Ohio

Monday, Jan 30:

Flew into Ohio, stopped at Cuyahoga Valley National Park to hike th eBuckeye Trail to Blue Hen Falls, wearing Merrell snow boots, wearing a 20#RPC.  It was snowing, but the trail was mainly muddy.

I covered 3 miles in 1:27:17.  This NP is very different from others, in that it's in the middle of civilization.  There are businesses around.  It doesn't feel like you're getting out into nature, as much, but it's still better than nothing.  It's a good, easy accessible place for locals to visit.  The NP visitor center even rents out snowshoes for free, when the snow is deep enough.  Unfortunately, I wouldn't encounter snow that deep during my trip.

Friday, Feb 3:

This suite at Staybridge would be my home for three workweeks:

I did the APFT in the hotel gym, with 45 pushups, 76 situps, a 14:22 2 miler on the treadmill with a 2 degree incline, followed by a 2 mile 20#RPC ruck in 28:09.  It was done in simple pants at 1am in 62 degrees.  I barely got 300, phew, not that I cared much this time.

After work, in the evening, I went to spectate an HDT Rufus Throwndown.  I've spectated once before, in CLT.  I guess I'm a fan!  I chose not to jump in, though, since I'm still letting my right butt heal.  It was fun seeing the Ohio-based crew, and finally meeting social media names in person.

I didn't stay the whole night, since I didn't want to wreck my sleep for the rest of the weekend.  I did get to see their SAQ warmup, an AMRAP, their coupon movement, and an extra barbell team challenge.

Saturday, Feb 4:

I hiked the "Cross Country" and "Lake Trail" at CVNP, with a 20#RPC plus an extra 40L GR2 with some stuff inside for extra weight.  I managed not to slip on any black ice patches, even on the inclined areas.

There were many good food options in the south-of-Cleveland area.

In the evening, I did HDT 35.6.2 (ARMS) in the hotel gym, followed by 2x [1 min dead hang, 2 min wall sit, 3 min high plank] as a filler.

Sunday, Feb 5:

I drove into NY to a place that a local recommended, for some skiing.  There's also a place within CVNP, but it's tiny in comparison.  Peek'n Peak isn't huge, either, but I was happy just running the same wide green trail repeatedly, 10+ times.  I like wide ones, since I have plenty of room to turn, without having to worry about going off of cliffs or going into the trees.  

Contrary to most people, my favorite part of the skiing experience is the ski lift.  The downhill part is a necessary chore that I must undertake to get the opportunity to ride the lift again.  It's a nice break and a little thrill ride, with good views.

I was very sleepy mid-day, and somewhat sat while sleeping by the fireplace in the lodge.  It was an early start, getting there.  I did as much as I could endure.  Skiing is hard.

I grabbed a geocache on the way out of town.

Monday, Feb 6:

HDT 35.6.CP (Gods of Chaos) 30 min AMRAP with a 20#RPC, followed by 5x (10 RPC OH lunges, 50 4-ct flutter kicks) for 15 min at 4:30am in the hotel gym.

Tuesday, Feb 7:

I rucked for 4 miles in 52:52 on a 2 degree inclined treadmill with the 20#RPC at 5am.

My Garmin's bluetooth stopped being able to synch with the app a while back, so I had to resort to taking pictures for immediate record purposes.

Wednesday, Feb 8:

3 mile warmup ruck with a 20#RPC in 39:32, followed by HDT IR35-36.2.1 (Core and Legs) where I added OH holds during the rest breaks to make the most of my workout time.  I got hungry during the workout since I delayed dinner for it, so that I could eat afterwards, rather than have dinner, then work out, then be hungry again when all the restaurants were closed and I had already spent dinner money.

Friday, Feb 10:

1 mile warmup 20#RPC ruck in 13:59, at the start of the Devils 15 Horizon Core workout in 36 min.  My abs wanted a challenging core workout.

