Photo's from the Trail marathon

Race report: the trail marathon

The day began in a fog. We had oatmeal at the Bigboy near the hotel and headed north to Silver lake in the Pinkney State recreation area Northwest of Ann Arbor Mi.

My first thought when we arrived was,"this would be a great place for a triathlon". We sauntered about. I took care of the morning personal mission to encourage intestinal comfort. I readied my race belt and cloths. packaged up the ipod Nike+. No headphones, just to record data. I was ready. As a triathlete, I was itching to adjust any piece of gear I could. But this set up was a simple one. With a chip on each shoe Mary wished me well and I headed to the starting line.

The marathon was a small field of maybe 250. The 1/2 drew a much bigger group of runners that left an hour after us. Everyone just sort of calmly waited for the start. An old hippie climbed up on a stump and made some announcements, and started the race. I hit the face of my Timex and the center button of the ipod and began running.

The first loop went smoothly. I ran without issue and felt strong. The fog was lifting, but the air was still heavy. The rising temperatures were also awakening zillions and zillions of little bugs. Many of them wanted me not to be a vegetarian as they flew into my mouth. Aside from bugs and humidity, the first 13 just consisted of me following a runner up and down hills along a single track path through the woods. the group slowly spread out, but we all remained within site of other runners.

At the half hay point we passed the start/finish and the only spectators along the course. This was welcome. I searched for Mary and announced to her and the crowd that I was no longer a veg as I had swallowed many an insect. I grabbed some food, talked for a moment with an aid worker about The Cleveland marathon. Mary walked with me as I gobbled down some food, and I ran off and onto the second loop.

Everything was going well and runners ahead of me were beginning to fall back. I began targeting folks and making my move. I had just over taken one runner and was cresting a hill ready to shoot down the other side when my right foot failed to clear a small obstacle. I tried to stabilize for one moment before preparing for an emergency landing. I got my arms in, tucked my chin, and rotated to my side. I landed evenly with light impact to my shoulder and a little scrape of the knee. The fall was a thing of beauty. The many years I have spent falling down paid off. I was a little dirty and scraped, but I was more then fine. I climbed to my feet, assured the runner who was now retaking his position that I was in good shape. and continued on with the race. At the next aid station I cleaned my wounds.
One volunteer asked, "Are you having fun?".
I told him, " I was doing somersault out there".
He assured me I was looking better then a lot of others.

Within a mile and a half, the wheels started to come loose. My stomach was not behaving and the heat was taking it's toll. I was not at all prepared for 85 degrees. Most of the rest of the run was spent walking the climbs, descending with care, and jogging the flats. At one point around 23 I paused to regroup when my heart rate seemed a bit to high.

I maintained a rhythm and finally crossed the finish line at 5:58.14. I had beaten 6hrs. I felt this was something to celebrate.
I don't recall my IMKY run time, but I think this was a personal worst. This was a tough day. I sat down and began my recovery. I looked over at a guy holding a hand full of finisher medals and asked. "Do I get one of those?"
He said, "Yep."
I crashed on the ground for a bit and took a cold shower of sorts before Mary and I headed into Ann Arbor to Watch the Cavs play. We missed the first half as the the locals were more interested int the Bulls/Boston game and the Tigers.

Final thoughts:
This race kicked my ass.
I have absolutely no complaints about the race itself. I will likely return.
I plan to run Cleveland now. My training went well and I think I can run better then I did.
I have a new respect for ultra racing. This was a tough race. I can not fathom 50k, 50, or 100 miles. This still boggles my mind. This usually means I can't shake the idea of trying.

So, I have a marathon Sunday.

I am excited right now for this race. More so then I was for IMKY. I think the reason is that I have goals in running. In triathlon I don't really have any major goals left. Right now I see triathlon as something that I love to do. It is fun for me, but I don't have any major goals left. I think I have peaked with Ironman. I love the sport and will continue to race for the joy of racing, I will train as a triathlete, and I will identify my self as a triathlete. But right now, Iam distracted bytwo new attainable goals. Both are running goals.

