Sunday, 9/26/10 to Saturday, 10/2/10

I ran 4 times this week, 30.6 miles.
Month of September, 118.1 miles, 17 runs in 30 days, 6.9 miles/run
Up to the end of September, 722.5 miles, 114 runs in 273 days, 6.3 miles/run

Sun, 9/26: 10.6 miles, 1:26:43, 8:10 pace, 50F, sunny, calm, 1 stop, no pain.

Garmin Connect Activity for Up to the lake and back

I managed to get out around 9:20AM for a long run. I had a bit of trouble convincing myself since it was only 46F ... in a couple of months that will be warm! But once outside, I thought that I was just being a wuss!

I put on my new green Brooks Adrenaline GTS10s and headed down to the lake. After 5.2 miles I christened them by dipping them in Lake Ontario. I stopped for about 4 minutes to walk along the beach and hydrate. Then I headed back for 5.4 miles. A nice run, nice sun, nice temp!

CJ's daughter and her bf were in town from Cleveland. We met up and headed to the lake. We ate at Bill Gray's on Lake Shore by the swing bridge. We gabbed and wished them well as they motored back to Cleveland. After a brief respite, I put some seal restorer in my Grand Am to hopefully help the transmission, changed the oil at the 245K mark and cleaned it out. Then I finally cleaned out CJ's car. CJ helped by cleaning all the windows in both cars. All in all, a nice relaxing Sunday.

Mon, 9/27: Rest day. CJ made an excellent dinner of salmon, rice, broccoli and salad ... yum! We spent a quiet evening catching up on some reading then watched the latest episode of Hawaii Five-O of network TV ... wow.

Tue, 9/28: 7 miles, 55:47, 7:57 pace, 70F, 1 stop for hydration, no pain.

Garmin Connect Activity for FF Cobbs Hill run, 3 Y's, long way back

I headed down to Fleet Feet for the usual Cobbs Hill run. I ran kind of hard, 3 Y's and took the long way back. A sweet run, nice temp, nice wind! CJ wanted to walk but was held by lots of people hogging machines at the laundromat. CJ made the usual excellent pasta with salad for dinner.

Thu, 9/30: 7.5 miles, 59:53, 7:59 pace, 58F, cloudy, light rain to mist, no stops, no pain.

Garmin Connect Activity for Up to Thomas Ave and back

I waited for most of the all day rain to mostly subside before heading out around 6PM. I took it nice, easy and just enjoyed the run. I was rewarded by a faint rainbow for my effort as I was coming up Ridge from St Paul. CJ made me up an electrolyte drink when I got back. At the risk of TMI ... I should have worn some Body Glide before I headed out. But ending on a positive note ... I have run 100+ miles for the third straight month! My goal is to keep it up!

We caught up on a DVR'ed Fringe. I tried to go to sleep early but just couldn't get to sleep for a while.

Fri, 10/1: 5.1 miles, 38:27, 7:32 pace, 60F, sunny, a bit windy, no stop, no pain.

Garmin Connect Activity for FF Happy Hour run + loop

CJ and I went down to Fleet Feet for the usual Friday night Happy Hour run. I thought about doing an easy run ... I did start a bit slow but my first mile was 7:27 so I just kept it up and concentrated on my form. I ended up running a pretty awesome 7:32 pace even factoring in the slow down of the Cobbs Hill reservoir. My lap times were: 7:27, 7:43, 8:03, 7:23, 7:10. I was surprised to say the least. CJ walked about 3 miles. CJ and I signed up for Pumpkins in the Park 5K and I signed up the Dirt Cheap Stage Race.

We hit up Wegmans for supplies on the way back. Then we settled in for a late supper of chicken and potatoes. We caught up on DVR'ed Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice.

Sat, 10/2: Rest day. Just your usual lazy Saturday. Pizza for lunch, sandwiches for supper. We caught up on a DVR'ed NCIS: LA.

Sunday, 9/19/10 to Saturday, 9/25/10

I ran 4 times this week, 28.8 miles.

Sun, 9/19: 7.7 miles, 65:02, 8:26 pace, 56F, cloudy, damp, 1 stop for hydration, no pain.

Garmin Connect Activity for Run to Wildmere Drive and back

I headed out around 9:30AM for a nice, easy run. I headed up Seneca to Titus to Cooper to St Paul. I turned around at Wildmere and headed back down St Paul, side trip on Winona, back to Ridge and home. It wasn't the best run. My left edge of my left foot hurt ... probably due to the old shoes. Oh well!

After a bit, CJ and I headed down to the Palmyra VFW for my father's 85th birthday party. We rented a van and 'sprang' him out of the nursing home for a bit. Afterward, my brother, sister, CJ and I went to Parker's Restaurant in Newark for a bite to eat and to catch up. A good time was had by all!

Mon, 9/20: Rest day.

