I wasn't excited to get back to the road again, but the left foot didn't flap and flop as much as it had last week when we left the road to run the GAP and C&O Towpath. For some reason the left foot didn't flop and flap as much on the trail as compared to road. Also, once again we had good weather with temps in the 80s and low humidity. I was concerned there would be lots of traffic today, but there wasn't, and that the near zero shoulder for many miles would be a problem, but it wasn't, so overall a good day!
Williamsport to Westminster, MD 46.39 miles
Jennifer 10:40:10
Mike 10:40:10
Monday, August 13, 2012
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Day 75 - C&O Canal Day 2
Another great weather day and plenty of shade from the trees lining the trail helped Jennifer and move down the trail at a nice pace. Elaine ran three plus miles with us while Pete rode the bike and carried water for us for 13 miles. We left the C&O Canal Towpath at Williamsport and ran a mile of road to finish at our hotel for the night. It was very enjoyable to run the Towpath, but it is back to the roads for the last five days of the run until the final mile on bike path.
I forgot to post yesterday how surprising it was to see a whole lot of folks at the finish point for stage 74. We finished at Little Orleans, MD - a remote location on the C&O Canal Towpath that is normally almost a deserted place. Not on Saturday however. Hundreds of bikers had converged on Little Orleans to participate in "Sturgis East". I had never heard of Sturgis East before, but I know about it now.
Little Orleans to Williamsport, MD 42.30 miles
Jennifer 8:56:56
Mike 8:56:56
Stage 74 finish times for 45.23 miles not reported in the previous blog post:
Jennifer 9:41:28
Mike 9:41:28
I forgot to post yesterday how surprising it was to see a whole lot of folks at the finish point for stage 74. We finished at Little Orleans, MD - a remote location on the C&O Canal Towpath that is normally almost a deserted place. Not on Saturday however. Hundreds of bikers had converged on Little Orleans to participate in "Sturgis East". I had never heard of Sturgis East before, but I know about it now.
Little Orleans to Williamsport, MD 42.30 miles
Jennifer 8:56:56
Mike 8:56:56
Stage 74 finish times for 45.23 miles not reported in the previous blog post:
Jennifer 9:41:28
Mike 9:41:28
Saturday, August 11, 2012
Days 73 and 74 - Into Maryland and the C&O Canal
Day 73
The best weather day in 6-7 weeks probably helped Jennifer
and I to running our fastest pace day since stage 34 I believe. The official
distance for the day was 48.80 miles; finish time of 9:59:12. We ran well from
the start with complete overcast skies for 20 plus miles and scattered clouds
the rest of the day. Start temp was near 60 and the high temp was reported to
be about 72.
Jennifer’s parents Pete and Eileen arrived the night before
and they immediately commenced crewing duties as they crewed for Jennifer and I
the first 13 miles of the day. Upon reaching the Eastern Continental Divide
after running a slight uphill grade for 25 miles, Pete rode my bike to mule
food and water for Jennifer & I, and Eileen ran with us. The four of us had
a wonderful eight-mile downhill run/bike from the Divide, through the 3000+
foot long Big Savage Tunnel (the longest tunnel of the Run route) and into
Frostburg, MD. Besides enjoying the valley views from the trail, a local
cyclist pointed out a large rattlesnake about 15 feet off the trail to us. From
there Jennifer and I continued to run well downhill to our stop a mile and a
half from downtown Cumberland, MD. Shortly after leaving Frostburg we sighted a
presumably old slow moving beaver-like animal on the trail. Unlike most animals
that run away from people this one stayed right next to the trail as we walked
right up to it and watched it for a minute or so. Earlier in the day we crossed
over the longest trestle of the trip just north of Meyersdale, PA. WOW – a super
day!!!
Markleton, PA to Cumberland, MD 48.80 miles
Jennifer
9:59:12
Mike 9:59:12
Day 74
It was another good weather day with the high in the low 80s
and plenty of shade from the trees. After running the last mile and a half on
the GAP we transitioned to the Chesapeake and Ohio (C&O) Canal Towpath. The
Towpath surface is not quite as good as the GAP trail surface so we expended a
slight bit more effort to complete each mile as compared the GAP. With that
said, we ran well all day again. Pete cycled and muled for us for 19 miles and
Eileen ran with us for six miles. We ran through the Paw Paw Tunnel – the only
tunnel on the C&O Canal – and the only tunnel on the Run route which
required headlamps/flashlights/head torches. Great thanks to our crews (our
parents) for moving us down the trail so quickly these last two days!!!
Cumberland to Little Orleans, MD 45.23 miles
Will
have to report our time tomorrow – long story.
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Day 72 - Day 2 of the GAP
After finishing day 71 we all headed to the fantastic Dave (Gator) and Jane Gates farm. We were treated to an absolute feast for dinner to include the finest steak I have ever eaten - WOW!!! We definitely started day 72 with full stomachs. Before writing about day 72 though I have to note that 2011 solo USA Crosser and super Virginia ultrarunner John Price joined us on day 66 for crew duties. We said goodbye to John at the end of the day. GREAT THANKS John!!!! I look forward to seeing you at future races and hopefully next Friday at the RAAoT finish. John very slowly rode my bike for 23 miles today as there was only one road accessible by crew on this long stretch. Yes, John muled (carried water and food) for Jennifer and I - which is quite fine for the RAAoT. Jennifer and I were running well and it appeared likely that we would finish the 44 miles today in less than 10 hours, but we were caught by a thunderstorm at mile 34 which drenched and actually froze us to the bone for a couple miles so at the next road crossing we stopped early for the day - making day 73 a 48 mile day. May we miss the forecast scattered thunderstorms on Friday.
Connellsville to Markleton, PA 37.98 miles
Jennifer 8:29:11
Mike 8:29:11
Connellsville to Markleton, PA 37.98 miles
Jennifer 8:29:11
Mike 8:29:11
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Days 69-71; More Great Trails!!!
Day 69
We returned to hill country - to include running the hilliest street of the Run while in West Virginia for a few miles after crossing the Ohio River at Stuebenville. A good day, we started off running the last mile of the Connotton Creek Trail, and we finished the day by running eleven miles of the Panhandle Trail.
Jewett, OH to Burgettstown, PA 43.74 miles
Jennifer 10:19:26
Mike 10:19:26
Day 70
Lots of trail today - eight more miles of the Panhandle Trail and a number of miles on the super Montour Trail in the Pittsburg area.
Burgettstown to Port Vue, PA 44.10 miles
Jennifer 10:23:07
Mike 10:23:07
Day 71
Super!!!! The entire day was on the Great Allegheny Passage (GAP) - the first of three potentially glorious days on the GAP. The GAP connects with the Chesapeake and Ohio (C&O) Canal Towpath and a runner or cyclist can travel to DC from Pittsburgh almost entirely on trail. Jennifer and I predicted our finish time at the two hour mark today and I was happily 13 minutes off as we finished quicker than I predicted. Jennifer predicted a 10:10 finish. We didn't look at our watches in order to not affect our pace. The day started very poorly for me as my left leg muscles were having serious issues moving my foot so that I could "run", but the leg came around and one could say that I was actually running - although the left foot essentially flaps or flops when it hits the ground. The noise level difference of the left foot hitting the ground as compared to the right foot hitting the ground was unbelievable when passing through one of the Montour Trail tunnels on day 70. Bottom line for me is this left leg/foot issue that has bothered me for 12 days now has slowed me. Jennifer has also been slowed - possibly by the effect of running 71 ultras in a row. I don't foresee us getting much faster the last nine days of the run, but I can always hope!!!!
Port Vue to Connellsville, PA 44.36 miles
Jennifer 10:13:31
Mike 10:13:31
We returned to hill country - to include running the hilliest street of the Run while in West Virginia for a few miles after crossing the Ohio River at Stuebenville. A good day, we started off running the last mile of the Connotton Creek Trail, and we finished the day by running eleven miles of the Panhandle Trail.
Jewett, OH to Burgettstown, PA 43.74 miles
Jennifer 10:19:26
Mike 10:19:26
Day 70
Lots of trail today - eight more miles of the Panhandle Trail and a number of miles on the super Montour Trail in the Pittsburg area.
