Evan's first birthday!

We had a blast last weekend!  Evan turned 1 on Saturday.  Hard to believe that now we have a 4 year old and 1 year old.  We had over some close friends and family and it was a lot of fun celebrating

Just like Summer, we made a big #1 covered with photos of him from his first year and then I clear coated the top of it.  It is fun to go back and look at Summer's #1 too.  Dawn also made a cute framed photo collage of the two of them from the past year with the text "MY 1st BEST FRIEND".  I love it.

Evan dug into the cake some, but he was pretty content with only eating a little bit of the cake.

One of the new gifts was a dual swing for Evan and Summer to ride together.  It has been so much fun watching him grow up the past year and especially her.  She has been such an amazing big sister and is always keeping an eye on Evan and is quick to let us know if he is getting into something that he shouldn't. She is quick to yell, "MOOOOOOOOM, DAAAAAAAAAAD!!!"

I worked over the weekend straight into this week.  I was getting worn down and tired with the 1AM alarms... I CRASHED when it was nap time for the kids on Tuesday and got a 2 hour nap.  So it was very easy to decide to run with the Columbus Westside Run Club on their Tuesday run at 6:30PM at Westgate Park.  Dawn and the kids came out as well and went with the walkers.  Since the walkers go in the opposite direction on the 1 mile loop then I get to give high fives to Summer several times while I got in my 8 miles.

I also took the kids up to the new Dublin branch of the Columbus Metropolitan Library.  VERY nice library and Summer loved going to the other side of the fish tank making Evan laugh.

I have been doing my daily runs on the roads a lot lately so decided to try to get some trail miles in yesterday.  Most of it was grass, but a mile or so was on actual trail.  I was able to test out my new Altra Timp 1.5 shoes.  Love them!  Light and snug on the top of the foot, but lots of room for my toes.  

Check out this storm last night!  It missed us.  I have been watering occasionally and will need to continue doing that if we don't get more rain soon.

Another morning with some patchy fog, but not quite as dense so far... The early fog will clear out and then we will be partly cloudy with some isolated showers and storms. Northeastern Ohio is in the Marginal Risk for severe storms, by the Storm Prediction Center. It will be a warm and humid day with highs in the mid 80s. Have rain gear handy and ready to go for the isolated pockets of rain. Friday will start out with more patchy fog then partly cloudy skies. High pressure will be passing by over Ohio so rain will likely stay at bay, but new models are trying to sneak in some rain late in the day, so let's go with a 20% chance of rain tomorrow. Most of Central Ohio will likely stay dry for Friday, but more rain returns for the weekend. Highs in the mid 80s for Friday and humidity still in the medium-high range. Saturday and Sunday will be hot with highs in the upper 80s with pop-up isolated showers and storms. It will also be a little more humid as well. So have rain gear handy for the weekend and a back-up plan if you have an outdoor event this weekend. The rain will be isolated both days so some areas will stay dry. The pattern of warm, humid, isolated rain conditions continue into next week as well. Not big change to our pattern anytime soon. Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Ohio State Fair, 8 year wedding anniverary, & back to running

I took Summer to the Ohio State Fair last week and she had a blast.  I got one of the giant Kool-Aids with free refills.  I probably refilled it more than the average person, but it was perfect on a hot day. 
Didn't get quite as much food as I had planned, but that is probably for the best.  ;)

I HIGHLY recommend checking out Smokey in the ODNR area of the fair.  One of the parents did not know about it and it was a lot of fun to see the kids when Smokey called out their names and talked with them.

Last week was also the 8 year anniversary for getting married to Dawn.  We like to go back to Browning Amphitheater for a picnic and reminisce.  So much fun watching Summer dancing on stage as well.  Evan was a big subdued because he is getting over a viral infection, but he seems to be making a turn for the better.  So I spent a lot of the weekend with him.  Summer went to visit Dawn's mom for the weekend for a lot of fun at her grandparents. It was good for Summer to be away so Evan could rest without Summer wanting him to play. All he wanted to do was rest. With Summer out of town, Dawn was insistent with me taking time in the mornings for runs and then I had Evan in the afternoons while she met her cousin to catch up.

I went back to the eye doctor on Friday and got the green light to start running again.  But I need to take some precautions.  Sunglasses are needed to avoid as much dust as possible from getting into my eyes along with a headband to keep the sweat from getting into my eyes too.  Went for a six mile run after the appointment and I used the roller afterward to loosen up the muscles a little more.

Had a great morning run Saturday with the Columbus Westside Running Club.

Then an early Sunday run on the trails.   

We even got to see the yellow springs yesterday.  So I went from a week of rest to 27 miles within three days.  My legs are a little sore now, so taking today off as a rest day, but happy to get back into the training cycle for races this fall.

Have the rain gear handy this week!  Today we will start warm and then become hot and humid this afternoon with high temps approaching 90.  We will have morning sun followed by building clouds and isolated pop-up showers and storms, mainly for the afternoon and early evening.  The chance of rain today for the area is about a 30% chance for an individual location.  There is a better chance of rain on the way. Partly cloudy and another very warm day Tuesday.  Scattered showers and storms will develop in the afternoon on Tuesday.  We will have a little more energy to get the rain to develop, so our chance of rain will be a 50%-60% for Tuesday and Wednesday.  So a decent part of the area will see rain between Tuesday or Wednesday, but not a guarantee for everyone.  It will be warm and humid for the first half of the week then a cold front will trigger some lingering rain Thursday.  Once that front passes, then humidity and temps will be falling. Friday and the weekend is looking spectacular.  Right now we are on track for high pressure bringing sunshine and highs near 80 with lower humidity.  Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Goodbye glasses! I got LASIK. Hot today then storms on the way...

So long glasses!  Well... sunglasses and then THIS cool sleeping mask needed while I sleep at night because...  I GOT LASIK!  I was in eye glasses for 22 years and contacts for about 17 years.  I had some eye issues the past couple months and I had ridges and bumps on the underside of my eye lids.  So no contacts for a while and glasses needed while I was on steroid drops.  I would have then needed to switch to more expensive contacts, so I talked to my eye doctor Tuesday about LASIK and they said they could set me up with a free consultation, but it might be a couple weeks for that.  Well... They said they could get me in at TLC Laser Eye Center in Dublin on Thursday... Then Thursday they said they had a cancellation for the Friday LASIK procedures and after that the next procedures would be towards the end of next month.  So I talked to my wife and the LASIK cost more up-front, but with no more contacts it should pay off within a handful of years.  Overall the entire process was very smooth and very quick.  I was in and out in less than 90 minutes and the procedure itself only took about 15 seconds per eye.  I have a LOT of eye drops for the coming weeks.  I also need to avoid any dust, smoke, and debris in my eyes.  No sweat either, so no running for at least a week and I am glad I got in some good runs last week... Anyway, I went to TLC Laser Eye Center in Dublin and I would totally recommend them. Dr. Doyle and the whole team was amazing. I don't get paid for saying that or a discount, but from one person to another, I am very glad I had it done.  Let's briefly look back at my last week with glasses before looking ahead to storms on the way...

I got a solid 13 miles in with some good friends on the trails last weekend.  I ran without glasses and told them to alert me to any big roots or rocks.  HAHA.  No tripping occurred. 

Last Tuesday was a BEAUTIFUL day so I got a nap when the kids napped and the whole family went out to join the Columbus Westside Running Club for their 6:15 Tuesday runs at Westgate Park. 

Wednesday was the opening day for the Ohio State Fair and Good Day Columbus was asked to be the grand marshals for the parade!  So much fun.   

Thursday was my LASIK consultation and I was told I was not able to run for at least a week because you cannot get sweat in your eyes. So I ran 9 miles in the afternoon to try to get a long run in before I got a week of rest.

Friday was LASIK day and this is one of the final photos wearing my eye glasses. There was only one small issue... I had a blood vessel burst in my right eye. I will spare you the zoomed in photo. Which was a possibility they told me about beforehand, but if that is my only issue, no big deal. It will go away in the coming weeks. My vision looked like someone put Vaseline on my glasses heading home. The rest of the day was a mandatory 4 hour nap after the procedure and taking it easy.  My vision was much better after the nap and only a slight bit of haze and smokey appearance, which has been slowly fading.  I went back Saturday morning and had my eyes checked again and got clearance to start driving.  We debated on going to the Ohio State Fair.  The doctor said it was ok, but with limitations due to the dust, smoke, and germs with the animals.  So we decided to take it easy on Saturday midday due to timing with the kids naps.  We will get to the fair eventually...  So a restful midday Saturday before I had to head to the Clippers game for work that evening.

 I love Evan's face in this photo before we left for the game. "Where are my sunglasses?"

Saturday was the WTTE Masked Singer night so we had one of our own singing some songs for people to guess who was singing...

Here is the 7th inning stretch... And the singer inside of Mugsy....

Bob Kendrick!  Lots of fun!  It was nice to see and hang out with the night-side gang.  We barely cross paths, so it was great to spend some time with Bob, Stacia, and Marshall in a fun setting. 

One more hot day before rain will cool us off.  We will start the day with sunshine and a warm temps in the upper 60s this morning.  Humidity will be high today and as we approach 90 for the high temp, it will feel like the lower 90s.  We will have winds out of the southwest between 10-20 mph through the day to help make it feel a little cooler.  There is a slight chance for some isolated showers and storms popping up this afternoon and evening.  More showers and storms likely overnight and Tuesday as a cold front approaches.  Right now the threat for severe weather is low, but a few gusty cells and small hail are possible.  The rain will be on and off on Tuesday with highs in the lower-mid 80s and humidity remaining high.  Our humidity falls through the day on Wednesday with some lingering isolated rain and high temps in the mid 80s. Let's keep Thursday and Friday dry with mostly sunny skies as high pressure builds to our north.  The cold front from Tuesday will stall out to our south and southeast, so there is a slight chance of rain near the Ohio River, but Central Ohio looks to remain dry at this point.  More clouds to the south and east because of that front with more sun to the north and northwest. So warm and mainly dry for Thursday and Friday with low humidity and highs in the mid 80s. That front to the south will slowly shift closer to Ohio for Saturday and Sunday, so let's go with a 20% chance of rain as our temps start warming into the upper 80s and humidity is slowly increasing.  If you have any plans outside next weekend I wouldn't cancel them right now, but make sure to have a back-up rain plan ready, especially for the afternoons since the rain may be the PM pop-up rain.  Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Staying cool in the heat... for me & kids. Cooler air coming.

The group runs have been starting earlier for the Columbus Westside Running Club because of the heat of summer.  And MAN has it been hot!

Dawn had a bridal shower last weekend so I took the kids for a run in the morning then had some fun in the swimming pool in the afternoon.  Love finding the blow-up pools on sale.  

We have also been doing more fun stuff indoors.  Like the trampoline park with Summer's preschool friends. 

Completely SOAKED in sweat.  I set out a cooler in front of the house to hit-up when I would loop by every couple of miles.

Post-run popsicle are the best!  We picked up a bunch of freeze pops from the grocery last week and very happy that we did that.

Both kids are loving them.  Evan probably loves the cold ice on his teeth.  Be spits it out once he bites it off though.  

EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING  for all of Ohio until 8pm Saturday.  High temps in the mid 90s and heat index between 105° - 110° in the afternoons.

The heat is on!  Today and Saturday our temps will warm into the mid 90s with the humidity making the heat index feel between 105° and 110° in the afternoons.  We will start the days mostly sunny then some clouds will bubble up in the afternoon.  There is a slight chance for isolated showers and storms to pop up today and tomorrow.  The best chance for rain today will be in Northern Ohio.  Overnight low temps only dip into the mid 70s, so staying very warm overnight.

Sunday will be hot as well with highs in the lower 90s as clouds start moving into the area.  We will likely see the heat index in the lower 100s.  There will be an approaching cold front for late Sunday will bring scattered showers and storms.  If the rain holds off then our temps may be a little hotter.  Scattered showers and storms likely for later Sunday, Sunday night, and then on Monday.  Some of the storms late Sunday could become strong to severe.  The Northern half of Ohio is in the Marginal Risk for severe storms.  The cold front and rain will usher in a cool down.

Highs in the lower 80s for the first half of next week.  Monday will be wet with the scattered rain then mostly sunny for the rest of the week.  We will slowly warm back into the mid 80s by Thursday.  Lower humidity next week will make it feel a lot more comfortable.  Overnight low temps near 60 in Columbus and 50s in the outlying areas next week.  A nice break for the air conditioners!  Stay cool the next few days and have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

#HilltopUSA5k recap, switching to glasses, heat & storms returning...

Before I forget, I'm running a 40% off sale on BalmByBuck.com for the next 8 days for a Christmas in July sale. Stock up!

Back to the blog... Check out all my peeps in the top photo! Love my Columbus Westside Running Club! We hosted the Hilltop USA 5k for the second time.  I was the emcee again this year and the community that comes out for this is amazing.  So many people and business out there supporting this event.  We had 500 people sign up for the 5k and about 30 of those did the ruck run.

I did the ruck run this year with a 35 pound backpack.  

Came in second place and it was VERY hot.  My heart rate was climbing to 190 to 195 and I had to take some walking breaks due to the heat and  humidity.  It is amazing how much energy it drains trying to run with that extra weight.  Thankfully the event went off smoothly and only one runner had to get helped off the course from the heat, but no ambulance needed thankfully. Great event and I highly recommend you checking it out next year.

So I obviously had to stay in town for that, but Dawn left in the middle of last week to take the kids back to see Dawn's mom for her birthday, on the 4th. They had a lot of fun in Cleveland checking out all the festivities leading up to the MLB All-Star game. They came back Sunday.

Before the came back, I went running at Clear Creek Metro Park with a friend, Mike.  I love that Metro Park and it has some fantastic hills for climbing.

I took the kids to the zoo on Monday after work.  Evan doesn't like hats, but he has fair skin so I was trying my best to keep him out of the sun.

Speaking of sun... Summer got new sunglasses at the eye doctor yesterday.  Most of us had a great visit... Love these two ladies!

As for me... My contacts have been bouncing around and I have an issue with my eye lids and I have to wear glasses for at least a couple weeks and use steroid drops to try to correct the issues with my eyes.  Hopefully the issue goes away.  I really do not like wearing glasses, but I have no choice right now.  LASIK is a possibility because my eye prescription has been stable for 10 years, but LASIK and the potential complications scare me.  Time to start researching local laser eye doctors...

We will see a few pop-ups today, but tomorrow's storms could be even stronger for us.

More heat and humidity today, along with more pop-up storms, then even stronger storms Thursday.  Today we will be partly cloudy with temps warming to 90 and humidity staying high.  We will have some spotty showers and storms popping up this afternoon and they could have some heavy downpours.  We stay very humid overnight with low temps in the lower 70s. An approaching cold front on Thursday will trigger more showers and storms.  The Storm Prediction Center has N/W Ohio in the "General Thunderstorm" criteria, the I-71 corridor in the "Marginal Risk", and S/E Ohio in the "Slight Risk" for severe weather.  So the strongest storms likely in Southern and Eastern Ohio on Thursday with gusty winds and hail possible, along with heavy downpours.  We could have a few spotty morning showers, but most of the storms will be midday and in the afternoon with clearing skies by the evening with the cold front pushing the rain out to the east. Mostly sunny, warm, and less humid for Friday and Saturday.  The atmosphere heats up more and humidity rising by Sunday and early next week.  With the heat and humidity returning, the chance of rain will return with pop-up isolated rain Sunday and next week. WATCHING THE TROPICS - There is an unorganized cluster of storms off the coast of the Florida panhandle.  The storms are expected to start to become more organized today and could become our second named tropical storm of the year, Barry.  The general track of the storm looks to head west towards the Louisiana and Texas coast later this week.  Since the storm is still unorganized we will need to closely monitor the conditions over the coming days.  Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Outdoor fun, fireworks, and hot weather.

The rain has been holding off for the most part the past week with just some isolated rain.  So great weather to head to the park with the kids.  Summer wanted to explore some of the trails.

We had some of her preschool friends over on Friday for her birthday party.  It was a LOT of fun.  We had some water fun as well to beat the heat.

I went running with the Columbus Westside Running Club on Saturday morning.  Great group of runners.  I was easing back into running after an early-week minor injury. So I did 6 miles and got photos of some of the runners for our Facebook group.

Saturday night we caught the fireworks at the Hollywood Casino.  They were about 10 minutes long and a lot of fun with the kids.  10 minutes is a great length for the young kids.  And we had a GREAT viewing location! 

Welcome to July!  We are feeling like the middle of summer this week with the heat and humidity most of the week along with isolated showers and storms.  Today will be the least muggy day this week, but still a little humid.  A front is parked between South Bend, Indiana to Dayton, Ohio and down to Portsmouth, Ohio.  On the southwest side of that front is where the muggy and hot air is located.  So we are in the slightly less humid and warm air.  This means that the best chance of rain will be along that front and farther southwest.  The chance of rain is low today, but still possible.  We will see that front slowly dissolve and lift back northeast later today & tonight so the hotter and more humid air will return tonight and into Tuesday.  Mix of sun & clouds today with highs in the mid-upper 80s. Tuesday will be hot and humid with a slightly better chance for isolated showers and storms, 40% chance. That pattern will be sticking around through the rest of the week and into the weekend. Since the rain will be more isolated, rather than widespread, some of us will see rain from time to time this week, but not everyone.  Rain is possible at anytime, but the best chance of rain will be during the hottest part of the day: afternoons and early evenings.  High temps will be near 90 for Tuesday through Independence Day.  We stay in the mid-upper 80s by the weekend as well.  It does appear a large area of high pressure early next week could drop our chances of rain, however for the next 7 days have the rain gear handy and ready to go, along with some extra water to stay hydrated.  Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael