Sunday, 2/15/2015: 14.45 miles, 2:04:50, 8:37 pace, 19F, 73% RH, 15 mph NNW wind, wind chill 5F, partly cloudy.
Bill Beyerbach and I had cooked up a plan earlier in the last year of running around the Irondequoit Bay at 2PM (which I didn't want to do) and then 9AM. He called the previous day about 7AM and meeting up with other runners at 7AM at MacGregor's on Empire Blvd in Webster at the bottom of Irondequoit Bay. I agreed ... that would get the run out of the way early in the morning.
So ... that meant an early bedtime and an absurdly early wakeup alarm of 5:30AM. I quietly got up, got dressed and got ready. It was 19F so I put on my CW-X tights on the bottom along with my medium weight long sleeve tech and 1/4 zip pullover. I wore my New Balance 860 road shoes and brought along my full balaclava, beanie, skiing mittens, 20 oz water bottle and blue Salomon Speedcross 3 trail shoes (just in case). I went outside to the Equinox and immediately went back inside to change into my heavy Sugoi long sleeve tech as my base layer. That wind was nasty cold!
I got down to MacGregor's around 6:50AM and got ready. I brought a couple of HammerGels and wore them close to my body in an Amphipod pouch. It was still dark as other runners came. Soon there were about 20 runners congregated. It was a serious crowd of fast runners. I recognized some: Tim Dwyer, Chris Petterson, Dan Giblin. Others seemed familiar. All were covered in various tech layers for warmth.
And ... we headed out. Bill and I started out behind the leaders, Tim and Chris, as we started up the mile plus long Empire Blvd hill towards Webster. Bill told me we couldn't keep up with Tim and Chris so ... we fell back. Soon at least 15 runners were in front of us. We were running alone the rest of the way. We ran up Empire Blvd to Bay Rd past Old Ridge Rd and 104. Then we took a left onto Volk Rd, right onto Dewitt Rd to add distance before turning left back onto Bay Rd. I stopped for a quick drink of water just before turning left onto Lake Rd. The wind off Lake Ontario really hit us as we took turns leading. We ran across the Swing Bridge as we crossed into Irondequoit at mile 7. I ran/walked the Culver Rd hill. A left onto Titus just after mile 9, a right onto Kane Dr, a left onto E Ridge Rd and onto Bay Shore Blvd. A downhill down to Irondequoit Bay and then I ran/walked back up Bayview Dr. Bill just powered up this hill. I decided to bypass the hills of Glen Haven Rd (maybe next time). Onward to a left onto Helendale Rd, a left onto Empire Blvd. Down the steep hill to Irondequoit Bay with MacGregor's in sight. And ... done with 14.45 miles in 2:04:50 at 8:37 pace. My splits were: 9:15, 8:32, 8:27, 8;23, 8:24, 8:34, 8:26, 9:03, 8:30, 8:30, 8:32, 9:36, 8:33, 8:02 and 7:31 over the last 0.45 mile.
Man ... was I cold! I changed out of my damp upper clothes right outside the Equinox into my yellow Dirt Cheap Stage Race hoodie. I followed Bill to his favorite restaurant, the Liberty. Soon we were devouring our meals of choice. I had the Liberty Special (2 pancakes, 2 scrambled eggs and 2 sausage patties) along with coffee. Bill had 2 poached eggs on whole wheat and oatmeal with a pitcher of water and coffee. Yum!
Soon ... I was back home. My darling wife, Christine, had coffee ready and warmed me back up. Mmm! We celebrated her 57th birthday a day early with a KFC take out meal ... double Mmm!
Monday, 1/26/2015: A full rest day.
A definite rest day. I walked OK in the morning but was a bit gimpy and tired during the afternoon. My darling wife, Christine, snored last night. It was her 57th birthday. We did our celebrating yesterday so ... nothing much tonight except an early bedtime along with maybe a hug and kiss.
Tuesday, 1/27/2015: Another full rest day.
I was still a bit gimpy while I walked plus I was still tired.
Wednesday, 12/28/2015: Yet another full rest day.
I am fighting a case of "blah, I am too tired to run" ... kind of sucks. My motivation and gumption have vanished.
Thursday, 12/29/2015: Yes, yet another full rest day.
My little sister, Diane, turned 55 today. She and her husband, Jim, live out in Lexington KY. Christine and I had little motivation so we were slugs. We celebrated the return of "TGIT" by watching "Grey's Anatomy", "Scandal" and "How to Get Away With Murder" off of the DVR so we could skip through the commercials.
Friday, 12/30/2015: 7.3 miles, 1:21:59, 11:14 pace, 12F, 78% RH, 16 mph WNW wind, wind chill -4F, light snow.
I posted on Facebook before I went to work about my lack of running motivation. Other runners posted that they had been fighting it too. Chris O'Brien looked at my Strava log and mentioned that I only needed "10 little miles" to get over 200 km for the month. That was motivation!
It was cold and dark ... but I am a runner. It had snowed about 3 inches during the day so I thought up a plan to run over to Seneca Park while I carried my snowshoes, put them on, run around on the trails and then run home while I carried my snowshoes. It was 12F with a wind chill of -4F so I wore a lot. My usual CW-X tights and GRTC shorts on the bottom along with my heavy Sugoi long sleeve tech, a short sleeve tech and my Brooks jacket on top. I choose my full balaclava, beanie, headlamp and skiing mittens. I wore my black Salomon Speedcross 3 trail shoes with screws. I eCrumbed my darling wife, Christine, so she would know where I was and set out.
I ran 0.95 miles out to the edge of the east trail at Seneca Park. I put on my Dion snowshoes and set out nice and easy. I clipped the inside of my right ankle three times before I learned to keep my feet more apart when I ran. It was cold, crisp and quiet in the woods as I ran about 3 miles out before I turned to head to the east trail. It was very quiet and peaceful. I surprised 3 deer and a cat (I think). I had to make up a trail for about a mile because there was no trail so I just headed south along the Genesee River and far enough away from the edge of the river gorge. My calves were getting a bit tired. The running motion on snowshoes is different. You are running more flat footed. I ran up to the corner of St Paul and E Ridge Rd before I stopped to take off my snowshoes, 5.65 miles. Then it was just 0.7 miles back to the apartment ... and done with 7.3 miles on a night that a lot of non-runners wouldn't even dream of doing anything outside. My splits were: 9:18, 10:00, 10:28, 13:23, 11:48, 12:16, 11:45 and 10:00 over the last 0.3 mile. Nice!
Saturday, 1/31/2015: 6.3 miles, 53:12, 8:26 pace, 10F, 78% RH, 5 mph W wind, wind chill 2F, overcast.
Garmin Connect Activity for A nice 6.3 miles
I needed more miles to get me over 124 miles or 200 km for the month of January so out I went. I took it nice and easy on my usual 10K route. It was cold but I heated up enough so I was actually too hot. I unzipped my Brooks jacket and took my skiing mittens off for a bit. The main streets were clear while the side streets and sidewalks were packed snow so it was not too bad for running. My splits were: 8:45, 8:34, 8:31, 8:26, 8:25, 8:07 and 7:55 over the last 0.3 mile. And ... done with 126.6 miles for the month of January!
People stop riding bicycles in the winter in upstate NY right? Wrong! Some friends rode in the Sweden Fat Bike Criterium in Sweden Town Park out in Brockport, link here. News links are here and here. I read that the riders had to run beside their bike in shin deep snow for much of the course. It sounds exhausting ... but fun!
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| Barry Cherney (in white) - photo courtesy of Ron Heerkens Jr |
