Sunday, 4/21/2013 to Saturday, 4/27/2013

I ran 1 time this week, 10.6 miles. I biked 1 time this week, 7.2 miles.

Sunday, 4/21/2013: Rest day.

Christine and I lazed around most of Sunday. I served Christine breakfast in bed along the Democrat and Chronicle. Later we crammed Christine's bicycle into our car and ran it out to the Bike Zone because we couldn't figure out how to put it on my bike carrier. So now it's there getting looked over and should be back in a week.

Monday, 4/22/2013: Another rest day.

Christine and I volunteered at Fleet Feet Ridgeway for the Flower City Challenge packet pickup. It wasn't too busy, just steady from 5 to 6:40PM. We had to split early to get Christine to her therapist appointment in Webster at 7PM.

Tuesday, 4/23/2013: 10.6 miles, 1:30:18, 8:32 pace, 62F, sunny, calm, 1 stop at the lake.

Garmin Connect Activity for Down to the lake and back

Lately I have had to drag myself out for runs, today was no exception. I did get out at 6:45PM for a much needed long run. I took it out at a nice and easy 7:50 to 8:10 pace down my usual 10K route. In the middle I broke it north and headed down to the lake, 5.75 miles in 47:00, 8:10 pace. I hydrated for a couple of minutes on the beach. Then I headed back at a slower pace, 4.85 miles at 8:42 pace. My right Achilles was just a slight nag ... but enough to bug me a bit. The Flower City Half on Sunday should be interesting. Maybe I will break out my new Brooks Adrenaline 12s ... my old ones have about 490 miles on them. Maybe I am hurting when I run because of old shoes.

Wednesday, 4/24/2013: Rest day plus laundry night ... move along.

Thursday, 4/25/2013: Another rest day.

Christine needed a 911 visit to New Nails because of a broken nail so off we went after work. Then we headed down to Fleet Feet Brighton to pick up our volunteer stuff for day 1 of the Flower City Challenge. We will be at Run 11 just over one of the pediastrian bridge over the Genesee River. We also donated $20 each to The One Fund to benefit victims of the Boston bombing. It's a win-win-win ... if you donate $20 or more this week during Flower City packet pickup Fleet Feet will also donate $20 and give you a $20 gift certificate (good until 7/1/13) toward a footwear purchase.

Friday, 4/26/2013: Another rest day.

I had to get up early to take my daughter to the Megabus station in downtown Rochester. I met her at 6:10AM at Market Place Mall where I exchanged with my ex. The bonus was seeing the full moon in the west sky ... very pretty! Though as a result I dragged most of the day and felt like crap during the night. Christine went out for a 2 hour message at MessageEnvy. We went to bed early.

Saturday, 4/27/2013: 7.2 miles on the bike

Garmin Connect Activity for Canal Path from Long Pond to Manitou

Christine and I got up early. I had signed up to volunteer at the Run 11 station on the Flower City Du course. I had asked Christine to help me. Well .... we had a spat right after we got there. No, no details. Anyway ... she drove off and I was left there with just what I had retrieved from the car. The temperature was just 42F at 7AM so I was a bit cold until it warmed up after the Du was over.

No matter ... a successful vollie ensued. I cheered on all the runners as I waved them onward in the proper direction. Afterward, I hooked up with my friend Bill Beyerbach for coffee at the Liberty Restaurant and a ride home.

Garmin Connect Activity for Canal Path from Long Pond to Manitou

Later we headed out to the Bike Zone with my old, old bike to pick up my new Trek FX 7.2 and Christine's newly tuned 10 yr old Janus. We headed to the Long Pond trailhead on the Canal path. I rode slowly with Christine for a while. I did hike it up when Christine turned around the 2.75 mile mark. A successful first bike ride ... though who knows how my legs will feel tomorrow morning during the Flower City Half!!

Sunday, 4/14/2013 to Saturday, 4/20/2013 - Dirt Cheap #1 and Muddy Sneaker 20K

I ran 3 times this week, 24.48 miles along with 2 warmups before race.

