Sunday, 4/27/2014 - Flower City Half

Sunday, 4/27/2014 - 2 runs of 1.3 and 13.26 miles, 39F, 81% RH, 9 mph NW wind, wind chill 34F.

I woke up around 3:30AM or so and got out of bed 4AM. I knew I was going to go back to sleep so I just surfed the web and got ready for the Flower City Half Marathon. I wore my Brooks tights, red long sleeve tech, heavy gloves and orange Fleet Feet hat. I wore my Brooks jacket for warmth but kind of knew I would shed it.

I kissed my darling wife, Christine, goodbye and was out the door at 6:03AM. Due to light traffic I was down to the Blue Cross Arena by 6:12AM. I sat quietly in the car and then walked around the BCA to hang out for a while.

Garmin Connect Activity for Warmup before the Flower City Half

I headed out for a 1.3 mile warmup run at 7:51 pace just up and down Exchange St. I got warm and left my Brooks jacket at the car. I got a drink of water and headed to the start on the Broad St bridge. The course on www.mapmyrun.com is here.


I lined up between the 1:40 and 1:45 pace group signs and said "Hi" to Prem who was going to run with the 1:40 pace group. I wished him luck.

The start of the Flower City Half Marathon - taken by Barb Boutillier

The start was uneventful. I soon got into an open spot and cranked out a 7:56 pace first mile into the Susan B Anthony district. Then it was by Silver Stadium at mile 2 and down State St. Up Main St to East Ave for mile 3. I passed the 1:45 pace group on the way to mile 4.

Somewhere on East Ave (I think) - taken by Barb Boutillier

Somewhere on Park Ave - taken by Anzhela Knyazeva

I was running good. Back down Park Ave for mile 5. I felt my right Achilles tighten a bit. I started a run with itty bitty walk breaks for the rest of the way. Then it was up S Goodman St for mile 6. The 1:45 pace group passed me going up the hill into Highland Park.

Around mile 7 in Highland Park - taken by Tim Raggets

I saw Bill Beyerbach in Highland Park around mile 7 just after I had my only Gu. I crossed Mt Hope into the Mt Hope Cemetery at mile 8. The solitary bagpiper was there again. The hills in the cemetery were just as hilly as last year. I was making peace and suffering a little bit with my right Achilles by continuing my itty bitty walk breaks. I exited the cemetery just before mile 10. Only a 5K to go! Now I was running along the east side of the Genesee River by the U of R . I kept my running stride just as well as I could ... mile 11 and then mile 12 just before the Ford St bridge. 1.1 miles to go! Up and over the Ford St bridge to the west side of the Genesee River and north on Exchange St. A long mile. I cranked my stride up as much as I could and ran it in. I could hear and then see the finish. In the chute ... I heard Ellen Brenner call me in ... and done in 1:46:55 by my Garmin.

I was exhausted and staggered a few times before I caught my breath. I went into the BCA for some post race grub (pizza, banana and an apple). I met up with Kevin Clinefelter (1:32:24, 1st in my M55-59 age group), Mark Herberger (1:36:39, 6th in my M55-59 age group) and Prem Kumar (1:39:35, 26th out of 156 in his M 35-59 age group) to compare race stories.

I had to email Yellow Jacket Racing to get my time posted on the website. YJR responded quickly ... thanks, Matt Avery! Officially, I finished in 1:47:12, 8:11 pace. I was 397th out of 2242, link here. I was 14th out of 75 in my M 55-59 age group, line here. My splits were: 7:47, 7:46, 7:50, 7:35, 7:51, 8:19, 8:35, 8:55, 7:48, 8:24, 8:03, 8:24, 7:49 and 6:57 over the final 0.26 miles. Oh, there was the Wegman's Family 5K with 1129 runners that started 15 minutes after the Half, results here.

The local news covered the Flower City Challenge. Way up in front, "Kip" Tisia won (and three-peated) the Half in 1:07:34 and Karen Blodgett won for the women in 1:21:31.

Links from the D&C here, WHEC TV here, WROC TV here.

I was home by 11AM even after a brief stop at Wegmans for coffee creamer, 4 donuts and 8 cinnamon raisin danishes. My darling, Christine, had a kiss acoffee waiting for my arrival ... mmmm! My feet were up ... lots of sitting, drinking coffee, lounging, Facebooking and blogging soon ensued. I did limp around the apartment occasionally.

My right Achilles "problem" appears to be back ... joy. Hopefully it will heal quickly. I have a lot of races that I am signed up for and want to race ... not just run. But all in all ... a good day.

Sunday, 4/20/2014 to Saturday, 4/26/2014

I ran 2 times this week, 14.2 miles.
I biked 1 time this week, 16.1 miles

Sunday, 4/20/2014: 16.1 miles bike, 12.2 average, 46F, 42% RH, 9 mph ESE wind, wind chill 42F, sunny.

