Happy Birthday!

On 4/3, the group run ended with donuts and alternative beverages which Damian brought along to celebrate his birthday. In addition to Damian, other HATRs celebrating their birthday that week included Lauren (Linda and Butch's daughter), Lisa, Bill Y., and Nate. That's a lot of Rams among us! I missed out on the run because I was just getting over a nasty chest cold but you can check out Charlie's report for the details.

Roll call: Bill S., Brian, Butch, Casi, Charlie, Damian, Diana, Mike, Nate

L to R: Butch, Brian, Nate, Casi, Bill S., Charlie, Mike, Diana, Damian

Doggone it!

Today we met at Clayton Park for a return to winter running. Compared to last week the temps were about 30 degress colder...just when you thought you could put away that winter gear too...oh well. We headed into the trails from the parking lot and ran down to Doctor's Creek but took a left at the foot of death hill and headed directly over to the extra loop. Coming out of the extra loop and heading back towards death hill I took a wrong turn -- it's only been 3 years now that I've been running Clayton and I still get lost sometimes -- so we ended up running the extra loop all over again. This time on the way out I knew the correct path to take and we headed back down to the foot of death hill, made a left turn and then up we went all the way to the top. At the top of death hill we turned left then took a right at the next trail crossing and continued on around the back of the park until we reached the top of death hill. From there, it was downhill, then left and straight up to the parking lot.

It was not our fastest run but we kept a fairly steady pace, even through the hills, and only stopped to do push ups and wait for the pack to tighten up once or twice when folks got too spread out.

We even saw some old faces today too. Diana, who hadn't been out in a while but was running trails with us before HATR was HATR decided to show up with Casi, the trail pooping wonder dog (aka - Bolt). It was great to see them both back out on the trails!

Roll call: Bill Y., Brian, Butch, Carlah, Casi, Charlie, Diana, Michael, Mike, Linda, Lisa

L to R: Charlie, Linda, Brian, Diana, Michael, Butch, Casi (sniffing Butch's butt), Mike, Bill Y., Carlah, Lisa

Catching Up

It's been a while since I've posted any updates because I've just been too busy with work and life (in that order, unfortunately) but I do want to let everyone know what we've been up to. Here's a quick week-by-week recap of the last month or so for HATR...

On 2/28, a bunch of us headed out to Reading, PA, for another Pretzel City Sports trail race. This time it was the Ugly Mudder. There wasn't any mud, but it was ugly to say the least. When Ron Horn announced through his bullhorn at the start of the race that: "...having this race was officially the craziest thing that PCS had ever done...", I knew we were in for it. For 7.25 miles (~6.8 in actuality due to some sections of the course that had to be closed for safety), we ran pretty much single track trails up and down the hills of Mt. Penn through ice and snow. Fortunately, the single track we were on had already been pretty well packed down by the runners in front of us. If you made the mistake of trying to pass someone though, which I only did a couple of times, and chose to step off the beaten patch you immediately lost sight of your feet as the soft, fresh snow swallowed your legs up to about half way up your shins. At the end of this race, they gave awards to the winners but everyone who finished -- which all the HATRs did -- deserved a prize.

Here's a pic of the group pre-race at the starting line:

L to R: Tom P., Bill S., Kelly, Frank, Carlah, Mariana, Chuck, Linda, Butch, Bill Y., Lee

On 3/6, we met at Mercer County Park for a group run and for the second time it was all men that showed up...perhaps a little too much men but I'll get to that in a minute. This run marked our return inside MCP as we had previously been forced to stick to the roads outside the park due to weather conditions. We ran about 7 miles on a mix of bike path and trails making our way out to the dam and back. Bill S. and I had actually met up earlier that morning near our houses and ran to the park to meet the group and then ran home afterward. This added about another 8 miles to our day for a grand total of about 15 miles. It was nice to get a long run like that in but I sure was feeling it the rest of the day. Before I close, I would be remiss if I didn't mention the odd ending to this group run...I can't really explain it, but I will mention it. Somehow, someone at the end of the run when it was time for a group pic suggested it might be a good idea since none of the ladies had shown up to rip off our shirts in a display of testosterone and take the pic bare chested. The idea was not good, nor was the outcome in my opinion but I'll let you judge for yourself.

