Sunday, March 28th to Saturday, April 3rd

Month of March: 75 miles, 12 runs, 6.3 miles/run
I ran 3 times this week, 19 miles.

Sun: 9.3 miles, 77:05, 8:17 pace, Spring Forward 15K, 42F, cloudy, a bit windy, walked in the water stops and up a few hills, no IT band wrap, no pain.

During a flat portion
After conquering the rolling hills of Mendon
I thought I did pretty well. My miles were: 7:37, 8:08, 7:54, 8:10, 8:00, 8:33, 8:34, 9:02, 8:13. I took water at every stop, walked some hills, bonked a wee bit, tried to find zen around the 10K mark, motored on, finished well. I finished 181st out of 439, results here. I finished 17th out of 33 in my age group, results here. Overall, a sweet run and a great way to spend a morning!

After some downtime, I went out to the ex's where I learned that my youngest son is just up and moving to Florida for several months. He had not given any explanation about where he will be, what he will be doing, who he will be staying up, where he will be working. I hope he makes good decisions ... bad decisions that far from home can have bad consequences.

Mon: A typical Monday at work: busy with 24 flights of stairs and lots of walking.

Tue: 5.8 miles, 50:01, 8:37 pace, FF Cobb's Hill run, 43F, cloudy, a bit windy, 2 stops to mess with my jacket, no pain.

Garmin Connect Activity for FF Cobbs Hill run, 2 Y's, long way back

I felt a bit flat ... probably from running 9.3 miles on Sunday. I took it easy and only did 2 Y's. But I did take Highland Ave back so it's all good. It felt warmer than 43F. I overheated a bit and ended up taking my jacket off. My two tech tops (1 ls, 1 ss) were plenty warm enough.

Wed: 5.6 miles, 45:31, 8:08 pace, run around the neighborhood, 52F, sunny, calm, no stops, no pain.

I got out for the last run of March. I did a nice route: Seneca-Titus-Winona-St Paul-Ridge. I took it easy but didn't dawdle. A sweet run ... in shorts, 2 tech tops (1 ls and 1 ss) and gloves.

Thu: Rest day. I went down to Houghton College to take my daughter home to my ex for Easter break. My ex had her car totaled by my youngest son who has arrived safely down in Florida ... somewhere, which is another story.

My youngest son, almost 21, just up and decided that he needed to go down to Florida. No word to my ex or me about the usual questions that parents ask ... like where is he going, how long he will be there, where he will be staying, where he will work, who he will be staying with, etc. I just hope he makes good decisions ... because bad decisions can produce bad consequences especially if you are far from home.

My ex's father is the hospital. He needed 3 pints of blood. He is anemic ... no word yet on why. He will be staying overnight while he undergoes tests.

Fri: 4.1 miles, FF Friday night fun run, 78F, cloudy, calm, 5 water stops, no pain.

I have been really thirsty lately so I drank a couple of tall glasses of water before, took it nice, easy, with at least 5 walking water stops. It will be tough to get used to warmer weather so early.

Sat: Rest day.

I went out to Newark to see my daughter and son, then out to Lyons to see my father at the Wayne County Nursing Home. I made a spur of the moment decision on the way back up to the apartment to go see CJ in Cleveland. So I went to Target to buy some essentials: a 3-pack of navy dress socks and a dress belt (needed both), gassed up, made a lunch, packed a bit and motored. I didn't text her that I was coming until I had just crossed over into Ohio, about an hour out. She was pleasantly surprised. I figured that it wouldn't be nice for either one of us to spend Easter alone.

Actually, my ex father-in-law needed 5 pints of blood before he was discharged. He needs some more tests next week.

Keeping active, Doug

Sunday, March 21st to Saturday, March 27th

I ran 2 times this week, 12.6 miles.

Sun: Still out in Cleveland helping CJ pack her stuff. Drove back from Cleveland, arrived back around 9PM. I will be driving CJ's car this week. My car, a 99 Grand Am with 237K miles, is having more and more problems. The inspection is due next month. It has front brakes that are starting to grind, a caliber is probably dragging, the Check Engine Soon light is on, and an exhaust pipe has needed replacing since before September of last year.

Mon: Laundry night ... 3 loads, how exciting! It was a cold, windy, rainy night ... no chance of running.

Tue: 6.2 miles, 52:13, 8:25 pace, FF Cobb's Hill run, 36F, cold, misty, damp, 1 tiny water stop, no pain.