The first and most remote goal is Boston. I would love to qualify and run Boston. My next age up brings the times to within a more attainable time. I think with focused dedicated run training I could meet the 3:30 time standard. It won't be easy, but it is possible. I have a few years before I move up.

My other goal is a 50 miler. This one is more realisticly achieved in the "near" future. I get the LOOOONG DAYYYYYYYY. I just need to adjust to the idea that this race is a pure running race that will last longer then the Ironman bike. This intimidates me. Intimidation motivates me.

So this race this weekend is the first major race since I re evaluated my training plans and goals. I am entering this race having spent all spring with a desire to train. I have not had that hunger since Ironman UK. Last year I was completely uninspired. I had moments. Steelhead was an amazing race for me and at Louisville, I met my Maker. I look back in a positive way. But for the most part, I was just not into it, thhis made it very difficult. Since I have started flirting with the long term running goals I have entered into my training with a new desire.

My goals this weekend are to stay within my self and explore the world of long distance trail running. I don't think a PR is in the works, but I do know my fitness is high. I am peaking perfectly. I have absolutely no doubt in my training. My health has been good. Not one cold or flu all spring. I tweeked my ankle on an early trail run, but nothing bad enough to slow me. I have benefited grately from the CSU rec center. I have no reason to expect a bad race. So a steady pace is my ultimate goal.

I will try to update the blog through out the weekend.

Back to the Woods

In two weeks I will set out to run a marathon. In two weeks I will set out to run a marathon for the tenth time in my life. In two weeks I will set out to run a marathon for the first time off road.

I began running with trips around the Shaker lakes. I always enjoyed the trail portions best. This was the section that would pull me into the immediate moment as I would have to focus on each and every step or risk tripping over a root or stone. Turned ankles are often the result of not paying attention to oncoming obstacles, so for my own health and well being I would have ignore the common state of distraction that I often live in. The softer surface is more agreeable to my heavier frame whilst the constant climbing and descending remain difficult due to the same issue. The major attraction to an off road marathon is my love for nature and the chance to commune with the world in it's natural state.

Most of my marathons have been both flat and on roads. I have run the Towpath twice, which is flat with a crushed lime stone surface. A portion of the IMUK course was both hilly and off road. So I have limited experiance with this distance and terrain in combination. I hope to try ultra marathons soon, so The Trail Marathon seems like a good step in that direction.

I am healthy and my fitness is at a good level. My main concerns are loosing focus and turning an ankle or flying face first to the ground.

All in all I just look forward to a new challenge.

Brrridges to Recovery 5k (Race report)

This was the first race of the year for me. The Bridges to Recovery is a small 5k set up as a fund-raiser for Covenant House in the Ohio City area of Cleveland. I have been training for speed, so I was curious to see what I had .
We arrived with 45 minutes to spare. I signed up, hit the loo, and did my warm up. It was obvious that the winds were bringin' a chill from the west and that the warmer stuff was being pushed out. I was wishing I had some gloves, but aside from that I was ready to run hard around the 5k course that takes you over the Cuyahoga, past the Hard Rock Cafe, the Q, back over the flats and around the west side market. I really love this course for it's scenery. The bridges are deceptive and provide long inclines. My concern was the wind on the bridges coming off of Lake Erie.

A little past 9am the starting bell rang and we were off. The crowd was small, so I was able to settle in quickly and just focus on a hard pace. After the first mile I felt my pace was solid at about 7:30. The lead pack wasn't pulling to far ahead, so my ego remained healthy. After the aid station, we headed over the Lorain Carnegie bridge. The struggle to hold pace began as we crested the bridge. After turning onto w.25th I remained stable within the pack, but could never find a higher gear. I hit the finish in 23:54 for a 7:41 pace.

