Sunday, 5/17/2015 to Saturday, 5/23/2015 - Lilac 10K and Moving

I ran 3 times this week, 16.92 miles.

Sunday, 5/17/2015: 2 runs of 1 mile and Lilac 10K (6.32 miles), 64F, 68% RH, calm, sunny

I was up early around 6 AM like usual. I knew that Christine needed her sleep so I let her sleep while I quietly got ready for my 8th running of the Lilac 10K (2006 and 2010 through 2015). I knew the drill ... dress for a summer race in shorts and an old Lilac 10K tech shirt plus carry water. I chose a 10 ounce hand bottle. I knew where to park: the Al Sigl Center at the corner of Elmwood and South Ave for a $5 donation. I kissed Christine goodbye and headed out around 8 AM. No worries ... I was parked at 8:15 AM in plenty of time for the 9:15 AM start. Bill Beyerbach pulled in opposite me just as I was getting out. We talked running while we geared up and then walked up toward Highland Park. Bill ran ahead to warm up. Me ... I was worried about my ribs. I knew they weren't 100%. So ... why was I racing? It's what I do I guess.

A new feature at the Lilac 10K this year was that the start/finish line for the 5K held at 8:15 AM with 928 finishers and the 10K was the same line. Last year, the 5K runners had to run through the 10K runners who were lined up to get to the finish line and some stopped because they didn't know that they had another 0.1 mile to go.

I got out for a really nice and easy 1 mile warmup run at 9:05 pace, link here. My ribs ached so I kind of figured that it would be a painful Lilac 10K. Oh well. I noticed that it was warm and sunny so I knew that this would be a factor too.

 So ... I lined up a bit further back than I usually do. And ... we were off! It took me 23 seconds to cross the start/finish line to start the race. I slowly eased into a nice and easy race pace (if there is such a thing) as I carefully weaved around slower runners. I passed Pete and the 1 mile mark in 7:58 pace. My ribs didn't really bother me so I just tried to keep at this pace for the rest of the race. The mile or so down Monroe Ave and Elmwood Ave with no shade was definitely sunny.

A long line of runners on Monroe Ave - courtesy of Patrick Brynes

I saw Mort Nace of Medved and then the Fleet Feet cheer team on the corner of Monroe Ave and Elmwood Ave. I slapped hands with as many as I could and enjoyed their yells of "Go, Doug". I decided to kick it up a small notch ... only 3 miles or so to go. I decided not to stop for any tiny walk breaks or any water ... a gutsy decision because I knew that the rest of the course was slightly uphill. But I stuck with it and followed my plan as we weaved through shaded residential streets.

Mile 5 - courtesy of Facebook

Up Hemingway Drive ... back on Highland Ave ... mile 5 ... onward ... mile 6 ... got nothing left ... kick it up a bit ... clock just past 48 ... done! I quickly got some water ... I was parched. I just took a banana and a couple of small bottles of delicious juice afterward. I met up with Andy Ciaio (44:33) and Bill Beyerbach (45:17 and won his M60-64 age group). I talked for a bit with Heather Ostrander and her husband, Rick. She tried to recruit me for the RoadKill Racing masters team. I stuck around for a while and took some pictures of the lilacs before I headed home.

Oh ... way up front "Kip" Tisia won the Lilac 10K in 29:56 and Hannah Davidson was the first woman in 34:58.

"Kip" Tisia crossing the line in 29:56

Joshua Perks and Hannah Davidson at mile 5

All in all ... I did OK. I ran at a nice and easy pace, didn't re-injure myself, didn't take any tiny walk breaks and survived to run another day. My official gun time was 48:03, 7:44 pace, 173rd of 1035 finishers, link here. My net time was 47:40, 7:41 pace. I was 11th out of 52 in my M55-59 age group. The Lilac 10K was a Rochester Runner of the Year (RROY) race and brings out a lot of fast runners. Eleventh place did not get me any RROY points. My splits were: 7:44, 7:32, 7:25, 7:28, 7:50, 7:41 and 7:30 (6:33 at the finish) over the last 0.32 mile.

Back at home ... packing awaited. So ... I attacked the bookcase in the bedroom. My darling wife, Christine, was impressed that I did throw out a lot of magazines. I took four trips out to the garbage dumpster. I really didn't need several years of old PC World, Maximum PC, Men's Health, Runner's World (gasp) and Running Times (gasp) magazines. Hopefully both of us will be packed by the end of the week.

Monday, 5/18/2015: Rest day.

I took it easy and just went through the stuff of my deceased family who died on 3/10/2014. I had just piled whatever mail that came my way on top of the small filing cube that I used to store his stuff. I just didn't have the desire to deal with it until last night.

Tuesday, 5/19/2015: 6.6 miles, 53:56, 8:10 pace, 57F, 59% RH, 15 mph W wind, overcast

Garmin Connect Activity for A nice and easy run on dead shoes

I needed to get out there. The weather tried to throw me a curve. It was warm in the morning but cool and windy by the evening. I wanted to run hills at Cobbs Hill but realized that I didn't have the clothes or inclination. So I went home. I dilly-dallied like usual. I "borrowed" an XL long sleeve tech from Christine (sssh ... don't tell her) and found my light running gloves and got out there. I struck up a really nice and easy pace on my old New Balance 860 running shoes with 575 miles on them. My ribs were a bit stiff at first. I had thought about doing a 15K when I started out but cut it to just the 10K route when my thighs started to hurt. I can definitely tell the difference between the old shoes and the new shoes that I wore for the Lilac 10K. But ... I got out there and got it done. My splits were: 8:19, 8:18, 8:00, 8:40, 7:58, 7:55, and 7:49 over the last 0.6 mile.

It would turn out that this was my last run on my usual 10K route that I have run so many times in the past 6.5 years that I have lived in this cozy 1 bedroom apartment at Pine Ridge Crossing. Will I miss it? Maybe a little.

Wednesday, 5/20/2015: Rest day.
I have brought home lots of boxes. Hopefully they will be the correct size for what we need to put in them. It kind of sucks to put stuff in a box and then not be able to lift it comfortably when you get done. Then throw in that my ribs still aren't 100% ... which sucks.

I packed a whole three ... yes, three boxes before I stopped for the night. Two were CDs, DVDs and VHS tapes and the other was my medal (2006 through 2014) with socks. It just sucked. I gotta pick up the pace on Thursday and Friday.

Thursday, 5/21/2015 and Friday, 5/22/2015: Packing days.

Packing sucks. Christine's daughter, Beth, came out from Lakewood OH on Friday and helped Christine go through her stuff and pack the kitchen. She was a godsend. But even then, not everything was packed by Saturday. There was just too much crap to go through and not enough places to put it once it was gone through anyway.

