Sunday, 4/22/2018 to Saturday, 4/28/2018 - Flower City Half

I ran 5 times this week, 36.8 miles.
I took 88,364 steps this week according to my Pebble 2 HR smart watch.

Sunday, 4/22/2018: 22481 steps during the day; 2 runs of 0.61 and 13.25 miles,

Today's race was the Flower City Half (FCH). It was my ninth consecutive FCH (2010 - 1:46:21, 2011 - 1:40:11, 2012 - 1:39:14, 2013 - 1:44:32, 2014 - 1:47:12, 2015 - 1:46:01, 2016 - 1:43;26 and 2017 - 1:42:32). So ... I knew the course well. Well ... that doesn't count if you aren't prepared. I thought I was ... but I wasn't.

I set my alarm for 5 AM. I had my usual pre-race bowl of cereal and banana. It was 37F but was going to warm up to around 60 later in the day according to the forecast. What to wear? I choose shorts, Darn Tough socks and a long sleeve tech. I took along my usual gear for "Spring" time in Rochester: tights, another long sleeve tech, a couple of short techs, heavy running gloves, beanie, hat, sunglasses.

I headed out around 6:10 AM and got to an excellent parking sport right behind a Fleet Feet truck at 6:30 AM. I was about 100 feet from the finish line and 500 feet from the start line at the Blue Cross Arena. I put on my yellow/black Brooks jacket, heavy running gloves, orange Fleet Feet hat, sunglasses. I carried water in my Nathan SpeedDraw flask along with Hammer Gel in one of their 5 ounce flasks.

The finish line waiting for finishers ... courtesy of Barb Boutillier of Fleet Feet Rochester

The VIP area for 4 Season Challenge & Fleet Feet Racing Team members

I went into the Blue Cross Arena to pin on my race bib. I found a nice perk on the BCA hockey rink floor ... a roped off area for Four Season Challenge and Fleet Feet Racing Team runners with chairs, tables, a massage table ... nice! There was coffee along with Gu and Chomps at the tables.  I sat in there for a while before I went out for a 0.61 mile warm up run at 7:57 pace, link here. The run was enough to let me know that I needed to put on a short sleeve tech underneath and change from my FF hat to my yellow/black Brooks beanie.


I made it up to the start with 7 minutes to spare. I met up with Prem Kumar for a couple of seconds and fist bumped Wilt Alston. I settled in to await the start. I felt ready ... and .... we were off!

The Flower City Half start ... courtesy of Barb Boutillier of Fleet Feet Rochester

The start ... a screen grab from Flashframe

I got up to speed and tried to hold back. I ran a bit with Megan Hammersmith (though she didn't know it) until mile 1 (the Susan B Anthony House). The 1:45 pace group passed me around here too. I settled in and ran my own race ... miles 1 through 6 were uneventful. I had a swig of Hammer Gel at mile 6 along with water. Then ... I kind of fell apart as I headed into Highland Park. My thighs started to hurt. I heard the tiny voice of self doubt in my head. I started to have tiny walk breaks (about 4 or 5) in the Highland Park hills. I stopped (!) to use the porta-potty at the entrance to the Mt Hope Cemetery at mile 8. I took another swig of Hammer Gel along with water. The early hills in the Mt Hope Cemetery sucked ... the rest not so much. I still took tiny walk breaks. Mile 10 ... only 5K to go. The 2 miles on the U of R river trail ... I suffered through them with a few more tiny walk breaks. Another one on the Ford St bridge ... then I ran the 3/4 mile down Exchange Blvd to the finish. I didn't even have much sprint in me at the finish. I crossed the finish at 1:49:10 according to my Garmin Forerunner 220. I did keep the 1:50 pace group behind me.

The finish ... a screen grab from Flashframe

post race grub

post race bling (there is a clear mug in my right hand)

I went into the BCA and hung with Prem Kumar for a while in our 4SC area. I had a piece of pizza, banana, Fritos, several cookies, chocolate milk and a couple cups of coffee. Prem told me about his recent Rim to Rim to Rim run at the Grand Canyon, his subsequent bout with chicken pox, being off for three weeks recovering and running back into shape. He's 41, ran a 20:39 5K the day before and ran a 1:39:03 today, lol! Yeah ... he is definitely back in shape.

Post race analysis. Officially, I ran a 1:49:06 (gun), 1:48:57 (chip), my slowest FCH by far. I was 328th out of 1805, link here. I was 3rd in my M 60-64 age group, link here. My 5K time was 25:00, 8:04 pace, rank 2. My 10K time was 50:09, 8:05 pace (8:05 pace - 2nd 5K), rank 2. My 15K time was 1:17:16, 8:19 pace (8:45 pace - 3rd 5K), rank 2. So .. I was passed by the 2nd place guy who was 55 seconds behind me at the 15K and then beat me by 18 seconds by the finish. I calculate that I ran the last 3.8 miles in 31:50, 8:22 pace. So ... running the 3rd 5K in 8:45 pace instead of 8:15 pace (just to pick a number) cost me 93 seconds. Oh ... my splits were: 7:51, 7:54, 7:58, 7:51, 8:01, 8:19, 8:37, 9:27, 7:51, 8:28, 8:30, 8:27, 8:05 and 7:25 over the last 0.25 mile. I guess I was faster than I thought past mile 10. The Relive link to Flower City Half is here.

What happened? I just didn't have my usual focus. My race adjustments during the race sucked. I got discouraged and didn't pull myself out of it. I guess you have to practice hills if you want to race well on hills. I didn't so I didn't. Or ... if you fail to prepare you are preparing to fail. Well ... I got a small FCH mug for placing 3rd in my age group. I would have just gotten a slightly larger mug if I had placed second and an even bigger mug plus a jar of Once Again peanut butter if I had placed first. But ... I do like Once Again peanut butter. Oh ... remember those 93 seconds? 89 seconds separated first place and third place today. The Flashframe link in case I want to buy pictures is here. Ahem ... last year the pictures from GameFaceMedia were FREE!

Monday, 4/23/2018: 4876 steps during the day, rest day.

Here is a weird weather factoid backed up by personal observation. Lake Ontario in late April is cooler than the area south of it. It was 72F when I left B6 in Gates (about 10 miles south of the lake) around 5:20 PM. I drove straight home which took about 15 minutes. It was 52F when I got out of the '14 Cruze.

Tuesday, 4/24/2018: 12623 steps during the day; 5.05 miles, 40:07, 7:57 pace, 64F, 42% RH, 9 mph SW wind, overcast.


Spring appears to have finally sprung! I celebrated by emptying out my winter gear from my running bag (but remembering where I put it just in case) and running in shorts and a short sleeve tech! I guess "normal" runners would run a "recovery run" after 2 days after a half marathon. Me? I just run. I tried to run easy but ... the "Low Battery" alarm on my Garmin Forerunner 220 went off with 1.5 miles to go on my run so ... I sped up so I would make it back before it died. My splits were: 7:56, 8:00, 8:04, 7:56 and 7:45. I wasn't going slow before it went off either ... LOL!

Wednesday, 4/25/2018: 7805 steps during the day, rest day.

Thursday, 4/26/2018: 16380 steps during the day; 8.55 miles, 1:08:44, 8:02 pace, 57F, 51% RH, 15 mph WNW wind, partly cloudy


It was Thursday so I ran ... but how far? I decided on my 10K loop from the Greece Arcadia High School for 8.55 miles. I tried nice and easy but ... pushed it a bit after 3 miles. My splits were: 7:55, 8:21, 8:13, 7:55, 7:45, 7:52, 8:09, 8:09 and 7:59 over the last 0.55 mile. Boom ... done.

4/27/2018: 9082 steps during the day, rest day.

4/28/2018: 15117 steps during the day; 9.35 miles, 1:16:58, 8:14 pace, 48F, 81% RH, calm, overcast.


I had a thought about going out for a "put the hammer down" run on my Greenleaf Half route. I got up at 5:55 AM and had my usual pre-run bowl of cereal and banana. But ... I puttered around and then I couldn't find some of my running gear for a bit. I looked around ... then find some and then forgot where I put it. But ... I finally got out. Then I decided that it was too cold and windy for a hat so I went back in for my usual yellow/black Brooks beanie. Back out again. I got about 100 yards and then realized that I had forgot my Nathan SpeedDraw bottle of water and the Hammer Gel flask that I needed if I was going to run a half. But ... I continued onward. I set up a nice and steady pace. I decided to go on my Greenleaf 15K route instead and let the run happen ... without water. My splits were: 7:55, 8:16, 8:20, 8:20, 8:29, 8:00, 8:17, 8:12, 8:18 and 8:08 over the last 0.35 mile.

I had forgotten that the Hallmark Channel was running a Good Witch marathon about a hour after the first movie started. I started watching ... and watching. My lovely wife, Christine, and I enjoyed the following: 1/2 of the The Good Witch (2008) and then all of The Good Witch's Garden (2009), The Good Witch's Gift (2010), The Good Witch's Family (2011), The Good Witch's Charm (2012), The Good Witch's Destiny (2013) and The Good Witch's Wonder (2014). Yes, the movies were syrupy and predictable but ... they were a nice way to spend a Saturday.

Oh ... it hurts A LOT if you drop a couch on my right pinkie finger! My darling wife, Christine, had lost her cell so I called with my cell. I heard it ringing under the couch. I got down, lifted up the couch and saw it way back so I wanted to angle my knee to hold the couch up so I could get my right hand back there to reach it. Well ... I didn't get my knee in there right away and the couch dropped on what part of my right hand wasn't out of the way ... my right pinkie ... OUCH! I didn't break it or anything but I won't be able to bend it or use it much for the next several days.

Sunday, 4/15/2018 to Saturday, 4/21/2018

I ran 2 times this week, 14.4 miles.

I took x steps this week according to my Pebble 2 HR smart watch.

Sunday, 4/15/2018: 1331 steps during the day, rest day.

Yes, a rest day. I just stayed inside all day. The ice, rain and wind just took the running mojo out of my body. I did take the opportunity to wash all my running gear. I felt bad but I couldn't get started. I have the Flower City Half next Sunday so I will definitely make up for this running holiday.

Monday, 4/16/2018: 7821 steps during the day, rest day.

It was a busy day but I kept track of the runners that I knew that were running the Boston Marathon. via the BAA app. The conditions there were challenging with temps in the 40s, rain and a strong headwind out of the east. My smartwatch kept gently buzzing in the late morning and early afternoon with updates as each running passed each 5K strip and the finish.

Desiree crossing the finish line in 2:39:54 ... Charles Krupa/AP

 Yuki Kawauchi wins the 2018 Boston Marathon in 2hr 15min 58sec. Photograph: AFP Contributor#AFP/Getty Images

NBC Sports photo By Nick Zaccard

A US woman, Desiree Linden (wiki here), won in 2:39:54! 7 of the first 8 women were from the US! A Japanese runner, Yuki Kawauchi (wiki here), won in 2:15:58. He is known as the "citizen runner" who holds a full time job. Lots of links: Desiree Linden wins one for the pluggers, Unknown runners at the Boston Marathon, Boston Marathon mens winner, Bill Rodgers wanted Yuki Kawauchi to run Boston, Worst weather days in Boston Marathon history and even a Boston Globe link of Shalane Flanagan going to a porta-potty for about 10 seconds mid race (lol!). A link of top finishers is here. Sarah Chichester (sister to Tim Chichester of Mount Morris) didn't start with the elites and finshed 5th in 2:45:23 ... then went back to NYC and worked a 10 hour shift as a nurse the next day!

I followed 7 runners in the BAA app (Jason "Jmac" McElwain in 3:10:28, Tim Dwyer in 3:35:38, Kevin Clinefelter in 3:28:43, Heather Patterson in 3:34;11, Wendy Abbott in 3:38:56, Bill Crowe in 4:11:22 and Mary Crowe in 4:31:52). There were other runners from Rochester but I didn't have a list and knew these runners were there off the top of my head. I read a lot of Facebook comments from them and other runners about the conditions. Wow! I just can't imagine running in a poncho (like Heather did), in the rain and into a headwind the entire way into Boston!

I would love to qualify and run Boston just once. I am in the M 60-64 age group so my qualifying time in 3:55. You really have to run about 5 minutes under to make sure that you are not in the bubble that don't get in. But ... first I have that pesky requirement of qualifying with a 3:50! Well ... I am signed up for the Empire State Marathon in Syracuse on October 14. Who knows what will happen? I have some time to train for it. Here is a list of best marathons to qualify for Boston that Runner's World compiled, link here.

Tuesday, 4/17/2018: 7650 steps during the day, rest day.

Life got in the way of running as it sometimes does. I had asked my youngest son, David, to do his own taxes this year. Well ... his calculations had him owing the IRS and also owing NYS. He forwarded his W-2 and told me about his 1095-C (which he lost). My calculations on taxact.com and OLT.com concurred with the IRS but differed on NYS. So he filed an extension with the IRS and I filed his NY for him. He definitely owes me a dinner at the Ponderosa in Geneva. Mmm! I can almost taste that steak!

Christine got out and did a lot of stuff that needed to be done with the '14 Cruze. She went to Bob Johnson Chevy and got its oil changed (down to 1%), its 30K (6K late) checkup, the driver's window fixed (the belt was off its track) and the NYS inspection. Then she went to the Irondequoit DMV to pay the registration. A pricey outing but stuff needed to be done. Nice!

Wednesday, 4/18/2018: 18968 steps during the day, 9.35 miles, 1:18:00 (estimated), 8:20 pace (estimated), 37F, 70% RH, 16 mph W wind, wind chill 28F, overcast.

Today's run was done even with roadblocks put in the way. First, I started to change before I left work so I could run when I got to Greece Arcadia High School. So ... I am pretty much naked and search my running bag for my tights ... nada ... OK, my shorts (it was a bit cold but I would have ran) ... nada. So I got dressed back in my street clothes and drove home. My tights were exactly where I left them in the basement. I hung them up to dry after I washed them on Sunday. So ... I got dressed in my usual "cold" running gear, kissed Christine goodbye and got outside. Then ... I realized that my Garmin Forerunner 220 wasn't fully charged. No matter ... I started out. It binged "Low Battery" within 1/2 mile and died at mile 1. I haven't run "free" without a Garmin in quite a while. I just maintained my pace and did my 15K route out the LOSP trail to Island Cottage and back. I slowed when I had run into the cold west wind. It's APRIL almost a full month into "Spring" and I am still wearing TIGHTS! I guess my pace was around 8:20. The weather data was from the first 1.35 miles when my Garmin was still active.

Thursday, 4/19/2018: 8055 steps during the day, rest day.

OK ... so I wussed out on this run. I had all my gear to go running after work but ... it was snowing ... yet again! Yes ... I was officially a wuss! But ... I need one more run before Sunday's Flower City Half. It didn't really matter whether I did it today or tomorrow.

Friday, 4/20/2018: 12577 steps during the day, 5.05 miles, 41:16, 8:10 pace, 45F, 45% RH, 12 mph NW wind, wind chill 39F, sunny.

Some weather factoids: 120.2 inches of snow so far this winter and a month into "Spring", 21.7 inches above normal, snowiest winter since 2010/2011. 16 days out of 19 days in April have had snow, 7 degrees below normal so far this month.


I got out for a nice out and back from the Greece Arcadia High School after work. It was a bit warmer and I really didn't go slow like some runners would on a taper. I am what I am. My splits were: 8:05, 8:23, 8:19, 8:02 and 8:02.

Saturday, 4/21/2018: 2892 steps during the day, rest day.

Today was dedicated to my late Uncle Gerald who died 4/10 at age 84. Gerald E Spaganberg Sr (obit here) was my mother's sister's husband. My mother's maiden name was Doris Edith Verplank. Shirley married Gerald, had 3 kids (Bobby, Sandy and Jerry). Shirley died in the 70s from breast cancer. I lost regular contact with Gerald after that. He remarried Josephine (Jo) sometime later. The calling hours were held at the Murphy Funeral Home on East Jackson St from 10 AM to 11:30 AM with the funeral afterward followed by interment at the Palmyra Village Cemetery.

