Sunday, 10/19/2014 to Saturday, 10/25/2014 - Moore than a Race 10K and Scare Brain Cancer Away 5K

I ran 4 times this week, 22.01 miles

Sunday, 10/19/2014: 2 runs of 1.1 and 6.19 miles, 41F, 56% RH, 10 mph NW wind, partly cloudy

Today's race was the inaugural running of the Moore Than A Race 10K out in Sodus NY at 12:30PM. Which meant I could sleep in! I didn't get up until 7:30AM ... a nice and refreshing 10.5 hours of sleep more or less. I enjoyed a nice cup of coffee along with my usual bowl of pre-race cereal before I dressed and geared up for the 30 minute drive out to Sodus. This was my first race in Wayne county where I grew up since last year's Lighthouse 5K in Sodus Point. I left my darling wife, Christine, behind. She was not feeling up to being outside in the cold.

I chose to wear tights, a long and short sleeve tech shirt, heavy gloves and my lucky orange hat. It had turned colder and a brisk wind was blowing. I managed to get out for a nice 1.1 mile run at 7:45 pace, link here.



There was no one at this race that I knew so I just lined up at the front. And ...we were off! I jumped behind the leader and followed him. I heard footsteps behind me but this soon faded. The first place guy was not going to be caught by me so I just ran. Mile 1 passed in 6:51. There was a big hill just before mile 2 which I walked. I was tired, I ran onward. I concentrated on not being third. I discovered that there were hills on back roads around Sodus. We even made a slight detour through the Sodus cemetery before the final turns into the finish. And ... done in 45:33, 7:21 pace. The first place guy finished almost 4 minutes in front of me. The third place guy finished 18 seconds behind me. My splits were: 6:51, 7:51, 7:13, 7:12, 7:27, 7:40 and 6:39 over the last 0.19 mile.

I was thirsty and hungry. I took care of the thirst first and then the hunger with a banana, hamburg and hot dog. I talked with the fourth place guy, Chris Hobart, for a while. His running makes me look like a slug. He is on a 6 month running streak. He runs 3 miles around Brantling at 4:30AM M-F and then 5 miles around Newark every noon M-F. Then he runs 15 miles on Saturday and Sunday. So ... he had 9 more miles to run on Sunday as he trains for a 100K. Wow!

I did pretty well on my third day of running (6.2 on Friday, over 10 on Saturday and 7.3 today). I was 2nd out of 60, link here. I was 1st out of 4 in my M50-59 age group, link here. I received a nice plaque. 148 runners finished the 5K, link here.

The guy on the right of me won the race.

I managed a wave but no smile (like usual).

2nd into the finish line.

The male and female 50-59 age group winners.

A selfie after the Moore Than A Race 10K

The sway ... a long sleeve tech and a nice plaque

I visited my parents grave in the East Palmyra Cemetery on the way to Newark.

I visited my oldest son, Michael, and my daughter, Karen, in Newark on the way back to Rochester.

There were other races around. The MS Monster Scramble had 183 finishers of the 5K and 88 of the 10K. The Courage Run/Walk out in Hilton had 115 finishers. A lot of trail runners were either at the GVH Mudslog with 179 finishers, link here or down at the Ridgewalk (5K with 52 finishers, link here; 10K with 58 finishers, link here; or 15K with103 finishers, link here.

There was also the Empire State Marathon and Half Marathon in Syracuse with 478 and 1107 finishers. Bob Haas ran the Half in 1:35:30, Amy Lord in 2:56:59, link here. Andy Ciaio ran the Full in 3:24:34 (BQ!!), link here.

Monday, 10/20/2014 and Tuesday, 10/21/2014: A rest day and a "coulda, shoulda but didn't" day.

Wednesday, 10/22/2014: 10.2 miles, 1:21:29m, 7:59 pace, 50F, 71% RH, 7 mph N wind, overcast.

Garmin Connect Activity for A "I'm Glad I got out" run

Today was almost a "didn't" day. I had to really talk myself into getting out there and getting my run in. I overdressed as it was. I wore a long sleeve tech and a beanie. I got out and struck up a slow pace of 8:20 for the first mile. I ditched the beanie and hiked up the sleeves on my long sleeve tech. I hiked up the pace after mile 4 to under 8:00 pace. I made the turn for another 5K loop and then added a mini loop to get to 10 mile. Not a bad run. My splits were:8:20, 8:18, 8:14, 8:16, 7:54, 7:51, 7:55, 7:42, 7:45, 7:46 and 7:08 over the last 0.2 mile.