Burgettstown to Port Vue, PA 44.10 miles
Jennifer 10:23:07
Mike 10:23:07
Day 71
Super!!!! The entire day was on the Great Allegheny Passage (GAP) - the first of three potentially glorious days on the GAP. The GAP connects with the Chesapeake and Ohio (C&O) Canal Towpath and a runner or cyclist can travel to DC from Pittsburgh almost entirely on trail. Jennifer and I predicted our finish time at the two hour mark today and I was happily 13 minutes off as we finished quicker than I predicted. Jennifer predicted a 10:10 finish. We didn't look at our watches in order to not affect our pace. The day started very poorly for me as my left leg muscles were having serious issues moving my foot so that I could "run", but the leg came around and one could say that I was actually running - although the left foot essentially flaps or flops when it hits the ground. The noise level difference of the left foot hitting the ground as compared to the right foot hitting the ground was unbelievable when passing through one of the Montour Trail tunnels on day 70. Bottom line for me is this left leg/foot issue that has bothered me for 12 days now has slowed me. Jennifer has also been slowed - possibly by the effect of running 71 ultras in a row. I don't foresee us getting much faster the last nine days of the run, but I can always hope!!!!
Port Vue to Connellsville, PA 44.36 miles
Jennifer 10:13:31
Mike 10:13:31
Sunday, August 5, 2012
Days 66-68 - Great Trails
No time to blog.
Day 66
Elyria to Everett, OH 44.6 miles
Mike 11:37:32
Jennifer 13:56:17
Day 67
Everett to Navarre, OH 43.69 miles
Mike 11:24:53
Jennifer 12:57:08
Day 68
Navarre to Jewett, OH 45.84 miles
Mike 10:44:29
Jennifer 11:56:32
Day 66
Elyria to Everett, OH 44.6 miles
Mike 11:37:32
Jennifer 13:56:17
Day 67
Everett to Navarre, OH 43.69 miles
Mike 11:24:53
Jennifer 12:57:08
Day 68
Navarre to Jewett, OH 45.84 miles
Mike 10:44:29
Jennifer 11:56:32
Saturday, August 4, 2012
Days 64 and 65 - North Coast Inland Trail
Day 64
Jennifer and I started the day off well running 10 good miles on road before reaching the western end of the North Coast Inland Trail (NCIT). Just a mile into the trail we passed through the nice town of Elmore. I got into a quick conversation with four nice ladies who were discussing Run For God (www.runforgod.com). May these ladies find success in running - and may their running bring them closer to God. On the whole I am closer to God when running as compared to any other time of my life. The heat and humidity picked up and we slowed, but in total we ran about the pace we have been running for some time now.
Elmore to Bellevue, OH 41.79 miles
Jennifer 9:38:43
Mike 9:38:43
Day 65
The second of two days on the NCIT was a tough one, but our legs brought us to the finish point just as it has done for the previous 64 days. I note that the NCIT is not finished and that there are some breaks in the trail, but work is in progress to slowly close the NCIT gaps. Thankfully the mile of trail around Monroeville was completed earlier this summer otherwise we would have had one more trail break. Eventually the NCIT might connect to the Wabash Canonball Trail. We can only hope that happens sooner rather than later!!!
Bellevue to Elyria, OH 41.2 miles
Jennifer 12:51:08
Mike 12:51:08
Jennifer and I started the day off well running 10 good miles on road before reaching the western end of the North Coast Inland Trail (NCIT). Just a mile into the trail we passed through the nice town of Elmore. I got into a quick conversation with four nice ladies who were discussing Run For God (www.runforgod.com). May these ladies find success in running - and may their running bring them closer to God. On the whole I am closer to God when running as compared to any other time of my life. The heat and humidity picked up and we slowed, but in total we ran about the pace we have been running for some time now.
Elmore to Bellevue, OH 41.79 miles
Jennifer 9:38:43
Mike 9:38:43
Day 65
The second of two days on the NCIT was a tough one, but our legs brought us to the finish point just as it has done for the previous 64 days. I note that the NCIT is not finished and that there are some breaks in the trail, but work is in progress to slowly close the NCIT gaps. Thankfully the mile of trail around Monroeville was completed earlier this summer otherwise we would have had one more trail break. Eventually the NCIT might connect to the Wabash Canonball Trail. We can only hope that happens sooner rather than later!!!
Bellevue to Elyria, OH 41.2 miles
Jennifer 12:51:08
Mike 12:51:08
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)