This month has been full of many things: travels, chores and portraits from youth that make you wish you still had their immense imagination..and summer finally arrived!

A 2018 graduate of Youngstown State University L's brother Chris found his first job in the testing lab at a steel plant in Steubenville, Ohio. We paid him a visit and made a trip out there while making stops along the way, hitting historic Triple Locks Park in Coshocton, Ohio, stopping by Wooly Pig Farm Brewery, Honey Run Waterfall in Knox County and browsing Tappan Lake in Deersville.

It was cool to have Chris show us his bachelor pad and around Steubenville, Mingo Junction and Wintersville - places loaded with history along the Ohio River and in the shadow of West Virginia. His place is short on furniture and belongings, but is typical of first apartments. Mine was a hidden, ramshackle second floor space on a hill in Grayson, Kentucky back in the summer of 1998 - how is that over 20 years ago now?

Anyway, here back at home schools are wrapping up their academic years and preparing for next year. As a result, the library has been attending events to ready students, and parents alike, for what to expect when the summer comes to an end. Assigned to a kindergarten registration earlier this month for work, a pair of 5 year-old girls found me to be their entertainment while waiting for their mom.

According to Olivia - I'm weird and have no hair, but before leaving she says, '"Hey Mr. Man...I like you!".
Her sister, McKenna, drew some pictures...for the first one she says, "This is you as a tiger."

For the second, she says, "This is you as a lady." Ahh...fringe benefits from the mouths of babes. Apparently, I not only resemble a wild animal but also Picasso's ideal woman.

The pair of school employees, as well as the parent, who were at the registration table next to me were in hysterics. I was entertained, but yet confused, with McKenna's interpretation. Did she know something I didn't, like "I see dead people"? Instead, she was blessed with the misguided and warped depiction of reality from disturbed & eccentric artists? Either way, I'm sure showing her and her sister how to turn their eyelids inside out for a cool zombie look (among other things) had something to do with it. Somewhere out there, Salvador Dali is smiling in satisfaction that his protege' has found her craft.

With Memorial Day weekend rolling around, it was again time for New Moon Half & Quarter Marathon AND the Crescent Moon 5K here in Delaware. Two years ago I ran the quarter marathon portion and crashed in the late afternoon heat - it is a 6pm start - finishing 8th overall in 47:18. Last year, almost two months after L and I moved to Delaware, I ran the half marathon and following a Thunderstorm just before the start I finished second overall in 1:28:03. The heat and humidity returned after the thunderstorm and there were some kids along the route who cooled us off with squirt guns as we navigated the course, to go along with the water stops. This was also the race where I ran over the little girl near the finish line...not my proudest moment.

The race travels through scenic Delaware City and this is how the race is described: Join us and celebrate the "unofficial" arrival of Summer on Memorial Day weekend for the exciting 5th annual New Moon Half & Quarter Marathon AND the Crescent Moon 5K. The event kicks off fun summer evenings with a Half Marathon (13.1 miles), Quarter Marathon (6.55 miles) and the Crescent Moon 5K (3.1 miles). All three races, which begin and end in the heart of downtown Delaware, Ohio are open to runners and walkers. The New Moon is a party and celebration of all that is fun on great summer nights - including a festive post-event Celebration Block Party for you and all your friends and family.

It was unexpectedly cool at the beginning of this week, but it was to be humid and toasty - again - by the time the Saturday afternoon race was to arrive with heat index warnings & other fun stuff.

The urban run course starts directly in the downtown of Delaware, takes you through the historic business district, the neighborhoods that make up the city, through the campus of Ohio Wesleyan University, around beautiful Mingo Park and alongside the Olentangy River on a fun bike path where portions follow on old rail line that stretches over U.S Route 23 and to an exciting downhill finish back at the heart of downtown. In the middle portions of the route, we have some nice hills to navigate and get to circle the block L and I live on.

Speaking of L, she would be running the quarter marathon portion this year which would also be her longest race ever. Just like the year before, it was hot and humid then clouds rolled in prior to race time dropping some rain and leaving us with a wet, humid course. Sounds way too familiar.

About 400 meters in I'm following a couple of dudes and I'm going to fast (as always) and this dude pulls up alongside me. "Hey, what pace you going for?", he says.

"I'd like for it be around 6:30, but we'll see"

"Oh, cool...wanna run together?"

Annoyed, but not deterred, I agreed. Which ended up being a short-lived - luckily - mistake. For the next mile this dude asked if I lived in Delaware, where in Delaware I lived, told me where he lived, asked my half marathon PR, told me his half marathon PR and few other things. I'm at 6:05 through the first marker.

Just as I started imagining shoving talky-talkerson off of the rail bridge and onto the busy freeway below, he says, "Sorry, I'm a talker when I run. Feel free to tell me to shut up If I'm bothering you." I didn't want to be a complete jerk, so I jokingly followed with, "Oh, no problem. If need be I'll just trip you and push you towards the nearest tree." That's when I realized that might be an excellent idea.

He glances behind us to see a woman on our heels and the way she is dressed indicated she was only playing possum before deciding to wipe the floor with the both of us. "I just don't want to lose to that girl," he says. I really wanted to kidney punch him because he was going to lose to several women on this day, for sure. What an ass.

He drifts in front and as we reach the quarter marathon turn at the two mile marker, he goes that way. I'm now confused, I though for sure I saw he had the half marathon bib on and he was yammering away about half marathons up until that point. I contemplated saying something, but kept my mouth shut and ran the half marathon route which turned the same direction, but one block further up. I'm at 6:22 for mile number two.

