Sunday, 7/22/12 to Saturday, 7/28/12

I ran 5 times this week, 21.55 miles.

Sunday, 7/22/12: Rest day.

Christine and I were up again at 5:30AM. This time to volunteer for the Shoreline Du and Tri. We got out to Hamlin early to see all the prep coming on. Fleet Feet really knows how to put on any type of race! The Tri swim was shortened to 600m from 0.45 mile, bike was 15.9 miles and run was 2 loops of 2 miles. The Du 1st run was 1 loop of 2 miles, bike was 15.9 miles and the 2nd run was 2 loops of 2 miles. We were assigned to be bike road marshalls at the corner of Redman and Moscow Rd less than a mile from the Hamlin Park entrance. The bikes made a right hand off Redman onto Moscow. We got out there just after the Du and Tri started. We waited and read a bit of the Sunday paper. Soon Boots was coming by with the lead bike behind and yelled to us to stand on the outside of the corner in case someone cut the corner too close. Soon all kinds of bikes were hurtling towards us. We held up some traffic and yelled encouragement until the sag truck came by to pick up our flages. Then we headed back down to Hamlin Park to watch the runners come in from the Du and Tri. Quite an inspiring sight.

The rest of the day was a well deserved rest day. Later Christine cooked up a roaster chicken with a sweet potato and salad ... yum!

Monday, 7/23/12: Laundry day.

Quite the hot day in Rochester, 94F. Lots of loads of laundry ... super exciting, not!

Tuesday, 7/24/12: Fleet Feet speed workout, 7.41 miles, 6 x 800m repeats, 75F, sunny, calm, not so humid.

I headed down to Fleet Feet Brighton for the speed workout up on the Cobbs Hill reservoir. I ran up nice and easy, 2 miles at 8:09 pace. The workout was 800m repeats. I did the first two in 3:06 and and 3:03. Bill Beyerbach showed up and we ran four more together. The first was 3:01, the second was 2:59 and the third was 2:59. Bill ran that one in 2:58. The 2:59 for an 800m translated into a 6:01 mile pace! I felt a bit of tightness in my hips so I just did a 3:40 for the last one. We headed back to the store the long way at a nice and easy pace, 2.41 miles, 9:12 pace. A nice workout!

Wednesday, 7/25/12: Rest day.

I thought about running but decided against it. I had a brief spasm of pain in my left hip when I got up out of a chair at work that caused me to double over in pain. It lasted for only 5 seconds or so before going away.

Later I got a phone call from my ex telling me that my youngest son, David, had a flat tire ... again. The very same left front tire that had gone flat twice before. He had come out from work at the Finger Lakes Casino and found it flat. Christine and I went out there so we could use our AAA to get him towed to the Tire Rack in Newark. It was replaced the next day but I don't hold out much hope that it won't happen again.

Thursday, 7/26/12: 2 runs of 5.8 and 4.7 miles

I really needed a run ... but where to go? I ended up running to the lake and back. It was really two runs. One I took a bit hard, the other was nice and easy.

Garmin Connect Activity for Up to the Lake

I decided on taking the long way up to the lake through Winona Blvd. It really should be Down to the Lake: since it is a 167 feet elevation loss but Up signifies north I guess. I took it a bit hard, 5.8 miles, 44:00, 7:43 pace, 76F, cloudy, calm, humid, no stops. I felt a bit of tightness in my left hip or left lower abs area but I really didn't back down. Well, actually it was right around where I had my left hernia operation back in December 2009. Maybe a little TMI but it's the truth. I could have stopped short but I really wanted to see the lake. I stopped for a couple of minutes for hydration and a gel.

Garmin Connect Activity for Back from the Lake

This run was nice and easy, 4.7 miles, 8:32 pace, 76F, cloudy, calm, humid, 1 stop for hydration. I felt I needed to go slow so I did. I was drenched in sweat when I got back to the apartment.

Christine had gone out to Wegmans for a "hunting and gathering" mission. She fixed up a late protein-filled supper of salmon, baked potato and spinach for us ... she is such a sweetheart! We caught up on the latest episode of the new Dallas. I was very tired from the 10.5 mile run so I went to bed early.

Friday, 7/27/12: Rest day.

