Sunday, 9/13/2015 to Saturday, 9/19/2015

I ran 3 times this week, 26.4 miles.

Sunday, 913/2015: 10 miles, 1:22:11, 8:13 pace, 55F, 88% RH, 13 mph W wind, overcast.



I thought I needed to preview most of upcoming (Sunday, 9/19) Rochester Marathon course, link here. I have already run the majority of this course many times since I did live in Rochester and ran in Irondquoit for almost 7 years before I moved to Charlotte this May. But I wanted to run it just to refresh my memory. So I drove over to Herrema's on Pattonwood Drive and parked there. This is the northernmost point of the course. My plan was to run up Thomas Ave to St Paul St, cross over on the pedistratian bridge, run up Lake Ave to the Genessee River Trail, cross the O'Rorke Bridge and been done. That is what I did a caveat: the west side of the pedistrain bridge was closed so I had to run up the stairs. Also note to self: DON'T run in the bike lane of Pattonwood Drive at the intersection of Thomas Ave ... it confuses cars and they are much bigger and faster compared to me. Anyway, my splits were: 8:42 (up the Thomas Ave hill), 7:56, 7:59, 8:06, 9:13 (up the aforementioned stairs), 8:01, 7:55, 8:01, 8:13 and 8:04. I did take my 20 ounce water bottle but only took a couple sips.

Meanwhile other runners/athletes were out being awesome. The Rochester Tri, results here, The Ossian Mountain Run down in Swain, 8 mile results here and 4 mile results here. Challenge Point 70.3 with Wendy Abbott, results here and 140.6 with Steve Levitsky and Kimberly Levitsky, results here, The Erie Marathon at Presque Isle with pacing by Chris Patterson and Prem Kumar, results here. The Ovarian Cancer 5K, results here. The Pete Glavin XC Series #1 was held in Syracuse, results here. Wow ... that was a lot of work!

Monday and Tuesday: Rest days.

Monday was the usual rest day after two days of running (5.3 and 10 miles). Tuesday was a case of my lovely wife, Christine, making pasta that was almost ready so we ate soon after I got home.

My 58th birthday, Wednesday, 9/16/2015: 8.2 miles, 1:05:58, 8:02 pace, 59F, 94% RH, 4 mph SW wind, clear.

Garmin Connect Activity for An early run on Edgemere Drive

I set my Droid for 4:30AM to make up for "missing" my run yesterday. It didn't go off(!?!) but somehow I was awake at 4:35AM anyway. I got up, got dressed along my reflective vest, had half a banana, a swig of water and got out there in the darkness. I was going to do my 15K route but switched to my 8.2 mile route on Edgemere Drive when I noticed that the one lane bridge was gone. I was happily surprised when I noticed that the road had swept also. The road still needs lane markings though. It was a beautiful and quiet pre-dawn morning with just the stars to keep me company. I saw a runner, 3 dog walkers and maybe 15 cars along the route. My splits were: 8:03, 8:04, 7:59, 7:57, 8:04, 8:01, 7:59, 8:14 and 8:02 over the last 0.2 mile. I have run 4 or 5 times this summer during the early morning before sunrise ... I am slowly starting to become a fan. It does get the run in but getting up around 4AM does still give me the pause of "What the hell am I doing up this early?" and my legs say "What are you doing to me at this ungodly hour?" ... until they get used to the idea.

Thursday, 9/17/2015: 8.2 miles, 1:06:59, 8:12 pace, 82F, 40% RH, 6 mph W wind, sunny.

Garmin Connect Activity for A nice and sweaty run

I thought I needed one more run before the Rochester Half on Sunday so out I went. My lovely wife, Christine, was dressed to go down to the fitness center in our complex but lost her gumption. Maybe next time, honey! Anyway, I thought about doing my 15K route by bailed onto Ling Rd to shorten the run to another 8.2 miles. Different route, a bit more mild hills and a bit slower. I was drenched with sweat when I got done and took a shower as soon as I got in. I am sure that Christine appreciated that, lol! My splits were: 8:14, 8:03, 8:06, 8:06, 8:23, 8:00, 8:0, 8:23 and 8:11 over that last 0.2 mile.

Friday, 9/18/2015: Rest and travel out to OH day.

I went down to Fleet Feet Armory during my lunch to pick up my Rochester Half packet and look over the Expo. I didn't see anything that I really wanted so I kept my wallet in my pocket.

My lovely wife, Christine, and I headed out to Streetsboro OH to stay at the Comfort Inn and Suites. It was an uneventful 4 hour, 8 minutes trip. We were both tired. I slept like a rock even with Christine's rhythmic snoring.

Saturday, 9/19/2015: Rest and travel back from OH day.

We went over to Ravenna OH to see Christine's father. He's 94 years old and looked a lot better than we saw him last month. He sure can tell some stories! Our trip back was uneventful. While I was driving back Christine was keeping me undated on all the Facebook posts on the Fleet Feet Rochester page. The weather had turned cooler and everyone seemed to be a tizzy about how to prepare for it.

Other runners were out being awesome. The Mighty Niagara Half Marathon was held. It's a point to point half which starts in Lewiston NY and ends at Porter on the Lake Park in Youngstown NY. The result are here. Rochester's Kip Tisia won in 1:07:43. UPDATE: Kip also won the Rochester Marathon the next day in 2:33:21! The Virgil Crest Ultras was held down in Virgil NY. The 50K results of 24 finishers and 10 DNFs are here. The 50 Mile results of 61 finishers (Michael Meynadasy in 14:42:00) and 25 DNFs are here. The 100 Mile results of 16 finishers and 29 DNFs are here.

Once we got home I got down to laying down my running stuff for tomorrow's Rochester Half, my seventh half of 2015. My feeling was short tights, last year's Rochester Half tech and calf sleeves. I thought about arm warmers and gloves so I found them just in case. Then it was to bed for what I was sure would be a short night. My alarm was set for 5:20AM. The Rochester Half and Full Marathon was set to start at 7:30AM.