After navigating the additional block, I'm alone until we merge back with the quarter marathoners. I see talky-talkerson in the distance and he's glancing behind him ever minute or two. I get to run now in relative silence, keeping a decent pace and making my way through the familiar streets of my hometown. The third mile is 6:17 and a large up hill portion evolves. As I head up Franklin to turn onto Lincoln for more incline I see L's Mom & Dad, encouragement from familiar faces is a good thing. Working my way up Lincoln, I pass a house with a crowd of people on the porch and then my name is bellowed. It's our neighbor Rob and others and to add to their glee, I yell, "Elmwood Strong!" They erupt in excitement & laughter as they recognize the phrase they yelled to me at this same point of the race last year. Elmwood, by the way, is the street we live on.

The uphill climb ends with a 6:45 mile four and the next mile downhill is 6:23 where the kids with super soakers ask if they can blast you. If you give them the thumbs up, you get splattered and it is welcomed in the post rain humidity that's lingering. Around Mingo park mile six is at 6:45 and now the quarter marathoners, half marathoners are so mixed together you can't be sure who is who until their turn for the finish and our loop number two. The humidity is really starting to slow me down now and once the split comes and I turn for the second time around it is nothing but crickets. The one dude who I know for sure is way ahead is nowhere to be seen and don't hear anyone behind me.

Miles seven and eight are 7:07 & 7:09 and I alternate each water stop with water and a heavily watered-down Gatorade. In the middle of mile nine I hear footsteps, but continue my fatigued pace. Along the downhill on Oak Hill he cruises by and I attempt to focus on him to help pull me the rest of the way through. Mile nine is 7:01 and through the uphill of mile ten I see L's parents again. I keep staring down the guy in front of me and mile ten is 7:37 with the downhill of mile eleven at 7:05. I'm struggling now and push through Mingo Park and mile twelve at 7:25. The final mile was about the same and I felt sorry for those still running because it was quite uncomfortable. Mile 13 was 7:24 and I come in crossing at 1:29:54, a bit less than two minutes slower than last year's time and third place overall - first in my age group.

As for talky-talkerson, he did (according to the results) finish ahead of that young woman (10 years his junior) by one place. Though, they finished with the exact time. I'll give the edge to her.

L finds me and we grab our finisher's beer and food. She says she was doing well for the first three miles of the quarter marathon, but with the humidity, and along the uphills on Franklin & Lincoln, the wheels fell off. She placed 56th with a time of 57:23. We then run into our neighbors and their extended family, some of whom also took part in the sweaty mess. Then it was time to head home and clean up. We ended the night fighting to stay awake on the futon in the carport we use as an outdoor space. The rest of our Memorial Day weekend was spent chilling out, grilling and welcoming summer back.

We now prepare for next weekend's AEP Ohio Columbus 10K. I finished in 38:46 in 2017 and 38:19 last year, maybe this year I break that 38:00 minute barrier. As for L, I think she wants to improve on the disappointing finished at the New Moon.

So our August wedding will be simple: a family style barbecue picnic at a shelter house at a park a mile from our house where we will do the cooking. This will be followed by a quick cut & dry ceremony there on the premises to make it official, then for those who would like too, a short drive north to our house for a post ceremony get-together. We aren't interested in and don't need the full hullabaloo. This is obvious, I think, on the wedding invitations we will be sending out. They are simple and to the point, because sometimes, there's just too much...

Too Many Words - Paper Airplane

Too many words
in too many places
Too many times where I got out of line
but I try to be patient, yeah, I try to be patient

Too many words
I thought I could trust you
I thought I could tell you just who I am
but I don't know who that is, yeah, I don't know who that is

After the first two Buck Fifty Races, Traffic Panther Gary ended up running the Athens Ohio Half Marathon the next morning. Of course we all thought he was a jerk and a show off, but since he has done a fair job of ribbing me about races he thinks I should be running - poking harmless fun at one another - I bit the bullet and decided joined him in the ridiculousness this time around. After running 14 miles over a 24 hour period Friday & Saturday in my hometown, I would travel the 58 miles directly east of Chillicothe to the home of Ohio University to run the 13.1 mile half portion of Ohio's longest running marathon (52 years) on Sunday. Along the way I stopped by the Southeastern Valero and picked-up two grilled chicken sandwiches from the restaurant portion of the convenient mart, the same store that sits on the Buck Fifty's Leg 20 route at the corner of Jones Road and U.S. Route 50.

In order to avoid having to drive the hour and 15 minutes to Athens stupid early Sunday for packet pick-up, L booked a hotel for me for Saturday night. The hotel would be about a mile from start and a bit more than that from the finish. I arrive a bit more than an hour after leaving my Buck Fifty teammates Saturday afternoon.Tired and not wanting to go anywhere to grab dinner, I had one of the remaining Cliff Bars in my possession and two peanut butter sandwiches. I then spent time cleaning off my mud caked shoes and running tights. (And my apologies to the Highlander Motel folks for the amount of dirt clods scattered throughout the room) My shoes rested over top of the vent of the room's central air the rest of the night in an attempt to dry them out.

The official out & back marathon and half marathon routes, "...start together at the corner of South College Street and East Union Street in uptown Athens by Ohio University College Green. Both races will be on the scenic Hockhocking Adena Bikeway which is fast and flat. Both courses are USATF certified and well marked. The marathon course serves as a Boston Qualifier. Both races will finish on the track at Pruitt Field." Funny, this year's Boston Marathon would take place the following day.

Packet pick-up that morning was less than a mile away from the hotel at Ohio Valley Running Company and less than half mile further was our start line. I'm a bit sore and worn from the previous day's running, but have plenty of time to rest up before Sunday morning's affair. I watch the Reds beat the Cardinals in the first game of this year's Mexico Series, then go to bed.

I get up at 5am to make myself coherent and complete packet pick-u, then find a decent parking spot near the start line. All the while, it is raining and it has been for several hours. I'm a bit stiff, but as I move around it wears off. Standing under the porch over hang of an Ohio University building in downtown Athens, the downpour arrives. About ten minutes later, it is back to a light drizzle. Nearing the gun time, I make my way to the start line and endure the less than warm droplets pelting me from above. The rest of the running crowd slowly joins.