I am getting psyched for tomorrow's Karknocker 5K in East Rochester. It's a Rochester Runner of the Year race (RROY) so that plus the prize money that is being given out should draw a fast group of runners. The prize money is $500, $400, $300, $200 and $100 for the first 5 male and female runners! Yeah ... the first male and female masters (over 40) runners get $75. Anyway, I repeated some mantras during the day: "No Fear" and "No Sacrifice, No Victory" (from Transformers). My youngest son, David, will be running his first 5K tomorrow!

Saturday, 7/28/12: Karknocker 5K, 70F, cloudy, calm, humid.

Christine and I woke up around 6:45AM, got ready and got to East Rochester for the Karknocker 5K around 8:25AM. We met up with my son, David, and we picked up our T-shirts and bibs.

Garmin Connect Activity for Pre run before Karknocker 5K

We went out for a short pre run of 0.54 miles, 8:42 pace. David was a bit tired since he had been up since 3AM and then worked from 4AM until 7:15AM at the Finger Lakes Casino before heading to the race.



We went back to the car where Christine was having trouble closing the trunk. She couldn't close it so she stayed with the car instead of watching me start and finish. We ran back up to the start where I introduced David to Bill Beyerbach. Then ... boom, the race started 2 minutes early!

The start with David, Bill and I (right to left)

Becky Duberry (the birthday girl)

Running for the finish!

Bill Beyerbach

I barely had time to get ready and we were off! I got into the clear and ran hard, 6:06 first mile. I couldn't get my breathing right and I ended up walking 2 times during mile 2. I wished Becky Duberry a happy birthday as she passed me. I got back up to speed, took a bit of water at the second water stop. I turned the last corner and saw the clock turn to 20:00. I kicked it up and tried to get in before 20:13 but just couldn't. I ran a 20:18, 6:33 pace, 47th out of 265, link here. I was 4th out of 12 in my M50-54 age group, link here. Becky Duberry ran a 19:50 (I should have stayed with her!) and was 2nd in her F40-45 age group. Bill Beyerbach set a PR at 20:47 and was 1st out of 9 in his M55-59 age group.

Breaking 20:00 in the 5K does seem to be a mental not a physical barrier for me. It just wasn't not my day. Last year I broke 21 minutes (20:31) at the Bergen 5K. Last month, I lowered my PR to 20:13 at the Medved 5K to Cure ALS on Father's Day. The Bergen 5K is in two weeks ... I hope PR magic can strike again.

Sunday, 7/15/12 to Saturday, 7/21/12

I ran 8 times this week, 42.92 miles

Sunday, 7/15/12: 2 runs of 7.02 and 4.96 miles.

The night before I saw on our super secret (shh!) Sehgahunda Survivor's Facebook page that the group had a Tour de Mendon planned at 8AM on Sunday morning. So I set my alarm for 6:30AM. I turned it off and dozed back off but woke at 7:09AM. I was out the door at 7:42AM and down at the Beach parking lot at Mendon Ponds Park by 8:02AM. Get 'er done!

The weather was the mid 70s, humid, cloudy with a rumble of thunder and calm. Some of the usual suspects were there: Mark, Jim R, Jim A, Don, Tammy, Bambi, Carl and our mascot, Saz.

Garmin Connect Activity for Mendon Ponds Park trail run #1 with the Sehgahunds Training group

Soon we started out with Mark in the lead. The air was oppressive and soon it started to sprinkle. We kept a really nice and slow pace as we kept everyone with us. It was Don's birthday so he was trying to keep his "rump roast" out of Tammy's way. The black and deer flies were out in full force but seemed to stay out of my way. Soon we were all drenched ... either in sweat or from the rain. After 7 miles we circled back to the parking lot to drop off Jim R, Carl and Saz. We refueled and got ready to head back out.

Garmin Connect Activity for Mendon Ponds Park trail run #2 with the Sehgahunda Training group

Again we started out with Mark in the lead. The rain had stopped ... the humidity was higher if that was possible. The sun even tried to peak through. We took up a slightly faster pace most of the time. We found some trails that I hadn't been on in quite a while. We did walk a couple of times due to the humidity plus Mark shortened our route. Once we got within a mile of the end, Don and I picked it up and finished strong. We all found some mud and had some good trail fun.

Laura, Andy, Tracy and Becky were down at the Beach by now and soon we all were chowing down on melons, watermelon and cupcakes washed down with water, beer or mimosas. A tasty way to end a long trail run or two! Yum!

Monday, 7/16/12: Rest day.

Just your average really hot and humid rest day. The high was around 87F, the humidity was probably just as high. Christine and I just stuck to our leather couch. Occasionally I slipped off to refill our lemonades.