I had hoped that my darling wife, Christine, could have joined me today. I wore my suit that Christine bought me along with a white fitted shirt and red tie. I held off while I waited for Christine to get ready until 10:10 AM. Then she gave up trying to find something to wear and told me to go. I got down to the funeral home just before 11 AM.

I said "Hi" to the people I knew. I had a bit of difficulty (as always) telling Sandy and Bill Bastian's 2 oldest daughters apart since they are both tall and have black hair. Jacquie (the oldest daughter) and Fred Rapant have three kids (all 3 years, 7 months apart of each other) aged 6, 4 and almost 3 (I think) and live outside of Boston. Lindsay and Jon Miller live outside of DC. Sandy and Bill's youngest daughter, Mary Beth, is 5' 11" and is a ballerina out in Madison, Wisconsin. Mary Beth with heels was almost as tall as I was. My sister, Diane (who couldn't attend), and I are closest in age to Sandy so that is who I hung around. There is an old picture somewhere of my mother and her sisters Eleanor and Shirley all pregnant at the same time with me, Larry and Sandy respectively. My brother, Don, was there from Syracuse. We spent time chatting for a while. The funeral service was nice. I found the 23rd Psalm quite nice. Don and I were invited to the family burial service out at the Palmyra Village Cemetery where a short service was held. I think Uncle Gerald would have liked the nice sunny day. Then everyone that was left had lunch at the Yellow Mills Diner, TripAdvisor review here, outside of Palmyra. Uncle Gerald used to own this diner back in the 60s and 70s. Don and I had Chicken and Biscuits ... mmm!

I saw my daughter, Karen, at her apartment in Palmyra afterward. I didn't sit down because I didn't want dog or cat hair on my suit. Her puppy, Pooky, had grown a bit and barked at me. Karen told me I made him nervous. I'm not an animal person I guess.

Meanwhile ... other runners were out doing awesome stuff. The Muddy Sneaker 20K was held down in the High Tor Wilderness Area in Naples NY with 183 finishers, link here. I have fond memories of the Muddy Sneaker 20K ... I ran it 5 times from 2011 to 2015. It definitely had the steepest and longest downhill trails I have ever had the joy (?) to run on!

Sunday, 4/8/2018 to Saturday 4/14/2018 - Dirt Cheap #1

I ran 4 times this week, 25.45 miles.

I took 73,814 steps this week according to my Pebble 2 HR smart watch.

Sunday, 4/8/2018: 14253 steps during the day; 8.25 miles, 1:09:47 8:27 pace, 28F, 86% RH, 7 mph W wind, wind chill 21F, overcast.


My alarm went off at 5:40 AM. I shut it off and probably dozed a bit ... or maybe not. I got up around 7 AM and had my usual pre-run bowl of cereal. I looked outside and saw that it was snowing ... joy. It had stopped snowing by the time I got into my "cold" running gear. It was in the mid 20s ... early April. I wore my heavy gloves and yellow/black Brooks beanie. Yes, it was cold and windy but ... it was Sunday so I ran. I set up a nice and steady pace. Then I slowed it down a bit when I saw that the shoulder was covered with 1/4 inch of snow and a bit slippery. I decided just to go out to Long Pond Rd and back. The west wind (what else?) was a bit nippy but it did get me a burst of speed on the way back. My splits were: 8:21, 8:55 (dicey sidewalk on Edgemere), 8:35, 8:39, 8:20, 8:19, 8:12, 8:22 and 8:02 over the last 0.25 mile. Boom ... done!

I lounged around for a bit while I drank my usual mug of coffee. Then it was time for Christine and I to head to the Geneva BJ's to help my youngest son, David, get a mattress for his apartment. Our contribution was my BJ's card, a $5 off a $50 or more coupon and my labor. We had to wait around for a work friend of David's, a young woman named Maggie, to arrive from South Butler with a pickup truck. But ... everything came together, David paid for a Sealy Grove Lane Plush Euro Pillowtop Queen Size 23" Mattress set. It was pretty easy hoisting a plastic encased mattress and box springs up to his apartment. We talked a bit and then hit the road for the hour trip back up to our townhouse. A quick pizza supper ensued.

Monday, 4/9/2018: 5535 steps during the day, rest day

Just your usual rest after 2 days of running: 12.05 miles on Saturday and 8.25 miles on Sunday. I signed up for the Dirt Cheap Trail Race series in the morning before I went to work. It will be my 10th year in the series.

Tuesday, 4/10/2018: 5517 steps during the day, rest day.

Another rest day in advance of a trail race tomorrow. I try to rest my legs the day before a race.

Wednesday, 4/11/2018: 17078 steps during the day; 2 runs of 0.6 and 5.05 miles,

Today's race was Dirt Cheap #1 held down in Mendon Ponds Park. The race venue was Devil's Bathtub. I was able to get down to the park by a bit after 5 PM so I snagged a primo parking spot on top of the hill within 100 feet of the finish. The weather was in the low 40s with a breeze and light rain so I wore my "cold" running gear: CW-X tights, long sleeve tech, yellow/black Brooks 1/4 zip pullover, heavy running gloves and yellow/black Brooks beanie. It was borderline shorts weather not the wind and light rain flipped me to tights. I picked up my bib right behind Tom Dutton. He's over 70 and I'm 60. He asked me "What the hell are we doing here"? I laughed and said "Running in the mud .. the same as you!".

I stayed in the '14 Cruze until 6:10 PM. Then I had to rush a bit to get in the porta-potty line and out for a 0.6 mile warm up at 9:07 pace, link here. It was just a simple out 0.3 mile and back. I looked up when I turned around and saw 3 deer about 50 feet away looking back at me. I had 4 minutes before the start so I eased up to my customary spot about 20 feet before the start line. I talked with Andy Ciaio before the race. He has 3 races this week. He ran the Skunk Cabbage Half down in Ithaca on Sunday (results here), today's race and Rally Round the Valley 18 miler race in Honeoye on Saturday. Wow!



And ... we were off! My approach to this race (and all trail races) is just run easy, try to stay upright and splash through the mud as necessary.

The start ... photo from the Fleet Feet Rochester Facebook page

I took it out nice and easy ... and hit mile 1 at 8:19 pace. The first mile is all open mowed grass so it was all good. I knew the rest of the course would slow me down. I stayed on the path along the trees when I went through the bog. I tried running in the bog but the mud and water were deep. Then ... I went off course. I was following a group of runners around mile 1.8 when I noticed that the trail led us out to a road. I have raced this course enough time to know that something was wrong. Then the leaders turned around and said "No flags". Opps! So we ran back about 0.2 mile and found a clearly marked right hand turn that I had missed. Ellen's warnings of "Don't follow the runner in front of you" and "If you get lost it's your own fault" came to mind. I picked up my pace a bit to try to catch up to where I should be. But hey ... stuff happens. I didn't get upset about it. I picked my spots when I would splash through the mud. It was definitely deep enough so it would try to suck off your shoes. Luckily I had cinched up my blue Salomon SpeedCross 3 trail shoes up tight before the start. I passed Tom Dutton around mile 4. He would have known that I had started ahead of him. So I told him "Don't ask. I followed a group of runners off course". Up ... down ... mud, roots ... repeat ... up Mendon's Cardiac Hill. I could hear Ellen's voice at the finish so I knew that only one thing remained ... the infamous stair climb to the finish line ... up, up ... and done! My Garmin Forerunner 220 read 5.05 miles in 50:29, 9:59 pace. My splits were: 8:19, 10:34, 10:12, 9:53 and 10:43. The Relive link to Dirt Cheap #1 & a bit more is here.

The infamous Devil's Bathtub stairs ... photo from the Fleet Feet Rochester Facebook page

I quickly had a cookie and hot dog ... nice! I quickly changed my wet top layer of clothing and trail shoes before I could get chilled. I should have some water and paid the price later with several coughing jags when I got home. I stuck around for a while. Andy Ciaio told me that one person missed a turn and ran 6.2 miles instead of Andy's 4.6 miles. I told him of my 0.4 mile misadventure. I didn't win anything in the post race raffle. I got cold right after I got home so I changed into my sweats that I wear to bed.

