Sunday, 12/29/2013 to Saturday, 1/4/2014 - Freezeroo #2

I ran 4 times this week, 24.5 miles
I ran 18 times in 31 days during December 2013, 107.24 miles, 5.8 miles/run.
2013: I ran 225 times, 1310.6 miles, 6.0 miles/run

Sunday, 12/29/2013: Rest day.

I was torn about running today. I had to get up a bit early so I could meet up with a friend who replaced the front pads and rotors on our reliable Chevy Cavalier. Greg wanted to do it when it was 45F. The weather forecast was for a lot colder weather to move in the rest of the week.

My darling Christine and I did make it out for some grocery shopping at Wegmans. I didn't know that Sunday afternoon shopping was so aggressive ... people didn't seem to care if you moved aside or not. We were glad to get out of there in one piece. We did have a very yummy supper of roaster chicken, rice and lima beans. Everything was perfect! My darling Christine can cook quite well!

Monday, 12/30/2013: 7.5 miles, 1:00:21, 8:03 pace, 16F, dark, partly cloudy, a slight breeze.

Garmin Connect Activity for 7.5 miles around the neighborhood

Yes, I could have very easily stayed inside where it was nice and warm. Yes, the couch was comfy. But ... I needed 0.26 miles to get above 100 miles for December so out I went. It was 16F so I dressed warmly with a pair of shorts over my tights and a short sleeve tech over my heaviest long sleeve tech. I took it a bit slow then sped up. The main streets were clear and the side streets were covered with about 1/2 inch of snow so there was pretty good footing ... I had worn my trail shoes anyway so I had no trouble. I warmed up after 1 mile and was a bit too hot after 3.5 miles. I lowered my balaclava to cool off a little. My splits were: 8:27, 8:17, 8:00, 8:04, 7:59, 8:07, 7:47 and 7:18 over the last 0.5 mile. Not too bad! The forecast for later part of the week is even colder ... so this run may be a "warm" one ... nice!

Tuesday, 12/31/2013: Rest day.

My darling Christine and I were a bit off today. We were just a bit cranky with each other. In retrospect I should have headed out solo to Cobbs Hill to watch the Rochester fireworks at 10 PM with some of the RFP group. We missed the ball dropping at midnight and just went to bed. Hopefully next year we will do something for New Year's Eve.

Wednesday, 1/1/2014: 2 runs of 1.75 and Freezeroo #2, 7.55 miles

Yes, it was 16F and it was cold. But a Freezeroo was being held so out I went. I arrived down at Mendon Ponds Park around 9 AM ... plenty of time to spare. I met up with Prem and chatted for a bit while we waited for the race. The temp was 16F, 78% RH, sunny. But ... I headed out for my 1.75 warmup run without looking at my watch to see how time I had before the race. So I finished my warmup run 30 seconds before the race started.

Garmin Connect Activity for Warmup before Freezeroo #2

I lined up pretty close to the start on the right hand side like usual.

I'm in the frame from 1:04 to 1:21
I started out well in 7:16 pace. But I had a bit of trouble with my breathing and had to stop four times to walk a wee bit in miles 2 through 4, splits were: 7:43, 8:02 and 7:58. Prem caught up with me around mile 4 or so. I tried to stay with him and almost caught him at mile 7. My splits were: 8:00, 7:49, 7:58 and 7:01 over the last 0.55 miles. Prem held me off and finished 3 seconds ahead. I went up to Stewart Lodge for some well earned post race food. I had just a banana and a bit of ravioli. Another reader of this blog introduced himself. He said that he had been reading my blogs for a couple of years. Three readers have introduced themselves at or near Stewart Lodge since November!

This picture was taken by Heather Bailey Ostrander just yards from the finish

Officially, I finished in 58:36, well off my 2012 PR on this course of 53:26 (it was also a lot warmer back in 2012 too). I was 82th out of 359, link here. I was 5th out of 35 in my M55-59 age group, link here. Mark Herberger, Bill Beyerbach and I stayed for a while and talked running. Mark is so much more scientific about his running. Me ... I point myself straight ahead and run by feel.

Soon enough I was home. My darling Christine and I spent the rest of the day quietly. We had our usual coffee and bagel for lunch. Later Christine cooked up a dish called cheeseburger casserole. Tomorrow was a workday so it was to bed at midnight like usual.

Thursday, 1/2/2014: Rest day due to snow, cold and wind

Eight inches of light and fluffy snow fell overnight. It continued snowing, the temperature fell and the wind kicked up during the day. The wind chill was below zero by nightfall. I so wanted to be a badass runner and go out for a run after work but the sub zero wind chills put the botch on that idea.

Friday, 1/3/2013: Rest day.

I brushed off another couple of snow off our car. All was well until I uncovered the right rear and noticed that the taillight was busted. I did more than a bit of swearing. I also noticed that the car was at angle when I knew that I had pulled in straight the night before. I left a message for Michelle, the apartment manager, and left for work. Michelle called me back and insisted that the plow guy examined his truck and found no damage and asked if I remembered any strange noises during the night. I remember that the plow guy was plowing the driveway at 5AM when I woke up to find Christine still on the couch. Christine said that she vaguely remembered hearing a noise last night between midnight and 5AM. What a way to start a Friday!

Let's see ... taillight assembly, right rear quarter (pounded out) and rear bumper (under the snow)

The car was pushed about a foot

I just stayed in after I got home from work. The traffic around Seneca was all tied up so I didn't want to add a runner to the mix. Tomorrow, a run definitely and positively ... long. So very much needed.

Saturday, 1/4/2013: 7.7 miles, 1:06:36, 8:38 pace, 19F, 41% RH, sunny, wind chill 5F.

My darling Christine surprised me by getting up early. I didn't get out until after 9:30 AM. It had warmed up over night. It was 1F when we went to bed and 19F when I got out of bed at 8AM. I was in a quandary about what to wear so I settled on my CW-X tights, heaviest long sleeve tech, jacket, heavy running gloves and beanie.

Garmin Connect Activity for Out to the zoo and 4 times around the pond

I headed out and found that some of the snow was slush and that there was almost no shoulder to run on Seneca Ave. So I quickly headed onto Collingwood and over to the Seneca Park Zoo. There was roads were plowed and snow covered. I headed down to the pond and just ran around it 4 times. It was nice and quiet down there with almost no traffic. Oh, it's 1.05 miles around the pond on the road in case anyone was wondering.

Elsewhere, about 180 runners were out doing the Frozen Assets 5K, a snowshoe race out at Harriet Hollister Spencer State Recreation Area south of Honeoye NY. Here are some news links, here and here.

Not too much happened the rest of the day. Christine and I did make it out before night fell. She went to New Nails to get her white tip nails filled (excellent job as always) and I hit Wegmans for groceries. It's amazing how a bout of temperature in the single digits makes 30F seem warm!