I worked hard and am regaining any lost speed from pre ironman form. I was happy with the effort. Hermes ran a good race and the residents at Covenant House were great volunteers. I have a fondness for this race and hope to return. This was my second.

Four weeks remain before the Marathon. All seems well.
5k's go by quick.

Perseverance

Today I had finished my run and headed to the stretching mats. I ran into an old friend and who has an Ironman dream. She asked me what my best discipline in triathlon was.

This has always been an odd question for me to answer. I enjoy running the most. I am strongest on the bike, and my swim has been where I have improved the most. In addition, I tend to be ranked evenly in each sport. So it seemed silly for me to name one.

What I came up was perseverance. This is what I am best at. This is what really drives me.

Later on in the evening the President and a Biggest Looser ( as a fat kid that has to work his ass off to stay at a healthy weight, I get caught up in the show from time to time) contestant emphasized perseverances as a means of achieving goals and overcoming obstacles. I know this was the biggest factor in both of my Ironman finishes.

Perseverance can be an incredible force. I wish Mr Obama the best with his. May all of mine be available to his goals.

Steady on America.

What we do now

Last night I had a gig at the Old Stone Church on public square here in Cleveland. The show was a send off for the buses headed to DC for the 6^th anniversary of the Iraq war. Passions still remain high, but the anti war movement has lost a little steam with Obama's change in policy. There seems to be a lack of urgency as most folks feel the President is taking us in a new direction. The voices of peace however are no less important. The move away from No bid contracts, torture policy, and the Iraq focus were important policy decisions, because we made them important issues. If we as citizens become complacent with the belief that things are changing, we will get what we have been getting. So I will continue to contribute with my music. Hopefully some part of my music will help to strengthen the cause of peace in the marchers in DC.

After the show we headed to nearby John Q's and the Little Bar (old downtown bars) to watch the CSU Vikings play Cinderella in the NCAA tourny. CSU beat Wake Forest. I was impressed at how CSU never backed off. The remained focused for 40 minutes.

The rest of the weekend will be devoted to training. I am 90% sure I am doing the trail marathon in Michigan on April 26th. It looks like a fun race. My only reservation is that my run training is right on track. If I do a fast flat race, I think I can go 3:40. My speed and strength training has been consistent and I am now really recognizing my fitness level rising. I am injury free and the pounds continue to drop. It all adds up to a good opportunity at a fast marathon. However, I don't think this race will lend it self to that goal. Non the less, The work I am doing will help me in having a good trail marathon. It will also continue to build strength and speed for a faster marathon in the future.

All of this is a reminder to me to take care of the present moment. I know if I do that, the future will fall into place.

How long have I left to write?

My battery is at less then 50%. I will try to say what I must say. I am doing what I can to make every word count. I know that when I least expect it, my netbook will be on empty and my ability to write will cease.

I have been thinking about mortality lately. I know that eventually I will no longer breath. At least not as Charlie. I had a friend get hit the other day. He is OK, but you never know. You never know when a random act will find you. You never know when decease or some other bodily malfunction can suddenly end your perception and being here on earth. It will happen. It always has before and it will happen to me. As I age my life grows shorter. Death will happen I am sure.

I also know that with death, there is life. I watch the seasons come and go. Right now we are coming into spring. Life will erupt once more. Within days, barren limbs will be covered with buds and within weeks the buds will be leaves so thick that the sky will disappear over our heads. Life will be rich and we will celebrate it. We will move from our homes out into the open air to breath run, bike, sing, dance, and rejoice in life as we do every spring.

Death returns to life. Resurrection, reincarnation and the four seasons are strong held beliefs. I am not afraid of death, because I know that death can only exist with life. Knowing that I am not dead reminds me that I am alive. This makes me happy.

My battery is getting dangerously low now. So I must end this post.
Happy Spring! Enjoy Life!