Sunday, 4/14/2013: Rest day.

I wanted to run but my thighs were killing me because of the 12 mile run yesterday. It felt like someone stabbed me everytime I took a step. So I took as few as possible. I kept up with race reports from the Athens Marathon down in Athens OH via Facebook. Kathy Reardon BQed by 3 seconds with a 3:59:57  and Bill Beyerbach ran a 3:43:25.

Kathy Reardon

Bill Beyerbach

Christine and I caught up on our DVRed episodes of Red Widow, then I watched the end of the Masters while Christine retreated to the bedroom.

Monday, 4/15/2013: 6.2 miles, 51:47, 8:21 pace, 73F, before dusk, 1 stop.

I followed three runners (Dan Giblin, Wendy Abbott and Heather Danielson) at the Boston Marathon. Others were following other runners on Facebook. I thought all was well. My brother called me around 4PM with the news that there had been a bombing at the Boston Marathon near the finish. I was in shock! My Facebook feed was full of entries of checking whether the Rochester runners were safe (they are). My mind just could not wrap around the fact that 2 explosions had been set near finish around 2:50PM and that at 7:57PM 3 were dead and over 130 were injured, link here. Wendy Abbott was interviewed over the phone by WHEC-TV, link here. Boots and Ellen were interviewed by WHEC-TV, link here.

I got home, kissed Christine and watched new coverage from Boston. I saw the video of the first and second explosion over and over. I knew I had to get out for a run.

Garmin Connect Activity for 6.2 miles around the streets of Irondequoit

I got out around 7PM. I took it out nice and easy. My thighs still hurt, then my left knee hurt, then my right Achilles hurt a bit. But I was determined to run 6.2 miles, 20 less than 26.2, in honor of the Boston Marathon.

Tuesday, 4/16/2013: Laundry night

Two loads of laundry trumped heading down to Fleet Feet for a memorial 4.09 mile run. The 4:09 denoted the time in the Boston Marathon that the bomb exploded. Here are three  news sites; a D&C link here, a MPNnow.com link here and a YNN link here. Steve Levitsky's column in MPNnow.com, link here and a blog, "Don't Let the Bastard Win", link here.

Wednesday, 4/17/2013: 2 runs of 1 mile and 4.69 miles, 50F, sunny, calm.

Christine and I headed down to Devil's Bathtub area of Mendon Ponds Park for Dirt Cheap #1. We got there around 6PM. I parked out on Douglas Rd. Christine bet me that there would be parking spots up close. Well ... she was right! After I got my bib I ran down to move up the car.

Garmin Connect Activity for Warmup before Dirt Cheap #1 - 2013

I had just enough time to go out for a 1 mile warmup run. I pulled down my arm warmers before the race.

I started out nice and easy and settled into a trail groove. I have run this Dirt Cheap #1 since 2009 so I knew what to expect. Lots of up and down but nothing too outrageous. The mud blog section almost took off one of my trail shoes so I stopped for about 20 seconds and tightened up one. Lesson learned again ... cinch up both before a trail race! The infamous stair climb finish was just as enjoyable as ever!

I did OK. I finished in 41:45, 81st out of 318, 2nd out of 12 in my M55-59 age group, link here. All in all, a lot of fun was had! I wandered around after the race and caught up with Wendy Abbott who ran the Boston Marathon two day ago. I also talked with Kathy Reardon and Bill Beyerbach who ran the Athens Marathon on Sunday. I was a bit cold after the race so I was glad that I had packed a sweatshirt, hat and gloves for afterward!

Thursday, 3/18/2013: Rest day.

I headed to Newark to visit my daughter. I gave her old Toshiba Satellite laptop to a friend of hers. I had refurbished it with a spanking new version of Window 7 64-bit. Then I transferred her data from her old "on its last legs" laptop. No trouble at all when you have the right tools!

Friday, 3/19/2013: Another rest day.

