Memorial Day and rain on the way

After work, I spent the afternoon yesterday hanging with some friends here in Columbus.  They just joined a pool so we walked over to it and checked it out.  VERY cold water, but lots of fun.

How adorable is Summer!!!?!?! Since I worked in the morning, Dawn decided to stay at her parents an extra day so Summer and Dawn did not get back until last night.  Dawn sent me this photo yesterday afternoon. 

Lots of sun today and warm temps. A few pop-up showers are possible this morning. Any pop-up rain will likely be showers, but a few rumbles of thunder are possible. More isolated rain moves in overnight and isolated showers/storms likely Wednesday. Sun returns on Thursday then scattered showers and storms for Friday and the weekend. Afternoon temps staying warm all the way into early next week. Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Final long hilly run, Indians game, Memorial Day forecast

Saturday was my final long run before the Youngstown Marathon.  I was visiting the in-laws in Strongsville... which means...

Hill repeats.  Up and down for eight miles.  I hope I have done enough hill training for the hilly marathon next weekend.

Sunday I went to the Indians game.

 

What a great day for a ballgame! 

Dawn's dad scored some pretty amazing seats.  It was Dawn's dad, brother, Dawn, and me.  Fun times and a solid 10-1 win! Summer got to spend time with grandma, and grandma LOVED the one-on-one time!

A pretty decent Monday for Memorial Day today with lots of sunshine through the first part of the day. Building afternoon clouds with some isolated showers and a few rumbles of thunder later today and tonight. Mostly sunny Tuesday then more scattered rain Wednesday. Dry Thursday followed by more rain Friday and early next weekend. Temperatures staying mild all week with highs between 75 and 80 all week long. Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Hot temps are gone, sweat challenge, relaxing weekend

Last week was a toasty one and we only stopped short at putting up the kiddy pool for Summer.  We had a lot of fun staying cool in the warm temps.

So about 3 years ago I rode a bike for close to an hour to see how much I would sweat out.  I did a similar test on Wednesday wearing a GoPro and LiveU unit to stay LIVE for an 8 mile run.  I still drank water while running, but lost 6.5 pounds in 70 minutes, despite trying to stay hydrated.

So hopefully the message was carried across that staying hydrated as warmer temps are on the way.

We were expecting some friends to stay with us this weekend, but last minute changes meant that we were able to stay at home and rest... which was needed.  Summer picked up a nasty cold and it is lingering with the rest of us, especially Dawn. The garden is 100% planted now and we are enjoying strawberries already.  Lots of peppers and tomatoes for some salsa this year.

Cooler temps and lower humidity to start the week, but rain is back by midweek. Mostly sunny today with highs in the low 70s. Clear and cool tonight then sun early Tuesday followed by increasing clouds through the afternoon. A few spotty showers will try to sneak in here late Tuesday, but more rain likely on Wednesday with scattered showers and storms. A few lingering showers Thursday and cooler with highs in the mid 60s. More scattered rain possible next weekend. Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Mother's Day, 20 mile run, and HEAT returning!

Hope everyone had a Happy Mother's Day! I put this video together for Dawn. It is amazing how quickly Summer is growing up. Dawn is an amazing mother and every day she continues to put others before herself.

Dawn went back Friday to see her mom and grandmother, which actually worked out well with my schedule because I had to work on the morning show Saturday and needed to get in my 20 mile run.  I started at Antrim Park and ran down to Ohio State then back up to the top of the Olentangy Trail to Worthington Hills Park before back to Antrim.  Since I was working in the morning I didn't hit the trail until almost 10AM and it was getting pretty warm. 

But... I finished in just under three hours.  I was glad that I circled back by Antrim to get more fluids and by the end I walked a couple times while rehydrating.  But, the peak week is done... now I taper down and make sure I am 100% for the Youngstown Marathon in less than 3 weeks!

With it being peak week, I topped out at 40.5 miles in 1 week! That's crazy because just last fall I was not able to run more than a few miles without walking and being winded.  I have to say, the Hal Higdon training program has been amazing for me.  I hope it carries me across the finish line with ease.  Once this race is over... I don't know what is next for me.

Mostly sunny skies for the first half of the week! A little milder today with highs in the mid 70s instead of the low 80s that Central Ohio saw on Sunday. Temperatures and humidity will be climbing up each day, so hot and humid by Wednesday. Some isolated showers and storms possible later in the week and staying warm. That pattern of warm temps and isolated rain will continue into next weekend. Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Finally drying out

Never pass up the opportunity to go down a slide... especially while you are working.  The joys of sliding down a slide can melt away any stress in your life.  I slid down the slide during my LIVE augmented reality forecast.