I learned on Facebook that this race had been struck by assholes that had pulled up flags. One of the early start runners noticed it, called Boots and had reset some flags. Boots, the race director, told on Facebook of how a lot of races had been hit. I remember the Dirt Cheap race out in Webster a couple of years ago when everyone seemed to run a different race when its flags were pulled. The race results had to be thrown out. Someone posted that last year's Mighty Mosquito 99 race had its flags pulled 3 time during the night! Who would do such a thing!

Thursday, 4/12/2018: 9347 steps during the day, rest day.

I walked a lot during the day plus my knees hurt so ... rest day.

Friday, 4/13/2018: 5604 steps during the day, rest day.

My knees still hurt ... but Saturday will be a long run day. I don't how long a run though.

Saturday, 4/14/2018: 16480 steps during the day; 11.55 miles, 1:37:27, 8:26 pace, 36F, 93% RH, 12 mph ENE wind, wind chill 27F, overcast


Yet another brisk and windy Saturday morning. This winter (and spring) has been full of them. But ... a long run doesn't get done by itself. So ... I dress in my usual "cold" running gear and got out there. I added my balaclava and heavy running gloves. I decided to revisit my LOSP trail & 10K route for something over 11 miles. The Flower City Half is next weekend. I just set out at a steady pace and let the run happen. My splits were: 8:25, 8:20, 8:20, 8:28, 8:32, 8:16, 8:16, 8:28, 8:36, 8:37, 8:28 and 8:26 over the last 0.55 mile. Boom ... done!

My lovely wife, Christine, had been tracking me via my eCrumb and had scrambled eggs cooking when I got done. Sweet! Then she made some cinnamon buns ... doubly sweet!

Sunday, 4/1/2018 to Saturday, 4/7/2018

I ran 3 times this week, 30.8 miles.

I took 85,139 steps this week according to my Pebble 2 HR smart watch

Sunday, 4/1/2018: 16014 steps during the day; 10.45 miles, 1:27:57, 8:25 pace, 36F, 47% RH, 13 mph NW wind, wind chill 27F, mostly sunny.


Well ... Happy Easter! I didn't go for a run today ... April Fools! I didn't get out until 11:30 AM ... but I did get out. I needed to go long and so I did. Christine was just starting to get worried when I came back. This was my longest run since Round the Bay ... which she slept through.

I set up a nice and easy pace. The chilly west wind slowed me down when I was running out Edgemere Drive to Lowden Point Rd but it sure was nice coming back! My splits were: 8:24, 8:23, 8:26, 8:30, 8:49, 8:13, 8:13, 8:15, 8:21, 8:45 and 8:04 over the last 0.45 mile. I carried my Nathan SpeedDraw flask of water and took several sips. I also threw in a couple of tiny walk breaks. My joints were still not happy with me about the work I did on Christine's late father's house last week.

Mmm!!

Christine cooked up an excellent Easter dinner: breaded pork chops, sweet potato and asparagus. Mmm!

Monday, 4/2/2018: 8439 steps during the day, rest day.

The usual Monday rest day. A few ache and pains: left Achilles heel, right knee, vague right side pain near my kidney.

Tuesday, 4/3/2018: 7339 steps during the day, rest day.

I was super tired after work and my vague right side pain remained. I couldn't keep my eyes open and went to bed at 8:30 PM. I stayed up a bit watching ST-TNG "Best of Both Worlds Part 1 and II off of BBC America. I think I dozed a bit. I did get a pretty solid 8 hours of sleep. I found a solid synopsis at memory-alpha.wikia.com (where all things Star Trek live), here and here.

Wednesday, 4/4/2018: 10664 steps during the day, rest day.

I thought about running but quickly shut that thought down. A cold front moved in around 7 AM and took the temperatures down from 55F to the mid 30s in a matter of hours along with strong winds all day. The high wind gust at the Rochester Airport was 66 mph and Batavia had a 75 mph gust. The wind blew over 3 trucks in Monroe County with one on I-390 which shut down the highway for hours. I really didn't want to try to run into 30-40 mph winds coming out of ... what for it ... the west. Whec.com links here and here.

Thursday, 4/5/2018: 17047 steps during the day; 8.3 (7.25 recorded) miles, 8:18 pace, 30F, 86% RH, 12 mph WSW wind, wind chill 21F, overcast with a light snow squall


There was no way I was not going to run tonight. The vague right knee pain had gone away. Yes, it was still cold and windy (less than yesterday though). Yes, it was snowing when I got to Greece Arcadia High School. But ... a run was needed and why not a longish run? So ... I ran. It was like I was running a snow globe ... in April. The snow seemed to come at me no matter what direction I turned so I had to blink a lot. Clear sunglasses would have helped. I carried water in my Nathan SpeedDraw flask but didn't drink any until I got done. The '14 Cruze had a 1/2" of wet snow on it when I got back. My splits were: 7:43, 8:26, 8:27, 8:27, 8:28, 8:33, 8:45 and 8:38.

I accidentally paused my Forerunner 220 when I looked at it at mile 2 so it appears that I cut the corner of Janes and Long Pond. Dailymile.com put down the correct mileage but Garmin and Strava didn't. This was the second time on this route so I know that the correct mileage for this run is about 8.3 miles so that what I am counting it as in my running spreadsheet.

Friday, 4/6/2018: 5951 steps during the day, rest day.

I went by Fleet Feet Armory before lunch to pick up my Spring Forward 3rd M 60-64 age group. It is just a little plaque but I earned it so I went to get it. I also picked the promo cards of the Fleet Feet Races that I was already signed up for or interested in: Dirt Cheap Trail Race, Flower City Half, Shoreline Half, Rochester Half, Autumn Classic Duathlon, Dirt Cheap Stage Race. I like to tape them up on a wall and look at them. It helps motivate me when my motivation is lacking to get out there and run.

Saturday, 4/7/2018: 19685 steps during the day; 12.05 miles, 1:43:36, 8:36 pace, 27F, 63% RH, 10 mph WNW wind, wind chill 17F, overcast.

Fleet Feet advertised that their Flower City Half Preview Run #2 was at the Blue Cross Arena at 7:30 AM. So ... that was why my alarm went off at 5:40 AM. I got up, ate my pre-run cereal and banana, took my usual #2 (too much TMI I know), kissed Christine and got out at 6:41 AM. It was 25F so I was dressed in my usual "cold" running gear: CW-X tights, Darn Tough socks, long sleeve tech, yellow/black Brooks 1/4 zip pullover. The drive was easy with little traffic. I got down to the big parking lot at the corner of Court and Exchange at 7 AM and got a great parking spot. Nice! I tanked up on water before I got out of the '14 Cruze. I grabbed my ski mittens, balaclava and yellow/black Brooks beanie. It was windy and I wasn't going to mess around with 12 miles before I got done.


There were at least 100 people milling around inside the Blue Cross Arena with more coming in. I only knew a few of them. I hooked up with the 8:30 pace leader after the obligatory Facebook picture was taken by Sean Hendrick.

I would say 150 athletes took part. I'm over to the left above the 11:00 pace sign in my usual "cold" running gear. It's early April in Rochester ... spring has not yet arrived.

Kevin Clinefelter, the 8:00 pace leader, didn't have any followers and went off by himself. My pace leader took off while I was still waiting for my Garmin Forerunner 220 to sync up with the satellites. I ran with the 9:00 group for 1/2 mile as I warmed up. I forged ahead to the 8:30 group (only 100 yards ahead at this point) and settled in. There were 7 of us: 5 guys and 2 girls. We had to be careful of icy sidewalks, pot holes and cars but we kept a good pace. I ran sag in the back. There were a few chatty runners. Me ... I just run and save my breath for running. We got to the Mt Hope Cemetery at mile x. We had to wait for a few seconds for the grounds keeper to open the locked gates. Then it was up the hilly first 1/2 mile of the FCH course. Some groups got lost because we ran into a couple groups heading the opposite way. Our leader said his mileage of the turn was right and the turns did seem correct according to my memory of the race. There was Gu and Tailwind aid station at the intersection of Westfall and Wilson Blvd at mile 6.4. I had a Chocolate Outrage Gu and a cup of Tailwind. Then ... onward up the rutty U of R path up to Ford St, over the Ford St bridge and down Exchange Blvd back to the Blue Cross Arena. There were also at least 100 Rochester Running Company runners on their paced runs that we ran by on their runs. Lots of runners out on a cold Saturday morning!