Tuesday, 7/17/12: 6.73 miles, 1:04:13, 9:33 pace, 89F, sunny, humid, windy.

Today was most likely the hottest day of the year, 96F I think. I wore shorts to work today since our car has no AC. I got a couple of strange looks and a couple of women said "Nice legs", lol. But I was a bit cooler when I had to go between buildings.

Garmin Connect Activity for Run with the 6 at 6 group

I needed to run when I got home even though it was hotter than blazes. I headed down to Fleet Feet Brighton when I thought the speed workout was. Well, I was wrong. It was at Fleet Feet Ridgeway. Bill Beyerbach and I headed out with the "6 at 6" group of Relentless Forward Progress runners at a really nice and easy pace. I usually don't run this slow but due to the extreme heat and humidity it was probably a very wise move. Many thanks to Heather who hosed us down when we ran by her house! A line of thunderstorms moved through in the evening when cooled down Rochester a little bit.

Wednesday, 7/18/12: 2 runs of 1.21 and 4.6 miles

Dirt Cheap #4 was on the agenda tonight. It was cooler, around 80F, sunny, humid and calm. I went down to Mendon Ponds Park solo. I was a bit early so I got a semi-close parking spot on Douglas Rd. I carried up my gear to Devil's Bathtub and got ready.

Garmin Connect Activity for Pre run before Dirt Cheap #4.

I was early enough for a really nice and easy pre run on the meadow. Just 1.2 miles, 11:58, 9:55 pace to get the legs warm. I ran the course backwards for a bit with Mark, Jim and Don which was nice because when the race was underway I knew that when I got to the meadow that the finish was only a mile away.



This race was held in the time trial format with runners starting every 5 seconds down the Devil's Bathtub stairs in bib order format. I said "Hi" to most every runner as I passed or they passed. It made for a fun race. We went down and up Cardiac Hill with Boots at the top giving encouragement each time. I didn't carry water so I stopped and had two cups of water at the water stop at 2.3 miles. There was a bit of mud but mostly you had to look out for hard mud "divots" and make sure of your footing around them so you didn't twist an ankle. An older runner passed me around mile 3. I kept up with him, not letting him get away. We got back to the meadow and I knew there was only 1 mile to go. I tried to repass him but he held me off twice. Later I found out that he was the Tom Dutton. The man is 66 and faster that I am, awesome!

Afterwards I hung around and talked running with fellow runners while I chowed down and waited for the post race raffle. All in all, a pretty nice race with the usual trail running group. I did OK, 42:09, 48th out of 284, link here. I was 3rd out of 19 in my M50-54 age group, link here.

Thursday, 7/19/12: Rest day.

My youngest son, David, called me during the day and invited Christine and I down to the Finger Lakes Casino for supper. He works there part-time as a Drop Supervisor and had some discount coupons. We had fun catching up. Afterward, he watched me have some fun on a slot machine or two.

Friday, 7/20/12: 4.1 miles, 31:40, 7:43 pace, 72F, cloudy, not so humid, calm, 1 stop for traffic, no stops.

Garmin Connect Activity for HappyHour run

It had been a long time since I headed down to Fleet Feet Brighton for the Friday night Happy Hour run. I looked it up in my running spreadsheet and found it had been 12/9/11, wow! I wanted to get in a nice and easy run. Well, I started out nice and easy but slowly speeded up as the run. My paces were: 7:50, 8:09, 7:45, 7:15, 6:49. The last 1.1 miles were down Monroe Ave where I usually run fast. It felt good. Afterward, I picked up my bib and yellow tech shirt (sweet!) for tomorrow's Hamlin Half.

Christine cooked up pasta with homemade sauce for supper so I could carboload. She takes such good care of me! We didn't get to sleep until midnight. Christine was restless so she moved to the couch to sleep. She has had a lot of trouble sleeping lately.

Saturday, 7/21/12: 2 runs of 1.2 and 13.2 (according to the Garmin) miles

I slept soundly but 5:30AM came much too early. Christine and I carpooled with Bill Beyerbach. He does have a bigger car and accommodated our stuff easily. We set off for Hamlin at 6:50AM and arrived around 7:25AM in plenty of time for the race at 8AM.

Garmin Connect Activity for Pre run before Shoreline Half

I got in a pre run warmup of 1.2 miles ... nothing fancy. I did have a Gu before the race started plus Christine put on some sunscreen on me. I didn't carry wate but did carry 3 Gels. The race conditions were excellent: 74F, sunny, calm and not so much humidity. Plus the course was flat and fast!

I accidentally turned on my Garmin back on for a bit before I turned it off ... oops!

The race started on the dot at 8AM. I went out kind of fast with a 7:10 first mile. I settled into a groove pretty easily. I was thinking of just letting it hang out. I don't race scientifically, I just go! My first 5K was 23:00. I had a Gel just before the water stop at mile 4. When I started to pass the early starters I made it a point of giving each one encouragement. I was feeling good, running well and started to pick off runners. There was a non-sanctioned water stop at mile 5 where I snagged a water bottle which really helped! My second 5K was 22:56. I did have a bit of trouble in the 3rd 5K. I felt some tightness in my thighs, walked twice and took a Gel at mile 8. My 3rd 5K time was 23:04. The miles were starting to pile up past the 15K mark. Mile 10 was a welcome sight, just 5K to go! The water stop at mile 11 just entering the park was nice! Keep going! The cool breeze that came off of Lake Ontario when I got to mile 12 was pure heaven! My last pass was a woman who turned out to be the first woman. The fourth 5K was 22:36. The finish line was getting close ... my legs ached and wanted to stop ... I heard Christine calling my name ... I kicked it up a notch and finished at a 6:04 pace in 1:37:05 according to my Garmin. I set a new PR by 2:18! I found that I had a blister on the bottom of my left big toe which made walking difficult. I had some water, found Christine and texted everyone the news. Then I found the food and had the usual 2 hot dogs and a banana.

The results on the side of the Fleet Feet truck had me at 28th overall out of 333 but at 1:36:21, link here. So that put my PR at 3:02 over the 2012 Flower City Half ... I'll take it! Bill and I stuck around for the awards and both won second in our age groups; 2nd out of 19 in his M55-59 and 2nd out of 17 in my M50-54 age groups, respectively, link here.

The Shoreline Half bling!

Bill introduced me to Jim Miner who won 1st in his M60-64 age group. Jim is an ultra runner. Some of his races are pure awesomeness! He ran 19 marathons and 11 ultras in 2010. He ran the 2012 Sehgahunda Trail Marathon in 5:01, a half the next day and a 5K the day after that. He once ran 2 marathons in the same day and had to drive 6 hours in between! Wow!

After a while, I took Christine to Massage Envy while I went over to Fleet Feet Brighton to crow a bit about my PR ... they already knew! We headed out to Palmyra to see my youngest son, David. I gave him a card for his upcoming 23rd birthday and a prepaid entry to the Karknocker 5K next weekend. Then we headed over to Newark to see my daughter, Karen, who had made a scrumptious chocolate cheesecake which was a meal in itself! A little snack at Parker's Grille in Newark tided us over for the trip back up to Rochester.

I finished the Shoreline Half in 1:36:21, 7:21, 28th overall, a 3:02 PR!! Yeah, baby!!!

Sunday, 7/8/12 to Saturday, 7/14/12

I ran 4 times this week, 28.25 miles.

Sunday, 7/8/12: 9.3 miles, 1:29:12, 9:35 pace, 78F, sunny, calm.

Garmin Connect Activity for The usual in Mendon Ponds Park

I am definitely not one to get out of bed to run early on a Sunday morning. I was up early because I wanted to see if I could watch any part of the Boilermaker 15K in Utica, but no luck. Christine and I just lazed around as per our Sunday norm.

I finished managed to drag my ass out to Mendon Ponds Park around 5PM. My idea was to run at least 15K in honor as all the runners who ran the Boilermaker, results here. Also in honor of Tom Butler who making an attempt to run 100 miles down in PA, link here. Later I learned that Tom got to 75 miles. This run was a struggle. I just kept on putting foot in front of the other as I did my usual Blue and Green loop of 6 miles. I could have baled then but kept right on going instead of having a gel or two. I did another Blue loop and half of another before I headed back to the parking lot to click off 9.3 miles exactly. I was pretty spent when I got back to the apartment.

We learned Ernst Borgnine died at age 95. We had watched The Vikings from 1958 on Netflix.com DVD with him, Kirk Douglas, Janet Leigh and Tony Curtis the previous night.

Monday, 7/9/12: Rest day.

Teamwork  helped Christine and I deal with 4 loads of laundry ... exciting stuff!

