Pine Lane to Brecksville

This morning my brother and I met at Pine Lane at 9 o’clock for a long snowy run on the Buckeye Trail. Our original plan was to go to Brecksville and back for a 50K but a couple variables changed this.

The first issue arose when we reached the first stream crossing after Pine Lane. This crossing is always pretty tough when any water is flowing but today it seemed almost impossible to get across without getting wet. We looked up and down stream for an easier way to cross, but had no such luck. So, we decided to just run across where the trail normally goes.

As Jeff was preparing to cross I was still looking for the most shallow area… when all of a sudden I heard… whoosh! I looked back and Jeff was almost up to his waist in water! I couldn’t believe it and started laughing. When he finally got across to the other side though he was limping a bit and was obviously in some pain. Not only did he get soaked, but he sprained his ankle a bit as he was racing to get to the other side. We waited about 10-15 minutes for him to walk it off and then continued on. He was still able to run/walk pretty good and it didn’t seem to be real serious, but it was enough to limit his distance today. Here’s a picture of what his ankle looked like this evening…

Here’s a video Jeff took of me crossing the same stream just to the right of where he went….

After this last storm we got on Thurs/Friday the snow on the trail was up to our shins the entire way, with snow drifts up to our knees in spots and even up to my thighs on sections past Snowville Rd. Once we reached the Boston Store Jeff said he was going to turn around and head back to his car, so I continued heading north towards Brecksville by myself. At first I was a little disappointed I wouldn’t have anyone to chat with, but eventually I began to really enjoy being out on the trail alone and enjoyed trudging through the snow and taking in the scenery and solitude around me.

The closer I got to Brecksville the more I could tell that the snow was beginning to wear on me. Not in a bad way. I was enjoying every minute of this run and the effort needed to keep pushing forward. But, my legs were gradually getting more tired from having to lift them up so high with each step. Plus, I was coming to the realization that I was running out of time in the day to complete the entire 50K. So, I decided to call it a day and have lunch with my brother who was planning on meeting me at Heinen’s in Brecksville. I ended up with a total of 16 miles and 6 hours of time on my feet. Very happy with my effort today.

Click Here to view all my photos from the day

Here’s a couple other videos I took along the way…..

Blue Hen Falls

Pine section before Snowville Rd.

Big ledge jump to avoid water

Snowshoeing

Large hawk we saw at the beginning of our hike

This morning I met my dad over at the Kendall Lake Sports Center and we rented snowshoes.  This was his first time trying out snowshoes and he really enjoyed the experience.  It was supposed to be cloudy today but thankfully the skies turned all blue after we got started.  The warm sunshine and 40+ degrees felt awesome and the snow had a crusty glaze on top which made for a fun day of snowshoeing.  We ended up doing a big loop and hiked for about an hour and 40 minutes.

5 Road Miles

After looking outside during the middle of the day and seeing nothing but blue skies and 40 degree temps, I decided to do something I haven’t done in quite some time… get in a few road miles!  I took to the neighborhood streets behind my apt. complex and did my usual route which includes going primarily uphill for about 2.5 miles and then cruising back down downhill for the last 2.5.  I started off slow intentionally and just enjoyed taking in the sunshine but as usual, as the run progressed I continued speeding up.  My first mile was 8:27, second mile was 8:08, third was 7:48, fourth was 7:43, and I finished up with a 7:30 last mile.  Felt great and was happy to finally run on roads without any snow!

Happy Days – 5 Miles

Ledges Trail 

The Overlook

More Snowshoeing

This morning I met my brother again over at Kendall Lake and we rented snowshoes for the day.  Got in about 3 hours of exercise and filmed final footage for the upcoming show “Man vs. Mild”.  The snow was not as fluffy as it was last weekend so it made for a good workout.

Super Sunday

After receiving 8+ inches of fresh snow Friday night, I decided to meet Courtney Baker, Brandon Russell, Gavin White, and my brother at the Kendall Lake Sports Center for a day full of snowshoeing.  After renting snowshoes from here for my first time about a month ago, I was really looking forward to doing it again.  You can’t beat all day rental for $5! 

We started off by heading over to Kendall Hills and then continued off-trail in that direction for quite some time.  After about an hour and a half of aimless wandering we decided to turn around and attempt to navigate our way back to Kendall Lake.  We finished up with about 3 hours total and got in a lot of big climbs and downhills.  It looks like I might be doing this again next weekend too because they’re calling for another big snow storm Tuesday night that will dump an additional 6-9 inches on us.

Click Here to view the rest of the photos I took today.

Easy 5

I met my brother at the Happy Days lodge this evening and we ran to the Pine Grove loop and back for a total of 5 miles. Just wanted to get the body moving again after this past weekend's runs. Felt good.. no issues.