Hi All,

Sunday, December 23rd to Saturday, December 29th: 19 miles

I ran 7 miles around my neighborhood on the day before Christmas in 58:36, a 8:22 pace. It was 30F and windy. I ran the usual 6 mile zoo run around the pond on Wednesday and Friday. Both days were relatively mild, 35F and 40F, respectively.

Bad news on the job front. My last day at ITT was on Friday. After 6 years, ITT decided to let go all its contractors who had been there more than 18 months. My contract house, TCN, does not have a new job for me. Oh, well. I am trying to find another job. I have had an interview at Ultralife in Newark and a phone screen with Bosch Security in Fairport.

I have finished the stairwell. I found that flat white does not cover very well. I needed three coats ... each coat only took three hours. Now I need to figure out which room to tackle next ... David's room, the bathroom or the kitchen. Plus I really need to start dejunking in earnest.

Keep running, Doug

Hi All,

Sunday, December 16th to Saturday, December 22th: 20.15 miles

I ran two lunchtime zoo runs around the pond of 6 miles each on Wednesday and Friday. The river trail was snowy covered so I ran on some streets also.

I ran 8.15 miles around my neighborhood on Saturday morning. Instead of looping back on Wood Lane I continued on Filkins Road down to Route 31, then down Whitbeck Road to West Shore Blvd and back into Newark. I kind of ran out of energy and stopped twice. My time was 1:10:48 for a 8:41 mile pace.

I finished Michael's room before he came home. I just had to pick up my tools and put some Pledge on his dresser and shelves. I helped him put his piano back in his room. Next up is the stairwell.

I have watched a couple of good movies lately with Michael. I rented Spiderman 3 and Bourne Ultimatum from the Red Box at Wegmans. It's a great deal, a one day rental for $1 plus tax. I have also converted some of my old VHS tapes to DVD using my Samsung DVD-VR330 DVD Recorder. It's really quite easy once you get the hang of it.

I used the warm weather to finally rake the leaves in my backyard. Over the course of three days I took 24 barrels of wet leaves to the backwoods.

Keep running, Doug

Hi All,

Sunday, December 9th to Saturday, December 15th: 12.5 miles

Just two runs this week. A 6 mile lunch-time zoo run around the pond on Tuesday. Then I ran 6.5 miles from B601 on Friday, my first time from this building. I just ran down Lee Road (the dangerous part) to the canal trail, then ran south to Chili Ave and back. The trail was snow covered, I ran slowly in foot prints mostly. The weather both times was in the mid 30s. I saw an interesting running quote: "There is not such thing as bad weather, just soft people".

I was painting Michael's room this week. First a coat of primer on the entire room, then two coats of flat white on the ceiling, two coats of enamel white on the trim, two coats of 'casual blue' on the walls. Plus I pulled the rug, staples and tack strips. I am a bit tired.

We got a north-easter on Sunday. Initially, the forecast was 1 to 2 feet of snow. But Newark only got 4 inches of snow and sleet by 10AM, then 4 more inches by 5PM. I got some exercise shoveling and walking down to the corner store to get the Sunday papers.

The Buffalo Bills lost to the Cleveland Browns in a snow storm down in Cleveland, 8-0. The Bills are now 7-7 and out of the playoff hunt. The Bills never really had a chance, all 7 wins were against opponents with losing records. I listened to the game while I was painting upstairs, then watched the last part of the 4th quarter.

Well, winter has really started early in upstate NY. We are well on the way to a record setting snow total for December. The average for December is 9.3 inches, we already have 27 inches ... without what we got today.

Keep running, Doug

Update: Another 6 inches of snow to shovel on Monday morning, plus uncovering the car. What fun it is to live in upstate NY in the winter!

Hi All,

Sunday, December 2nd to Saturday, December 8th: 12.75 miles

December came in snowy. It snowed the first five days with 14 inches in Newark on Tuesday. I got my exercise by shoveling out my driveway twice plus prepping and painting primer on the ceiling of Michael's bedroom.

Thursday, I ran the usual 6 mile zoo run around the pond in my Pearl Izumi trail shoes with the closed toe box. They did well in the snow. Saturday, I ran the usual 6.75 mile run around the neighborhood in 57:27, a 8:30 mile pace. Slow but steady with just one stop for a couple of dogs.

I made three trips down to Ithaca College this week to see Michael in concerts. Tuesday - Brass Choir, Wednesday - Wind Ensemble and Sunday - Madrigals and College Chorus. A long trip and long day on Tuesday and Wednesday. Plus I painted primer on the walls and two coats of ceiling white in Michael's bedroom. I need to pick out a medium blue for the walls to cover the choo-choo train wallpaper that I am sure that he has not liked for several years. I should be done with his bedroom by the end of this week.

Keep running, Doug

Hi All,

Month of November: 53.9 miles, I ran 13 out of 30 days
Sunday, November 25th to Saturday, December 1st: 12 miles

I just did two zoo runs around the pond of 6 miles each this week. It was cold (28F) and misty on Tuesday and slightly warmer (36F) and windy on Thursday.

I didn't get as much done around the house as I wanted to. I just couldn't get motivated. I did put together a computer desk for my youngest son and filled the garbage bin with junk. I did figure out how to back up a VCR tape to DVD. I kind of watched the Buffalo Bills beat the Washington Redskins, 17-16, on a last-second field goal. It's about time that the Bills win one at the end instead of lose two at the end.

I wanted to get out running around the neighborhood on Saturday and Sunday. But it snowed both days and I wanted to be safe rather than run over. In fact, it is snowing right now. We might get a foot overnight in persistent lake effect bands.

Keep running, Doug