Tuesday, 7/10/12: 6 x 400m repeats, 6.05 miles, 80F, sunny, calm.

Christine and I drove down to Fleet Feet Brighton for the first speed workout up at the Cobbs Hill reservoir. Christine drove onward to the Wegmans on Monroe Ave to do some grocery shopping. I ran up to the reservoir nice and easy. The workout was 3 laps of the reservoir with 2 hard 400m and 2 jogs of around 200m per lap. I did 3 laps. My repeats were: 1:27,1:23, 1:25, 1:26, 1:27 and 1:28. Then I took 2 nice and easy laps at 8:18 and 7:54 pace. I headed back to the store at a faster pace, probably around 7:00 pace. All in all, a nice sweaty workout! Christine picked me up ... there were a lot of groceries in the trunk! She baked up two racks of ribs ... luckily she woke up to take them out around 1AM!

Wednesday, 7/11/12: Cross-training day.

I went out to Penfield Fitness & Racquet Club to meet up with Bill Beyerbach for their free (until 7/21) Boot Camp workout. It was definitely a workout! The cardio section was 20 jump squats, 10 pushups, 15 jump squats, 10 pushups, 10 jump squats at the start, though I only got halfway done before we rested. The ab section was 30 seconds of  4 different ab exercises (crunches with legs in the air, leg knockdown, oblique leg knockdown and scissorkick). The strength section was 9 stations of such fun as Torx pushups, tube assisted pullups, burpees, etc. I got the hang of it by the second rep of the ab and strength sections. I had to resort to girl pushups for most of the second rep of the cardio section at the end. My muscles were definitely sore by the time I got done and were weak by the time I went to bed ... which was early! BTW, my darling Christine's ribs were fall off the bone delicious!!

Thursday, 7/12/12: Rest day.

Christine and I had a new Dallas marathon. We watched the first 5 of 6 episodes that have aired. There is a whole bunch of wheeling and dealing going on!

 Friday, 7/13/12: 6.2 miles, 47:40, 7:42 pace, 78F, cloudy, humid, calm, no stops.

Garmin Connect Activity for 10K around the streets of Irondequoit

It was very hot, 90F, and humid during the day. I had to drive between multiple buildings at work ... I was melting! But by the time I got out to run around 7PM, it was 78F and still humid. I warmed up quickly and pushed the pace. I just flew on my usual 10K course. There was little traffic and few walkers. I did sweat quite a bit when I did stop. Man, did it feel good though! Christine and I caught up on the latest new Dallas episode. John Ross is in a bit of a predicament trying to pump oil without the mineral rights to South Fork ... expecially with some shady people relying on that money!

Saturday, 7/14/12: 6.7 miles, 55:01, 8:12 pace, 74-78F, sunny, humid, calm, no stops.

Garmin Connect Activity for Out to the Zoo, 3 times around the pond, and back

I needed to get out there. Up at 8:38AM, out the door by 9:39AM. It was sunny so I chose a shady route out to the Seneca Park Zoo. I ran 3 times around the pond and back to rack up the required mileage and endorphins. I took it really nice and easy at the start since I felt a bit of tightness in my left hip. I loosened up after a bit and picked up the pace just a wee bit but kept it nice and easy since it was quite humid. There was no need for speed. I felt the simple joy of running in the morning sunlight and shade. A sweaty and sweet run to kickstart the day!

After a quick shower and some dawdling, we headed back out. I took Christine to get nails done and her hair touched up. Gotta take care of my woman! Then we headed down to a restaurant named Pierri's Central Resturant in Painted Post NY to met up with one of Christine's brothers, Bill, and his wife, Patty. We had a good time catching up. Then we headed over to Elmira to look at the Elmira Street Art Festival. Unfortunately, a lot of them were already covered up for the night. A late night ensued as we didn't get back up to Rochester until 11:30PM.

Sunday, July 1st to Saturday, July 7th

I ran 5 times this week, 35.77 miles.

Sunday, 7/1/12: 13.1 miles, 1:56:24, 8:53 pace, 72-78F, sunny, humid.

