Sunday, 3/15/2015 to Saturday, 3/21/2015

I ran 3 times this week, 25 miles.

Sunday, 3/15/2015: 7 ... err, 10 miles, 1:19:53, 7:59 pace, 34F, 80% RH, 8 mph NW wind, wind chill 27F, overcast.

I slept pretty well considering that Christine and I were in a strange double bed at the house of her daughter, Beth, in Lakewood OH. I was up around 7AM. I had brought my small gym bag with enough gear for running with temps around mid 30s. I fired up mapmyrun.com and figured out a 7 mile route from 1428 Lakewood Ave. My plan was to head west, then turn north to Lake Ave along Lake Erie, run a few miles, head south and then back west in a rectangle.


So ... I headed out. Well ... I couldn't find my first cross street to head north. I saw a main street and turned north on W Clinton Blvd and then a right onto Lake Ave to Edgewater Dr. I took a tiny detour to take a picture of Lake Erie.

Lake Erie was still frozen as far as I could see

I took another detour through Lakewood Park, then continued on Lake Ave until West Blvd. I turned right onto Detroit Ave and then saw that I had already run 7 miles. OK ... no problem. I did go through Lakewood Park. I saw Lakewood Ave but there wasn't a CVS on the corner. Huh? My Equinox was not at 1428 Lakewood Ave. Huh? I went back to Detroit Ave and continued west. On ... mile 8, on ... mile 9. I looked for the CVS. I didn't carry water and was getting thirsty. Detroit Ave was sure long! I finally saw the CVS on the corner of Lakeland (opps!) Ave. I ran by 1428 Lakeland Ave and stretched the run out to 10 miles. My splits were: 7:49, 7:43, 7:40, 7:56, 7:50, 8:01, 8:03, 8:15, 8:30 and 8:03.

Lesson learned ... know where you are starting before you head out from a new place ... lol!

Coffee and a hot shower soon ensued. Beth made a nice breakfast for us ... scrambled eggs, bacon and sausage patties. Yum! Then it was onward to Ravenna OH to see Christine's father who is 94 years young.

Christine, her father and I - selfie time!

We had a nice long visit. We talked for a while then headed out to visit his wife's grave in Twinsburg and ate a late lunch at the Cracker Barrel. We headed back to Rochester at 6PM and arrived at 10:30PM. I used the cruise control on Equinox for about 95% of the drive.

Monday, 3/16/2015: Rest day ... you betcha!

Tuesday, 3/17/2015: 5 miles, 41:54, 8:22 pace, 34F, 32% RH, 18 mph NW wind, wind chill 23F, mostly sunny.

Garmin Connect Activity for Cobbs Hill workout with 3 Ys

I headed down to Cobbs Hill Park for another whack at a hills workout. I parked at Fleet Feet Armory and geared up. The east side of Culver Rd was muddy so I headed up the other side. I felt a bit stiff during the run up and the first Y but soon loosened up. I held back and just did 3 Ys and then headed back. My splits were: 9:19, 8:14, 8:08, 8:13 and 7:58.

Wednesday, 3/18/2015: Rest day

My darling wife, Christine, has been looking at apartments and townhouses since our lease at Pine Ridge Apartments is up at the end of May. We need to get out of our cramped 1 bedroom apartment with its tiny kitchen. Last week she visited a 2 bedroom apartment at Long Pond Shores (too expensive) in Greece and a townhouse at The Viking Apartments in Brockport (too far). Today she visited Greenleaf Meadows in Rochester. She liked them and suggested that I visit them after work. I did and I think we found the one! I looked at a 2 bedroom townhouse with 2 bedrooms up with large closets, 1 upstairs bath (the only bad point), a bigger kitchen with a window and a full basement (sectioned into a utility room and storage room). A bit pricey but it includes free heat, water and central A/C. It also has an onsite 24/7 exercise room, a seasonal (Memorial Day to Labor Day) pool and is adjacent to a pond and a running/biking trail with Lake Ontario about 1/2 mile away. A Google Maps link is here. The map looks to have some nice and long running loops possible plus nice long roads or multi-use trails for our bicycles.

Thursday, 3/19/2015: 10 miles, 1:18:44, 7:52 pace, 34F, 40% RH, 11 mph NE wind, wind chill 25F, mostly sunny.

Garmin Connect Activity for A not so nice and easy 10 miles

I needed to run to get a last 10 miles before the Syracuse Half on Sunday so I got home, had my usual pre-run bowl of cereal, get dressed and got out there. I stuck to my usual 10K route, struck up a not so nice and easy pace, stuck to it and then extended it to 10 miles. My splits were: 7:44, 7:54, 7:57, 8:00, 7:46, 7:47, 7:56, 7:54, 7:55 and 7:51. Boom!

Friday, 3/20/2015: Rest day.

I felt a bit gimpy with a bit of Achilles tendon tightness and a bit of tightness across my lower abdomen.

Saturday, 3/21/2015: Rest and travel day before the Syracuse Half

I got out and got my haircut cut. I decided to go with a short, aerodynamic cut ... not bald but short on the sides and about 1/2 inch on top. I have had quite enough with the wind blowing my hair all over the place. I might even go even shorter. I have lots of older guys sporting the look and some younger ones like Chris Patterson.

Packet picket up for the Syracuse Half was at Fleet Feet Syracuse from 9AM to 5PM. My darling wife, Christine, and I packed our stuff and made it there by 4:45PM. A bit rushed but we travel well together now. I quickly got my blue 1/4 zip Syracuse Half pullover and race bib. Then we shopped for a bit. Christine found a couple nice looking tech tops in 2XL on sale and I found 4 HammerGels. My impression of Fleet Feet Syracuse was: more stuff to choose from and a better selection. It would be worth the trip if they had a nice sale.

Then it was onward to the Maplewood Inn. A basketball team was just ahead of us at the front desk for check in so ... we went to a nearby Denny's for supper to avoid the crowd. Christine and I had a nice leisurely dinner of haddock for her and spaghetti and meatballs for me ... gotta carboload you know! Back at the Maplewood Inn we quickly checked in and got to our nice room with a king size bed. Sweet! I laid all my stuff out for the next morning and set my alarm for 6AM. Sleep came quickly for me ... not so quickly for Christine. She said that she heard basketball players roaming the halls during the night.