Roll call: Bill S., Bill Y., Brian, Butch, Mike, Michael, Nate

L to R: Butch, Michael, Bill Y. (clearly the only sensible one), Nate Bill S., Mike, Brian

On 3/13, our group run was canceled due to a torrential downpour, high winds, and flooding in much of the area. It takes a lot for us to cancel but the conditions certainly called for it that day.

On 3/20, we returned to Clayton on the first day of Spring. The weather was beautiful, a far cry from the extremes we had been seeing lately. No matter what kind of shape you're in, the first run at Clayton after not being there for a while is always a tough thing. The hills there are just so unforgiving. Much of the trails were soggy from the rain and melted snow, especially out near the soybean fields and the erosion caused by the run off near the hills forced you to really watch your step at places but we muscled through and had a nice long jog on a nice warm day. Again, the field was made up entirely of men. We managed to keep our shirts on this time but with the temps in the 50's we all wore shorts...not sure if that counts as showing a little leg or what.

Roll call: Bill Y., Butch, Brian, Ed, Michael, Nate

L to R: Butch, Ed. Michael, Bill Y., Nate, Brian

A Month Gone By

It's hard to believe it's been almost one month since the last time I've posted anything here but it's been that long. Fear not, though. Just because the postings have been lacking we've been plenty busy. Here's a recap of the month that's gone by...

On 1/1, a couple of HATR folks -- those who weren't sick, out of town, or too hungover -- met at Veteran's Park for the Hamilton Hangover 5 Miler. For a detailed report, check out Charlie's race report.

On 1/2, we cancelled our normal Saturday group run due to the number of folks who were sick and/or out of town.

On 1/9, we got back into the swing of things with a group run at Mercer County Park. After feeling like crap for almost two weeks straight I decided enough was enough and purposely overdressed for the run with the hope of sweating out the last of the bug that had been keeping me indoors for too long. The good news is that it worked. The bad news is that I look like a freak in the group picture that was taken that day. Oh well!

Anyway, as I said before we met at MCP and ran out to the dam and back. I don't recall too much else about the run other than that fact that is was freezing out and that we welcomed yet another new face to the group. Tammy hasn't been back since though. You ladies need to get on that...I think she was scared away by all the guys!

L to R: Bill S., Charlie, Gary, Bill Y., Rob, Tammy

On 1/16, it was amazing what a difference a week made. The week before we had been freezing our you know what off around Lake Mercer but just a week later the temps were 30-40 degrees warmer. The temperature wasn't the only thing that got dialed up that day though. As we gathered for our pre-run push ups at Clayton Park Nate decided to turn up the heat as well, leading the charge up Death Hill not once, not twice, but four times. I think we were all so glad to have such great weather we probably would have done five just to be out there a little longer.

L to R: Brian, Yasi, Bill S., Linda, Butch, Nate, Lisa, Bill Y., Charlie

On 1/23, we again met at Clayton Park in what was planned as a light day. It was light because the group would be heading out to Reading, PA, the next day to participate in the Chilly Cheeks race. All I remember about this group run is feeling like it was more difficult than I had expected it to be. We only ran for about 45 minutes, which is about 20 minutes shorter than normal but for some reason I felt it more than normal. Oh yeah, maybe it was that one sprint of Death Hill that we did! I don't think I ever recovered from that one. So much for a light day.

L to R: Bill Y., Yasi, Nate, Karen, Butch, Linda

On 1/23, the gang made a road trip out to Reading, PA, for Chilly Cheeks. It was with a torn heart, however, that I had to back out of the race this year to stay home and watch my NY Jets play in the AFC Champioship game...yeah...I probably should have just made the trip but hindsight is 20/20. There were seven brave warriors that did make the trip though and as you would expect from any race directed by Ron Horn, they reportedly had a blast. Be sure to check out Yasi's race report.

L to R: Brian, Butch, Linda, Yasi, Nate, Bill S., Frank

Still with me? Good. Because this is where it starts to get serious...

