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.