Sunday, February 21th to Saturday, February 27th

I ran 3 times this week: 15.5 miles

Sun: 3.1 miles, 23:32, 7:37 pace, Polar Cat #5 in Newark, 27F, sunny, a bit windy, a bit hard, no stops, no pain.

CJ and I made it out early to Newark to run the Polar Cat #5. I went out a bit hard, but kept it up. I passed two people on the hill between miles 1 and 2. I was passed by a 13(!) year old in the last 50 yards to finish 20th out of 59, 4th in my age group. Results here.

After a lunch break at BurgerKing we went to see my father at the Wayne County Nursing Home in Lyons. He seemed better than the last time. He initiated conversation, seemed interested and enjoyed our visit. He has not had his dentures the past two visits though. Then we went back to Rochester for a well earned nap. Afterward CJ made homemade pizza.

Mon: Rest day ... nuff said.

Tue: 6.2 miles, 53:03, 8:33 pace, FF Cobb's Hill run ... 3 Y's, 33F, night, calm, no stops, no pain.

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for Fleet Feet Cobb's Hill run - 3 Y's

Just your average Cobb's Hill run, just do it! I went out easy, didn't have it initially but warmed up after a Y. Got a bit faster ... a nice run with the group. A workout at work and play ... 8 flights, 14398 steps. Afterward, CJ made an excellent dinner of pasta and acorn squash.

Wed: Rest day, workout at work: 8 flights, 8279 steps. My ex just got back to Newark after taking my oldest son to visit the music grad school of UConn and UMass Amherst. So I went down to Houghton College to pick up my daughter for winter break.

Thu: Another rest day, workout at work: 14 flights, 6719 steps. Snowing with about a foot of snow, blowing, too dangerous to go back out after I sledded home ... with my car.

Fri: 4.1 miles, 41:20, 10:05 pace, FF Friday Night Happy Hour run, 27F, night, calm, really easy, 1 stop, no pain. Workout at work and play: 4 flights, 18002 steps

A strenuous run down at Fleet Feet. The roads were variable from hard packed snow to slushy snow. Once I turned on the Monroe Ave sidewalk, it was harder with 3 to 4 inches of snow. The run took a lot out of me but it was sweet!

Sat: 6.2 miles, 52:02, 8:24 pace, Freezeroo #6, 30F, light snow & wind, 3 stops, no pain.

A run with the GRTC runners, 174 strong. I started out in 8:03, then 7:52. I bonked a bit at 4.5 miles, had to walk 3 times. I repassed the people who passed me so it was all good. The last 2 miles were into a headwind with snow in my face. I managed to suck it up and finish OK. I finished 100th, results here. I finished 7th out of 12 in my age group, results here. All in all, a good time out in the cold.

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for Polar Cat #5

CJ was happy to see me when I came home. She takes good care of me ... though I do like to hang my pants on regular hangers, lol!

I helped RD drink her Dragon Joose, a grape flavored malt liquor with 9.9% alcohol. Check out www.drinkjoose.com. She, like so many others, is training a spring marathon.

Keeping active, Doug

Sunday, February 14th to Saturday, February 20th

I ran 4 times this week, 19 miles. A very good week!

Sun: I celebrated my first Valentine's Day with CJ. It was a lazy day. I gave her a box of chocolates and a Dunkin Donuts Apple Spice donut. I set up our new Canon Pixma MX860 printer. We can now print wirelessly. I haven't tried anything else yet ... like scanning.

Mon: I did want to work out after work but I felt like crap. My abs were really sore for some reason.

Tue: 6.2 miles, 52:51, 8:31 pace, Fleet Feet Cobb's Hill run, 27F, night, a bit windy, a light snow, no stops, no pain.

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for Fleet Feet Cobb's Hill run, 3 Y's

I ran a nice, steady, easy pace ... 3 Y's! Sweet! The best run of the young year! A workout at work and play ... 10 flights, 15301 steps.

Wed: 3.6 miles, 47:30, 13:12, FF Snow Cheap #5, easy, 27F, driving wet snow, brisk wind, no pain.
Early on ... before I took down my facemask
The finish
A return to racing in 2010 at Snow Cheap #5. CJ might have thought I was nuts to go out, but understood. Once I was there, it was sweet! Just took it easy, one foot in front of the other. It was a long course with a lot up and down. I finished 58th out of 109, results here and 6th out of 12 in my age group, results here. I enjoyed catching up with fellow racing friends. Yes, it was snowing ... we just chuckled, laughed and played in the snow!

Thu: A rest day. A workout at work: 22 flights, 6737 steps. CJ made an excellent dinner of ribs, scalloped potatoes and peas. Later, some German Riesling along with some Valentine's Day candy.

Fri: 4.15 miles, 32:20, 7:47 pace, FF Friday Happy Hour run, 31F, a little hard, night, calm, no stops, no pain.

My Garmin wouldn't turn on, so my time is off of someone who was roughly 30 seconds behind me. I definitely put the hammer down for this run ... it felt good! CJ says that my "runner's ass is back"! CJ went out to Planet Fitness for a 8 or 9 mile workout on the bike. We had a salmon and scallop potato dinner.

