wearing a kilt!  After running about 1mile into the woods a choice needed to be made; turn one way and continue on as a normal 5k, the other – run natural.  Given the theme of Woodstock, I would have seriously regretted not making the turn to run natural. So I made the turn.  We had to run down the trail about a hundred yards or so till we came upon the “aid” station.  This aid station was fully stocked with kegs of beer and wine – not a drop of water!  In order to get a drink and continue on, you had to disrobe – completely.  Luckily, thinking ahead, my kilt has a velcro waist and is easily removed.  After quickly undressing I grabbed a beer and hung out talking to some of the other folks that made the turn.  It really wasn’t as awkward as I thought it would have been.  I had a couple more and headed back out on the trail – and yes… naked.  It was the oddest feeling ever, but at the same time, the most freeing.  We had to run about a mile before circling back to the aid station at which time you could drink all you want – as long as you are still naked.  I had a few more beers with some of my newest, closest friends, got dressed again and headed back to the start finish to collect my button.  Note to self — when running naked — body glide, body glide, body glide!  Don’t judge till you try it! LOL.

Here is my Runkeeper data from this 5k.

After finishing  and partying it up with everyone we headed off to bed to get up early for our main races for the weekend.  Mike, Brooke, Laurie, and myself were running the 50k.  Beth and Paul were running the half marathon – and oh yeah.. this was Paul’s first half marathon!  They started later than we did – sorry, no prerace pic 😦

Looking surprisingly good for the start of our 50k after a night of hydrating with vodka and Gatorade

I couldn’t believe how well I slept!  Brooke and I shared my tent, which is close to being big enough to sleep my entire high school senior class, so we had our own divided rooms.  Now it was time to run!  I’ve said it a number of times, I don’t race.  I like to run these things and just have fun and Laurie didn’t have a real time goal in mind either, so we decided to just run it together as if it were a normal training run.  Click here for the data from this run.  The course is awesome; lots of single track, some regular bridal trail type paths, and a little bit of road.

I did mention I don’t run these things to race, didn’t I?

Never pass up a photo op!

After completing this race we got cleaned up, I tried slack lining for the first time – believe me WAYYYY harder than they make it look!  Laurie and Paul smoked an incredible brisket and we feasted like kings!  Then after eating our fill we changed again into running clothes for tonight’s run – The “Trippin 5k/10k”.  I donned my same attire that I did for the Natural 5k and well — ran again “naturally” for the Trippin 5k this time with even more folks! Ridiculously fun!  Runkeeper data from the Trippin 5k.  Finished up and checked out some of the other festivities….  Not sure how to get these types of links to work, but you should be able to click on this one and hear a bit of Saturday night’s band and fire dancer..

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=628814713816533&l=294691597157012106

We were planning on doing the Hippie Hike Sunday morning, but decided to pack up our campsite, grab a decent breakfast and head on home.   I have some more videos and pictures from this weekend but have already rambled on long enough. Woodstock 2014 is already in the planning stages. Not sure how it is going to top this, but you bet you ass we’ll try!

So, what is the craziest / oddest running event you’ve participated in?

Waiiiiiit for it………

Once again – my typical type of greeting it seems lately – I haven’t blogged in what feels like forever!!!  We’ve been crazy busy (as usual) and our craziness is well documented (surprise, right?)  But now, I’ve removed all excuses for not keeping up.  My computer was a piece of !@#$ making it painstakingly difficult to blog how I wanted.  Some of you may or may not have (yeah right) have noticed that I like to include pictures and videos 🙂  I was trying to blog using a crappy Acer 10″ Netbook with a processor that moves at the speed of tar pitch (and then even slower when I synced it with my phone (that is what I used to take all the pics and videos)  Well NOT ANY MORE MY FRIENDS!  I am now the proud owner of a new laptop AND a GoPro camera, oh yeah — this is gonna be fun!

Good thing pictures say a thousand words….

I have a lot of catching up to do and don’t feel like typing that much!  You ever get so far behind on something that the thought of trying to catch up makes you want to put it off even more?  Yeah, it’s kind of like that….   So after going back and forth with how to handle this, I decided that I would let the pictures we’ve taken this past month do most of the talking for me… That said, here is my lazy post —–

We are still eating REALLY well thanks to the Fresh 20, but I haven’t been as good about taking pictures of what we had.  I do have a couple of them tho…

Black Bean Soup with Chicken and Cheese Quasadillas

Lemon Chicken with Farro Pasta and Bok Choy

Really doesn’t look like he likes it by his facial expression but he really did give this a double thumbs 🙂

Emily — not such a fan of Farro

Ever see a kid double thumb up a tofu dish?

