Sunday, 9/22/2019 - Rochester Half

23163 steps, 46/150 resting/peak HR, 7:59 hr sleep, 38 floors climbed
run: 13.25 miles, 2:02:50, 9:17 pace, 134 avg HR, 151 avg cadence, 68F, 81% RH, 8 mph SW wind, mostly cloudy (thankfully)

Well ... my fifth Rochester Half was on trap this morning. My previous times were: 2014 - 1:43:40, 2015 - 1:48:21, 2017 - 1:48:07 and 2018 - 1:47:28. I ran the Rochester Marathon in 2016 - 4:30:42. The Course map here, USATF certified map here and elevation guide here (also below).

The Rochester Half course is not the flattest ...

Some foreshadowing ... this year would be no different than my last two half marathons in 2019 ... a new slowest time. 2019 had not been my best running year (that would be 2012 when I was a bit younger and faster). It's tough to run in the now and accept the times that I run when I remember running faster. It's something that I have to accept though.

I was up around 5:20 AM. My alarm was set to 5:15 AM but was set to silent. Luckily I woke up in the darkness and thought to check my watch. I heard the cuckoo alarm of my darling wife, Christine, around 5:30 AM. She snoozed for another 20 minutes before she got up. She volunteered to be the road marshal at the corner of Thomas Ave and Mt Airy Drive and wanted to be there at 7 AM. We both got ready quietly. My small gym bag dropped on the kitchen floor and spilled its contents just before I left. I thought I put everything back in it  ... I thought.

I left for the finish at Frontier Field at 6:23 AM. I caught more than my share of red lights but arrived around 6:40 AM. Then ... I found that I had left my water bottle at home on the kitchen counter. Arrgghh!! But ... what was I to do? I would have to survive with water from the aid stations. I had done it before. Today's forecast of heat and humidity did make me slightly nervous. I didn't go out for a warm up run since I didn't want to get thirsty.

The obligatory race start arch shot

I lined up next to Andy Ciaio like I have done so many times before. He said that he just wanted to finish and I told him that I wanted to finish under 2 hours. And .... we were off! I ran with him for about 5 yards ... and then he was gone. He finished in 1:53:53.

I got up to a nice and easy race pace. I had no trouble for the first 5 miles. My 5K time was 26:08, 8:26 pace ... not bad. Then it was onto the boardwalk in Turning Point Park just before Mile 4.

Barb Boutillier of Fleet Feet Rochester took many pictures on the boardwalk ... one was of me and one of the long line of runners while 2 swans looked on

I remember seeing a guy on the O'Rorke Bridge singing while playing a guitar and stepping with his feet to drum a drum and cymbal. He seemed quite talented and coordinated.

Tom Butler took this picture just before I headed over the O'Rorke Bridge at mile 5

I walked up most of the Thomas Ave hill and had one of my Power Bar Hydro gels. I had a bit of difficulty opening it. It was very much like water and went down well. I noted that my shirt was drenched with sweat. My 10K time was 55:08, 8:54 pace (2nd 5K was 29:00, 9:21 pace). Christine gave me some water and a kiss when I saw her at the mile 6.5 mark. She said I looked great ... I didn't feel that great but ran on.

John Brind'Amour took this at St Paul St and Titus Ave

I think my pace improved for a couple of miles. Then ... my earbud fell out and broke open on St Paul St around mile 8. I stopped and tried to fix it. I had done this quite easily when it had fallen a few days ago and split out its battery. I fixed it in like 10 seconds. This time it was the earbud in three pieces ... I tried for a few minutes, gave up, stuffed it into my Zipster and ran on. I should have scooped it up and just ran onward.

I ran the last 5 miles old school ... no music. Just a run and his thoughts. I have only run with an earbud and music for about a year or two. Long runs just got so boring without music. I really need to put different MP3s into my MP3 player though.

UPDATE: It took ten minutes with a flashlight and magnifying glass the next day to figure out how to put it back together. Now it's talking in Chinese when it powers on and off (a Google search should help with that ... or finding the instructions). Lesson learned ... scoop it up, tuck it away and keep running!

My broken earbud and MP3 player. I wear the earbud in my left ear and tuck the MP3 player in either my water bottle or Zipster.

I think I had my second Power Bar Hydro gel just before the 15K mark. I passed the 15K timing strip in 1:25:06, 9:14 pace (3rd 5K in 29:58, 9:40 pace). I took a leak at a porta-potty when I got off the pedestrian bridge at mile 10. I probably didn't need to but my 62 year old bladder told me to "just do it", lol.

Barb Boutillier of Fleet Feet Rochester took this on the Pedestrian Bridge

I walked up most of the Brewster St hill at mile 11. I looked at my watch and figured that I wouldn't break 2 hours. I resolved to run without stopping the rest of the way ... and I did. I could see the finish arch from the Pont de Rennes Bridge. Slowly I got there. I decided to race to the line with a guy who appeared to be in my age group (I beat him and he was actually 66).. I did a close look at my Garmin data and found that I crossed the line at 2:02:49 at a 5:43 pace sprint. And ... done! I ran the last 3.8 (actually 3.95 miles) in 37:31,  9:05 pace.

I forgot to turn off my Garmin for about a minute after I crossed the finish line. I used Garmin's new Trim Activity feature to adjust the embedded link above. It's really a neat feature that Garmin had needed for a long time (or maybe I didn't know about it), link here.

I found that my personal cell was dead (along with my RoadID eCrumb when I started). I walked out to the 2018 Cruze to retrieve my Ricoh cell so I could post on Facebook that I had finished in case my kids were virtually stalking me. I also married up the final piece of the 2019 4 Season Challenge medal to the other 3 that I had acquired this year. It's always nice to see them all put together!

The usual post race selfie and my fifth 4 Season Challenge medals (I have done 4 52.4 and 1 65.5)

I didn't get this 4 Season Challenge M 60-64 Age Group award until weeks later ... it looks pretty nice!

I walked around a bit. I had a very nice Berry yogurt ice cream bar from Perry's Ice Cream and an ice cold chocolate milk.along with a piece of pizza and bag of Fritos. All went down real well.

The Perry's Ice Cream vendors & their delicious Raspberry Watermelon or Berry Grape Frozen Yogurt bars (the Raspberry Watermelon was delicious)

Refueling with Chocolate Milk and American Daily girls

I called Christine and told her that I didn't need her to come down to Frontier Field when she got done with her shift at 10:30 AM. She told me that she had enjoyed volunteering and that the people along Thomas Ave were very friendly. I drove straight home and got there before her. A couple mugs of coffee soon ensued.

