I ran 2 times this week, 11.2 miles.
During the month of November, I ran 18 times in 30 days, 88.29 miles, 4.9 miles/run.During 2012, I have run 213 times in 334 days, 1141.75 miles, 5.4 miles/run.
My numbers of runs was up for both the past several months and year because I have been including warmup runs before races.
Sunday, 11/25/12: 6.2 miles, 53.23, 8:36 pace, 34F, night, a bit windy, a light snow, no stops, mild right achilles pain.
Christine and I cocooned a lot during the day ... romantic to be sure. We did watch the Bills lose ... yet again to fall to 4-7. This time they lost to the Indianapolis Colts, 13-20, link here. But I did break loose twice: one for a run and once to do some much needed grocery shopping.
Garmin Connect Activity for Around the streets of Irondequoit
I haven't run twice in two days for quite a while but I needed to get out. I struck up a nice and easy pace and enjoyed the sight of light snow pellets in my headlamp as I ran. My right achilles was just a mild discomfort that I ignored so I could get a dose of running endorphins. Sweet! Though I did spend 90 minutes after the run looking for my keys that I had laid down after I got back my run ... I found them inside an umbrella that I used about a month ago and left unbound! I can certainly lose stuff!!
Monday, 11/26/12: Rest day.
I paid for my running over the Thanksgiving holiday by limping all day at work ... joy! I bet my nickname at work is "Limp-a-long Doug"!
Tuesday, 11/27/12: Physical therapy, marriage license, Cobbs Hill run
Get 'er done! I was out early for physical therapy ... which sucked! My right achilles was sore and I couldn't do one complete right eccentric calf drop. Jeff tried to work around the tendon and ease into it but to no avail.
Christine waited in the car so afterward we headed downtown to get our marriage license. My philosopy when driving to downtown Rochester is to park where you find a spot and walk. So I parked by the Blue Cross Arena ... which is about a three block walk to the Rochester City Clerk's office at 39 W Main St. Well, we really wanted the Rochester City Hall at 30 Church St which is 2 blocks farther. Getting the marriage license was a lengthy process. Luckily they took my Newark Wayne Community Hospital birth certicate instead of what they really wanted ... my Wayne County birth certificate (I thought I knew where it was ... but its whereabouts are unknown right now). Christine was whipped by the time we had walked back to the car. I was walking ... err, limping ... slow ... probably still too fast for her.
I was tired but I had my running gear in the car so I changed at work and headed out to Fleet Feet Brighton. Before the run I finally got my Dirt Cheap Stage Race sweatshirt that I earned 2 1/2 weeks ago.
Garmin Connect Activity for FF Cobbs Hill run, 2 Y's
5 miles, 43:13, 8:37 pace, 34F, night, calm, no stops
I ran up nice and easy to the Cobbs Hill Reservoir. Everyone seemed to be doing Y's so I fell in with the crowd and did 2 of my own. Then I ran back slightly faster. I proudly donned my DCSR sweatshirt after the run. I asked Bill Beyerback to be my best man (he accepted) at our wedding on Friday since my two youngest children can't make it.
It is really weird how I can run better than I can walk. My right achilles pain just idles into a mild discomfort and off I run ... if you can believe it. I noticed today at physical therapy too. I know Christine thinks I am crazy.
Wednesday, 11/28/12: Rest day.
Christine's wedding dress (ordered by her) and wedding night attire (ordered by me, ;-)) arrived today. Later she tried the dress on. I approved of both!
Thursday, 11/29/12: Day before the wedding
First off, work was a bitch. My right achilles ached all day. I had to go between buildings all day as fast as I was could so I limped. If I moved fast I could walk without a limp but with some pain ... so I did most of the time. It was the usual day before a vacation ... in this case, my wedding. I had thought about going out for a run ... but there was too much to do.
Christine got a bit frazzled. She received word that one of her brothers, Rich and his wife Jill, was coming up from Pennsylvania for the wedding. So our little intimate wedding was getting larger. After I got home from work we went to New Nails so she could get her nails done. They really did a nice job. She looked really sharp in her new shade ... OPI's Kennebukport ... nice!!
Though ... she did go to bed early ... alone. She said that she wanted to get a good night's rest. So .... I just watched TV ... :-(. Well, tomorrow and ... tomorrow night will be a big day!!
Friday, 11/30/12: Wedding day!!