As we take off I attempt to keep within myself, luckily there are a few folks I'm hanging with who are of my ideal pace. The beginning portion is all downhill and we have to listen to that one person who tries to hard to be funny and everybody's friend. His jokes aren't funny and I fully expect him to fall behind soon, it is quite clear we aren't amused and he has no idea what he's doing. I feel good and the lead group is relatively together, my first mile passes at 6:18 - not too fast and the pacing is comfortable. We leave the streets of Athens and onto the bike trail and the jokester is long gone. We have thinned out a bit more, but there is no giant gap.

The rain continues to fall and is somewhat therapeutic as it has a sort of calming affect while concentrating on what I'm doing. The trail is lined with the spring's bright green vegetation and the tunnel like atmosphere is helping to keep the focus. I had feared fatigued would set in, but it hasn't and the next couple of miles pass at an average around 6:30 - ideal for me. Around mile four I recognize a singular figure on the right spectating, a quick smile and wave and L bellows out some encouragement in return.

The drizzle hasn't slowed and I've been passed twice, but I haven't slowed and I'm focused and chasing a small group ahead. We reach the turn around (my split is 43:20) and a few of those ahead continue on for the full marathon, those running the half marathon come back toward me and it is now a much smaller crowd I'm chasing. Just after the turn someone following us and headed the opposite direction alerts us (myself and the dude directly behind me), "You guys, are 7th and 8th". This was exciting news since I could easily see all six runners ahead of us now that the marathoners are no longer among us.

About halfway through mile seven, the downpour returned and I notice the jokester from the start of the race creeping along on the other side, he looks to be suffering - serves him right. A couple guys come up from behind and we jockey for position, two get some space ahead, one of them falls back behind me and I jet ahead of a dude I've been following for quite some time. It is now getting down to crunch time and I'm feeling pretty good, my pace is better than expected and I'm focusing on each passing mile. No one is making a break for it and we aren't all that far behind the nearest group ahead. I passed L a second time and things are getting real.

The dude who had been on my tail drifts ahead a bit, I tag along but stay behind. The trail splits and we head to the right, one of those I had been following drifts back and disappears. Around the two mile mark, I pull ahead of the dude who passed me just minutes before and I feel a congratulatory pat on the backside followed by, "Nice pace man!" He would drift back ahead, but I stay with him. A glance further down and I can see runners being directed off the bike path, the dude I'm with moves ahead a bit and the stadium finish is in clear view.

We cross a muddy patch of grass and into OU's outdoor track facility, I hear my name announced as one of those coming in to finish as I navigate the track's turn two to then finish on the other side. At this point, I've only glanced at my watch when I felt the buzz for each mile progressed to keep tabs on pace and entering the straight stretch home I see the clock to my right, I'm going to finish in the 1:25 range. I cross, stop my watch grab my medal and see 1:25.53 (6:34 pace) - a PR by 37 seconds. Just then I'm stopped by the photographer for a quick picture. I grab some water and quick food and as it continues to rain, I am now freezing my ass off. It has rained the entire time, I'm drenched and it is maybe 50 degrees.

I place myself under the massage tent to avoid the rain and scan the crowd for L. Moments later I see her wave and I meet up with her and she, thankfully, hands me a jacket. I hold tight underneath the awards tent as she goes to bring her car around. While there, I'm a bit annoyed that the board with the age group award winners has a dude I beat by about three minutes as the winner of our age group. I want to say something, but I'm more interested in warmth at this time. Minutes later, L arrives and we hop in her car with the heat on full blast. We get my car and we drive to the motel. I have lucked out with the fact that I have a full hour before my scheduled check out time, here I shed my soaked running gear and take a welcomed hot shower.

Out of curiosity, L asked if I had seen Gary and I, too, had wondered why I we hadn't crossed paths. Come to find out, we as in less than stellar shape from the day before - as was I - and isn't a fan of running the rain, so he skipped the Athens race this year.

We browse the OU campus for a few minutes before heading to Little Fish Brewing Company for celebratory food & drink. While there, the sky clears and we have a sunshine, a blue horizon and an absolutely beautiful day. The weather had changed on a dime. I try to check the results online and I see everyone, but myself on the list of finishers. I drop a quick, friendly email to the race director and about an hour later I get an apology and confirmation that I have been added to the results. Finally, I have confirmation that I have finished 10th out of 588 half marathoners and yes, I did win my age group. Why my information had been skipped over, I don't know. I guess I'll let the dude who thinks he won live with this lies.

We drove home and crashed the rest of the day and having taken Monday off as well, I didn't move much as most of my body was in pain in it's attempt to recover from a crazy weekend of running. I was, though, thoroughly satisfied.

Running the Buck Fifty and Athens Half Marathon on back to back days was probably not the smartest thing I've done, but no one wants to wonder "What if?". Maybe it will become a cool story to pass down in the years to come, running 28 miles over a period of 42 hours in locations 60 miles apart. At the moment, we're now focusing on the OhioHealth Capital City Half Marathon in two weeks. My previous half marathon PR was established here last year and if all goes as planned, I'd like to be replacing a two week old PR with a more fresh and lower set of numbers and be...you know...better than ever...

Illuminati Hotties - (You're Better) Than Ever

All my favorite socks are getting holes in them
All my favorite people got a load on them
But I heard that you feel better
Better than ever, than ever

All my jeans and hoodies smell like parliaments
All I wanna do is skate back to your bed
I heard that you got better
Better than ever, than ever

It's not to say that I'm unfortunate
Or that I haven't been succeeding
But I'm a hushed and quiet resonance
When i wanted to be screaming

All the things I used to do are boring now
All the baddest words i knew came pouring out
When I heard that you feel better
Better than ever, than ever

It's not to say that I'm unfortunate
Or that I haven't been succeeding
But I'm a hushed and quiet resonance
When I wanted to be screaming

All day long I waited for my phone to ring
I counted every glow star on my ceiling
Texted you a picture where you looked pretty
And wondered if you saved the ones you had of me
But i'm sure you must be better
Better than ever

A funny thing happened on the way to my mid-40's, this sometimes obstacle called Life.