On 1/30, six badasses met at Clayton Park once again. You gotta problem with that? I didn't think so. We ran out the back and hit all the soybean fields and then headed directly into the trails...yeah without stopping because we're bad like that. Then it was uphill both ways into the extra loop which we did backwards. When we exited the extra loop we bushwhacked directly up to the top of the backside of Death Hill until we reached the fence. There we were greeted by a dozen or so horses who were out training because they too are badasses. After taking a second or two to enjoy the view...uh...I mean stare down those damn horses -- who did they think they were anyway -- we bushwhacked back down the hill. At that point, we thought one of the horses yelled something down to us so we again bushwhacked up the same hill just to see what was up. When we got there most of the horses had taken off though so we just headed back down and finished our run. Good thing!

L to R: Charlie, Bill Y., Nate, Brian, Butch, Bill S.

Well, there it is. A month in review. What will February bring, you ask? Well, hopefully, weekly updates because it's a real PITA trying to remember everything that happened over the last month. Many thanks to Charlie and Yasi for letting me cheat and check back on their blogs to fill in the blanks.

Overdue!

Don't tell the librarian, but this post is long overdue! Between getting sick over the holidays and trying to keep pace with 3 kids during Christmas I've been a big time slacker when it comes to keeping the blog updated...not to mention my own general fitness. Have no fear, however, because here, finally, are couple of quick recaps and pics from the last runs of 2009.

On Christmas Eve, a couple of us met at Mercer County Park for an easy run. It was anything but though because the snowstorm we had received earlier that week left the trails covered with ice and snow. For most of the run the group stuck to the bike path which they had at least attempted to plow and didn't even venture into the deep snow which had hidden our trails. Even though I had to leave early I enjoyed the chance to use my Kahtoola MICROspikes. I'm really looking forward to using them out in Reading, PA, when we head out to the Chilly Cheeks race too. They definitely provide the extra traction needed when running in slippery conditions and I'm real happy with them.

Roll call: Bill Y., Butch, Frank, Linda, Nate, Yasi

L to R: Linda, Yasi, Nate, Butch, Frank (not pictured: Bill Y.)

On Saturday, the day after Christmas, the group met at Clayton Park and attempted to get a run in despite the dreadfully soggy conditions. With the temps having taken a bit of a jump melting away some of the ice and snow, and rain showers on top of that, the trails were reportedly the worst they've ever been. Although I wasn't there to "enjoy" it I'm told it was quite the run. For details, be sure to check out Charlie's report.

Roll call: Bill S., Brian, Butch, Charlie, Linda, Nate, Rob, Yasi

L to R: Charlie, Bill S., Linda, Butch, Yasi, Rob, Nate, Brian

Split Squad

This week we had a split squad. There were a handful of us that had other obligations on Saturday, so we decided to meet on Sunday morning to get in our group run. Still, there was a group that met on Saturday as we normally do. There was even one brave soul who ran with the group both days! All together we had 14 runners come out -- 6 on Saturday and 8 on Sunday.

In general, we ran the same path. Straight in from the parking lot, down the hill past the turn into Death Hill, then out to the soybean fields. After a tour of the fields we headed back into the trails, up Death Hill, around the back and then worked our way uphill back out to the parking lot. There were, of course, some slight variations in the paths taken each day but for the most part, both days provided another LSD run. It's only a few more weeks until Chilly Cheeks, so hopefully all this hill work we're doing at Clayton will help us out in Reading, PA.

Roll Call (Sat): Bill S., Brian, Dawn, Nate, Phil, Yasi
Roll Call (Sun): Bill S., Bill Y., Butch, Charlie, Frank, Jess, Karen, Linda

Saturday group

L to R: Bill S., Brian, Yasi, Nate, Dawn, Phil

Sunday group
L to R: Jess, Bill S., Karen, Butch, Bill Y., Frank, Linda, Charlie

LSD (Long, Slow, Distance)

The last few group runs have been pretty intense with a lot of sprints and exercises mixed in to our trail runs so we were due for a trail run, sans boot camp, and that's what we got. I got a mixed reaction to my request for some LSD which I posted to facebook the day before -- some thought I was on drugs, some echoed my desires, and some had no idea what I was talking about.

In any event, we had 14 people meet up at Clayton Park where we headed out the back around the soybean fields and then eventually into the trails. The problem with being 2 weeks behind on the post is that I can't really recall the exact path we took. I do know that we didn't run any sprints, and we didn't pause for any squats/lunges/push-ups/etc. If you're looking for details of the path we took you can head over to Shoreturtle's blog and check out the map he posted compliments of his Garmin.