I took a day off from work so Christine and I could get our eyes tested. I had not had my eyes tested in more than 10 years. While we were at Strong Memorial Hospital the temperature fell from 74F to 47F .... brrr! Then Christine took me out to the Crab Shack for an early supper. Afterward we stopped by New Nails so Christine could get her nails done along with a pedicure.

Saturday, 3/20/2013: 2 runs of 0.5 and 12.09 miles, 39F, partly cloudy, windy.

Christine and I got up at 6AM, out the door at 7AM and on the way down to the High Tor Wildlife Management Area for my third Muddy Sneaker 20K. We got there at 8AM in plenty of time for the 9AM start. I had time for a short 0.5 mile warmup run just to get my bones moving.

Garmin Connect Activity for Warmup before the Muddy Sneaker 20K - 2013



What can you say about the 2013 edition of the Muddy Sneaker? Well ... it was muddy with 2 stream crossings, hilly (2815 feet of elevation change) rooty, rocky and windy with long up and downs. By long up and downs ... I mean sometimes a mile long with some serious elevation changes. Mort Nace, the race director, said, "It's the only race with both an uphill start and finish". Some light snow pellets were thrown in by Mother Nature for good measure. You definitely have to keep on your toes and be mindful of your next footing. Here is a write-up, link here.

Just milling around before the start ...

Gutting it out ...

My darling Christine walked down from the finish about 0.2 miles to cheer me on to the finish. I am not in as good shape as last year so I finished in 2:16:30 about 8 minutes slower. Still, I had fun testing myself. I did OK. My official time was 2:18:19, 87th out of 162, 14th out of 30 in my M50-59 age group, link here. A link to a race report by Ben Murphy, here.

We took the scenic route back. We stopped at the Rose Bud Cafe at the intersection of 5 & 20 and 64 for lunch and coffee. We browsed in EMP Antiques next door where I bought Christine a step stool and bowl. Then we hit up The Bike Zone in Greece where I looked at, tried out and put a deposit on a 25" Trek FX 7.2. Yes, I bought a bike. Now we have to get Christine's bicycle looked at. Maybe we can be riding our bike by next weekend.

Sunday, 4/7/2013 to Saturday, 4/13/2013

I ran 1 time this week, 12 miles.

Sunday, 4/7/2013: Sick day

I got early and thought about running ... does that count?? I wanted to drive down for the Sehgahunda Preview Run #2 but just couldn't. I followed "Katie from Cali" as she completed her firt Half Ironman down in Texas ... Go, Katie! The only exercise I got was walking slowly to take some letters to the Post Office next door ... whoopee!

Monday, 4/8/2013 through Friday, 4/12/2013: Sick days all

Sick day, getting better, could have run day, work and life got in the way :-(. I gave my darling wife, Christine, my cold on Wednesday. She was just as sick as I was ... always with a Kleenex in her hand. Love means sharing ... lol!

Saturday, 4/13/2013: Finally ... 12 miles, 2:05:06, 10:27 pace, 42F, cloudy, windy, hip ache.

Garmin Connect Activity for Mendon Ponds Park - Blue and Green Trails x 2

I set my alarm for 6AM because I wanted to head down to Letchworth for the Sehgahunda Preview Run #3. But I turned it off during the night. Christine had told me that she would worry too much about me if she didn't go. But I didn't want to drag her down there so we both slept in. Later after lunch I headed down solo to Mendon Ponds Park so I could have some trail running goodness. The weather was in the mid 40s and windy so I just wore compression shorts, calf sleeves, heavy long sleeve tech shirt, light gloves and hat. I just headed out really and easy and put trail miles on my Salamon SpeedCross trail shoes. There were several trail runners heading in the opposite direction ... I saw them several times! My hips and upper thighs stiffened up afterwards.

Sunday, 3/31/2013 to Saturday, 4/6/2013

I ran 2 times this week, 11.55 miles.

Sunday, 3/31/2013: 1:15:01, 7.55 miles, 10:01 pace, 52F, light sprinkles to light rain, a stop to remove my jacket.