Thursday, 10/23/2014 and Friday, 20/24/2014: Rest day and "Don't run the day before a race" day.

Saturday, 10/25/2014: 2 runs of 1.5 miles and Scare Brain Cancer Away 5K, 52F, 82% RH, 5 mph SSW wind, partly cloudy.

I "slept in" a bit ... to 6:40AM. Today's race, my 47th of the year, was the Scare Brain Cancer Away 5K and timed by PCR-Timing out at the East Rochester High School ... a new race for me. It was a Rochester Runner of the Year race so lots of good runners showed up. I saw Mark Herberger, Prem Kumar, Bill Beyerbach, Beth DeCiantis and Andy Ciaio before I was there more than 10 minutes. Prem had run 3.5 miles from his home in Pittsford as a warmup. Andy has BQed at Syracuse the weekend before. Mark was warming up with his racing flats. Bill Beyerbach was a bit late like usual.

I had brought a lot of cold weather gear just in case. I wore my shorts, calf sleeves, hat, short sleeve tech, hat and arm sleeves at first.

I went out with Bill for a nice 1.5 mile warmup run at 8:34 pace, link  here. I ditched my arm sleeves and hat before the race started. I lined here at the start next to Beth and Andy. Bill was closer to the start and Mark was a bit to my right. The start was a bit tight because everyone realized that we had to cross a timing strip at the start. And ... we were off!

The start ...

The start was quite congested. I gave Beth the go ahead to get out of the box she was in and I followed her. I ran with her for 1/2 mile before she pulled ahead. I could see Bill up ahead. Andy jetted by and pulled ahead. I passed Prem but he soon re-passed me. Mile 1 passed in 6:40. During this I pulled up with Mark Herberger and ran with him a mile. Yes, I stalked him. I matched his every move. I passed him around mile 1.5. Mile 2 passed in 7:03. I don't know why mile 2 is always a slower mile during a 5K. I just tried to keep runners that I passed behind me and I set my sights on trying to pass runners in front of me. I was running flat out but I felt good. Mile 3 passed in 6:38. I don't know if I ever have run mile 3 faster than mile 1 in a 5K but I did. I could see the finish line and just finished the last 0.12 mile at 6:01 pace. And ... done in 21:08 according to my Garmin. Mark and Wilt finished right after me. Beth and Bill had already finished.

Sprinting for the finish ... grimacing like usual!

A selfie after the Scare Brain Cancer Away 5K

The post-race grub was excellent ... Dibella's subs and pizza! I hung out and shot the breeze with Andy, Mark and Prem. Officialy, I finished in 21:06, 53rd out of 866, link here. Then I waited with Bill for the awards since I was 3rd out of 17 in our 55-59 age group and Bill (20:35) was 2nd, link here. Bill told me that 3 other runners in our age group had finished with 16 seconds of me (Gary Fitzsimons in 21:12, Mark in 21:14 and Wilt in 21:22). So ... I was a marked man. Up in front, Matt Roberts tried to beat 16 and got close in 16:16, Beth ran 20:15 and Andy ran 20:28.

Awesome running by all! I usually can find fault with my running ... but today I could not. Yes, I could have run a bit faster during mile 2. But ... I did the best I could. I didn't take water and didn't even think of walking. A great way to spend a morning!!

Meanwhile ... there were other Halloween races in Rochester. Fleet Feet's Pumpkins in the Park 5K at Cobbs Hill had 621 finishers, link here and the Jack'o'Lantern Jog 5K had 238 finishers, link here.

Soon I was home. I woke up my darling wife, Christine, before I did last night's dishes and brewed up coffee. Mmm ... my feet were up with a mug of hot coffee by my side! A nice nap with my honey soon ensued along with a lazy afternoon. Sweet!

Sunday, 10/12/2014 to Saturday, 10/18/2014 - Finish Strong 15K

I ran 4 times this week, 26.25 miles.

Sunday, 10/12/2014: "Slug" day

Yes, I took a rest day. I relaxed and recharged my batteries. I did read of others exploits on Facebook. Tim Dywer, Chris Patterson and Wendy Abbott ran the Chicago Marathon.

Wendy Abbott - 3:25:43 and Chris Patterson - 2:58:36 (a 41 second PR)  - from Wendy's FB

Tim Dwyer ran a 3:05:23 - taken from Tim's FB.