Back in 2001-2002 - at age 25 - after being let go for the second time from a job in radio, I found myself in Addison, Texas (a north Dallas suburb). I was working open to close, six days a week at a New York-style pizzeria called Pastazio's while living with Kim, a long time friend from beyond high school who was successful and living by herself in a two bedroom apartment. At this time, it seemed, everyone from high school & college - along with my brother & sister - were making money, moving up the employment latter, getting married, having children and cruising along hitting life's signposts.

I, on the other hand, was stagnant, struggling and usually broke. That year the song The Middle by Jimmy Eat World came out and I think I heard it at least seven times a day delivering pizza by car and bicycle. Like most earworms the lyrics were cemented into my brain and it became my anthem. No matter how much further along everyone else seems to be, keep to your own path, do what you want to do and ignore the naysayers - one day, it will all come together.

Nearly twenty years later (approaching age 44) with April 3rd making it six year's at Marion Public Library and April 1st marking one year of living in Delaware, Ohio with L and - as of a two weekends ago - we have set a date of August 25th for our wedding. Funny how you stop thinking about things, wondering about details and asking about specifics and suddenly those signposts drift by happily waving with full approval. There are still some things I'd like to do, places I want to go and to have happen - but it is nice to see a few of them take place before their expiration date. That psychological dividing line doesn't exist for me anymore.

Now busy planning a wedding (yeah, that will sound weird to me for a while) and making a garden out of a backyard quarry - we are squeezing in races when we can and this month is loaded. The first is the Choo Choo 9 Miler & 5k, paying tribute to one of the legends of central Ohio, the late Silas B. Rutherford. The roots are intertwined with the roots of Central Ohio itself. You may remember the story of Silas B. Rutherford from your Ohio history classes. The race is held in honor of Rutherford’s fateful final journey aboard his doomed steam train, the BessieExpress with L running the 5k and I running the 9 mile race.

According to race details, after about 1.5 miles through the streets of Westerville, the 9-mile course joins up with the Alum Creek multi-use trail for the duration. Starting and finishing at Alum Creek Park North off Main St. this flat and fast course is just what you need to spring forward, and the race pays tribute to the legend of central Ohio's most extraordinary train conductor, Silas B. Rutherford. A portion of the course is the exact course from the Westerville Rotary July 4th 5K I ran last summer.

We had an overcast sky and temps in the 50s, making for an excellent atmosphere. Though, the boulders we dug out of the ground making way for our garden the day before left us sore and maybe a bit more worn than we would liked to have been. Nevertheless, joining Traffic Panther Gary and the rest of my CRC Westerville brethren at the start had the excitement on high alert.

At the gun I tried to say within myself and hang with my teammates. Traffic Panther Gary, who was running the 5k portion, drifted out front so CRC Teammate Ken and I let him go. At about a mile and a half, I thought I heard a clicking sound and glanced down to see my left shoe has become untied - crap. My shoe is tight fitting to start with which made it less of an issue, but I didn't want to suddenly stop to start again. So, I just let it go and figured we'll see what happens as we go.

We hit the first mile at 6:00, good...not too fast...not too slow. We reach the 5k & 9 mile split and shortly there after mile two passes, 6:19. At this time Ken and another we are running with drift out front and my body is showing signs of the rock digging the day before - fatigued with sore muscles. Having to settle with the fact I'm not going to be able to speed up, I stick with attempting to maintain as much as I can. Around mile four I'm passed by a gentleman who says, "I've been chasing you for the last 2 1/2 miles, come with me!" He, too, slowly drifts further out front as I stride and push my arms to their fullest extent.

I hear a bell ringing a short time later, I see it's the last water stop and signals the turn around which is just ahead. Those in front begin to pass by going the opposite direction, they all offer encouragement. I reach the turn around and within seconds those following me are headed my direction. The first is a woman who looks much more fresh than I, "Come get me!", I say as an attempt to encourage her to pick me off soon. She does just that, as does two others minutes later.

As those few passersby get further and further along, I don't feel as if I'm crashing. Though, I'm definitely feeling the digging in the yard from the day before. I reach the portion of the course that was the 5k I course I ran here last July and push through the soreness. With about a half mile to go I see L along the course and she throws out an, "Almost there!". The street comes into focus and I leave the bike trail, turn right onto the bridge, then another right into the park with the crowd of onlookers, 5k finishers and our finish line.

My goal was be under 59 minutes or, at the very least, less than an hour. Despite the fatigue it was with great satisfaction to see the clock at little more than 58 1/2 minutes as I trekked through the remaining portion of the course and through the finishing chute. I stop my watch and guzzle the vast majority of a bottle of water then raise my rubbery arm to see 58:50. This is good enough for 11th overall and third in my age group. Further inspection showed all miles were under 7:00, despite my less than great race condition. Every ensuing mile was slower than the previous, but by only a handful of seconds and there was no huge time gap.

We went home and sat in our backyard in the sun for awhile, then came in to take a two hour nap. From my untied shoe, every left toe - minus the big toe - has a small blister of some kind on it. It isn't painful and I just have to live with it. I'll be triple tying my shoes from here on out.

