Sunday, 12/14/2014: A stone cold rest day.
No running for me today. My youngest son, David, wanted to go out to Newark for some reason (I think a girl was involved) so I picked him up in Scottsville and headed out. I dropped him off where he wanted, then proceeded to watch the rest of the Packers - Bills game with my oldest son, Michael. We were on the edge of our seats. The Bills offense sucked but got close enough to kick 4 field goals and the special teams produced a 75 yard punt return TD. Their defense was on fire. They made the #1 QB look flustered and picked off 2 passes. Still the Packers had the ball on their 9 with under 2 minutes with no timeouts and trailing 13-19. I, and I bet a lot of other people expected Green Bay to march down the field and score the winning TD with no time on the clock. Well, Mario Williams, who also blocked a Green Bay field goal attempt, swooped in on the pass rush on the first play and poked the ball out. The ball settled in the endzone. A Green Bay player other than Rodgers tried to pick it up. Safety! The Ken Stabler rule was evoked, automatic safety. The ball was punted back to the Bills. They ran out the clock and won 13-21; links here, here and here. They are still in the hunt (and need a lot of help) for a playoff spot, link here. Michael and I (and most of western NY) are still in shock. I picked David back up and dropped him back off in Scottsville after I took him grocery shopping at Wegmans. It was a crappy, misty evening and I didn't want my ex to cart him back in the dark.
Monday, 12/15/2014: Another rest day.
I will be carting my youngest son, David, home from work every night ... so every night this week will be a late night. We are still working on getting him another car.
A financial note: I got a call from ESL Fraud Detection. My ESL debit card had been cloned and then used in Uruguay and somewhere in Asia. Luckily, ESL declined the unusual debits and sent me the form to dispute any that slip through. Plus I will be getting a new ESL debit card. So ... who knows how it happened but if it can happen to me it could happen to you, dear reader!
Tuesday, 12/16/2014: 6.2 miles, 49:38, 8:00 pace, 41F, 93% RH, 5 mph SE wind, overcast
Garmin Connect Activity for A nice and balmy 10K
I needed to run so I got out there. I didn't want to run long since Snow Cheap #1 was the next day. I didn't check the temperature so I put on tights, a long sleeve tech, a short sleeve tech, beanie and heavy gloves. I struck up a nice and easy pace. Soon ... I was warm and toasty. The miles flew by. I think I could have gotten by with just short and a short sleeve tech. I would have shocked the drivers in the cars that saw me though! My splits were: 8:16, 7:53, 7:53, 7:53, 8:01, 8:05 and 8:03 over the last 0.2 mile. Nice!
Wednesday, 12/17/2014: 2 runs of Snow Cheap #1 and a 1.65 mile cooldown
It was a Snow Cheap kind of Wednesday so I headed down to Riley Lodge at Cobbs Hill Park for Snow Cheap #1. I hadn't run a Snow Cheap since 2012 but ... it all came back pretty quickly. It was cold and blustery night so I wore tights, a long sleeve tech, a short sleeve tech, Brooks jacket, beanie and heavy gloves. My Garmin was on Low Battery (it must have not been properly hooked up to the charger) ... so I knew it would die.
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| A shot before the race |
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| I am to the left in in the Brooks jacket with the vertical stripe. I am talking to Bill Beyerbach to my right in the red jacket and GVH singlet just before the start. |
Post by YellowJacket Racing. This link might go to a Facebook video of Boots at the start.
So ... I went from a standing start to running. It took a bit to get my breathing going and then ... hills. I walked the hills I had to so I could get my breathing under control. Up, down, over to and through the Washington Grove, back to the start. I was almost there when I heard Ellen say something about loop 1 ... so I knew it was a two loop race. I came through loop 1 at 17:18 So ... back out for loop 2. There was a light snow falling and the wind whipped in right into my face. It was difficult to see the ground, watch out for the usual rocks, roots, ice and branches around my head and arms. It was difficult to pass when I got up the energy but soon enough loop 2 was done in 17:43. I hit the chute in 35:01. I did OK, 55th out of 242, link here. I was 3rd out of 6 in my M55-59 age group, link here. Bill was second in our age group with a 33:26.
I met up with Bill and we went out for a 1.65 mile cooldown run up and down Norris Drive. The way back was into the wind ... chilling!
Thursday, 12/18/2014: rest day
Friday, 12/19/2014: another rest day
The usual "don't run the night before a race" day. Positive news on my youngest son, David, quest for a car. He had a choice between a 2014 Chevy Sonic LT buy and a 2014 Chevy Cruze LS lease. He chose to buy a white 2014 Chevy Sonic LT. He will pick it up tomorrow.
Saturday, 12/20/2014: 2 runs of 1.3 and Reindeer Run 5K, 28F, 74% RH, 4 mph WNW wind, overcast.
Today was my 57th and last race of 2014, the Reindeer Run 5K down at the Rochester Museum of Play. I was up early at 6:30AM. I like getting up an hour early before I leave. I putter around a bit and then have my usual pre-run bowl of cereal. A short 10 minute drive put me down about 50 minutes before the race to get a nice out of the way parking spot. It was a bit chilly so I was dressed in the usual tights, long sleeve tech, short sleeve tech, Brooks jack, beanie and heavy gloves. I met up with Chris O'Brien. Chris was getting ready at his Subuaru when he locked himself out. His valet key would not turn the iced up lock. I also met up with Prem Kumar. We all went out for a nice and slow warmup run, link here. It was a bit too slow for my taste since it didn't really warm me up. I decided not to ditch my Brooks jacket before the start.
Garmin Connect Activity for Warmup before Reindeer Run 5K
I lined up in my usual spot ... to the right and about 30 feet behind the start line.
And ... we were off. It was a bit congested at the start but I got into the clear after about 100 yards. You just gotta runners who want to run together 3 abreast. Anyway, I ran a pretty hot first mile of 6:43. I had a bit of trouble breathing the rest of the way.
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| The start! |
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| Chris and Wendy (in the plaid skirt) just after the start |
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| Prem (to my left) and I (I'm behind 280) |
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| I think this is heading down Exchnage Blvd |
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| Heading down the home stretch to the finish |
I had enough time to head home, take a shower and have a couple mugs of coffee before my darling wife, Christine, and I headed out to Bob Johnson Chevrolet to see my youngest son, David, get his first new car, a white Chevy Sonic LT. He had a hiccup of course. He had to drive back to Scottsville to retrieve his old registration before he could put on his own plates.
Then we proceeded out to my ex's apartment in Newark so we could all celebrate the 29th birthday of my oldest son, Michael. I finally met my ex's boyfriend, Tom. My daughter, Karen, was there. David showed up later since he had had trouble getting his car. We did the usual: ate cake and ice cream and sang "Happy Birthday".
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