Saturday, 5/23/2015: Move ... day 1

Why day 1? Well ... the movers, Highline Moving Delivery and Storage, that my darling wife, Christine, selected were 45 minutes late and showed up with only a 16 foot truck. I had busied myself by moving box after box after box down from our 2nd floor 1 bedroom apartment to the landing on the first floor. I also filled my Equinox with my computer stuff that I did not want manhandled by anyone else but me. My reasoning was that I needed to clear an alleyway for the big furniture (queen size bed, 5 dressers, 2 filing cabinets, old Sanyo 35" TV, leather recliner couch, computer desk, 2 dining tables). Christine had to leave around 10 AM to meet up with Time Warner to get a All-In-One (Internet, TV and Phone) package hooked up.

Well ... soon after the movers, Chris and Teddy,  told me that they had a hard 1 PM cutoff time and that they would just concentrate on the heavy stuff and whatever that I had already put down on the landing. So ... I was a bit miffed but what could we do? We hired them to move the heavy stuff. We had found out that no one with muscle and stamina was available to help us move by ourselves. My youngest son, David, had been putting in 14 hours shifts at Loomis and was unavailable. Anyway, they filled the truck with what they could and off they went to the new townhouse at Greenleaf Meadows. The unloading went OK but all they did was put all the boxes in 2 rows on the first floor and then the heavy stuff where we wanted. They did take our old 35" Sanyo CRT TV to RCR&R to be recycled for $25. They settled up the bill with Christine and off they went minus their portable drill ... which we are keeping if they don't call for it.

Christine and I did head back to the old apartment to get a Equinox sized load of stuff. There is a whole lot of stuff that still needs to be moved. I went online to arrange with U-Haul for a 15 foot truck on Monday to get the rest of the stuff.

We went to bed early. The first thing we noticed is that our new townhouse is dark and quiet at night. Our bedroom faces north onto the Lakeshore Country Club so there is no light after dark. We have an excellent view of the 6th hole by the way. We had to have flashlights to make our way to the bathroom! We slept like logs ... zzzz!

Sunday, 5/10/2015 to Saturday, 5/16/2015 - Dirt Cheap #2 (DNS)

I didn't run this week ... my 100 miles per month running streak is in seriously jeopardy.

Sunday, 5/10/2015: Recovery day

I survived on just sitting around and taking 400mg of ibuprofen every four hours. I found that I could move somewhat but it was more than a bit painful.

Monday, 5/11/2015 through Friday, 5/15.2015: Recovery days

I slowly got better. My ribs subsided from a pain to an ache. I really wanted to run on Wednesday for Dirt Cheap #2 but ... I realized that my body was not up to it. If I had fallen I really would have screwed myself up. I have to heal because Christine and I have to start packing our apartment in order to move to Greenleaf Meadows on May 23rd.

Wednesday: We signed the new lease and posed for our photo IDs to use the laundry and fitness center. I picked up my race bib and tech shirt for the Lilac 10K on Sunday. I may not be 100% but I will run. Why? Because I was already signed up and that is what I do ... I race. I couldn't sleep on my back until Wednesday ... Christine said that I snored like a trooper ... just like she does! Sad news ... my Uncle "Bud" Nevil died on Wednesday morning. His desire was to die at home and his family moved him back to his house in Marion on Monday. The calling hours are on Friday from 5 to 8PM at Steven's Funeral Home in Marion and the funeral is in Newark on Saturday morning.

Saturday, 5/16//2015: Another recovery day plus day 1 of packing

My darling wife, Christine, and I headed out to St Michael's Church in Newark for my Uncle Edward "Bud" Nevil's funeral at 10AM. It was a nice Catholic funeral service follow by internment at the Marion Cemetery links here (look for Marion) and here. I had never been in a funeral procession before ... you get to go through red lights. A nice touch was that as we got to Marion the route led by his house. Uncle "Bud" was a SeaBee during WWII and had a honor guard at his internment. I had never seen the folding of the flag in person before. We headed back to the basement of St Michael's Church for a reception afterward. We sat with my cousin, Sanday, and her husband, Bill Bastian.

Uncle Bud's grave in Marion Cemetery

Front view of Mom and Dad's grave in the East Palmyra Cemetery

Rear view of Mom and Dad's grave. I think Uncle Bud placed those plastic flowers ... bless him.

Once I got back home I got to packing. I thought that packing my running stuff would be an easy place to start ... that would be a NO. I had no idea how many short sleeve cotton running shirts, long sleeve cotton running shirts, short sleeve tech running shirts and long sleeve tech running shirts I had until I started parking them. Three or four hours later ... I was done. I did find that rolling a tech shirt does make it take up a lot less room. Christine had emailed me about this. I found one way, link here. I found another about the military 6 inch roll, link here, which sounds even tighter. I just hope that there is no earthquake between now and Saturday ... I might get buried.

5/9/2015 - NCA 5K and Fly By Night Du (DNS and NSFW)

I had intended to run 2 races today: the NCA 5K at 9AM at the Northstar Christian Academy and the Fly By Night Du down in Watkins Glen. But ... that is not what happened.

Caution ... NSFW means Not Safe For Work ... I swore in my writing of this blog post.

I woke up around 6:30AM. I didn't try to wake up my darling wife, Christine. She had spent the night on the couch because she had not wanted to disturb me. I try to deserve her love. I quietly ate my pre-race bowl of cereal, checked the temperature (75F), dressed in shorts and a short sleeve tech shirt, geared up and headed out. I arrived down at the NCA around 8:10AM with plenty of time to snag a parking spot in the shade and get my race bib to prep for the 9AM start.

I had plenty of time to go for not one but two warmup runs. One was for a mile at 8:12 pace, link here. The other was for 0.4 mile at 7:28 pace, link here.


Score-This! did the timing and required us to run through their narrow 15 foot arch at the start. I was up near the front and heard everyone tell each other to "Be Careful". I was one of them since I knew what it was like to get tripped at the start (Airport 5K last year). So ... we were off .... carefully!

I got up to speed after the start quickly. I knew this course well. The Freezeroo uses this course and this was my second NCA 5K. It's is an out and back, twisty at the start, goes through a park, gets on Long Pond Rd and Trolley Rd and then turns around back the same way. I did OK the first mile, 6:43 pace, as we got onto Long Pond Rd. Beth DiCantis passed me. She is faster so I let her go. The mile on Trolley Rd was a bit slower, 6:53 pace. I could see that Mark Herberger was behind me at the turnaround. I wanted to keep him there. I endured the third mile. I really wanted to take a tiny walk break but didn't. I shortened my stride and just gutted it out ... through the park and passed a few younger runners, through the twists, mile 3 marker at 7:14 pace ... 0.1 to go ... clock was under 22 ... push ... done! My Garmin had 0.17 miles at 6:34 pace with a best pace of 5:45. I was drenched with sweat and downed three cups of water right away.

I made my way down to the cafeteria and cooled down as I talked with Bob Dyjak and Mark Herberger. Officially, I finished in 21:55, 12th overall, link here. I was 2nd out of 15 in my wide M50-59 age group. I got a $10 Wal-Mart gift card for my efforts.

I left and could have gone home which would have been the safer move. But ... I wanted to support those runner who were running around and around at the Mind the Ducks 12 hour run in Webster. I knew several of them. So ... I went out to North Ponds Park in Webster.

I parked on the west side of North Ponds Park in the Holiday Inn Express parking lot around 11AM. I could see the runners go by about 50 yards away. Spoiler alert! Mistake ... I wore my prescription sunglasses and not my running sunglasses when I got out of the Equinox.

I gave encouragement to runners I knew as they went for about 5 minutes. I joined Prem Kumar when he went by. I hadn't seen him and wanted to talk to him. He said that he had run 22 laps. We talked and ran at his nice and easy pace ... through for him (and around for me) the start/finish ... and into the hollow where TrailsRoc had set up their tent. The ground here dipped. I was running to the left on the shoulder because the paved path had narrowed and I didn't want to crowd Prem.

Now ... my prescription sunglasses were bifocals so I had almost no view of my feet. Well ... my left shoe caught a root and down I went! I remember it in slow-mo ... falling ... hoping I wouldn't ... FUCK ... hitting the ground ... visions of falling the same way at Sehgahunda in 2010 ... FUCK ... Ouch! ... trying to catch my breath for what seemed a minute ... Ouch! ... looking at my bloody right forearm ... it's right on top of my Sehgahunda scar ... people were around me ... I needed help getting up ... people helped me up ... walking ... limping ... a slow jog or two with Prem. I apologized to her for distracting him. He apologized to me for I know not what. We got back to where my Equinox was parked and I bid Prem "good luck" for the rest of the day. I inspected the carnage: right forearm , right shoulder, right leg and my right ribs hurt .... just like the fall at Sehgahunda 2010. I thought ... FUCK, I have the Fly By Night Du down in Watkins Glen at 6PM ... I hoped I could still go ... I wet a towel in my gym bag with water and toweled off the blood and dirt ... then I drove home.

I edged my body out of the Equinox, limped up the stairs and called out to Christine to help me. I ached and it hurt to move my right side. She helped me out of my clothes, bandaged me up with some 2"x3" bandages (two on my forearm and one on my shoulder) and eased me into bed. I got up after a hour and tried to move around. I wanted to see if I could move enough to run and bike later. But ... no. I knew that I would just injure myself just moving around or maybe really injure myself by falling while running or crashing on my bicycle. So I pulled myself from the Fly by Night Du around 2PM ... SHIT!

One highlight of the afternoon was that a new pair of Brooks Adrenaline GTS14 running shoes arrived from Road Runner Sports via FedEx. I found that I saved about $50 by ordering last years shoes mail order. Christine went to the main door since I was in absolutely no condition to get up. It really hurt to move. Getting up was pretty painful.

Life happens. I got a call from my cousin, Mary Tack. Her father, my Uncle Bud Nevil, was in the Canandaigua Hospital. We threw on some clothes after supper and went down to see him. I could walk ... just not so fast. Google told us the directions since I had never been there. We met up with the Nevil clan around 7:30PM as he was being brought up from the ER to a private room. Everyone was curious about the bandaged arm. Their hug squeezes were a bit painful. I talked with Uncle Bud and told him how I got banged up.

We encountered rain and saw distant lightning flashes over Lake Ontario as we headed home. I thought of the runners who did the Fly by Night Du, results here. I wish I could have been there.

Anyway ... I eased myself into bed and found that I had to sleep on my back. I will heal. I have Dirt Cheap #2 at Black Creek Park on Wednesday. Maybe I won't be up to full speed but I want to be there. I don't like to DNS (Did Not Start). I have unfinished business in 2016 with both the Fly by Night Du and Mind the Ducks now  ... hopefully they won't be on the same weekend.

Lesson learned ... DO NOT RUN WITH PRESCRIPTION BIFOCAL SUNGLASSES!!

Monday, 5/4/2015 to Friday, 5/8/2015

Monday, 5/4/2015: Rest day.

I learned that I knew the pilot who killed at the Penn Yan airport on Sunday, 5/3/2015, link here. He was Steve Seely, link to his obituary here. He used to live across the street from my house on Whitbeck Rd in Newark NY when I was a kid. His family moved to another house in Newark when I was 10 or so. Sad news.

Tuesday, 5/5/2015: Another rest day.

I had to stay late at work so it was just an impromptu "Cinco de Mayo" celebration later with Christine and I ... if you can call pizza the proper menu choice.

Wednesday, 5/6/2015: 11.2 miles, 1:31:47, 8:11 pace, 70F, 31% RH, 13 mph NE wind, sunny

I needed to run so run I did. I had my customary pre-run bowl of cereal, got dressed and got out. I told my darling wife, Christine, that I was "going long" and gave her an eCrumb so she could track me before I started.


A run is a run. I struck a nice and easy pace and held it. I added Chapel Hill Drive and went around Trout Lake below the Seneca Park Zoo to add distance to the usual 10K route. Anyway, my splits were: 8:14, 8:05, 8:00, 7:56, 8:35, 8:03, 8:08, 8:10, 8:29, 8:22 and 7:33 over the last 0.2 mile.

My feet felt good for the first half of the run. Then I got various aches and a twinge in my right Achilles during the last half of the run. I think a new pair of running shoes is in order since my New Balance 860 running shoes have 561 miles on them.

Thursday, 5/7/2015: Rest day.

Friday, 5/8/2015: Another rest day.

I donated 10 pair of shoes to Fleet Feet Armory after work. Let's see: I said goodbye to 5 pairs of Brooks Adrenaline, 1 pair of Brooks Cascadia, 1 ASIC, 2 pair of Saloman XT Wings and 1 Clark's dress. I said "Hello" to a sweet Sehgahunda hat!

Then I headed out to the Murphy Funeral Home in Newark for Steve Seely's calling hours. It was hot (about 90F) but not humid. The idea was to meet up with my brother, Don, at 6PM but he texted to he couldn't get out of things out in Syracuse. I did have the fortune to stand in line with Rick Rommel. My brother, Don, and him are the same age and grew up together. His daughter, Andrea, and my oldest son, Michael, graduated together at Newark High School. We talked about a lot of things since there was a long, long line to get in. I expressed my condolences to his wife's kids and wife and to his two surviving brothers, Jerry and Craig, as well to his mother, Dorla Seely. Calling hours and/or funerals are for the living ... it's important that you show up. I saw my two kids in Newark, Karen and Michael, briefly before I hightailed it back to Rochester.

5/3/2015 - Medved Madness Trail Race

I ran twice, 0.7 and Medved Madness of 14.41 miles.

I woke up at 5:40 AM. I noticed that my darling wife, Christine, was on the couch. I did the dishes from the previous night and then tried to wake her. She told that she had trouble sleeping during the night and was groggy. I knew better than to try to wake her and let her sleep. I quietly got ready. It was 55F so I just wore shorts, an old Medved Madness tech shirt, calf sleeves and my blue Salomon SpeedCross 3 trail shoes. I pinned on my race bib, made sure that I had my water bottles filled, put some HammerGel in the pouch of my 10 ounce hand bottle, put a change of clothes in my gym bag, kissed Christine and headed out at 6:55 AM. I arrived down at Hopkinton Point at Mendon Ponds Park around 7:15 AM. I got a pretty close parking spot ... one of the benefits of getting to races early.