Christine and I watched the Patriots - Bills game. The Bills were 2-22 versus the Patriots QB, Tom Brady coming in ... and coming out were 2-23. The Bills pass defense was shredded in the 2nd half and the Bills lost 22-37, link here. Yes, the refs sucked (what is a catch and what is pass interference?) but the Bills had their chances and blew them too.

Ron Heerkens Jr and his wife, Elyse - taken from Ron's blog.

Ron Heerkens Jr completed a 100 mile race in 30:33, the Oil Creek 100 down in Oil City PA, results here, link to his blog here, an awesome post.

Monday, 10/13/2014: 9.3 miles, 1:12:xx, 7:48 pace, 54F, 82% RH, 3 mph SSE wind, overcast.

My darling wife, Christine, woke me with her snoring at 4:47AM on a PTO day. Yes, I had the day off and I was up before the crack of dawn. I waited until daylight before getting out for a nice 15K run on my usual route.

Garmin Connect Activity for A nice 15K run

I started out a bit slow but kicked it up a bit. I just enjoyed the run. It was overcast, calm and just the perfect temperature. I did wear light gloves and a hat but just shorts and a short sleeve tech otherwise. Sweet!

Tuesday, 10/14/2014: Rest day.

Wednesday, 10/15/2014: Another rest day.

Luckily, I had gone to bed at 9PM last night because I woke up at 4:47AM to this ...

Yes ... that sound you hear is my darling wife, Christine, snoring. I brought my Iphone back to bed to check emails since I knew that I wouldn't be able to get back to sleep. I had the thought to record her snoring for posterity. Now ... did I get up and get out to work out at LA Fitness or go to work early? The answer would be ... no. Yes, I should have done something besides sip coffee, look at email and Facebook ... but I didn't.

Thursday, 10/16/2014: A "coulda, shoulda and didn't" rest day, :-(

Friday, 10/17/2014: 6.2 miles, 48:40, 7:50 pace, 54F, 94% RH, 7 mph SW wind, dark, real light mist.

Garmin Connect Activity for A negative split 10K in the AM

I set my alarm for 5AM ... and got out the door by 5:30AM. I shocked my darling wife, Christine, by getting up, dressed and out the door because I almost never run in the AM darkness. But I did. I started out slow and like usual ... got faster. I turned in a negative split run with splits of: 8:11, 8:09, 7:58, 7:55, 7:37, 7:24 and 7:03 over the last 0.2 mile. Sweet! I hope I still have some kick left in my legs for tomorrow's Finish Strong 15K.

Saturday, 10/18/2014: 2 runs of 1.45 and Finish Strong 15K, 54F, 87% RH, 9 mph W wind, overcast.

I got up at 6:30AM so I could do the dishes from last night. I did my usual pre-race prep: bowl of cereal, got dressed and out the door by 7:45AM. The Finish Strong 15K race venue was the Grace and Truth Sports Park and race start time was 8AM. I got my bib and tried to decide to what to wear. I was wearing shorts, short sleeve tech and calf sleeves. I had brought along my tights, a long sleeve tech, hat and light gloves. I decided on changing into my tights in the Equinox. I decided it was better to be warm when running close to Lake Ontario.

I saw a lot of people that I knew: Prem Kumar, Mark Herberger, Bill Beyerbach, Tom Butler, Beth DiCentis, Wilt Alston, Jason "Jmac" McElwain, Bill Murphy and Bob Dyjak. I got up for a nice 1.45 mile warmup run at 8:26 pace, link here.


I lined up near the front and say "Hi" to everyone I knew. And ... we were off! Jason, Prem, Bill, Mark and Beth all jumped out ahead of me. I had thought of taking easy the first mile ... not so much with a 7:11 mile. I caught Prem around mile 3. I was 100 yards behind Bill and Mark. Running on Edgemere Drive with Lake Ontario on the right and Cranberry Pond on the left during mile 5 was a treat like usual ... a light mist had started to fall and there was a brisk headwind coming off Lake Ontario. I had caught up to Bill but took a walking break at the water station just after mile 5 before I passed him. I was tired but I resolved not to stop again. Mark picked up his pace and I soon lost sight of him. Mile 6, then mile 7, then mile 8, the water stop with only 0.85 mile to go, then the turn back onto N Greece Rd, mile 9. Sprint ... and into the finish chute. I saw that the clock was still below 1:10. And ... done in 1:09:51. My splits were: 7:11, 7:15, 7:27, 7:10, 7:40, 7:34, 7:44, 7:30, 7:39 and 7:07 over the last 0.3 mile. I was winded but I calmed down and got some water in me.

