Preschool is back, so are the long runs... but not fall... yet...

This is the group of preschool moms that I hang out with while our kids get together to play and explore. Since I work so early I get to hang out with them at the zoo, COSI, splash pads, and parks. The moms wanted to do a fun photo of them celebrating and me holding the rest of the pre-preschool kids.  Love this group.

So hot last week with 4 days in the 90s, but thankfully it cooled off on Saturday.  I went running with the Columbus Westside Running Club and we logged a LOT of miles as a group.  I went out and did 20 miles Saturday morning and the sunrise was fantastic!  These miles were solo with no stroller, but I did take the kids out for the Tuesday group run. 5 weeks until the Columbus Marathon and 8 weeks until the Fuzzy Fandango.  I am doing the 50k for the Fuzzy because my New Year's Resolution was to run an ultra marathon(run longer than 26.2 marathon).  They have shorter distances as well and it is at Mohican State Park, which is gorgeous.  PLUS, all the money raised helps out a special needs summer camp for kids.  Very excited for that event.

We did 4 laps last Tuesday of the Westgate Park and then the kids were ready to head out for dinner and hang out.  Thankfully I was off work on Wednesday so it worked out well to stay up a little later.

Saturday night I camped out in the backyard with Summer.  It was a full moon too so we got her telescope to check out the moon.  It was a lot of fun hanging out in the tent and reading books.

My parents stopped by on Sunday while passing through town so Summer fired up her bubble maker and we hung out in the mild temps.  

We still have 7 days left of Summer and Summer is not letting go just yet. 

Our normal high is 77 today and the rest of the extended forecast will be six to nine degrees above normal.

Our weather for the workweek and coming weekend can be summed up as generally dry and warm.  We will see a slight chance for some spotty rain, but any rain over the next seven days looks light and spotty.  Today would be one of the days with a 20% chance of rain with a mix of sun & clouds.  We have a cold front moving through the area today and has triggered a couple spotty shower already and could do so through the afternoon.  So have the rain gear handy, but most of Central Ohio will stay dry, a little humid, and warm with highs in the mid 80s.  Partly cloudy tonight with lows in the lower 60s. The cold front will only slightly cool off our temperatures for the next couple days.  The cold front will drop the humidity, but temps only falling into the low-mid 80s for Tuesday and Wednesday.  Partly cloudy Tuesday then mostly sunny Wednesday. Our temps start climbing more for Thursday and Friday into the mid-upper 80s.  Mostly sunny Thursday then partly cloudy on Friday and a 20% chance for some spotty rain Friday. We keep the 20% chance of spotty rain on Saturday with temps in the upper 80s.  A 30% chance of rain Sunday and even a better chance for rain for the following Monday as another cold front will push through.  Our temps stay above normal for the next seven days then the cold front next Monday should drop our temps closer to normal, if not below normal.  So generally dry for the next 7 days and warm.  Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Labor Day up north, storms on the way, tracking Hurricane Dorian

Labor Day Weekend at the in-laws. Evan was up all night Friday night. So I slept thru my alarm for the group trail run. Took Evan out for 8 miles instead, so mom could sleep.

Did Evan finally sleep during the run?  No... he was loving life!

Sunday morning I was awake on-time for the group run at Sand Run Metro Park in Akron, OH. First time to this park. I got there at 7 and didn’t notice anyone I knew so I started running.

Apparently they met at 8 and I crossed paths with the group on the trails.  Running with the group made the final 10 miles fly by. I love group chats with runners. Such strange conversations. Like using Preparation H on foot blisters to dry them out.

The run was great and I love that park. Lots of water fountains and restrooms. A few challenging hills to boot.

And Monday… Rest day! First time I’ve had Labor Day off in years… Only because I’m working tomorrow thru the weekend into next week… So my next long run will be tricky and not sure when I’m going to get 16 miles.

 Another foggy morning, so give yourself some extra time. The most dense fog has been in Southern and Eastern Ohio and will clear out quickly and give way to a mix of sun & clouds for the rest of the day.  It will be a warm afternoon with highs in the mid 80s and feeling humid as well.

Storms roll in tonight from the northwest and weak as they move across Ohio.  The main storms will roll in after midnight and could get gusty with some of the cells.  The Storms Prediction Center has far Northwestern Ohio is in the Slight Risk for severe storms.  As mentioned, the storms will weaken heading toward Central Ohio and areas along and just to the north and west of I-71 are in the Marginal Risk for severe storms. Southern and Eastern Ohio are in the general thunderstorm risk as the storms continue to weaken overnight.  This rain is associated with a cold front and most of the rain should be out of here by day break Tuesday. Tuesday we will have a mix of sun & clouds with humidity dropping through the day and highs in the upper 70s.  Thursday and Friday are looking fantastic with highs in the mid 70s and mostly sunny skies.  Another cold front Saturday has a 10% chance of triggering some rain, but our air will be drier, so the chance of rain is very low.   Partly cloudy for Saturday and Sunday.  With the cold front our temps will go from the upper 70s on Saturday to the mid 70s on Sunday, so not a big drop in temps.  Another slight chance of rain returns early next week.

Hurricane Dorian remains a Category 3 storm with sustained winds of 120 mph. It remains nearly stationary over the Bahamas.   The storm has remained stationary because it lost the steering winds as high pressure over Bermuda has weakened.  The storm will now start moving north gain traction thanks to the jet stream and slowly weaken as it moves north.  Dorian will start moving northward today and will ride along the Florida, Georgia, and Carolina coastline through the rest of the week with strong winds and heavy rain.

Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Busy couple of weeks, back to the norm... Plus rain returning!

Hello from Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area!  We have stayed in Central Ohio for the most part the past few months, but managed to get a little traveling in before school starts again.

The previous weekend we went up to Lake Erie to Cedar Point.  Evan did not want to sleep so I took him for a walk and we watched the sunrise at Pipe Creek Wildlife Area.  

We then loaded up for a trip into America's Playground... that's what they call Cedar Point, right?  I don't do a lot of the intense rides, but a lot of the others did while I hung out with Summer and Evan most of the day doing the easier rides for her.  Evan cannot walk yet, so he was not able to do any rides yet.

That Sunday morning I went for a run along the shores of Lake Erie.  It was a warm and humid 15 miles, but great views and always fun to run in new locations. 

It's also fun to run with good friends.  I was off Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday last week for a quick trip, so I was able to stay up later on Tuesday and I took the kids with me to the Loopy Tuesday run with Columbus Westside Running Club.  Another warm and humid 6 mile run.  

So my short trip was to Las Vegas.  Dawn and I went out there to celebrate her cousin's 50th birthday.  This photo of just the two of us is in front of the Mirage.  We both love the Mirage and always get a photo by the front waterfalls.  Mirage is classy and reasonable with pricing compared to some of the other resorts.

Here is a group shot of everyone that went out for the birthday fun.  This was from Fremont Street. 

We also rented scooters for a guided tour of Red Rock Canyon.  A few of the other ladies wanted to hang out by the pool instead.

And I did run while I was there.  Did my long run, 12 miles, from the south end of the Strip up to Fremont and back. Had to get it in early… Temps were 80 in the morning then 110 in the afternoons. It was a fun, quick trip.

Summer and Evan were spoiled at my parents' house.  They went to the pool, movies, county fair, and baked cookies. Summer loved all the farm equipment at the county fair. 

We came back and our watermelons in the garden were ready to harvest.  The kids loved that!  I think all the vine plants are done for the season.  My pumpkin plants look good and start a pumpkin then the pumpkin itself gets spots and soft and then dies.  Not sure... Maybe I will let them go a little longer with some rain on the way...

Grab that rain gear!  We are starting Monday dry with clouds moving into Central Ohio and we will have cloudy skies by midday with scattered showers arriving.  The rain will move in for the afternoon and become steady through a lot of the late afternoon and evening.  It will start moving in from the southwest and slowly work across the state to the northeast.  With the rain likely for the afternoon, our temperatures will be limited to the lower-mid 70s for highs today.  Scattered showers for the overnight hours and those will linger into the start of Tuesday as well.  The rain looks to take a break midday Tuesday and most of the afternoon looks to be mostly to partly cloudy with highs near 80s. It will also be humid for Tuesday afternoon.  A cold front will be approaching for Tuesday night and ahead of that we will see a broken line of showers and storms later in the day.  Right now the storms look to move in around sunset and it appears that severe weather is not likely, but a few strong storms are possible.  High temps then fall back into the upper 70s and near 80 for Wednesday through Friday with a mix of sun & clouds.  Overnight lows will be cool and refreshing as well, in the upper 50s. Another cold front next weekend, but with our dry air in place it should limit the chance of rain to a few spotty showers.  We will keep an eye on that as we get closer, but, until then, plan on a wet couple days for the start of the week then some really fantastic weather for the second half of the week.  Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

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