At the risk of TMI ... I would be amiss if I didn't say that I did sneak a glimpse (or three) of the glutes of the lady running in front of me. It is no secret that I think a lot of runners do occasionally look around for motivation. I am male, married and 60 but I am not dead yet ... it did help to keep me in the group. Believe me ... this cold morning I needed all the help I could get. Christine knows this and told me that she did the same thing when she tried WalkFit back several years ago.

We stopped for about 30 seconds before we headed back out for the rest of our 12 mile run on the Flower City 5K course plus a bit extra. One of our pace leaders had another 10 miles to run ... I high fived her before I went back to the '14 Cruze. Long run ... done! My splits were: 8:21, 8:25, 8:55, 8:39, 8:15, 8:43, 8:24, 8:24, 9:20 (brief break at Blue Cross Arena), 8:47, 8:28 and 8:25.

Sunday, 3/25/18 to Saturday, 3/31/18

I ran 2 times this week, 10.3 miles.

I took 56,700 steps this week according to my Pebble 2 HR smart watch
(My smartwatch was on my left wrist and probably is way high because I was moving my wrist a lot while I was working in OH)

Sunday, 3/25/2018: 6815 steps during the day.

Christine and I were out in OH until Wednesday, 3/28/2018. I had 3 days of Ricoh vacation that needed to be used before the end of March so here we were working on her late father's house. I spent 95% of the time working on the house with Christine's brother, Rich Wisniewski. Christine stayed at the hotel until Wednesday.

I spent Sunday taking apart a TV cabinet and taking off wallpaper borders in three rooms. The wallpaper border difficulty varied by the room. The living room and hallway border was easy. It had been put up correctly. It just peeled off. The kitchen border required scraping. It came off pretty well once it had been scored and wet down with a sponge. The TV room border was cemented on in comparison. Three grandchildren were under foot for a while and they all got a whack at it on the ladders. I went out to Wal-Mart to get some chemical help: Zinsser DIF Gel Wallpaper Stripper. It helped but it was still slow going. The room was still only half-done at the end of the day.

Monday, 3/26/2018: 10351 steps during the day; 4.05 miles, 34:18, 8:27 pace, 32F, 69% RH, 10 mph ESE wind, wind chill 24F, sunny.


I got out in the morning for a nice and easy out and back from the hotel before breakfast. My legs were really tired so the run mostly sucked. My splits were: 8:02, 8:33, 8:29 and 8:42.

Back to the salt mine ... the TV room wallpaper border removal was finished. Her late father's furniture had been donated to a homeless shelter and was removed around noon. Then ... it was on to the 2 bathrooms (one half bath and one full bath). The wallpaper was on all the walls. These rooms really sucked. The wallpaper was put on over untreated wallboard. The top vinvl came off but 95% of the adhesive didn't. There was a lot of gouging also. Rich tried a power sander with a fine sandpaper on one wall in the full bathroom. The result was a lot of noise and dust. We probably going to hire these bathrooms to be be refinished professionally.

Tuesday, 3/27/2018: 6707 steps during the day.

A relatively easy day on a rainy and dreary day. Rick and I washed and rinsed the kitchen, TV room and living room. We did have to touch up near the kitchen and TV room ceilings to take off any leftover wallpaper adhesive residue.

Wednesday, 3/28/2018: 3882 steps during the day.

Rich was already starting to prime the ceilings in kitchen and TV room! I was surprised ... and felt a bit like a louse for leaving him to work alone. Christine and I loaded the '18 Cruze with her mementos that we could fit and started to head home around 2 PM. It was an easy drive and we got home around 7 PM. I wish the car could have unloaded itself ... but it didn't like usual.

Thursday, 3/29/2018: 7300 steps during the day.

Back to work. Man ... did my knees and thighs hurt!

Friday, 3/30/2018: 14322 steps during the day; 6.25 miles, 52:13, 8:21 pace, 39F, 44% RH, 14 mph WNW wind, wind chill 31F, overcast.

I took a half day vacation since I had 4 more hours to use due to Ricoh's "use it or lose it by the end of March" vacation policy. I had a tire appointment for the '14 Cruze at noon at BJs so my first stop was there. I went straight home.

Then ... I discovered that my license was missing. I backtracked my steps to BJs, called where we stayed in OH and looked around the townhouse. I found it after a couple of hours where I should have looked first ... my work bag. Why did it fall out of my wallet? Well ... I bought a wallet from slimfoldwallets.com. I like the Original Tyrek RFID blocking wallet ... but the card pockets loosened up and stopped holding the cards tight. The last straw was losing (and thankfully finding) my license! So ... I switched back to my previous wallet. It's an old minimalist wallet that holds only 8 cards but holds them like a vise. There are a lot of slim wallets ... link here (who knew). I like carrying my wallet in my right front pocket and I need a slim wallet.  But slim wallets never seem to carry enough cards. I have ruined too many pairs of pants by carrying it in my right rear pocket.


I did get out a run though afterward. I went out really nice and easy. My legs were still hurting from working out an entirely different set of muscles. So I just went on an out and back 10K ... nothing special. My splits were: 8:20, 8:26, 8:23, 8:25, 8:22, 8:22 and 7:40 over the last 0.25 mile.

Saturday, 3/31/2018: 7323 steps during the day, rest day.

I didn't run today because I helped my youngest son, David, move to a new apartment in Geneva. He got a 10 foot U-Haul truck in Macedon and met Christine and I at his mother's storage unit in Newark at 11:40 AM. I was impressed that he paid for and drove it himself. It was a beautiful sunny, albeit cool (50F), day for a move. He had his grandparents couch, table, recliner, microwave, some pot and pans and some boxes. We loaded up and headed to Geneva. He has a great upstairs apartment on South Main St. His bedroom looks out onto Seneca Lake. The couch was the hardest thing to get up the narrow staircase. Resting and letting the couch slide up the banister helped a lot. Then we headed to the local Wal-mart to get a futon. It was a simple mve with no troubles or blood.

Christine asked me to stop at the Corning outlet center at the Waterloo Premium Outlets. We have been using my parents plates and she wanted our own plates.

I helped her settle on a pattern named Country Cottage. We bought enough dishes for 8. She told me that in her 60 years so she had never had her own plates. Me neither (I think) ... so now we do!

It's the end of March ... so it's stat time!
I ran 17 times in 31 days for 117.42 miles, 6.91 miles/run.
I ran 2 races in March:
   Johnny's Runnin' of the Green 5 mile on 3/17:
      37:46, 7:29 pace, 134th out of 1331, 1st out of 37 in my M 60-64 age group
   Spring Forward 15K on 3/24:
      1:15:44, 8:05 pace, 65th out of 317, 3rd out of 19 in my M 60-64 age group
I have run 50 times so far in 2018 for 329.98 miles, 6.6 miles/run
I took 328,268 steps during March and 936,766 steps so far in 2018 according to my Pebble 2 HR smartwatch.
I have taken 936,766 s

Sunday, 3/18/2018 to Saturday, 3/24/2018 - Spring Forward 15K

I ran 5 times this week, 33.46 miles.
I took 81,120 steps during the week according to my Pebble 2 HR smart watch.

Sunday, 3/18/2018: 16041 steps during the day; 10.05 miles, 1:22:57, 8:15 pace, 25F, 58% RH, 5 mph WSW wind, wind chill 19F, overcast.


I slept in a bit until around 8 AM. I had my usual pre-run bowl of cereal and banana while I checked out Facebook and my email. I digested for a bit, got dressed in my usual "cold" running gear and got out there. I chose my balaclava and ski mittens since it was below freezeing. It was actually quite pleasant out since there was almost no wind. I set up a nice and steady pace. I decided on 10 miles so I just headed out to Lowden Point Rd and back. My splits were: 8:22, 8:26, 8:17, 8:13, 8:16, 8:12, 8:09, 8:11, 8:02 and 8:09.

