Sunday, 4/17/2016 to Saturday, 4/23/2016 - Rochester River Run 5K

I ran 4 times this week, 15.05 miles.

Sunday, 4/17/2016: 3 runs of 2, 0.6 and 3.12 miles

I woke up around 7AM. I knew I wanted to run the Rochester River Run 5K. It was a Rochester Runner of the Year (RROY) race, I was signed and do like to run the races that I have paid and signed up for. What to do? Go out for a practice run to see how my body reacts? You betcha! So ... that's what I did. I had a banana, threw on a long sleeve tech, sweat pants, hat, sunglasses, light gloves and out I went. I had my answere two miles later at 7:49 pace, link here. I might cough a bit, I might not enjoy having a really dry throat but I could run.

So ... I had my usual pre-race bowl of cereal, Googled where I had to park on the U of R campus and headed down to the Genesse Valley Park venue. I arrived around 9:20 AM in plenty of time for the 10 AM start. I even had time to take a 0.6 mile warmup run to take my nice long sleeve cotton race shirt back to the Cruze with its lockable trunk (nice for concealing a running bag), link here. It was relatively warm so I just had on shorts, short sleeve tech and sunglasses. I carried a 10 ounce water bottle.

I saw Bill Beyerbach and Jim May briefly before the start. A lot of speedier runners were in Boston so I lined up really close to the start line on the right side since the left side was taken up by slower runners/walkers in blue T-shirts.


And .... we were off! I settled into a fast race pace. This course was a bit twisty in the first mile. Mile 1 passed in 7:10. I wasn't being passed by very many runners and I was passing a few runners.

The start .... photo courtesy of Tim Matthews

Another view of the start ... unknown photographer

Bill Beyerbach passed me in the first 1/2 mile and Jim May was just passing me. Both went on to win their M60-64 and M65-59 age groups, respectively ... photo courtesy of Tim Matthews

Racing with the lady in purple ... photo courtesy of Tim Matthews

I stopped for a sip of water just after mile 2 passed in 14:10. A lady passed just then and we went back and forth on the way back to the finish. She finished just ahead of me at the line in 22:36, 7:17 pace. I was thirsty and quickly had a bottle of water. I had an unexpected treat at the post race grub ... a jelly donut! Mmm .... tasty!

Post race ... what a beautiful morning!

I checked out the leader board and found that I did OK for not being 100%. I was 34th out of 801, link here. I was 4th out of 57 in my wide M50-59 age group. I looked closer because I knew that this was a RROY race that would break it into the narrow M5054 and M55-59 age groups and found that I finished first in my M55-59 age group. Bam ... 10 RROY points, baby! OK ... all the speedy guys in my age group were in Boston but a win is a win. My Garmin FR305 splits were: 7:09, 7:18, 7:24 and 6;23 over the last 0.12 mile.

Soon enough (a side trip to Wegmans at Latta and Long Pond was necessary) I was lounging with my feet up and drinking coffee ... I'm glad that I got out and raced. It felt good. My darling wife, Christine, was recovered from her cold/flu to make ribs with homemade barbecue sauce ... scrumptious! She's definitely a 10 at keeping me happy!

Monday, 4/18/2016 to Wednesday, 4/20/2016: Rest days

I had a couple days of zero motivation while I tried to slowly get better. My darling wife, Christine, is still not well. I wish I hadn't signed her up for Mind the Ducks on May 14th.

My mind was in Boston during the late morning and early afternoon thinking about the local Rochester runners running in the 120th Boston Marathon, wiki here and news link here and here. I did manage to watch the live feed off the BAA website, link here. I saw Chris Patterson coming up Boylston to the finish just before the feed ended. One of these days I hope to qualify (maybe Rochester Full 2016?) and then run it.

Thursday, 4/21/2016: 9.35 miles, 1:16;12, 8:09 pace, 66F, 49% RH, 6 mph W wind, overcast

Garmin Connect Activity for A back in the saddle 15K

I needed to run so run I did. I eased into my usual 15K route at a nice and easy pace. My body tried to get me to turn around in the first mile but I ignored it and ran onward. Result ... a good run. My splits were: 8:16, 7:58, 8:02, 8:12, 8:24, 7:52, 8:07, 8:19 and 8:00 over the last 0.35 mile. My thoughts drifted to my seventh Flower City Half coming up on Sunday. I thought of places where I had difficulties in the past and resolved to do better this year.

I picked up my Flower City Half packet at Fleet Feet Armory during my lunch hour. I have everything I need so I managed to escape without buying any more running supplies.

Friday, 4/22/2016 and Saturday, 4/23/2016: Rest days.

Friday should have been a run day and Saturday was the usual rest day before a race. My darling wife, Christine, is still down getting over the flu(?).