No? Here’s another! 🙂

How about a little halibut — just for the “halibut”

This month also brought along mine and Emily’s Father Daughter Sweetheart Ball.  We do this every year,  buy her a “pretty dress” and “fancy shoes”, get dressed up and spend the day together dancing and having a great time, thanks to the Willoughby Recreation Center.  As usual, we went dress shopping and as usual Emily had an absolute BLAST modeling different dresses for me!  We invited Leah along this year but she wasn’t able to make it.  Here are some of Emily’s favorites from this day.

Dress #1 of 1,345,363 tried on today..

Dress #2

Dress #3

Dress #4

Time for the Ball!

Excited to dance

This girl has got some moves!

Ahhhhh refreshments…

Love this kid!

My little girl is getting so big!

What would a post be without another 50k run????   Well this one isn’t going to include one either because while the run was a 50k, most of us bowed out at mile 23.x.  This was the “No Shirt Fatass 50k”  — however it was WAY to cold for anyone to go sans shirt!  This was my first time at the Cleveland Metroparks, Hinckley Reservation as well — beautiful place and I can’t wait to take the kids here.  Here is my Runkeeper data — SLOW…..

Beautiful ledges area

One of the creek crossings

Best way to finish a run! “Burgers 2 Beer”, Burger-onion straws-chili-cheese

I followed this run up the next day with a trip to New York to hit the slopes for the first time this year.  It’s nice to have Peak and Peak ski resort so close.  It is about an hour and a half drive for me and well worth it!  The place wasn’t crowded at all and except for the delays I had on the lifts – the day was amazing.

Conditions couldn’t have been better

After posting these pics and looking back at this month — this must’ve been the “Month of Emily”.  Jeremy had a sleep over at a friend’s house so I took Emily for a run in the morning.  She is really starting to enjoy it and was able to run most of our route.  There was also a race going on in the park at the same time in which many of my friends were participating in.  Emily and I ran to the start/finish line and cheered them all in.

A new find in our park — never saw this little hut before

I’ll help you up — just as soon as I take your pic, typical 🙂

Beautiful scenery – Beautiful little girl!

That pretty much takes care of some of what’s been happening in February.  Things are REALLY starting to get busy now.  So, if you haven’t boycotted my blog because of this post – stick around!  In addition to things that are already on my plate, kids sports starting again (basketball, baseball, and fastpitch), and our Fresh Fork Market Summer CSA starting (whoo hoo!!!),  I started a youth running group thanks to the Lake County Department of Health.

Just RUN

and am also co-hosting a fun run in April to help out two great causes

Reaching for Recovery

Catchya later! 🙂

Can YOU SMELLLLLL WHAT This.Kid.is.COOKING!!!!

Ok the title of this post?  Just kinda caught up in the Monday Night Raw we are watching via HULU at the moment… although, it does kinda go with tonight’s blog post.

Dinners have been plugging along lately and I’ve been letting the kids have more input as to what is going into our dinners and how they are served.  We made the one more of the remaining meals from last week’s Fresh 20 menu – Sausages & Black Eyed Peas with Carrot Ginger Soup.

MMMM.MMMM.GOOD!

They are not huge fans of carrots so they were not too sure about this soup.  They’ve also never smelled/seen fresh ginger before and made some strange faces when I showed it to them.  Faces reminiscent of those from the lime tasting post.  I think this dinner turned out fantastic.

Sausages & Black Eyed Peas w/ Carrot and Ginger Soup

The soup was very flavorful but the sausage and black eyed peas was missing something… turns out Jeremy nailed it!  He took the soup and spooned it over his sausage like a sauce.  That lead to just combining it ALL together into a hearty soup!  OUTSTANDING!

The “two thumbs up” seal of approval!

My toughest critic – two thumbs up? You KNOW it has to be good!

I’ve yet to make the Coconut Tofu Rice Noodles with carrots, cilantro and fresh lime from this week’s menu.  But have started making things from the Jan. 18th menu.

This menu I was pretty excited about — ok, how many times do you “hear” me say that?? LOL  –

• Spaghetti Bolognese w/ Spinach Salad
• Blackend Salmon Tacos w/ Mexican Quinoa Salad
• Southwest Chili Corn Carne w/ Homemade Tortilla Chips
• Steak Fajitas w/ Chili Lime Corn and
• Quinoa Ministrone w/ a Side Salad

As usual – sounds fantastic!  I started with the Spaghetti and when I told Emily what we were having for dinner when I picked her up from school she said, “Dad.  Are you going to make normal spaghetti, with NORMAL spaghetti sauce?”  Me – “Emily – What do you think?” Emily – “Awwwww MAN!”