As for L, she finished 39th overall in the 5k and second in her age group in 25:41. Not her fastest, but pretty close and she - too - felt the effects from the previous day's yard work. Traffic Panther Gary took 5th in the 5k and CRC Ken took 6th in the 9 mile race. Gary and I will now join the rest of our Traffic Panther Teammates (and another 80+ squads) in the 3rd running of The Buck Fifty - Southern Ohio's 150 Mile, 24 Hour, 10 Person Team Relay this Friday and Saturday in and around my home Chillicothe, Ohio hometown. I will also be joining Gary the following Sunday morning to take part in the Athens Ohio Half Marathon. So that's 14 miles - three separate runs - in 24 hours Friday & Saturday, then 13.1 on Sunday morning. My only saving grace is that I had the brains to take the following Monday off from work to recover.

So I'm - wow - I'm getting married and attempting to squeeze 27 miles of southern Ohio hills in under two days. Nothing like jumping into an abyss of the unknown and hoping to make it out unscathed. It is scary though, the not knowing, but isn't that the whole premise of such things? Take some chances, experience some pain, live the way you've always wanted....run on friends!

Slothrust - Peach

Silly sandbox
Stupid scarecrow
Jack-o-lantern, chupacabra
Sick menorah, candelabra
Tiny tantrums, elves and giants
Little turtle, kindergarten
You were so mean to me then
But no one's mean to me now
Welcome to the Danger Zone
If you shut up I'll toss you a bone
I heard you like your little crate
I think I'm winning this debate
But damn you've got the sharpest teeth
And I am soft as a peach
But damn you've got the sharpest teeth
And I am soft as a
But damn you've got the sharpest teeth
And I am soft as a peach
But damn you've got the sharpest teeth
And I am soft as a

It's crazy at what some people will in order to motive others, to reach some sort of grand measurement or status. With the third installment of The Buck Fifty - Southern Ohio's Premier 150 Mile, 24 Hour, 10 Person Team Relay on the way, our team captain Mark (the same guy who initially put our team together then ditched us prior to the event's first year to go on a cruise) wanted team Traffic Panthers to make a giant splash.

With all of us now running regularly, his proposal was this - if we could finish, as a team, in under 23 hours he would punish himself by running the Nationwide Children's Hospital Columbus Marathon come October. Not that we needed incentive, but the experience of watching Captain Treadmill...er...I mean Mark...suffer filled us all with glee. This is the guy who watched us struggle with the Buck Fifty two years ago from the tropics and sent pictures of his fun times to rub it in. His nickname, Captain Treadmill, comes from his penchant for not liking the cold and running indoors nine months of the year.

The task is possible. Our finish at the initial race in 2017 had us finishing 18th of 38 teams in 24:36.24 and last year 19th of 69 teams in 23:51.20. If the ten of us could shave five minutes - total - off of our three routes, we would be golden. Though, here is the challenge. We have changed up the roster so that everyone will be running three routes brand new to them this year, so familiarity would not benefit us. And Van #1 & Van #2 have switched, meaning not only would we be running different routes, we would be covering different time frames and portions of Ross County as in year's past.

Being now a member of Van #1, we would begin Friday afternoon with Mark leading us off at 5pm from Ohio University-Chillicothe. Our finish would be, hopefully, less than 23 hours (and 150 miles) later at the same location. This year I was the owner of the fourth position, meaning I would be running legs 4, 14 and 24. We would be greeted with sunshine and temperatures hanging around 70.

My first leg's (Route #4) description, according to the The Buck Fifty:
1. Turn left onto St. Rt. 550 and stay to the left as much a possible.
2. 0.6 Miles turn left onto Biers Run Rd.
3. Follow this across the bridge over US 35 and stay on Biers Run Rd. all the way to the checkpoint at the intersection of Biers Run and Caitlin Dr.

I gathered the baton from Traffic Panther Eric at Sun Valley Campground at dusk on Friday night and within moments I pass a competitor. Shortly thereafter I turn to navigate the bridge over the state route and a glance to my left was a picturesque view of the red, yellow and orange sunset slowly evaporating over the horizon.

A relatively flat route evolved into in a small hill before flattening out again and I would pass two additional competitors before reaching my first exchange. It would officially be nighttime as I hand off to Traffic Panther Dave, having covered the 4.49 miles in 30:02. The first team transition at Adena High School would be odd for us as this was the place we began the previous two years. Doing just the opposite had it's benefits as the school had lots of food available. I had a slice of pizza, a bowl of potato soup and was given several peanut butter sandwiches in zip top bags to take with me for the rest of the way.

Dave arrives and hands off to Van #2's Traffic Panther Sarah, and our first mission is completed. We head off to Traffic Panther Mark's nearby house to crash for about two hours before our next round. While there I kept with a personal tradition and drank a beer during the downtime, a Lagunitas Hop Stoopid from Mark's fridge would do. His wife Anna would have a giant plate of scramble eggs and two pounds of bacon for us (six dudes) to scarf down before getting some rest. Just like years before, I didn't really sleep. I sort of closed my eyes and relaxed with Mark's German Springer snoring away while spread eagle on my lap with the sounds of sports highlights being detailed from the talking heads on the TV. At about midnight (90 minutes later), we shook off the cobwebs and piled into the van for our next destination.

At the grain mill we meet up with our Van #2 members for the second transition. Soon Traffic Panther Chris and her headlamp emerge from the darkness and she hands of to Mark for his second route, the time is about 1:15 in the morning.

Following Mark, a couple of us get to navigate the trails of Great Seal State Park. At the exchange prior to mine, the folks at the shelter house have a giant fire to ward off the chill. It is about 50 degrees, but it isn't warm if you are just standing and waiting. They also have baked beans and pulled pork sandwiches available, which smelled awesome. Though, I couldn't take part for I would be running again soon.