I said "Hi" to lots of trail running buddies who were running the race: Mark Monachino, Rob Tyler, Chris O'Brien, Chris Patterson and Andy Ciaio. Amy Lord and Prem Kumar were volunteering and were greeting runners. I wandered around before I got out for a 0.7 mile warmup run, link here. The weather was 55F, 51% RH, 5 mph SW wind, sunny.

I lined up a bit farther back at the start while the color code of the flags was explained: blue flags and blue/white streamers were for loop 1, pink flags and pink/black streamers were for loop 2 and red flags and red/black streamers for loop 3. This was my sixth time (2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014 and this year) running the Medved Madness so I knew the drill.
And ... we were off! I tried to hold back and run easy. My unofficial plan was to try to stay with Andy for a while since he said that he was not going to go out hard.

The first loop had a small stream crossing, a bog area with little mud but holes that I had to careful of, mud and hills. Oh yes ... and the course leads into Hundred Acre Pond for about 50 feet just before the end of loop 1. I was about 50 feet behind Andy when I got up to it. Splash! Splash! My trail shoes were soaked and full of water which made running hard work. My Garmin time for loop 1 was 42:26, official time was 41:42, distance was 4.81 miles, 8:40(!) pace. I had a lemon/lime Gu and a drink of water before I headed back out.

The second loop had mud and a lot of open grassy trails with no shade. It was warming up and so did I. I resorted to a run/walk when I needed to. I only had a 10 ounce water bottle so I had to conserve my water and use the water that I found at the self-serve aid station. I remember running and running through parts of MPP that I don't often run through. On and on. My Garmin time for loop 2 was 1:22:48, official time was 1:22:31, official loop 2 time was 40:49, distance was 8.91 miles so loop 2 was 4.1 miles, 9:57 pace.

The third loop was long and longer because I was tired. I estimate that it had warmed up to at least 70F. I just told myself "run the flats, run the downs and do what you gotta do on the ups". I remember just running and running. One highlight was seeing runners from another race heading towards me for about 1/2 mile about halfway through this loop. Luckily they were following pink flags. I remember walking up Cardiac Hill and seeing the dual pink and red streamers on the trail on top. I knew I was almost done so I willed myself up to a run and kept it for the 0.3 mile to the finish. I heard Amy tell me to go around the tree and to the finish line. My Garmin time was 2:18:18, my official time was 2:18:16, official loop 3 time was 55:45, distance was 14.41 miles so loop 3 was 5.5 miles, 10:06 pace. My splits were: 8:51m 8:43, 9:29, 7:57, 9:23, 9:27, 9:55, 9:33, 11:23, 10:24, 9:40, 8:52, 10:10, 9:55 and 11:10 over the last 0.41 mile.

I was hot and thirsty. I am sure that I made a couple of people nervous when I staggered a bit before I had a bit more water and potato chips. A bit of shaved orange mango ice from xx helped too. The catered chicken dinner by xxx also helped. Mmm! I sat with Andy and Chris Patterson. We all agreed that it was a bit hot and that we were glad to do done! The memory of running with subzero wind chills in February was still fresh so we were careful not to complain too much about running in 70F weather in May

The results were up later that night. I did pretty well, 53rd out of 129, link here. I was 8th out of 21 in my M50-59 age group, link here. My splits were: 8:51, 8:43, 9:29, 7:57, 9:23, 9:27, 9:55, 9:33, 11:23, 10:24, 9:40, 8:52, 10:10, 9:55, 11:10 over the last 0.41 mile.

I left after the awards and went straight home. I had made up a plate of leftover chicken, ravoli and salt potatoes before I had left and presented it to Christine when I got home. She appreciated it ... plus there was enough for leftovers later.

Soon ... my legs were up, I was drinking coffee and checking out my email and Facebook. What a way to spend a beautiful Sunday morning!

Other runners had wonderful exploits during the day. Joe Ciecierega (4:06:46) and Tina Pellegrin (6:23:28)  ran the Pittsburgh Marathon. Steve Levitsky (3:50:55), Rob Wilder (3:50:00), John Muoio (3:37:49), Kathy Reardon (4:23:50) and Frank Quattrone (3:49:59) ran the Mississauga Marathon. Frank, who will turn 60 next year, needed a 3:55 and BQed by 5 minutes!

Monday, 4/27/2015 to Saturday, 5/2/2015

I ran 2 times this week, 11.7 miles.
I biked once this week, 19 miles.

Monday, 4/27/2015: Rest day.

Just a full rest day after running the Flower City Half Marathon (FCHM) yesterday. I saw lots of congratulations to the Fleet Feet Rochester and Yellow Jacket Racing pages on Facebook. Physically, I fared pretty well. I only had mild aches and pains when I walked up and down stairs during the day.

Tuesday, 4/28/2015: 6.2 miles, 1:00:43, 9:47 pace, 66F, 37% RH, 14 mph WNW wind, mostly sunny

Garmin Connect Activity for Cobbs Hill workout

The Medved Madness Trail Race is coming up on Sunday, 5/3/2015, so I needed to run hills. I packed my running gear and changed at work. I was in the Fleet Feet Armory parking lot by 5PM. I geared up and headed out to Cobbs Hill. I took it really nice and easy since it was my first run since the FCHM and because it was warmer. I just did 3 Vs on the grass hill, 2 switchbacks (I lost count) and took the long way back. A really nice and easy 6.2 miles ... if there is such a thing for me.

Ellen Brenner of Fleet Feet Rochester posted about the story behind the Flower City Challenge, link here. It's nice to hear the a bit of  the backstory behind the race that I have run 6 times.

Wednesday, 4/29/2015: Rest day ... yada, yada, yada.

Thursday, 4/30/2015: 5.5 miles, 64F, 1:00:51, 11:03 pace, 37% RH, 14 mph NE wind, mostly sunny

Garmin Connect Activity for Lucien Morin Park

I wanted to run trail but didn't want to run down at Cobbs Hill again. I didn't want to drive all the way down to Mendon Ponds Park either. So I went to an old standby of mine, Lucien Morin Park. It was my first time there this year. I called my darling wife, Christine, to come down and meet me at MacGregor's afterward around 6:30 PM.

I changed into my running gear at work and got here around 5:15 PM. I headed out for an in and out on the white trail. Man, what a workout! Lucien Morin Park is very technical with lots of roots, uphills, downhills, rock and some narrow trails. I only fell once when I was going up a hill on the way back. I caught myself with my hands so no harm came to me. It was nice getting out on a nice trail. My splits were: 10:59, 9:59, 11:49, 11:23, 11:50 and 9:34 over the last 0.5 mile.

I toweled off at the Equinox before I went into MacGregor's ... but no Christine. I called her and she told me that she was lost. She had put Lucien Morin Park into her GPS and it guided her to Old Browncroft Blvd and Parkview Dr at the south end of Lucien Morin Park. She finally backtracked to Browncroft Blvd and got her bearings once she got on 590-N. We met up around 7 PM and had a pair of nice California Club Wraps.