Garmin Connect Activity for 16.1 mile bike on both sides of the Genesee River

My honey, Christine, was snoring so I was awake at 6:30AM. The sun rose and I lazed around. I knew I didn't want to run but soon I had the bright idea of going for a bike ride. I geared up, pumped up the air in the tires of my Trek FX7.2 and off I went. It felt weird on the bike at first but I took it nice and easy on my usual around the bridges bike route. I stopped at Wegmans for some coffee creamer and 4 donuts. I stuffed it into my backpack and rode home.

I woke up my honey and we lazed around all afternoon. We did make it out for a nice Easter dinner at the East Ridge Diner. Did we go to bed early ... not!

Monday, 4/21/2014: Boston Marathon for some, rest day for me.

I had half a mind on work while I kept tabs on Rochester runners that I knew that were running in the Boston. 37,000 runners ran the 2014 Boston Marathon ... one of these days I hope to.

I loaded the BAA app onto my iPhone. I also had the BAA website feed and Universalsports.com finish line feed open. I saw Rita Reptoo from Kenya win for the elite women in a course record of 2:18:57. Then I saw Meb Keflezighi of the US win for the elite men in 2:08:37 (1st American male winner since 1983). Lots of news, links here, here, here, here and here, 42 signs here, stats here.

Meb!!!

JMac around mile 18

Wilt around the half way point

Wendy Abbott

Heather Danielson and Chris Patterson

I tracked ten Rochester runners: Jason McElwain (J-Mac) in 2:57:05, Chris Patterson in 3:02:36, Tim Dwyer in 3:03:21, Dan Giblin in 3:12:46, Heather Danielson in 3:28:16, Wendy Abbott in 3:34:48, David Coyne in 3:52:32, Kristen Nagel in 4:07:16, Wilton Alston in 4:15:07 and Bill Beyerbach in 4:20:39.

My body didn't feel like running after work so I didn't. I have lots of races coming up. I don't need to run every day.

Tuesday, 4/22/2014: 8 miles, 1:09:53, 8:44 pace, 54F, 77% RH, 9 mph W wind, overcast.

Garmin Connect Activity for Cobbs Hill run on Tuesday night

I need to run and I need to run hill so I headed down to my old haunt, Cobbs Hill, to run. I parked up on Cobbs Hill rather than on Highland Ave, geared up and headed out. I "ran" into the Fleet Feet Sehgahunda Training crew and said "Hi" to Boots and Sean as I passed as some of their hill route. I did 4 switchbacks, 4 full Vs and then ran a "cooldown" run. My elevation change was 1220 feet and my splits were: 8:30, 9:19, 9;31, 9:21, 9:00, 7:58, 8:12 and 8:01. Not bad! Hoping I am becoming Sehgahunda Strong!

Wednesday, 4/23/2014: Rest day.

My Garmin Forerunner 310XT hasn't been uploading automatically for months. Tonight I finally figured out how to fix it. I found in the Garmin forums lots of other people with the same problem ... mostly bitching and moaning but one link had my solution, a "non-prompted non-vol clear", link here. Basically, it wiped my 310XT back to right when I unboxed it with no prompts to save my data. I had to set it up again. Then it started to upload as soon as I got it near my laptop ... nice!

Thursday, 4/24/2014: 6.2 miles, 46:34, 7:26 pace, 54F, 24% RH, 10 mph NNW wind, overcast.

Garmin Connect for Fast 10K around the streets of Irondquoit

My darling wife, Christine, was watching "Magnum, P.I." off the DVR. I watched 3 episodes (well, two did have a young Sharon Stone in them) before I broke free. It was almost 7:30PM before I headed out. I was a bit pissed so I struck up a hard pace and kept it up on my entire 10K route. My splits were: 7:33, 7:34, 7:30, 7:30, 7:20, 7:19 and 7:02 over the last 0.25 mile. I felt better when I got done.

Friday, 4/25/2014: Another rest day.

I felt a twinge in my groin area during the day from last night's run so I stayed in. Plus there was a traffic fatality on Route 104W by Buckman Rd right on my usual route home so traffic was all tied up on the west side of Rochester all afternoon and during the evening rush hour so I was late coming home.

Saturday, 4/26/2014: Moving a kid day.

What a day. My daughter, Karen, was going to move from one apartment in Newark to another. Sounds easy ... not so much.