I soft reset my Garmin by using http://wiki.motionbased.com/mb/Soft_Reset with success.

BTW, I finally got around to scanning from the ADF on the new printer. I can scan to any laptop ... sweet!

Sat: A lazy morning and afternoon with CJ. I waited for the wind to die down a bit so I could go out and change my oil. Then CJ and I made out to Planet Fitness for a late workout. CJ did a 2 mile workout on the 'mill, I did a 700 calorie, 5K in 25:10 (8:07 pace), 5 mile in 41:10 (8:14 pace) workout.

Keeping active, Doug

Sunday, February 7th to Saturday, February 13th

I ran 3 times this week, 15.3 miles ... almost as much as the whole month of January!

Sun: 5.3 miles, 45:00, 8:29 pace, PF treadmill, 1 walking stop after 5K, no pain.

Lazy Sunday morning with CJ. We made it to Planet Fitness for an afternoon with adjacent treadmills. I did the first 5k in 24:40, 8:57 pace. A good 680 calories workout before the Super Bowl.

Mon: Rest night. A workout at work: 16 flights, 8279 steps.

Tue: 5.8 miles, 50:02, 8:38, Fleet Feet Cobb's Hill run, 22F, steady and easy, night, calm, no stops, no pain.

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for Fleet Feet Cobb's Hill run, 2 Y's and a loop

CJ and I went down to the FF Cobb's Hill run for a sweet run. I did 2 Y's and a loop. CJ went up to the corner of Monroe and Highland and back. Also a workout at work: 18 flights, 19288 steps.

Wed: Rest night. A workout at work, 28 flights, 8279 steps. CJ has a fever, I went out grocery shopping and got a thermometer. She had a 103.6F fever.

Thu: Rest night. A workout at work, 10 flights, 9801 steps. CJ's fever is down to around 100F. She is feeling somewhat better.

Fri: 4.2 miles, 34:14, 8:09 pace, FF Happy Hour run, easy, 26F, night, calm, 1 stop, no pain.

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for Fleet Feet Happy Hour run

Just your average FF Happy Hour run. I went out in a 7:35 first mile, slowed with a 8:28 mile as I hit the hills, had a stitch in my side from mile 3 in. Sweet! CJ made a pasta dinner when I got home!

Sat: Rest day. Kudos to those who ran the Freezeroo #4, a 8 miler out in Greece ... link here.

A lazy day with CJ. We made it out to pick my new Canon Pixma MX860 printer at Best Buy. I took CJ out for a nice day before Valentine's Day dinner at Ponderosa. Afterward, we went out to Newark to see my two boys. My oldest will be heading out shortly for two trips to see three graduate schools that he is interested in. One will be to Cincinnati Conservatory in Ohio and the other will be to Yale in Connecticut and UMass Amherst in Massachusetts.

Keeping active, Doug

Sunday, January 31st to Saturday, February 6th

I ran 4 (yuck!) times last month: 15.4 miles. I will be amping up my exercise this month for sure.

Mon: Planet Fitness workout, 107 calories on the Stair Climber, 450 calories on the Elliptical.

CJ and I went out to Planet Fitness for a good Monday night workout. CJ worked out on the reclining bicycle. I got a good workout at work: 22 flights of stairs, 7405 steps.

Tue: 5 miles, 44:53, 8:59 pace, Fleet Feet Cobb's Hill run, easy, 24F, night, calm, 2 stops, no pain.

I made it down to my first Cobb's Hill run of 2010 ... just nice and easy, 2 Y's. Just a bit harder to run on sidewalks with a bit of slush. Caught up with some friends down at FF. A workout at work: 18 flights of stairs, 7000ish steps (pedometer reset itself midday).

Wed: Rest night, A workout at work: 7767 steps, 1 building.

Thu: Another rest night, a workout at work: 10 flights, 8223 steps, 4 different buildings. CJ made an excellent dinner of gingered apple pork tenderloin.

Fri: 6 miles, 52:32, 8:45 pace, FF Friday Hour run, hard and easy, 24F, night, calm, 1 stop for traffic, some pain afterward. A workout at work: 12 flights, 10270 steps.

I went down to my first Happy Hour run of 2010, hard and then easy. I went out with HD for a first mile of 7:30. This was a quite a bit fast ... I slowed down and let her go. I added a slow twist and a loop at Cobb's hill. I felt a bit funny on the way back on Monroe Ave, a bit tender around my surgery site. CJ met me at the door when I got home. I iced down and ate an excellent dinner of marinated tilapia, pilerogies and Brussels spouts. 8400 more steps during my run. CJ thinks I overdid it ... she is probably right.

Sat: rest day with a lazy morning then out to see my father at the Wayne County Nursing Home", get my hair cut at my usual barbershop in Newark, then out to see and the kids and do some taxes. I gave my son his diploma from Ithaca College. FYI, he graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Music in Music Theory and Music Performance. He framed it in the frame that his girlfriend gave him. A slight workout during the day: 1375 steps.

All in all, a busy week of work, running and leisure.

Keeping active, Doug