Garmin Connect Activity for Mendon Ponds Park - Blue, Green, Blue Trails

My darling Christine and I spent Easter in Rochester this year rather than venturing out to Cleveland to see her family. We spent a relaxing morning and early afternoon reading the Sunday Democrat and Chronicle along with our usual coffee and bagel. Soon though ... the trail called out to me. Let's call it ... day 1 of accelerated Sehgahunda plus Muddy Sneaker plus Medved Madness hill training. I have to really amp up my trail game with lots of races coming up soon.

So ... Christine dropped me off in Mendon Ponds Park so I could commune with nature while she went onward to Trader Joe's. I asked her to come back in an hour. I had my Camelbak and a couple of Gels (which I didn't need). A light sprinkle was falling as I set off on the Blue trail at a really nice and easy trail pace. The trail conditions were a bit muddy. I was surprised to find just a little bit of frozen snow on the trail in a coule of spots. I took off my jacket before I transitioned over to the Green trail. It was a heavier sprinkle now ... I was running and warm enough with just a short sleeve shirt, shorts, calf sleeves, light gloves and my Salomon Speedcross shoes. I know these trails well ... soon a light rain was falling. Christine was not waiting after 57 minutes when I exited from the Green trail so I continued onward for another loop of the Blue trail. She did honk at me when she saw me as I paralleled Douglas Rd for a bit but I motioned that I was running on. She was there waiting when I came off the Blue trail. I was happy that I had communed with nature and she was happy that she had finally made it to Trader Joe's ... a win, win!

We had a non-traditional Easter supper of chicken, brussel sprouts and salad while we watched a couple episodes of Castle and Grey's Anatomy.

I ran 20 times in 31 days for 140 miles. So far in 2013: 58 runs in 90 days for 355.7 miles.

Monday, 4/1/2013 and Tuesday, 4/2/2013: Rest days.

Winter continued to rule the roost in upstate NY. Cursed groundhog! Wind and snow flurries during the day on both day and actual snow on the ground on Tuesday morning! Uggghh! I should have ran Tuesday but a nice warm apartment made up my mind to be a slug.

Wednesday, 4/3/2013: I guess 4 miles, 40F, sunny, windy, no stops.

I absolutely had to run hills so I drove down to the Riley Lodge at Cobbs Hill. It was cold, windy and the park was mostly deserted as a result. I didn't warm up much but headed straight for the switchback ... which was a mistake. I was very winded when I got to the top. I caught my breath and proceeded down the stone path and up the grass V. I did three more. Each one were easier. Lesson learned ... always warm up with a run first before doing hills. I did do a cool down run afterward.

My fully charged (?) Garmin died in the middle of the second loop so I guess-estimated my mileage by looking at what data I could upload. I just learned that Garmin is offering a $50 rebate, link here, on any returned Garmin if you buy either a 210, 610 or 910XT from Garmin ... hmmm.

Thursday, 4/4/2013: Rest day due to apartment hunting.

I thought that Christine had made this appointment for next Thursday ... like it was marked on the calendar in the bathroom. But, it was for this Thursday so out we went into the setting sun to Brockport to look at a two bedroom, 1.5 bath townhouse with full basement and washer/dryer hookup at Winston Woods.

Friday, 4/5/2013 and Saturday, 4/6/2013: Sick days

Both days lost because of a spring cold. I really missed not running a warmup run on Friday night and the Flower City Half preview run #1 on Saturday morning. Instead I just moped around, sneezed a lot and wiped my nose when needed. Exciting stuff ... not!

Syracuse lost in the NCAA Final Four against Louisville, 56-61, link here. The team did well to get that far but had an off shooting night and some mildly questionable calls in the last two minutes.

Sunday, 3/24/2013 to Saturday, 3/30/2013 - Spring Forward 15K

I ran 4 times this week, 29.4 miles

Sunday, 3/24/2013: 12.4 miles, 1:54:31, 9:15 pace, 26-36F, sunny, a bit breezy, 2 stops



I could have drove down to the Mount Morris Dam where the Sehgahunda Preview Run #1 group was heading out at 9AM. I knew the course and didn't really want to run it with snow and mud. I thought of it though.