A selfie after the Finish Strong 15K

I met up with Mark (1:06:49), Bill (1:10:49), Wilt (1:15:06) and Prem (1:19:05). We shot the breeze for a while as we ate some of the excellent post-race grub: pulled pork, sausage, mac-n-cheese, chicken nuggets and pizza were the highlights. Officially, I finished in 1:09:51, 7:31 pace, my fasted 15K of 2014, 25th out of 87, link here. I was 4th out 9 in my M55-59 age group, link here (behind Kevin Clinefelter in 1:04:32, Bill Sandow in 1:05:25 and Mark Herberger in 1:06:49). There was also a Finish Strong 5K held with 129 finishers, results here. Matthew Roberts won in 16:52. All in all, a nice way to spend a morning!

Soon, I was home. My darling wife, Christine, welcomed me home with a nice mug of coffee along with bagels. Mmm! A lazy day ensued. I did make it out to Wegmans for some supplies. Bedtime was an early 9PM ... I was tired.

Other races went on. The Ossian Mountain Run was held down at Swain, results here. There was also Mendon Zombie Run, results here and the Step Out to Stop Diabetes, results here.

Sunday, 10/5/2014 to Saturday, 10/11/2014 - Scarecrow 5K & Ready Set Glow

I ran 6 times this week, 22.25 miles. 2 were warmups of 1.7 and 0.75 miles.

Sunday, 10/5/2014: "Slug" day

I contemplated running but didn't so I felt like a slug all day. I felt I needed to rest my right hip which hurt on yesterday's run. I did notice that a lot of people ran the Wineglass Half or Marathon down in Corning. The marathon was a point-to-point from Bath to Corning.

I glanced through the marathon results with 1962(!) finishers: Jason "Jmac" McElwain finished 18th overall in 2:56:22 (BQ), Liz Matthews in 3:05:32, Brian Matthew in 3:07:14, Bill Sandow in 3:30:58, Prem Kumar in 3:32:18, Wilt Alston in 3:54:39. I also glanced through the Half Marathon results with 2473(!) finishers: Bill Crowe in 1:45:12, Mary Crowe in 2:02:50.

I watched the Bills-Lions game with half an eye while I read the newspaper. The Bill had benched their starting QB, E J Manuel, and started their backup QB, Kyle Orton. They got down 0-14 and clawed back to 6-14. The Bills defense continued to hold but not break while the Lions continued to miss FGs. The 4th quarter was exciting. The Bills scored a TD and a 2 point conversion to tie at 14-14. The Lions missed a 50 yard FG with under a minute to go. The Bills took over and hit a 20 yard pass play with 9 seconds to go. Then the Bills kicked a 58 yard FG straight down the middle to win 17-14, link here!

Monday, 10/6/2014: 6.25 miles, 49:29, 7:55 pace, 66F, 49% RH, 6 mph S wind, light mist to light rain.

Garmin Connect Activity for A "Gotta Get Out There No Matter What" run

My darling wife, Christine, needed some hugs when I got home after work so ... I got a late start. It was almost dusk so I rushed ... I put on my reflective belt, grabbed my headlamp and out the door I went. Well ... I got about 50 feet when I realized that the headlamp was very dim and getting dimmer. I got about 1/4 mile when I realized that I had on my old Brook Adrenaline GTS14 running shoes that I had retired with 650 miles. Plus it was a light mist and I was pretty sure that it was going to get worse. Did I turn back? You're darn tooting I didn't! I continued onward. I adjusted my running gait to run more forward and not heel strike which helped the pain in my feet. I had wanted to do a 15K but since the light mist changed to a light rain I modified my run to a 10K instead. I was wet (OK, drenched) ... but it was well earned. I hadn't run in the rain for a bit ... and it felt good! I stripped when I got in the door and a hot shower did feel good! My splits were 7:54, 7:42, 7:57, 8:06, 7:46, 8:03 and 8:00 over the last 0.25 mile.

Tuesday, 10/7/2014: Rest day

Wednesday, 10/8/2014: "Too tired" to run day.

I was up at 5:30AM due to my darling wife, Christine, sawing the wood ... err, snoring. Two days of about 5 or 6 hours of sleep caught up to me and I didn't have the energy to head out for a run after work. If I had got out during the morning before dawn I might have seen the lunar eclipse like some people did who posted on Facebook. I did get to bed early and got a nice 7 hours of sleep.