I have no idea what my plan will be

My training is going so well. I have shed 15 pounds in 6 weeks. I haven't missed a work out. Everything I am doing is quality. No Junk miles. I am moving toward a much improved marathon.

Now that I have establish a solid training regimen, I have to choose a race. Big Sur is not gonna happen. Nichole has had back issues and has been limited in her training as a result. So we decided to stay close to home and see the Dead in Philly. The Flying Pig is the same weekend as the dead and it is a week after my planned marathon week. So now we consider other races.

The trail marathon in Michigan is all trail running. It sounds really nice, but I am training for a road race. They offer a whole and a half. The cost is $35. It is right outside of ann arbor. Lodging should be easy.

Nashville Marathon. I have never been to Nashville. This is the center of the Universe as songwriters go. Seems a good idea to make a pilgrimage to music mecca and run my 10 th marathon. Cost is over $100 and I have no simple lodging plan.

The Glass City Marathon in Toledo. Flat road race. Out and back . Low cost. Close to home.

I have to toss this around with Zac and Nichole. We have choices that will keep my target date intact. I just have to pick one now.

moving sideways

As I sat on the bus today I noticed that I was not moving forward. My body faced not the front of the bus, but the center of it. My view was not of the oncoming day. My view saw the city through the opposite window. My anticipation and remembrances lacked as all I could see was only what was passing by at that very moment. Moving forward or backwards was not an option to me. My seat was a bench that ran along the wall of the bus.

My sports and music are based on linear time. Songs and races have a start and a finish. Tempo is a common term within both worlds. When I get confused I can always return to the beat, to my breath, to the moment that I am in. I can focus directly on the note or footstep and let go of what I expect to happen next.The truth is that I never know what is going to happpen next. I can make assumptions based on experiance. Like a weather forcaster I can look at all of my data and try to predict what willl happen. But when a moment arrives it is unique and I have to adapt to it for what it is and not what I thought it would be. When my expectations are wrong I must adjust. This is where I have learned to move from side to side. I find other routes toward my goals by taking a very indirect path as if I were sailing into a wind. My tack is patient but determined. I can't alwaysfollow a path that may have worked for you. The only path that will work for me is the path that is available to me. Sometimes the best path available to me is in a direction I have never considered.

Often times forward is the obvious choice. Today as the brutal winds whipped across lake Erie and through the streets of Cleveland, backward worked well. As I rode my bus, I found that my path was sideways.

Without goals what do we have?

I have really enjoyed all the indoor training. Oddly I am finding benift rather then boredom on the tread mill. The belt keeps me on target when it is time to go fast. my mileage is starting to climb and I am remaining consistent with my strength training. The odd thing is that I really have no major goals this year.

Since I began writing this blog, I have always had a motivating race in the future. Ironman UK and Louisville were so big in my mind that I felt missing any training would jeopardies my chances of finishing those races.

During my training for UK I was always eager. I would stand at a bus stop in the worst weather with out any reservation to get my swim in. My training goals were always met and nothing was going to stop me.

For Louisville I trained with the knowledge of how hard Ironman can be. What I lacked in enthusiasm, I made up for in wisdom. I feared not being prepared.

This year I have vague race plans. Big Sur is a goal. However money has been tight of late, and it is not going to get better immediately. The uncertainty of the economy has me trying to play it safe. Nichole and I have talked about the flying pig as an alternative. I have not raced Cinci, so I look forward to either option. My triathlon plans are without any real structure. I know I would like to do two or three 70.3 distance races,. I need that shock to my system. The relaxed strength that long course builds is something I crave. I hope to do more short cousre racing this year, but ultimately I like to spend race day racing.

This year I have really embraced my training. I spend my days at work looking forward to getting to the gym. I feel so lucky to be able to start working out within 15 minutes if I hurry. Commuting seems to really zap my energy and passion. Since I began working out at CSU, My desire to train has been strong.

I have no idea what races I will race. What I do know is that I am enjoying every moment of my preparation for the coming season. What is motivating me is the joy of training. Each moment is special. With no end goal in sight, I am able to truly focus on the miracle. I am able to focus on the present and really embrace what life is.
Life is now.

Relaxed

I can now relax. I have had a long couple of days.
Sunday I was up at 6:30am for tri swimming. Following the swim workout I met up with Nichole for our first long run in our training plan. The air was warmer then it has been in a while, It made for a very pleasant run through the rocky river reservation. We really lucked out with the weather. 50 degrees. Hello February. January was so cold and snowy. The run went well.
BTW- I am moving most of the workout specific stuff to my training log in the side bar.
After the run I went to my folks place to watch football, eat and do battle with conflicting anti virus software in my dads PC....
Monday was a 4:30 am wake up, as I was subbing for Zac as the opener. After work I got some laundry done and packed up for open mic. as I threw my guitar on my shoulder the lights went down....."NO! I paid that bill!" I said before I noticed the silence. When I poked my head in the hallway I was reassured that it was a wide spread issue and had nothing to do with the fact that I can ignore first energy for a Looong time.
Any how, I headed up to the phoenix in the dark to figure out what we were going to do. Honestly I physically could have used the rest, but finances rule right now so I was relieved to see power return to the street. We had a good line up of musicians, but the crowd was slower then normal.
After the gig I retired quickly. I was in at 8 this morning, so I was better rested. After work I ran, lifted, and swam before coming home. About ten minutes ago I finished some promotions for my upcoming gig at AJ Roccos on Valentines day.
So now I sit, listen to some middle eastern music, and enter a little blog.
I am relaxing.

Less tri More Folk

I am looking for a new way to recharge the blog. So this is the first posting to be linked to my Facebook page. I know that I will reach many more readers on Facebook with a wider range of interests/disinterests. So I plan to write more about music and random life stories in an effort to balance the focus of this blog. I will still write about triathlon and endurance sports, but I hope to not bore my non running friends with countless exercise abbreviations without explaining myself. I have a handful of Facebook friends that I could've known from either triathlon/running or music. I have many old friends from my youth that have found me on FB that have taken a similar athletic path to mine, some hope to, and some just think the whole endurance sport world is nuts. A lot of my friends want to know what is going on with me musically and have little interest in my intestinal discomfort during a recent race. My point is that I have a much wider demographic that potentially may read this blog, so I aim to "spread the wealth" a bit more in regards to topic.

I am sure that many of you that have followed my blog think I wander off track often. It is true. Eight hours on a bike tends to make your mind wander. I am never shy about writing down my thoughts on anything that I feel passionate about other than personal relationships. My mind sometimes bounces all over the place. In a very random sort of way. I use song structure mostly to keep me from chasing notes as though they were butterflies. I race becouse a finishline gives me direction in my fitness.

So Trifolk is now dedicated to less tri and more folk...............Happy reading.

All charged up and ready to roll

I has been tough getting the blog rolling again.

Last weekend I was busy with OS installations and hardware upgrades to my laptop. The thing is roaring now. It actually seems stable in vista. In Ubuntu, it is running amazingly smooth and fast. The graphics are awesome, and all in all I have my laptop running the way I would like it to.

After the New Year I just started training and haven't wavered from my base work. The CSU rec membership has been key in this regard. I go straight to the gym/pool after work and get busy. With the cold we have been hosting, it would have been difficult to maintain the same consistency with my former arrangements. At CSU I can go at my convenience without any additional commute.

I have been lifting/stretching, treadmill and outdoor running, plus trainer workouts, and most importantly I have been swimming with greater frequency. I can feel myself getting fit again and I am always eager to work out.

This all tells me how important the downtime really was. I needed a serious break. I took it, and now I am feeling very ambitious about the training. It is time to feel this way. Big Sur training begins next Sunday. Nichole is excited. I am eager.....So come on and let the good times roll!