Roll call: Bill S., Bill Y., Brian, Butch, Charlie, Damian, Dawn, Erin, Karen, Linda, Nate, Phil, Theresa, Yasi

L to R: Damian, Bill S., Dawn, Karen, Bill Y., Charlie, Yasi, Butch, Nate, Brian, Erin, Phil, Theresa, Linda

Soybean Sprints

I knew we were in trouble when Nate busted out that damn whistle of his. I had no idea just how much trouble though. I've run at Clayton dozens of times but I saw parts of that park I had never seen before. Evidently, there is a whole lot more soybean field than we've been running past. Nate, who had secretly scoped it out earlier in the week, found some additional fields outback and decided that we were going to do those dreaded indian sprints around the perimeter of the fields -- all of them! By the end of those everyone except Charlie, who is in marathon shape and loves to sprint, was hunched over gasping for air. Only for a minute or two though, which was just long enough to learn about the Walter Payton workout, and then we hit the trails. After all, this is a trail running group...isn't it?

We headed into the back of the trails, made our way out to Doctor's Creek and eventually climbed death hill. Having already died once thanks to the sprints our trip up death hill was extra morbid. At the top, we again took a minute to catch our breath, checked the time, and then headed back down the other side of death hill and wrapped back around to the left once we hit Doctor's Creek again. From there we made our way out to the parking lot after one final climb.


Roll call: Bill Y., Brian, Butch, Charlie, Linda, Lisa, Nate, Theresa, Yasi

L to R: Theresa, Yasi, Nate, Bill Y., Charlie, Brian, Butch, Lisa, Linda

And Now For Something Completely Different...

On Saturday 8 warriors dragged their butts out of bed and met at a soggy Clayton Park. It was so soggy, in fact, that as we did our push-up we felt our hands sinking into the wet ground. After that we popped up, dusted ourselves off and headed straight into the trails. As we headed in I decided we'd try something completely different. Instead of turning off the main path on the way in we dove straight in and followed Bridge's trail all the way around for a short loop, meaning that the big, long hill we usually come up towards the finish was now being tackled in the beginning of our run. I thought it would be nice to hit that hill fresh. It wasn't.

After the first loop we found ourselves back on the main path leading into Bridge's. It was there that I noticed lots of clear trees and even a few fences...perfect back support for some wall sits. So, it was everybody down into a wall sit and let's see who can hang on the longest... Not me! Hey, I just come up with the ideas. I think I dropped after about 30 seconds (weak!). Then the others starting to drop off one by one. In the end there were two remaining and guess what they had in common...yep, they are both boot campers. Linda hung on the longest and after about a minute or so we were back on the trails. Say, have you ever maxed out your quads doing wall sits and then tried to run downhill? Ouch!

Back on the trails and shaking out the legs we headed further down Bridge's until we reached the left turn into Doctor's Creek where we headed in towards and up death hill. At the top of death hill we took another left and then completed the extra loop. Coming out of the extra loop we took a right and then headed back out to Bridge's, made a left, and came out up the big, long hill we had already completed once on our initial loop.


Roll call: Bill Y., Brian, Butch, Damian, Karen, Linda, Rob, Theresa

L to R: Linda, Theresa, Butch, Rob, Karen, Bill Y., Damian, Brian

Indian Sprints

On Saturday, we had our coldest run since last winter. I'm not talking frost on the eye lashes cold but it was cold. I think my thermometer read 28 degrees when I got out of the car. Despite the conditions, however, we had a total of 8 runners come out for our group run at Clayton where it is now officially looking like fall with leaves everywhere.

As we did our warm ups Nate broke it out -- it being his infamous whistle. For those of you who have ever taken one of Nate's classes no explanation is needed and for those that haven't...well, be afraid of the whistle. After some moaning and groaning was heard Nate then instructed us that his idea for today was to do indian sprints the entire run. Oh joy!

As we set off along the back and headed down towards the soybean fields it started right away. It didn't let up either. By the time we worked our way around to death hill we had done probably 4 or 5 sets. Then, it was time. To run up death hill is difficult enough but to try to pull off an indian sprint up the thing is just plain crazy. About half way up the hill it pretty much fell apart and turned into let's all just try our best to chase Nate and Bill S. up this hill. Once we all reached the trail crossing at the top, half of us took off further up the hill and then turned back around at the top to come back and catch up with the others who had turned left at the trail crossing.