But ... I needed a long run so I got up and out around 10AM. I struck up a really nice and easy pace. I headed north to the O'Rorke Bridge, 6.2 miles away ... no worries. My right Achilles was a dull ache and ignored. I stopped for a Gel and hydration, then continued onward south on the Genesee River trail, then back to the 104 bridge. I stretched the run out a bit so I could get to an even 20K. Soon ... well after 2 hours ... I was home with coffee and a bagel. Long run on Sunday ... check. Monthly mileage total over 100 miles ... check.

Later, Christine and I headed out to Salvatore's on East Ridge Road for their Fried Shrimp Dinner ... yum! We watched a DVR'd "The Quiet Man" with John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara before hitting the hay. A nice weekend!

Monday, 3/25/2013: Rest day ... Castle marathon, move along!

Tuesday, 3/26/2013: Another rest day ... NCIS marathon, should have gone to bed earlier... didn't.

Wednesday, 3/27/2013: 6.2 miles, Garmin battery low, 36F, light wet snow/rain, no stops.

I came within a hair of not going out for a run ... really! Christine made an early supper of pizza before her therapy appointment at 7PM. I had to digest ... the couch almost sucked me in. I couldn't let that happen so I just got up, dressed and got out around 7:50PM. My Garmin saying Low Battery (again!) and the wet snow in my headlamp was a bit discouraging but I resolved to keep going. I started out at a 9:00-9:15 first mile pace to get the joints warmed up. Then I kicked it up to a 8:00-8:15 mile pace for the rest of the way. The wet snow changed to a light rain by the time I was done. I was drenched when I got in but another run was in the books ... Yay!

Thursday, 3/28/2013: Rest day ... could have ran.

'Cuse beat Indiana, 61-50, link here. They advanced to NCAA Regional Final on Saturday.

Friday, 3/29/2013: Rest day ... no running before the rolling hills of the Spring Forward 15K.

Saturday, 3/30/2013 2 runs of 1.5 and 9.3 miles, 30F, sunny, 8 WSW wind.

I set my alarm for 6AM ... at least I thought I did. I woke up at 6:50AM!! We dressed, got my gear together and were out the door at 7:25AM. Ah ... down in 20 minutes to our favorite park, Mendon Ponds Park. It was a beautiful morning with not a cloud in the sky! This was my seventh consecutive Spring Forward 15K. This race is quite demanding through the rolling and seemingly unending hills of Mendon.

Garmin Connect Activity for Warmup before Spring Forward 15K

I got out for a 1.5 mile warmup just to get loosened up. I ditched my jacket before the race.

 Soon I lined up for the race in my usual spot alongside Bill Beyerbach and Wendy Abbott. I started out kind of hot with a 7:18 first mile ... I couldn't keep up with Bill and Wendy today. The first 5K passed in 23:00. I saw 5 deer cross the road about 100 yards up between mile 3 and 4 and then another deer about the same distance between mile 5 and 6. The runners farther up certainly got a closer look! The second 5K passed in 23:43. I walked at the last two water stops so I could make sure that I got the water in me not on me. My right Achilles started to bother me plus I just plain ran out of gas in the last 5K, 24:57. I didn't have any sprint left in me at the end but did appreciate Ellen yelling out my name at the finish line.

Rounding the turn onto Douglas Rd ... about 1/2 mile to go!

 All in all, I did OK. I finished in 1:11:40, 7:42 pace, 114th out of 654, line here. I was 7th out of 30 in my M55-59 age group, link here. By the way, the 2.5 mile race had 241 runners, link here. I met up with my darling wife, Christine, at the finish. The post race chow of a hot dog and banana was much appreciated.

Later, I watched the 'Cuse dispatch Marguette to advance to their first NCAA Final Four in ten years, 55-39, link here. Then I watched the Rochester Knighthawks dispatch the Toronto Rock, 12-8, link here. All in all, a great day!