Sunday, 5/17/2015: 2 runs of 1 mile and Lilac 10K (6.32 miles), 64F, 68% RH, calm, sunny
I was up early around 6 AM like usual. I knew that Christine needed her sleep so I let her sleep while I quietly got ready for my 8th running of the Lilac 10K (2006 and 2010 through 2015). I knew the drill ... dress for a summer race in shorts and an old Lilac 10K tech shirt plus carry water. I chose a 10 ounce hand bottle. I knew where to park: the Al Sigl Center at the corner of Elmwood and South Ave for a $5 donation. I kissed Christine goodbye and headed out around 8 AM. No worries ... I was parked at 8:15 AM in plenty of time for the 9:15 AM start. Bill Beyerbach pulled in opposite me just as I was getting out. We talked running while we geared up and then walked up toward Highland Park. Bill ran ahead to warm up. Me ... I was worried about my ribs. I knew they weren't 100%. So ... why was I racing? It's what I do I guess.
A new feature at the Lilac 10K this year was that the start/finish line for the 5K held at 8:15 AM with 928 finishers and the 10K was the same line. Last year, the 5K runners had to run through the 10K runners who were lined up to get to the finish line and some stopped because they didn't know that they had another 0.1 mile to go.
I got out for a really nice and easy 1 mile warmup run at 9:05 pace, link here. My ribs ached so I kind of figured that it would be a painful Lilac 10K. Oh well. I noticed that it was warm and sunny so I knew that this would be a factor too.
So ... I lined up a bit further back than I usually do. And ... we were off! It took me 23 seconds to cross the start/finish line to start the race. I slowly eased into a nice and easy race pace (if there is such a thing) as I carefully weaved around slower runners. I passed Pete and the 1 mile mark in 7:58 pace. My ribs didn't really bother me so I just tried to keep at this pace for the rest of the race. The mile or so down Monroe Ave and Elmwood Ave with no shade was definitely sunny.
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| A long line of runners on Monroe Ave - courtesy of Patrick Brynes |
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| Mile 5 - courtesy of Facebook |
Oh ... way up front "Kip" Tisia won the Lilac 10K in 29:56 and Hannah Davidson was the first woman in 34:58.
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| "Kip" Tisia crossing the line in 29:56 |
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| Joshua Perks and Hannah Davidson at mile 5 |
Back at home ... packing awaited. So ... I attacked the bookcase in the bedroom. My darling wife, Christine, was impressed that I did throw out a lot of magazines. I took four trips out to the garbage dumpster. I really didn't need several years of old PC World, Maximum PC, Men's Health, Runner's World (gasp) and Running Times (gasp) magazines. Hopefully both of us will be packed by the end of the week.
Monday, 5/18/2015: Rest day.
I took it easy and just went through the stuff of my deceased family who died on 3/10/2014. I had just piled whatever mail that came my way on top of the small filing cube that I used to store his stuff. I just didn't have the desire to deal with it until last night.
Tuesday, 5/19/2015: 6.6 miles, 53:56, 8:10 pace, 57F, 59% RH, 15 mph W wind, overcast
Garmin Connect Activity for A nice and easy run on dead shoes
I needed to get out there. The weather tried to throw me a curve. It was warm in the morning but cool and windy by the evening. I wanted to run hills at Cobbs Hill but realized that I didn't have the clothes or inclination. So I went home. I dilly-dallied like usual. I "borrowed" an XL long sleeve tech from Christine (sssh ... don't tell her) and found my light running gloves and got out there. I struck up a really nice and easy pace on my old New Balance 860 running shoes with 575 miles on them. My ribs were a bit stiff at first. I had thought about doing a 15K when I started out but cut it to just the 10K route when my thighs started to hurt. I can definitely tell the difference between the old shoes and the new shoes that I wore for the Lilac 10K. But ... I got out there and got it done. My splits were: 8:19, 8:18, 8:00, 8:40, 7:58, 7:55, and 7:49 over the last 0.6 mile.
It would turn out that this was my last run on my usual 10K route that I have run so many times in the past 6.5 years that I have lived in this cozy 1 bedroom apartment at Pine Ridge Crossing. Will I miss it? Maybe a little.
Wednesday, 5/20/2015: Rest day.
I have brought home lots of boxes. Hopefully they will be the correct size for what we need to put in them. It kind of sucks to put stuff in a box and then not be able to lift it comfortably when you get done. Then throw in that my ribs still aren't 100% ... which sucks.
I packed a whole three ... yes, three boxes before I stopped for the night. Two were CDs, DVDs and VHS tapes and the other was my medal (2006 through 2014) with socks. It just sucked. I gotta pick up the pace on Thursday and Friday.
Thursday, 5/21/2015 and Friday, 5/22/2015: Packing days.
Packing sucks. Christine's daughter, Beth, came out from Lakewood OH on Friday and helped Christine go through her stuff and pack the kitchen. She was a godsend. But even then, not everything was packed by Saturday. There was just too much crap to go through and not enough places to put it once it was gone through anyway.
Saturday, 5/23/2015: Move ... day 1
Why day 1? Well ... the movers, Highline Moving Delivery and Storage, that my darling wife, Christine, selected were 45 minutes late and showed up with only a 16 foot truck. I had busied myself by moving box after box after box down from our 2nd floor 1 bedroom apartment to the landing on the first floor. I also filled my Equinox with my computer stuff that I did not want manhandled by anyone else but me. My reasoning was that I needed to clear an alleyway for the big furniture (queen size bed, 5 dressers, 2 filing cabinets, old Sanyo 35" TV, leather recliner couch, computer desk, 2 dining tables). Christine had to leave around 10 AM to meet up with Time Warner to get a All-In-One (Internet, TV and Phone) package hooked up.
Well ... soon after the movers, Chris and Teddy, told me that they had a hard 1 PM cutoff time and that they would just concentrate on the heavy stuff and whatever that I had already put down on the landing. So ... I was a bit miffed but what could we do? We hired them to move the heavy stuff. We had found out that no one with muscle and stamina was available to help us move by ourselves. My youngest son, David, had been putting in 14 hours shifts at Loomis and was unavailable. Anyway, they filled the truck with what they could and off they went to the new townhouse at Greenleaf Meadows. The unloading went OK but all they did was put all the boxes in 2 rows on the first floor and then the heavy stuff where we wanted. They did take our old 35" Sanyo CRT TV to RCR&R to be recycled for $25. They settled up the bill with Christine and off they went minus their portable drill ... which we are keeping if they don't call for it.
Christine and I did head back to the old apartment to get a Equinox sized load of stuff. There is a whole lot of stuff that still needs to be moved. I went online to arrange with U-Haul for a 15 foot truck on Monday to get the rest of the stuff.
We went to bed early. The first thing we noticed is that our new townhouse is dark and quiet at night. Our bedroom faces north onto the Lakeshore Country Club so there is no light after dark. We have an excellent view of the 6th hole by the way. We had to have flashlights to make our way to the bathroom! We slept like logs ... zzzz!