I felt pretty good afterwards. I did OK but not so much up to what I wanted to run. It was my 2nd slowest half marathon of the 37 road half marathons that I have run. I was 283rd out of 1083, link here. I was 4th out of 26 in my M 60-64 age group, link here. The 3rd place guy was 3:07 minutes ahead so I might have been 3rd and placed in my age group if I hadn't messed around with my broken earbud. My 5K splits were: 5K - 26:08, 8:16 pace; 10K - 55:08, 8:54 pace (2nd 5K - 29:00, 9:21 pace); 15K - 1:25:07, 9:09 pace (3rd 5K - 29:59, 9:40 pace); last 3.8 miles - 37:43, 9:56 pace ... so I started fast and got slower. My mile splits were: 1 - 8:16, 2 - 8:13, 3 - 8:28, 4 - 8:16, 5 - 9:06, 6 - 10:15, 7 - 9:01, 8 - 9:34, 9 - 8:50, 10 - 9:37, 11 - 9:35, 12 - 10:55, 13 - 8:48 and 10:40 over the last 0.25 mile (with one minute of walking). I was 1st out of 3 in the 4 Season Challenge 52.4 M 60-64 age group, link here. There were 253 finishers in the Rochester Marathon, link here.

The race got to be a blur while I was running. I remember some things ... a sign that said "Exercise? I thought you said Extra Fries!", another that said "Faster! Faster! Don't Stop! That's What She Said!", another on Brewster Hill that said "Make this Hill your Bitch!".

So ... another Rochester Half in the books. I still run and race ... today was not that day when I stop. "Just one foot in front of the other ... and repeat until I'm done." ... words to live by.

Monday, 9/23/2019 to Saturday, 9/28/2019

I ran 2 times in 6 days, 12.3 miles
I might not be running at full speed for a while due a left IT band injury (that is healing).
I took 48,782 steps in 6 days according to my Garmin Vivoactive HR (VA-HR) smartwatch.

Monday, 9/23/2019

4050 steps, 48/87 resting/peak HR, 7:39 hr sleep, 173.0 lbs, 2 floors climbed

Tuesday, 9/24/2019

7556 steps, 49/95 resting/peak HR, 7:28 hr sleep, 175.3 lbs, 3 floors climbed

I guess ribs and beans for supper last night caused me to gain 2.5 pounds in one day. So good ... so bad for your waist line I guess!

Wednesday, 9/25/2019

13852 steps, 45/145 resting/peak HR, 7:18 hr sleep, 173.0 lbs, 5 floors climbed
run: 5.05 miles, 44:42, 8:51 pace, 135 avg HR, 157 avg cadence, 78F, 49% RH, 13 mph WSW wind, mostly sunny

The weight was back down 2.5 pounds from Tuesday. I weigh myself even before coffee in the morning so it wasn't from tonight's run. Weird.

I got out a hour early from work and took to the road from Greece Arcadia High School. I thought about a 7.25 mile route but I turned right instead of left to make it a 5.05 mile route. My legs felt heavy as I fought the run all the way up Janes Rd. Just getting it done ... the story of my running in 2019. My splits were: 8:27, 8:45, 8:55, 8:47 and 9:19.

Thursday, 9/26/2019

5577 steps, 44/114 resting/peak HR, 7:39 hr sleep, 172.1 lbs, 5 floors climbed

It was weird to go straight home after work but I managed. I plan on running Friday night and resting on Saturday before the Heather Boyum 5K on Sunday morning. Some housework might get done on Saturday morning.

Friday, 9/27/2019

16346 steps, 43/147 resting/peak HR, 7:46 hr sleep, 171.3 lbs, 8 floors climbed
run: 7.25 miles, 1:03:24, 8:44 pace, 139 avg HR, 157 avg cadence, 72F, 32% RH, 8 mph SSE wind, sunny

I got out a bit early and got in a 7.25 mile run from Greece Arcadia High School. I struck up a nice and steady pace. That lasted until I ran out of energy around mile 5. I lapsed into a run/walk for a bit before I sucked it up and slowly ran the last mile. The first 5 miles were good ... the other 2.5 miles not so much. My splits were: 8:11, 8:28, 8:40, 8:38, 8:45, 9:22, 9:03  and 9:01 over the last 0.25 mile.

Saturday, 9/29/2019

1401 steps, 46/114 resting/peak HR, 5:59 hr sleep, 170.3 lbs, 6 floors climbed

Just a restful Saturday. I did mange to sweep and mop the kitchen and bathroom floors. They crossed the threshold of being tolerably dirty to being too dirty so they had to be dealt with, lol!

Sunday, 9/15/2019 to Saturday, 9/21/2019

This blog post is saved as I write it to avoid the Blogger "Auto Save" feature. I have found (as have others) that if you accidentally delete your entire blog post before you publish it that "Auto Save" will kick in within seconds to take you to a blank page. I have done this more than once! This feature is turned off once you publish the blog post. Then if you accidentally delete your entire post it is not final until you click Update (so you have a chance to realize that you are about to do something stupid).

I ran 2 times this week, 15.1 miles
I rode once this week, 15.05 miles.
I might not be running at full speed for a while due a left IT band injury (that is healing).
I took 49,700 steps this week according to my Garmin Vivoactive HR (VA-HR) smartwatch.

Sunday, 9/15/2019

16312 steps, 48/145 resting/peak HR, 8.04 hr sleep, 172.6 lbs, 16 floors climbed
run: 10.05 miles, 1:29:05, 8:52 pace, 132 avg HR, 160 avg cadence, 59F, 90% RH, 5 mph SW wind, overcast

I wanted 10 miles. I made sure that I applied Body Glide in 4 particular areas before I left the townhouse. I leave it to the reader to figure where a guy would apply Body Glide, lol! I started at Herrema's so I could run most of the Rochester Half course. I had a weird thought just I started out ... "This will be my last run at age 61." and it was. I set a nice and steady pace as I lumbered up Thomas Ave ... a bit of a rude awakening. I should have taken a flask of Hammer Gel but ... I forgot. Up Thomas Ave, up St Paul St to the Cornell Cooperative Extension center. I slowed down a bit once I went over the Genesee River pedestrian bridge. Then it was down Lake Ave past the cemeteries to the Genesee Riverway Trail to Turning Point Park and the boardwalk. Then back up Petten St to River St over the O'Rorke Bridge to Herrema's. I had to run around the plaza twice to get up to 10.05 miles but I wanted 10. Boom ... done. I did a bit of grocery shopping at Herrema's. My splits were: 9:10, 8:30, 8:43, 8:54, 9:12, 8:37, 8:34, 8:38, 9:25 and 8:54.

A couple of mugs of coffee along with a fruit ring pastry soon ensued while Christine and I lounged around in the bedroom. Then ... we watched the Buffalo Bills play the New York Giants down in New Jersey. The score was ... 0-7, 7-7, 14-7, 21-7, 21-14 and 28-14. So ... the Bills are now 2-0 and have a perfect record after the other NY teams that actually play in NJ. Nice! Yahoo! Sports link here and ESPN link here.