I went on a long run yesterday for my big, long week of training.  Everything goes downhill next week as I taper down before the Full Marathon. It might sound weird, but I am looking forward to my 20 mile run this weekend. 

It was such a nice afternoon, with the rain gone, that we walked to the park last night for some sun on the slides and swings.

Clouds still pretty dominant today with some clearing slowly moving in later today and tonight from the west. Mostly cloudy though for your Friday with some spotty showers, mainly southeast, and mild. Warming up more for the weekend with highs in the lower 70s and partly cloudy skies. A spotty shower possible on Sunday. More sun and 80s return next week! Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Griggs Reservoir & rain is back

I did five miles of hill repeats yesterday at Griggs Reservoir.  It was up and down 18 times which was just shy of 900 feet in elevation climb.  I feel pretty good about that because the Youngstown Marathon is about a 1300 foot change over the 26 miles.  There are a couple of bigger hills otherwise a lot of smaller ones.

Up down, up down, up down... It is almost more of a mental challenge than physical.  Who am I kidding... yes your legs will burn from a fire that only a Greek God can conjure. 

On and of rain for today with more steady rain across Southwestern Ohio... and the next couple days. Central Ohio will see a few afternoon showers and cool temps. Northeastern Ohio will see drier weather and some breaks of sun.

Rain tapers down tonight with just a few lingering showers across Southwestern Ohio. Partly cloudy and warmer on Wednesday then more building showers and even a few storms later in the day, mainly southwestern Ohio. Scattered showers and a few storms possible for Thursday. Spotty rain possible Friday, Saturday, and Mother's Day and staying mild. Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

New personal record, Summer at the farm, mild temps return

I had to work early Saturday then went for a run.  After last week's storms and Cap City Half Marathon cancelled mid-race I wasn't planning on trying to break my record, but I felt good and decided to hold on to the pace.  I shaved off more than ten minutes from my half marathon time! Also about 90 seconds off my 10k time!  So I was pretty stoked about that.  Next week I NEED to focus on pacing because it will be a 20 mile run and a lot more challenging mentally.  Then Dawn and I went out for a friends birthday and we had a lot of fun.

Summer went back to my parents' farm for the weekend and we were sent a handful of adorable photos like this.  Summer seemed to have a blast and wanted to show us all the cool things at the farm.  It was great getting some errands done over the weekend, but we sure did miss her.

A chilly start to Monday with temps in the 30s and patchy frost. Mostly sunny through the day and we will warm very quickly into the mid to upper 50s. Low temps tonight near 40 and outlying areas could drop into the mid 30s so frost is possible in spots. Mostly cloudy with scattered showers for Tuesday with most of the heaviest rain staying in Southwestern Ohio. Just a slight chance of rain on Wednesday and more expected Thursday. High temps will stay in the 60s after today. Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Cap City (Kinda) Half Marathon... my thoughts on the weather

I did more of a recap yesterday with photos, but I am writing this to clear my head (and the air) and look back at the situation from Saturday with the Cap City Half Marathon.  I have talked with other runners the past couple of days and everyone seems a tad unsettled... just like Saturday's weather. Please hear me out... and read to the end... hopefully it will bring peace to some of your hearts, minds, and sore muscles, for those who ran.

So here is the radar from 8AM, which was the start time.  Columbus was dry with just a few sprinkles.  GREAT running weather, but I am sure that big red blob is grabbing your attention.

That red blob was headed straight toward Columbus.  I had been watching it on my phone all morning and it was concerning...

 

So much so, that I mentioned it while being interviewed on Good Day Columbus just before the race. (Video above will play in desktop browsers)  It was coming and I knew it.  So I ran fast... I shaved off more than a minute off my mile time splits.

Eventually the race was called because of the storm and I was not able to finish the final loop over the Scioto River and that means I only ran 12.4 miles out of the 13.1 mile race.  I was devastated at first because I was on pace to have a HUGE improvement in my Half Marathon time, but none of it counts because I didn't reach that distance.  And the crowd was HUGE at the finish line with thousands of runners, so I couldn't even run a little more to get to the 13.1.  The race was cancelled and runners were re-directed to cut the course short everywhere and get to the finish.  So everyone spread out on the course all collided back at the finish.  We were handed medals, but it looks like only about 20% of the runners actually ran the full 13.1 miles because I was RIGHT at the cut-off for running the shorter distance.

And we knew storms were likely... as a matter of fact, this is the tweet I sent to the race account and the race director on Monday!  The chance of rain didn't change through the week because there was a big low pressure system that was expected to bring lots of rain and storms.

So... looking back... could things have been changed??? Not really.  And here is why...

-Could the race have been moved up earlier? Not really... it would be next to impossible to let all 14,500 runners know and get them there in time because some were driving in from out of town.  Plus this means shutting down roads earlier and less spectators because they may not know of the time change.

-Could the race have been delayed? No, in fact this is less plausible.  You still have to let everyone know the race is delayed.  PLUS, if the decision was made right before the race start then you need to find a spot for all these people to find shelter from the storm. This also means WAY more OT for police stopping traffic and roads being shut down for even a longer period of time.

-Could the race have changed dates... to Sunday? Possible, but a lot of hurdles. Getting the word out would be an issue.  Plus course volunteers and police might not be able to work the following day to help secure the course.  Same for hydration station volunteers.  Then what about people who were flying or driving out of town later Saturday after the race?  Then the issue of shutting down the roads on a Sunday morning and making sure the police have the day off to help.

There is no way the race organizers could have let the race continue any later than they did.  Shortly after I got to shelter the skies opened up and there was a LOT of lightning.  They needed to take action to get people to safety and they made the right call with calling the race.  The bad part is that some runners were stranded on the route and not able to make it back before the worst of the storm.  If someone was struck by lightning and the race was allowed to continue then it would have been a HUGE problem.  We all are safe and can run another race. 

This doesn't change my feelings toward the medal.  It's a beautiful medal, but I don't feel like I earned it.  I didn't run the distance I signed up for. I paid for the race, I crossed the starting line, and I crossed the finish line, but I feel cheated... almost because I CHEATED by cutting the course short.  So it is almost like I am letting myself down.  It would be awesome if there was a "rain check" or a discount for returning runners for next year.  I know I am not alone in the feeling of lack of closure. 

There are two minor things that could have been different before the race was cancelled.  First... I think alerting the runners through the race, for the storm, would have been a good idea.  There are flags up around the course.  Above is the image from the Cap City website for their flag/inclement weather protocol. The ONLY flag I saw was the green flag and I tried keeping an eye on them. Secondly... Maybe alerting runners before the start of the race.  There was the stage and PA system.  Letting runners know of the storm coming would have been a good call. Or telling them that the course may get closed if the storm stays on track. Or even a heads up the night before or the morning of on social media so people would plan accordingly. 

So does this bring closure?  Maybe mentally. Could things have been changed... not really.  Runners needed to get to safety. The organizers made the right call to get people off the course. 

Now there is the bag check issue with gear taken 20 miles away for pick-up because of the rain... but I didn't have to deal with that, so I don't want to chime in on that.  Either way... a decision had to be made with the race and storm coming... And in the end... we all get to race another day.

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Cap City Half Marathon, camping with Summer, & storms today

It was a gloomy day Saturday.

LOTS of overnight rain, but it took a break about an hour before the start of the Cap City Half until 90 minutes into the race. I felt great! I was running a pace to beat my past Half PR Race by 14+ minutes. Then there was lightning. LOTS of it. The race was cut short for everyone.

I had some amazing support out there. This is my friend's son, Joey.  He had a HUGE smile on his face when I came running up to him to give him a high five.  When coming up High Street I knew there was one final cut-off where we would run across the Main Street bridge, then back over the Rich Street bridge that would total 0.8 miles... well the police were blocking that and they said the course was cut short.

If 12.3 miles was a race, then I PRed at that. Yay for soggy toes and thunder. I gave up caring about being dry after a while. The rain was moderate while running the end, but just after I got my gear at bag check it POURED! I was on pace to finish the Half in 1:47, and last fall I ran it in 2:01... so if I was able to finish, it would have been a HUGE improvement.  Oh well... It was a training run anyway for the Youngstown Full Marathon in 5 weeks.

So many people came out to cheer me and others on. It was an amazing run and when I got home I did another 5 miles in the pouring rain. I also parked far away to jog to the start since I’m supposed to do 18 miles for my Full training. I was sitting at 22 miles by Noon.

We went out to dinner and we smashed some pizza!  Summer loves playing with glasses, but rarely lets them stay on her face for more than a second.

I set up the tent when we got home and Summer and I camped out.  I was more excited for this than the run.

It was fun watching her face as she realized what we were doing.  She was looking and you could see a look on her face of excitement that we were sleeping in the backyard.  One spotty shower came through and no problem for the tent.

Some early scattered storms for your Monday with Eastern Ohio in the Slight Risk for some severe storms for the first half of the day.

The sun tries to break out some this afternoon then becoming mostly cloudy and spotty showers later today into tonight and Tuesday. Temperatures will be mild for the first half of the week and then cooler by next weekend. Another round of rain on Thursday and Friday. Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael