Sunday, December 21st to Saturday, December 27th: 15.5 miles

Flights (24 steps/flight)
Sun: -, Mon: 10, Tue: 8, Wed: 12, Thu: -, Fri: 14, Sat: -

Steps
Sun: 2304, Mon: 4144, Tue: 4367, Wed: 7682, Thu: 10411, Fri: 10219, Sat: 14198

I ran three times this week.

Sun: Caught up on my sleep ... 11 hours. Lazed around ... sick with a head cold and sore throat. I listened to the wind howl around the apartment. Outside it was 15F (or lower) with 10 to 30 mph winds sending the wind chill below zero. I do know someone who snowshoed in the AM. I haven't tried snowshoeing yet ... but that will have to wait until I am better.

Mon & Tue & Wed: Getting better. Tuesday was the first day I actually felt close to 100%. I put up some Christmas decorations, strung some Christmas lights and played some Christmas music. I made me feel in the spirit of things. I could have gone running down at the Fleet Feet Cobb's Hill run but decided to play it safe. Wednesday I was all ready to head out in the 50F weather after work but it started raining! So I played it safe ... again!

Thu: 4.4 miles, 36:28, 8:17 pace, 32F, easy, sunny, a little windy, nice and easy, icy, mild left knee pain, no stops. I took a nice and easy Christmas morning run. It was a bit icy so I made sure of my footing. I wore my neck warmer ... I looked like a running robber when I wore it over my nose! I went out to see my kids, my father, then back to a cousin's house for Christmas dinner. A nice Christmas day but sort of empty in a certain sort of way.

Fri: 4.1 miles, 32:07, 7:50 pace, 36F, a little hard, mild left knee pain, no stops. Your usual Friday night Fleet Feet happy hours run. Just letting it loose, no stops ... a good run!

Sat: 7 miles, 58:16, 8:19 pace, 53F, easy, mild left knee pain, no stops. A nice Saturday morning run that I squeezed in between rain showers. I went out easy, kept it going, a bit overdressed. I felt a mild left knee pain early but it went away. I wore the IT band wrap on my right knee. I had to be careful of the odd icy patch plus puddles.

I took my 36-36 dress pants to Mens Warehouse to have the waist taken in. I think my waist is around 34 now. I also got three 50% off 15.5 / 34-35 dress shirts at Sear's. Then I headed out to Newark to work on my youngest son's laptop that had a corrupt config/system file. It turned out the config folder had issues. I ran chkdsk which fixed the problem. I also got my haircut and had a couple of beers with my best friend from high school who was home from KY for the holidays. The weather is really balmy tonight. Right now at 11:30PM it is 61F!

Keeping active, Doug

Sunday, December 14th to Saturday, December 20th: 18.7 miles

Flights (24 steps/flight)
Mon: 29, Tue: 9, Wed: 29, Thu: 10, Fri: 16

Steps
Mon: 11360, Tue: 19595, Wed: 15321, Thu: 7669, Fri: 7899, Sat: 7687

I ran 3 times this week.

Sun: 9 miles, Seneca-Titus-St Paul-Zoo-Pond + Seneca-Titus-St Paul, easy, 40F, morning, 4 stops, it band, 8:12 pace. I didn't eat anything before heading out so I bonked to four stops, no energy. Lesson learned ... have a little something to eat before a long run. It's been a while since I have run long.

Tue: 6.7 miles, FF Cobbs Hill Run, easy, 25F, night, calm, no stops, 4.24 miles in 8:14 pace. I went out for 3.5 loops: 4 right side, 3 left side. I wore exactly the right stuff for the conditions but I forgot to wear my IT band wrap. Not too much pain, a little on my left side instead of the right.

Wed: 2.7, Snow Cheap #1, 29:55, 11:04 pace, easy, 30F, night, calm, some stops. We had about 3 inches of wet snow in the morning so there was snow. I ran an easy 29:55, walked some hills, good for 50th out of 124, results here. I was slipping and sliding! I walked some hills. Trail races just hammer my legs. I need to buy some Yaktraks (so I won't slip and kill myself) and leg gaiters (so I won't nick up my ankles).

Thu, Fri & Sat: Real life gets in the way of running as it will do on occasion. I am not feeling 100%. I have a head cold that came on after the Snow Cheap race ... a running nose, headache and cough. Joy ... not.

Fri: I drove down to Ithaca College to pick up my oldest son, Michael. The conditions were not good. The Rochester area got about 10 inches of snow. It took about 3.5 hours to get down there and 2.5 hours to get back. Michael stayed at his grandparents for the night while I ended up heading back up to Rochester.

Sat: I lended a helping hand to my kids and ex and helped them move. It was not the best day to move: 20F and falling, a light snow to make the ramp slippery. I ended up falling and hurting my right knee when I fell while pulling up the appliance dolly with a portable dishwasher on it. That's not to mention the usual cuts, aches and pains. All in all, a long day.

I am finding out living up near Irondequoit has its disadvantages in the winter ... almost a daily occurrence of lake effect snow.

Keeping active, Doug

Sunday, December 7th to Saturday, December 13th: 21.6 miles

Flights (24 steps/flight)
Mon: 16, Tue: 30, Wed: 15, Thu: 19, Fri: 29

Steps
Sun: 6241, Mon: 11249, Tue: 18282, Wed: 9950, Thu: 21239, Fri: 12129, Sat: 2081

I ran 4 times this week.

