Sunday, 10/20/2013 to Saturday, 10/26/2013 - Pumpkins in the Park 5K

I ran 6 times this week, 35.16 miles.

Sunday, 10/20/2013, 2 runs of 12.7 and 3.63 miles

12.7 miles, 2:16:00, 10:43 pace, 45F, 81% RH, sunny, breezy.

Garmin Connect Activity for Mendon Ponds Park, 2 loop plus extra

I got up early like runners usually do on weekend. I got down to Mendon Ponds Park by 8:30AM. I needed to run trail again and I headed out on my usual 2 loops of the Blue and Green trails that I know so well. I saw a bunch of other runner that I knew: Amy Lords, Bambi Jasmin and Becky Honecker. When I got down 12.7 miles later, I saw Jim Roche in the parking lot. I headed home quickly because I had more running to do.

After a quick shower, coffee, lunch and uploading my running data I was back out by 2PM to the Victorie Belgian Bar & Bistro for the Brooks Customer Appreciation run.

Boots, Ellen  & Barb

I met up with Ellen, Boots and the rest of the Brooks Racing team for a lot of fun. We got separated into teams, got handed a bag of clues, then set forth across downtown Rochester to solve the clues by taking pics to prove that our team solved the clues. Our team solved the clues as best we could before we left and thus were the last team to set out. 

We ran out to St Mary's Church (where Ellen and Boots got married), the Strong Museum of Play, Bausch & Lomb, Blue Cross Arena, the Erie Canal Aqueduct by Blue Cross Arena, Sister Cities bridge, High Falls, George Selden's plaque (who had a vicious patent battle with Henry Ford for the automobile patent. Our team ended up running 3.63 miles. We were the first team back around 3:30 PM.

Planning our strategy

Bausch & Lomb

St. Mary's Church where Boots and Ellen got married.

Strong Museum of Play

Where the Flower City Challenge Half Marathon starts

Old Erie Canal Aqueduct 

Aqueduct Park

A wider shot of Aqueduct Park

Sister Cites Pedestrian Bridge

Abraham Lincoln spoke here on February 18, 1861

Racing on the bridge overlooking High Falls

The High Falls of the Genesee River

What we thought was George Seldon's house

First ones back ... we didn't win but we had a good time!

The party afterward was great. We got a glass and free drink ticket. There were lot (and I mean a lot) of hors d'oeuvres in a separate room. They were epic ... regular hors d 'oeuvres, sliders and crab cakes. I stayed for a couple of hours before I left with a couple of doggie boxes for my darling Christine who loved the contents.

A beer was well deserved!

Sean Hendrick's new Can Lakes 31.069 tat below his Sehgahunda 26.3 tat.

Monday, 10/21/2013: Rest day ... totally needed.

Tuesday, 10/22/2013: 8.2 miles, 1:08:01, 8:17 pace, 48F, 50% RH, dusk, calm.

Garmin Connect Activity for 8.2 miles - 10K plus 6 Chapel Hill Drive repeats

I did a bit of prerun warmup before but I did get out. I needed to do some hills so I took it nice and easy on my usual 10K route and then went up and down the Chapel Hill Drive hill 6 times before I headed back. It was dark when I came back. My darling Christine cooked up a marvelous supper of chicken over rice when I got back. Excellent postrun food ... yummy!

Wednesday, 10/23/2013: Rest day.

Thursday, 10/24/2013: 6.3 miles, 0:51:38, 8:11 pace, 45F, night, light mist to light rain, windy

Garmin Connect Activity for 6.3 miles in the rain

I dilly dallied ... the couch almost won but I was stronger. I got out around 6:30PM ... into the night and a light mist. I took it nice and easy. The light mist turned into a light rain. I got wetter and wetter. I had thoughts of heading out for 10 miles but I brought it home after 6.3 miles because I was cold and drenched. I stripped as soon as I got in and put on my sweats. I am sure that every driver thought I was beyond crazy.

Friday, 10/25/2013: Rest day.

Saturday, 10/26/2013: 2 runs of 1.2 and Pumpkins in the Park 5K, 43F, 52% RH, overcast, a bit windy.

I got up early like usual. My darling Christine just rolled over and said "Have a good race" and went back to sleep. I dressed quietly and headed out to Cobbs Hill. I arrived at 8:06AM and waited in the car until 8:30AM before I headed out for a really nice and easy warmup run of 1.2 miles, 8:35 pace.

Garmin Connect Activity for Warmup before the Pumpkins in the Park 5K



Ellen Brenner, the CFO of Fleet Feet Sports, and race announcer extraordinaire, had been telling of a huge new announcement before the race for three days. The hype was ... huge to say the least. She delivered the announcement just before the race that Fleet Feet Brighton was going to move from their cramped store on Monroe Ave to the Culver Street Armory in February with twice the space, lots of parking and Cobbs Hill as their playground, news link here. The racers roared with approval and ... we were off!

Ellen had told us that the course was "2 miles up and 1 mile down". Well, she was right. Fleet Feet had 1 mile and 2 mile split strips down. My mile 1 split was 7:01, rank: 57. I slowed a bit as we turned and went up up to the Cobbs Hill reservoir.The mile 2 split was at the top, 7:48, rank 62, which meant that 5 runners passed me between mile 1 and 2. I sped up as we came back down, turned onto Monroe Ave and Culver Ave. I broke into a sprint when I saw the familiar finish line. Time to finish was 7:19, 6:39 pace, rank 58. I finished in a gun time of 22:10, 58th out of 862, link here. I was first out of 13 in my M 55-59 age group, link here. I won a $15 gift certificate to Fleet Feet and a jar of Organic Once Again creamy peanut butter.

The overall male and female got ... a skull!

The swag!

Later, I ventured forth to do some car maintenance on our 2000 Chevy Cavalier: I bought and installed an air filter, got the oil changed at Firestone and washed the car at Deltasonic. The vast majority of the red clay that stuck to the car when we went out to Cleveland last month is gone.

My darling and I were enjoying a nice evening when it took an ugly turn. I don't like airing dirty laundry so I will take the high road and keep the details private. After all, this blog is mostly about my running. Maybe I toot my horn a bit ... OK. I'm a 56 year old runner who has found that he can run OK for his age. I really enjoy running. I enjoy racing ... running as fast as I can and other times as long as I can.