When we all got caught up it was just in time to head straight into the extra loop where, of course, it was time for another couple of sets of indian sprints. When we came out of the extra loop we again split up with half the group heading out (or should I say up) and back and then on to catch up with the others who had headed off in the opposite direction into the down-up-down. This worked out nicely the first time when we did it at the top of death hill. The second, however, not so much. By the time we got back to the spot where we had split they were no where in sight. We pushed on figuring they were just around a corner or something. That wasn't the case though so I started to think that maybe they were trying to lose us. When I mentioned this to Bill S., he replied "let's pick it up and go get 'em!" What else would he say, duh? After a few seconds we caught a glimpse and knew we had them. I could have sworn I heard someone saying: "here they come let's move it!"

When we caught them it was just past "root city" and just before yet another big hill. At this point, I was wiped after pushing hard to run down our prey. I was really looking for a breather when Nate suggests we take off up the hill in yet another sprint and that the last one up has push ups to do. I couldn't get my hands off my knees before everyone was off. It was then that I decided I would welcome the push ups if it meant I could just cruise up the hill and sneak in a recovery. So, I get to the top and drop to do my push ups and what happens? Yeah, they take off again. Now I have to crank out my push ups and push to catch them.

As I started to sprint towards the back of the pack I realized where we were though and that we would be approaching a trail split where as long as the rabbits split to the right I could stay left and time it so they dumped back out right in front of me. It worked perfectly...and for about another 200 feet I was right there with the rest of them. Then it was time for one last uphill sprint which I wasn't feeling at all. Reaching the top dumped us back at the top of death hill. From there it was an easy run downhill and then out to the left with just one long, steep hill to go to get out to the parking lot.

Maybe it's just me being out of shape but this had to be one of the toughest runs we've had with the possible exception of when Nate decided to do 'Death Hill x 5'...wait...uggghhh...did I just mention that??? Well, maybe Nate won't read this.

Roll call: Bill S., Bill Y., Brian, Butch, Ed, Linda, Nate, Rob

L to R: Ed, Bill S., Butch, Bill Y., Linda, Nate (w/his damn whistle), Rob, Brian

Trip, Drop and Roll

This week's run report is brought to you by guest blogger Butch:


Four relatively healthy souls braved Clayton today on a beautiful fall morning, while a good number of our crew were home sick or had prior obligations. After telling my story about dry-heaving at the end of last week's run we entered the trails via the soybean field taking a right around the pond and on to the massive uphill that pretty much determines how you will fair for the rest of the trek - see Butch's klutzy tripping episode a treat for all!

Lungs heaving, we connected back to the trail that leads up to the parking lot (no...we didn't run back to our cars) and took the left that leads down the long hill to the split rail fence and across the bridge where we had a nice little run in with DEATH HILL. Pausing at the top (only to enjoy the scenery of course) we continued down and around to the right and back up a small hill where almost in succession Lisa took her first graceful tumble, immediately followed by (newcomer/bootcamper) Theresa - just as graceful! Trip-Drop-Roll!!! Following this loop which continued around and back DOWN DEATH HILL we came back up to the split rail and took the right that took us out around the soybean field to the right of us through the straight away and through to the parking lot.

Roll call: Bill S., Butch, Lisa, Theresa

L to R: Theresa, Linda, Butch, Bill S.

Push Ups (And a Little Trail Run)

On Saturday we met at Clayton with the intention of running a little trail. Anyone who has been there before knows that we start off all our runs with some push ups. This week, however, Nate decided we were going to do more than our fair share.

After our initial 50 we took off around the back of the soybean field and headed into the trails only to reach a clearing where we dropped and put in 20 more.

Then we got up and ran some more trail until we hit another clearing where we dropped and did 20 more.

With 90 in the book we headed up death hill. Once we were at the top we took a left and headed around to come up the backside. As we reached the next hill Nate decided to thrown in a little competition. It was an all out sprint to the top of the hill. We took off in two groups: first the men, then the women. The last person to reach the top from each group was rewarded with more push ups.

At the next hill we did the same thing.

As we jogged along recovering from the back to back hill sprint races I led the group in a short cadence:

I don't know what you've been told,
Nate's not young but he sure he ain't old...
He's the big dog and the rest of us our pups,
Came for a run and did a thousand push ups!