Well ... Uhaul in Newark double booked my truck so my 17' truck was gone when my youngest son, David, and I got there at 10AM. So ... we had to drive all the way back to Victor (23 miles) to get a 20' truck. Both sites apologied but I will complain to Uhaul Corporate for breaking my reservation. So ... we didn't get back to Newark to start the move until noon. There we met up with my oldest son, Michael, and my ex. We got loaded by 1:30PM at Karen's old apartment. Then we had to make 3 stops for more stuff: Walmart for a futon, the ex's apartment for an entertainment center and the ex's storage unit for a coffee table before we drove to Karen's new apartment. There I had to park my Uhaul still slightly on a busy side street because the driveway was short and narrow. Her apartment had a steep and narrow stair plus a low ceiling at the top of the stair and entrance way. Everything got moved in .... except the couch. My sons tried to get it in ... but couldn't. There was just no way to angle it in. So we had to take it back to my ex's storage unit. The move was done by 3:50PM, then it was off to drop the truck off in Victor. David dropped me off back in Rochester just after 5PM.

But ... I wanted to go to a RFP dinner party at Bazil's at 5PM ... Christine didn't really want to go but went along anyway. We were late ... words were said ... I should have gone by myself. We ate at MacGregor's Grill instead. We stopped at Wegmans to get a cake before we headed out to Steve and Kim Levitsky's for dessert. We had a bit of social time before we headed home. We were in bed by shortly after 9PM ... exhausted.

Meanwhile ... out in Facebook, I saw that Tina and Joe conquered the Blue Ridge Marathon in Roanoke VA which is billed as the "America's Toughest Road Marathon" with 7430 feet of total elevation change, results here.

Tina Pellegrin and Joe Ciecierega with finisher's medals in front of the Roanoke Star

Also ... again out in Facebook, I saw that Tom Butler was running the Hyner View Trail Challenge in Hyner PA. He ran the 50K with 4300 feet of total elevation change, results here.

Yet ... again out in Facebook, the Flower City Du and Tri was held. Just one picture ...

Kayaks out on the Genesee River during the Flower City Tri

Sunday, 4/13/2014 to Saturday, 4/19/2014 - Dirt Cheap #1 and Muddy Sneaker 20K

I ran 7 times this week, 27.05 miles

Sunday, 4/13/2014: Rest day.

81F and I took a rest day! Arrgghh! A well deserved one though after 37 miles last week. My darling wife, Christine, and I just lazed all day. I saw on Facebook that lots of running was going on.

Four runners from Rochester traveled to Athens OH to run the Athens Marathon. It was a hot day but they toughed it out and finished.

A Facebook pic from Athens OH: Steve Levitsky, Bambi Jasmin, Brian Andrews, John Muoio (head cheerleader) and Anzhela Knyazeva

Meanwhile, some of the ultra crowd were out in Buffalo to run the 6 hour BPAC. results here.

Facebook pic of the BPAC start.

I also saw updates about other people running, biking and kayaking. All in all, a busy and active Sunday for lots of people. We did make it for a bit to go grocery shopping at the Wegmans in Webster. OK, I felt like a slug.

Monday, 4/14/2014: Another rest day.

I needed to take another rest day because I knew I was going to run on Tuesday down at Cobbs Hill with GVH, run Dirt Cheap #1 on Wednesday and run the Muddy Sneaker 20K on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the nice weather in Rochester was turning to crap. The high was 83F ... then a cold front moved in. The high was Tuesday is forecast to be 39F with 100% chance of snow and sleet with about the same for Wednesday. Gotta love our wacky weather!

Tuesday, 4/15/2014: Several runs of 8:08 miles, 32F, 64% RH, 21 mph WNW wind, wind chill 21F, overcast.

It was 33F by 11AM ... a 50F temperature change in 22 hours. Summer left, winter has returned.

I headed down to Cobbs Hill to try out a GVH workout. I did a 2.3 mile warmup of 2 Ys, link here, before I gathered with the other members and Bill Beyerbach around 6PM. The marathoners were in taper mode so their workout was a relatively tame 4 or 5 1km repeats with 200m recovery followed by a 2 to 3 mile cooldown. Well, I kept up with the group for the first 1km, 4:04, link here. I took a bit more recovery after each 1km and did slow a bit. The 2nd 1km was 4:05, link here. The 3rd 1km was 4:05, link here. The 4th 1km was 4:10, link here. Bill and I decided not to do the fifth and went out for a cooldown run of 2.6 miles, 8:29 pace, link here. The route down Hillside and Norris Drive into the wind was brutal. We stopped at Fleet Feet Armory for their Boston Marathon sendoff party. D&C articles, "Fleet Feet's Boston Marathon send off celebration" and "Local runners proud to race in Boston".

A Facebook pic - The top picture is all the runners going to the Boston Marathon, Dave Coyne who has run 42 Bostons speaking and Ellen and Dave together.

Then I ran a really nice and easy 0.7 mile run, 9:56 pace, to my car on Highland Ave, link here. All in all, lots of runs for 8.08 miles. A nice workout!

Wednesday, 4/16/2014: 2 runs: 1.2 mile warmup and Dirt Cheap #1 of 4.68 miles, 36F, 47% RH, wind chill 31F, sunny.