Bolognese ingredients — sorry Emily 🙂

Don’t know what it is, but the more ingredients involved, the more fun I have cooking!  The kids are noticing as well and are starting to ask to help more.  Emily and Jeremy ended up shredding the carrots, chopping the onions and pressing the garlic.  We didn’t end up making the spinach salad tho – wasn’t a big hit – I figured that the Bolognese had enough “good for them” things in it, that we could omit it this time.

Extremely flavorful!

Again – two thumbs 🙂

Was only able to get Emily to pause long enough from eating to sneak this picture!

The steak fajitas was up next for our dinner selection.

Steak Fajitas w/ chili lime corn

It was OK — most likely not a repeat dinner, unless I make some changes.  The kids didn’t mind the zucchini in it or any of the other veggies, they REALLY didn’t like the steak I used.  I can’t blame them either.  The seasoning for the steak was AWESOME.  The steak itself — tough and chewy.

One thumb up = make some changes and try again.

Last one I made so far was the Southwest Chili Con Carne w/ Homemade Tortilla Chips.  Jeremy LOVES tortilla chips and when he heard/saw that I was going to make homemade ones – he was sold!

Brushing on the olive oil

Very uniform, dude 😉

 

 

Baking, flipping, seasoning…

 

BUSTED! HEY! Save some for dinner!

Another double thumb dinner 🙂

Unfortunately, Emily wasn’t feeling so well today.  I know she would have loved to help, but she was out “partying” all night last night.  A friend of her’s from school had a sleep over birthday party last night.  When I picked her up this afternoon, her friends Mom said that they all had a great time.  Swam at the YMCA for 2 hours then came back to their house, played a bunch of games at which Emily kep them all entertained!  Also told me that almost all the girls were so tired that they were asleep by midnight — except for my Emily and one other.  They were up till almost 3am and woke up around 6-6:30am!!!  I let her relax on the couch today to recharge 🙂

As far as running went this week, I only ran about 4.25miles on Wednesday night.  We got to North Chagrin as usual, braved the 11deg F temps and trudged through the snow for a fun, slow run…. I think we were all more interested in hitting the Firehouse this time.

Pre run …

Beth and Jay

Mid run — WAY overdressed!

I guess that about does it for tonight.  Stay tuned tho. I’ve signed up for more races, including the Pilot Mountain Marathon!  After my blog post about the Frosty 50k, Angi from TCTC messaged me and told me about this marathon…. a group of my badass friends and I are making the road trip back to North Carolina — gonna be a blast!  Also,  I do have to give an update about my friends’ son Ryan, HE’S HOME!!!

Hope everyone had a great week!

Another Hodge-Podge Post; Fresh20 / ANOTHER 50k and a whole lot more fun!

With everything going on in our lives I could probably make a new post every other day — but then again, with everything going on in our life – to quote Sweet Brown, my kids’ and their favorite internet video – “Ain’t nobody got time for that!”

I can’t believe I watched that whole thing for the first time just last week.  Just goes to prove that with audio mixers you could make a song out of anything!

Jeremy and Emily’s version –

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CT5EDUrzs3E

Anyways —  back to my post.

I guess I’ll start with a Fresh 20 update.  This week’s dinner menu consisted of Lemon Herb Roast Chicken w/ cauliflower and chard saute and black-eyed peas, Thai Style Tilapia in coconut broth with brown rice, Creamy Cheddar and chicken macaroni, Sausages and black-eyed peas with carrot ginger soup, Coconut Tofu Rice Noodles with carrots, cilantro and fresh lime.

Unfortunately Jeremy was sent home from school sick on Monday so I brought him to work with me for a few hours then we headed home so he could rest – and I could start dinners for the week.  Another thing I like about The Fresh 20 is how easy it is all laid out and the page that gives you all the “Make ahead” items so you could save some time during the week.  Today I only chose to roast the chickens as a make ahead and then we would have the Lemon Herb Roasted Chicken for dinner.

Prep work for Lemon Herb Chicken

I honestly think this was the first time I roasted a chicken – or actually, anything for that matter.  Roasting time took quite a while, I had to add a little bit of water to the bottom of the pan too.  Not sure if I missed something, but there just didn’t seem to be enough juices to baste with.  In any case, it turned out wonderful!  You would think that sooner or later, I’ll get better with presentation 🙂

How do they cut it so well in magazines w/o smearing the seasoning?? Maybe I need a sharper knife.

Next time I make this I think I am going to have to add something else to the cauliflower chard saute.  Just seems to me that it needs more color.

Looks a bit bland – but it was very tastey!

The kids absolutely loved this one… “Best chicken ever”

I was extremely pleased with how well this turned out and the fact that I now had two more dinners almost done because two more this week use the chicken I roasted today.

Tuesday’s dinner I was a bit nervous about.  Jeremy is up for trying pretty much anything but Emily takes a little bit more persuading.  That said, you could imagine her dismay when she saw this on the stove.

Tilapia – YUM!

Thai Style Tilapia in Coconut Broth w/ Brown Rice – again, I have lots of white rice on hand so until I need to buy more – I’ll substitute white for brown.  I’ve made tilapia before for Emily, but it was breaded so when she saw this cooking she was not a happy camper but as the cooking progressed the house started smelling so good, I think she was secretly anxious to taste it.

Coconut broth – green onions, red bell peppers, carrots, ginger, garlic cilantro…..

Getting better with presentation, no?

A little sloppy with the sauce, but it’s pretty easy to make something this good, look good.  The ONLY complaint I got out of this dinner?  “Do I have to eat the green stuff on the rice?”  They loved this dinner too!  They also had a lot of fun sucking on the limes and making involuntary funny faces 🙂

Dinners like the past couple and most of those that I’ve made lately bring me great satisfaction.  I love the fact that my kids are more adventurous eaters than most.  I love the fact that they eat so healthy and enjoy it.  I love the fact that we sit down to dinner every night together and that our typical dinner conversation still takes place and many times isn’t prompted by me.  Typical conversation – “So xxxx, how was your day?  What was your favorite part?” then the person asked, asks someone else.  That’s how dinners are supposed to be.

Ok – back to our next dinner – I used some of the roasted chicken for this one so it was almost done already.  Creamy Cheddar and Chicken Macaroni.

Jeremy believes that he is lactose intolerant – whether he is or not is yet to be determined.  Maybe/maybe not – doesn’t much matter.  He eats, right?  He could eat cheese on tacos and cheese on pizza, but he will not touch regular milk – only drinks soy, will not eat chocolate, ice-cream, and any other kinds of cheeses besides what I mentioned.  So when I made this dinner I substituted vanilla soy milk for the milk called out in the recipe, but left in the shredded cheese – reasoning with him that it’s the same cheese he likes on his tacos.

Slightly different in color, i think due to the soy milk

I probably should have thought about this one a bit more before deciding to make it.  I think that once the kids heard, macaroni and cheese – they had a preconceived notion as to what it was going to be.  They loved the chicken, tolerated the swiss chard, but the macaroni and cheese – wasn’t received as well.  They ate it, it was good – but not a two thumbs up and probably won’t be a repeat dinner.  I liked it and I think that the vanilla soy milk gave it a nice sweet taste to it.

There are a couple more dinners that I’ve yet to make with this week’s menu, but I’m going to have to go to the store and pick up some additional items.  My only problem with this program is I keep forgetting which ingredients are shared with recipes so I end up using up some of them in dinners – so back to the store for some more carrots, red bell peppers, and ginger.

As far as my running and training program goes – training for my next 100 mile races doesn’t really start for a couple more weeks, but I’m trying to maintain a base of a 50k.  If I could run a 50k at will without any training – I think training for my next race and the race itself should be much easier than it was last year. This weekend, I didn’t have an official 50k race planned, but I didn’t have my kids this weekend so I planned my own.

North Chagrin Metroparks is about a 7-9 mile run from my house (depending on which way I go).  I was supposed to meet a friend up there at 9:30am so I thought;  I’ll run there, run 8 miles or so with her then run home – would put me at about 26-27miles.  Then later in the day I was meeting some more friends up there, running another 5-6 miles before we hit the Firehouse for some “refueling”.

I left my house around 7:30, ran to the park.

Gotta love catching the sunrise on a run — except for the fact that i ripped my shorts on the guard rail I hopped to take this picture.

‘Boardwalk in the woods’ – approx. a qtr. mile long.

Cant say it enough — love these trails.

When I arrived at the park I was excited to see Charlie, Michele and Laurie.  I was a little early (almost 45min) so the four of us headed out for a quick 4 miles before circling back.  Unfortunately my friend’s schedule is crazy hectic and she tries to squeeze in so much – I received a txt from her apologizing but she wasn’t going to make it.  Next time 😉

Charlie and Michele still had another 9-10 miles left to run so I joined them in their journey through the park.  We ran through some trails there that i wasn’t familiar with and had a great time, circled back to the parking lot where they parked after about 9 miles and chatted some before they departed for home.  I tended to a blister that started, ate a bagel, downed a bit of Coca-Cola and started my trip home.  I took a little different way but it was nice to finally have the 20mph windgusts to my back!  I arrived home after 4hrs31min and 25.93 miles, grabbed a few bites to eat before heading out for run #2.  Check out the data for this run here – Run#1.

Run #2 was really just an excuse to get a group of us together, head up to The Firehouse for some food, drinks and lots of laughs – as if our group needs an excuse to do that.  Laurie came back for the second run, Doug was there as well as Jason and Jocyeln – whom it was really nice to see – been too long.  Surprisingly enough I don’t have any photos from this run.  We covered 5.88 miles no emphasis on speed at all – just fun!  Here is the data for run #2.

Although I took about a 2hr break in-between runs, I’m still considering this a 50k for the day – 31.81 miles, covered and even including my break at home – done within the usual amount of time a 50k gives you to complete it.  Now – 4,345 calories burned, including the 2,500 I’m allotted for the day give me 6,845 calories I need to consume today — off to the Firehouse!  Three 50k’s completed in three weeks?  Love it!

Introducing my family to my love….

Alright now… Really??? What did you think I meant???

If you have been following our adventures, I think you would agree with me when I say – Jeremy and Emily are HOOKED! They are loving being in the trails and splashing in the mud – I absolutely love to see them running, smiling, laughing, jumping, and splashing in puddles. Emily is also getting into the “fashion” side of running. For Christmas they both asked for running clothes and gear. Notice Emily sporting her new running skirt, tights, shirt, Nathan fuel belt, and Saucony shoes… she’s so darn cute 🙂

Emily sporting her new running clothes

Jeremy – all smiles in his new gear – yes Saucony as well — I’m a bit brand loyal 🙂

Jeremy and Emily have become quite the little runners. Jeremy wants to enter a 10k trail race next month, is seriously thinking about letting me mentor him through Bills Bad Ass, or as he calls it Bills Bad, uh – that word I’m not allowed to say… butt? and is planning on the Rite-Aid Half Marathon in May. Emily also told her teacher that her New Year’s resolution is to complete a half marathon! ROCK ON BABYGIRL! I’ve yet to sign us up yet tho — one thing I didn’t consider when all of us started running; Me + Emily + Jeremy= a 200% increase in 2013 registration fees and a huge rise in the cost of gear!

Now, my sister and brother-in-law have taken up walking almost every night – my sister is up to 4 miles! And if you’ve been reading my blogs, my niece tagged along with Jeremy for about 4 miles one night. My sister and her family has gone to North Chagrin, but walked the bridal trails and expressed an interest of joining us when the kids and I went. We went and they are now hooked as well!

We started out at Squire’s Castle and when we got out of the car, my sister was shocked! There Emily was in her running skirt and long sleeve tech shirt – no coat/hat/gloves.. Jeremy in his shorts, long sleeve tech shirt – no coat/hat/gloves, me in shorts and a short sleeve tech shirt, while my sister and her family were in coats, hats, gloves, and pants – needless to say after the first 1/2 mile, they were HOT! LOL

We headed down the bridal for a bit – yes, the same place where I knocked Emily down and bloodied her knees — Emily will not let me forget that. Our conversations usually go something like – “Dad, this is where you pushed me down!”, me – “I didn’t push you down, I tripped you – there’s a difference :)”

Vicki and Ed hitting the trails

They quickly caught on to one of my favorite things about trail running — jumping in mud 🙂

Courtney just after getting some mud from Emily

Emily is still learning the dos and do nots of splashing in the trails… Em, do NOT look down when you jump in a puddle next time!

We went for about a mile down the bridal trail, hit Rivergrove Shelter, made the “whoo hoo” creek crossing and then hit some single track. On our way back I took them up one of my new favorite sections – root hill.

Still having fun, I think 🙂

Jeremy – still having fun, I know!

Emily perfecting her Karate Kid pose

Just a few days prior, these trails were covered in snow. The remnants of which made some of them more like trail skating vs. trail running!

We ended up running/hiking just over 2 miles today. You could check out our data here. My niece actually liked it so much that when she got home, she called several of her friends and made arrangements for them all to hit the trails again the next day…. … Welcome to the addiction Vicki, Ed and Court — it’s a progressive disease from which there is no cure —- I hope 🙂