Monday, May 26, 2014

Sunday, 5/18/2014 to Friday, 5/23/2014 - Lilac 10K

I ran 3 times this week for 13.99 miles.

Sunday, 5/18/2014: 2 runs of 1.4 miles and Lilac 10K, 52F, 66% RH, 7 mph W wind, sunny

I was up around 6:30AM for my fifth running of the Lilac 10K. I called Bill Beyerbach to let him know that I wouldn't need a ride to the race since Christine had come home during the night after a quick visit to see her father in Ravenna OH. I quietly got ready, kissed Christine goodbye, was out the door around 7:45AM and was down at the Al Sigil Center by 8AM.

It was a bit cool but I wore shorts, a short sleeve Medved Madness tech, Brooks arm warmers, light gloves and my lucky orange Fleet Feet hat. I didn't carry water.

Peter Francia won the Lilac 10K in 16:35.
I hung out for a while and then took an easy 1.4 mile warmup run at 8:33 pace, link here, to get my legs warm. I got a drink of water, visited the bathroom and lined up about 10 feet from the start line right next to Prem Kumar. He had run the Lilac 5K at 8AM in a sizzling in 21:14 which is awesome in my book. Bill Beyerbach was just ahead next to some GVH runners.


And ... we were off! I soon settled in a nice running groove. I wanted to hold back and ran a 6:47 first mile. I jockeyed back and forth with Bill and Prem during the first two miles. I passed Prem for the last time around mile 2 and Bill around mile 2.5. I saw Mort Nace of Medved and then the Fleet Feet cheering section at the corner of Monroe Ave and S Winton Rd. It was nice to see familiar faces! I was running well ... mile 2 at 7:06 pace and mile 3 at 7:05 pace. I took a cup of water on the run just after mile 3 ... didn't cough it back up. Now it was into the neighborhoods south of Highland Ave. Mile 4 was a bit slower at 7:18 pace. I was getting tired as we ran north on Hemingway Drive. The slight hill onto Highland Hill seemed much steeper as I really wanted to stop to walk ... but I didn't. I slowed a bit but didn't walk. Mile 5 was endured at 7:31 pace. I ran onward on Highland Ave on the gentle uphill back to the finish. I concentrated on keeping my position ... not catching the runners in front and not getting passed. Almost there .. mile 6 at 7:17 pace. I kicked it up at bit to 7:04 pace for the last 0.26 miles. Done in 44:54, 7:15 pace. I needed water right away. Prem came in at 45:34 and Bill came in at 48:21.

Soon I had a bit of post race grub ... a bag of potato chips, juice and a banana. I learned that I was 3rd in my 55-59 age group ... which I didn't expect. I hung around for the awards as I talked with other runners. I received a nice medal and a Brooks drawstring running bag ... sweet!

The bling!
So ... I did pretty well. I was 141st out of 1204 runners and 3rd out of 45 runners in the 55-59 age group. A link to all of the Lilac 10K and 5K results is here. I also placed 56th out of 84 in the USATF-Niagara standings. Here is a Democrat and Chronicle news article, link here. I did stop to take a few pictures of the lilacs.




Soon ... I was home waking up my darling wife and drinking coffee. A nice way to spend a morning!

Later Bill Beyerbach called and asked me out for a bike ride. I felt like declining but didn't since he really wanted to go. He rode over to the apartment around 4:30PM. We geared up and headed out on my usual both sides of Genesee River route. Christine yelled out "Billy and Dougie have fun!" as we left.

I did have a bit of trouble about halfway. My front brakes locked up after I had a brief excursion into some bushes. A person came off the porch of the house we were stopped in front of and looked at my brakes. He ended up unhooking my front brakes so just my back brakes were working. We had no trouble the rest of the way ... except I was careful since I only had back brakes.

Christine suggested that we go out to eat and I didn't resist. We ate at Salvatore's. I must have had a tape worm ... it took half a medium pizza with pepperoni, pineapple and bacon followed by 5 chicken wings to satisfy my hunger. Huh?

Monday, 5/19/2014: Rest day ... lots of DVR watching.

Tuesday, 5/20/2014: 6.33 miles, 1:04:27, 10:11 pace, around 70F, overcast, perfectly calm.

MapMyRun activity for Ran 6.33 Miles on 5/20/2014

I needed to get one last hill workout before Sehgahunda so I drove down to Cobbs Hill ... where else? I wore my CW-X shorts, Sehgahunda Training tech from 2012, Salomon Speedcross 3s and my Salomon vest with the Camelback hydration pack so I could simulate running with my Sehgahunda gear. I noticed that I had forgot my Garmin so I downloaded MapMyRun onto my iPhone and set out. I took it nice and steady but determined. I powered through 5 switchbacks and 5 grassy Vs before I stopped. A nice and satisfying run!

Wednesday, 5/21/2014: Sehgahunda taper day 1 equals rest.

Thursday, 5/22/2014: Sehgahunda taper day 2 equals rest

Friday, 5/23/3014: Day before Sehgahuna

I picked up my Sehgahunda hoodie and drop bag at Fleet Feet Armory store after work. We had already booked a room at the Allegiance Bed and Breakfast down in Mount Morris so we packed for a two night stay, the night before and the night after Sehgahunda. I had all my stuff packed in about 30 minutes. My darling wife, Christine, took ... a bit longer.

We got down to Mount Morris around 8:30PM and checked in. The Alligiance Bed and Breakfast was an old mansion. We had the Fitzhugh room with a king size bed and a nice sized bathroom that required 2 steps down to get into. Here are some pictures from their website.




We were hungry so we stopped by the Charred American Bar and Grill to eat. Service was slow but I had the pulled pork and Christine had the taco salad. I was asleep by midnight. Our phones were set for 6AM.