Monday, 9/16/2019

1150 steps, 49/124 resting/peak HR, 8.02 hr sleep, 172.0 lbs, 1 floor climbed
bike: 15.05 miles, 1:08:19, 13.2 avg mph, 19.3 mph peak, 106 avg HR, 71F, 51% RH, 7 mph ENE wind, mostly sunny

Well ... today was my 62nd birthday. I celebrated by taking the day off. What to do? Well ... sleep in until 7 AM, lounge around, have lunch around noon, get out for my first bike ride of 2019 (or first bike ride at age 62), have leftovers for supper and watch America Ninja Warrior. Nothing too exciting.

Tuesday, 9/17/2019

8602 steps, 48/104 resting/peak HR, 6.18 hr sleep, 173.1 lbs, 3 floors climbed

I thought about running, I had my running gear in the '18 Cruze but I was very tired so I just went home, ate and went to bed at 8:32 PM. Yes, the earliest I have gone to bed in many a year but I was exhausted for some reason.

Wednesday, 9/18/2019

12621 steps, 48/146 resting/peak HR, 5.43 hr sleep (off by 3 hours!), 172.8 lbs, 4 floors climbed
run: 5.05 miles, 43:30,.8:37 pace, 134 avg HR, 158 avg cadence, 64F, 53% RH, calm, sunny

I thought about 8 miles, then 7.25 miles ... ran for 5 miles instead. The Rochester Half is looming up on Sunday so I didn't want to go too long. I did push the pace a little bit. I thought I was going faster but it was what it was. I guess I am faster in my own mind, lol. So ... just an out and back 5 miles from Greece Arcadia High School. My splits were: 8:38, 8:27, 8:41, 8:38 and 8:41. I will be happy to run this pace for the Rochester Half ... we will see.

Thursday, 9/19/2019

4422 steps, 45/108 resting/peak HR, 172.3 lbs

Friday, 9/20/2019

5344 steps, 47/94 resting/peak HR, 6.56 hr sleep, 172.9 lbs

I thought about a run but I'll save for Sunday. The forecast is 68F and humid at the start. Then it will warm up to mid 80s by noon. There are already warnings about hydration, overheating and proper nutrition.

Saturday, 9/21/2019

1382 steps, 46/91 resting/peak HR, 7.25 hr sleep, 174.0 lbs, 3 floors climbed

I headed down to Fleet Feet Armory to pick up my race tech shirt and bib. The 2019 Rochester Marathon tech shirt is a yellow long sleeve. It should be very useful this winter. I also picked up 2 Power Bar Hydro gel packet  ... along with a free donut from the Balega salesguy along with a clappy hands and number 1 sign from the Brooks salesgirl.

I thought about taking a run up to Cobbs Hill but it was getting hot and humid so I thought better of it and just went home. I was in bed by 9 PM ... the Rochester Half tomorrow!

Sunday, 9/8/2019 to Saturday, 9/14/2019

This blog post is saved as I write it to avoid the Blogger "Auto Save" feature. I have found (as have others) that if you accidentally delete your entire blog post before you publish it that "Auto Save" will kick in within seconds to take you to a blank page. I have done this more than once! This feature is turned off once you publish the blog post. Then if you accidentally delete your entire post it is not final until you click Update (so you have a chance to realize that you are about to do something stupid).

I ran 2 times this week, 12.31 miles ... still better than none or one run, I guess.
I might not be running at full speed for a while due a left IT band injury (that is healing).
I took 59,8181 steps this week according to my Garmin Vivoactive HR (VA-HR) smartwatch.

Sunday, 9/8/2019

3073 steps, 50/96 resting/peak HR, 5.49 hr sleep, 171.9 lbs, 7 floors climbed

I hadn't seen my kids for a bit so Christine and I headed east to see as many as I could. My oldest son, Michael, was super depressed and didn't want to see anyone. We saw my daughter, Karen, in Palmyra for a nice visit. Then I texted my youngest son, David, to arrange a visit in Geneva.

We got there early and parked in the parking lot of the Ramada on the shore of Seneca Lake. We thought he was walking down from his apartment on North Main St so we waited. We listened to the radio as the Buffalo Bills completed a comeback from 0-16 midway in the 3rd quarter to win 17-16 against the NY Jets, links here and here. Wow!

View of the Ramada from Long Pier

Distances to some various places named Geneva

Well ... he meant he and his girlfriend, Tati, were walking down to the Bella's Silician Ristorante. We cleared that u with a real phone conversation (gasp!), met up and sat down to eat a delicious Italian meal. Well ... it turned out that had been A Cappella Sunday concert at the Smith Center for the Arts across the street.

My chicken parm ... it served as Tuesday lunch too!

The program

Some of the groups had decided to dine at Bella's and ... decided to take turns singing! It was so cool!

David & Tati

Monday, 9/9/2019

7699 steps, 47/95 resting/peak HR, 6.32 hr sleep, 172.9 lbs, 6 floors climbed

Well ... I thought about running but I knew that I would be super busy after a week off from Ricoh so I just came home. My lovely wife, Christine, cooked up a nice roaster chicken, baked potato and mixed vegetables for supper. Mmm!

Tuesday, 9/10/2019

9160 steps, 49/93 resting/peak HR, 6.17 hr sleep, 173.2 lbs, 7 floors climbed

A printer was down with a service code so I stayed after I punched out to get it back up and running so that I didn't have to do it first thing on Wednesday. I should have gone out for a short run after I got home ... I was cranky the rest of the night. I busied myself by doing 3 loads of laundry. What fun that was ... not!

Wednesday, 9/11/2019

14161 steps, 49/146 resting/peak HR, 6.53 hr sleep, 172.8 lbs, 5 floors climbed
run: 5.06 miles, 44:54, 8:53 pace, 139 avg HR, 155 avg cadence, 78F, 64% RH, 5 mph SW wind, mostly sunny

Well ... out for a run on a cool September day? Not! I wanted 7.5 miles but it was hot and humid so ... I melted at mile 3.5 on Janes Rd. I ran/walk the rest of the way for 5.06 miles. I was drenched and went straight into a cool shower when I got home. I still would like to get in 7.5 miles on Friday and over 10 miles on Sunday so I can say that I am minimally prepared for the Rochester Half on 9/22. My splits were: 8:21, 8:37, 8:35, 9:06 and 9:48.

Thursday, 9/12/2019

6395 steps, 48/86 resting/peak HR, 7.13 hr sleep (off by 30 minutes since I was away at 5:15 AM), 171.8 lbs, 3 floors climbed

My regularly scheduled Thursday run was pushed to Friday so ... I just came home. I resolve to run 7.5 miles on Friday. We shall see ...