Thursday, 10/9/2014: 11.2 miles, 1:27:28, 7:48 pace, 57F, 51% RH, 13 mph W wind, partly cloudy

Garmin Connect Activity for A nice long run

Rant: You just gotta love drivers who stop suddenly because they are so afraid of red light cameras. On the way home I was approaching the red light camera at the corner of Lake Ave and W Ridge Rd behind another car in the rightmost lane. I knew the light was getting ready to change since the left turn arrow was on. The light turns yellow. The guy in front of me was about 200 feet from the light and slammed on his brakes! I had to cram mine on and skid to a stop so I wouldn't slam into the back of him! ASSHOLE! You WILL NOT get a ticket unless your rear axle is still behind the stop line when the light turns RED! The yellow light still had 2 more seconds! /Rant.

Anyway ... what a difference a day makes! I wanted to go for a long run so I got home early, had my usual bowl of cereal, changed and headed out around 5:15PM. It was a bit chilly but I didn't need my light gloves or hat. I struck up a nice pace, concentrated on shorter strides and just motored on like a metronome. I kept on my usual 10K route with an added 5K loop plus a mini loop to get to 11. The added 0.2 miles was due to more running while waiting to cross major roads. I carried water but didn't need to drink. My splits were: 7:54, 7:48, 7:43, 7;44, 7:48, 7:49, 7:47, 7:54, 7;56, 7:40 and 7:37 over the last 0.2 mile .. pretty darn regular. Sweet!!

Friday, 10/10/2014: Rest day.

I rested the day before a race like usual. I also signed up for Ready Set Glow at the last minute. My darling wife, Christine, was a bit irked. She had made plans for us to see her daughter, Beth, at Niagara University tomorrow afternoon along with a hair appointment at NY Line of Hair Design at 11AM. I had also made plans to stay overnight in Niagara Falls, Ontario ... which I also cancelled. I am just a runner with a racing addiction, I guess.

Saturday, 10/11/2014: 4 runs of 1.7, Scarecrow 5K, 0.75 and Ready Set Glow

I "slept in" until 6:30AM. This was my 7th running (2006-2008 and 2011-present) of the Scarecrow 5K in Fairport NY so I knew the drill. I like this course because it is a mostly flat and finishes on the canal path below where it starts on S Main St. I got there early enough to snag a primo pull through parking spot at the Fairport Village Landing parking lot where the farmer's market was already going on. I sauntered over to get my bib and T-shirt. I saw Mark Herberger on the other side of the road so I knew I had stiff competition.

Garmin Connect Activity for Warmup before Scarecrow 5K

I got out for a nice, slow and long warmup run of 1.7 miles at 8:28 pace. I headed out from the finish line backwards on the canal path so I knew that the Turk Hill Rd bridge was 0.5 mile from the finish. I went back to the Equinox where I took a last drink of water and ditched my arm sleeves. It was 46F, calm and sunny so I wore compression shorts, short sleeve tech top, calf sleeves, my orange hat and light gloves. I try to remember Heather Danielson's advice that she gave me 2 years ago of being a bit cold at the start.



Maggie Brooks showed up to give us a few words about domestic violence and sponsor of the race, resolve-roc.org. And .... we were off! I got up to speed. I said "Hi" to Mark Herberger as I passed him. I felt a couple of nips at my heels but I got away without falling as we turned left onto E Church St. This was a downhill until the left onto the Turk Hill Rd bridge and an immediate right onto Cobb's Lane. Cobb's Lane was a bit of curvy downhill as it made it way down to the canal path. I cut the tangents and heard the mile split of 6:22. A few runners around me chuckled because we all knew it was off. It was really 6:40. I had heard feet clacking behind me ... it was Mark Herberger's racing flats. I said something to him about him playing 'possum back there and he chuckled. I resolved to not lose him during mile 2 which is where I usually slow on 5Ks. Now we were on the canal path. I was about 100 feet behind Mark at the turnaround at 1.65 miles. I saw everyone streaming down from the Turk Hill bridge as we headed back ... mile 2 at 6:48 pace. I was keeping about 100 feet behind Mark. I was running at my maximum. I tried to close with him. The Turk Hill bridge, 0.5 mile to go, came and went. I saw Mark look behind him twice. I saw the sign "Drawbridge 1000 feet". The finish line was about 200 feet before that. The mile 3 split was 6:42. I saw Mark kick it up a notch. I tried to match him. I looked up and saw that the finish line clock was clicking toward 21. I flat out sprinted at 6:12 pace over the last tenth. I was about 20 feet behind Mark when I crossed the line just under 21. I patted Mark's back as I slowed to a stop. Done!!! I was out of breath to say the least. I found some water and chugged it down as I caught my breath. Wow ... what a race! I talked with Mark after the race. He accused playfully of playing possum with him as I almost caught him at the line.