Just your usual cold, misty, damp run up and down Cobb's Hill 3 times. Non-runners would wonder why ... runners would understand. I do it because it's what I do on Tuesday nights.

Wed: Rest night. The usual workout at work: 12 flights, lots of walking through 2 buildings. I spent some quality time doing my amended 2006 return ... don't ask.

Thu: Life gets in the way of running ... again. Grocery shopped then watched SU lose to Butler by 4 in the Sweet Sixteen.

Fri: 6.4 miles, 56:36, 8:51 pace, Seneca Park Zoo trail run, 45F, sunny, calm, 3 stops, no pain.

Garmin Connect Activity for Seneca Park Zoo trail run

I had a dentist appointment at 4. He finished the root canal on 11. Next is the crowns on 10 and 11. Since I was out at 4:50, I decided to take a run before I went to Cleveland to see CJ. Sweet and easy run ... except for the severe toothache after the run! I took a nap for a hour and it went away. Then I motored out to Cleveland to see CJ and give her moral support as she goes through her stuff. I arrived around 1AM.

Sat: More moral support for CJ ... back to Rochester at 10PM. I wasn't in Cleveland for an entire day, 267 miles one way. Busy day.

Keeping active, Doug

Sunday, March 14th to Saturday, March 20th

I ran 2 times this week, 12.4 miles.

Sun: Sick day. CJ and I are feeling better. Relaxed all day. The time change affected me ... only 4 hours of sleep. :-)

Mon: Rest day. I feel pretty good except for a nagging cough. CJ and I actually felt a bit perky. :-)

Tue: 6.2 miles, 51:39, 8:19 pace, FF Cobb's Hill run, 55F, sunny, calm, no stops, no pain.

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for FF Cobb's Hill run, 3 Ys

CJ and I stepped out for a sweet workout. A simply gorgeous spring day! I went out for 3 Ys dressed in shorts and a T-shirt. CJ walked a 1/2 Y. She got her Nike+ to work ... yay! All in all, sweet! Then a nice pasta dinner.

Wed: Rest day. 12 flights of stairs plus a bit of walking at work. A bit of grocery shopping then finalizing taxes for my kids. I drank some beers in honor of St. Patrick's Day and watched Transformers.

Thu: Rest Day.

Fri: A quick trip out to Cleveland with CJ to help pack up her stuff. A stressful trip with a bit of angst. We arrived to find her landlord up in her apartment smoking and messing with her stuff! We had open all the windows to air out the place.

Sat: 6.2 miles, 51:09, 8:16 pace, run around Fleet Ave in Cleveland, 45F, sunny, a bit windy, no stops, no pain.

After some going through stuff and packing, I went out for a run. I ran easy, keeping an eye out for Cleveland drivers. It was a sweet run and I felt great afterward ... :-)!

Keeping active, Doug

Sunday, March 7th to Saturday, March 13th

I ran 1 time this week, 3.1 miles. I was sick every day except Sunday and Monday. Yes, I made it to work but it was a long week.

Sun: 3.1 miles, 25:24, 8:12 pace, Polar Cat #6, 40F, a bit hard, 1 tiny walking stop, no pain.

The last Polar Cat was held out in Mendon Ponds starting at Calvary Lodge. The course was a double turnaround: heading out to the Beach parking lot exit, turnaround, almost to Devil's Bathtub, turnaround, back to the start. I think this is the hardest 5K route I have ever run full of the Mendon Ponds rolling hills.

Mon: Rest day. Well needed after running 5 out of 6 days (Tue, Wed, Fri, Sat & Sun). Still a work day at work: 18 flights of stairs and plenty of walking. CJ made an excellent dinner of chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans with kiwi for dessert. Afterward, CJ didn't feel so good.

Tue: Sick day. I am fighting something, some sort of post-nasal drip. Sure, I could have gutted it out and ran but I got enough of a workout during work. I was up 24 flights of stairs and roamed through 4 buildings. CJ slept all day, she is feeling better.

Wed: Sick day. I made it through the day: 11 flights and roaming through 6 buildings. The day got easier as it went along, tried not to do much walking. CJ made an excellent dinner of tilapia, egg plant parm and pasta. At least I still have an appetite.

Thu: Sick day. I made it through the day: some flights and roaming through who knows how many buildings. We tried to catch up on Grey's (still 1 behind) and Private Practice (still 3 behind) through the magic of watching it off of www.abc.com.

Fri: Sick day. I felt sicker than the day before if that is possible. I made it through the day: 12 flights of stairs and 6 buildings. We finally got to Walgreens for some cold and cough drugs and to Wegmans for some food. We had pizza and chips for supper. We finally got a good nights sleep.

Sat: Sick day. I wished I could have run Johnny's Running of the Green 5 miler this morning. It looked like a raw day: 38F, wet, sprinkles, wind. Kudos to the 1607 who did, link to overall results here, the age group results here. CJ and I got a good nights sleep last night thanks to some good meds ... we actually feel human today! Lots of drama at my ex's ... enough said.

I watched the Knighthawks lose 4-9 off of www.nll.com while CJ watched Stargate off of www.hulu.com. CJ made her ginger apple pork tenderloin. Ymmm! Later we caught up with the latest Grey's.

Try to get well so I can be active, Doug

Sunday, February 28th to Saturday, March 6th

Month of February: I ran 14 out of 28 days, 69.7 miles, 5.0 miles/run

I ran 4 times this week, 26.2 miles.

Sun: Rest day. CJ and I both felt like crap. I had toothaches on the left side of my mouth. CJ thought that her upset stomach was caused by a mild egg allergy. We watched the Winter Olympics - Canada beat the US in men's hockey. We could have watched the Nascar race or the Lakers-Nuggets game but the channel stayed stuck on the Winter Olympics. I made it out to do some grocery shopping. CJ fixed the broken zipper on my parka with a keyring ... she was quite resourceful.

Mon: Rest day. I did taxes for my family after supper ... how exciting!

Tue: 6.5 miles, 58:25, 8:59 pace, FF Cobb's Hill run, 34F, night, calm, 3 stops, no pain. I think I was a bit dehydrated.

Your usual FF Cobb's Hill run. Kind of warm though., I could have carried water. I did 3 Y's plus a bit to walk CJ back to FF. She did her first 1/2 Y ... she enjoyed it and can't wait to do more!

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for FF Cobb's Hill run, 3 Y's + bit extra

Life. A busy day at work, 10 flights of stairs, 4 buildings to roam about in during the course of my day. Plus, my dentist started a root canal on #10. How exciting!

Your usual FF Cobb's Hill run. I did 3 Y's plus a bit to walk CJ back to FF. She did her first 1/2 Y ... she enjoyed it and can't wait to do more!

Wed: 2.4 miles, 33:00, 13:45 pace, Snow Cheap #6, 31F, night, calm, no pain.

Last Snow Cheap of 2010. There was a lot of wet snow still up in Cobb's Hill. The footing was slippery. I ended up walking the big hills, running the flats and downhills, slid on my butt down the last big hill. Got some swag at the Winter Warrior awards, a small bag to hold stuff. I was 58th out of 111, results here. I was 5th out of 14 in my age group, results here.



Thu: Rest night.

Fri: 4.2 miles, 35:26, 8:26 pace, FF Happy Hour run, 31F, dusk, calm, no stops, no pain.

I ran easy and stayed up with the lead group. I didn't push since I want to run around the bay tomorrow.

My car lost power and died on 104 opposite Rochester General. Luckily CJ had AAA. She had the car towed to my auto mechanic, Russ. Hopefully, whatever wrong is something inexpensive.

Sat: 13.1 miles, 2:02:31, 9:21 pace, Run around the Bay, 20F at the start, easy, numerous walks, no pain.

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for Run around the Bay


Around 80 hardcore runners gathered at the Irondequoit Bay Outlet Bridge at 7AM. We started off back up the Culver Rd hill. I soon dropped back and started with walking breaks. I just didn't have the energy to keep running. I am not a morning runner right now. But I kept going, going down the Empire Blvd hill was sweet, running/walking back up not so much. I did the best I could. I know I am ramping up my running kind of quickly. I think that I need to take some medium distance runs of 8-10 miles before I attempt another half. But all in all, a great sunny, brisk morning to be out running ... relatively sweet.

My car was relatively inexpensive. My EGR valve was stuck open and my sending unit from the gas tank was dirty ... so I ran out of gas! I picked up the car and then took CJ for a drive to show her the various buildings where I work, the half marathon route I ran this morning and to Wal-Mart to buy a coffee maker. CJ made a pasta dinner with meatballs. We tested out the new coffee maker by making coffee with Kentucky brandy and whipped cream. Ymmm!

Keeping active, Doug