Garmin Connect Activity for East and west side of the Genesee River

I got up around 7AM, it was 66F. It was 9AM and 72F by the time I dilly dallied around and got out to run. I wore my Camelback filled with water and ice. I also carried 2 Gels. I wanted to do around a half marathon in honor of the runners who had run 50 miles in the Finger Lakes 50s the day before. I did my usual run on Winona Blvd and Chapel Hill Drive then down to the flats and back up to Thomas Ave. I took a Gel at mile 6.7. I headed down Thomas Ave and crossed the O'Rorke Bridge and headed south on the Genesee River trail. I bonked a bit at mile 10 as I took another Gel and walked for 5 minutes. I felt better and settled into a slower, nice and easy pace. I knew I could keep that pace up for a long time and finished without stopping. The sun was relentless and I did get a bit of a sunburn. I picked up the Sunday Democrat & Chronicle and a couple cinnamon & raisin bagels on the way home.

Christine and I lazed around the rest of the day. It was kind of hot. I did make it out to Wegmans in Webster for a bit of coupon inspired grocery shopping. We have been watching the US Olympic Trials off the DVR recently. Christine cooked up a roaster chicken with brussel sprouts and baked potato with the usual delectable results

Monday, 7/2/12: Rest day.

Christine and I just lazed and caught up on the rest of the US Olympic Trails. The story, link here, about Jeneba Tarmoh conceding rather than racing in a 100m runoff with Allyson Felix, is something I was looking forward to seeing. I say runners race, they don't concede so that 'their hearts can be at peace'. What BS!

Tuesday, 7/3/12: Another rest day.

I could have ran but I had a bad headache and just felt like I needed a nap all day. Oh well!

Wednesday, 7/4/12: Irondequoit 10K, 44:09, 7:07 pace, 80F, sunny, humid, a bit windy.



Christine and I woke up early to get down to the King of Christ church on Kings Highway for the Irondequoit 10K. We got there early so we got a nice (read ... shady) parking spot. I warmed up with a nice and easy 1.1 mile run at 8:54 pace. The conditions were the 3H's: hot, hazy and humid.

The start!

Bill Beyerbach in the background

Digging for the finish!

Wilt Alston

The race started about 10 minutes late due to runners registering late. I started out really hot on the downhill curvy section of Kings Highway with a first mile of 6:15. I cut all the tangents that I could and kept running. I was on Lake Shore around the 3.1 mile mark when I passed someone who said my time was 20:18! Unbelievable, just 5 seconds off my 5K PR! But ... coming back up from the lake I paid for it. I had to walk a bit twice between mile 3 and 4. Then I settled into an OK pace, not too slow but not super speedy either. I thanked everyone who had their hoses out trying to keep us cool. Bill Beyerbach passed me somewhere around mile 4. I just hung on and finished about 10 seconds behind him. I did OK with a 44:09, which was 51st out of 327, link here. I was 6th out of 19 in my M50-54 age group, link here. I practiced the last half of this course with Bill but definitely didn't handle it well on race day. My splits were: 6:17, 6:56, 6:55, 8:00, 7:31, 7:26 and 6:24 over the last 0.2. I hung out for a while then walked back to the car where Christine was waiting. A nice, cool mug of coffee along a cinnamon and raisin bagel hit the spot when we got home.

Meanwhile, other races were going on in the Rochester area. The Brigton 5K had 748 runners. The Firecracker 5 Mile had 841 runners and the Sodus Point 5K had 479 runners.
We just lazed around. It was hot .. hovering around 90F. We had ribs for a late lunch. It was so humid that even when we just sitting around we were coated with sweat. I ended up going to bed early ... I figured that I might as well sweat in bed!

Thursday, 7/5/12: 9.3 miles, 1:19:15, 8:31 pace, 80F, sunny, calm, humid.

Garmin Connect Activity for Zoo trail out to Thomas Ave

I wanted to get out for a run tonight instead of running on Friday when it was supposed to be even hotter. I also wanted to be in the shade so I chose the zoo trail. I headed for the west zoo trail for the way out ... which I had not run for about a year. I took wrong turns twice. First, I almost headed down into a gully that would have led me really quickly down to the Genesee River. Shortly afterward, I found myself on a trail that had about a 45 degree slope that I had some trouble with before I dragged myself back up to main trail. A bit of an adventure. Soon I was back on the west zoo trail that I remembered, made it where the west zoo trail hooked back up with the east zoo trail and headed out to Thomas Ave, 4.8 miles in 40:27, 8:26 pace. I stopped for a minute to hydrate. Then I headed back at a nice and easy pace and headed back and took the east zoo trail where they branched off, 4.5 miles. 38:48, 8:37 pace. I don't really like the zoo trail, it's a bit too rocky in places for my taste.