It was a pretty cold day for April but it was a Dirt Cheap Wednesday in April so I headed down to Devil's Bathtub at Mendon Ponds Park. I got there around 5:45 for the 6:30 start and got a nice parking spot about 100 yards away from the finish.

I got out early for a 1.2 mile warmup run at 8:14 pace, link here. I got sweaty enough to just go with my tights, heavy black tech, heavy gloves and beanie. No, I did not wear the Brooks Racing Team colors since I did not sign up again. Right now, I am an independent runner just like when I started back in 2005.

The start was a wave start. Wave #1 was men under age 45. Wave #2, 5 minutes later, was women under age 45. Wave #3, another 5 minutes later was everyone 45 and over. As I waited, I chuckled with other runners that this was the "old geezer" or "seasoned runner" start. So we had a lot of runners to catch after they all mucked up the mud a bit.



I edged my way up near the start as I usually do. Off ... we went. This was my 6th Dirt Cheap #1 so I knew what to expect. We started to pass slower women before mile 1.

I skirted most of the mud in the bog at mile 1.5 by picking to just run the middle. I went through the mud slog at mile 2.5 without incident by making sure that I struck with my toes first not my heels. Later I heard that Diane K had been sucked out of both her shoes by the mud. Then it was a matter of hanging on. There was a bit of snow in the pine woods below Devil's Bathtub ... unbelievable!

Climbing up Cardiac Hill

Then it was up Cardiac Hill and down the other side. I could hear Ellen calling in other runners. I was struggling to save something for the infamous stairs up to the finish. I passed on the left as I was heading up and got to the finish in 43:04. Done! I struggled to catch my breath and had to walk around a bit before I could compose myself and get some water. I chilled and changed into dry clothes and shoes quickly. I hung around for the raffle but didn't win anything. Later I found that I did pretty well. I was 37th out of 307, link here and 1st out of 7 in my M 55-59 age group. My splits were: 7:41, 9:41, 10:21, 8:15 and 10:24 over the last 0.68 mile.

Thursday, 4/17/2014 & Friday, 4/18/2014: Rest days.

I was saving my energy for the Muddy Sneaker 20K on Saturday. I took Friday afternoon off. I just lazed around instead of getting anything done. I was kind of ticked off about that but ... whatever.

Saturday, 4/19/2014: 2 runs of 1 mile and Muddy Sneaker 20K of 12.09 miles, 41F, 70% RH, 9 mph N wind, wind chill 35F, sunny.

Christine and I woke up around 6AM and got ready quickly for the Muddy Sneaker 20K. This was my fourth time so I knew enough to bring a complete change of clothes and shoes. We started out for the High Tor Wilderness Area at 7:10AM. It was a scenic drive. We arrived at 8:15AM. I picked up my packet. Nice swag as always ... a long sleeve tech shirt and a pair of Smart Wool socks.

Garmin Connect Activity for Warmup before Muddy Sneaker 20K

I headed out for a 1 mile run at 8:22 pace to get my blood pumping and my legs warm. I ditched my Brooks jacket and gave it to Christine. I just wore my CW-X tights, heavy long sleeve tech shirt, heavy gloves and Brooks beanie.


The Muddy Sneaker has a unique start and finish ... they are both uphill. Soon off we went. I waved to Christine as we ran by.

The uphill start - courtesy of MPNow.com

I knew that it was best to go fast up the hill and back down until the dead end. The trailhead start was a bit of a bottleneck so it's best to get ahead of as many as possible. The singletrack that followed was muddy, full of rocks and roots. The first stream crossing was around mile 1.

The stream crossing at mile 1 - courtesy of Alex Tong's Flickr

I went to the right of a tree soon afterward and boom! I felt a branch rake across my face. It smarted but I continued on. I later found that I picked up a small scratch on my nose and a bruise on my right forearm from this race. The bruise was probably from when I fell later.

I broke out onto jeep tracks around mile 2. I remembered seeing thick ice on both sides of a stream that we had to hop over. The chicken and penguin waved us to the left and down at mile 3.

The chicken! - courtesy of roadsarepoison.com

The steep downhill stretches were much appreciated. The long, long uphill stretches that were seemingly unending ... not so much. I almost went straight at the end of a long downhill at mile 7 but was called back on course. The chicken and penguin were back at mile 7.7 waving us to the right onto a steep technical downhill muddy stretch. A water stop at mile 9 was before a really steep downhill down, down to the second stream crossing at the bottom of Parrish Hill Rd at mile 10.4. Then it was up, up a steep hill. This hill was not runnable for about 1/2 mile. I was exhausted and had to play mental games to keep going as the trail continued upward to the finish ... walk 20 steps, run 60 or more steps or just power walk if it was faster than running.