Meanwhile, several runners (Steve Levitsky, Bambi Jasmin, Christine Antonini and Wendy Abbott) from Rochester were down in Virginia Beach running the Shamrock Virginia Beach Marathon. Elsewhere, the Genesee Valley Harriers (GVH) had teams of runners in 5 different locations (Virginia Beach 8K yesterday, NYC Half, National Masters Indoor Track Championships, Johnny's and Brooklyn Spring Half). Mike Reif wrote in Facebook: "our Open Men of Tim Chichester 1:05:42, Omar Boulama 1:08.07, Tyler Eustance 1:13.14, Matthew Pierce (team Captain) 1:13.29 and Brennan Root 1:17.05 WON the Overall Men's Team Title over an elite field from across the USA and the World. Over 21,000 runners and some of the best in the USA/World . . . Way to go Men!" Wow! 

I bought ribs from BJs along with potato salad. Christine cooked the ribs up ... mmm!

'Cuse! The Syracuse Orangeman continued their improbable run in the NCAA Tournament by winning their third game in 5 days! They started in the First Four (for the first time ever) on Wednesday and beat Arizona State, 60-56, link here. Then they beat TCU, 57-52 on Friday, link here. Today, they beat the 3 Midwest seed, Michigan State, 55-53 in a nail biter, links here, here, here and here. Who would have thought that SU would advance to the Sweet Sixteen ... not me (and not a lot of other people)!

Monday, 3/19/2018: 7729 steps during the day, 5.15 miles, 42:35, 8:15 pace, 25F, 49% RH, 8 mph E wind, wind chill 16F, sunny.


I slept in again until the sun started coming in the bedroom window ... just before 8 AM. I did the usual before I got dressed and got out. It was sunny but chilly. I didn't want to go too far since I ran 10 miles yesterday. I set up a nice and steady pace just like yesterday. My splits were: 8:22, 8:17, 8:14, 8:19, 8:04 and 7:43 over the last 0.15 mile.

Tuesday, 3/20/2018: 3265 steps during the day, rest day.

I spent the day seeing all three of my children. First, I went out to Palmyra to pick up Karen at 11 AM. I got acquainted with her puppy, Pooky. He is kind of scrawny, needy and all legs. I guess I am not one with animals. Then we were over to Macedon to pick up my oldest son, Michael. Then onward to IHOP in Henrietta for lunch. I had the Blueberry Pancakes ... mmm! Michael had a 2:30 PM appointment with the Residence Manager so I dropped him off at 2 PM. I visited with Karen for a bit before I headed out to Del Lago Casino to see my youngest son, David. He looked nice in his grey suit jacket. I enjoyed catching up with all three of them. I think helping David move from Scottsville to Geneva will be in my future soon but I don't know when.

Karen's puppy named Pooky

Karen's cat named Hermone

David's place of employment

Christine and I had leftover ribs and potato salad ... mmm! They were doubly delicious warmed up in the oven for 50 minutes at 350F! I shouldn't have had seconds ... I was sick to my stomach when I went to bed and bloated when I got up ... up 1.7 pounds!

Wednesday, 3/21/2018: 8774 steps during the day, rest day.

The printers really missed me during my two days off. There was lots of stuff to occupy my day. I had my running gear in the 14 Cruze but I had a litany of excuses: tired, headache and my right knee hurt when I walked. Tomorrow is another day.

Thursday, 3/22/2018: 17683 steps during the day; 7.55 miles, 1:02:19, 8:15 pace, 39F, 44% RH, 7 mph WNW wind, wind chill 34F, mostly cloudy.


My mind tried to get me to bag this run but I didn't listen. I got changed just before 5 PM, clocked out and headed to Greece Arcadia High School for my usual Thursday night run. I thought about going short for 5 miles but made the turn left at the end of Janes Rd and did the full 7.55 miles. Yes, the brisk west wind was still there ... spring has still not sprung in Rochester NY. My splits were: 8:06, 8:24, 8:21, 8:05, 8:12, 8:16, 8:22 and 8:10 over the last 0.55 mile.

Friday, 3/23/2018: 9357 steps during the day, rest day.

A funeral for the late Congresswoman Louise Slaughter was held today at Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre, links here and here. Democratic luminaries Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi and John Lewis gave eulogies.

(Photo: TINA YEE, Democrat & Chronicle staff photographer)

I stayed up late watching 'Cuse play Duke in the Sweet Sixteen game. 'Cuse lost by 4 (but beat the spread). So ... I didn't get to sleep until 12:30 AM with a 5:30 AM wake up alarm.

Saturday, 3/24/2018: 18271 steps during the day; 2 runs of 1.35 and 9.36 miles, 1:15:45, 8:05 pace, 27F, 74% RH, 5 mph NNW wind, wind chill 21F, sunny.

Today's race was my 12th consecutive Spring Forward 15K. My times have been: 2007 - 1:14:29, 2008 - 1:11:21, 2009 - 1;12:49, 2010 - 1:17:05, 2011 - 1:10:20, 2012 - 1:09:15, 2013 - 1:11:40, 2014 - 1:18:00, 2015 - 1:15:24, 2016 - 1:11:14 and 2017 - 1:13:04.

I was up early like usual. It was cold so I wore my usual "cold" running gear: CW-X tights, long sleeve tech, yellow/black Brooks 1/4 zip pullover and yellow/black Brooks beanie. Runners who know me probably can tell it's me a mile off during the winter. It took a solid 30 minutes to get down to the Beach parking lot of Mendon Ponds Park. I got there at 7:15 AM in plenty of time for the 8 AM start. I didn't have my bib yet so I trudged up to Steward Lodge to get it. I pinned it on my tights and stashed my bag with a dry shirt and jacket. I got out for a 1.35 mile warm up run at 8:51 pace, link here. I was cold so I put on my balaclava and changed to my ski mittens instead of heavy gloves.


I met up with Andy Ciaio and Prem Kumar before the start ... kind of like usual. And ... we were off! I tried to hold back and not rabbit.

The Spring Forward 15K start

I'm the yellow speck in the distance

I ran well for the first 5 miles and then ran out of energy. I felt a bit bummed that the 8:00 pace group passed me but I was OK with it ... I have to learn to run my own race. The hills of Mendon were still there. I went into a run'walk for a bit. I sucked it up and finished in 1:15:45, 8:05 pace according to my Garmin Forerunner 220. My splits were: 7:42, 8:00, 7:51, 7;49, 8:04, 8:26, 8:25, 8:30, 8:13 and 7:34 over the last 0.36 mile.

I checked the results in the lodge and found out that I was 3rd in my M 60-64 age group. I didn't stay to pick up my award since I was in a bit of a time crush ... or so I thought. I can pick up the plaque from Fleet Feet Armory for the next 2 weeks. I officially finished in 1:15:44, 8:09 pace. I was 65th out of 318, link here. I was 3rd out of  19 in my M 60-64 age group, link here. The Relive link to Spring Forward 15K is here. There were 87 finishers in the 2.5 mile race, link here.

Christine's late father's house needs work to be done so I had told her brother's that I would come out and work on it until Wednesday. I have 3 vacation days that I have to "use or lose" by the end of March. I had wanted to leave for Ravenna OH by noon but we didn't get going until almost 2 PM. I have learned to be rather loose with my departure times. We got out to OH a bit before 7 PM. We went out to supper at Pizza Hut with Christine's youngest brother, Rich. He went over what we hoped to accomplish in 4 days. Then it was back to the Fairview Inn & Suites in Streetsboro for the night. We got a great rate of $39/night thanks to Christine's cousin, Natalie, who works for Marriott.

Sunday, 3/11/2018 to Saturday, 3/17/2018 - Johnny's Runnin' of the Green

I ran 5 times this week, 29.6 miles.
I took 77,256 steps this week according to my Pebble 2 HR smart watch.

Sunday, 3/11/2018: 10180 steps during the day, 7.05 miles, 58:19, 8:16 pace, 27F, 86% RH, 7 mph WSW wind, wind chill 19F, overcast.


The first day of Daylight Saving Time ... and the first run. I turned off my alarm when it went off at 6:40 AM and woke up just before 8 AM ... daylight. I got up, had my usual pre-run bowl of cereal and banana, got dressed for a "cold" run and got out. I thought about a 10K out and back,  an 8 miler out and back or a 15K. I settled on a 7 mile out and back. I tried to keep it nice and easy but ... pushed it a bit once I warmed up. It's what I do. My splits were: 8:24, 8:28, 8:29, 8:17, 8:07, 8:07 and 8:03.