It was hot but I was glad that I went out. I had an energy drink as soon as I got in and Christine cooked up a chicken pizza shortly afterward. I was tired and went to bed early ... again! My right achilles ached while I was trying to get to sleep, ouch!

Friday, 7/6/12: Rest day

Just your usual, not and humid rest day.  Maybe cheap blenders should put in their instructions that chopping ice will break them!! I was trying to make a pina colada for Christine and I when I broke the blender. It will not blend ... bummer! I just went to bed early ... again!

Saturday, 7/7/12: 6.1 miles, 1:13:12, 12:00 pace, 72F, light rain, calm, humid.

Garmin Connect Activity for Lucien Morin Park during a thunderstorm

I woke up around 7:45AM and knew I needed a trail run. Either Lucien Morin Park or Mendon Ponds Park were on my mind. It was 72F and humid, 89%. The clouds in the sky looked ominous. I headed down I590S while I flipped the proverbial coin in my head. I took the Empire Blvd exit and headed toward Lucien Morin Park. It started to sprinkle, then rain as I pulled in. I got ready and waited for the light rain to abate for a bit. I headed out on the White, then the Blue and back to the White for a bit. The leaves and brambles were wet so parts of me got wet when they brushed or clawed against me. The trail was quite close and narrow in spots. I saw a trail runner and also two girls who were walking their two dogs. The two girls were wearing black fly hats, lol! They were at the intersection of the White and Yellow trails. I headed down the Yellow, then back to the White until the end. Mileage was 3.25 miles, 38:17, 11:47 pace. I stopped a minute for some water. By this time a mild thunderstorm was rolling through along with a light rain. It was quite dark in the woods so I ran nice and easy as well as carefully. I headed back just on the White. By the time I got back out the light rain had mostly stopped and the thunderstorm was just rumbling in the distance. This run was exhilarating, a bit short but with 931 feet of elevation change, a bit on the risky side ... and sweet!

Later Christine and I headed out to two Wal-Marts to look for a new blender. First, the Wal-Mart on Hudson Ave. The aisle that had the blenders was very disorganized and had very little stock. We left in disgust. Second, the Wal-Mart in Webster in the Baytown Plaza. Here the aisle was organized and had lots of stock. We ended up buying an Oster blender. Christine has had good luck with Oster in the past. Hopefully it will last longer than the 26 month old Black and Decker blender that it replaced.

Sunday, 6/24/12 to Saturday, 6/30/12

1 ran 4 times this week, 28.54 miles.
I ran 22 times in 30 days; 128.86 miles, 5.9 miles/run. Over 100 miles for 4 months in a row!
The first half of 2012; 120 runs in 181 days, 798.91 miles, 6.7 miles/run.

A milestone ... this is the 300th post of my blog since I started it on January 1st, 2007!

Sunday, 6/24/12: Lost in Lucien Morin Park, 5.8 miles, 1:07:48, 11:41 pace.

Garmin Connect Activity for Lost in Lucien Morin Park

Christine and I slept in until almost noon so when Bill Beyerbach called about going out for a trail run I was all for it. He had the misfortune of heading down that morning to somewhere near Watkins Glen to try to meet up with runners who were going to practice the Finger Lakes 50s, didn't see anyone, then locked his keys out of his car! So he was more than ready for a trail run too! I met up with Bill around 2:30PM at Lucien Morin Park, aka Eliison Park Wetlands. We headed up and took various color trails but eventually made it all the way out on the White trail, 2.25 miles. We headed back and I got us lost. I just ran out of energy, got lightheaded and lost my sense of direction. Luckily Bill took the lead. I settled into a "get it done" pace and followed him as he figured out where we were and led us out. I immediately fueled and soon felt better. I forgot to turn off my Garmin ... somehow I knocked it back on for a bit on the way home. Later I realized that I had neglected to eat lunch before I went out to run and then didn't pack a gel when I started the run. Oops!

Ribs, potatoes and cole slaw salad were on the menu for supper ... it would have be yum but I just didn't feel up to supper for some reason.

Monday, 6/25/12: Rest day.

My leg muscles hurt during the day. I stripped at the door and ... we started 3 loads of laundry. Leftovers were on tap for supper followed by the rest of the orphan series, Missing, off the DVR. We also caught the latest Dallas episode. Of course we went to bed too late ... nothing unusual there.

Tuesday, 6/26/12: 10.6 miles, 1:22:11, 7:48 pace, 73F, sunny, a bit windy, 1 stop for hydration.