Officially, I finished in 20:59, 29th out of 467, 1 second behind Mark's 20:58, link here. I was 2nd out of 19 in my M55-59 age group behind Mark, link here. What a morning!

A free hot dog is an excellent run recovery food!

I regrouped back at home and waited for my darling wife, Christine, to come back from NY Line of Hair Design. She eventually came back around 1:30PM with a nice styling with just a bit of her blonde hair cut off.

Back view ...

Front view ...

Then she was off at 3PM to see her daughter at Como's Restaurant in Niagara Falls. She called on the way for a bit of help with directions since her LG G2 wasn't talking its directions.

I busied myself before the Ready Set Glow race with some plumbing work. I had bought an Aquadance showerhead and hand shower combo off of Groupon that arrived a week ago. It was time to put it in ... and it went well. I applied finger tight pressure when it said to as I followed the instructions and it worked with no leaks! Nice!

I read on Facebook about the exploits of runners who ran either the CanLakes 50K or 50 Miles down around Canandaigua Lake. I looked at the 50K results of 83 finishers, link here. Runners that I knew: Steve Levitsky in 4:49:18, Prem Kumar in 5:16:01, the Kathy Reardon and John Muoio duo in 5:41:58, Tina Pellegrin in 8:09:20 (a 1:02 PR!). I also looked at the 50 Mile results of 93 finishers, link here. Runners that I knew: Rob Wilder in 8:39:11, Joe Packard in 9:06:19, Laura Rekkerth in 9:24:13, Kim Rapp in 10:24:54 and Tom Butler in 12:39:22. Here is a blog entry of a 50K runner, link here.

I geared up again and headed out to Victor to Dwyer Road Park for Ready Set Glow put on by #TrailsROC. The race was set to start at 7:36PM. I got there around dusk around 7PM. I got my bib and adorned myself with some glowsticks. I wasn't too imaginative with just a necklace and some hoops on my headlamp. I was surprised to see Prem Kumar. He had just run the CanLakes 50K in the morning.

Garmin Connect Activity for Warmup before Ready Set Glow

It was getting cold so I put on my arm warmers and Brooks jacket as I took a 0.75 mile warmup run at 8:29 pace around the parking lot and up to the road to warm up both my legs and body. It was 45F with no wind and a clear sky. Well, my warmup run was a bit too long. I heard a "4 minutes to go" announcement. I don't think I took 4 minutes to get to the start line. But as I headed up to the start no one was there.



So ... I had given everyone a head start of about a minute. I was in pass mode for about a mile. People were saying "Someone is out for time" as I passed on the right or left as I found room. The course was very twisty with lots and lots of switchbacks. I stubbed my toe once. I went into a open field off a turn instead of a tree luckily. We ran up hill, down hill, sideways, around curves, past trees, over roots and over rocks with just headlamps leading the way.

Running in the dark with headlamps!

Luckily I had my Black Diamond headlamp fully charged. I slowed after mile 3 or so because there were more roots, I was tired and I didn't want to make a big mistake. The strap on my headlamp stretched and started to hang off my ears. Soon I had to hold it up with my right hand most of the time. Luckily I only had 1/2 mile or so to go. And ... done in 52:06 according my Garmin, 53:49 officially. I was 25th out of 101, 7th out of 9 in my M50-59 age group, link here. A #TrailsROC guy laughed when I told him that I may be turning in my sleep because the course had so many turns. I was cold and headed to the Equinox to put on what warm and dry clothes I had brought with me. I only had the Scarecrow 5K T-shirt to put on so I was still cold. Yes, I need to pack more warm gear ... fall is here and winter soon will be knocking.

My honey, Christine, was already home from Niagara Falls when I got home. Her daughter was more interested in seeing her college friends than her mother. But Christine did see her. Anyway ... a long day.

Sunday, 9/28/2014 to Saturday, 10/4/2014 - Heather Boyum 5K

I ran 4 times this week, 22.43 miles.

Sunday, 9/28/2014: 2 runs of 1 and Heather Boyum 5K of 3.03 miles, 57F, 88% RH, 7 mph SW wind, clear and sunny.

I "slept in" a bit since my race was at 9AM instead of yesterday's 8AM. I woke up at 6:40AM. My darling wife, Christine, didn't want to get up so I dressed and geared up quietly and headed out. I was out at Center Park at the corner of Turk Hill Rd and Ayrault Rd in 20 minutes at 8:15AM in plenty of time.