Friday, 5/1/2015: Rest day ... another case of yada, yada, yada.

Saturday, 5/2/2015: 19 miles on the bike,

I was up early like usual. I had the Medved Madness Trail Race tomorrow but I couldn't resist a bike ride on such a beautiful day. So I got the Trek FX7.2 out of the storage unit in the basement, geared up and headed out. I took a trip out to see the new townhouse at Greenleaf Meadows. I learned that the previous tenant in our unit had moved out yesterday but that the unit was not ready yet. I didn't expect that it would be but I wanted to see it anyway ... well, from the outside anyway. What a beautiful day!

My darling wife, Christine, made ribs later. I had bought them from Wegmans. They weren't the best ... so I guess Skip's on the Ridge will be where I buy ribs in the future.

4/26/2015 - Flower City Half Marathon

1 ran twice: 1.2 and Flower City Half Marathon (13.2 miles), 37F, 87% RH, 3 mph WSW wind, mostly overcast.

I was awake a bit before my alarm went off at 5AM. It was still dark. I did the few dishes from the previous day. It did help that we had gone out to dinner the night before at Famous Dave's. I got my darling wife, Christine, up and together we got ready. We were out the door at 5:58AM and parked down at the Blue Cross Arena at 6:08AM. Nice!

The weather conditions were 37F, calm and mostly overcast ... perfect conditions for a spring half marathon. I had dressed in the usual: CW-X tights, long sleeve tech, short sleeve tech, Brooks beanie, heavy gloves, Darn Tough socks and my New Balance 860 running shoes. It's been there, done that for me with regards to running when it's in the mid 30s. Plus it was been there, done that for this race since this was my sixth time running this course. I knew what to expect ... I thought.

Ron Heerkens Jr captured this candid picture as I was walking up to get my race bib

Christine had tinnitus in her ears and was unable to leave the Equinox. So I made the Equinox my base of operations. I went into the Blue Cross Arena to find pins for my race bib. The arena floor was open and I soon found them. I said "Hi" to running buddies that I met. I went back to the Equinox and geared up for a 1.2 mile warmup run at 8:23 pace up and down Exchange Blvd, link here. I kissed Christine for luck and headed to the start after a quick stop to the bathroom in the Blue Cross Arena.

The pace leaders

I made my way to the start in the middle of the bridge on Broad Street. I saw Jim McLaughlin who was the 1:45 pace leader and gave him a fist bump. I wanted to finish around 1:45 but run in front of him and his group as much as possible. So I lined up slightly in front of him but behind Matt Kellman, the 1:40 pace leader.

And ... we're off!

Just after the start - a bit behind the 1:45 pace leader, Jim McLaughlin

A long line of runners - from Facebook

And ... we were off! I carefully got up to speed and tried to hold my pace back. Still ... I heard Pete call off a 7:36 first mile. I ran through the Susan B Anthony House neighborhood with their nice "Failure is Impossible" signs. Then past Frontier Field just before mile 2, down State St, left onto Main St and right onto East Ave. I was running well and just clicking off the miles. Right onto Brunswick St and right onto Park Ave. I saw John Muoio playing the bass fiddle with "The Lonely Ones" (Facebook page and YouTube page).

John Muoio (on the bass fiddle) with his band, The Lonely Ones

Left onto South Goodman St. Then ... I made a mistake. I wanted to have a HammerGel just before the aid station around mile 5.5. I had trouble opening it so I stopped to take off one of my gloves and stood when I tried to empty it into my mouth and then lick my fingers because I got goop on them. Jim McLaughlin and his 1:45 pace group passed me. I must have stood there for one minute(!) before I got going again. I picked up my pace but it was uphill to Highland Park. I should have continued walking or slowly trotted while struggling with my HammerGel and taking a drink of water. Mistake made ... lesson learned. Maybe I should practice this ... you think? Christine has told me this more than once.

Anyway, I got back up to speed and set off in pursuit of Jim. I couldn't see him but I did anyway. I was running well ... up and down in Highland Park, past the drums and then into the Mt Hope Cemetery with its solitary bagpiper at mile 8. Then ... thigh pain struck. Not a "I can't run" kind of thigh pain but a "nagging I don't want to run" kind of thigh pain. It brought me to a tiny walk every mile or so for the rest of the way. The initial hills in Mt Hope Cemetery nagged me to a tiny walk or two also. I did catch a glimpse of Jim on one of the turns. He was about 200 yards ahead. I was happy to get out of the cemetery at mile 10.

Only 3.1 miles to go. Just a 5K. Onto the UofR Genesee River trail. Mile 11 ... onward. I knew the Ford St bridge was ahead ... onward. Mile 12 ... onward ... run up onto the Ford St Bridge. I allowed myself one last tiny walk ... onward.

Mile 12 ... - from Facebook (I think)

Runners running down Exchange St about 1/2 to the finish - from Facebook

Exchange St - just past the Ford Street Bridge with about 0.8 miles to go - courtesy of Ron Heerkens Jr

Exchange St - Grimace mode ... ON!

Down Exchange St ... I willed myself to a strong run ... saw the 20KM sign, only 0.7 mile to go ... just a bit faster ... I could see the Freddie-Sue Bridge and the I-490 overpass .. just a bit faster ... I could see the parking lot where the Equinox was .. just a bit faster ... I could see the finish arch with the finish line about 100 yards farther ... OK, get it done ... grimace ... in the chute ... full sprint past a few runners ... done! Frank Quattrone handed me my finishers medal ... done in 1:46:08, 8:02 pace!

The finish line ...

In the chute ...

Crossing the finish line ...

Done!

 I downed a pint of water quickly then made my way into the Blue Cross Arena to get the next piece of my Fleet Feet Four Season Challenge medal. I got a banana and a couple pieces of pizza for my post race meal.

Then I talked with a New Balance rep. I found out that the 860 running shoes have been updated from v4 to v5 and that my thigh pain could be due to the high mileage on my shoes (I told him it was 450 when it was actually 550 miles). That could be. I do tend to put miles on my shoes before I retire them. I think it all has something to do with running shoes costing about $130 and wanting to get my money's worth out of it before kicking them to the curb. Duh! But another lesson learned ... use a relatively "fresh" running shoe when running a half marathon.

Flower City Half swag

A selfie in the Equinox. I wore the FCHM tech shirt and medals the rest of the day.

I went out to the Equinox and met up with Christine. It was only 10 AM! I told her about my race. Then we went out to the East Ridge Diner and Steakhouse for breakfast. Their 2x3 (2 eggs, 2 pancakes and 2 pieces of bacon) along with coffee really hit the spot. Other Flower City Half and 5K runners were there too. Soon we were home and the usual ensued: coffee, feet up on the couch and checking out email and Facebook. Eventually I took a shower. I must have had salt on my forehead because it really tasted icky when it drained down into my mouth.