In the evening, I saw a hockey game with my co-workers.  I don't even remember who was playing.  There was a halftime figure skating show, which was cool.

Saturday, Feb 11:

There happened to be a rogaine nearby.  I've never done a Rogaine before.  I've only ever done linear orienteering courses, where you have to hit the CPs in a specific sequence.  At a Rogaine, you get a bunch of points that you can hit in any sequence.  CPs can be worth different points based on difficulty level, which plays into your strategy on how to maximize points before the time limit.  You can go for as many or as few points as you want, but you need to be back before the time limit.  

I hadn't planned on finding this, so I didn't have any nav stuff with me, but they had compasses to borrow, and that was sufficient.  I did 6 miles in 1:42, wearing my steel toed safety shoes, since it offered the best traction for off-road surfaces plus ankle support.  I ended up clearing the course, which was awesome.  It was a fun experience, and a nice way to explore Ohio some more.  Orienteering-loving wierdos exist everywhere!

I cleared the course, with about 15 min to spare.  We got about 15 min of planning time before the mass start.  There were about 30-40 competitors.  I planned a route that was basically a left loop that had more points along trails, followed by a right loop that was more spread out and less trail-driven.  There wasn't a ton of bush-whacking, since it was held at a park with grassy areas and farmland.

It was a very different experience for me, not measuring anything with protractors.  I went by terrain/landmark association, and only checked the compass on a handful of occasions to verify general directions.  I felt like I was going at a running effort the whole time, even though my pace was 17 min miles.

Afterwards, I grabbed a Letterbox Geocache in the park.  Those are rare.  I didn't have an ink pad, and neither did the cache, but I made it work.  There was even a bit of ice on the cache!

Afterwards, I drove into Cleveland to explore the city, while I had a chance.  I started with a much-needed meal at Brewdog. 

 

There's lots to discover in town.  I set off on foot, which is the best way to see a lot without having to deal with parking.  I went into a memorial museum commemorating Civil War veterans.

Winterfest happened to be on, so there were ice sculptures, free sm'ores, a bonfire contained within an ice chimney, and pyro performances.  The sunset on the water was gorgeous.

Sunday, Feb 12:

I had had a full day the previous day, so Sunday was more of a rest day.  I tried Clean Eatz for the first time.

I did the Jan 4, 2023 RuckWOD.com with a 20#RPC in 10:38, followed by the Nov 18, 2022 RuckWOD.com with a 20#RPC plus 2x15#DBs for the first two exercises in 24:32, followed by 3x [2x30#DB shoulder shrugs, 1 min 6 in, 1 min wall sit) in 12:30.

Tuesday, Feb 14:

I had an unplanned side trip to Nebraska for a customer visit.  Figuring out what to do with my luggage and the hotel situation was tricky, but I figured it out.  I didn't want to haul my 3 weeks of Ohio luggage around for this quick trip.

Wednesday, Feb 15:

The hotel in Nebraska had a Peloton, so I tried a ride for the first time, wearing running shoes.  I covered 8.25 miles in 30 min, on a virtual tour of Iceland.  Peloton will make you sweat!

Afterwards, I did the Oct 2, 2022 Tiny Apt WOD BW AMRAP for 13 min, at 5:30am Iowa time, the morning after the big Valentine's day dinner.  My right butt felt strained just walking, so I decided that day to withdraw from the Bragg Heavy, with 30 days to go.

I was sad that I didn't get to try out the Omaha hotel's gym that night.  The whole place was nicely decorated, and the gym looked cool.

I had to catch a flight very early the next morning.

Friday, Feb 17:

I squeezed in one last workout in Ohio, at 4:30am before doing laundry and flying home.  I did a 1 mile warmup ruck in 14:30 with the 20#RPC, followed by the PATHFINDER Beginner "Build Your Strength" workout in 60 min with 5 rounds per set.  

I got to watch the plane be de-iced.