Sunday, 8/23/2015 to Saturday, 8/29/2015 - Dam Good Trail Race

I ran 5 times this week, 33.86 miles.
I biked once this week, 23.3 miles.

Sunday, 8/23/2015: 2 runs of 1.5 and Dam Good Trail Race of 13.06 miles.

You know you are a runner when you wake up earlier on the weekend than you do during the week. This morning it was 5:30AM instead of 6AM. I got up, dressed a bit, made some coffee for Christine and did the dishes in the sink from the previous night that don't use the dishwasher (knives and a big pot). I woke up Christine up at 6:15AM. I geared up, got dressed, ate my usual pre-race bowl of cereal and remembered a change of course for afterward.

We left for the Mount Morris Dam at 6:47AM and arrived around 7:40AM in plenty for the 8:30AM start of my sixth Dam Good Trail Race (DGTR), (2009: 2:22:43, 2010: 2:19:52, 2011: 2:17:56, 2013: 2:15:35 and 2014: 2:21:45). I looked around and saw the usual trail runners by name and reputation: Andy Ciaio, Prem Kumar, Tom Butler, Kathy Reardon, John Muoio, Bambi Jasmin, Liz Matthews, Brian Matthews and Tina Pellegrin to name a few.

I got out for a nice 1.5 mile warmup run at 9:13, link here. It was half trail out on the Finger Lake Trail (LFT) for 0.75 mile and half back on the Park Rd. I kissed Christine for luck and got ready for the start. I carried my 20 ounce water bottle and 2 HammerGels. I remembered to apply BodyGlide and a bit of sunscreen. The course is your basic lollipop, with an out of about 6 miles with a loop turnaround.


It was low key start from the co-leaders, Doreen and Michele Fanton. And ... we were off! I kept to the right on the early part of the FLT just I did on my warmup run. We were a bit packed in and I kept up with everyone at a kind of hard trail pace.

Going out ... courtesy of Anita Cornell

Going out --- courtesy of Alex Tong

Andy Ciaio passed me around mile 1. I walked a bit when I had to on the hills but not too many of them on the out. I had my first HammerGel at mile 5. The fast runners started to come back as I got closer to the turnaround. Liz Matthews was 6th overall at that point. I met Tina, who had a hour early start, just before the turnaround. I had my second and last HammerGel at the turnaround. It was warm but I was still keeping up a nice and easy trail pace. Prem Kumar passed me. Just before I exited the lollipop I slipped a bit as I went down into a creek. John Muoio passed me, he looked strong. Now it was back the way I came for a little over 6 miles. I remember just running and running. I said "Hi" to Tina when I passed her as I walked up a hill. I ran out of energy with about 4 miles to go but I kept on running. I tripped a couple of times but didn't fall. I got to the last aid station ... 2 miles to go.

Coming back ... courtesy of Alex Tong

The roots seem a lot bigger now ... courtesy of Anita Cornell

Onward ... onward ... 3/4 mile to go. I picked up a bit of speed ... then a double trip on the right and left foot but I didn't fall ... no one ahead or behind so I just dialed it back into a really nice, easy and careful pace to the finish. And .... done with 13.06 miles in 2:21:35. I was a bit overheated and parched. Chris O'Brien was a bit concerned for a minute or two. I do push myself and can look a bit ragged when I finish.

My splits were: 9:05, 9:58, 9:47, 10:04, 11:13, 11:39, 12:07, 11:57, 12:28, 10:28, 11:22, 12:10, 9:15 and 10:52 over the last 0.06 mile. The results are up on ultrasignup.com, link here. I did OK, 55th out of 125, 6th out of 18 in my M50-59 age group.

The post race grub at the DGTR was impressive as always ... pizza, bananas and a large assortment of homemade cookies and breads. Mmm ... yummy! I sat down and was really tired. I did a complete change from my wet and sweaty running clothes ... that did feel better. I let Christine drive the Equinox back up to Rochester. Then we dragged ourselves upstairs and both took a nap. A late supper ensued along with a later bedtime.

All in all, an excellent racing weekend ... the James Francis / Andrea Kofahl Memorial 5K on Saturday, 8/22 and the Dam Good Trail Race today!

Monday, 8/24/2015: Rest day.

The normal day off after racing on Saturday (1, 2.93 and 1 miles) and Sunday (1.5 and 13.06 miles).

Tuesday, 8/25/2015: Laundry day.

Hey ... sometimes you just need to do laundry instead of run. My tech clothes were first though ... followed by two more and setting up more in the washer and dryer for the next morning. This GE washer and dryer that we bought from Charlotte Furniture work well. The washer spins the clothes so well that the dryer doesn't take long to dry the clothes.