Monday, 3/12/2018: 8974 steps during the day, rest day.

The body of 14 year old Trevyan Rowe was pulled from the Genesee River today, link here. The autistic teen went missing from School 12 on Thursday, 3/8. It turned out that he had been marked "present" by three different adults that day and he wasn't declared missing until he didn't come home from school. There were multiple calls to 911 that morning of someone on the Freddie-Sue bridge. One adult at School 12 tried to change his "present" to "absent" the next day. Three people at School 12 and 6 people at the 911 center were held responsible. What will ultimately happen? Who knows? I was pulling for the kid and hoped he would be found alive. Perhaps changes will be made that will prevent something like this from happening again.

Tuesday, 3/13/2018: 15000 (estimated ... see Wednesday's post) steps during the day; 7.55 miles, 1:02:14, 8:14 pace, 34F, 64% RH, 12 mph WNW wind, wind chill 25F, overcast.


This run was brought to you by the fact it was Tuesday and I run on Tuesday. The temperature, wind and wind chill didn't help but I do what I do. I got to Greece Arcadia High School just before 5 PM, geared up and set forth. The wind in my face on Janes was not welcome for sure and I slowed a bit but "a run doesn't get done by itself" ... so I just kept running. Running was a lot betting with a tail wind or even a wind from the side. My splits were: 8:02, 8:38, 8:26, 8:07, 8:12, 8:13, 8:12 and 8:00 over the last 0.55 mile. Boom ... done.

Wednesday, 3/14/2018: 8424 steps during the day and ... AARRGGHH!!

I had a thought last night before I went to bed ... maybe I should back up my Ricoh cell. I should have stayed up and done that.

Well ... I was driving out to B101 and my Ricoh cell felt warm in my pocket. Why? Well ... it was busy doing a factory reset and deleting all my contacts and pictures. There wasn't anything I could do but just accept the prompts and let it continue. I got the contacts back in minutes but the pictures were in the wind. I do remember that this happened last year and I somehow got my pictures back but so far I have figured it out. I have got my pictures that I had posted or others had posted to Facebook thanks to Picasa. I did find old pictures on Dropbox, Google Photos and OneDrive. But my most recent pictures are still not there. The Ricoh cell was locked in my pocket! How in the hell did it just up and decide to do a factory reset! Did I say AARRGGHH?!!

Thursday, 3/15/2018: 16879 steps during the day; 8.25 miles, 1:06:55, 8:07 pace, 39F, 41% RH, 16 mph WNW wind, wind chill 31F, overcast.


I took 1 hour of vacation so I up at Greece Arcadia High School by 4:30 PM. It was still cold and there was the west wind that bit right through me. I started out on the same old, same old route. This time I decided to try out a new route just to mix things up: I turned right on Long Pond (I stayed on the right hand sidewalk and road until past the first Parkway exit and ran all the way up to Edgemere, right on Edgemere and right onto Island Cottage ... so just a big loop. Plus it was something new and exciting ... lol. My splits were: 7:57, 8:30, 8:20, 8:05, 7:56, 7:53, 8:11, 8:08 and 8:01 over the last 0.25 mile. I set a quicker pace once I was running out of the wind or sideways to it ... like usual.

I smelled something good cooking when I got home. Christine was cooking up a Saint Patrick's meal 2 days early ... corned beef, potatoes, cabbage and carrots! It was absolutely delicious!

Friday, 3/16/2018: 6381 steps during the day, rest day.

I went down to Johnny's Pub after work to pick up bib and shirt for tomorrow's Johnny's Runnin' of the Green. I always get lost getting there or coming home. I came from the north on Culver and got lost twice. I missed a jog on Culver and had to turn around. Then I went past Johnny's and had to turn around.

Taking a break at Johnny's after picking my bib and new favorite long sleeve T-shirt

I sat and stayed for a while instead of rushing off. I sipped a Guiness while I waited for 2 Fish Fry takeouts. Then I missed the jog going north so I got onto 104 on Goodman ... oh well. The Fish Fry was still hot and very delicious when I got home ... mmm!

Our Congresswoman, Louise Slaughter, died in the early morning. Her obituary is here and her biography is here. I met her a couple of times after the Scarecrow 5K held in October in Fairport. She was described as "a force of nature" and don't doubt it. I am proud to be a Democrat and think she did a good job representing her constituents. I know that there are others that do not share my beliefs. But ... I listen to my echo chamber and they listen to theirs. I am sad that politics has descended to this ... but it has. It seems that no politician (local, county, state or federal) wants to compromise and meet in the middle to get the important things that need doing done. Don't get me started about what I think of 45.

Saturday, 3/17/2018: 11418 steps during the day; 2 runs of 1.7 and 5.05 miles, 30F, 69% RH, 15 mph WNW wind, wind chill 21F, sunny.

Today's race was my 8th Johnny's Runnin' of the Green, link here. It was the first race of the 2018 twelve race Rochester Runner of the Year series. My previous times were: 2007 - 37:34, 2011 - 34:35, 2012: 33:58 (lifetime PR), 2013 - 36:23, 2015 - 36:18, 2016 - 35:40 and 2017 - 37:10. It is a simple out and back from the Blue Cross Arena out Exchange Blvd, over the Ford St bridge, right onto Wilson Blvd in the U of R campus, out until a turnaround and back.

I got up at 6:30 AM to have plenty of time to get ready. I checked out Facebook and found that a lot of Genesse Valley Harriers, aka GVH, runners were down in Virginia Beach at the USATF 8K Championship along with other runners from Rochester who were running the Shamrock Marathon tomorrow. I ate my usual pre-race bowl of cereal and banana, got dressed in my usual "cold" running gear, kissed Christine goodbye and left ... I had to come back in twice to get my beanie and glasses. I got down to a parking spot on State St and was in the Blue Cross Arena by 8:35 AM. I hung out and talked to Tim Matthews, who takes pictures of a lot of races. He told me that he takes his warmth seriously: 6 layers on the top and 3 on the bottom ... wow! I got out for a bit too long warm up run of 1.7 miles at 7:58 pace, link here. I got back in time to go to the bathroom and then got right back out to the starting line.


I lined up next to Andy Ciaio. We commiserated about the recent cold weather and our mutual hate of the west wind ... lol! And ... we were off! Andy went ahead ... he's not in my age group. I was far enough near the front where I had no trouble getting up to some semblance of a race pace. It was tough going from a cold start though ... trust me.

A couple hundred yards from the start ... photo courtesy of Tim Matthews of https://runnerpics.shuttlefly.com

Ron Herkeens Jr took a good picture as I crossed Ford St bridge on the way out, link here. "One Mile" Pete was at the one mile mark just past the Ford St bridge ... "7:14" he called out as I passed. Heather Patterson said "Hey" as she passed me just about there. Ellen and Boots from Fleet Feet Sports were in their usual spot around 1.25 miles (3.75 miles on the way back) and were shouting encouragement to all runners. I eased up a bit as we ran toward the turnaround. That west wind in my face sucked! I stopped at the water stop just long enough to drink a cup of water. Then onward ... I tried to keep the same pace ... way too soon to push. Back down Wilson Blvd with the wind at my back, past Boots and Ellen, over the Ford St bridge, right onto Exchange Blvd.

Coming back down Exchange Blvd to the finish ... photo courtesy of Tim Matthews of https://runnerpics.shuttlefly.com

Push up the pace ... not very much ... see the Freddie-Sue bridge ... see the Rochester Center City sign ... push the pace ... in the chute ... sprint ... pass the girl on my right ... Mort Nace announcing my name ... and done in 37:46, 7:28 pace

I grabbed a pint of water and walked a bit to cool down. I checked the results on the side of the Blue Cross Arena and saw that I won my M 60-64 age group. I went inside and hung out. I had a bagel and a bit of coffee while I waited for the awards. The top three in each age group won a bottle of Casa Larga wine or sparkling water. I picked out a bottle of Dolci Russo. I told Wilt Alston that this bottle won't age well at home. It probably won't last the weekend.

