Hi All,

Sunday, 4/22 to Saturday, 4/29: 26.2 miles

A lot went on this week ... not all good. My running was good as usual. I did two zoo runs of 4.4 miles on Tuesday and Thursday. I also ran 5.3 miles on Sunday and my usual long run of 12.1 miles (6.8 + 5.3) today. I PR'ed again with a 1:39:11, 8:12 pace. My intermediate splits were 5K of 23:50 (7:41 mile pace) and 6.8 miles of 52:15. I had a PowerBar Performance bar before I headed out. I had more energy today. I stopped only twice for a minute each and three minutes when I went by my house at 6.8 miles. I was definitely in the zone where I felt I could run for a long ways. I clipped my inside right ankle with my left sneaker eight times and ended up with a blood spot on my sock. Cool!

I went out to see the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra at the Smith Opera House on Thursday night. I was one of the younger ones in the audience. The music was very good ... some of it first played before I was born. One of their trumpet players was 82 and Tommy Dorsey was 88. They both can still play very well.

The not so good part. I had been heading out for two mile walks lately during lunchtime at work. Just a walk on the Genesee River Trail to the mile tree and back. Well on Friday I headed a little later than usual. I was walking back on the trail in the area where it dips down where you are isolated. Well, two black males (1 tall, 1 shorter and stocky, both wearing red) were coming the other way. I nodded when I approached and the shorter one just ran up and hit me on the left side of my head, knocking my glasses off. No words were spoken, no robbery attempt was made. I kept on going, they kept on going. If I see them again, I will recognize them. I have seen them before. Last week on a hot day, they were just hanging out in the same area of the trail when I walked by. They were still there when I came back so I took a shortcut up to the street above the trail. This time there was no time, it all happened so quickly. This is the first time I have even been hit while running or walking.

I didn't let this assault stop me from seeing the Knighthawks, www.knighthawks.net, play the Buffalo Bandits in the MLL Eastern conference finals. I parked on the street like usual. It was a very tense game, it seemed that the Hawks were down by two goals all night. They just seemed a step slow all night. They were three down going into the 4th quarter, tied it up late, went up by one, got tied and went into OT. John Grant ended it 26 seconds into OT. The Hawks won 14-13.

I am watching the news right now. There was a homicide on Avenue D on Friday night (a couple blocks from work). Senseless violence at a party. The area where I work on Saint Paul Street is not exactly the safest.

Keep running, Doug