After a day of work, CJ and I just relaxed ... a good time was had by all :-). The network shows are starting up, we watched Chuck and Castle. Thank goodness, we have a DVR plus you can watch shows on the internet!

Tue, 9/21: 6.1 miles, 51:22, 8:26 pace, FF Cobbs Hill run, 78F, sunny, calm, 1 stop for hydration, no pain.

Garmin Connect Activity for FF Cobbs Hill run, 3 Y's

CJ and I headed down to Fleet Feet for the usual Cobbs Hill run. It was the last day of summer and fittingly it was warm: 78F, sunny but not humid. I ran up in an easy pace and did 3 Y's. CJ went to the Fleet Feet Walking Program.

After a stop to Wegmans for some supplies, we had our usual pasta dinner. We watched our usual Tuesday shows: NCIS and NCIS:LA off the DVR.

Wed, 9/22: Rest night. Just your old fashioned left-over dinner.

Thu, 9/23: 10 miles, 1:27;42, 8:46 pace, Zoo trail run, 72F, sunny, calm, 1 stop, no pain.

Garmin Connect Activity for Zoo trail run up to Rourke Bridge and back

I went out for a nice Zoo trail run. I went out to the Rourke Bridge and back. I got there in 4.6 miles, 37:50, 8:13 pace. I hydrated for 2 minutes or so, then headed back: 5.4 miles, about 47:52, 8:52 pace. I built up a nice sweat, it was pretty sweet! CJ went out to Planet Fitness for a 26 mile bicycle ride burning 400-ish calories.

We watched a DVR'ed Fringe and Grey's Anatomy. Nice!

Fri, 9/24: 5 miles, 41:27, 8:17 pace, 85F, sunny, windy, 4 stops for hydration, no pain.

Garmin Connect Activity for FF Happy Hour run + loop

CJ and I went down to Fleet Feet for the usual Friday night Happy Hour run. Since it was the last Friday of the month, it was backwards. It was hot and somewhat humid, I stopped 4 times for hydration ... still I ran 8:17 pace. I must have been running faster than what I felt, I felt sluggish. But you can't argue with the Garmin I guess. CJ walked 2.7 miles. I was a bit worried when she wasn't back when it started to get a bit dark.

After the run, I spent some money. I signed up for the Fleet Feet Autumn Class Trail Race. I also took advantage of the Expo sale and hooked myself up with a pair of green Brooks Adrenaline GTS10s in size 13 for only $80, a sweet $20 off! I can finally retire my old blue pair of Brooks Adrenaline GTS9s with 713.6 miles on them! Yes, they were getting way long in the tooth ... they had definitely lost more than a bit of cushion!

We watched a DVR of Monday's Hawaii Five-O.

Sat, 9/25: A rest day. After a lazy morning, CJ and I headed out to Newark to get my father's mail from his PO Box and to get my hair cut at Mason's. Maybe I should get a barber up in Rochester ... I have only lived up here for almost 2 years.

Supper was exceptional. CJ made a shrimp salad with cucumbers, tomatoes and mushrooms! We washed it down with some Hardy's Riesling.

Sunday, 9/12/10 to Saturday, 9/18/10

I ran 4 times this week, 29.3 miles.

Sun, 9/12: 14.1 miles, 2:01:04, 8:35 pace, 60F, overcast, humid, 2 stops for gel and water, no pain.

Garmin Connect Activity for Up to the lake and more

I didn't run the Rochester Marathon or Half this year again. So I headed out around 9AM to go at least 13.1 miles. I headed down to the lake as usual. I took a slightly different route. I headed down Seneca to Titus to Cooper to St Paul to Lake Shore to the lake. I ran slowly along the beach. I discovered that I had accidentally stopped my Garmin on the way down. I estimate that I shut it off for 0.9 miles or 7:12 while I was running 8:00 pace. It was not the greatest run. I ran OK down to the lake but not so well back from the lake. I ran faster down to the lake but slower from the lake ... like usual. But a run is always better than no run.

Kudos to all the runners in the Rochester full, half and relay marathon today. Maybe next year ...

Tue, 9/14: 5.3 miles, 44:40, 8:25 pace, 64F, sunny, calm, no stops, no pain.

Garmin Connect Activity for FF Cobbs Hill run, 2 y's, 1 hill

I went down to Fleet Feet for just your average Cobbs Hill run. I did 2 Y's plus ran down and up the hill on the left hand Y for good measure. I didn't push since Dirt Cheap #6 is tomorrow.

Wed, 9/15: 3.7 miles, 38:02, FF DC #6, 60F, sunny, calm, walked some hills, no pain.


Actually 38:02 ... I forgot to turn off my Garmin!

Taken just before a big downhill that Barb warned us about
CJ and I headed down to Ellison Park Wetlands for the final Fleet Feet Dirt Cheap of the year. The weather was excellent, there was just a bit of mud. I started out too fast and had to let some people pass to catch my wind. I did pretty well actually. I finished 58th out of 174, results here. I finished 5th out of 13 in my age group, results here.