This was my second running of the Heather Boyum 5K (HB5K). For those who don't know, Heather Frazer Boyum was a wife, mother, and triathlete who was tragically killed by a drunk and high driver two years ago while out on a training ride, link here. I feel strongly about the causes of some runs and this was one of them.

I got out for a nice warmup run of 1 mile at 8:37, link here. It was enough of a warmup to know that I needed sunglasses. The HB5K had a wide open cross country course with lots the bright sunlight. There was a nice, live rendition of the "Star Spangled Banner" and some kind words about Heather Boyum before the race start.


And ... we were off! I got off to a quick start and settled in on the grassy course. There was a big hill around the 3/4 mil mark followed by a long hill just past the 1 mile mark. I didn't break to a walk ... I wanted to but I didn't. The mile 1 split was 7:21. Now we were on a long grassy stretch, followed by a long stone covered road. I saw that everyone was running on the shoulder so I did too. The mile 2 split was 7:28. Now we were looped back to the big hill, now at mile 2.4. I held on out onto the grass of Center Park. The finish line was near, mile 3 split was 7:59. The course was a bit short, the last 0.03 mile split was 5:01. I saw that the time was clicking toward 23 minutes. And ... done in 22:58 according to my Garmin.

A selfie after the Heather Boyum 5K

Soon I checked the results and ... I wasn't on them. The same thing had happened last year. I told the Score-This timing crew twice before the awards. I had won my M50-59 age group just like I did last year. But this year someone else "won" my M50-59 age group that had ran 56 seconds slower. I just turned and left.

I told Christine when I got home. I was irked and a bit pissed. Well ... she posted on Facebook to Score-This in all CAPS which is shouting in Internet-speak. Soon there was a lot of posts from Score-this, Christine and myself. One post from Heather's sister gently reminded everyone that this was a charity run for Heather. I had tried to defuse the situation from the start. Christine is fiercely protective of me and is not afraid to let anyone who crosses me know it. I just wanted my results posted and maybe my award that I didn't get mailed to me ... maybe yes, maybe not. Anyway .... officially I ran a 22:54, 14th out of 287, 1st of 26 in my M50-59 age group, link here.

Some may say that I got a bit worked up about nothing. Well ... I am competitive in my age group and I keep track of my running. I may be 57 and I may be getting slower (OK, I am) but I can still get my legs and body moving. I take pride in that. There is a clock ticking at the finish line of each race that I run and I run a lot of them ... 42 so far this year and 289 since I took up running races since way back on Thanksgiving 2005. I try to get to the finish line as soon as possible. I rarely use a race as a training run ... so I am mostly running flat out no matter the distance that I choose for any particular race. I just expect that the timing crew at the finish line ... be they from Yellow Jacket Racing, PCR Timing, Leone Timing, Yen Timing or Score This to accurately record my time. If I win or place in my age group I want the results posted accurately.

Update: the M50-59 age group award was mailed to me. It was a $10 gift card to Park Ave Bikes.

Onward to other stuff. Christine and I had a choice between using a Groupon for kayaking at the Genesee Waterways that expired on Sunday or looking for a second car. My car, a green Pontiac Grand Am, that I brought into our relationship had died about 2 years ago. I felt bad that I had commandeered first her 2000 Chevy Cavalier until it died 6 months ago and then our new Chevy Cruze. I knew that Christine would feel a lot better if she could get out and about during the day while I was at work.

So we went car shopping and let the Groupon expire (the cash value is still good). I had decided that I was not going to lease the 2014 Kia Sportage from Fucillo KIA. The salesman was nice but the finance guys had jerked me around. I'm 57 and this wasn't my first rodeo. I should have walked when they wanted $100 to hold the car while the lease was being approved or not. The lease terms were not that great anyway.

We went to Bob Johnson Chevrolet around 2PM. Christine's father had worked for GM for 32 years and we wanted to how much his GMAC family discount would save us. We were hooked up with a salesman named Willie Williams. He took the time to initially get to know our needs. We test drove the 2014 Chevy Equinox, liked it, signed papers and had a deal that worked a lot better for us. We were home at 4PM before the Bills - Texans game was over. Willie had suggested that we join USAA which saved us $750 besides the approximately $1500 GMAC family discount.

