Monday, December 31, 2012

Sunday, 12/23/12 to Saturday, 12/29/12

I ran 3 times this week, 16.0 miles.

Sunday, 12/23/12: 7.5 miles, 1:03:10, 8:26 pace, 35F, sunny, a bit windy, no stops, usual discomfort

Garmin Connect Activity for Around the streets of Irondequoit

Christine and I were creatures of habit and just lazed around all Sunday morning. Much later ... I did make it out for a much needed run. I just took it nice and easy. I added a trip down and back up Chapel Hill drive to my usual 10K course around the streets of Irondequoit. I could feel the usual discomfort in my right Achilles but just ran onward. The west wind when I was running west on Titus Ave was a bit nippy so I was glad to turn back onto Seneca Ave and be only 1.3 miles away from the apartment.

The Buffalo Bills were losing 3-14 to the Miami Dolphins down in Miami just before I left for my run. I caught the tail end of the game. Just your usual boneheaded play ... the Bills down 10-24 with the ball on the 1 with about 2 minutes to play. Fitz drops three steps and throws the ball to the left ... right into the hands of a Miami player who was more than glad to catch the "gift". Yet another game ending interception ... unbelievable! The usual result, link here.

Christine and I headed out to Newark to hand out the usual gift cards for her and my youngest son. I saw the Terrace at Newark assisted living center where she works. A nice looking place!

Monday, 12/24/12: Travel day.

Another shooting was playing out in West Webster where Christine and I were getting ready to travel west to Ohio. Two firefighters were killed and two more wounded while responding to a fire at 5:30AM on Lake Rd, link here. The shooter was found dead of a self-inflicted GSW later. A total of 7 houses were destroyed while SWAT was securing the scene. I have personally run by this area twice during the yearly Run around the Bay run in early March. Unbelievable!

Christine and I got on the run at 10AM which is quite good for us. The drive to the Country Inns in Cuyahoga Falls OH was uneventful. There wasn't much traffic and the roads were clear. Thank goodness for the Google Maps on my smartphone! We arrived at 3:30PM during the daylight which was nice. I was able to score a 1 bedroom suite for about $46 off the race price by using 5000 of my Club Carlson points. Christine and I settled in for a while, booted up our laptops and relaxed after a long drive. The suite was excellent except the constant humming noise that the refrigerator made ... a nitpick but still a pain!

Later we emerged to head out for a delicious Hawaiian Chicken pizza from Marco's Pizza. We were hungry so we made short work of it. After we digested our supper we headed down to the indoor swimming pool. Christine soon was swimming around ... I took a bit longer before I did the same. She floats well ... I don't at all. Then we relaxed in the hot tub ... sweet!

Tuesday, 12/25/12: Merry Christmas and 4.0 miles on a treadmill

I woke up early enough to make it down to the exercise room. I endured 4.0 miles on the dreadmill ... err, treadmill. The exercise room was hot ... so I was drenched when I got back up to the suite to wake my sleeping beauty, Christine. The breakfast at the Country Inn was excellent as always. Then we packed up and motored over to the home of Christine's brother, Bill, in Ravenna. There we met up with the rest of her relations and enjoyed Christmas dinner. We brought 3 pies (apple, cherry and lemon meringue) that Christine and Danny Wegman had slaved over ... OK, we bought the pies at Wegman's. They were very good .... yummy!

We headed back to Rochester around 3:30AM and arrived back at 8:10PM. There is a winter storm warning for tomorrow but we had no trouble. All in all, a nice overnight honeymoon ... hugs and kisses to my darling wife, Christine!

Wednesday, 12/26/12: Rest day

Just your usual day after Christmas day at work. There was a winter storm warning for Wednesday night and Thursday morning. Christine and I were cold ... so we went to bed around 8PM, snuggled and got a solid 10 hours of sleep. We woke up a couple of times to look outside to see the snow coming down ... solid in the knowledge that apartment living meant that we wouldn't have to shovel in the morning, sweet!

Thursday, 12/27/12: Rest day.

At least a foot of snow fell overnight but I made it to my meeting early out in Victor. After work I could have run and should have  run but I didn't. An argument ensued .. because I like to do things for my honey. I so need to run more.

Friday, 12/28/12: Frustration day, night run = fail, 4.5 miles, 25F, night, icy, 2 falls

Garmin Connect Activity for Around the icy Seneca Pond Zoo pond once - ouch

I took today off so I could take Christine out and about so she could change her name. We got out after much fuss. bother and frustration. We did get down to the Social Security office downtown before it closed so Christine could change her name there. Christine did get to New Nails for her bi-weekly nail appointment. She chose Ruby Pump from OKI as her nail color. We will get her DMV records changed on next Monday or Wednesday, I hope.

Christine went to bed early so I headed out for an ill advised run. I forgot one essential piece of winter running equipment ... my Yaks. I went up Seneca Ave towards Titus Ave and found that the shoulder was not cleared enough for my taste so I headed over to the Seneca Park Zoo. My bright (err ... stupid) idea was to head down to the pond and run around it several times. Well ... the road out to the Zoo was icy, the road down to the pond was even more icy and I fell on my left side bruising my left hip, left forearm and hurting my left wrist. I picked myself up and continued onward at a really nice, easy and cautious (I thought) pace. I made it 95% of the way around and fell again really hard on my left side. I acknowledged defeat and walked up the icy hill out from the pond. My left side hurt but I managed a slow run back to the apartment.  I applied ice to my left wrist and called it a night. I really should have worn my Yaks or stuck to the side streets that were just snow covered and had more traction. In retrospect, I was lucky. I could have knocked myself unconscious or broken a bone down there with the gate closed ... no one would have found me until morning. A lesson learned!

Saturday, 12/29/12: Rest day

I stayed in bed while Christine went out and got her shopping hat on. I was starting to get worried ... she arrived home around 3PM with her booty from the town of Webster. Let's see ... new flatware from Kohl's and a new Droid 4 smartphone from the Verizon Wireless. She has leapfrogged my Casio Commando smartphone ... technologically speaking.

I watched the Syracuse football team manhandle the West Virginia Mountaineers down in NYC in the Pinstripe Bowl, 38-14, link here.  Go 'Cuse!

I definitely called a rest day due to falling yesterday. I have a bruise on my left hip and left forearm plus my left wrist kind of hurt. I had trouble sleeping on my left side which is how I usually sleep.