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.