Sun: 3.1 miles, Polar Cat #1, 24:14, 7:49 pace, 15F, very windy, too cold to feel any pain! I ran the first Polar Cat #1 5K down in Honeoye Falls. It was a little sunny and very windy with wind chills probably sub-zero. I didn't warm up ... too cold. We turned the corner at mile 1 so the wind was in our face and then turned another corner so the wind was on our left ... brutal! I had to stop twice ... my face almost froze off plus I was almost blown over! Anyway, I finished 16th out of 44, 4th in my age group, results here. The free hot chocolate provided by the Brewery Resturant was much appreciated.

Mon: I baked some bake-n-stick cookies and an apple pie. I also pounded some nails in my bookcase ... the shelves needed more support for my books and magazines. I posted it on Facebook so I was urged to bring the cookies into work. The apple pie was mine ... all mine!

Tue: 6.1 miles, FF Cobbs Hill run, 4.81 miles in 41:14, 8:32 pace, 48F, slushy, calm, no stops. I wore my trail shoes and headlamp. I ran 3 loops before heading back. I forgot to wear my IT band wrap.

Thu: 8.3 miles, 2 x Seneca-Titus-St Paul + Seneca, 69:53, 8:25 pace, 25F, easy, icy, no stops, it band. I needed some major endorphins so I just put on the IT band wrap and ran. Perhaps I shouldn't have added the extra up and back on Seneca. But the extra pain was worth it.

Fri: 4.1 miles, FF Happy Hour run, 34:29, 8:25 pace, 25F, a little hard, light snow, no stops. The FF Happy Hour run was light snowy goodness. I like to just go out and run. I tend to leave the pack behind ... I can't run slow. There are people who run faster (mostly young whippersnappers) but most don't.

Sat: I needed sleep so I didn't do the first Freezeroo out in Spencerport. I heard that the conditions were great ... 20F, sunny and calm. I went down to Lyons in the afternoon to see my father at the Wayne County Nursing Home in Lyons and also took more of my empty boxes to my ex. That's one way to get rid of all my empty boxes in my apartment! I will be helping her and the kids move from a 2 bedroom apartment to a 3 bedroom house next Saturday. I will be driving the 14 foot Uhaul truck she is renting. She will have plenty of help from what she tells me. So it should be an easy move.

Right now I am watching It's a Wonderful Life. I have never watched it from the beginning before. Even with all the commercials that NBC is throwing in I will be sniffling by the end.

Oh, gas prices are great! I filled up at the Deltasonic on Ridge Rd E by Hudson for $1.79 after I passed gas stations at $1.99 on the way back ... sweet!

Keeping active, Doug

P.S. I like to think that I am active ... but there are people that I have met that make me look like a slug! They inspire me sometimes or discourage me other times ... but not enough to go back out after a 5K with sub-zero wind chills! I definitely need to get more and/or better cold weather gear! Today I got a Drylete Neck Warmer from Dick's Sporting Goods. It should help next time there are subzero wind chills!

Sunday, November 30th to Saturday, December 6th: 15 miles

Flights (24 steps/stair)
Mon: 15, Tue: 5, Wed: 8, Thu: 27, Fri: 26

Steps
Mon: -, Tue: 18291, Wed: 6061, Thu: 18241, Fri: 12145

I ran 3 times this week.

Sun: 5 miles, Seneca-Titus-Paul-Zoo Run, sucked, 32F, cloudy, calm, right knee pain. The pain really sucked.

Mon: The IT Band Wrap from Ithacasports.com came today. It's really made by www.injurybegone.com. I had to hold myself back from running but today is an off day.

Tue: 5 miles, FF Winter Warrior Cobbs Hill run, 34F, night, calm, really mild right knee pain. Fleet Feet Hill Winter Warrior initial meeting. I ran three round trips of Cobbs Hill (wanted to see the whole thing), walked one and then ran the right way once (up the right side, down, up the left side, down). I am guessing that I ran 5 miles. I wore the IT Band Wrap ... my knee didn't hurt as much.

Wed: Yes, I watched the Victoria's Secret Runway Show with Heidi Klum and all the other angels. I am a guy, I do like lingerie and I have a pulse ... and intend to for a long time to come. Though if I saw a woman in lingerie and huge wings coming my way I might run the other way!

Thu: 5 miles, Seneca-Titus-Paul-Zoo Run, 39:50, 7:58 pace, easy, 30F, dusk, calm, it band, no stops. The IT Band Wrap seems to help. Maybe I will get one for the other knee.

Fri: I was late coming home from work so I couldn't make the FF Happy Hour run. A friend and I tried to go out ballroom dancing at a place in Webster but it had just closed its doors forever. After walking over to Starbucks for some get acquainted coffee, we ended up dancing to Gap Mangione up at the Woodcliffe Hotel in Bushnells Basin. Lesson learned ... I shouldn't drink regular coffee after dark ... much less two! I couldn't sleep the rest of the night!

Sat: I couldn't make it down to see my father at the Wayne County Nursing Home in Lyons but did make it down to Ithaca College to see Michael in the Symphony Orchestra. I was pretty tired on the way back up to Rochester.

Keeping active, Doug