Wednesday, 8/26/2015: 3 runs of 1.2, 7.6 and 1.2 miles.

Fleet Feet held a Fleet Feet Brooks Power Hour event at Hose 22 tonight. This restaurant is 1.2 miles away from the townhouse so I decided to run there. First ... I got a late start because I couldn't find my SpiBelt that I use to stash my Droid. I looked in the usual hiding spots but no luck. Maybe I left it down at the Mount Morris Dam Visitor's Center where I changed after the DGTR ... the answer would be no ... I called and asked the next day.

Enough time wasted ... I ran 1.2 miles over to Hose 22 and got over there just before the Power Hour started. Luckily it started a bit late so I had some time to catch my breath. The instructions from Ellen were simple: run as far as you can on the prescribed Rochester Marathon course for 30 minutes and then come back for 30 minutes.


And ... go! I started out quick and soon I was behind just Jim McLaughlin, then Kevin Clinfelte and another runner. The course out was north on the Turning Point Park boardwalk and then north on Lake Ave past the Holy Sepulchre and Riverside Cemeteries. I was at mile 3.8 just past the St. Bemard's Apts when I turned around. So back I came ... thirsty but back I came anyway. Me ... carry water? Hmm ... no. I started to pass other runners on the boardwalk and more as I got closer to Hose 22. And ... Ellen announced that the hour was up! Done with 7.6 miles in 60 minutes at 7:53 pace ... nice! Well ... not so nice when I looked down at my white tech shirt. I had forgotten to put on BodyGlide. So ... my left nipple had gotten irritated and bled.

I really need to remember to apply BodyGlibe!

I was a bit embarrassed. Yes, it was mentioned on Facebook and my lovely wife, Christine, noticed that. I showed Boots and he said "It happens, just wait until you shower." Yeah ... it was a bit painful. I had some adult beverages with Jeff Rose and his wife. Then I ran the 1.2 miles back to the townhouse in the gathering gloom of nightfall.

I tried to upload from my Garmin and had mixed results. The GPS tracks of two out of the three runs were off back and didn't start or end where I was. I didn't run across the Genesee River on the way back for instance. That's the first time that has happened in years. I can remember that it happened once before.

Thursday, 8/27/2015: Rest day ... the usual after runs totaling 10 miles the night before.

I still haven't found my SPIbelt. I reached out to the race directors of DGTR via Facebook and posted on my Facebook wall but nada. I run a lot of races (41 so far this year and over 341 lifetime) and this is the first thing that I can remember losing so I do take care of my stuff ... oh well. Though I may not be able to find a specific item for a bit or a while in the townhouse ... I do usually find it when I want it.

Friday, 8/28/2015: 9.3 miles, 1:15:55, 8:10 pace, 70F, 64% RH, 9 NNE wind, sunny.

Garmin Connect Activity for A soothing 15K

My lovely wife, Christine, had other plans when I got home but I did get out for a run later. It was more than a bit frustrating trying to make up for not having my SPIbelt. I tried to carry my Droid in a belt with a water bottle behind my back ...too bouncy. I tried to carry my iPhone in a ApiPod on my shorts with no drawstrings ... too droopy. So I changed into my short tights ... OK so out I sent. I really needed to run by now to release stress. The 15K at a nice, easy and steady pace really helped. I should have put on BodyGlide again ... the shower afterward stung my left nipple which hadn't really healed from Wednesday night.

Well ... I bought a used Garmin FR310XT off of Ebay from a woman in Oregon. It was a good price so I went for it. I was enticed by the new Garmins but I got sticker shock and decided to stay with my tried and true FR310XT. I like that fact that it can jump between running and biking. Now ... maybe I can trick it out with a foot pod for running, a quick release kit for changing between the run and the bike and a cadence/speed sensor for the bike

Saturday, 8/29/2015: 23.3 miles, 1:43:26, 13.5 mph, 59F, 88% RH, 6 mph WSW wind, sunny.




Today is a big day for a lot of runners. The ultra running crowd that I knew were either at Green Lakes Endurance Runs with 16 100K finishers and 121 50K finishers, link here; Twisted Branch 100K with 47 finishers, link here; or the last Megatransect ever with 752 finishers down in PA, link here. You know who you were!

I wanted to do something big on this beautiful Saturday morning ... what to do? So ... I went on my longest bike of the year. I lost my water bottle on a bump somewhere but it was still a nice ride!

The rest of the day was just lazing around and catching up on Facebook to see how all the ultrarunners were doing. Some day ...