Thu, 9/16: 3.05 mile walk, Benches on Parade, 65F, cloudy, rainy, a bit of knee pain.

Garmin Connect Activity for FF Benches on Parade

CJ and I went down to Henry B's for Fleet Feet's Benches on Parade scavenger run/walk. We headed out to collect a piece of a puzzle from each of 20 painted benches. It was a warm, sometimes rainy night. We were a bit damp when we got back to Henry B's to assemble our puzzle and scarf some appetizers! Then it was back to the apartment to celebrate my 53rd birthday!

Fri, 9/17: 6.2 miles, 49:49, 8:02 pace, FF Happy Hour run, 60F, 1 stop for hydration, no pain.

Garmin Connect Activity for FF Happy Hour run + 2 loops

CJ and I headed down to Fleet Feet for the usual Friday night Happy Hour run. I ran a bit hard. I did the usual route plus I added 2 loops around the reservoir. I was dripping wet with sweat when I finished. A nice, sweet workout. CJ baked me a nice chocolate cake with chocolate frosting for my birthday! Yum, yum!

Sat, 9/18: CJ and I took a road trip down to Painted Post near Corning. We met her brother and his wife at an Applebees for lunch. Afterward we made a side trip over to Houghton to try to see my daughter. We learned that she was at the Lower Falls at Letchworth State Park. We tried to met up with her but later learned that she was on the west side and we were on the east side. We were at the Parade Grounds entrance where we saw the south entrance of the Finger Lakes Trail heading north. It was compelling ... just thinking about putting on my trail running gear that I just so happened to have in the trunk and just heading north. I so wanted to do it ... just for the fun. But ... we motored home instead. Some day soon I want to run south from the Dam all the way to the Parade Grounds just to prove to myself that I can do it. It will require a bit of planning though ... and 3 to 4 hours of trail running.

Sunday, 9/5/10 to Saturday, 9/11/10

I ran 3 times this week, 15.6 miles.

Sun, 9/5: A definite rest day for both CJ and I. The most exercise I got was walking to get the Sunday paper. We did get out to pay the rent on the apartment, her storage unit and to the Racino out in Farmington. Lots of people and slot machines. We tried our luck ... entertainment was had, luck was not.

Mon, 9/6: Happy Labor Day! CJ and I lazed around ... celebrating the first anniversary of our first meeting in 32 years on 9/5/09, last Labor Day. So ... we celebrated one day late, we were resting up ;-)! My long long love, CJ, and I are together ... enjoying life together!

Tue: 9/7: 5.5 miles, walked some hills, no pain.

Garmin Connect Activity for Ellison Park Wetlands White Trail

CJ and I didn't want to run or walk on the road. CJ suggested the Ellison Park Wetlands. A good idea since I will be running the Dirt Cheap there 2 Thursday from now. I went out on the White trail and came back on the White and Red trails. CJ walked almost up to the gazebo. She took a tumble just before she turned around. She tripped her left foot on a root and landed on her right side, skinned her right knee and got dirty. I tried to take a pic of her first trail injury but she deleted it because it "didn't look pretty" ... trail running is about the unknown, the mud, the injuries. Yes, I got another blister on top of my left pinkie toe ... I really have to look into how my trail Salamons are affecting my poor toe!

Thu: 9/9: 5 miles, Remington's Run, 58F, cloudy, no stops, no pain.

CJ and I went down to Remington's for a nice bit of exercise. I ran the 5 miles without a Garmin ... I think I ran around a 8:00 min or less pace. CJ walked 2.6 miles. She ran a bit with the pack before walking the rest of the way. A nice after the run spread and conversation.

Fri: 9/10: 5.1 miles, Happy Hour run, 64F, sunny, calm, 1 stop for hydration, no pain.

Garmin Connect Activity for FF Happy Hour run + loop

CJ and I headed down to Fleet Feet for the Friday night Happy Hour run. As usual, I did my usual 4.1 mile run plus a loop around the Cobbs Hill reservoir. I ran a bit hard, 7:57 pace, even up the hills to the reservoir. A nice, sweet, sweaty run. CJ walked 2 miles.

Sat, 9/11: A 'wham-bam" trip to Cleveland to pick up the last of CJ's stuff that didn't fit into the 10' U-Haul truck at the end of June. It just amazed me that the new residents moved her stuff, seemed to have gone through it and then put some of their stuff in her boxes. Words were exchanged between the CJ and the new residents, we were there 30 minutes. But it is done.

On the bright side, on the way back I took the free $10 that the Presque Isle Downs & Casino in Erie PA gave me as a new player and walked out with $12.50. A long drive with just sandwiches, cookies to eat and coffee, Diet Pepsi to drink all day. We did have apple pie a la mode when we got back to Rochester. Yum!