Adapting to the weather

Over the past few years I have had to take a bus to Notre Dame for 7:30pm lap swim. I always found it welcoming, but difficult to get to and from. On cold nights it really sucked walking from the pool 10 minutes to the bus stop on Cedar. Once at the stop, the wind would cut right through me as my skin was saturated from the swim. My choice not to do polar bear swims the last two years was based in large part on this issue. I leave myself open to illness with the pool commute. Why add to it?

Today I have changed this. I took on a community membership at Cleveland State University's fitness center. The pool is amazing and it is located along my bus line/Bike lanes. The buses come by every 7 minutes and the station is just outside the center. The rest of the center is brand new. My cost is very reasonable. This made to0 much sense. This new arrangement will make training much more accessible to me.

Just in the nick of time. The mercury is headed for 0 degrees this week.

Changing my status is easier than blogging

Well.......
I have been taking my recovery period. a blog break just sorta happened. Since many of you are also on Facebook, I have been able to maintain communication via one liners.

I am getting my running back with some consistency. I do a trainer workout twice a week, and I have been doing the winter tri swim group workouts at Oberlin. Those are a blast. I haven't been in the pool since before XMas. I am all right with that, but I will be back in this week.

Music has really been fun this winter. I have been doing a lot of song writing and my performances have been to the level I expect and enjoy. I recieved a standing ovation at one show last month. This is a rare event for me, so I was very flattered. It also told me that I may have done something right. My relationship with my instruments has become much more delicate and deliberate. Some times I think I know what I am doing.

My race plans right now include:
The Big Sur Marathon
Maybe Race for Recovery 70.3 in June.
Steelhead(Tho Bbop suggested a half near the IMKY course)
GCT Sprint Followed by some guitar playing at the finish line

I will most likely toss in a few more Oly and sprints. My big plan this year is to have fun.

Anyhow, Big Sur training starts in two weeks.

Be well and Happy New Year.
Thanks for reading.

Chicago Turkey Trot and Poi Dog Pondering

My sister Sue and neice Sarah invited us to Chicago for the Thanksiving holiday. I always loved the windy city. I lived there for two years when I was younger. The only drawback to spending the holiday outside of Cleveland was knowing that I would miss the Turkey trot. I have raced a TT in Warren Oh. so I guessed Chicago might have a Thanksgiving race of their own. I googled it and found a race in Lincoln Park on Thursday called Turkey Trot.

Race morning I woke and headed from Evenston down Lake Shore Drive with Susie and Sarah to the Lincoln Park Zoo hoping to get my packet amongs 6500 runners. The race organization was Capri, who handles Steelhead and the Chicago Triathlon. Large numbers don't seem to be a problem for Capri, so packet and chip pick up went smoothly.

We had 45 minutes to kill prior to the race so we meanered around the sponser booths including a dog obedience school that entertained my 9 year old niece prior to the race with some friendly canines.

The weather was a crisp 39 degrees with no wind and sunny skies. I stripped down to a long sleeve CTC shirt and my tights. I wore an ACE ankle brace to protect my recent sprain. I lined up at 10 till 9 amongst the 6000+ runners and waited and waited and waited.

At 9:20 the race began a bit late,but it began. We walked to the start and started running slowly with the crowd. The 8K course followed park paths and was very narrow. I wasn't sure where my fitness was, having rested my injury all month, but I seemed to move well through the crowd. I knew no one so I just stuck to my running sans one quick conversation with another Ironman vet.

Aside from the density of the field and narrow course, I really enjoyed the scenery of the Chicago sky line and Lake Michigan. The crowd was so thick that I was never able to move at race pace. I crossed the finish line in 47:06. Best of all my ankle felt fine and I was in the top half of the field.