Here are my stats. I was 313th out of 2276, link here. I was 9th out of 73 in my M55-59 age group, link here. My splits were: 7:39, 7:46, 7:54, 7:52, 8:51, 8:16, 8:21, 7:55, 7:59, 7:59, 8:22, 7:58 and 6:53 over the last 0.2 mile. My sprint into the chute was 5:56. There were 976 finishers in the Wegmans Family 5K, link here. A news link here and pic link here.

Now I could beat myself up about what I did wrong during this race but I won't. It was a half marathon with pretty of chances to run better or run bad. I did my best. I had fun. I love running races ... so I do.

P.S. I checked the thousands of pictures that Game Fame Meda put up, here. But ... I wasn't in any of them.

Sunday, 4/19/2015 to Saturday, 4/25/2015

I ran 2 times this week, 20.3 miles.
I biked once this week, 6.2 miles.

Sunday, 4/19/2015: 6.2 miles on the bike, around 45F with a 10 mph or so wind.

I got up at 7 AM. I can't seem to sleep in ... OK, Christine's snoring woke me up. I'm a light sleeper ... what can I say. I puttered around until I got the idea to go for a bicycle ride. So I dressed warmly: CW-X tights, Zoots padded shorts, long sleeve tech, 1/4 zip Brooks pullover, Brooks beanie and bicycle gloves. I gathered up all the stuff that I needed to put on my Trek FX7.2 bicycle and went to it. I put on a Metro 360 USB headlight and taillight, fastened a SKS energy bag to the top stem up by the handlebar and affixed a CycleAware Reflex mirror to my helmet.  I was not impressed with the mirror ... maybe I just didn't adjust it right.

I kissed my sleeping wife, Christine, told her where I was going and headed out. I had thought about going out on a 15 mile Bridges ride (up to the O'Rorke bridge, down to the 104 bridge and home) but ... wimped out and just rode my usual 10K running route. Riding into the wind was just too cold. I needed another layer on top plus my heavy running gloves. Lesson learned. Dressed WAY warmer on your upper body and hands in order to ride your bicycle in April.

I soon found Facebook posts about other adventures: runners in Boston running the Boston Marathon on Monday, runners running the Sehgahunda Preview Run #3 and runners running the Seneca 7 77.7 mile relay run. A Rochester Democrat and Chronicle article about runner prepping for the Boston Marathon is here. The Seneca 7 website is here, a ROC Splatter Runners participant's story in the Penfield Post is here, Seneca 7 news/pics/video links here, here, here and the results are here.

(l-r) Bambi Jasmin, Katherine Switzer (ran Boston Marathon '67 as K Switzer 5 years before women were allowed to run) and Christine Antonini - from Facebook

Jeanne Herrick - from Facebook

The GVH Fustercluck tesm: 1st overall in 2015 besting their 2014 time by 7 minutes - from Facebook

Monday, 4/20/2015: Rest day.

My youngest son, David, dealt with another kidney stone overnight. My wife, Christine, went out to sit with him at the Newark-Wayne Community Hospital for a while. He left in the morning after he felt better without waiting for a urologist to look at him.

A bunch of runners that I knew ran the Boston Marathon. I followed a lot of them via text alerts during the day. Here they are: Tim Dwyer - 3:00:08 (BQ), Jason McElwain - 3:03:38 (BQ), Dan Giblin 3:19:36, Christopher Patterson and Heather Danielson (BQ) - 3:24:43, John Brind'Amour - 3:41:04, Wendy Abbott - 3:44:10 (BQ), Bill Beyerbach - 3:48:28 (BQ), Bambi Jasmin - 3:54:52, David Coyne - 3:52:52 (BQ), Bill Crowe - 3:57:45 (BQ), Jeanne Herrick - 4:25:22 (BQ?), Mary Crowe - 4:31:07. Kudos and congratulations to all of them. I hope to have my own Boston Marathon story to tell one day.

Heather and Chris posing at Cobbs Hill last week - from a Rochester D&C article

Heasther and Chris post Boston Marathon - from Facebook

Jeanne Herrick post Boston Marathon - from Facebook

Tuesday, 4/21/2015: 9.3 miles, 1:13:54, 7:57 pace, 52F, 50% RH, 14 mph SSW wind, mostly cloudy.

Garmin Connect Activity for A steady 15K

After 4 trail races in a row it's time to switch gears to run road. So I switched to my New Balance 860 road shoes and ran road. I thought about going out for 10 mile but settled for a nice and steady 15K. My splits were: 7:58, 7:51, 7:51, 8:03, 7:53, 7:56, 8:07, 7:56, 8:02 and 7:38 over the last 0.3 mile. Nothing special.

Sad news, Norm Frank, died at age 83, obituary here, news links here, here and here. He was a Rochester runner who ran 965 marathons. I never met him but I did know of him ... much respect.

Wednesday, 4/22/2015: Rest day.

I had a dentist appointment at 4:15 PM. I had two cavities. One of them was underneath a filling so that had to drilled out first and the other was just a new one. Dr Randy Raetz DDS numbed me up, drilled away and filled the holes back up. He is good ... and he's a running dentist! Yes, he sponsors the Fleet Feet Dirt Cheap Series.

Thursday, 4/23/2015: 11 miles, 1:28:25, 8:02 pace, 37F, 52% RH, 11 mph WNW wind, wind chill 30F, mostly cloudy

Garmin Connect Activity for An OK 11 miles

I dilly-dallied a bit after work but I needed another long run so I got up off the couch, got dressed and got off. I tried to ignore that fact that I had to dress for a winter run. It is APRIL! But ... whatever. I struck up a nice and easy pace around 8:00/mile on my usual 10K route and held it. My thighs were tight but I just ignored them and just kept running. I stretched the run to 15K by adding a loop and adding Chapel Hill Drive. I was happy that I only stopped for traffic. My splits were: 7:40, 8:00, 7:51, 7:57, 8:22, 7:59, 8:11, 8:08, 8:03, 8:09 and 8:06. I hope to run this pace for the Flower City Half Marathon on Sunday. I had a 10 ounce water bottle and downed that when I got done. I rolled out my thighs when I got done. Man, did that hurt!!

Friday, 4/24/2015: Rest day.

I had thought about running ... but after last night I quickly thought better of it. I got enough of a workout at work. The Pacer app on my iPhone had 13560 steps during my workday.

Saturday, 4/25/2015: The rest day before a race the next morning

I saw pictures on Facebook of the Flower City Challenge Du and Tri. I thought about doing the Du this year but chickened out ... maybe next year!

My darling wife, Christine, had a massage at MassageEnvy at 4PM. Then we met up at Famous Dave's for a pre race dinner. I had steak and she had catfish. The steak was sub par ... next time I will stick to ribs or beef brisket.

I also saw pictures on Facebook of Christopher and Heather Patterson's wedding. Congratulation and best wishes to the happy couple!

I laid out my running clothes in a laundry basket, filled my gym bag with extra clothes (just in case) and filled a small drawstring bag with dry clothes for Christine to carry.

Flower City Half Marathon pre-race swag

My alarm was set for 5 AM. I wanted to leave for the Blue Cross Arena at 5:50AM to get there in plenty of time to snag a close parking spot for the 7:30 AM start of the Flower City Half Marathon. This will be my sixth time running this race so I did a bit of visualization of the course and its difficulties. I did make it to bed early at 10 PM.

Sunday, 4/12/2015 to Saturday, 4/18/2015 - Cardiac Hill Run, Dirt Cheap #1 and Muddy Sneaker 20K

I ran 7 times this week, 37.04 miles.

Sunday, 4/12/2015: 3 runs of 1, Cardiac Hill Run of 4.8 and 6.2 miles.

Another day, another race. I was up early to do the usual: do the dishes from the night before, have a bowl of cereal and banana, do my duty in the bathroom, check the temperature (36F), get dressed, kiss Christine goodbye and get out the door to a race. I was dressed in my usual: CW-X tights, short sleeve tech, 1/4 zip Brooks pullover, Brooks beanie and heavy gloves. Today it was down to the beach parking lot near Stewart Lodge of Mendon Ponds Park for the Cardiac Hill Run. I was there at 8:10 AM in plenty of time for the 9 AM start.

This race had been run as the RT Trail Run on the Saturday after Thanksgiving for the past 34 years but was moved to try to spark attendance. I had run this race back in 2013. I remember that I ran through ankle deep snow the entire race.

I met up with Prem Kumar and Andy Ciaio before the race. I did get out for a 1 mile warmup run at 9:22 pace, link here. The weather had warmed to 46F, 61% RH, 7 mph SW wind, wind chill 43F and sunny by race start. I pulled off my 1/4 zip Brooks pullover and handed to Jim Glinsky of GVH. I also tucked my Brooks beanie into the waistband of my tights.



There were 30 runners at the start ... not exactly crowded. And ... we were off! It was the same course as I ran 1 1/2 years ago. I just couldn't get going for most of this race. I had to stop for several tiny walk breaks in the first 3 miles. Abby McCarthy passed me and then Prem. I stayed behind Prem Kumar the entire race. I couldn't get closer to him but I didn't let him get away either.

Jeanne Herrick took this picture as I ran up the last 1/3 of Cardiac Hill

I finally got my breath after I ran/walked/ran up Cardiac Hill at mile 3. I settled into a "get it done" pace and kept my position. I could see the finish ... clock close to 40:00 ... put a bit of speed on ... and done 4.8 miles in 39:54, 8:19 pace by my Garmin. I was 11th out of 30, link here. My splits were: 7:41, 8:40, 8:13, 8:45 and 8:13 over the last 0.8 mile. I think the change of temperature affected me between the Saturday race of 4.97 miles at 8:53 pace and the Sunday race of 4.8 miles at 8:19 pace. I thought I ran a lot slower on Sunday ... huh?

I hung around a bit for a plate of pasta and headed out to the Equinox. I did have a bit of change of clothes. I changed into my shorts and my Syracuse Half 1/4 zip pullover. I didn't have another short sleeve tech so I made do with what I had. I headed back up to Stewart Lodge for the awards. I was 2nd in my M55-59 age group and received a mug. Prem won his 35-39 age group with a 39:48. Andy Ciaio finished in a 43:58.

Prem and I went out for another 10K on the familiar Blue and Green trails afterward, map here. The weather had warmed up again to: 57F, 55% RH, 5 mph WSW wind and sunny.



We took it nice and easy. I did walk a few of the hills but did power up the one hill at mile 3 (the one with the gravel at the top) that I usually start to walk halfway up. I was quite happy about that. Prem said that I tend to not do his idea of "nice and easy" ... I guess it's just how I roll. My splits were: 10:25, 10:27, 10:16, 9:14, 9:32, 9:59 and 8:21 over the last 0.2 mile.

Monday, 4/13/2015: Rest day on a hot day in April.

The temperature rocketed it up to 83F during the day. I went to the laundromat to do my tech (and a few other) clothes since our single washer and dryer was occupied ... meanwhile it started to blow and sprinkle rain. Luckily it didn't pour while I was loading or unloading my clothes.

Tuesday, 4/14/2015: Another rest day.

I had hoped to file the last tax return of my father tonight. He died on 3/10/2014. But ... I opened up his 1099-R from his union (that I hadn't opened) and found that they had made a mistake. The jerks had been paying him for 25 years just fine but on the last 1099-R that they had sent me with my social security number, address and that they had withheld 5% to the IRS! Jerks! Now I have to get an amended 1099-R. Truth be told I hadn't filed his taxes for a number of years because there was no reason. His pension and social security income might have been taxable, but he didn't have any federal or state income taxes withheld and his nursing home care expenses offset everything so it was a wash every year.

Wednesday, 4/15/2015: 2 runs of 1 and Dirt Cheap #1 of 4.74 miles, 57F, 26% RH, 7 mph NNE wind, partly cloudy

It was a Dirt Cheap Trail Races Series kind of Wednesday so I headed down to the Devil's Bathtub at Mendon Ponds Park. I had all my gear so I headed there after work. Christine had told Yellow Jacket Racing that she would help out so she was going to meet there and ... bring a dry pair of running shoes for me to change into afterward. I got there around 5:20 PM in plenty to get a parking spot on top of the hill. I got my series bib, pinned it on and then just kind of hung out in the Equinox until 6:10PM.

I got out for my usual 1 mile run to get my legs warm at 8:55 pace, link here. I wore my Brooks shorts, short sleeve tech and light Brooks gloves. It was a bit cool but I knew I would warm up. Everyone was starting at once so I got up near the front.

And ... we were off! I have run this race 6 times before so I knew what to expect. The first mile was rolling hills on a grass meadow before we headed back into the woods for more of the same. I ran well and powered up the hills that came my way and straight through any mud and water.

The bog at mile 2 had some deep mud that I found right away so I avoided the rest by running above it on the twisty trail to the right. We didn't encounter any really deep mud until mile 3. Then ... ankle deep mud or better for a good 200 yards.

My trail shoes and feet were soaked but onward. More mud, more trail ... onward. I saw Amy Lord off to the left around mile 4 just before we got back near Devil's Bathtub. Then the trail led straight through a creek or you could chicken out and take the bridge to the left ... I went straight through. It did help wash the mud off!

Then ... up Cardiac Hill. I ran it a bit and then walked the rest. Onward ... I wanted to stop but I kept going. The trail took us up near the finish. I heard Bill Beyerbach yell "You're doing great!" and then the same to someone behind me. Onward ...I almost missed a turn ... luckily the guy in front of me saw it and took the left turn. I could hear the finish ... my legs were screaming ... up the infamous stairs ... push ... up ... and done with 4.74 miles in 43:27, 9:09 pace! My splits were: 7:30(!), 9:19, 10:16, 8:15 (nice!) and 10:56 over the last 0.74 mile.

I was out of breath and went to the Equinox to get some water. I made my way back to the pavilon and got a hot dog and cookie. I saw my darling wife, Christine, in the kitchen area. She was opening hot dog buns and hot dog packages. I gave her a kiss on her cheek and said "Hi". I had another hot dog and banana ... great post race food!

I did OK. I was 39th out of 353, link here. I was 2nd (Ed Housel was 1st about 4 minutes ahead of me) out of 15 in my M55-59 age group. The guy 2 seconds behind me was Joe Ciecierega. He beats me in road races all the time. I guess the Cobbs Hill workouts are doing me some good.

Thursday, 4/16/2015: 6.2 miles, 1:00:09, 9:42 pace, 55F, 35% RH, 8 mph NNE wind, overcast

Garmin Connect Activity for Cobbs Hill workout: 4 Vs, 4 switchbacks and the long way back

I needed hills so I went straight to Cobbs Hill after work. I parked in the Fleet Feet Armory parking lot like usual, stretched and headed out. I did the usual but a bit different. I did 4 Vs on the grass hill, 4 switchbacks and took the long way back. My splits were: 9:45, 9:37, 10:55, 12:18, 8:08, 7:56 and 7:28 over the last 0.2 mile. Soon I was home and my darling wife, Christine, fixed me a nice and tasty (but late) supper. Another running workout in the books!

Friday, 4/17/2015: The usual rest day before a race the next morning ... tis the truth!

Saturday, 4/18/2015: 2 runs of 1 and Muddy Sneaker 20K of 12.1 miles, 55F, 62% RH, 8 mph SSW wind, sunny as a bell

Today was my fifth Muddy Sneaker 20K. I was up at 5:40AM and did the usual: the dishes from the previous night, wake Christine up, check the weather, check directions, have my usual bowl of cereal and banana, get dressed and get a complete change of clothes for afterward. The weather forecast was 55F at race start and 70F(!) by noon. So I wore my Brooks shorts and a Charlie's Old Goat short sleeve tech. I brought along a long sleeve tech just in case. Christine busied herself with getting dressed, getting ready some food and snacks for before or after and probably to quietly find things that I might have missed. We were ready to go and on the road just before 7AM.

The drive down was as beautiful as always. It about 50F, sunny and as clear as a bell. Canandaigua Lake was very pretty as we passed it on the left as we went south on 21. I was a bit worried that I was following no one and no one was following us. I thought I might have had the time. Christine fired up the race website just to be sure that the race start was 9 AM. We got up to the race venue just before 8 AM and found that we were among the first to arrive! We thought we were late but were really early (well by our standards)!

I went down to packet pickup and found lots of running buddies to talk with: Chris Washburn, Chris O'Brien, Tom Butler, Andy Ciaio, Frank Quattrone, Steve Levitsky, Kathy Reardon and Tom Muoio. I hung out for a bit. I did change into calf sleeves and Darn Tough socks. I thought that I might need more protection for my lower legs. I kissed my darling wife, Christine ... several times ... for luck and got out for a 1 mile warmup run up the first hill and back at 9:09 pace, link here.

A topographic map of the Muddy Sneaker 20K course

And ... we were off! The first mile was straight up the hill and then single track into the woods. The trails was not too bad at first and then got muddy, rocky, rooty and twisty for the next 2 miles. I saw a woman being carried out by two guys around mile 2.5. I later learned that it was Katie Ann and that she had a possible torn ligament, :-(. She seemed in good hands so I continued onward. We broke out out the woods at mile 3.

Heather Ostrander (aka HBO) took a selfie with the chicken

The chicken directed us to the left down a jeep trail. There were some long uphills and long downhills to the aid station just before mile 6. I had a HammerGel and water. I was doing a run/walk up the long uphills, running the flats (there were a few) and running the downhills. The chicken directed us to the left again at mile 7. It was back into the woods for more mud, rocks and roots at mile 7.5 for a mile. I had another HammerGel just before the aid station at mile 9. It had warmed up but it was windy so it wasn't hot. The trail went down, down and more down to the creek crossing at the bottom of Parish Hill Rd at mile 10. I saw 1:56 on my Garmin. I thought maybe that I could get up to the finish and maybe finished under 2:15.

The creek crossing at mile 10

The woman at the bottom asked me if I needed anything. I told her that I needed an elevator as I looked up at the steep hill that loomed in front of me. She laughed ... as I started to trudge up, up and trudge up some more. My right Achilles ached a bit. I broke into a run/walk once I could manage it.

I managed to break into a run for Tim Matthews 

Maybe a half mile from the finish ... somewhere up this never ending hill

I knew that the finish line was somewhere up the trail but the trail just kept on going up. I saw the mile 12 marker ...  then a woman ahead called out that she could see the finish ... I broke into a run ... I put my head down ... I heard Mort Nace call me into the finish line ... I saw Christine taking a picture ...and done with 12.1 miles in 2:18:36, 11:27 pace and 2316 feet of elevation change.

The finish line!

Another Muddy Sneaker 20K glass to add to my collection

Muddy Sneaker 20K - Swag

I staggered around a bit as I got some water and food in me. I was beat. I met up with my running buddies and swapped trail stories. Christine walked around with me for a bit. I think she was concerned that I would fall over.

Ron Heerkens Jr. showing off one result of his tumbles.

I had several cups of water and a couple of delicious cookies. I headed back to the Equinox and changed my socks, shirt and into road shoes. We took the scenic route back to Rochester which included a stop at Monica's Pies for a chicken pot pie.

The Muddy Sneaker 20K results were posted to Ultrasignup.com, link here. I did OK. I was 78th out of 184. I was 12th out of 28 in my M50-59 age group. My splits were: 9:32, 11:04, 13:24, 9:37, 9:54, 8:52, 10:54, 10:02, 11:09, 11:35, 17:22, 14:00 and 8:30 over the last 0.1 mile.

A well earned Muddy Sneaker 20K glass to add to my collection.

It was my slowest of my 5 Muddy Sneaker 20K races. But ... it's a trail race. Sometimes it's not about the time but the experience. I finished, I didn't fall. I had fun. My body ached the rest of the day. The good ache from well used muscles. The kind that reminds you when you hobble around for the rest of the day.

Later I started to see Facebook posts and pictures from Muddy Sneaker, runners showing off their bibs in anticipation of the Boston Marathon on Monday, 4/20, and runners from other races.

Chris Patterson and Heather Danielson will run the Boston Marathon together and then will get married on 4/25/15. Too cute for words!

Meanwhile ... Mark Monachino completed the The North Face Endurance Challenge 50K in down in Sterling, VA

Mark Monachino and Stacy Maier from Rochester along with Anzhela Knyaveza (now living in DC) ran the The North Face Endurance Challenge 50K in 6:21:21, 5:55:07 (2nd in her F30-34 AG) and 6:42:38, repectively, Anzhela's sister, Diana, ran the Half in 2:13:45. Impressive!

Meanwhile, Christine and I enjoyed a lazy rest of the day along with a nice nap. The chicken pot pie was our mid afternoon lunch/early supper ... delicious! A day well spent!