Today dawned grey and just below freezing. Christine and I snuggled a bit before she leaped out of bed around 10AM. She said that she had to go to Macy's to get her face made up. Well, I took my shower, had breakfast and waited ... and waited. Our civil ceremony was scheduled for 1PM. I called and texted Christine around 11:45AM. Noon came, I got dressed in my navy blue suit that I bought way back in 1982 around with a white shirt and red tie. I called her daughter, Beth, and my best man, Bill. I was a bit worried. Bill swung over and was just coming in when Christine arrived at 12:15PM with a fresh head of curls from Super Cuts. I helped her strip and get ready. I knew better than to rush her and just stayed out of her way. We left for the Rochester City Hall at 12:30PM and arrived at 12:45PM in plenty of time. Who was I to get worried that we wouldn't make it on time?
We met up with everyone attending: Christine's two children: John and Beth and Beth's friend Diane; one of Christine's brothers, Rich and his wife Jill; two of three of my children, Karen and David and my running partner, Bill. We paid for the ceremony and chose to get married in the atrium. A woman named Hazel soon appeared and performed the civil ceremony. Soon everyone took lots of pictures of us and of each other. Here are the pictures that I have been able to get from the three that were taking pictures.
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| Rochester City Hall Atrium |
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| Putting Christine's ring on her finger |
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| Christine putting my ring on my finger |
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| Christine and I |
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| One kiss of many that day!! |
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| My two youngest children, Karen & David |
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| Bill Beyerbach, my best man |
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| Christine's children, John & Beth |
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| One of Christine's brothers, Rich and his wife Jill |
A bit of a backstory for those who may not know our history. Christine and I first met way back in February 1977 at a Phi Kappa Theta party at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland OH. I went to CWRU from 1975 to 1978 and was a brother of Phi Kappa Theta. I was tending bar when I saw her appear. She was going to Ursuline College, an all girls college, and had come down with a friend. I served her a tequila sunrise and asked to see her later. Well ... sparks flew and we went out until January 1978 when her mother broke us up. We were heartbroken. We both had marriages. Strangely, we both got married within a week of each other back in 1980 without knowing it. Hers lasted 11 years with 2 children. Mine lasted 28 years with 3 children. We both thought of each other from time to time over the years. She found me on Facebook in July 2009 and sent me an email in late August 2009. Nine days later I went out to see her in Cleveland after running the Summerfest 12K. We had not seen each other for 31 years and we were both nervous. I made it a point to kiss her within a minute of seeing her (with her permission, of course) ... sparks flew again over that Labor Day weekend. Christine moved in with me in Rochester on November 12th, 2009. We got engaged on September 3rd, 2011 after I ran the Summerfest 12K and she ran the Summerfest 5K. We wanted to get married with a minimum of fuss. We largely succeeded. I love my darling wife, Christine, and wish us many years of happiness.
Saturday, 12/1/12: Travel day.
Christine and I woke up on our first day of our married life ... we just hugged each other for a while before we made it out of bed to start our day ... hopefully just like we will do for the rest of our life together. We got on the road to see my oldest son, Michael, around 10:15 AM. Some people would have been on the road at 6 AM ... but not us. We just don't move fast on Saturday or Sunday mornings. We were at the Oneida rest area on the Thruway when we heard, "Hi, newlyweds!!". We thought that we had a sign on our backs ... but it was one of Christine's No-Bo coaches named Jennifer Bailey Ostrander who was on her way to see her in-laws up in the Adirondacks. It truly is a small world!
I realized that I had not printed out our hotel info so we had to stop at another rest area to download the Carlson Inns app so we could have some turn by turn instructions once we got to Holyoke MA. Ten years ago we would have up the creek ... now there is an app for that! We made it to our Country Inn around 5PM and then we at Michael's door around 6 PM. After we unloaded his stuff from our car we headed out to dinner at the Amherst Brewing Company. We had a very nice dinner. When we got back to his place, he and I put together his digital piano that we had stored for a year. He treated us to a short impromptu concert. Christine and I really enjoyed seeing him after two years.
Later back at the Country Inn, I enjoyed watching a PBS show about Johnny Carson while Christine enjoyed sawing wood ... err ... snored. Oh, the joys of marriage! I mean that very lovingly, my darling!!! Really ... I remember staying up late and watching the Johnny Carson show with my late mother back in the day when I could not sleep ... which was quite often. Good memories.