Just before the finish with Chris Washburn - courtesy of Alex Tong's Flickr

I sensed that the finish was near and kept my run up. Soon I saw the finish ... and .... done in 2:13:18, my second fastest Muddy Sneaker. Mort Nace of Medved handed me my latest Muddy Sneaker water bottle as I crossed the finish line. I found out later that I did OK, 62nd out of 170, results here. I was 6th out of 27 in my 50-59 age group. My elevation change was 1824 feet and my splits were: 8:35, 10:26, 13:19, 8:49, 9:37, 8:45, 11:24, 9:59, 10:39, 11:37, 16:01, 13:22 and 9:00 over that last 0.09 mile.

And ... a shout out to Alex Tong's Flickr account, link here, for his pics.

A sweet Muddy Sneaker 20K long sleeve tech shirt - courtesy of Christine

Christine was there to greet me and gave me a hug. I said "Hi" to Chris Washburn who had finished 9 seconds behind me. Soon I had a banana, a couple of cookies and potato chips to satisfy my runners hunger. I waited around for Prem Kumar to finish so I could find out how he liked his first Muddy Sneaker. He told me that he and other runners had helped a woman at mile 8 who had hurt her knee.

I got chilled and changed. Other things were on our plate for the day so we left. We headed toward Newark to see my daughter and also gave her boxes for her upcoming move next week. We stopped at Tom Wahl's in Newark for a bit of lunch. Our hamburger, fries and chocolate milk shakes were delicious. A bit of grocery shopping at Wegmans was also needed. By the time we got home at 5PM after a full day we were exhausted. I managed to head out later to Papa Johns for pizza and wings. Then it was to bed early .... zzzzz.

Sunday, 4/6/2014 to Saturday, 4/12/2014

1 ran 5 times this week, 37.0 miles.

Sunday, 4/6/2014: 2 runs of 8 and 3 miles

Bill Beyerbach called last night and asked if I wanted to run with him this morning. It would be his last long run before he runs the Boston Marathon in two weeks. I wanted to run a new route so I asked if I could run on his routes. It was 27F when I woke up at 7AM and warmed up to 39F by the time I got over to Bill's at 9AM.

Garmin Connect Activity of 8 miles with Bill Beyerbach

We got out on Bill's 8 mile route around 9:45AM. I took the lead and took up a nice and easy around 8:00 pace. It was a bit harder than Bill wanted to go but he stuck with me. We stopped for a couple of minutes at the corner of Hillside Ave and South Winton Rd for a bit of water before we continued on. Our splits were: 8:20, 8:04, 8:27, 7:49, 7:47, 7:52, 7:50 and 7:37. When we got back to Bill's house we took a bit of a break while we rehydrated and talked ourselves in 3 to 4 more miles including Rich's Dugway.

Garmin Connect Activity of 3 more miles with Bill Beyerbach

We headed down Rich's Dugway which a 1/2 mile hill about a 1/4 mile from Bill's house. Then he ran around Ellison Park for a bit before we headed back up Rich's Dugway. Going up Rich's Dugway, a 1/2 mile hill, is easier than it sounds. I was running out of energy so I was glad to stop when we got back to Bill's house after just 3 miles. Our splits were: 8:19, 8:34 and 8:57.

Afterward, Bill made us some Egg Beaters, raisin toast with butter and coffee. Bill didn't have any milk so I took mine black with sugar. All quite tasty! It was good to run some miles on another route!

I saw my youngest son, David, for a bit after a little lunch and a shower. When I caught up on Facebook I noticed that a lot of running had gone on! I noticed that some people down in Letchworth State Park running Sehgahunda preview run #2 from CP1 to CP3 ... a lot of mud and water was involved!

A muddy shoe fresh from the Sehgahunda mud

Other were running down in Hornell NY at the Salon 96 Run for the Wild 2014 (5K, 10K, Half marathon).

All in all, a nice Sunday!

Monday, 4/7/2014: Rest day

Well deserved after a weekend of running. Christine and I went out to see the Chase Woods Manor townhouses on Spencerport Rd just past Long Pond and before Elmgrove Rd. They are not too bad ... a typical up and down 2 bedroom townhouse with 1 bath upstairs and a full basement. It's very close to work. I was a bit worried running routes due to the amount of traffic. Christine likes it because it is close to Unity Hospital. I like because it is close to the Erie Canal and Fleet Feet Ridgeway.

Tuesday, 4/8/2014: 6.7 miles, 1:02:08, 9:16 pace, 46F, 66% RH, 11 mph NW wind, wind chill 43F, sunny.