Then we headed down death hill and back out to the soybean field for one last climb out to the parking area.

In the end, it was only about a 4.5 mile trail run but depending on how fast we made it up the hills we also did anywhere from 100-130 push ups too! Ok, so maybe that's not quite a thousand but I took some poetic license to close the cadence. :-)

Roll call: Bill Y., Brian, Butch, Fred, Jess, Linda, Nate, Rob

L to R: Rob, Jess, Nate, Butch, Brian, Bill Y., Linda, Fred

Fill In The Blank

I didn't make this week's run because I was home nursing an eye injury. There was a nice turnout though as the group returned to Clayton. Since I wasn't there I don't have much to say but I'm leaving a chance for those who were to tell you something about it.

If you were there leave a comment and fill in the blanks:

1. The trails were _______.
2. The weather was _______.
3. I really began to wish I had just stayed in bed when _______.
4. The best part of the run was when _______.

Roll call: Bill #3, Brian, Fred, Heather C., Karen, Linda, Lisa, Nate

L to R: Brian, Lisa, Karen, Nate, Heater C., Linda, Bill #3, Fred

Déjà vu

This morning we met at Clayton again, in the rain, and ran the same course as last week.

It's mornings like this morning that I'm really glad to be running with a group. I worked until 2am and wanted nothing more than to roll over and go back to sleep when the alarm clock sounded at 6am. Since I knew there would be folks showing up this morning I didn't want to be a no-show so I dragged my butt out of bed and stumbled out the door.

On the way to the park I got a text from Nate saying he wasn't going to make it. I knew Bill S., who came back early from vacation due to the rain, was planning on coming out and Butch and Linda don't miss unless they're out of town, which they weren't. When I got there the three of them were waiting so we dropped into our push ups and then headed out into the trails.

We ran the same course as last week although it seemed shorter for some reason. Maybe it's because the rain wasn't as hard and the trails were a little drier. In the end, I was glad I dragged myself out of bed and got out for a run. Ok, gotta go...it's naptime! :)

Roll call: Bill S., Bill Y., Butch, Linda

You know who these people are by now

The Heavy Stuff...

With the exception of a couple of nasty mornings back in Jan/Feb most of our group runs have been blessed with fairly mild weather this year. That wasn't the case this past Saturday, however, when five of us ventured out into the pouring rain at Clayton. I have to admit that as I drove over to the park I really didn't expect that anyone would be willing to go out and run but I figured I would at least take the ride over and see who showed up. Well when I got there Butch and Linda were there waiting and Nate and Jenny pulled up just a couple of minutes behind me. So much for not running!

After getting our pre-run push ups out of the way in the rain, we headed straight into the trails hoping to seek some coverage beneath the trees. It wasn't to be though. We ran on into the muddy trails, hopping over puddles as we went, resigning ourselves to the fact that we were going to get wet and dirty. We headed down the Bridges Trail out towards Doctors' Creek and then headed up the Death Hill - just once this time though. At the top of the hill we stayed straight and ran around the back on Old Forge Trail, then hung a right and took the extra loop onto Doctor's Creek and stayed on that trail all the way out to the soybean field. At the field we hung a left and headed uphill, to the left, and then finally back out to the parking lot.

Along the way I kept thinking of the scene from Caddyshack where Carl Spackler tries to keep the game going despite the storm...

"I don't think the heavy stuff will come down for a while."
-Carl Spackler

One last thing I should mention about the run, and this I suppose is really more of a clarification on 1 of the 3 rules we have. As we always tell our new runners: 1) it's not a race, 2) nobody gets left behind, and 3) if you need to take a break to catch your breath or anything just ask. The clarification comes in on rule 3 and that is that nobody is allowed to call for a break on someone else's behalf. Like when someone whose name I won't mention said between huffs and puffs: "I think she needs a break..." Oh yeah, sure, she needed the break...riiiiiight! ;-)

Roll call: Bill Y., Butch, Jenny, Linda, Nate

L to R: Butch, Linda, Bill Y., Nate, Jenny

Death Hill x 5

This Saturday was only the second group run I've missed all year...and boy am I glad it was! I was almost feeling guilty about it too right up until I got this post-run text from Linda:

"It's Linda. OMG death hill 5 times up and down. Then two hills after that. We missed you. The pain hasn't left my body yet."