My second leg's (Route #14) description goes like this:
1. Runner will leave the parking lot checkpoint and stay on the purple trail headed through the grassy area.
2. Go across the creak and head into the trail system. This will be point R. This trail will climb about 400 feet in elevation in the first .8 miles but will leave you with a beautiful view over the city of Chillicothe at night. You will go to EE, O and then to Z for the points on the maps in the Great Seal Trails.
3. As you work your way up the trail system to Mt. Ives you should be able to see headlamps up to your left as you ascend and then down to your left as you look back from Mt. Ives.
4. Follow the ridge of the trail past point X and on to point N. At this point you will really be working your way down the hill to point M where you will exit the park by crossing a small creek, and then turn right onto Lick Run Rd.
5. Follow Lick Run Rd. past the Ross County Human Society and turn to your left at the stop sign onto Lick Run Rd. Follow this past Blacksmith Hill which will be on your right, and continue straight to Springfield Township fire house dead ahead. This will be at the corner of Lick Run Rd. and Musselman Station Road.

Traffic Panther Eric and his safety lights appear coming down from a trail, crosses a road and hands off to me at the exchange just after 3am, it is 45 degrees. I then race back into the woods onto another trail to disappear into the darkness. Now I have a headlamp, but I brought along my Knuckle Lights as a precaution and I'm thankful I did. I even wore my glasses (held in place by my skull cap), but it was still difficult to see the trail. There were reflective signs indicating the Buck Fifty route every so often, but the between portions forced you to be on guard and scanning for directions at all times.

After crossing a creek, it as uphill on some switchbacks and about five minutes later I start to see the faint safety lights of the competitor in front of me. I notice I'm gaining on him quickly, that's when I realize he is struggling up the giant hill with the ridiculous grade. I'm working the incline, but feel like I'm running in place. No matter how much effort you put in, you feel like you are stuck in third gear. The key is keep moving in one way or another and not attempt to look up hill. I make my way to him and he is now walking, but moves to the side to let me go by. I'm not walking, but I'm at a snail's pace and my legs, and lungs, are on fire.

Moments later, I glance up to see the top of the hill. The faint change in darkness from the ground above and the night sky was a welcome sight. I made it and I'm still running and I didn't walk, though I so wanted to, and I'm paying for it as my body is aching. Scanning the ground to make sure I'm on the trail, I can see the lights of the Chillicothe horizon in my peripheral as the winding downhill allows my legs to recover. I trip and catch myself with my hands and right knee, but bounce back up to continue on in one motion. "Yeah", I thought, "that's gonna leave a mark." The lights of road below emerge and before I know it I'm off the trail and I have hit asphalt again, turning to my right I crank up the pace knowing the exchange is a bit more than a mile away.

Being able to stride out without hesitation, I soon pass two more competitors along the dark road and into focus comes my second exchange. I pass an official who asks for my team number, she then texts ahead to the exchange to let everyone know who was coming in. I see the Springfield Township Fire Station, hear some music, see some people and a number of cars, but I don't see the exchange chute and I'm closing fast. With what energy I have left I yell, "Where am I going?! Where's Chute!?" Scrambling teammates and officials direct me to the exchange that had been hidden by the vehicles parked in front. I find Dave and hand off, having covered the 525 feet of elevation gain and 3.83 miles in 32:11. My hands, tights and shoes are covered in mud and my right knee is decorated with a nice strawberry and large bruise.

We travel to transition #2 at Walnut Creek Campground and meet up with our teammates. We chill out next to another campfire until Dave arrives to hand off to Sarah. She had been worried about running the back country roads at night for fear of stray dogs and what not. We, of course, made sure to rib her about it. As she takes the baton and heads out, we yell to her to watch out for things from dogs and zombies to werewolves. While still running the opposite direction, we see her and her safety lights turn back towards us and she flips us off before continuing on her merry way, touche. It is now around 4:30am, Van #2 heads out and we are off to Traffic Panther Van #1 driver Mike's house to crash for a couple of hours. I have some donuts, a banana and a Cliff Bar to go along with a Great Lakes Brewing Eliot Ness. I close my eyes and fall asleep for about an hour or so with my teammates in Mike's basement.

Around 8am, we gather our things and pile back into the van for our final run to begin at Southeastern High School. On the way there, we have to wait for a train to pass. This can also be an unfortunate roadblock for runners. On this day, it was. As it passed, we saw three runners having to restart their journey. We arrive at the high school and meet up with our teammates. It is refreshing to have blue sky and sunshine again. The exchange location has coffee, donuts and music blaring. I drink about three cups of coffee before Chris arrives to hand off to Mark for the second time.

Following Mark, the rest of us get to navigate the trails & roads of Scioto Trails State Park. At my next exchange, we are high atop the park at the fire tower waiting on Eric. As we watch runners come and go, our estimate for when Eric is to arrive passes with no sign of him. We then begin see to other runners arrive indicating they had missed a turn and had to backtrack in order to move on. Before much longer, Eric arrives and as I take the baton for my final route I hear him pepper an unhappy explanation for his lateness with several expletives indicating a missed turn and a two mile detour. It is now just before the noon hour.

My third leg's (Route #24) description:
1. Leave the Fire Tower and head back on North Ridge Rd where your previous runner just came from and follow this for approximately 2.45 miles on the gravel road. At this point you will enter into the trail system at Point #13. Look for the large green and white sign with an arrow to your left. This will now be a trail run for the remaining 4 miles. The first part has some ups and downs but there is a large downhill section where you will cross a small creek.
2. This is at 3.75 Miles you cross over Moss Hollow Rd. Go straight across back onto the trails at Point #14 which leads you up a hill to point #15. Then to point #16, #17, and #18. There are 3 more hills after the last creek crossing.
3. End at parking lot on 1300 Toad Hollow Road, Checkpoint #24.

The route traverses a somewhat paved road, then onto a gravel road. I pass two competitors before turning onto the trail of rolling terrain, then the hills begin. Just like the previous route they are steep and extremely rugged. I pass another competitor who has come to a walk, "The freakin' hills man!", he says as I pass. The uphills, of course have downhills, but this route - known as the Double Black Diamond - keeps throwing those uphills at you. I pass a couple more competitors who are struggling to keep moving and after a welcomed long downhill I cross Moss Hollow Road and then back up a hill on the same trail. This portion resembles a hastily clear cut temporary footpath for wildlife and is covered in a mixture of mud, clay and speed bump-like mounds to redirect drainage.