Garmin Connect Activity for 6.7 miles of hills: 3 switchbacks, 2 full Vs and 2 Ys

I knew from past experience that being road ready is not being trail ready. When I run road I have a steady state like a metronome. Not so much with trail running with its up and down. I knew I needed to run hills to be ready for upcoming trail races: Muddy Sneaker, Dirt Cheap Trail Series #1 and Sehgahumda. So I knew I needed hills so what better place than where my 2012 Sehgahunda Training program started than Cobbs Hill. It was 46F so I just wore shorts, long sleeve tech, light gloves and a hat. Soon I got my trail on ... 3 trips up the switchback, 2 full Vs on the grass hill and then 2 Ys on the road up to the reservoir to "cool" down. My splits were: 9:50, 10:18, 10:03, 10:07, 8:22, 8:18 and 7: 21 over the last 0.7 miles. All in all, 6.7 miles. Nice!

Wednesday, 4/9/2014: Rest day ... nothing to see here!

Though I did sign up for some future races: Dam Good Trail Race in August, Airport 5K in June and the Lorain County Children Service Half Marathon on May 4th. Christine and I will be in OH at her niece's christening on May 3rd and the half is the next day so it's a win, win!

Thursday, 4/10/2014: 6.2 miles, 57:43, 9:18 pace, 70F, 23% RH, 18 mph SSW wind, overcast.

Wow! 70F plus outside! Summer blew into Rochester for a visit and I just had to take advantage of it! So I headed down to Cobbs Hill again to do more hills. Gotta do hills to prepare for trails!

Garmin Connect Activity for 6.2 miles with 3 switchbacks, 2 Vs and a cooldown run

My legs complained a bit as I started up the first switchback but I continued onward. I just took it easy as I did 3 switchbacks and 2 full Vs on the grass hill. I wanted to do 2 Ys up to the reservoir but Bill Beyerbach called me over to talk to GVH's Coach Reif for a bit. Then I went out with Bill for a 2 mile "cooldown" (maybe not) run. We pushed each other at 8 minute pace on the roads around Cobbs Hill. My splits were: 10:23, 10:08, 10:02, 8:57, 8:06, 8:30 and 7:54 over that last 0.2 miles.

I also joined the GVH group for their core workout. My core definitely needs work! Coach Reif invited me to join GVH as a guest for a few workouts next week. I am considered switching from the Brooks Racing Team to GVH. I would like a bit more structured workouts to advance my running beyond what I can do by myself.

Friday, 4/11/2014: Rest day.

Nothing special. I decided to go to the unofficial Flower City Half preview run that I heard about from GRR and Bagel Bunch runner groups rather than the Sehdahunda preview run #3 from CP3 to CP6.

Saturday, 4/12/2014: 13.1 miles, 1:55:29, 8:48 pace, 39F, 93% RH, 6 mph SW, wind chill 35F, sunny.

Garmin Connect Activity for Flower City Half preview

I set my alarm for 5:30AM and through sheer gumption got myself down to the Blue Cross Arena by 6:40AM. There were only 8 other runners when we started out at 7AM. One was Roger Howe who gave me a list of directions for the run and a detailed one of the route through the Mt Hope cemetery. I followed two other guys who didn't have a map and got a bit lost around Frontier Field since I thought they knew where they were going. I met up with Frank Quattrone who guided me across a parking lot to get back on track. Frank and I struck up a nice pace and proceeded on for miles and miles. We got a bit lost in the Mt Hope cemetery but made it out the other side with 3 miles to go. I felt pretty good so I just kept up my nice and easy pace all the way back. My splits were: 9:09, 8:41, 8:36, 8:17, 9:23, 8:40, 9:00, 9:46, 8:56, 9:25, 8:29, 8:16 and 8:06. Soon I was home drinking coffee.

I caught up on Facebook and learned that there were a lot of running going on: Fleet Feet had their own Flower City Half preview run, No Bo, WalkFit and Corporate Challenge.

Trails Roc ran their inaugural Mess the Dress with 133 runners in Black Creek Park, results here. I saw a livecast of the finish line on Youtube which showed them running through water up to their knees before climbing a hill to the finish. Here are a few Facebook pics that I found:

Dave Sek

Jeanne Herrick

Prem Kumar

Tammy Abbe

Mark Monachino

A very artistic picture of 2 runners reflected in the water

Eric Eagan, race director

Christine and I just lazed around and watched NCIS most of the day, then we zoned into watching shows off the DVR. Kind of boring but we were together ... we held hands now and then.

Sunday, 3/30/2014 to Saturday, 4/5/2014

I ran 3 times this week, 23.5 miles.
I ran 12 days out of 31 days for 114.1 miles, 9.5 miles/run, during the month of March.

Sunday, 3/30/2014: Travel day.

We woke up in Lakewood OH. I was the first one up so I went downstairs and made a pot of coffee. We left for Rochester around noon. Christine drove the Cruze and I drove the Cavalier. Christine said that the Cruze ran very well. The weather was clear and so much different than the previous night. We arrived back in Rochester around 6PM

Monday, 3/31/2014: 6.2 miles, 47:08, 7:36 pace, 44F, night, calm

Garmin Connect Activity for 10K on the usual route in Irondequoit

I didn't realize that I needed to get out to run until after 8PM ... but I did get out. I wore my CW-X tights instead of shorts and a long sleeve tech instead of a short sleeve tech. It was the last day of March and felt warm but there was still a hint of chill in the air.

