Sunday, 1/20/2013 to Saturday, 1/26/2013 - Freezeroo #4

I ran 4 times this week, 21.72 miles

Sunday, 1/20/2013: Almost run .... err, rest day.

I woke up twice during the night to the sound of howling winds outside. I finally woke up around 8:45AM and gave running a thought. The winds were whipping between 30 to 50 mph. The temperature fell from 48F at midnight to 20F by the evening. Other runners on Facebook ran, I decided to take a rest day after running two days in a row. I still felt like a wuss.

My youngest son called and said that his laptop was telling him that he had a virus and that he had to pay $200 to the FBI via Geenpak. Google helped us to determine that he had the Ukash virus. He downloaded Malwarebytes and killed the virus.

I woke my darling wife, Christine, with coffee, a bagel and the Sunday Democrat and Chronicle. I read it while Christine played with her phone. Later, we (OK, I) watched the NFL Conference Finals games. The San Francisco 49ers beat the Atlanta Falcons, 28-24, link here. The Baltimore Falcons beat the New England Patriots, 28-13, link here. The away team won both games. Christine cooked up spare ribs for supper. She really knows how to cook 'em ... fall off the bone ... delicious!

Monday, 1/21/2013: 6.2 miles, 49:29, 7:59 pace, 20F, night, a bit windy, no stops.

Garmin Connect Activity for Cold 10K around the streets of Irondequoit

I was a bit on the fence about going out for a run. I could hear the excuses in my head ... "it's too cold, or I'm tired" But Christine told me that she was holding supper until I was back from my run ... so my decision was made. It was 20F ... so I dressed for it and went out for a run. I ran a bit hard since it was a bit cold. I concentrated on my running mechanics and only felt a mild right Achilles discomfort. So ... it was a sweet run!

I stayed up a little to watch the LA Lakers play the first three quarters versus the Chicago Bulls in Chicago. The score was tied but I set the DVR and went to bed. Well, the Lakers lost by 12, 83-95, link here.Their record fell to 17-24 and their road loss skid continued.

Tuesday, 1/22/2013: Rest day.

Some runners ran in the cold, some runners didn't. I was part of the latter group. It was just too cold and windy, 12F and with wind chills below zero.

Wednesday, 1/23/2013: 6.5 miles, 57:15, 8:49 pace, 10F, night, a light wind, no stops.

Garmin Connect Activity for Out to the Zoo and three times around the pond

Christine knew I had a run planned so she let me eat a bit of Cheerios and just chill before I got dressed and headed out.. There had been a light snow during the day so there was about an inch of snow on all the roads. I put on my Yaks and headed out. It was 10F, with a light snow and a slight wind chill of 3F. I headed over to the Seneca Park Zoo and then down to the pond for three loops. The crunch of the snow underneath my Yaks was loud but nice to hear.

Yes, the Lakers lost on the road again to fall to 17-25. This time to the Memphis Grizzlies, 93-106, link here.

Thursday, 1/24/2013: Rest day.

I took Christine to New Nails for her bi-weekly nail appointment while I shopped for groceries at Wegmans. She chose China Glaze's Winter Berry as her nail color ... nice!

Friday, 1/25/2013: Should have been a run day.

Work was an absolute beast today. I walked 11,974 steps during the day ... which was enough for the day. I am running the Freezeroo #4 tomorrow, the Hearnish 10K through the hills around Powder Mill Park. Sounds like fun! Oh, the Lakers beat the Utah Jazz at home,102-84, link here.

Saturday, 1/25/2013: 3 runs for 9.02 miles, 2 runs to warm up and the Freezeroo #4

Christine and I woke up early to snuggle for a bit before getting up to get ready for Freezeroo #4, the hilly Hearnish 10K out in Powder Mill Park. It was 10F so it was frosty too! We got down to the race start around 8:40AM. So I had plenty of time to warm up for not one but two warmup runs.

Garmin Connect Activity for 1st warmup before Freezeroo #4 - 2013
I headed out a long 2 miles warmup at a nice and easy pace, . I didn't really feel warm until after a mile and even then I wasn't really warm until 1.5 miles.

Garmin Connect Activity for 2nd warmup before Freezeroo #4 - 2013
I hung around the lodge trying to decide whether I wanted to ditch my Brooks jacket and just go with a heavier base layer and my Brooks Racking Team t-shirt but I decided to stand pat. Then I took a really nice and easy run from the lodge to the race start.

The 10F cold start of the Freezeroo #4, the Hearnish 10K

Soon after the start, I am still wearing my black balaclova

I lined up next to Bill Beyerbach as I usually do. He started hot and pulled away though I reeled him in before mile 2. I settled in and found a good spot to run and warm back up. The first mile passed in 7:21. This was my third time running this race so I knew the hills were coming. The long gradual hill on Probst Rd at mile 2, the hill at Miles Cutting Lane at mile 4, the beast of a hill on Railroad Mils Rd just before Fishers Rd at mile 5. Though the downhills were sweet when I encountered them. The miles did seem to fly by.

I changed to my beanie ... cruising down to the finish!

Bill Beyerbach cruising to the finsh!

The tank top and shorts clad Tom Butler with the finish in his sights!

The incomparable Charlie Sabatine, 79 years young!

Soon the finish line was in sight. I tried to pass one more person but he held me off. It turned out he was in my age group!

All in all, I did OK. I was 65th out of 208, link here. I was 4th out of 21 in my M55-59 age group, link here. The 3rd guy in my age group held me off and finished  1 second ahead of me. My right Achilles continued to feel better. It was only a minor discomfort. So the race was ... nice!

Christine and I relaxed for a while. Then we got ready for the Greater Rochester Track Club (GRTC) annual banquet. We had pushed our overnight stay at the Hotel Clarence in Seneca Falls that Christine's daughter had given us for our wedding to next Saturday to attend this banquet. Oh, it was also my wife's, Christine, 55th birthday today! She laughingly referred to the GRTC annual banquet as her birthday party.

2012 GRTC Annual Banquet swag

I received my GRTC MILEstone gold patch for racing greater than 200 miles (40 races for 259.9 miles). I was also picked at random to receive the GRTC Consistent Participant Award which included a $100 check (kind of sweet). We sat with Bill Beyerbach and Deb Wyspianski. Bill won his M55-59 age group in the 2011 Rochester Runner of the Year (RROY) series. We learned that the 2013 RROY series will include 12 races, 6 of them 5Ks. Maybe I can break my 20 minute barrier in one of them! Lowering my 20:13 5K PR would be ... sweet!