Sunday, 6/10/2018 to Saturday, 6/16/2018 - Dirt Cheap #3

I ran 4 times this week, 21.16 miles.
I took 69,020 steps this week according to my Pebble 2 HR smart watch

Sunday, 6/10/2018: 15335 steps during the day; 9.35 miles, 1:18:00, 8:21 pace, 70F, 53% RH, 8 mph ENE wind, partly cloudy.



I had a Redbox that needed to be returned so I combined that with a run ... two birds, one stone! So ... it was off to the 7-11 on Lake Ave and then out and about. The wind going out on the pier slowed me down some but helped on the rest of the run. It was quite a beautiful morning! My splits were: 8:17, 8:23, 8:21, 8:21, 8:12, 8:14, 8:16, 8:23, 8:39 and 8:04 over the last 0.35 mile. Another run of just a nice and steady pace. Now I have convince myself that I can hold that pace (or something close) for 17 more miles, take nutrition and drink water regularly.

Meanwhile ... other races were being held. The Keuka Tri was held down in Keuka College, results here. The Boulder IM was held out in Boulder CO. Rochester's Jim McLaughlin, Jeff Rose, Chuck Straub and Denise Kenyon flew out. The conditions according to Facebook posts were hot, hot and hot! Jeff Rose finished in 16:38, results here. Jim and Denise withdrew due to the head and Chuck had a minor bicycle crash. Kudos to all!

Monday, 6/11/2018: 5209 steps during the day, rest day.

My thighs complained when I went up and down steps ... must have been running four days in a row!

Tuesday, 6/12/2018: 5950 steps during the day, rest day.

The usual rest day before a race ... Dirt Cheap #3 tomorrow!

Wednesday, 6/13/2018: 14044 steps during the day; 2 runs of 1 and 3.41 miles, 77F, 61% RH, 16 mph W wind, mostly cloudy.

Today's race was Dirt Cheap #3 held down at Lucien Morin Park at the bottom of Irondequoit Bay next to McGregor's Grill and Tap Room off of Empire Blvd. It was my tenth DC #3 (2009 - 54:23, 2010 - 41:55, 2011 - 36:30, 2012 - 34:48, 2013 - 36:56, 2014 - 37:48, 2015 - 39:06, 2016 - 36:24 and 2017 - 37:44) so I knew the drill ... get there early to get a close parking spot. So ... I got there a bit after 5 PM and scored a back-in spot to the left against the trees.

The Dirt Cheap #3 of 2009 - 54:23 brought back memories. It was an epic mud fest after it rained all day and during the race! It was so slippery that I could barely make it up the hills. Going down hills was treacherous at best. I fell numerous times. I was fairly new to trail races and I remember wondering what the hell I was doing out there! Ellen (the CFO of Fleet Feet Rochester) ran the race and split her pants! She ended up walking around afterward with a long t-shirt. It is amazing that McGregor's, the bar where the post race food was held, ever let us back inside ... we must have made a mess!

Back to the present ... I browsed Facebook while I waited for the 6:30 PM start. I got out of the '14 Cruze around 6 PM. I met up with Andy Ciaio and talked with Bill Murphy. Bill is recovering from triple-bypass heart surgery. He looked pretty good. I could tell he wanted to be back out there but he told me that he was just watching. He said that he could walk a mile but then he would have to take a two hour nap. I got out for a little 1 mile warm up run at 10:20 pace, link here. It was warm, muggy and windy with a severe thunderstorm warning (that didn't materialize). The trails were as dry as a bone in spite of a brief shower in the morning.


And ... we were off! I didn't sprint down the stone road to the left turn into single track ... I just took it nice and steady along side Andy. I followed him into the single track and up, up and up the first set of hills. Boots was up almost at the top giving some encouragement. I let Andy go and ran my own race. DC #3 is the shortest of the 6 Dirt Cheap race but I think it is the hardest. It has lots of root and narrow single track so I was careful to pick up my feet. The first mile was OK. Then ... it got hot. I started to walk most of the hills and then ran the flats (if any) and all the downs. I took a wrong turn twice and got called back twice by runners who were behind me. I guess I wasn't looking out for the pink flags as well as I should have been! I knew it was a short race but I just couldn't get much energy to run any harder. Soon enough ... I was done; 3.41 miles in 40:44, 11:57 pace. My splits were: 9:40, 12:04, 13:45 and 12:55 over the last 0.41 mile. Not my best DC #3 but I finished and I didn't trip ... both good things. The Relive link to Dirt Cheap #3 is here.

I ate upstairs at McGregor's  next to Andy and across from Tom Dutton. We all agreed that it was warm, muggy and that this race seemed a lot longer than usual. I don't know about the other two but I just like racing.

Thursday, 6/14/2018: 6514 steps during the day, rest day.

I usually run on Thursday with long runs on Saturday and Sunday. But ... I am plan on switching to a long run on Friday afternoon, a rest day on Saturday and the Medved 5K plus a few miles on Sunday, Father's Day. Maybe I can get some sorting and gardening done on Saturday! I usually get up early so maybe I can get it done before noon!

Friday, 6/15/2018: 21061 steps during the day; 9.35 miles, 1:19:17, 8:29 pace, 79F, 23% RH, 6 mph WNW wind, sunny.


I forgot to pack my Brooks Ravenna 8 running shoes when I left for work so I had to head home before I could go out for this run. It was warm so I stuck with a nice and steady pace. I thought about pushing past my usual 9.35 mile route by turning left onto Janes but I went straight and "settled". My splits were: 8:28, 8:17, 8:24, 8:28, 8:26, 8:25, 8:34, 8:37, 8:44 and 8:16 over the last 0.35 mile.

Saturday, 6/16/2018: 907(!) steps during the day, rest day.

Yes, I purposely did not run on Saturday. I was a bit off all day and I think it was because I DIDN'T run. I should have gone out for a 5 mile run at the very least because ... well ... that is what I do on Saturdays! RUN! I did spend a bit of time up in the master bedroom straightening up my crap. I am not done but I did make progress. And ... I couldn't get to sleep right away when I did go to bed. I was still awake at 12:20 AM with a 6 AM wake up alarm and the Medved 5K at 8:30 AM. But what can you do?