Friday, 9/13/2019

18176 steps, 45/145 resting/peak HR, 7.08 hr sleep, 173.3 lbs, 22 floors climbed
run: 7.25 miles, 1:03:10, 8:43 pace, 138 avg HR, 159 avg cadence, 66F, 64% RH, 14 mph ENE wind, overcast

I wanted 7 miles. I headed up to Greece Arcadia High School after work. I stretched and got up at a nice and steady pace just after 5 PM. The wind was weird coming out of the east so I had it in my mind coming back on Janes Rd. I thought about turning right and heading back when I got back to Island Cottage but I turned left instead. Onward. I found that I should have applied Body Glide to my groin after mile 5 ... TMI but it did really sting. I almost never have a problem in that area. It's usually my nipples ... more TMI. But that's what happened and probably why I slowed down over the last 2 miles. My splits were: 8:16, 8:26, 8:31, 8:43, 8:30, 9:07, 9:06 and 9:26 over the last 0.25 mile

Saturday, 9/14/2019

1154 steps, 48/79 resting/peak HR, 7.17 r sleep, 171.3 lbs, 6 floors climbed

Normally today would be a running day ... but not today. I am going to avoid running 2 days in a row for a while. So ... a rest day on a Saturday. Astrange concept to be sure.

Saturday, 9/1/2019 to Saturday, 9/7/2019 - Dirt Cheap #6

I ran 5 times this week, 21.87 miles.
I might not be running at full speed for a while due a left IT band injury (that is healing).
I took 43,741 steps this week according to my Garmin Vivoactive HR (VA-HR) smartwatch.

Sunday, 9/1/2019

8140 steps, 39/144 resting/peak HR, 7.46 hr sleep, 170.2 lbs, 2 floors climbed
run: 4.75 miles, 41:13, 8:40 pace, 137 avg HR, 159 avg cadence, 59F, 72% RH, 5 mph SE wind, overcast

I decided to go for back to back runs ... what could go wrong? Well ... nothing as it turned out. I went out for a shorter version of my "Out to the pier" route through a hole in the fence to the LOSP trail. I struck a nice and easy ... half expecting the foot of pain or an ache to surface. But ... it didn't. Not even afterward. My splits were: 8:55, 8:22, 8:34, 8:59 and 8:28 over the last 0.75 mile.

Well ... maybe my left IT band is healing. I am stretching before and after each run. I probably should stretch out more than I do. Maybe I should join a gym and actually do strength training! Maybe ... this winter.

Monday, 9/2/2019

223 steps, 47/84 resting/peak HR, 9.44 hr sleep (off by about 2 hours), 170.1 lbs, 1 floors climbed

Tuesday, 9/3/2019

1050 steps, 45/88 resting/peak HR, 8.08 hr sleep, 172.7 lbs, 4 floors climbed

Wednesday, 9/4/2019

10579 steps, 51/148 resting/peak HR, 9.04 hr sleep, 171.9 lbs, 40 floors climbed
run #1: 0.25 mile, 2:35, 10:11 pace, 123 avg HR, 149 avg cadence, 74F, 65% RH, 7 mph SE wind, overcast
run #2: 4.87 miles, 54:21, 10:57 pace, 140 avg HR, 148 avg cadence, 74F, 65% RH, 7 mph SE wind, overcast

Tonight's race was Dirt Cheap #6, the last race of the 6 in the Dirt Cheap Trail Series. My wife, Christine, had suggested earlier in the day that maybe I should concentrate on the Rochester Half in 2.5 weeks but I told her that I'll be careful. I have been on vacation all week so I had all day to get ready. But ... I made three trips back into the townhouse (psoriasis lotion for my right elbow, spare road shoes and after race jacket) before I left at 4:58 PM. There was a lot of traffic on Clover St but I made it out to the Beach parking lot of Mendon Ponds Park by 5:40 PM. I pinned on my bib and waited a bit before I made it out for a wee 0.25 warm up run, link here.

Ellen gave the usual pre-race instructions: don't litter, follow the pink flags and don't follow the runner in front of you. And ... we were off. I got up to a real easy and steady trail pace as I let the faster runners ahead of me. My plan was ... nice and easy, stay upright and survive. I knew that there was a big difference between road running and trail running ... and there was tonight. The ups and downs of trail running can really wear you down ... and it did. There was a section about 2 miles in where there wasn't a pink flags for a few hundred yards and I turned around to find the last flag before I turned around. Well ... everyone was continuing onward so I turned around and did too. Then there was another section near the end after 4 miles where I kind of knew I was off the trail but I continued on because I sort of knew that the pink flags would come back to the trail I was on ... and they did. So it was all good ... what happens on the trail stays on the trail. I was kind of back where I was before I had backtracked 2 miles before. The trail was flat so I pushed the pace a bit to pass a few runners. I could hear Ellen announcing runners at the finish so I knew that I was close ... single track ... don't trip ... pass one runner ... can't pass Frank Colavechhia ... done!

Post DC #6 selfie ... dripping!

I had a swig of water and a couple pieces of pizza. Mmm! I talked to Joe Ciecierega for a bit before I left to go home. I took a shower as soon as I got home to wash the mud off of me. I accomplished my mission ... I stayed upright and didn't get hurt. It's all good!

I did OK, My splits were: 9:52, 12:49, 11:52, 10:06 and 9:53 over the last 0.87 mile. I was 96th out of 196, link here. I did notice that I was 5 seconds behind Frank Colavechhia who was second in our M 60-64 AG and the guy who I passed in the chute was fourth. So ... second, third and fourth ... boom! The 1st place guy was 6 minutes ahead though. I completed 4 races of 6 in the Dirt Cheap Trail Race series so I qualified to place 3rd out of 7 in my M 60-64 age group, link here.

Thursday, 9/5/2019

2185 steps, 51/102 resting/peak HR, 7.35 hrs sleep, 171.5 lbs, 1 floor climbed

Today was a tenth anniversary ... let us delve into the past. Ten years ago today I ran the Summerfest 10K, showered and then drove out to Cleveland OH to see a long lost girlfriend, Christine Wisniewski Ligas. She had reached out to me on Facebook 9 days before ... which led to phone calls and then a date over Labor Day weekend. Trust me ... I thought about turning around when I reached the OH/PA border on I-90. But ... I drove onward. I kissed her on the bottom of the stairs to her apartment ... then on the top of the stairs. Sparks flew ... again! She moved to Rochester in November 2009. We got engaged in front of the Stewart Lodge at Mendon Ponds Park after I ran the Summerfest 12K (and she walked the Summerfest 5K) on 9/3/2011. We got married on 11/30/2012 at the Rochester City Hall. She's now Christine Wisniewski DeWeaver.

How was Christine, a borne and bred Polish girl from Cleveland OH, a long lost girlfriend in the first place? Well ... I decided to go to Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland OH after I graduated Newark High School in 1975. I pledged and entered the Phi Kappa Theta fraternity in the spring of 1976. There was a scarcity of women at CWRU so we imported women from neighboring colleges to our parties. One night in February 1977 Christine and some other girls from Ursuline College in Pepper Pike OH decided to come down to a frat party. I was tending bar and made her a Tequila Sunrise. There might have been more Tequila than Sunrise ... but that's another story. I offered her a house tour. Sparks flew! We went out for about a year before we broke up. We did think of eloping before we broke up though ... there is a story there too. Distance and her parents did work against us. We both eventually got married (actually within a week of each other without knowing it) and got divorced. Her marriage lasted 11 years and mine lasted 28 years. So ... we got back together after roughly 31 years and have been going strong for 10 years now.

