Spending time with Summer, Let Me Run, sunshine returning soon!

Finally our temps are warm enough to start taking Summer on my runs again.  Lots of stroller time ahead for the two of us.  We had a great run at Griggs this week. 

It has been hard dodging the rain all week, but thankfully it took enough of a break Tuesday for me to run with the Let Me Run Columbus boys at Wickliffe.  Some of you may be aware of Girls On The Run and this program is the same for boys.  I am the grand marshal for their 5k in early May, so it was great to run with them before the big run.  It was fun talking with some of them on the run because we ran 2.2 miles and some of the kids were excited to run the farthest distance of their lives.  

Fog was an issue early this morning, but it has been breaking up...

Thanks to more rain moving in.  

A foggy, wet day ahead... again. Today the fog is more dense and could cause some problems on the roads. Rain showers will pick up in coverage and intensity today with a few rumbles, mainly for Southern Ohio. A few showers will linger tonight as colder air races in and winds pick up. A few sprinkles and flurries are possible early Friday then clouds slowly clearing with some sun later in the day. Friday evening looks great for any Passover & Good Friday festivities. Increasing clouds Saturday with late afternoon/evening rain showers. The rain will race through pretty early Sunday morning and it is looking like most of the precip will be rain and only a slight possibility of a wintry mix early Sunday morning since most of the moisture will move out before our temps bottom out in the mid 30s for Easter morning. Mostly to partly cloudy on Easter Sunday and looking to stay dry Monday. More rain returns Tuesday. Our temps will warm up Tuesday, however, if we see steady rain then it will limit our temps, but some breaks in the rain will allow a surge of warm air and right now we are going to go with a high of 62. Drier and cooler air returns Wednesday. Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Running, camping in with Summer, plumbing, AP Awards

 Last week was an interesting week... Some snow, some sun, but chilly all week long.

At least we had some weekend sun. Had a great run around Columbus.

I got called into work last weekend and I was supposed to camp with Summer.  So I made it up to her this weekend and put our our tents in the living room and watched some NCAA March Madness before hitting the hay for the night.  She loves it and I am so happy to inspire her to enjoy the outdoors.  

Unfortunately I didn't get a lot of outdoor time this weekend... The valve for the shower/tub went out after 22 years.  I had to replace it.  Not sure why there is an electrical line running right behind it, but who knows... Lots of little odd things that probably shouldn't pass code. 

Anyway, I got it fixed and we are back up and running!  I had to get a little creative though. 

The new unit is more shallow than the old bulky one so I had to notch out the 2x4 to bring the valve closer to the wall.  Worked perfectly!  Got the new unit installed and running!  By the way... I ponied up to get Sharkbite fittings.  They get costly, but man was it nice.  Twice I had to take apart the unit for unforeseen hurdles (like the 2x4).  I was able to take apart the pipes and fix issues before the final assembly.  I also drooped the electrical wire in case there are ever any issues it will drop in this area instead of running down the wire to an outlet.

I was not able to attend the Ohio Associated Press awards, but it was a nice distraction getting texts and tweets about winning Best Weathercast!  I wasn't quite expecting that, but that's pretty awesome news when dealing with the plumbing project.

A chilly start to your workweek, but lots of early sun followed by more clouds through the day with mild temps and breezy winds. A few showers possible in Western Ohio later today, but Central Ohio should dodge the rain until tonight. Rain showers move in overnight and a few rumbles of thunder are possible early Tuesday. On and off rain Tuesday and Wednesday, but more on than off. The rain breaks up a little more Thursday and Friday, but the chance of rain is still there. Rain fall totals for the week look to be generally 1"-2", but isolated pockets may see more. At least temperatures will be warming up some this week. Today we top out in the mid 50s then upper 50s tomorrow and lower 60s Wednesday and Thursday. Rain looks to take a little bit of a break for the start of next weekend on Saturday, but cooler. More rain looks to return next Sunday. Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

A rare Sunday post!