Since I wasn't there to witness the beating that Nate put on everyone I can't do it much justice so instead of the usual narrative, this week's post will be in the form of a multiple choice quiz. If you were there, then providing the answers should be a piece of cake (mmmm....cake!) and if you weren't there then you'll have to seek out someone who was there and try to get some details. Don't get all your answers from one person though because that's cheating and if I find out you cheated, well, let's just say you'll be begging for push-ups. You can post your answers as a comment, or email them to me. If you get all the answers right then you get a pass from pre-run push ups next week. Ok, here it goes:

1. Whose husband came out to run with the group for the first time?
A. Linda
B. Carlah
C. Lisa
D. Nate

2. Who fell twice and is now an official trail runner?
A. Carlah
B. Fred
D. Linda
D. Anton

3. Who offered Nate $10 to stop after 4 times up death hill?
A. Lisa
B. Butch
C. Fred
D. Linda

4. Who took a pee break on the way up death hill?
A. Butch
B. Nate
C. Anton
D. Fred



Roll call: Anton, Butch, Carlah, Fred, Linda, Lisa, Nate

L to R: Carlah, Lisa, Anton, Nate, Butch, Linda, Fred

Uphill Both Ways

This week we returned to Clayton for the second week in a row and I sure was happy to have Nate back with the group. Since I worked until about 2:30AM on Friday night and got at best 3 hours of sleep before getting up to go meet the group I struggled to think how I was going to keep up with everyone, let alone lead the way through the trails at Clayton. With Nate there to lead the way I knew I could sit back and take it easy...then we got started and I realized, oh crap, Nate was going to be leading us! Maybe it had been that long, or maybe I was just still half asleep, but clearly Nate leading us was going to make things tough. And tough it was.

We headed out the back from the parking lot towards the soybean fields then turned in to the right and headed up hill. At the split at the top of the first hill we made a left. It's been a long time since I made the left at the split and oh what a hill...it seemed to never end. Eventually, though we reached the top and took another left and headed out towards Doctor's Trail. After we ran up "the hill", we took another left and then headed straight across the four way intersection into the extra loop. Once out of the extra loop we headed left (note to self: if ever I get lost in Clayton...make a left) then went down, up, down, and swung all the way around before coming back to the top of "the hill". Down we went and then made a right and headed back the way we came until reaching the soybean field. There we made a left and then headed uphill and took a right this time at the split (thank you Jesus!) and headed uphill one last time before kicking it into the parking lot.

All in all, it was a great run and I was actually surprised at how strong I felt given the lack of sleep I got the night before. Everyone else did a great job too. Even with all those extra push-ups Nate decided to throw in at random points along the trail. Special kudos to Carlah for coming back out this week. Usually, when someone comes out to run with us for the first time at Clayton it's a while before we see them again. Carlah came right back though and hung tough the whole way. Way to go girl!

You'll notice there is no pic this week because both of our group photographers were absent. Linda was busy partying it up with the girls in LBI and Bill S. was celebrating his birthday with family in Wildwoood. Happy belated birthday Bill!

Roll call: Bill Y., Butch, Carlah, Fred, Jess, Lisa, Mariana (yes, Mariana actually showed up!), Nate, Sue

Notyalc

It had been over a month since we ran at Clayton and it felt like it. No matter where else we are that first week back at Clayton is always a tough one. I suspected it would be so we started off easy. We headed into Glen Trail at the entrance and took it in the reverse direction than what we usually do which meant the hills we're normally running up, we got to run down. When we reached the bottom and came out near the soybean field we hung a right and headed into Doctor's Creek taking it all the way over to "the hill". Once up the hill we took a left, then a right, looping back around and eventually heading back down "the hill". At the bottom, we made a right and then headed out the way we came in which, of course, meant that those downhills we enjoyed on the way in were now the uphills we were used to seeing.



I think this week was the shortest run we've ever had at just under 4 miles. I'm not usually one to even pay too much attention to the distance during the group runs but this week was noticeably short. I usually pay more attention to the time since most folks have places to be so we're trying to get them out of there on time. That was the case this week too but perhaps we could have found the time and stretched it out just a little longer.

We introduced two runners to Clayton this week: Heather L., who has been running with us the last couple of weeks at Steinert and MCP; and Carlah, who came out for the first time on Saturday. The both of them did very well for their first run at Clayton and we look forward to having them with us again next week when we return to the hills!!!


Roll call: Bill S., Bill Y., Butch, Carlah, Fred, Heather, Linda, Lisa

L to R: Bill S., Bill Y., Butch, Linda, Carlah, Fred, Lisa, Heather L.

Short and Sweet

On my way to Clayton this morning I looked down and saw my tank was on E. As I pulled into the gas station to fill up I noticed a text from Nate saying he had to skip the group run because he had to be somewhere by 8:30. Before I pulled out of the BP I texted Butch to let him know I'd be there a few minutes late but that I'd be there. By the time I pulled into the parking lot where we meet it was just a few minutes past the hour. It was just four of us that showed up this morning so we got right underway after having put in our push-ups much to Linda's surprise who thought we skipped those when Nate was away -- silly Linda!

We took off from the parking lot and headed right into the trails, taking Bridges Trail out to Doctor's Trail, heading uphill. At the top of the hill, instead of making the left, we stayed straight and headed around the loop on Old Forge Trail before coming to a four way trail crossing. At the crossing we heading right, which I thought would take us out towards the soybean field but instead it put us in the extra loop on Doctor's Trail. Coming out of the extra loop we took a right and headed back the way we came, this time heading back up the hills we ran down on the way in on Bridges Trail.

Roll call: Bill Y., Bill S., Butch and Linda

L to R: Bill Y, Butch, Linda, Bill S.

Embracing the Hills

On the way to Clayton this morning some of us were slightly delayed by some poor fool who managed to wrap his BMW around a telephone pole just before the left turn on to Emley's Hill Road. Thankfully, it didn't appear that anyone was hurt. I saw what I assumed to be the unhappy driver walking around near the scene with a trooper as the flat bed driver prepared to drag the wreck off the pole to be hauled away.

By the time we finally got underway it was about 7:15. We headed straight into the trails from the parking lot and wasted no more time. We worked our way out to the Doctor's Trail and then stopped at the foot of the big hill -- those of you who have run with us know what hill I'm talking about. It was at that point that we began to kick things up a notch. While some may have felt not too unlike that poor driver who ran into the pole every one of the unsuspecting warriors that had joined us this morning were great sports and rose to the challenge presented to them.

So what was the challenge you ask? From the foot of the hill we took off two by two sprinting uphill for about 50 yards. When the first pair reached the top we turned around and jogged back down to the bottom to recover while the next pair took off. When the last pair was done the first pair repeated the climb except this time we stretched it out, sprinting about 100 yards up the hill before turning it around and jogging back down. The process continued until everyone had done the 100 yards. Then we did it again stretching the third rep out to about 150 yards. When everyone had put in their 150 yard hill sprints it was time to step our way back down the ladder. We then did another round of the 100 yards followed by a final round of the 50 yards. In the end we had completed a total of 5 hill sprints of 50-100-150-100-50 yards on a hill that most people complain about having to run up just once each week. Not wanting to make things too different for everyone this week we then took off together all the way up the hill and continued with our run.

By this time it was about 7:40 and we usually try to get people in and out within an hour so we found our way over to and took a trip back down the other side of the big hill. Then we hooked a left and headed out the way we came. This, of course, meant we were running pretty much uphill most of the way out. I was actually surprised at how much energy several folks still had on the way out. I started thinking...from the back of the herd...that maybe some of them held back a little on the hill sprints?

It was just a few minutes past 8 when we got back to the parking lot. Our shortest run to date but I don't think anyone felt as though they put in any less work this week. If they did it was their own fault for not embracing the hills.

Editorial note:
Today's hill workout as well as the title of this blog post was inspired by the article, BREATH TAKING by Michael Lanza, published in this months Runner's World. If you haven't read it yet I would highly suggest it. I was very pleased to see the mag dedicate some space to trail running. I just worry that somewhere out there this weekend there might be someone running their first 5k with their shoes tied improperly because of it. :) Just kidding, I love you RW!

Roll call: Bill Y., Bill S., Butch, Fred, Heather, Linda, Nate, Terry

It wouldn't be a trail run with Linda without the photo op

(L to R: Bill S., Bill Y., Butch, Linda, Nate, Terry, Heather, Fred)