What a pain in the.... eye!

This is what my right eye looked like today

Yesterday after lunch I could feel my right eye getting dry and then all of a sudden I began to feel more and more pain. It didn't take me long to remember this feeling which I experienced the day after scratching my eye on a branch during a night run back in February. So, after making an appointment with an eye doctor in Warren I left work early in the afternoon. Once the doctor looked at my eye he told me what I was expecting to hear... that I reopened the initial scratch on the outer layer of my eye. This condition is known as recurrent corneal errorsion. All he did though was give me some eye drops and had me schedule another appointment.

Well, this morning when I woke up I had even more pain and discomfort in my eye so I was forced to take the day off work and made an appointment with the eye doctor in Streetsboro that I saw initially for the first time back in February. I had to wait all the way until 2:30 pm but finally got in. Once he looked at my eye he said wow, you must be a tough guy. I didn't like the sound of this but he said that I'd be alright. It's just that I would have to go back to step 1 in healing this eye. He then put a contact lens in my right eye to cover the abrasion and said that I would need to keep this in my eye for about a month without removing it. The first time I saw this doctor he gave me a more temporary contact, which he took out after only a day or so. This time however he gave me a more permanent contact to help aid in a fuller recovery of the eye. This allows the cornea's outermost layer of cells to reattach with the underlying membrane. The only problem I have with keeping the contact in my eye for a month is that the doctor said I might have to get used to some blurriness. So, that's where I stand as of now. Hopefully nothing else comes up between now and Massnautten that could intervere with my race plans.

Chippewa Creek Run

This evening I met Lloyd at the Chippewa Creek Gorge Scenic Overlook parking lot in the Brecksville Reservation of the Cleveland Metroparks. Our plan was to run along the riverbed which is filled with rocks in order to help simulate our upcoming experience at Massanutten (not a perfect simulation but it's the best that us Ohioans can do!).

On our way down to the riverbed we ran the bridal trail some to get warmed up and I was impressed with how smooth they've made it recently. It almost felt like a track. According to Lloyd I guess the park drags something to smooth it all out. It was also nice to see some greenery starting to appear on the side of the trail.

We ended up getting in an hour and had a lot of fun dancing around on the rocks and running/wading through the water. I plan on getting back here again soon for a few more runs and wish I would've remembered this area earlier in my training.

After we were finished Lloyd and I both commented on how nice the temperature was... still in the 70's around 9pm and very reminiscent to weather we get in July. Some storms are moving in tomorrow though and it looks like we'll be back closer to normal again in the 60's.

Feeling Better

After a week of being under the weather I think I'm finally turning the corner this evening (knock on wood). I'm not coughing up mucous anymore and the pressure in my sinuses has subsided for the most part. Hopefully I wake up feeling fine tomorrow and I can get back to running trails. Tomorrow is supposed to be sunny and a high of 87 before cooler temps move in on Tuesday.

Another Attempt

Well, I still wasn't feeling the best this morning but decided to head over to Kendall Hills at noon and meet John Buehrle and his friend (sorry, I forget his name) for a test run. Before we started we met this kid named Brandon who just moved to the area from Florida and had some questions about the trails in the Cuyahoga Valley. He decided to join us and we hopped on to the Salt Run trail.
Right away I could tell that my sinuses were draining all the energy from my body and the heat wasn't helping things either. The high today was supposed to be in the mid 80's, very rare for this time of the year. After about 30-40 minutes I decided to do the smart thing and call it a day so that I didn't dig myself a deeper hole. I guess on the plus side, at least I am feeling this way now and not next month when I have my 100 miler.

Sick

Well, I haven't been feeling good or getting much sleep since Monday. In the spring I occasionally get major sinus issues and it makes me feel like I have a fever, dry throat, and an aching body. Looking at the weather we've had lately it's no wonder why so many people are sick. Last weekend was sunny and 70, Monday through Wednesday has been in the 30's at night, and this coming weekend the forecast calls for temperatures back near 80. Crazy! Well, I'm hoping that the warm weather this weekend sticks with us for good and I can get back to some big miles before tapering for the Massanutten 100 in May.

Boston Store to Brecksville

This morning my brother and I met at the Boston Store @ 9am for a run on the Buckeye Trail. The weather was beautiful... sunny and mid 60's with a high temperature of 70 in the afternoon. We ended up running north towards Brecksville and turned around just after the Brecksville Stables to give us 20 miles total for the day. I was dealing with some major sinus problems, which in turn made my body feel weak, and Jeff wasn't feeling too energetic either so we took it easy and enjoyed the scenery.

It was great to see nature starting to come back to life after such a long winter. My brother and I saw and heard a lot of garder snakes slithering around in the leaves next to the trail. I was able to take this photo of a fairly large one on my way back to the Boston Store before Columbia Rd....

We even got practice some bird calling throughout the day. Here's a video of a wood pecker that we got pretty close to....

Later in the evening we headed to downtown Cleveland for the Banff Mountain Film Festival which was taking place at Playhouse Square. We met Heidi Finniff, Jim Christ, and a friend of his. We all had a great time and enjoyed the High Altitude Party that took place before the films.

8 Mile Easter Run

Nick Billock, Tracy Meder, John Buehrle, Dale Liff, Mindy Wolcott, myself, Jim Chaney, & Jeff Musick

This evening I met up with 7 others at the Boston Store for an evening trail run. We followed the Valley Bridal Trail past Jaite, picked up the Buckeye Trail at Snowville Rd., and then headed back to our cars to finish with 8 miles. The temperature was in the upper 40s but the sun followed me back from California and was shining brightly! We ran at a pretty quick pace tonight and I felt good afterwards. Happy Easter everyone!

California Vacation

This past week my wife and I were on vacation in California. Our trip included Yosemite National Park from April 4th through the 7th, St. Helena (wine country) on the 8th, and San Francisco on the 9th through the 11th. We had a great time and were able to see a lot of amazing things. I was also happy to be able to get in at least 40 miles of quality hiking.

Here are some pictures I took while we were out there:

Day 1 & 2 - Tuolumne River & Hetch Hetchy Reservoir

Day 3 & 4 - Foresta Falls Trail, Yosemite Valley, & Hite Cove Trail

Day 5 - St. Helena (Napa Valley)

Day 6 & 7 - San Francisco