Phil Kelly got the stomach bug and I filled in yesterday and today on the weekend morning show.  And who would complain when you get to work with these lovely ladies! 

We are not done with winter just yet. We had a tiny bit of snow earlier this week and yesterday, but the little bit of snow is nice because it melts so quickly.

We are just barely under the season average for snow for the season... but we are not done yet.

Friday I did a dramatic reading of the Wizard of Oz at Easton Town Center.  They have an adorable Wizard of Oz play area for kids.  Summer had a lot of fun and it was hard to get her to leave for her nap.

Not a lot of running for me this week.  I was sick earlier this week so took a day off. Then Thursday my MCL sprain really flared up so I pulled the plug halfway through my speedwork.  I am taking the weekend off and trying to get back out this week if I feel fully recovered.  No need to exaggerate an injury  I did make something I had been wanting to do for a while.  I found an Etsy vendor that makes custom dog tags so I made this tag with the back having contact information.  Since I don't run with my phone normally or any ID, I wanted to make sure I was a little covered in case anything would happen.  I braided it out of paracord just in case I need about 8 feet of rope.

Sunday looks to be the pick day on the extended forecast, so get out there and enjoy the afternoon! Mostly sunny today and cold early, but warming into the lower 50s. Tonight a few clouds start moving in and increasing clouds for Monday with highs back in the 50s with winds picking up. Rain will sneak into Southern Ohio late Monday evening and leave early Tuesday morning with this round of precip mainly overnight and to the south. The sun will try to break out a little during the day Tuesday then another round of rain late Tuesday and that will transition over to some snow Tuesday night into early Wednesday. The current projected track of this system is to our south so the heaviest of the precip will stay mainly south of I-70. Some early rain/snow on Wednesday then sunshine returning by Thursday. Still early to talk about specific snowfall totals because the timing of the switch over from rain to snow is still about 72 hours out and the track is still bouncing around a little on the forecast models. That being said, parts of the area will see no snow and other areas could have pockets of a few inches of snow or more, so stay tuned. Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Made it to day 101, winter isn't over yet

I spent some time in Cleveland recently and went out for a run to meet Dawn and family at breakfast.  Most of the run was through the neighborhoods, but I had to stop to check my map when running through a park.

Then I looked over to my side to find a family of deer staring at me.  Breakfast was GREAT after that nine mile run.  It was my final run with my run streak.  I ran every day since Thanksgiving, but as my miles ramp up before my Cap City Half and Mohican Trail Marathon I need to observe my rest days and actually take days off. I wanted to reach 100 days and once I got to the 101 mark I pulled the plug. 

But of course I am not done running all together... Summer and I had a GREAT run last week.  I ran through parts of Hilliard that I have not been on running and it was a great day. 

Yesterday I converted our bicycle trailer into a running chariot. Since I need to do a lot more trail running, for the trail marathon in three months, I am getting creative. I was given a bike trailer that is really nice a couple years ago. It only hooks up to one of the mounts for the bike. By using the mounts on both sides and only spending about $20 at the hardware store, I was able to convert this into a running chariot. But no modifications to the trailer, so I can put it on the bike in seconds still. I also found an inexpensive chest harness online, used to pull weight sleds at gyms. The only problem with that, is that there is more bounce than if I am holding the poles with my arms. I would need to figure out some sort of spring attachment between the poles and harness.Either way the thing that I love about the trailer is that is enclosed with a mesh cover, so Summer can take along a few toys or snacks and be completely content.

A mix of sun & clouds today thanks to a strengthening Low to our south that is heading out to the East Coast to become the next Nor'easter. As this storm turns up the coastline it will cause Central Ohio to see some spotty wintry mix and snow showers later today, tonight, Tuesday, and early Wednesday. Pockets of light accumulations are possible, generally less than 1". The Nor'easter will also draw in colder air from the lower 40s today to the mid 30s on Tuesday and Wednesday. Once this storm moves out we will have more sunshine and milder temps for the second half of the week. Some rain looks to return toward the end of next weekend with mild temps. Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael