Mixing it Up

OK, I'm less than dependable with my writing right now. I've got a great excuse though. I don't care about my readers. You haven't missed much. MD is still fast and wearing bad socks, GS is still fast and nursing an injury, Nemo is still fast and can't swim, I'm not as fast as them and like to bitch about it.

As all three of my loyal readers know I like to mix up my training. I like it when we start at a slightly different time or place. Like moving the Sunday run from Highbanks to Wilson bridge if it is really wet; moving from Wilson Bridge at 7:00 to Wilson Bridge at 8:00 to get an extra hour of sleep, Starting from Antrim at 8:00 instead of Wilson Bridge at 8:00 so we can get water at 7-11; Getting really nutty and taking a run from a new metro park; drinking Sam Adam's Light instead of Miller Light. So you can imagine this conversation with an old friend of mine, Mr. Bova.

Many think I only hang out with extraordinary athletes like the MR(CAM)running posse: MD, GS, Nemo, Dr. DB, Feebs, Ironman ex-GF or the MR(CAM) annex: the power house sprinter Daredavil Dave, the body building artist that is J-Fo or the MR(CAM) Newbie runners: Professor Brinkman and Double D. Well I still hang out occasionally with non-runners like my good buddy Mr. Bova. As you can guess Mr. Bova is not a runner. Mr. Bova asked me a few weeks back if I'd like to get away for the weekend and go down to Hocking Hills. He described a nice quiet weekend in the hills with no cell phones and little contact with people. As you can imagine I quickly said "no". How could I pass up on a weekend of my usual running? What if the rest of the guys got faster while I was gone? Not to mention, I would miss my Saturday afternoon nap in front of the TV watching some very important documentary about Hitler on the History Channel. I quickly said that I was "busy". Mr. Bova has known me since college and can usually tell when I'm lying...I then claimed to have "too much work"...again he called my bull. Finally, I told him that I couldn't afford the cabin...well that didn't work either. So on Friday afternoon, I left all my usual routine behind and headed for Hocking Hills. We had a nice quiet weekend and I was still able to get out for a long trail run on Saturday morning.

Starting from Ash Cave fire tower, I ran south to Ash Cave trail head. I was hoping to pick up the Buckeye Trail and continue south. Well, I couldn't find the trail after I came through the Ash Cave parking lot so I turned around and headed back for the Rim Trail towards Old Man's cave. Surprisingly, the trails were not busy and I had it mostly to myself. I wasn't pushing hard but got my heart rate up climbing the hills. It was a great run.

Later in the morning Mr. Bova and I walked some of the same trails I'd run earlier that morning. We were walking along with his dog when all of a sudden we both shrieked like little girls and jumped 4 feet backwards. No offense to little girls but I needed a good analogy...there in the middle of the trail was the largest snake I had ever seen. I'm pretty sure it was half Anaconda, half Cobra. It was stretching across the whole trail. It had to be 6 feet long. We were able to hide the fear and walked 8 feet off the trail to avoid the menace. I don't think I spoke the rest of the hike. I was on "snake alert". Snakes must be drawn to me because of my fear, I continue to stumble across them on runs and hikes...I hate snakes. Ever since the whole thing that the snake did to Adam and Eve, I don't trust them.

Enough about that. Speaking of mixing things up, we threw in a new workout this week. GS and I met Nemo at his house early Thursday morning this week. The plan was a warm up run to the Alum Creek Reservoir for some hill repeats. Nemo, with his Magellan like map skill, doesn't know how far away he lives from Alum Creek because it had to be 3 miles, not 1.5 miles he suggested. By the time we got there, we only had time for 4 sets. These hill repeats were really a 50 yard set of stairs on the front side of the Reservoir. We ran the first one two-steps-at-a-time for strength, the second one one-step-at-a-time for foot speed, the third was a side shuffle, purely for GS's entertainment, the last was free style. It was a friendly run until Nemo flew by me and taunted me...I got a little um...jumpy and gave chase...it hurt. I think I topped out at 178 bpm on my Heart Rate Monitor, It took me the entire run home to recover and bring my heart rate back down. Damn you Nemo, DAMN YOU! Fortunately, GS and I were promised a rewarding breakfast from Daredevil at the office on Thursday morning. He may lack training discipline but he knows how to treat a guy. Thanks for the sticks Daredevil. GS and I both put them down. I felt guilty for 2 days...

Note: MD is killing my training. I sometime wish we'd never have come back to work. I don't usually believe in conspiracies. I know that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. I know that we landed on the moon and didn't create it in a Hollywood stage; I know that Big Foot exists; and I know that NBC planned to have the first openly Lesbian character (Facts of Life - Joanne 'Jo' Polniaczek) before ABC (Ellen - Ellen DeGeneres). So I'm not a "conspiracy theorists" junky. What I believe is the conspiracy that MD keeps trying to put me on the road and miss key workouts. He had me working in Tucson when I was supposed to be in spring training, he had me in meetings in DC leading up to the Boston Marathon, and now he has me in Boston this week when I should be preparing for Moab. I know he is trying to kill my track training this spring and summer. Now I must find a way to foil his evil plans....

Stats:
156 lbs.