Bill Kehoe, the race director along with the bottles of red or sparkling grape juice that the top 3 in their age group could choose ... photo courtesy of Tim Matthews of https://runnerpics.shuttlefly.com

Soon I was home with my feet up and drinking a mug of coffee. Christine was happy that I won my age group. I told her that all the speedier guys in my age group were elsewhere. I just run and love to race. PCR timing took its time getting the results ... 5:30 PM. I was 134th out of 1331, link here. I was 1st out of 37 in my M 60-64 age group, link here. My splits were: 7:08, 7:37, 7:27, 7:34 and 7:17. The Relive link to Johnny's is here.

Christine didn't do much the rest of the day. We binge watched "Timeless" so we could understand the season opener and then watched "Blacklist" and "Blindspot".

Sunday, 3/4/2018 to Saturday, 3/10/2018 - Round the Bay

I ran 4 times this week, 34.7 miles.

I took 83,799 steps this week according to my Pebble 2 HR smart watch.

Sunday, 3/4/2018: 10235 steps during the day; 3.55 miles, 31:33, 8:53 pace, 28F, 59% RH, 11 mph N wind, wind chill 19F, sunny.


Christine and I woke up in Niagara Falls NY at the Wingate by Wyndham hotel. We shared a few hugs but it was Sunday and I needed to run. Where to run? Well ... down to see the falls naturally! It was cold and windy so I put on my usual running gear. I went outside and thought I had better add more layers. I went back inside and added another long sleeve tech and my balaclava. I felt like "Nanuck of the North" when I went back outside but I was warmer. It was sunny and around 28F but the wind cut through me like a knife. I wanted to go onto Goat Island  to see both the American and Horseshoe Falls so I just ran toward the sound of the falls until I found a bridge that led me onto the island. The bridge I found was steel plated and rather old. I suspect that it was only used for pedestrian traffic. It was early so I pretty much had the whole island to myself except for a photographer and a few walkers. I got a few good pictures. I tried to take a video but my fingers were cold and the sunlight washed out my phone controls so it came out badly.

American Falls

Nikola Telsa statue

Terrapin Point

Horseshoe Falls

I was surprised to see a Nikola Telsa statue. I did remember reading that Telsa and Edison were competitors after Telsa quit working for Edison. Telsa championed alternating current and Edison championed direct current. Telsa worked with Westinghouse and built the first hydro-electric power plant in the world at Niagara Falls in 1895, link here and here.

The bridge that I found to run back on was much better. It was a shorter run than usual but ... I was hungry. My splits were: 8:42, 9:52 (left my Garmin running while I took pictures), 8:24 and 8:17 over the last 0.55 mile.

The complimentary breakfast at the hotel was good: scrambled eggs, pancakes and ham along with juice and coffee ... mmm! I managed not to pig out. We checked out exactly at 11 AM. Then we took a drive around Goat Island. Christine had a headache plus it was $8(!) to park near the American and Horseshoe Falls so we didn't stop. We went into the Seneca Niagara Casino but were driven out by the smoke on the gaming floor. I bothered me and Christine had to take 2 puffs of her inhaler afterward. Ugh!

Christine wanted to see the Our Lady of Fatima Shrine in Lockport NY so we let OnStar guide us there.

Shrine front picture from the fatimashrine.com website

Then we took the scenic route home on Route 18 and Parkway along Lake Ontario home. We stopped at the Victorianbourg Wine Estate winery and did a 13 wine tasting. I just took a mouthful of each since I was driving.

Monday, 3/5/2018: 5283 steps during the day, rest day.

Just your typical Monday ... the printers and plotters missed me ... joy. I am thankful that I have a job though ... things could be worse.

Tuesday, 3/6/2018: 16046 steps during the day; 8.55 miles, 1:12:19, 8:27 pace, 39F, 60% RH, 8 mph ESE wind, wind chill 34F, overcast.


I thought about doing 10 miles but I felt a bit sluggish plus I knew that I would be running around 15 miles on Saturday. The sluggish part might also being running on my Brooks Transcend 3 shoes with over 650 miles on them. Just getting it done. My splits were: 8:03, 8:19, 8:32, 8:31, 8:31, 8:27, 8:36, 8:42 and 8:24 over the last 0.55 mile. Boom ... done.

Wednesday, 3/7/2018: 5938 steps during the day, rest day.

Thursday, 3/8/2018: 18210 steps during the day; 7.55 miles, 1:02:44, 8:18 pace, 30F, 64% RH, 8 mph W wind, wind chill 23F, overcast.


It was Thursday ... so I ran. I cut out early and made it up to Greece Arcadia High School by 5 PM. I decided to give my Scott Palani shoes some love. I don't really like since I did have to add a cushioning layer on top of the insole already there but ... they only cost me $44.04 and I want to get some use out of them. These runs decidedly make me run more on my front foot which is a good thing I guess. I didn't have any issues ... other that the west wind felt pretty cold on my face. Just your typical run. My splits were: 8:07, 8:33, 8:20, 8:11, 8:16, 8:14, 8:23 and 8:26 over the last 0.55 mile. Boom ... done.

Friday, 3/9/2018: 7840 steps during the day, rest day.

I got my hair cut at Sport Clips on Long Pond-Latta. A woman named Jessica took her time and cut with the #4 clipper (about 3/8"). She told me what Christine told me when she tried several times to cut my hair ... my hair grows in funny directions!

Saturday, 3/10/2018: 20247 steps during the day; 15.05 miles, 2:08:39, 8:33 pace, 28F, 80% RH, 9 mph W wind, wind chill 20F, overcast with light snow.


Today's run was the annual Round the Bay run. The Rochester running groups: Oven Door Runners from Victor, Gold Rush Runners from Irondequoit and Bagel Bunch Runners from Greece advertise to their group and we all just show up ... if we don't have a race and if it fits our running distance. This was my 10th year running Round the Bay. I have run the route or a variation of it 16 times.

It's an early start at 7 AM. I was up at 5:30 AM and had my usual pre-run bowl of cereal and banana. I was out the door at  6:35 AM, cleared off the 18 Cruze and was down to the Swing Bridge in Irondequoit at 6:53 AM. I had on my usual "cold" running gear. I added my balaclava and ski mittens (maybe a bit of overkill). I carried my Nathan SpeedDraw and 2 Hammer Gels. There weren't as many runners as usual ... maybe 50 at most.

Round the Bay 2018

Matt Kellman gave a few words and someone took a pre-run picture. Off we went. The parking lot was icy and the first 4 miles were kind of icy in spots. I set my pace as nice and steady as I settled into a long run. We mostly ran in the road up the way up Culver and down Titus. It was overcast with a light snow.

A funny thing happened at mile 4 on Bay Shore Blvd. A woman headed off the road and down a hill and I expect looked for somewhere out of sight to go pee. I ran onward. Well .. there was a porta-potty by a construction site about 0.4 miles away that 4 guys were waiting to use, I bet she was pissed when she saw that ... lol!

I stopped at the water stop at mile 7 and had a Hammer Gel before I headed down Empire Blvd. I ran all the way back up the long hill to mile 9. I passed Tom Butler and Tina Pellegrin at the corner of Empire and Bay. The snow stopped a couple of miles from the end. Mile 13.1 passed in 1:53:00, 8:38 pace. Onward ... down Bay, left on Lakeshore ... salute at the memorial for the 2 fireman, link here ... keeping going ... hug the non existent shoulder as cars go bye ... over the Swing Bridge ... and done in 2:08:39, 8:33 pace. I managed to not fall as I circled the parking lot to get to 15.05 miles. My splits were: 9:00, 8:36, 8:27, 8:21 9:16, 8:26, 9:17, 8:17, 9:05, 8:16, 8:12, 8:21, 8:13, 7:58 and 8:26. The Relive link to Round the Bay is here.

I just stretched and headed home afterward. I stopped at the Wegmans on E Ridge Rd to take back a couple of Redbox DVDs ("Darkest Hour" and "Dunkirk") and at Herrema's to pick up a couple of Cinnamon Buns (mmm ... with frosting!). Soon I was home with my feet up and a mug of coffee by my side ... nice! Running around the bay is just a nice way to start a weekend morning!