Again, I'm moving everything in a running motion but I'm barely going forward at all. Every now and then, as the sun beats down and the temps reach the mid 60s, I glance up to see how far away the next turn is and focus on what I'm doing. After each turn, it's uphill again along the same terrain. At the top its flat for only a few moments, just enough time to catch your breath and prepare for the next uphill. After a few of the inclines, I make sure to take deep breaths as I feel a little lightheaded after the exertion. A couple more competitors are passed and I'm going all out downhill. And just as I did before, I catch myself before face planting and right as I bounce back up I wipe my clay covered hands across my shirt several times. During this time, since it is that time of the year to see them, I see at least three snakes slither across the path in front of me. I am not a fan of snakes and was hoping I hadn't ticked off a Copperhead or two.

Having passed seven competitors and flying downhill I start seeing people, cars and the baton exchange below. I reach the bottom, find Dave and hand off then down and drench myself with two bottles of water. The six miles and 900 feet of elevation are covered in 51:13. We head off to the final transition at Open Door Church and meet up with the rest of our team. There our team is celebrating having finished, while the others are anticipating their final stage. I see Mark grab a beer out of his cooler and he offers me one. At this point, I'll take any sort of refreshment and the Budweiser Select was just as good as anything else - it was what was available and I didn't care. Dave arrives around 1:30pm to hand off to Sarah, we head to the finish at Ohio University-Chillicothe to gather our cars, rest and shower. I head to Mark's to clean up and afterwards had to wake him up to return to OU-C for the arrival of our teammates and the Buck Fifty finish celebration.

Our team arrives, Chris makes her way in and - as is the case with this race - we cross the finish line as a team 150 miles later in the same spot we left from the day before. I was the only one not wearing our team shirt and caught flack for it, but the black shirt was covered with smeared muddy hand prints from the trails. We did not reach our goal of under 23 hours, but we finish with our best total time ever. And Mark will be running the full Nationwide Children's Hospital Columbus Marathon in October anyway because he has put too much into it to simply not do it.

According to the results, team Traffic Panthers placed 27th out of the 78 teams who finished and in a time of 23:41:28 - a 10 minute improvement from 2018. No, we didn't reach our initial goal though we did show that there's a commitment to continue and to make 2020 even better.

I spend a short time celebrating the finish with our team and toss back a Goose Island 312 Urban Wheat, but I head out early. Why? For I have another race the next morning. (THIS IS THE ATHENS HALF MARATHON REVIEW, GO CHECK IT OUT FOR THE FULL STORY)

Over the last few weeks the amount of daylight has increased ever so slowly as I'm seeing the sun earlier when getting ready for work and it lingering a bit longer when I arrive home. I even get to experience pieces of the fading dry heave of sunshine on afternoon training runs. As a result I find myself dreaming of warmer spring days and comfortable summer afternoons. The disappointment sets in when you realize 2019 is still wet behind the years.

Though, we just turned over to March! Spring begins in March, we "spring forward" with the time change this month, NCAA March Madness goes wall-to-wall and here in Central Ohio we also get the annual Arnold Sports Festival: The IFBB Arnold Sports Festival, also known as the Arnold Schwarzenegger Sports Festival, is an annual multi-sport event consisting of professional bodybuilding, strongman, fitness, figure and bikini weekend expo. It was established in 1989 and is named after Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Aside from the festival's numerous sports and sporting events, there is also a 5k Pump & Run (a combination of bench press reps & your 5k time) and a simple 5k. Years ago when I was living in Columbus (March 2012 to be exact) - on whim - I decided to sign up for the 5k despite not having run a lick in several years and mainly because I lived a bit more than a mile from the start & finish line. I had a little less than two weeks to get some running in and did so without too much pain and suffering, circling Goodale Park and cruising the Victorian Village neighborhood while trying to figure life out.

On the day of the event, I was pretty stoked and it made it that much more exciting when The Terminator himself was on hand to welcome the field of competitors and fire the starting pistol (well, he wasn't dressed as "The Terminator", but it was Arnold). You can imagine the amount of adrenaline running through your veins with that atmosphere. I remember taking off relatively fast headed south from the north end of the Greater Columbus Convention Center along High Street towards downtown and Nationwide Boulevard, a distance of maybe a third of a mile. Before I could get into some sort of rhythm my legs turned into lead weights. Surprisingly, my two weeks of training left something to be desired. Like, you know, more than 14 days of practice.

Though I didn't completely die. I did put forth effort to be competitive with what I had to work with - finishing 88th out of 688 with a time of 22:34. Reaching the finish line, I remember waving off the folks attempting to hand me water as I'm sucking air and went straight for the donut truck offering free coffee instead (and donuts). The girl behind the counter did an excellent job of deciphering my energy depleted groans and hand signals that it was coffee I was looking for. It hit the spot more on the cloudy 30 degree day than anything else. Later on, my friend Dickey (a trainer) and I browsed the fitness expo coming away with loads of freebies and samples with my stick figure frame standing out among the crowd of toned (and overly toned) men and women.

And here we are seven years later and I'm not an out of shape 36 year-old jumping into a race because I need a distraction from life's mounting pitfalls. I'm 43 and in need of a training break as the third installment of The Buck Fifty - Southern Ohio's 150 mile, 24 hour, 10 person team relay - is on the April horizon. Oh, and Dickey is still a fitness fanatic, but also a successful commercial actor. He's the bearded dude in this Miracle-Gro Twelve Indoor Growing System IndieGoGo campaign video. Just one of the promos he's appeared in for a variety of products and businesses over the last few years. It cracks me up when I happen to catch him in some random television ad now and then. In my mind we (along with Highlander, Nicole & others) are still drinking beers and killing Steve's Columbus Trivia Challenge on Sunday Nights at Hamptons On King.

I would be returning to the circling of Goodale Park and the cruising of Victorian Village, but this time with purpose and a few things figured out. This event would also also kick off the 2019 RUNOHIO Grand Prix Series. With The Buck Fifty Traffic Panther Teammate Gary entering the Pump & Run portion of the event, this would be my first race since joining him as a member of Columbus Running Company's Westerville Advance Training Team. It kind of made sense, since I've been competing with/against those guys for the better part of the last two years. Maybe I can avoid laying a giant egg the first time out.

It was cool on this day and not crazy cold. When the time arrived we wandered outside the convention center as safety forces began redirecting traffic and opening up the race route. A few warm up sprints on High Street brought back a variety of memories, though the surrounding landscape has changed dramatically.

At the gun I'm reminded of how heavy the legs felt after a minute or two the last time I ran this race. No such happening this time around and I'm going a little fast, but not so fast that I'm attempting to win it all right then and there. We turn right onto Nationwide Boulevard and watch as the safety forces are pulling the traffic barrier out of our way, they apparently forgot to remove once the race began. A second right turn onto Front Street and a handful of us are trailing a smaller, much faster, group.

Front Street evolves into Park Street as we pass North Market and roll by Goodale Park. I seem to be hanging with this group well enough knowing I'll be drifting back before too long. I notice one of those guys who jumped out front at the start is now falling back rapidly, I'm hoping he was just being the rabbit and wasn't being overzealous (Oh, I know exactly how that feels). At the mile mark I hear 5:26 and wholly crap, I am going way to fast.

I fall off the pace just a bit, but I work on keeping the legs long and in rhythm. This is what practice does for you and it is great training for those longer races. We turn left onto 1st Avenue, then a second left on Dennison Avenue to head back to Goodale Park. Just as I reach the park I hear some onlookers shout, "Looking good! Go get 'em!", referring to the pack I had been running with who aren't all that far away now. I'm a little beyond what I'm used, so simply maintaining is what I'm focusing on.

We turn left onto Goodale Street for a nice incline and here I get passed by another dressed in a CRC Westerville singlet. I get a quick, "Let's go man" as he conquers the incline. At mile two I'm at 11:29 and I'm sort of impressed with myself as the second mile was obviously slower, but I'll take the 6:02. We return to Park Street and turn right. Moments before we turn right onto Vine Street, another passes by but I don't feel as if I've slowed all that much. Working on keep my stride long I cruise the welcomed downhill, but those in front are getting further away. That's what happens when you go out too fast, your tank is nearing empty on the back end.

Turning left onto Convention Center Drive and we are on the uphill home stretch. I'm not being passed and the legs & arms are pumping along and I wonder where I am time wise. I ignore glancing at my watch as to avoid breaking the nice rhythm I've been able to keep up. Turning left onto East Goodale Street and my watch vibrates, indicating mile three. Then I see the clock in the distance, it's at 17:50-something. Damn, I'm going to be short of 18:00. Though, much closer than I have been in years. I cross the finish at 18:13 and in 13th place.

Wandering around trying to catch my breath and the CRC Westerville-clad cohort comes over. It's John and we are acquaintances in the fact that I finish behind him, by a little or a lot, all the time. With a half-cracked smile he says, "Your first mile was fast, like 5:20-something". I follow with, "I know. It's a habit I'm having a hard time trying to break." Looking at the finishing times, if I hadn't gone out so fast I more than likely would have had something more at the end to reach that 18:00 barrier. One of these days I'm going reel in that first mile energy, though this was a better race than the one back in 2012.

At L's suggestion, we swung by an hold haunt of mine - Katalina's Cafe - before heading home and she experienced for the first time Pancake Balls, having them filled with Dulce de leche. I had a breakfast sandwich complete with Katalina’s Original Sweet ‘N’ Spicy Bacon and it was just as I remembered. They were bursting at the seams when we arrived, but we didn't mind waiting for our to-go order as it was well worth the wait. We need to go back as soon as we can and highly recommend a visit.

So L & I bought a ton of seeds and spent the afternoon starting them in our own growing operation in our basement complete with a grow light and warming pad. Despite our pushing the envelope by planning this year's garden, the warmer weather is still patiently awaiting it's 2019 debut. I'm also getting a little tired of having to dig up the hats, gloves, reflective gear and Knuckle Lights for nearly every training run, but we do "spring" forward one hour this Sunday and the late day sun is going to rock for the next six months!

I know warmer weather is on it's way, but I have no more patience for winter. Your time's up man and I'm ready to get this thing rolling...

Summer's Coming - Andy Shaw Band

So summer's Coming at the winters edge
And everything is fine with such a narrow ledge
But can't you see what's buried under our feet
Just a million miles of bitterness stemming from their souls

So tell me now what my future holds
And make me feel the days were better before me
And don't let the time turn without humanity
Just make them realize how to compromise, rise above the lies

So make me feel like I'm a man again
Til the daylight returns to the ones that I love
Cuz I don't wanna feel alone again
If anyone should need to believe in me
So make me feel like I'm a man again
Til the daylight returns to the ones that I love
Cuz I don't wanna feel alone again
If anyone should need to believe in me

So here we are sitting on top of the world today
All kind of people all kind things that we could all say
Like who we gonna be what we gonna do
When the world stops spinning around us now
I don't wanna be the one to dissipate one to participate anymore

So make me feel like I'm a man again
Til the daylight returns to the ones that I love
Cuz I don't wanna feel alone again
If anyone should need to believe in me
So make me feel like I'm a man again
Til the daylight returns to the ones that I love
Cuz I don't wanna feel alone again

If anyone should need to believe in me