Following the race I found my sister and Sarah and we headed to the car so we could get back to Evenston to get dinner ready. Unfortonatly The parking lot was jammed for an hour as we sat and waited to leave. We literally did not move for 50 minutes. Sarah was not happy about this situation. Eventually we did get out and back north for a dinner of thanksgiving and togetherness. My brother, folks, sister and niece ate a bird. I had tofurkey. It was good.

Also while in Chicago, we had cocktails atop the Hancock building. I also went to see one of my favorite bands Poi Dog Pondering on Friday. My friend Mickey joined me for the concert as we danced up a storm. It was the first time we had a chance to hang out since she was married 2 months back. Poi Dog was great, but the crowd was much more subdued then I recall in years past. I realized most of the audience was my age and not as active as I remember from the last time I saw the band in '96. Mickey is in her mid 20's and I am kinda young and fit for a 40 year old, so we were the only folks really dancing.

It was lot of fun. I am so happy I stay fit. It really feels good to stay young. So many of my friends are active, so I forget that age slows down so many in my age group. Seeing the aging effect of my peers reaffirms the need and commitment to fitness.

“Thanksgiving for Every Wrong Move” is a Poi Dog song. Thanksgiving for my will to move is my thanks this holiday.

Keep on moving!

Looking back

I have been done with my 2008 season since Brierman. A few days before the election, I sprained my ankle and more or less shut down my training for the year. I have jumped on the trainer, one run and done a little lifting. I did the tri swimming workout this past week, but nothing else. I have decided to give my self a serious break. However I am becoming restless and know I have to get it going again.
The first step is to wrap up this past season. I intend to do that right here.

Having achieved such a long term goal in 2007 by completing an Ironman, 2008 was a motivational challenge for me. Coming off that race, I signed up for IM Louisville having not really spent the time considering what I had just done and what I had given up to achieve it. My off season seemed to be without seam. The motivation was not as natural. I rarely skipped workouts, but I was not always enthusiastic.

The spring included several road races, but the high light was training with Nichole for her first 26.2 and seeing her to that goal.

My tri schedule started with Deer Creek. It was a fun race. Camping was the highlight.
Morgantown was an awful race for me. I was ready to quit and I had stomach issues on the run. My attitude that day was a wakeup call. I had to do a serious gut check after this race. It did push me in a positive direction as I went into Steelhead. I was disappointed by the canceled swim, but I ended up having my best effort in long course racing. The positives from Steelhead carried me into Ironman confident and excited.
Ironman was a tough race for me. I had a mechanical breakdown which could have been avoided. I had a nutitional breakdown due to the heat. I made it through and overcame alot of adversity that day. I think a lot of folks might have dropped out under the same situation. I did not. I finished the race before being taken to medical. I am proud of my effort.
The Brierman was tough. I maintained my conditioning leading into this race, so I was fit. The course was as demanding as I have ever raced. It was also as beautiful as I have raced.

The best part of my '08 season was the camaraderie. I traveled to races with Tracie, Zac, Nichole, Bbop, Jack, AJ, Brendon and a couple other folks. Shared hotels and road trips make up most of the time spent racing, and I had a blast through all of it.
Overall I think I grew a lot this year. I developed some good friendships, stayed fit, and I had fun.
Goal achieved.

Citizen Houser

Cleveland has lost some great people this year. Fannie Lewis, Stefanie Tubbs Jones, Paul Newman and Herb Score.
For me the greatest loss is my friend Ed Houser. He died Friday. His level of activism was unmatched. If you ever visit Whiskey Island, know that Ed Houser made your visit possible. He single handedly fought the port authority and kept them from selling the land off for private use. He believed the lakefront should belong to all of us. He devoted ALL of his time and energy to this mission.
So long Ed.
http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2008/11/ed_hauser_47_environmental_act.html

If you were paying attention.

Back in May I mentioned a sports story I thought worth paying attention to.
http://charliestrifolk.blogspot.com/2008/05/consistency.html

Congrats on another Cy Young for the Tribes starters.