Jim and I ran really long runs on the 4th and again on the 11th. Our goal was 20 miles, and to try something different, Jim wanted to park at the train station on the towpath, which is usually my southern terminus for my runs. I was game to see new parts of the towpath. The only downside was we had to run past the sewage-treatment plant that is just a half-mile south of the station. Jim calls the place the “poo-plant” and I have been referring to it that way as well. The first Saturday was cool and foggy, and the poo-plant was in gag-worthy form. We pressed past the stench, and settled into new (for me) territory.

The trail going south becomes fairly wide, easily accommodating three and even four abreast. About 3 miles or so into the run we came out suddenly near Weathervane Theater, which is a theater Mer and I like that is located in the Valley. That was a fun surprise. We crossed under the road, and ran back into the woods.

There are happily three water stops on this section of the trail. The trail itself is very pretty, with a golf course and a few long bridges, and with the Cuyahoga River plunging down out of sight from the trail. Jim and I got to an old Towpath general store that now houses exhibits on the history of Akron and the Towpath. Jim had thought about turning around here (and we did on the 11th), but I wanted to run to a full hour in that direction, and we were only at 55 minutes, so we pressed on. And up. The trail became paved and went up a fairly long 5% grade. We turned a corner, and there it was. Akron. The actual city of Akron. Not in the distance to the south of us, but right there next to us. We had actually run all the way to Akron. We finished up this segment of the run by crossing over the MLK freeway, which put us right at the edge of downtown. It was amazing how quickly you could go from woods and trails on the Towpath to being in downtown Akron. 

We finished the runs both weeks, but they were very difficult. 20 miles is running for 2:40, and everything after 2:00 is hard, and everything past 2:20 is trying.

Last weekend we had to run on our own, and without Jim watching our pace (usually 8-minute miles), I ran 6.5 miles at a 7:25 pace and that is all I could do.