I had a full rack of ribs and Christine had a chicken sandwich

We went out to the Original Charbroil House restaurant on Island Cottage to celebrate. The Char is our go-to place to eat out. It's close by and the food is always good.

Friday, 9/562019

11086 steps, 50/143 resting/peak HR, 7.14 hrs sleep, 4 floors climbed
run: 6.25 miles, 55:37, 8:54 pace, 137 avg HR, 158 avg cadence, 54F, 73% RH, 3 mph SW wind, sunny

I got out at 9 AM. My plan was push up to a 10K at a nice and steady pace. Mission accomplished with no aches or pains. Slow progress, I guess. My splits were: 8:42, 8:58, 8:43, 9:02, 8:57, 9:06 and 8:43 over the last 0.25 mile.

I managed to get up the gumption to put together another plastic shelving unit that I bought at BJ's. I also took out some empty boxes that have been gathering dust. There is tons more to do though. Sometimes gumption is in short supply when it comes to going through box upon box of old stuff..

Saturday, 9/7/2019

10478 steps, 47/138 resting/peak HR, 7.03 hr sleep, 172.6 lbs, 4 floors climbed
run: 4.75 miles, 42:22, 8:55 pace, 130 avg HR, 157 avg cadence, 57F, 84% RH, 8 mph W wind, mostly sunny

I didn't plan on running but ... I thought "Why not?" So ... I did. I didn't push to a 10K. Just a short "Out to the pier" route of 4.75 miles. I set up my usual nice and steady pace. There weren't too many people out on the pier or on the boardwalk around the beach in Ontario Beach Park. A group of children started to walk across my path just before I left the OBP and the adult who was watching them called out "Watch out for Mr. DeWeaver". I didn't know him but he knew me. I took a picture of a historic sign on Greenleaf Rd that I just noticed.

The road I live on is named for a woman who worked for women's right to vote

My new normal for runs is stretching before and after. It seems to help. I might not stretch after races though but I probably should anyway. My splits were: 9:01, 8:48, 9:08, 9:03 and 8:48 over the last 0.75 mile.

Sunday, 8/25/2019 to Saturday, 8/31/2019

I ran 3 times this week, 16.25 miles.
I might not be running at full speed for a while due a left IT band injury (that is healing).
I took 56,429 steps this week according to my Garmin Vivoactive HR (VA-HR) smartwatch.

Sunday, 8/25/2019

1673 steps, 50/107 resting/peak HR, 6.17 hr sleep, 6 floors climbed

I would have liked to have gone for a run today. But ... I was wary of putting my body through 2 runs in 2 days just quite yet. It's still healing a left IT band so ... I stayed in. I worked for about 6 hours on all the Ricoh training that I was behind on ... in between 2 loads of laundry and drinking a couple mugs of coffee.

Other races were held ... 2 half marathon within 20 miles of each other. The Black Diamond Express 5K and Half Marathon was held out in Mendon; half results here and 4K results here. The Geneva Half Marathon was held. There were 201 finishers, results here.

Monday, 8/26/2019

5146 steps, 50/103 resting/peak HR, 5.48 hr sleep, 173.3 lbs, 3 floors climbed

Tuesday, 8/27/2019

14039 steps, 49/142 resting/peak HR, 7.11 hr sleep, 173.4 lbs, 3 floors climbed
run: 6.35 miles, 1:01:18, 9:39 pace, 125 avg HR, 150 avg cadence, 76F, 64% RH, 8 mph SSE wind, overcast

It was Tuesday so I ran. Why not push it up to a 10K ... not so good an idea. It was a bit hot and humid. I put up my usual slower and steady pace. I lapsed to a run/walk at mile 4.5. Then I slowed to a walk at mile 6 when I felt a dull left Achilles ache. It kind of sucked. My splits were: 8:43, 8:32, 8:44, 8:49, 9:51, 10:34 and 17:22 over the last 0.35 mile.

Wednesday, 8/28/2019

6193 steps, 50/94 resting/peak HR, 7.32 hr sleep, 171.4lbs, 5 floors climbed

Cajum Shrimp nail on a shy Christine with bed hair!

My darling, Christine, went out to Polish Me Up to get her nails done. She needed a new set of nails. They took the time to soak the old nails off instead of grinding them off. She chose Cajun Shrimp as her nail color. I approve!

Thursday, 8/29/2019

14379 steps, 50/142 resting/peak HR, 7.10 hr sleep, 173.0 lbs, floors climbed
run: 4.65 miles, 41:05, 8:50 pace, 135 avg HR, 158 avg cadence, 72F, 48% RH, 10 mph WSW wind, sunny

I run on Thursdays so I ran. I didn't want any drama so I kept it slower and steady along with a bit less than 5 miles on a new route. I could have pushed it to 5 miles but I was OK with stopping so I stopped. My splits were: 8:56, 8:50, 8:47, 8:53 and 8:56 over the last 0.65 mile.

Friday, 8/30/2019

6949 steps, 48/106 resting/peak HR, 6.44 hr sleep, 171.8 lbs, 4 floors climbed

Fleet Feet Rochester and Yellow Jacket Racing put on their 2nd First Responders 5K out at Mendon Park tonight. There were 625 finishers, results here. This is the race that took the place of the Summerfest 5K/12K of which I have fond memories. I went to meet my future wife, Christine, back after the Summerfest 12K back in 2009 and got engaged after the Summerfest 12K in 2011.

Saturday, 8/31/2019

8050 steps, 46/146 resting/peak HR, 7.03 hr sleep, 172.0 lbs, 7 floors climbed
run: 5.25 miles, 44:59, 8:34 pace, 139 avg HR, 158 avg cadence, 55F, 75% RH, 7 mph WSW wind, sunny

I was up before sunrise and puttered around for a while. But ... runs don't get done by themselves so I got out there. I decided that a nice and steady "Out to the pier" run was in order. I saw about 30 to 40 runners out for a long run while I ran on the pier and down Lake Ave to Latta Rd. One woman said that she was doing 20 miles. I told her that I was just doing 5 miles and I would think of her while I was drinking coffee. She was looking forward to coffee too ... lol! I had no aches or pains when I got done so ... success! My splits were: 8:14, 8:22, 8:39, 8:54, 8:43 and 8:24 over the last 0.25 mile.

It's the end of August ... stat time!

I ran 11 times for 52.96 miles, 4.81 miles/run
 A far cry from 100 miles but better than July's 31.51 miles
I ran only 1 race and 19 races so far in 2019:
 8/19 Made in the ROC 10K, 0:54:48 chip, 8:50 pace
I walked 191,707 steps in August and 2,151,259 steps so far in 2019

Sunday, 8/18/2019 to Saturday, 8/26/2019 - Made in the ROC 10K

I ran 3 times this week, 16.56 miles.
I might not be running at full speed for a while due a left IT band injury.
I took 61,307 steps this week according to my Garmin Vivoactive HR (VA-HR) smartwatch.

Sunday, 8/18/2019

11840 steps, 51/147 resting/peak HR, 6.13 hr sleep, 171.2 lbs, 5 floors climbed
run: 6.26 miles, 55:14, 8:49 pace, 141 avg HR, 159 avg cadence, 69F, humid, 8 mph SW wind, overcast, rain

Today's race was the inaugural Made in the ROC 10K. This race was announced about 3 months ago and had been sold out for a month. The attraction of this race is that was held entirely on the Eastman Business Park property. It just seemed like a fun and new race to sign up for ... back before I had a left IT band issue. I had my reservations before this race ... and I dare say that my darling wife, Christine, had even more reservations that she mostly kept to herself. But ... I was signed up and I didn't want to blow off 2 races (Dirt Cheap #5 on 8/14) in the same week.

I got up around 5:45 AM, had a pre-race bowl of cereal, dressed like usual, kissed Christine goodbye and out. I took the high speed route of the Parkway, I-390S and West Ridge Rd instead the more direct route of the Parkway, Lake Ave and West Ridge Rd ... 6 of one, a half dozen of the other. I got to the race venue, the parking lot next to the Kodak Theater with 45 minutes to spare before the race.

A couple pictures before the race

I hung out with Bill Murphy for a bit before the race. I told him that I was closing in on 500 races. Well ... Bill is closing in on 1400. He does a lot of the Mainly Marathon races. He has 8 in 8 days coming up soon. That will get you a lot of races pretty quickly! I stretched a bit before the race. My plan was just nice and steady with short stride so as to not aggravate my left IT band.

It started to sprinkle about a minute before the start. Ellen yelled ... "Gooooooo" and off we ran. Then ... it started to rain.

A long line of runners at the start and Ellen calling in the finishers ... photos courtesy of Barb Boutillier of Fleet Feet Rochester

I got up to a slow race pace as the rain came down. I run well in the rain so I just kept running. My left IT band didn't argue with me at the pace I had settled into so I kept it up. I did get a bit tired on the way back so I allowed myself a few walk breaks when we went under bridges. There wasn't too much to see ... lots of buildings and lots of pipes running every which way. We weaved between buildings to get up to 10K ... and then I was done. I tried to get the gun clock below 55 minutes but I failed. My chip time was 55:48 which is my fastest 10K of 2019 ... a bit slower but I guess Father Time is trying his best to catch up to me.

Some more bling to add to the my collection

I checked the results and saw that I was third in my age group. I stuck around to eat at one of the two food trucks. I chose the most popular one ... there was a LONG wait between ordering and eating my pulled pork slider and fries. I was getting hungry and tired of standing so I think cardboard would have tasted OK. I took some pictures of the displays inside the Kodak Theater.

I did OK. I was 50th out of 339, link here. I was 3rd out of 8 in my M 60-64 age group, link here. There were 356 finishers in the 5K, link here. My splits were: 38, 21, 29, 41, 9:1, 9:04 and 11:21 over the last 0.26 mile. I know I didn't turn off my Garmin right away by 10 seconds or so ... but 11:21 over the last 0.26 mile? I know I was moving faster than that. I did go under a lot of tunnels where my Garmin couldn't get a satellite fix past mile 6 ... so who knows?

I relaxed the rest of the day ... I was kind of sad that my week off from Ricoh was almost over. I didn't do much ... a lot of relaxing, 2 loads of laundry and a itty bit of straightening up. I really should organize but I just can't get the motivation.

Monday, 8/19/2019

8205 steps, 49/102 resting/peak HR, 6.01 hr sleep, 172.3 lbs, 6 floors climbed

So .. first day back from a week of vacation. I found out that not a lot gets done by the guy who covers for me while I'm off. He did hurt his wrist a bit when he was changing paper in a Ricoh MPCW2200 plotter and change a black PCU in a Ricoh SPC830 printer though.

Tuesday, 8/20/2019

5974 steps, 50/101 resting/peak HR, 6.40 hr sleep, 172.9 lbs, 6 floors climbed

My lovely wife, Christine, had a bad reaction to a guy yelling and swearing outside our townhouse. I gather that stuff was stolen out of his unlocked(?) car and he was not happy about it. She called 911 on him. I think she had flashbacks to when her first husband physically abused her. She kept to herself all night and took everything I said the wrong way. I stayed away and tried not to bother her.

Runner's World had an online story about how Kevin Clinefelter died during the Shoreline Half Marathon, link here. I am still a bit sad about his death.

Wednesday, 8/21/2019

9902 steps, 50/99 resting/peak HR, 2.16 hr sleep (definitely off!), 172.4 lbs, 5 floors climbed.

Well ... I could have gone for a run but it was hot and humid so I decided to make an appearance at the Greenleaf Meadows pool. I live there, I pay for it so I found that I just make at least one visit a year there since last year and maybe the year before that I hadn't. Well ... no one was there except the lifeguard when I got there around 5:30 PM. He scanned me in and told me that the pool temperature was 82F.

Yes ... the pool temperature was 82F!

I thought about it ... dipped my toe in the deep end of the pool ... thought about it some more ... and jumped in! It wasn't that cold at all!.I quickly got out of the deep end and just swam using the breast stroke across the pool at the 5 foot area. I am not the best swimmer so I tend not to go in the deep end too much. A young woman and her 4 year old daughter came after about 10 minutes. I left after 20 minutes or so. You definitely use different muscles when you swim.

My darling wife, Christine, had cooked up pork chops and mashed sweet potatoes along with a spinach and bacon salad for supper .... mmm!

Thursday, 8/22/2019

10168 steps, 55/148 resting/peak HR, 7.07 hr sleep, 172.5 lbs, 5 floors climbed.
run: 5.05 miles, 44:05; 8:43 pace, 137 avg HR, 153 avg cadence, 79F, not as humid, 8 mph WSW wind, mostly cloudy.

It had been 4 days so I had to go out for a run. I got home, changed and got out there. Nothing fancy ... just a nice, steady and somewhat sluggish run. I forgot to "accept my run" when I stopped so my Garmin started back up for a bit until I noticed it. I know I had 5.05 miles and a 8:43 pace. Definitely not my usual 8:10 to 8:20 pace but better than nothing at all. My splits were: 8:48, 8:37, 8:43, 8:45 and 8:43.

I know I am not 100% yet so I didn't push. I didn't have any left IT band issues. I don't think I will be taking any long runs for a while but I will take 3 to 5 mile runs for sure.

Friday, 8/23/2019

5992 steps, 48/103 resting/peak HR, 6.07 hr sleep, 172.7 lbs, 5 floors climbed.