Monday, 9/29/2014: Rest day

An exciting day for sure! We were supposed to pick up the new Equinox at 6PM but there was drama beforehand for sure. Christine had some trouble getting the her father's GMAC family discount. She had lots of trouble with locked passwords so I had to impersonate her father over the phone three times (don't tell anyone!) before we got the necessary code. We made it down to Bob Johnson Chevrolet around 6:30PM to see our salesman, Willie Williams. We had more trouble getting the insurance card FAXed from Allstate. But  after I signed my signature about twenty times we were handed the keys. I drove away while I was on the phone to Onstar to set up the account. I went straight to Papa John's to get a pizza since I was starved (and I knew Christine was).

Side view

front view

Tuesday, 9/30/2014: 6.4 miles, 48:21, 7:33 pace, 64F, 83% RH, 14 mph NNE wind, cloudy.

Garmin Connect Activity for A fast and sweet run

I needed to run so I ran. How often have I said that I wonder? I started out, felt good .. and just flew. I couldn't believe the stats when I uploaded them ... each mile was as fast or faster than the one before it. My splits were: 7:53, 7:42, 7:40, 7:26, 7:26, 7:20 and 7:16 over the last 0.4 mile. I was drenched with sweat but it was a sweet sweat!

I ran 20 times during the month of October, 106.49, 5.3 miles/run (6 were warmup runs of 1.3, 1.25, 1.2, 0.6, 1.2 and 1 miles). I ran 8 races during the month of October (Black Diamond Express 15K, Dirt Cheap #6, Stop the Trafficking 10K, 5K and 1 Mile, Rochester Half, Photofinish 5K and Heather Boyum 5K).

Wednesday, 10/1/2014: Rest day.

Thursday, 10/2//2014: Another rest day.

Life got in the way of running. I had to take the Cruze to Bob Johnson Chevrolet to get its oil changed and tires rotated ... for free. I was a bit shocked but I didn't ask twice.

Friday, 10/3/2014: Yet another rest day.

My darling wife, Christine, asked for Mexican food for supper so I stopped by Mighty Taco for some takeout burritos. Mighty Taco just so happens to be next to Fleet Feet Ridgeway.

Saturday, 10/4/2014: 12 miles, 1:40:19, 8:22 pace, 57F, 88% RH, 7 mph WSW wind, cloudy.

Garmin Connect Activity for A clockwise Bridges run

I went to bed way early the night before so I was up way early at 5:30AM. It was still dark and a misty rain was still falling ... so I waited. I did the dishes and caught up on email and Facebook. I got out around 7:30AM after it was light ... still gray but light. I needed a long run so I thought I would try a run I hadn't done before. Yes, I have done a bridges run on both sides of the Genesee River using the Veterans Memorial bridge and O'Rorke bridge but never in the clockwise direction before. I ran well for the first 5 miles. I had a bit of pain in my right knee at miles 6 and 7 but it pretty much went away but I did slow. I had more pain in my right hip at mile 11. It got worse so I stopped at mile 12 and was happy to stop. My splits were: 8:12, 7:49, 7:48, 7:45, 8:08, 8:37, 9:13, 8:56, 8:29, 8:22, 8:28, and 8:30.

I did find out that there was a ceremony on the O'Rorke bridge sometime after I crossed it around 8:30AM. It was to celebrate its 10th year anniversary, link here.

My darling wife, Christine, woke up soon after I got home. We lazed around the rest of the day.

I saw on Facebook that Bob Dyjak completed his 30th marathon and 17th state. He ran the Freedom's Run in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, in 5:17:47, link here. He posted that the first 15 miles were on a canal path but the last 11 miles were on steep and rolling hills in several parks which were quite challenging. I also saw on Facebook that Barry Cherney completed the Du at the Great Lakes Triathlon down in Barker NY in 8:41:48. His awesome Facebook posts: "Race 222, the hardest race ev-ar!!! Omg. That sucked, then it sucked some more, them it got really sucky. Wind gust in high 20's. Rained hard 5 different times. Even hailed once. Knee held up until near the end and by then I was walking anyways. I am in more pain than I can remember in a long time. But I did it, 100 miles by foot and wheel. And for that I get this cool jersey and medal. I am so glad I stashed some beers at mile 5/10 of the run. Really needed that boost." and "Other notes: I wore waterproof socks, as I have before in bad weather, major fail. The road spray just cascaded down my leg and filled the sock. My feet have never been on such pain (cold and wet) for so long. Race took me somewhere around 8:41:48. Last year I finished in 7:30."

I did get out for a bit of grocery shopping at Wegmans much later.. I did pick up the latest movie at Redbox: "Transformers: Age of Extinction". A major guy movie with lot of chases and explosions ... Arrgghhh!