A fast run to relieve stress was just what I needed. My splits were: 7:36, 7:36, 7:40, 7:42, 7:33, 7:35 and 7:08 over the last 0.2 miles. My relatively flat 10K route was best enjoyed at a fast clip.

Tuesday, 4/1/2014: Rest day ... nothing too unusual.

Wednesday, 4/2/2914: 9.3 miles, 1:11:56, 7:44 pace, 48F, 46% RH, 12 mph W wind, wind chill 46F.

Garmin Connect Activity for 15K on the usual route in Irondequoit

The couch and "NCIS" tried to suck me in plus my right foot ached a bit during the day. But I broke out for a fast 15K on my usual route. It felt good to run. I wore shorts, long sleeve tech, hat and light gloves. The cool breeze almost made me get a jacket or vest but I decided to just go. I warmed up after 2 miles so that was the correct choice. The run felt good. My splits were: 7:39, 7:47, 7:55, 7:51, 7:41, 7:44, 7:43, 7:40, 7:44 and 7:11 over the last 0.3 miles. I don't run slow on the road only on trail. I only have two speeds on road: fast and faster.

Thursday, 4/3/2014: Rest day.

My darling wife, Christine, and I went out to Hilton to see the Hilton Village II apartments. The 2 bedroom apartment that we looked at was OK. We also drove by the Cedar Hill townhouses. Hilton is a bit out in the sticks northwest of Rochester. My darling wife, Christine, is a city girl plus it would a longer commute to work for me than I would like. We stopped by Famous Dave's for a tasty supper.

Friday, 4/4/2014: Another rest day.

I could have ran but Christine made up a nice supper of fish, couscous and salad. So I stayed in. Tomorrow will be a new day.

Saturday, 4/5/2014: 8 miles, 1:03:37, 7:57 pace, sunny, 36F, 55% RH, 21 mph W wind, wind chill 24F

Garmin Connect Activity for 8 miles on the usual route in Irondequoit

I had trouble getting my mojo up and running in the morning. It's April 5th but it was spitting snow and really windy so ... I waited. I got out around noon and did a normal nice and easy run. I didn't want to go hard and tried to go easy. But I usually don't on road.

I really need to get out on trail to train for Sehgahunda but I am having trouble getting motivated. I know what type of animal Sehgahunda is ... been there and done that and have the scars to prove it. It's a lot of work, I know I need to do it but getting the mojo to do it is a bit of a problem.

Sunday, 3/23/2014 to Saturday, 3/29/2014 - Spring Forward 15K

I ran 3 times this week, 27.93 miles.

Sunday, 3/23/2014: 10.6 miles: 1:49:00, 21F, 78% RH, sunny to overcast to light snow.

Garmin Connect Activity for Sehgahunda Preview Run #1 - 2014

I was up early with not enough sleep ... but I got ready to head down to the Mount Morris Dam for Sehgahunda Preview Run #1. The conditions were variable on the drive down: sun, then clouds, then light snow, then back and forth. I arrived at 8:40 with plenty of time for 9AM start. Soon Boots gave his customary pre-run speech of how "this is a self supported run", "you may injure or kill yourself" and "you really should be wearing some sort of traction device and if you aren't ... there is the road". Stuff I have heard before.

I started out near the front as usual and struck up a really nice and easy trail pace. The route was 6.1 miles from the Dam to CP1. I paid close attention to the trail. The trail condition were a bit slippery and then varied from better to worse. Let's see ... regular trail to snow to frozen mud to my personal favorite ... snow covered ice plus the usual roots, rocks, branches and gullies to look out fo. I almost slipped and fell at least a half dozen times. Soon I got to the power lines and knew that the turn up to CP1 was just around the corner. The climb up to CP1 was long like usual with some crusty snow to crunch through. The views were great though.

I stopped for a minute and hydrated. I decided that I wasn't going to push my luck with a return trip on trail back to the Dam. So I ran back on the road. North on River Rd, north on Rt 408 and left onto Park Rd. But ... running back on the road meant running into the wind and light snow. But at least the road wasn't slippery and I could hold a 8:30 pace or so.

I changed into a sweatshirt and headed out to Newark to see my oldest son, Michael, and my daughter, Karen. I enjoyed spending some time with them.

Monday, 3/24/3014: Rest day.

Tuesday, 3/25/2014: 7.7 miles, 1:03:12, 8:12 pace, 37F, 31% RH, wind chill 31F, sunny.

Garmin Connect Activity for 7.7 miles on the usual route in Irondequoit

It was Tuesday night which is a usual run night for me. My darling wife, Christine, was in the middle of cooking a roaster chicken and told me that I had a hour. So I had a bite to eat, dressed for the weather (CW-X tights, red long sleeve tech, Brook vest, heavy gloves and Brooks beanie). I swear runners in Rochester wear cold weather gear .... A LOT!!!

Anyway, I got up and out. My right Achilles had given me twinges all day and it did during the first two miles. So I took it easy and shortened my stride. I gave some thought to turning around and heading home but ... I continued onward to see if my right Achilles would loosen up. I trusted the run and it did. My splits were: 8:20, 8:34, 8:10, 8:04, 8:26, 7:52, 8:08 and 8:04 over the last 0.7 miles.

I guess I will need to stretch out both of my Achilles now during the day and before runs. Will I do it? Probably not.

Ralph Wilson, the owner of the Buffalo Bills, died today at age 95, various pics from news, link here. I'm a Buffalo Bill fan ... through and through. I remember the glory years of the early 90s and have suffered since for all the non-playoff years.

Ralph Wilson & Jim Kelley before a game between the Bills and the Jets, 2011.

Wednesday, 3/26/2014: Rest day.

Another "spring" day ... which in Rochester NY means 20F with winds 20-to 30 mph winds.

Definitely not spring like this morning!

A pic from Facebook ... perfect!

Thursday, 3/27/2014: Could have been a run day.

I had on and off right foot pain all day. It was centered on the right edge of my right foot. So I decided to take it easy and rest. I could have gone to bed early but ... didn't like usual.

Friday, 3/28/2014: Rest day before race day

Rochester weather teased us again today. It got up to 55F during the day. But the forecast for Sarurday night was for a winter storm advisory!

Saturday, 3/29/2014: 9.63 miles, 1:18:00, 8:06 pace

Garmin Connect Activity for Unofficial Spring Forward 15K

I was up early but as it would turn out not early enough. I had looked up this race on the GRTC calendar a couple months ago and it said 8:30AM. So I left at 7:37AM to get there at 8AM, park in a lot a ways away from the race and run in as a warmup. Simple, right?

Well, I parked in the lot at the corner of Douglas and Pond Rd about a mile east of the race start. I heard in the distance a voice yelling "Gooooooooooooo!!!!!!" I passed Barb on the run in and she said that the race started at 8AM. I didn't believe her but I soon started to see familiar lead runners. Shit! Not again!

Oops! I was about a mile to the east when the race started.

If I had parked on the west side of the race (say at Douglas and Canfield Rd) I could have run in behind the race and just been a bit late. But I had my post run gear with me so I had to drop it off at Stewart Lodge first before I started. I did notice on an official sign up card that the race started at 8AM. It took it a bit wind out of my sails and a lot of gumption to set off after everyone. I forgot that I needed to cross the timing line down on Douglas Rd. I started to pass slower runners and followed them too far because at their turn around I was told that I had missed the 15K turn onto Pond Rd. 

Courtesy of Heather Bailey Ostrander around mile 3

Arrrggghhhh! I passed a runner at mile 2.5. He was also a runner led astray by the wrong time on the GRTC Calendar website I didn't pass any other runners until mile 6. By then I had put this race down as a training run and taken a few walk breaks. I finished my "race" in 1:18:00 by my Garmin. I noticed that the official time was around 1:35:37. My splits were: 7:12, 8:05, 7:37, 7:56, 7:51, 9:42, 7:51, 8:31, 8:32 and 7:34 over the final 0.63 miles.

1:18:00 later at the finish 

I didn't celebrate. I just had a banana, changed into my post race clothes and then walked/ran off toward my car. Lesson learned: double check the date and time from the OFFICIAL race website before I head out to any future race.

I went home, showered, ate a light lunch and packed for our next journey. Christine's father had made us a sweet deal on a 2014 Chevy Cruze and we needed to go to Ravenna OH to pick it up. Our collective jaws dropped to the floor when he told us on Thursday!

The trip out was uneventful but the weather got worse as we headed west. It started to rain as we hit PA and started to sleet a bit as we hit OH. The traffic slowed to a crawl in spots but we made it to Ravenna around 6PM. We talked with Christine's father, brother Bill and wife Patty. We got the paperwork and headed out to Lakewood OH about a hour ago in good conditions. But ... the weather had turned worse with sleet, slush and heavy wet snow plus it was dark. Christine drove the new Cruze and I drove the old Cavalier. We both had Google Maps working on our smart phones and navigated separately in some white knuckle driving conditions. Wow ... I haven't driven in such crappy weather in quite some time. Christine was driving a brand new car and hadn't driven in quite some time.

We enjoyed catching up with Christine's daughter, Beth, and her boyfriend Nick. They have put a lot of work into fixing up their new duplex. A long day. I had a bit of trouble sleeping but soon I was ...... zzzzzzz .....