Saturday, 8/24/2019

9226 steps, 49/147 resting/peak HR, 7.25 hr sleep, 173.2 lbs, 5 floors climbed
run: 5.25 miles, 45:37, 8:41 pace, 140 avg HR, 161 avg cadence, 60F, 63% RH, 5 mph NNW wind, overcast

I wanted to get out early and I did. It was refreshingly a bit cooler. I set up a nice and steady pace at first. I pushed it a bit after I warmed up but it didn't feel good so I dialed it back. The wind was coming out of the north and the Lake Ontario waves were around 1 to 2 feet. The pier was pretty dry though except way out at the end. I love long runs but I'm happy with a nice and steady 5 miles right now. My splits were: 8:30, 8:28, 8:53, 8:57, 8:46 and 8:12 over the last 0.25 mile.

Other races were going on. The Medved Midsummer Night's Madness Trail Half Marathon and Relay was held. 65 solo runners finished, results here. The Rochester Triathletes Tri/Du was held, results here.

Sunday, 8/11/2019 to Saturday, 8/17/2019 - Dirt Cheap #5 - DNS

I ran once this week, 1.05 miles ... :-(
I might not be running at full speed for a while due a left IT band injury.
I took 11156 steps this week according to my Garmin Vivoactive HR (VA-HR) smartwatch.

Sunday, 08/11/2019

1210 steps, 53/100 resting/peak HR, 5.32 hr sleep, 171.0 lbs, 2 floors climbed

Another trail race was held today ...the Dam Good Trail Race, link here. I ran 7 Dam Good Trail Races (2009 - 2:23:42, 20.10 - 2:19:52, 2011 - 2:17:56, 2013- 2:15:56, 2014 - 2:21:45, 2015 - 2:21:35 and 2016 - 2:32:27), 2019 results here., I loved running that race. A nice trail race down in Letchworth State Park ... just an out and back 13 miles with a loop at the end. There was always a great post-race food spread afterward. I remember when I loved to run long ... not so much now. Now ... I can't fucking run longer than 5 miles due to my left IT band. It fucking sucks!!!!

Anyway ... I made it out the Walmart on Dewey Ave. I hit there around 4 PM. To say that it was busy and that their groceries were picked over would be an understatement. But ... I gathered what I could and made it home safely.

Monday, 8/12/2019

1211 steps, 54/121 resting/peak HR, 09.02 hr sleep, 172.4 lbs, 4 floors climbed

Tuesday, 8/13/2019

1289 steps, 56/90 resting/peak HR, hr sleep, lbs, floors climbed.

Christine and I had a mini 1950's Sci-Fi movie marathon of movies that we had on the DVR off of BBC America: It Came from Another World (1951), The Thing from Another World (1951) and The Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956).

Wednesday, 8/14/2019

3664 steps, 52/128 resting/peak HR, 8.34 hr sleep, 171.8 lbs, 7 floors climbed
run: 1.05 miles, 10:48, 10:16 pace, 121 avg HR, 149 avg cadence, 76F, 7 mph ENE wind, mostly cloudy

Big thrill of a week off ... doing laundry. Well .. it had to be done. So ... I got it done.

Well ... I wanted to run Dirt Cheap #5 out at Black Creek Park. My left IT band was acting up so I tested it out with a real slow 1 mile slog. It hurt so I played it safe and stayed home. Aarrgghh!!!


Thursday, 8/15/2019

343 steps, 52/95 resting/peak HR, 9.07 hr sleep, 3 floors climbed.

Christine, my lovely wife, made a delicious lasagna. Mmmmmm!!!

Friday, 8/16/2019

1776 steps, 49/104 resting/peak HR, 6.42 hr sleep, 4 floors climbed.

Christine finally got me to go to Massage Envy down on Monroe Ave. She went first at 11 AM for her appointment and then told me that she had scheduled me for a 1 hour Stretch with Kat. Well ... Kat stretched me out quite well from head to toe ... first the right side and then the left side. She definitely found that my left IT band was sore. I couldn't lift my left leg to use the brake on the 2018 Cruze so I had to use my right foot on both the gas and the brake.

Saturday, 8/17/2019

1663 steps, 53/110 resting/peak HR, 9.00 hr sleep, 1 floors climbed.

I went out to Palmyra to see my daughter, Karen, ... and to put together a microwave cart. There was a whole lot of allen wrenching to do before I got it done. I was successful with no parts left over ... and no blood!

The finished microwave cart

I stayed at Karen's a bit while I waited for my oldest son, Michael, to wake up and respond to my Facebook Messenger texts. It had started to rain and then pour while a thunderstorm passed. It eventually stopped, he woke up, responded and came downstairs so we could talk for a bit.

Oh ... some license plates I have seen. Let's see ... 1GR8RYDE on a Corvette, JINX LOL and DNTWRFUR (seen multiple times).

Sunday, 8/4/2019 to Saturday, 8/10/2019

I ran 2 times this week, 10.1 miles.
I might not be running at full speed for a while due a left IT band injury.
I took 46.037 steps this week according to my Garmin Vivoactive HR (VA-HR) smartwatch.

Sunday, 8/4/2019

1360 steps, 53/106 resting/peak HR, hr sleep, 170.9 lbs, 1 floors climbed

Yet another mass shooting in Dayton OH ... less than 14 hours after the El Paso mass shooting that killing 20 (plus 2 more on Monday). It took the shooter .. a young white male about 30 seconds to fire 41 rounds which killed 9 people. Luckily police killed him before he can entered a crowded nightclub. Tears for El Paso and Dayton.

Monday, 8/5/2019

6852 steps, 49/94 resting/peak HR, 7.0 hr sleep (wrong ... I was restless all night), 172.1 lbs, 2 floors climbed

Tuesday, 8/6/2019

5874 steps, 51/126 resting/peak HR, 6.32 hr sleep, 174.0 lbs, 4 floors climbed

Wednesday, 8/7/2019

12688 steps, 50/157 resting/peak HR, 6.13 hr sleep, 173.1 lbs, 4 floors climbed
run: 5.05 miles, 44:27, 8:48 pace, 144 avg HR, 156 avg cadence, 77F, humid, 76F, humid, 3 mph W wind, partly sunny

It had been 4 days since my last run so ... I had to get out. I wanted a bit more than 4 so I headed out to the pier. I set up a nice and steady pace. I expected a bit of left IT band pain but it didn't materialize so I was happy about that. The Lake Ontario waves were less than a foot and there were at 5 beach volleyball games going on while I ran past. It was a bit humid so I stopped for a breather a few times around the 4 mile mark. I was dripping when I got done. I made sure to stretch before and after my run. I think I will make a point of doing that going forward. I took a shower afterward to cool down. My splits were: 8:43, 8:33, 8:44, 9:16 and 8:46. All in all ... a success.

Thursday, 8/8/2019

4101 steps, 49/88 resting/peak HR, 6.49 hr sleep, 171.5 lbs, 1 floor climbed

Friday, 8/9/2019

5602 steps, 49/102 resting/peak HR, 6.22 hr sleep, 4 floors climbed

Well ... I have a week of PTO from Ricoh. My boss has been telling me that it would be great if I took my vacation during the summer instead of February and March. The Ricoh fiscal year is the end of March so my 3 week vacation runs from that. I scheduled one week during August and 4 days during in September during Labor Day. I manage the 183 L3Harris SAS network printers for Ricoh. It's easy work so I don't mind the M-F grind.

Saturday, 8/10/2019

9560 steps, 52/149 resting/peak HR, 6.21 hr sleep, 171.6 lbs, 7 floors climbed
run: 5.05 miles, 43:32, 8:37 pace, 140 avg Hr, 158 avg cadence, 62F, 10 mph W wind, partly sunny

Well ... day 1 of vacation. Didn't do much. I made it for a run after a bit of the usual puttering around. I set up the usual nice and steady pace ... just a bit slower due to my left IT band injury. I felt OK ... but I had a twinge of pain at mile 4 so I slowed and cut it to get home ASAP. I felt OK after ... but the left IT band acted up during the rest of the day. It twinged when I went down stairs which is kind of unavoidable when you live in a 2 story townhouse. Aaarrrgghhh!!!!

My darling wife, Christine, sometimes doesn't take a good picture ... plus a bratwurst dinner

We made it out to the German Fest in Spencerport, link here. The Union St bridge was out and the main parking lot was empty so we parked on Amity St just a short walk from the German Fest grounds. We each had a bratwurst dinner and shared a pitcher of Spatwen Octoberfest beer. We listened to Die Lustigen Almdudler, Facebook link here. I know a woman named Theresa in the band. She worked at ITT (before Exelis, Harris and L3Harris) about 5 (maybe more) years ago before she quit and moved to Florida (I think). She vaguely remembered me when I saw her at the bar before their set from 7 to 11 PM. I told her that my wife and I may be in bed by 11 PM. She laughed and told me that it's all good as we enjoy ourselves. We left after the first set. We'll be back next year (the good Lord willing and the creek don't rise)!

Some races that I saw on Facebook. The Green Lakes was held, link here. The 100K results here and 50K results here. Ellie Peel won the 100K outright and got a write up in Runner'w World to boot, link here. The Beast of Burden 25M, 50M and 100M out at Lockport NY was held, link here. The 25 Mile results here; the 50 Mile results here and the 100 Mile results here.

Sunday, 7/28/2019 to Saturday, 8/3/2019

I ran 2 times this week, 7.4 miles.
I might not be running at full speed for a while due a left IT band injury.
I took 39,340 steps this week according to my Garmin Vivoactive HR (VA-HR) smartwatch.

Sunday, 7/28/2019

5856 steps, 49/150 resting/peak HR, 6.54 hr sleep, 171.5 lbs, 1 floor climbed
Run: 3.15 miles, 26:35, 8:26 pace, 135 avg HR, 162 avg cadence, 74F, 10 mph SW wind, overcast

I got up and out early again. I thought ... lets's try a 5K again. Well ... I set up a normal pace and set out. I could feel a slight nagging pain at the halfway point but I didn't slow down and made it back home. I kind of figured that I had aggravated my left IT band again ... and I had. Bah!!! Anyway ... my splits were: 8:32, 8:26, 8:22 and 8:13 over the last 0.15 mile. So ... I guess I can't do 2 runs in a row. I really should start exercising my IT band. But ... knowing and doing are 2 different things for me!

Some Rochester triathletes were up at Iron Man Lake Placid. An awesome feat by Jim McLaughlin in 13:39:46 (his 18th), Sarah Strossman in 16:20:52 and Joe Diebold in 17:03:21. Sarah's post-race report was awesome! Joe is not an official Iron Man since he didn't finish in less than 17 hours. His Facebook post-race report indicated that he will be back next year.

Monday, 7/29/2019

3985 steps, 52/102 resting/peak HR, 6.04 hr sleep, 171.6 lbs, 4 floors climbed

Tuesday, 7/30/2019

5632 steps, 50/95 resting/peak HR, 6.25 hr sleep, 173.4 lbs, 2 floors climbed

I actually did the IT band exercises that I really should be doing every day. I could tell that my left side was weaker than my left side.

Wednesday, 7/31/2019

7089 steps, 50/99 resting/peak HR, 6.16 hr sleep, 173.8 lbs, 4 floors climbed

I wanted to run tonight but my left knee wasn't up to it. It kind of sucks.

Anyway ... end of the July so it's stat time (what little there are).

I only ran 7 times for 31.51 miles, 4.5 miles/run due to a left IT band injury finally diagnosed after the Shoreline Half (my darling wife, Christine, made me go after what happened to Kevin Clinefelter)
I ran 3 races during July
 7/4 - Greece Freedom Run 5K, 24:29, 7:49 pace
 7/10 - Dirt Cheap #4, 4.95 miles, 53:56, 10:51 pace
 7/13 - Shoreline Half, 2:04:06, 9:23 pace ... RIP to Kevin Clinefelter who withdrew due to a leg cramp around mile 11 and died shortly after the race
I have run 18 races so far in 2019
I took 197,631 steps during July and 1,959,652 steps so far in 2019.

Thursday, 8/1/2019

5464 steps, 47/103 resting/peak HR, 6.02 hr sleep, 172.0 lbs, 1 floor climbed

Friday, 8/2/2019

4372 steps, 49/131 resting/peak HR, 7.00 hr sleep, 172.9 lbs, 5 floors climbed

Saturday, 8/3/2019

6942 steps, 56/154 resting/peak HR, 6.25 hr sleep, 4 floors climbed
run: 4.25 miles, 36:36, 8:37 pace, 142 avg HR, 159 peak cadence, 77F, 8 mph NE wind, mostly sunny

I didn't get out early, lazed around all day and was prepared to laze some more. My last run was on Sunday ... how I miss running.

Then the news about yet another mass shooting ... this time it was 20 people killed (Update: 2 more died from their injuries on Monday) at a Walmart in El Paso by a 21 year old white nationalist using a AR-15. I think that the US government should ban, buy and destroy most of the millions of AR-15s in US circulation ... but it won't happen because the NRA had bought all the politicians. The Australian (a time ago) and New Zealand (this year) governments did it after one mass shooting ... but there are so many in the US that we have become numb to it.  I'll get off my soap box now.

I decided to get out for an evening run. It was still a bit warm and humid so I took it at a nice and steady pace. I could feel my left IT band start to complain a bit but that it went away and I continued on. I thought about just turning around at Dewey Ave for a 5K but I turned right onto Dewey Ave to make it a 4.25 mile loop. I thought of all the runners out today ... the Sauerkraut 5K and 20K, the Mighty Mosquito and long training runs for half and full marathons. I also thought of all those people killed just shopping at a Walmart in El Paso ... so sad. My splits were: 8:54, 8:36, 8:25, 8:37 and 8:14 over the last 0.25 mile.