Garmin Connect Activity for Around the streets of Irondequoit

I needed a run but I didn't really want to drive anywhere.So I made up a route that I thought would be about 10 miles. It was down Seneca to Collingwood Drive, across St Paul, down the east zoo trail to Thomas Ave (4.56 miles, 34:50, 7:38 pace), then up Thomas Ave until I could head down into the flats on Van Voorhis Ave and out on Seneca Park Ave, then down St Paul to Winona Blvd, back onto St Paul to Collingwood Drive, Seneca Ave and home. I pushed it and stretched out as much as I could. It was cool, not too humid, a great night for a run!

A leftover dinner of ribs along with baked potato and corn. Somehow they tasted better than Sunday, yum!

Wednesday, 6/27/12: Rest day.

Just your average rest day. Thanks to a free text coupon from Redbox, we watched Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. Excellent! Late to bed but with a nice stretch!

Thursday, 6/28/12: 6 x 1 mile repeats with Bill Beyerbach, 85F, sunny, calm, humid.

I met up with Bill Beyerbach at the Christ the King School on Kings Highway in Irondequoit. We jogged over to the Town Hall to warm up. We ran the last half of the Irondequoit 10K course again. We wanted to hit all miles under 7 min pace this time. We did: 6:26, 6:36, 6:20, 6:50, 6:36, 6:46. We did take about 3 to 4 min rest between splits because of the heat. Mile 2 and definitely mile 3 were downhill. Mile 4 was definitely uphill with 68 feet of elevation gain. The miles back were definitely harder. But ... definitely sweaty and sweet!

Christine was cooking up bacon while I was grocery shopping at Wegmans. We were soon eating her lucisous BLTs, yum! We watched some of the US Olympic swimming trails off of the DVR.

Friday, 6/29/12: Rest day.

It was just too hot to run. Just a simple tuna salad with tomatoes and mushrooms. Christine and I did some very vigorous cross-training ... then took a nap. Sweet! I got up for a while and couldn't get back to sleep until 2AM!

Saturday, 6/30/12: Charlie's Old Goat Trail Run, 6.14 miles, 56:42, at least 80F, humid, a bit windy.



Christine and I woke up early to get out to the Ganondagan State Historic Site south of Victor for Charlie's Old Goat Trail run. Charlie Sabatine, 79 years young, is my inspiration ... he is such a nice man! Over 200 runners toed the line, twice the number of runners as last year.The weather was hot, humid and a bit windy (thank goodness). I ran this race last year ... I should have memorized the course! Everything started OK ... the usual down and up, out to 2.7 miles. Then I came to an unmarked turn ... left or right? Everyone behind me was confused. I tried left ... and came up on a taped dead end. Some runners broke the tape and headed back. I went back and chose right. Shortly I came upon upon a unmarked meadow ... left or right? I chose right and followed a trail that just didn't seem correct ... especially when I saw runners coming towards me, I merged in with them and continued. I probably should have went back and chosen left. Oh well! Soon we crossed the creek, the road, up the big hill, around the meadow and headed back to finish in 56:42. I was told that I made another wrong turn when I didn't loop the long house like I am pretty sure that I did last year. I only had 6.14 miles on my Garmin. People that did the whole course had at least 6.7 miles. I had 6.63 miles last year. I was told that somebody probably moved or mismarked the tapes. Charlie said that no one was going to win a car ... so stuff happens. It's all good!

One thing ... it seems that the AC in our car has died after only 10 days!!! What a major disappointment  ... to say the veru least when it is in the upper 80s to 90F!! Believe me, I did say worse! I really need the AC working during work when I need to go between buildings.

We headed to my daughter's apartment in Newark where I installed Office 2007 and its updates on her laptop. Then I looked at my youngest son's laptop. He had told me that he could not boot up his laptop. I met up with him at Brynes Dairy in Phelps. Well ... his laptop booted three times just fine for me. I just love NTF (no trouble found) calls, lol!

We went to Burger King where we ate a bite to eat. I had an iced coffee which was mostly ice and not so much mocha coffee. I got into an animated discussion with the manager when I complained. It seems that BK's policy to fill up the iced coffee cup all the way with ice. This particular BK in Newark only filled my cup 3/4. He calmed me down, refunded my $2.69 and said that I could order it with less ice next time. Lesson learned.

We headed back up to Rochester where we just lazed around in the heat. It was too hot to do much else!