Sunday, 10/9/2016 to Saturday, 10/15/2016 - Finish Strong 15K

I ran 5 times this week, 43.73 miles.

Sunday, 10/9/2016: 20.05 miles, 2:56:49, 52F, 76% RH, 6 mph WNW wind, partly cloudy.

I have decided to call this 20 route "The Greenleaf 20". I think it's a good one. I didn't get out early but I did get out and got back just before noon. It was a bit cool and windy so I wore my CW-X shorts, a yellow long sleeve tech and light Brooks gloves. I prepped by filling up my hydration vest with 1.5 liters of water and my HammerGel flask with 5 ounces of HammerGel. I thnk I nailed my clothing choice. It was a bit chilly when I ran into the wind but warm when I ran away from the wind. I hiked up my sleeves about halfway into the run.

I thought of all the running awesomeness that I had read about on Facebook. Lot of  events were held today: the Running with the Angels 5K and 10K, the Chicago Marathon, the Mohawk Hudson Marathon, the Breast Cancer Ride, the Army 10 Miler run in Washington DC and the Trail Fun Fest in Keenebunkport ME. I was determined to show my respect and admiration by running well. So ... I struck up a nice and easy pace and tried to hold it. I think I did a good job. I passed 13.1 miles in 1:53:40, 8:40 pace. I concentrated on maintaining my form past mile 12 and only broke to a walk three times after mile 17. My pace was 8:49 which is 15 second/mile faster than last week. My splits were: 8:29, 8:36, 8:30, 8:31, 8:39. 8:30, 8:47, 8:42, 8:43, 8:45, 9:00, 8:42, 8:50, 8:45, 8:58, 8:50, 8:58, 9:39, 9:32 and 9:01. I ran mentally better than last week but still need to control my negative thoughts past mile 17. But I am encouraged. Some would say "Why run for 3 hours?" I say "Why not?" and "It was fun".I did lose 4.8 pounds ... but I'll gain it back to stay around 165 pounds.

So I lazed around until the Bills - Rams game came on at 4:25 PM. Christine and I enjoyed watching the Bills win their third straight, 30, 19, link here. Later we watched the second Trump - Clinton debate. I will feel so great after I "pull" the election handle on November 8th.

Monday, 10/10/2016: Rest day.

Tuesday, 10/11/2016: 6.2 miles, 49:00, 7:50 pace, 66F, 35% RH, 3 mph E wind, overcast.

Update: I gained 3.5 and 2.2 pounds over the last 2 days and then lost 0.6 pounds after this run. So ... I guess I run so I can eat. Anyway ... I took my creaky body out and ran. My ankles didn't like the first 1/2 mile but then I cranked up the pace and did an out and back 10K. My splits were: 8:23, 8:03, 7:43, 7:40, 7:38 and 7:03 over the last 0.25 mile. Boom!

Wednesday, 10/12/2016: Rest day ...

Thursday, 10/13/2016: 6.25 miles, 49:57, 8:00 pace, 54F, 58% RH, 12 mph NNW wind, overcast

It was Thursday so I got out and ran. I went home, changed and got out there. I wore my CW-X shorts, a long sleeve tech and light Brooks running gloves. I tried to hold back but I know how that usually works. My splits were: 8:20, 8:10, 8:03, 7:53, 7:55, 7:53 and 6:43 over the last 0.25 mile. I got home just at sunset. I wore my reflective vest. I have found my headlamp (which took about 10 minutes. It is all charged up and ready.

It's been almost a month since I last ran a race (Rochester Full on 9/18) but I think I still know how. Hopefully I can start slow, go sub 8 past mile 3 and then hold it. The course from the Grace and Truth Sports Park runs on familiar roads (Edgemere Drive, Lowden Point Rd, Frisbee Hill Rd and East Manitou Rd).

Friday, 10/14/2016: Rest day

Saturday, 10/15/2016: 2 runs of 2 and 9.38 miles.

Today's race was the Finish Strong 15K at Grace and Truth Sports Park which is only 11 minutes away the townhouse. It was a Greater Rochester Track Club (GRTC) Rochester Runner of the Year (RROY) race so I expected that a lot of speedy runners were going to be there. It was also my first race since the Rochester Full on 9/18. The race start was 9 AM so I "slept in" until 6 AM. I didn't really have to leave until 7:45 AM to get there at 8 AM. It was a bit chilly so I dressed in layers. I intended to race in my Brooks short tights, calf sleeves and a short sleeve tech. I wore my Brooks pants, a long sleeve tech and my Brooks jacket over them to get warm until the race. I had my usual pre-race meal of cereal and a banana, puttered around, kissed Christine goodbye and headed out.

I met up with Prem Kumar to go out for a 2 mile warmup run at 9:11 pace, link here. Prem talked about his amazing and awesome 3:19 at the Chicago Marathon (with 40,000 of his closest friends) on the previous Sunday. He told me that he was a bit achy. The weather at that time was: 36F, 93% RH, 4 mph SSW wind, sunny. I got out of the warmup gear and slowly made my way to the start. No worries ... just a bit chilly. I knew I would warm up.


I took my usual spot ... near the front and to the right. And ... we were off! I had a plan to start nice and easy but ... my first mile was 7:32. Oh well. I kept that pace for miles 2 through 5. Then I kind of lost my mojo and just ran instead of raced. But ... I didn't stop to walk. I had my 20 ounce water bottle so I didn't have to stop at any aid stations. I hydrated with a quick burst of water at miles 2, 4, 6 and 8.

Soon enough I was done. I saw Prem and Andy Ciaio at the finish. I added my new Finish Strong long sleeve shirt on the top of my sweaty short sleeve tech and ambled over to have some of the great grub that this race is known for: a piece of pepperoni pizza, mac'n'cheese, a couple of salt potatoes and some pulled pork .... mmm! I saw that I had won my M 55-59 age group so I stuck around for the award. Ten points in the RROY standings, baby! 9 out of 12 RROY races are in the books. I am sitting first in my age group but there are still 3 more to go and Tim Dwyer can still run all three of them and win it with 60 out of 60 easily ... just like he did last year.

The results soon surfaced on score-this.com. Andy and Prem finished ahead of me in 1:10:01 and 1:10:16, respectively. Officially I was 26th out of 111, first out of 7 in my M 55-59 age group, link here. My splits were: 7:31, 7:35, 7:47, 7:32, 7:38, 7:44, 7:59, 7:49, 7:47 and 7:24 over the last 0.38 mile. This was my slowest of my three Finish Strong 15Ks (2015: 1:09:38 and 2014: 1:09:51). But ... I finished and it's all good.

I recovered by lounging on the couch with my feet up while drinking a couple of mugs of coffee. Christine was a bit cranky so I applied my patented relaxation techniques. It seemed to help us both. Later I did four loads of laundry while she took a nap.

All in all ... a great high mileage week of running.