Sunday, 4/14/2019 to Saturday, 4/20/2019 - Dirt Cheap #1

I ran \4 times: 12.19 miles.
I took 56,500 steps according to my Pebble 2 HR smart watch.

Sunday, 4/14/2019: 1402 steps during the day, rest day.

Yes, it was Sunday but I decided that my left hamstring needed some time off of running so no run today. I watched the final round of the Masters ... and then I watched the encore to see what I missed when I didn't watch it for a hour (which was where a lot happened). Tiger Woods was in the hunt and he pounced. He was in a 5 way tie at -12 going into the 15th, birdied the 15 (leaving a 3 way tie for second behind him), birdied the 16th (almost a hole in one), had par for the 17th and bogeyed the 18th for a one shot win. His 15th major, first major win in almost 11 years in age 43 (after 4 back surgeries and some knee reconstructions) and his 5th Masters jacket (first since 2005). He had a long road back with personal problems, back problems and a pain killer addiction but America loves a come back story. The video of him hugging his two kids and mother afterward was heart touching, links here, here, here and here (lots of others out there).

Monday, 4/15/2019:12990 steps during the day, 3.25 miles, 35:54, 11:03 pace, 130 avg HR, 146 avg cadence, 44F, 49% RH, 21 mph NW wind, wind chill 36F, partly cloudy

Monday is not normally a run day but I have signed up for the Dirt Cheap Trail Race Series (my 11th year) and the first one is on Wednesday. I like to run in the mud what can I say. I almost always don't run on the day before a race so today was the day to run since I didn't run on Sunday.

These Salomon SpeedCross 4 trail shoes were too clean!

My brand new Salomon SpeedCross 4 trail shoes, review here, needed some mud on them and I needed to get my running mind in trail mode instead of road mode. Where do go though? I chose Durand Eastman Park since it was close by. I should really run it more often. Trail running is so much easier on my knees than road running. It takes longer to get mileage though ... I do like to get to 100 miles of running every month.

I got there after work. It was around 40F and windy. I had thought I had packed my CW-X tights but all I had were shorts. I did wear a long sleeve tech, Brooks 1/4 zip long sleeve pullover, Brooks beanie and heavy running gloves on top. I was a bit apprehensive about parking my '18 Cruze so near Lake Shore Blvd by the locked gate on Log Cabin Rd. But ... I did and set out on a really nice and easy trail pace. I could hear the wind but didn't really feel it unless I got to a wide open spot. Running on the road in shorts would have probably sucked. There some mud and just a few puddles. It was a bit wet over by the Durand Eastman Golf Course. I ran around Durand Lake on the red trail and then around Eastman Lake on the orange trail. It was peaceful. I only disturbed some geese and a swan on each lake. My splits were: 11:33, 11:27, 10:02 and 11:25 over the last 0.25 mile.

The Boston Marathon was held today. I am usually all hyped about this but strangely enough not this year. I just couldn't get into it. I knew people who ran it ... Tim Dwyer in 3:04:51, Heather Patterson in 3:28:59, Wendy Abbott in 3:40:37, Christine Antonini in 3:49:28 and Bambi Jasmin in 4:21:33. Marathons and me don't get along so I stopped signing up for them. I fall apart in the second half of a marathon. You don't get a BQ time when that happens. So ... I am sticking to half marathons. You get done in half the time and can walk the next day.

Tuesday, 4/16/2019: 5783 steps during the day, rest day.

Wednesday, 4/17/2019: 18837 steps during the day, 2 runs of 1.15 and 4.64 miles, 58F, 41% RH, 9 mph E wind, mostly cloudy.

Today's race was Dirt Cheap #1. I looked at my running spreadsheet and found that this was my 20th time running this course , 9 times as Dirt Cheap #1 (missed 2016) and 10 times as Dirt Cheap Stage Race #2. I guess I have been racing for a while. I got dressed and got on the road just after 5 PM. The drive down to Mendon Ponds Park was uneventful ... just the usual 5 PM traffic on I-390S, I-490E, Monroe Ave and Route 65. I got to the race venue, Devil's Bathtub, jpg here, around 5:35 PM and got a nice parking spot on top of the hill.

I met up with Andy Ciaio and Wilt Alston. Wilt turned 60 in December and is now a "young punk" (according to him) member of the M 60-64 age group. I saw Joe Ciecierega. He told me that he was running the Hall of Fame Marathon out in Canton OH in 2 weeks. It will be his 32nd marathon in 5 years! He said that this race and Sehgahunda will be training(!) runs for his Many on the Genny in June. Gulp!

I got out for a 1.15 mile warm up run at 9:50 pace with Andy before the race, link here. We caught up to the early start runners and carefully ran around them when we could.

I lined up with Andy and talked with Prem a little bit before the race. I mentioned to Prem that he had 290 races in 6 years. He told me that he was up to 293 so far and tonight was going to be his 294th and had the Muddy Sneaker 20K on Saturday. Andy had run the Amigas 6 hour Ultra last Saturday and will also be running the Muddy Sneaker 20K and the Rally Around the Lake 18 mile race the week after that. I felt like a slacker .... I'll just be running the Flower City Half in 2 weeks. Prem told me that I am the one that gave him the urge to run so many races. He remembers me saying that I had run 51 races so far in 2013 way back at the Reindeer Run 5K that year when he had first moved to Rochester (and we first met). Well, I have run a few races too ... 478 so far coming into tonight's race. But I have been racing since 2005.

And ... we were off! The bearded Sean Hendrick gave a very long winded "Goooooooooo"! My left hamstring felt a bit wonky so my plan (what little there was) was to stay upright and take it nice and easy. The first mile was open grass with rolling hills so it was a fast 8:27 pace ... predictable. Then ... the fun began with single track with leaves, roots, rocks. I survived the bog around mile 2. I tried to go straight the bog without running above it on the twisty turny path along the trees to the right ... but sank ankle deep in mud the few times I tried it. Then ... mile 2.85 happened. I came to the first large mud patch that you really couldn't go around. I ran in with my left foot ... it sank into the mud ... I tried to pull it out ... and it didn't come out with a good pull ... and tweaked my left hamstring ... ouch!!! What to do? Some smarter runners might have walked the rest of the way. Well ... I found I could run without too much pain so I continue to run. I ran slower but I ran none the less. Wilt and Joe passed and asked me how I was doing. I guess my gait told them that I hurt a bit. There was a lot more mud patches. I ran straight through them and didn't avoid them. You just have to tip toe through them and even then my shoes almost came off a few times. I also slammed my right foot against the inside of my shoe when I went down a steep downhill. I guess I didn't have my Salomon SpeedCross 4 trail shoes cinched up tight enough. I walked the hills I usually walk ... I have run this race just a few times. But ... I do like running in the mud!

Ahh ... some Dirt Cheap #1 mud made my Salomon SpeedCross 4 trail shoes look better!

Anyway ... I kept on running. I was more than glad to stop once I ran up the infamous stairs and got to the finish line. I had a couple of hot dogs and cookies ... I was tired and hungry. My shoes and socks were wet and muddy so I changed them into dry ones before I headed home. I was tired and a bit cranky but still did my usual household duties before I went to bed ... early. I was beat.

Overall ... I did OK. I survived to run another day. Stat time: my avg HR was 134 and my avg cadence was 142. My splits were: 8:27, 10:59, 12:13, 10:37 and 13:35 over the last 0.64 mile. My chip time was 50:51 and gun time was 50:54 which puts this as my slowest Dirt Cheap #2 ... just a bit slower than last year's 50:29. I was 99th out of 247 and 3rd (2:34 behind Wilt at 71st) out of 9 in my M 60-64 age group, link here. Andy finished in 44:38, Prem in 45:36 and Joe in 4:39. Tina Pellegrin looked OK when I passed her but was evaluated by EMTs after she finished in 1:32:24 and was transported to a hospital.

Thursday, 4/18/2019: 6189 steps during the day, rest day.

A definite rest day after tweaking my left hamstring the night before. It felt a bit sore so I just did my normal day. It was above 70F so I did take a 2000 step walk around the Harris B601 building.

Friday, 4/19/2019: 4246 steps during the day, rest day.

Just your average middle of April Friday ... the temperature dropped 31F in 24 hours.

Saturday, 4/20/2019: 7053 steps during the day,  3.15 miles, 29:31, 9:22 pace, 119 avg HR, 152 avg cadence, 42F, 89% RH, 14 mph NE wind, wind chill 35F, overcast.


I was up at 6:30 AM and was ready to run at 8 AM ... but it was raining. I thought of all the trail runners that were going to run the Muddy Sneaker 20K down in the High Tor Wildlife Management  Area around Naples.

The power of Google ... I did a search for Muddy Sneaker 20K and then clicked on the Images tab. One of the pictures is a link to a picture from my 2015 blog post, link here, which was the last time I ran this race.

A blast from the past ... 4/12/2015 when I last ran the Muddy Sneaker 20K

I waited until a bit after 10 AM before I went out. Well ... that run didn't turn out the way I expected. My left hamstring still twinged when I stretched out to run my usual pace. I made due by shortening my stride but even then I felt  twinge or two. So ... I could have turned around at mile 1. I turned around at Dewey Ave at mile 1.5. My splits were: 9:04, 9:33, 9:30 and 9:19.

I was a bit depressed the rest of the day. I have 60.2 running miles for April and only 10 more days to get to 100 miles. I really don't want to break my 100 running miles per month streak! I've had my streak going since January 2016 ... 39 months.

Sunday, 4/7/2018 to Saturday, 4/13/2019

I ran 4 times: 24.91 miles.
I took 82,167 steps according to my Pebble 2 HR smart watch.

Sunday, 4/7/2019: 9818 steps during the day, 5.55 miles, 46:38, 8:24 pace, 129 avg HR, 161 avg cadence, 43F, 96% RH, 5 mph E wind, wind chill 40F, overcast.

Well ... I had a Redbox DVD entitled "The Mule" to go back so I ran it back to the 7-11 on Lake Ave. It was a bit warmer so I wore shorts, a short sleeve tech, a long sleeve tech, Brooks light gloves and my orange Fleet Feet hat. I decided to head on Beach Ave with a detour onto the Hidden Sidewalk ... which was tough to find when you are on the beach looking at the house above. I did find but it took a couple of trips up some stairs to find no sidewalk yet. Now I know to go almost to the north end of the beach that you can run on. I might just run on Beach Ave though ... it's faster. Anyway ... I cut the run short to just 5.55 miles. I needed coffee, lol! My splits were: 8:14, 8:02, 8:08, 9:55, 7:59 and 7:51.

Christine and I connected for a while ... finally. We had an issue to talk about. Nothing earth shaking ... lol! Later, I headed out for another Redbox DVD entitled Bumblebee. I just copy them using a dedicated Windows XP laptop that I have installed xx, DVD Decryptor and xx. One of these days I will get time to watch them! I first have to categorize and put them in order so that I can find them again. They are all in an assortment of 50 DVD boxes right now which makes any particular DVD extremely hard to find.

Monday, 4/8/2019: 7732 steps during the day, rest day.

My lovely wife, Christine, went to Polish Me Up to get her nails touched up. She chose a color nailed "I'm Not Really a Waitress" from OPI, link here, images here. We make jokes about the nail color name but they do look very nice.

I'm Not Really a Waitress ... very nice!

Tuesday, 4/9/2019: 8402 steps during the day, blah day.

Yes ... it spit snow during the morning. It didn't stick but still it sucked to look outside or much less walk in it.

Tuesday is usually my day to run but I decided to push it to Wednesday. I stayed up late the night before to watch the Virginia - Texas Tech game (yahoo Virginia!) and then had to get up to go pee 3 times during the night. So I only got maybe 5 hours of sleep. I was tired during the day and was kind of glad that I was busy during the day so I wouldn't just nod off if I sat down for any length of time.

I did go to bed a bit early ... 10 PM.

Wednesday, 4/10/2019: 17792 steps during the day, 8.05 miles, 1:06:06, 8:13 pace, 132 avg HR, 161 avg cadence, 43F, 38% RH, calm, mostly cloudy.

A make up day ... perfect for an 8 mile run. It was wee bit warmer so I wore shorts, a short sleeve tech, a long sleeve tech, heavy running gloves, ear warmers and sunglasses. I stretched out and set up a quick pace. My splits were: 8:16, 8:24, 8:18, 8:17, 8:15, 8:04, 8:03 and 8:04.

Thursday, 4/11/2019: 14302 steps during the day, 6.26 miles, 51:12, 8:11 pace, 131 avg HR, 162 avg cadence, 35F, 85% RH, 12 mph ENE wind, wind chill 27F, overcast.

It was Thursday so I ran. I didn't get out early so I ran after I got home. It had turned cold and windy again so it was back to the UWRG minus the balaclava and plus the heavy running gloves. Whatever .... I got out there. Someday I may not be able to run but today was not that day. Old age ... I run to keep that in my rear view mirror. Anyway ... I set up a quick pace to get an out and back 10K done. The east wind was just as cold as the west wind. There were other crazies out ... a guy on a fat bike and another runner who had on about the same amount of clothing I did. My splits were: 8:12, 8:19, 8:15, 8:07, 8:12, 8:11 and 7:33 over the last 0.26 mile.

Friday, 4/12/2019: 9464 steps during the day, rest day.

Saturday, 4/13/2019: 14657 steps during the day, 5.05 miles, 43:28, 8:36 pace, 126 avg HR, 156 avg cadence, 50F, 65% RH, 5 mph SW wind, overcast.

Well ... that run sucked. I got up at 5:30 AM so I could get out early for a 10K before I had to head out at 8:15 AM to take two kids grocery shopping. So ... why did the run suck? Well ... first I had to find my Zipster when delayed me for 5 to 10 minutes so I didn't get out at 6 AM. So ... I didn't stretch out before I started out at 6:15 AM. Then ... my left hamstring started to twinge at mile 2 so I turned at Island Cottage at mile 2.5. Yes ... it got worse at mile 4 so I went into a run/walk. My splits were: 8:12, 8:09, 8:17, 8:34 and 9:50. I took a quick mug of coffee, a shower and spent a bit of time with my lovely wife, Christine, before I left at 8:20 AM.

I passed by Durand Eastman Beach and saw the walkers and runners of the Amiga's Run 6 hour Ultra very briefly on the way by. I had thought of running this race but was kind of OK with not running it.

I was at Macedon at 9 AM so I could take my oldest son, Michael, to Victor so I could go to ESL and then back to the Macedon Walmart to grocery shop. Then it was onward to Palmyra to take my daughter, Karen, to the Victor BestBuy to look at laptops with backlit keyboards. She claimed that her current HP laptop locks up occasionally and had touchpad sensitivity issues. I looked into those issues on her laptop and didn't really find any real problem. Our trip to the Macedon Walmart to grocery shop was uneventful. I took out her cardboard to her recycling bin before I headed back up to Rochester. I stopped to smell the roses (OK ... walked the beach) at Durand Eastman Beach. It was just a 1/4 mile walk on the beach but it was peaceful.

Sunday, 3/30/2019 to Saturday, 4/6/2019

Common abbreviations: OMEP is my Orange Mud Endurance Pack, NT360 is my NoxGear 
Tracer360 vest, UWRG is my usual winter running gear: CW-X tights, Darn Tough socks, long sleeve tech, Brooks 1/4 zip long sleeve pullover, balaclava and Brooks beanie.

I ran 4 times: 30.95 miles.
I took 74,089 steps according to my Pebble 2 HR smart watch.

Sunday, 3/31/2019: 11960 steps during the day, 7.85 miles, 1:04:21, 8;12 pace, 133 avg HR, 163 avg cadence, 34F, 100% RH, 5 mph ENE wind, wind chill 29F, overcast with little flakes of snow.

Well ... it's to believe but it was 70F yesterday afternoon. And ... it was 34F and spitting snow when I went out for my run on Sunday morning! I slept in until after 8:30 AM and didn't get out until almost 10:30 AM ... but I did get out. It was cold so I wore my UWRG minus the balaclava and plus my heavy running gloves. I set up a steady pace as I headed west into the wind on the LOSP trail. I didn't want to do an out and back so I looped back onto Edgemere Drive, Beach Ave and Lake Ave. I even headed out onto the Hidden Sidewalk (lots of links to click on here) and onto the beach by the Ontario Beach Park. I haven't done that in ages ... kind of fun actually. My splits were: 8:16, 8:07, 8:05, 7:58, 7:42, 9:10, 8:22 and 7:50 over the last 0.85 mile.

The light snow was pretty to look at while I sipped my usual 2 mugs of post-run coffee ... it was above freezing and it wasn't sticking to anything. Then ... the temperature fell to freezing and lower ... and it started to stick and accumulate. Yes ... it didn't amount to much ... only 2 inches. But ... still it's about April!

Oh well ... it's the end of March ... so it's stat time!

I ran 19 times during March for 130.12 miles (39 months greater than 100 miles), 6.85 miles/run.
I have run 58 times so far in 2019 for 342.67 miles, 5.91 miles/run
I ran one race during March
 03/16 Runnin' of the Green, 5.02 miles, 38:56, 7:47 pace
I took 326,812 steps during March and have taken 930,812 steps so far in 2019.

Monday, 4/1/2019: 7260 steps during the day, rest day.

Spring is here ... April Fools!

Well ... the snow stuck around. About 2 inches fell up near Lake Ontario. It didn't warm up above freezing until around noon. 95% of the snow was gone by 5 PM.

Tuesday, 4/2/2019: 5541 steps during the day, rest day.

Cryptic comment for today ... the rabbit hole is near and I must take care to avoid it every day for the rest of my life.

More of a blah day rather than a rest day. I went to bed at 9 PM after a few hugs from my wonderful wife, Christine. I woke up early but I managed to stay in bed until my alarm went off at 5:50 AM.

Wednesday, 4/3/2019: 11498 steps during the day, 4 miles on treadmill and elliptical.

Yes ... I did 2 miles on the treadmill and 2 miles on the elliptical at the Greenleaf Meadows exercise room. I also did some upper body work on the weight machine and did a bit of free weights.

Why? Well ... the wind was blowing out of the west at 20 to 30 mph and all I had on my legs were shorts. Sure ... I could have gone home and put on my CW-X tights. But ... I still would have to almost run in place to head out west on the LOSP trail and I just didn't want to so I went to the dark side instead. I broke up the monotony by switching from the treadmill to the elliptical every mile and then doing the weight machine before heading back to the treadmill. So ... I worked up a sweat rather then chilling myself to the bone by running in the cold April wind. Yes ... I know this sounds like a whine but I got a workout in and that what counts in the long run. I even worked out my upper body a bit which is something I almost never do.

Thursday, 4/4/2019: 16287 steps during the day, 8.05 miles, 1:05:21, 8:08 pace, 164 avg cadence, 37F, 48% RH, 3 mph WNW wind, mostly cloudy.

It was Thursday ... so you know what I did. It was a bit chilly so I wore my UWRG minus the balaclava and long sleeve tech shirt plus the heavy running gloves and a cotton t-shirt. Yes ... I know that "cotton is rotten". But ... I didn't have anything else to go underneath my Brooks 1/4 long sleeve pullover. I probably could have gotten along without it though. I got up to the Greece Arcadia High School, waited until 5 PM, clocked out and headed out. I set up a quick pace and held it on my 8 mile route. My splits were: 8:01, 8:18, 8:13, 8:05, 8:09, 8:05, 8:05, and 8:01. Boom ... done.

Friday, 4/5/2019: 5722 steps during the day, rest day.

Saturday. 4/6/2019: 15821 steps during the day, 11.05 miles, 1:31:45, 8:18 pace, 134 avg HR, 165 avg cadence, 45F, 84% RH, 6 mph NW wind, wind chill 41F, overcast

I slept in until 7 AM and puttered around like usual. But ... I knew I would regret not running if I didn't run. I wore the UWRG but changed to a short sleeve tech instead of a long sleeve tech and minus the balaclava. Running at 40F to 50F is a bit weird and will taking a bit of getting used to. I did get out though after a few runs back in to get my heart strap and sunglasses. I wanted 11 miles since Fleet Feet did a 11 mile practice run for the upcoming Flower City Half. I had two options for 11 miles ... my Out to Lowden Point Rd or LOSP trail plus my 10K loop. I chose my Out to Lowden Point Rd route. I set up a slower "get it done" pace. It seemed to warm up suddenly at 6.5 miles so I took off my Brooks 1/4 zip long sleeve pullover and tied it around my shoulders. I took several tiny water breaks too. Still ... I got it done. My splits were: 8:21, 8:20, 8:15, 8:25, 8:24, 8:16, 8:12, 8:21, 8:23, 8:16 and 8:08.

I got out later with a grocery list that Christine had made up after she had planned menus for the week. It was complicated that it was a list without aisle numbers to help me out. I just couldn't find au jus or frozen corn on the cob. But I got the majority of the items so it was all good.

Sunday, 3/24/2019 to Saturday, 3/30/2019

Common abbreviations: OMEP is my Orange Mud Endurance Pack, NT360 is my NoxGear 
Tracer360 vest, UWRG is my usual winter running gear: CW-X tights, Darn Tough socks, long sleeve tech, Brooks 1/4 zip long sleeve pullover, balaclava and Brooks beanie.

I ran 4 times: 27.61 miles.
I took 76,328 steps according to my Pebble 2 HR smart watch.

Sunday, 3/24/2019: 8715 steps during the day, 5.05 miles, 42:11, 8:21 pace, 129 avg HR, 161 avg cadence, 45F, 42% RH, 15 mph W wind, wind chill 38F, overcast.

Well ... running 4 days in a row (Thursday - 6.25 miles, Friday - 6.25 miles and Saturday - 5.05 miles and today - 5.05 miles) was not such a good idea). None of these previous were very long or hard but they did catch up to me. Today's run was stubborn and probably ill advised but I did it anyway. It had warmed up a bit but I still wore my CW-X tights, a short sleeve tech, Brooks 1/4 zip long sleeve pullover, Brooks beanie and heavy running gloves. Maybe I would have better served with shorts? I knew that the run was not going to be a good one when I had to stop for about 3 or 4 tiny walk breaks on the way out to Island Cottage. I wisely decided to turn around there. I managed not to take any tiny walk breaks on the way back. My splits were: 8:37, 8:30, 8:28, 8:09 and 8:03.

I did manage to get out for a much needed haircut at Sport Clips and to grocery shop at Wegmans and Herrema's with a list that Christine made for me. So ... I guess Christine and I won't starve ... we had been living on love there for a bit, lol!

Monday, 3/25.2019: 4087 steps during the day, rest day.

I was on PTO from Ricoh. I didn't run today since I had run the four previous days. I bused myself doing 5 loads of laundry though. I did get some steps in!

Tuesday, 3/26/2019: 6726 steps during the day, rest day.

Well ... back to the salt mines looking after the 182 Harris SIS printers for Ricoh. Don't get me wrong ... I like my job. But ... I have been looking after the Kodak/ITT/Exelis/Harris printers for Synergy (7.5 years) and Ricoh (almost 3.5 years now) for going on 11 years now. It is different in the day to day but on the whole it does get a bit routine just keeping everything running smoothly.

Wednesday, 3/27/2019: 19328 steps during the day, 8:05 miles. 1:07:43, 8:24 pace, 132 avg HR, 160 avg cadence, 45F, a bit breezy, sunny.

 A rare Wednesday run ... I wanted a run a bit longer so I went with the Janes, Long Ponds, Edgemere Drive, Island Cottage loop from Greece Arcadia High School (GSHS). The sunny weather was quite deceptive. It was 55F at Harris B601 when I left work so I had changed into shorts, Brooks 1/4 zip long sleeve pullover and wanted to wear my Fleet Feet hat and light running gloves. Well ... it was only 45F and a bit breezy when I got up to GAHS. I ran about a 100 yards before I went back to the 2018 Cruze to change from my hat to my Brooks beanie. I did enjoy the run though ... it felt good to just run at a steady pace. It was 39F when I got back to my car. My splits were: 8:08, 8:20, 8:23, 8:29, 8:30, 8:28, 8:29 and 8:29. It really felt like I was running faster but I guess not.

Thursday, 3/28/2019: 13057 steps during the day, 5.16 miles, 42:40, 8:17 pace, 131 avg HR, 162 avg cadence, 57F, 37% RH, 15 mph W wind, overcast.

It was Thursday so I ran. I got up to GAHS before 5 PM. It was warmer so I wore shorts and a long sleeve tech shirt. No hat and no gloves ... yay! No sunglasses either since it was overcast. It was a bit windy but it was a warm wind! There was pole work on Island Cottage when I headed north so I made a loop of Island Cottage, Janes Rd, Long Pond Rd and Latta Rd to avoid it. I kept to the sidewalk on Long Pond Rd and Latta Rd to avoid all the traffic. I set up a steady pace but my thighs were tight after a mile. Heading into the wind bothered me too and I took a few tiny walk breaks. So ... the run was just OK. But ... it was good to get out there anyway. My splits were: 8:03, 8:24, 8:38, 8:22, 8:03 and 7:33 over the last 0.16 mile.

Friday, 3/29/2019: 6908 steps during the day, rest day.

My darling wife, Christine, came down with a cold sore on her lip along with swollen glands. I had asked her to take my two oldest kids, Michael and Karen, grocery shopping but I knew she would be unable to handle it.

Saturday, 3/30/2019: 17507 steps during the day, 9.35 miles, 1:18:17, 8:22 pace, 133 avg HR, 165 avg cadence, 38F, 100% RH, 5 mph ENE wind, wind chill 34F, overcast.

The forecast was for a warm afternoon with temperatures in the 60s with a cold front moving through and the tempertures in the 30s by Sunday morning. But ... it was only 38F when I went out at 6 AM. I don't normally get out in the dark but my darling wife, Christine, was sick so I had to get my Saturday run in before I headed out to take my 2 oldest kids, Michael and Karen, on their biweekly grocery shopping trips. So ... I was up at 5:30 AM, had my usual pre-run bowl of cereal, got dressed and got out. I put on my NT360 lighted vest and my headlamp from eBay. Well ... my headlamp from Ebay didn't have its lens on so I had to go back inside to search for my old headlamp that really didn't have a good battery charge. I had barely enough light but I knew sunrise was coming in a hour so onward I ran. I wanted a bit longer run so I chose my 15K route. My splits were: 8:24, 8:17, 8:14, 8:21, 8:19, 8:24, 8:20, 8:31, 8:32 and 8:14 over the last 0.35 mile.

But ... no rest for the weary. I got inside, had a bit of coffee and a banana, took a shower, dressed and got on the road by 8:15 AM. There was a bit of rain on my way to Macedon. I got to Macedon a bit early. Michael was ready and we proceeded to the Macedon Walmart for his grocery shopping trip. It had warmed up to the mid 50s so I left my coat in the 2018 Cruze. I people watched while I waited for him. I chuckled to myself when I saw a young kid ride his new bicycle with training wheels past me while his father kept a wary eye on him. We talked a bit while he put his groceries away back up in his apartment. Then it was onward to Palmyra for Karen's turn. I helped take out her recycling. Her kitten, Cina, actually saw me for a few minutes before heading under a bed. Her cat, Hermoine, ignored me. Her dog, Pooka, gave me his seal of approval by licking my hand. It had warmed up even further to the mid 60s. Karen went outside with her laptop to work on a paper when I went out to leave.

Then ... back up to Rochester. It was 69F when I stopped at the Durand Eastman Beach long enough to walk about a 1/4 mile on the beach. It was overcast but .... it was warm! Christine looked a lot better when I got back. She didn't make it downstairs so I took beverages and food up to her to when she requested them. She mainly slept and/or rested.

Sunday, 3/17/2019 to Saturday, 3/23/2019

Common abbreviations: OMEP is my Orange Mud Endurance Pack, NT360 is my NoxGear 
Tracer360 vest, UWRG is my usual winter running gear: CW-X tights, Darn Tough socks, long sleeve tech, Brooks 1/4 zip long sleeve pullover, balaclava and Brooks beanie.

I ran 5 times: 33.55 miles.
I took 70,110 steps according to my Pebble 2 HR smart watch.

Sunday, 3/17/2019: 12386 steps during the day, 8.55 miles, 1:10:01, 8:11 pace, 133 avg HR, 164 avg cadence, 26F, 48% RH, 10 mph W wind, wind chill 16F, mostly sunny

I combined practicality with running ... I mailed the Netflix DVD (Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines) and took back my Redbox DVD (A.I. Rising) along with a longish run. I wore my UWRG minus the balaclava but plus the heavy running gloves and sunglasses. I set up a nice and steady pace ... got it done. My splits were: 7:59, 8:08, 8:40, 8:23, 8:04, 8:19, 8:06, 8:07 and 7:41 over the last 0.55 mile.

Later, I went down to the basement and put together the shelving unit that Christine brought back from her late father's basement last year. Yes ... it sat in the trunk of her car and then in the basement for that long. It was a double rivet shelving unit and I had no instructions or any clue about how to put it together. She had to come downstairs and give me some ideas about how to orientate the parts onto the support rails. My initial idea was 90 degrees out of sync. A couple of email to her two brothers gave me ideas also. It didn't help that there were 5 wood shelf planks and only parts for 3 shelves. So ... I made a bottom, middle and top shelf. The hardest part was the middle shelf where I had to get the bottom support rail, top support rail and double rivet support together at the same time with no one else to hold things steady. But ... I managed. I don't know if our neighbors on either side appreciated my hammering onto metal though. The end result is 18"D x 36"W x 72"H.

My first double rivet shelving unit!

Later, my darling wife, Christine, cooked up the ready made St Patrick's Day dinner that I bought the previous day from Wegmans.

Mmm ...

It had all the usual trimming: corned beef, potatoes, cabbage and carrots. It was a bit pricey at $22 but ... it was good.

Monday, 3/18/2019: 4647 steps during the day,

My lovely wife, Christine, made it back to Polish Me Up (Facebook page here and Yelp reviews here), to get her nails done at long last. She picked a color named Maui Sunset by IBD for her new nails ... nice and sexy! There are more images of Maui Sunset here.

Mail Sunset from IBD

Tuesday, 3/19/2019: 15553 steps during the day, 7.45 miles, 1:00:47, 8:09 pace, 134 avg HR, 160 avg cadence, 34F, 96% RH, 5 mph E wind, mostly cloudy with 2 bursts of light snow

Well ... it was Tuesday so I was out for my usual run.. It was 40F so I wore shorts, a long sleeve tech, Brooks 1/4 zip long sleeve pullover, Brooks beanie and heavy running gloves ... and regretted the shorts! The weather at Harris B601 was different than the weather about 6 miles north at Greece Arcadia High School. A light wet snow started when I began my run ... I thought I was crazy to be in shorts and probably any drivers that passed me thought so too. I kept on running. The snow quit for a while and then started up again. I had to blink to keep the snow out of my eyes. It was pretty though ... if you weren't running into it. I think I was under a lake effect snow band. But I kept on running until I got done. My splits were: 7:58, 8:14, 8:10, 8:14, 8:13, 8:13, 8:05 and 8:06 over the last 0.45 mile. Brr ... I was a bit wet and cold from getting snowed on so I took a warm shower when I got home.

Later ... I took all of Christine's boxes that she had brought from her late father's house that had cuddled together underneath the dining room table for a year and put them on the bare shelving unit in the basement. It was a bit tough ... up and down the basement stairs ...  after a run but I managed. Now maybe we can sit at the dining room table again! UPDATE a month later: not yet.

Now ... maybe I will get the gumption and ambition to get some of MY junk cleared, sorted and maybe tossed out. It's only stuff ... and you can't take it with it when you're gone ... or so they say.

Wednesday, 3/20/2019: 6576 steps during the day, rest day.

Thursday, 3/21/2019: 10376 steps during the day, 6.25 miles, 50:44, 8:07 pace, 166 avg cadence, 42F, 74% RH, 9 mph SSE wind, wind chill 36F, overcast.

Well ... Ricoh is forcing me to take all of my vacation time before the end of March so I will be off on Thursday, Friday and Monday for 5 total days off. OK ... maybe not force but strongly encourage me since it's a "use it or lose it" situation. I guess I don't schedule vacation very well?

So ... what better way to kick off my vacation but by "sleeping in" until 6:40 AM and getting out for a run at 8:00 AM? So ... I did. It was bit warm so I celebrated the first full of spring by running a simple out and back 10K in shorts. I ran in my old Brooks Transcend 5 shoes with over 600 miles. I could tell the difference. I set up a steady pace and got it done. My splits were: 8:24, 8:04, 8:01, 8:09, 8:08, 8:06 and 7:39 over the last 0.25 mile.

Karen got a free chocolate ice cream with whipped cream!

Then ... it was to Palmyra to help celebrate the 31st birthday of my daughter, Karen. She had just received a nice "Buy 1 Entree, get 1 Free" coupon from Applebee's that morning. So we headed to the Perinton Applebee's. She had 2 Four Cheese Mac & Cheese with Honey Pepper Chicken Tenders (1 to take home) while I had the Clubhouse Grille.

Friday, 3/22/2019: 10757 steps during the day, 6.25 miles, 51:25, 8:14 pace, 164 avg cadence, 38F, 94% RH, 5 mph WNW wind, wind chill 34F, overcast.

Fridays are usually a rest day but I just couldn't help myself. I slept in until after 8 AM and got out a bit after 10 AM. It was a bit colder and windier than yesterday so it was back to all my UWRG. It run with my heavy running gloves instead of ski mittens. I wore my newish Brooks Adrenaline GTS18 shoes with about 50 miles and could definitely tell the difference. I set up a light and easy pace just to pass the time and get the same out and back 10K in. My splits were: 8:21, 8:32, 8:15, 8:10, 8:12, 8:01 and 7:35 over the last 0.25 mile.

Saturday, 3/23/2019: 9815 steps during the day, 5.05 miles, 43:50, 8:41 pace, 169 avg cadence, 24F, 63% RH, 14 mph WSW wind, wind chill 12F, sunny.

I slept in a bit longer than usual. It was colder and windier than yesterday so it was back to the UWRG. I wore my Craft long sleeve tech and a Frezeroo long sleeve tech just to change things up a bit. An inch or two of crusty wet snow had fallen. I thought the LOSP Trail would be icy so I stuck to road. The road shoulder was there was slushy snow and a bit of ice to boot. So I took up a careful and steady pace. My splits were: 9:08, 9:15, 8:34, 8:11 and 8:20.

Christine's daughter, Beth, had come up from Lakewood OH to spend some time with her friends from Niagara University, Diane and Bridget. We met up with them at the George Eastman House. It was my first time past the lobby. I had run the Photofinish 5K in 2013 and 2014 which used the lobby as the headquarters. We went with the guided tour at 2 PM. George Eastman certainly had a nice house! I thought there would be more photographs though.

The living room and its player organ

The Kodak slogan

George Eastman associated locations in Rochester

Hat boxes from companies long gone ... Sibley's, McCurdy's and B. Forman

I'm in support of that!

Truth!

I wouldn't mind reading a biography on George Eastman

Then we went to Black Button Distilling on Railroad St. We attended the brief tour and tried a flight of 4 liquors:  Citrus Forward Gin (yuck), All American Corn Vodka (meh), Apple Pie Moonshine (yum) and Bespoke Bourbon Cream (yum).

A couple pictures from Black Button Distilling

We went to Salena's Mexican Restaurant for supper. I am not one for Mexican food so I had a chicken fajita. Then it was back home ... Christine was all tuckered out and went straight to bed. I stayed up a bit and watched Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi off of Netflix.

Sunday, 3/10/2019 to Saturday, 3/16/2019 - Runnin' of the Green

Common abbreviations: OMEP is my Orange Mud Endurance Pack, NT360 is my NoxGear 
Tracer360 vest, UWRG is my usual winter running gear: CW-X tights, Darn Tough socks, long sleeve tech, Brooks 1/4 zip long sleeve pullover, balaclava and Brooks beanie.

I ran 5 times: 21.42 miles.
I took 71,637 steps according to my Pebble 2 HR smart watch.

Sunday, 3/10/2019: 2320 steps during the day, rest day

Yes ... a rest day. I ran Round the Bay (14.95 miles) the day before and my calves told me about it all day. I did busy myself doing 4 loads of laundry though.

I did find my Garmin heart rate strap hiding on the floor of Christine's closet. I married it up to my Garmin Forerunner 220. So ... more data!

Monday, 3/11/2019: 7644 steps during the day, rest day.

I was a bit sad today. My Facebook feed told me that 5 years ago that I was boxing up my late father's belongings at the Wayne County Nursing Home. I hit me that my Mom has been dead since 1/14/2004 and Dad since 3/10/2014. You can find Dad's obituary by searching for "Bernard DeWeaver obituary. I used to be able to find Mom's but not any longer. I just wish I could talk to them. I wonder what they would think of what has happened to me, my siblings and our lives since they have died. What really happens when you die? I sense a "Why I blog" blog post coming up soon. Who reads this drivel anyway? I just hope someone gets inspired to exercise after reading this blog.

Our Time Warner/Specturm cable modem/router/phone died. I called them up and went through their troubleshooting steps ... basically, no lights and a reset didn't work. I was going to go get a replacement the next day but had the idea to pop out to Best Buy to buy (and not rent) a replacement cable modem/router. So I bought an Arris SBG10 cable modem/router. It took a bit on the phone with Spectrum but I was able to get the wireless network back up.

Tuesday, 3/12/2019: 16365 steps during the day, 8.15 miles, 1:11:00, 8:43 pace, 161 avg cadence, 132 avg HR, 36F, 52% RH, 13 mph W wind, wind chill 27F, partly cloudy.

It was Tuesday so I brought my running gear to work like usual. And ... like usual I forgot my tights the first time I wanted to run after I had done the laundry. So ... I had to go home to retrieve them from the basement before I went out for my first Daylight Savings Time (DST) run. And ... I really needed to get out for my run since I had a little tiff with my lovely wife, Christine, in the time it took me to get ready. The subject is best left out of the scope of this blog. It was minor as are 99.999% of our tiffs. I set up a really nice and easy pace once I did get outside. I needed some time to myself ... just me, my pace and the outdoors. The LOSP trail was already 90% free of ice ... though it did have some slippery patches in the section between Dewey Ave and Island Cottage. I pushed the distance up to 8 miles ... because I needed both distance and time away. My splits were: 8:37, 8:43, 8:38, 8:40, 8:39, 8:54, 8:53, 8:43, and 8:10 over the last 0.15 mile. I was much calmer when I got back. It was nice running in the daylight after work and not having to worry about wearing my NT360 lighted vest and my headlamp from eBay.

I got our printers (a HP 1102w laser printer and a Canon Pixma MX492 all-in-one printer) up on my laptop. I had to connect with a USB cable for each install since they were the first printer on the network.

Wednesday, 3/13/2019: 8030 steps during the day, rest day.

Scenic!

There was a beautiful sunrise this morning. Eric Eagan captured a couple of pictures of the sunrise over Cranberry Pond.

Double mmm!

My boss brought in 6 donuts from the Boxcar Restaurant just because. I ate two (a maple bacon portion and a peanut butter creme). I brought another one home for the next day ... a oreo crumb mint. I think a road trip to the Boxcar Restaurant is warranted sometime in the future! She just got a promotion to Area Operations Manager where she manages a bunch more Ricoh accounts than just my Harris account ... I hope she doesn't forget to bring donuts in occasionally!

I got the printers back onto Christine's laptop. They went lickety-split since they were already on the network. Then I got our Withings Smart Scale on our wireless network. The wireless network appears to be solid at around 30 to 40 Mbps.

Thursday, 3/14/2019: 15090 steps during the day, 6.6 miles, 55:44, 8:26 pace, 163 avg cadence, 65F, 33% RH, 12 mph S wind, mostly cloudy

The one day I don't turn on the TV in the morning before I go to work is the day the temperature rockets up to 70F! I put on my winter jacket when I went out the door. Luckily I stuffed in shorts and a short sleeve tech shirt into my running bag because I needed them.

I went over to Rochester Running Company near URMC and the U of R to pick up my Johnny's (now known just as Runnin' of the Green) bib and long sleeve t-shirt after work. It was 67F so I had to go for a run. I just made up the run as I went along. I went into the Mt Hope Cemetery for a bit and got a picture of the graves of Freddy and Sue (Frederick Douglass and Susan B Anthony).

Fredick Douglass (top) and Susan B Anthony (bottom)

I very rarely stop to take pictures but today I did. Then I headed out to the Ford St Bridge and down onto the U of R and Genesee Valley Park trails. The sidewalk on Mt Hope Ave was flooded in spots so I had to run in the muddy section close to the road. I didn't slip and fall ... thank goodness. It was weird sweating during a run ... it's something you don't have to worry about during the winter 90% of the time. I noticed that the Mt Hope Cemetery gates were closed and locked when I went back by ... luckily I was outside the gates! The closing hours of that cemetery do vary ...link here. My splits were: 8:33, 8:40, 8:09, 8:26, 8:21, 8:25 and 8:30 over the last 0.6 mile.

03/15/2019: 6492 steps during the day, rest day.

03/16/2019: 15696 steps during the day, 2 runs of 1.65 and 5.02 miles, 169 avg cadence, 143 avg heartrate, 34F, 54% RH, 28 mph W wind, wind chill 21F, partly cloudy

Today's race was my ninth Johnny's Runnin' of the Green. My previous 8 times were: 2007 - 37:34, 2011 - 34:35, 2012 - 33:58 (lifetime PR), 2013 - 36:23, 2015 - 36:18, 2016 - 35:40, 2017 - 37:10 and 218 - 37:46. The Johnny's Restaurant had closed last year. The Rochester Running Company had taken the race over and the YMCA was the new sponsor. The race will henceforth be known as Runnin' of the Green. D&C news article here.

The race start time was at 9:30 AM. I was up around 7:00 AM and puttered around like usual with my pre-race bowl of cereal along wit catching up on Facebook and email. It was around freezing so I wore my UWRG minus the balaclava but plus my ski mittens. I parked about 3 blocks away on State St a bit after 8:30 AM. I walked down to the Blue Cross Arena and just looked around to pass the time.

Most people don't know this but the Blue Cross Arena (full name is Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial) was named the Rochester Community War Memorial when it was built in 1955, wiki here. There is a war memorial set off to the left on the first floor ... not too noticeable or well trodden but it's there. I walked over to take a look and get some pictures. There are plaques, an endless flame along with pictures of foreign and domestic veteran cemeteries. Here is a D&C link here (it is behind a paywall so it may or may not open).

The eternal flame, 2 plaques and a plaque about the 4 clergyman who gave up their life vests during WWII

I didn't know that the 1956 NBA All-Star Game was held here. Rochester was home to the Rochester Royals from 1945 to 1956 and won the NBA Championship in 1951. The Royals moved on to Cincinnati (Royals) in 1957, Kansas City (Kings) in 1972 and Sacramento (Kings) in 1985, wiki here. Liberace in 1956, Sinatra in 1993, Elvis in 1976, 1977 and the Rolling Stones in 1965 (concert length was allegedly 7 minutes) have played concerts (among hundreds of other performers) here. A D&C articles says that the Rolling Stones concert was stopped after 6 songs due to a near riot, link here (again ... behind a paywall so it may or may not open) while another D&C article repeats the 7 minutes along with stories of other infamous performances in Rochester, link here (yada about the paywall). Interesting note; a 15 year old Lou Grammatico (Gramm), of pre-Foreigner fame, attended the Stones concert with his girlfriend.

Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones at the Community War Memorial on 11/1/1965 ... photo courtesy of Rochester Democrat and Chronicle by staff photograher

A complete(?) list of 648 Rochester Community War Memorial concerts from 12/31/1957 (Fats Domino) to 4/5/1998 (Sarah McLachlan), link here. A complete(?) list of 220 Blue Cross Arena concerts from 11/3/1998 (Dave Alvin and the Guilty Men) to 11/29/2018 (Trans-Siberian Orchestra), link here. The list of performers is staggering to say the least.

Well ... back to the race. I got out for a little 1.65 mile warm up run at 8:37 pace, link here. I found that the wind was going to be an issue but ... that's a given at this or any race in the winter in Rochester.

I lined up near the front. I had given up on my earbud and MP3 player, started my RoadID eCrumb and was trying to get my ski mittens back on when suddenly we were off. I struggled to get both my ski mittens on and not drop my water bottle all while I was trying to get up to race pace, not run over anyone and not get run over myself (plus my Garmin got paused for about 25 seconds). So ... I managed but not well. The Fleet Feet cheering section was at the 1/4 mile mark (not their usual 1.25 mile mark on Wilson Blvd).

The Fleet Feet cheering crew ... photo courtesy of Tim Matthews of https://runnerpics.shuttlefly.com

Bottom two photos courtesy of Barb Boutillier of Fleet Feet Rochester

 Anyway ... I never really felt in sync the whole race. I ran slightly ahead of Jim McLaughlin, who was the RRC 8:00 pacer, on the way up to the turnaround. I stopped to take a sip of water from my water bottle ... Jim passed me. I got going again, passed him and kept him in my rear view mirror so to speak.

Pushing down Exchange Blvd with 1/2 mile to go ... photo courtesy of Tim Matthews of https://runnerpics.shuttlefly.com

I kept pushing though ... down Exchange Blvd ... the I-490 overpass ... Court St ... no finish arch or chute ... clock under 39 ... done with 5.02 miles in 39:32 (actually 39:56). I was happy to be done. I had just a banana and a pint of water. I am no fan of green bagels. I looked at the results and saw that I was 8th in my age group ... so no awards. My splits were: 7:32, 7:52, 7:52, 7:42 and 7:27. PCR-timing did the timing like usual. I finished 180th out of 1155, link here. I was 8th out of 45 in my M 60-64 age group, link here. I was a full minute slower than 2018 ... I still did my best ... but slower this year.

I had places to go so I headed to the 2014 Cruze. Boom ... I was on my way out to Macedon and Palmyra for my biweekly grocery shopping trip with two of my three kids. My oldest son, Michael, in Macedon was first. He did his grocery shopping at the Macedon Walmart. My daughter, Karen, in Palmyra was next. She did her grocery shopping at the Newark Walmart and Wegmans.

Sunday, 3/3/2019 to Saturday, 3/9/2019 --- Round the Bay

Common abbreviations: OMEP is my Orange Mud Endurance Pack, NT360 is my NoxGear 
Tracer360 vest, UWRG is my usual winter running gear: CW-X tights, Darn Tough socks, long sleeve tech, Brooks 1/4 zip long sleeve pullover, balaclava and Brooks beanie.

I ran 5 times: 38.7 miles (most in a long time).
I took 84,678 steps according to my Pebble 2 HR smart watch.

Sunday, 3/3/2019: 16778 steps during the day, 12.15 miles, 1:43;52, 8:33 pace, 162 avg cadence, 27F, 73% RH, 4 mph WNW wind, wind chill 23F, light overcast

My alarm woke me out of a sound sleep at 6:45 AM. I puttered around and couldn't get my butt moving for a couple of hours. I had to talk myself into going out for a run. I knew I would be a "runhole" if I didn't so I got dressed and got out there just after 9 AM.

I had on my UWRG plus my sunglasses. Yes ... I do wash my running clothes ... just not as often I probably should, lol.

I set up a nice and steady pace. I wanted to do something long so I ran out to East Manitou Rd and back. Old Edgemere Drive was snow covered and a bit icy so I had to slow down on this stretch going out and coming back. However ... in hindsight ... this run was about 3 miles too long. I just ran out of energy and will power after 9 miles. I sucked it though and got it done. My splits were: 8:31, 8:31, 8:35, 8:30, 8:31, 8:35, 8:24, 8:33, 8:44, 8:38, 8:34, 8:32 and 8:10.

My darling wife, Christine, was still asleep. I brought her up a mug of coffee and a kiss to tell her that I was home. Coffee and relaxing soon ruled the afternoon. Christine didn't feel well later in the day so I watched the original 1937 version of "A Star is Born" with Janet Gaynor and Fredric March, off of the Spectrum OnDemand free movie section. One of these days I will get around to watching the 1954 version with Judy Garland and James Mason; the 1976 version with Barbara Streisand and Kris Kristofferson and the 2018 version with Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper.

Monday, 3/4/2919: 4252 steps during the day, rest day.

Tuesday, 3/5/2019: 13959 steps during the day, 5 treadmill miles.

Winter continued in upstate NY ... it was 20F with a 20 mph W wind so the wind chill was around 0F. I got all dressed in my UWRG and drove up up to Greece Arcadia High School like I usually do. I got out of the 2018 Cruze, looked at the west wind blowing the US flag ... and just couldn't get out there. I thought of the west wind in my face as I turned left onto Island Cottage and just couldn't face it. I felt like a wimp as I drove home. I changed out my gear for warm weather running gear (shorts and short sleeve tech) and tried to get into our complex exercise center ... my fob wouldn't work. Luckily one of the two guys in there let me in. I still like a wimp while I pounded out 5 miles at 9:00 pace ... but I was a warm and sweaty wimp by the time I got done.

Wednesday, 3/6/2019: 7231 steps during the day, rest day.

I thought about doing a snowshoe walk/run after work would be nice since it was still cold. My snowshoes were sitting right by the front door after all.  But ... Christine suggested that since it was Ash Wednesday that I get a fish dinner from somewhere and bring it home. Well ... my knees were a bit cranky from yesterday's treadmill run so I stopped by Wegmans and complied with her wishes.

Thursday, 3/7/2019: 13590 steps during the day, 5.45 miles, 45:40, 8:22 pace, 164 avg cadence, 22F, 52% RH, 11 mph W wind, wind chill 10F, mostly cloudy.

It was a bit warmer and a bit less windy so I got back out for yet another run from Greece Arcadia High School. I did modify my route to keep me on as much a north/south route as I could to keep me from heading into the west wind. I just kept a steady pace and let the run happen. I forgot my Darn Tough socks so I had to make due so a pair of crew socks that left about an inch between the top of the socks and my CW-X tights ... I did feel the cold for a while. My splits were: 8:17, 8:19, 8:21, 8:29, 8:24 and 8:26 over the last 0.45 mile. Boom ... done.

Friday, 3/8/19: 10698 steps during the day, 2.15 miles, 30:09, 14:00 pace, 125 avg cadence, 27F, 51% RH, 6 mph NE wind, wind chill 20F, fair

Well ... it was supposed to be a rest day but there was still snow on the ground that wasn't going to be there much longer. So ... I got out for a nice and easy snowshoe run/walk around the Lake Shore Country Club right behind our Greenleaf Meadow townhouse. I didn't go out all since I knew that I was going to run Round the Bay the next morning. It was around freezing so I went with CW-X tights, Darn Tough socks, Craft long sleeve tech, balaclava, Brooks beanie and ski mittens. The wet snow was a bit cold but manageable. My splits were: 13:50, 13:53 and 16:04 over the last 0.15 mile.

Saturday, 3/9/19: 18170 steps during the day, 14.95 miles, 2:08:05, 8:34 pace, 163 avg cadence,

Today was my 10th Round the Bay run and my 15th time running the route. Five were either started from the Bay Front Restaurant at the bottom of Irondequoit Bay or from the Swing Bridge by myself. There are several variations of the route but today's run was the usual 14.9 mile route with all the hills on the west side of Irondequoit Bay.

The Round the Bay run is a long run that "happens". Someone sets the date (before the swing bridge swings on April 1st, before Daylight Savings Time begins and doesn't interfere with the Runnin' of the Green) and posts it to Facebook pages of the three running groups in Rochester (Bagel Bunch, Goldrush Runners and Oven Door) along with their old school email lists. The turnout varies from year to year depends on how many are up for a long run along with the weather. There are some runners that run this route every weekend from the Bay Front Restaurant.

I was up at 5:40 AM with my alarm but I think I was up for about 30 minutes before that. It was 14F so I dressed in my UWRG. I know what works so I don't mess with it. I got to the Irondequoit side of the Swing Bridge around 6:50 AM just a bit after sunrise. It was going to be sunny plus it was a bit windy so I added my sunglasses and GRTC neck gaiter. I would say maybe 50 people came out for this year's edition. I knew some but then it was a bit hard to recognize runners with all their cold weather gear on.

Matt Kellman took a selfie just before we started. I'm in there in the left middle.

We headed out at 7 AM on the dot. My warm up was running up Culver Ave. I settled in as I set up a nice and steady pace. I knew the course so I sped up on the downhills on the west side of Irondequoit Bay (Bay Shore Blvd and Glen Haven Rd) and suffered on the uphills. I took some walk breaks on the uphills. There was a whole bunch of trucks along the side of the road on Glen Haven Rd as I got closer and down by Irondequoit Bay. There must have been a lot of ice fishers out on the Bay. I saw some walking out and trailing the sleds holding their gear behind them. I stopped for a few minutes at the water stop at mile 7 just before Empire Blvd to have a few gulps of my Hammer Gel and a fig newton. Then .. it was onward. The mile long Empire Blvd hill into Webster was just as long as ever. But ... onward, left onto Bay Rd. A guy in a pickup truck gave me the middle finger in between Ridge Rd and 104 when he couldn't pass a car on the right ... whatever. There wasn't any shoulder or sidewalks so I had to run as far to the left as possible ... what can I do?. I hit the half marathon mark at 1:53:00. Under 2 miles to go, soon a left onto Lake Rd. I pushed past three runners that I had passed before ... 1/2 mile to go ... swing bridge in sight ... done with 14.95 miles. That was my longest run in quite some time. My splits were: 9:04, 8:29, 8:15, 8:02, 9:11, 7:54, 9:47, 8:09, 9:33, 8:33, 8:14, 8:18, 8:20, 8:19 and 8:21 over the last 0.95 mile.

Sunday, 2/24/2019 to Saturday, 3/2/2019

I ran 3 times: 18.15 miles.
I took 66,476 steps according to my Pebble 2 HR smart watch.

Common abbreviations: OMEP is my Orange Mud Endurance Pack, NT360 is my NoxGear 
Tracer360 vest, UWRG is my usual winter running gear: CW-X tights, Darn Tough socks, long sleeve tech, Brooks 1/4 zip long sleeve pullover, balaclava and Brooks beanie.

Sunday, 2/24/2019: 9823 steps during the day, 3.25 total miles on the treadmill and elliptical.

Oh ... a severe cold front was forecast to come across upstate NY with winds up to 70 mph in the afternoon. It had been forecast for at least 5 days.

Christine and I woke up touching each other in a king bed at the Hampton Inn in Waterloo NY. There was some romance involved before I left Christine sleeping for another hour. It was 8 AM so I just headed down to the hotel exercise room ... which was well stocked with 3 treadmills (1 broke), elliptical, recumbent bicycle, weight machine, weighted ball rack, dumbbell rack and 2 TVs. I ran 2.5 miles on the treadmill at 9:17 pace, 0.75 mile on the elliptical and about 5 miles on the bicycle. It was enough to work up a sweat. I took a quick shower, changed my clothes and we headed down to a leisurely and enjoyable breakfast.

We checked out and headed to Fall St in Seneca Falls where it seemed that all the museums were according to this link: the Seneca Museum of Waterways and Industry at 89 Fall St, It's a Wonderful Life Museum at 32 Fall St and the National Women's Hall of Fame at 76 Fall St. Well ... I walked up and down a bit of Fall St and only found the National Women's Hall of Fame. It was a nice museum with plaques of lots of women. Some we knew and some we didn't. It was quite interesting. I got lots of pictures.

Christine & "Hilary" ... you can guess for which side we will vote in 2020, #voteblue2020

Then we headed over to the Del Lago casino. My youngest son, David, wasn't there. He was on a mini vacation down in Tampa FL. Christine enriched the slot machines while I wandered around and looked at the table games. I watched several rolls at a craps table ... I should read up on how to play again. An old guy walked up beside me and bought in for $800! Table games require a lot more money to properly play from what I have read of various systems for blackjack, craps and baccarat.

We could see the cold front coming when we were heading back to Rochester on the NYS Thruway around 3 PM. The rain came down for a bit and the winds picked up. There was a gust of 66 mph at the Rochester airport during the night. The winds whipped all night!

Monday, 2/25/2019: 6369 steps during the day, rest day.

Tuesday, 2/26/2019: 15868 steps during the day, 7.45 miles, 1:01:53, 8:18 pace, avg cadence 164, 18F, 68% RH, 7 mph WNW wind, wind chill 6F, mostly cloudy

Well ... back to the Greece Arcadia High School for another Island Cottage (IC) and Janes run. I had 90.07 miles for the month coming into this run and still need another 2.5 miles roughly to reach 100 miles. I set up a steady pace and let the run happen. It was cold and windy so I wore the usual plus my balaclava along with my NT360 lighted vest (I almost didn't need it). I shortened my stride during the last two miles and just got it done. My splits were: 8:05, 8:28, 8:27, 8:14, 8:13, 8:24, 8:18 and 8:15 over the last 0.45 mile.

Wednesday, 2/27/2019: 7422 steps during the day, rest day.

Thursday, 2/28/2019: 14895 steps during the day, 7.45 miles, 1:02:24, 8:22 pace, avg cadence 162, 15F, 76% RH, 8 mph E wind, wind chill 5F, mostly sunny

Well ... my running spreadsheet told me that I needed 2.5 miles to get to 100 miles for the month. So ... I got to Greece Arcadia High School just before 5 PM and got 7.45 miles done. It was cold (yet agina) and mostly sunny but not so windy (at least). I dressed in my usual: CW-X tights, Darn Tough socks, long sleeve tech, Brooks 1/4 zip long sleeve pullover, balaclava, Brooks beanie and ski mittens. I added my NT360 lighted vest and turned it on to flash even though there was still a hour of daylight. I set up a steady pace and got it done. My splits were: 8:08, 8:22, 8:27, 8:25, 8:22, 8:26, 8:23 and 8:27 over the last 0.45 mile.

Boom ... over 100 miles for the 38th month in a row. Yes, 100 miles is just an arbitrary number but it's a line in the sand that encourages me to get my ass out there and run.

It's the end of February so ... it's stat time!

I ran 18 times (3 treadmill, 1 screw shoe, 1 snowshoe) in February for 104.97 miles (38 months greater than 100 miles), 5.83 miles/run.
I have run 39 times so far in 2019 for 212.55 miles, 5.45 miles.
I ran 2 races in February:
 02/09/19 - Freezeroo #5, 7.98 miles, 1:03:35, 7:58 pace
 02/23/19 - Freezeroo #6, 4.36 miles, 33:50, 7:46 pace.
I took 285,420 steps in February and 603,844 steps so far in 2019.

Friday, 3/1/2019: 6976 steps during the day, rest day.

My Pebble 2 HR smart watch locked up today after I took it off its charger. I wasn't the only one that this has ever happened too as Google soon told me, link here. It was just a matter of holding down the back, up and select buttons until it rebooted itself. Easy peasy!

Saturday, 3/2/2019: 5123 steps during the day, rest day.

Well ... I had to bag my run today because it was biweekly time to take my oldest son, Michael, and daughter, Karen, out so they could do their grocery shopping. Michael, who lives in Macedon, was first at 9 AM. Karen, who lives in Palmyra, was second around 10:30 AM. The Macedon Walmart was definitely busier the second time I visited it. I got back up to Rochester a bit before 3 PM. I suppose that I could have gone out for a run but ... I knew that my darling wife, Christine, would appreciate it if I spent some time with her instead of the pavement.