Sunday, 7/26/2015 to Saturday, 8/1/2015 - Sauerkraut 20K

1 ran 3 times this week, 30.6 miles.
I biked once this week, 18.7 miles.

Sunday, 7/26/2015: 18.7 miles on the bike, 1:27:15, 12.9 mph average, 21.3 mph peak, 82F, 38% RH, 6 mph N wind, sunny.

I lazed most of the day and felt like a slug. I watched Facebook and the Ironman website for news about the Ironman Lake Placid (IMLP) being held. I knew three athletes: Dan Giblin, Jim McLaughlin, Danielle Feligno. I felt I had to do something physical so I geared up for a bike ride around 4PM.

Garmin Connect Activity for Out for a Sunday bike

I just headed out on some bike paths and explored the path along the Lake Ontario Parkway and also the 390 path down to Vintage Lane. It was kind of fun to get out there.

The IMLP results were Dan Giblin finished his 11th in 11:41:35, Jim McLaughlin finished his 13th in 12:57:00 and Danielle Feligno finished her first in 14:41:46.

Other people achieved awesomeness during the day. Amy Lord braved the mosquitoes when she ran the Montezuma Trail Half Marathon, course map here, results here, in 3:01:43 along with 290 other runners. 114 runner finished the 5K, link here. I thought about doing this race but I would have certainly have forgotten bug spray!

Bambi Jasmin running a flat during the Vermont 100K en route to a 15:28:42 finish

Bambi Jasmin was among 57 who finished the 100K during the Vermont 100 Endurance Run, results here. 221 runner finished the 100M, results here.

Monday, 7/27/2105: Rest day.

It was 88F when I got home ... just too hot to run. Maybe I can get up early tomorrow morning and run before sunbreak ... maybe.

Tuesday, 7/28/2015: 8.2 miles, 1:06:07, 8:03 pace, 66F, 88% RH, 6 mph SW wind, dawn.

Garmin Connect Activity for Up early to beat the heat

I did get up early! 4:45 AM to be exact! I dressed quickly along with my reflective vest, ate a banana and got out the door. I just took it nice and easy. I saw one runner, a couple of dog walkers and a bicyclist along with about 10 cars.

Sunrise on Edgemere Drive

I was rewarded with a nice sunrise too! My splits were: 8:00, 7:49, 7:47, 7:56, 8:00, 9:00, 7:5, 8:08 and 7:37 over the last 0.2 mile. I was remarkably not too sore or gimpy during the day either ... which was a surprise.

Wednesday, 7/29/2015: Rest day with temps in the low 90s. The dog days of summer have arrived.

Thursday, 7/30/2015: 10.0 miles, 1:24:36, 8:27 pace, 75F, 83% RH, 6 mph SW wind, overcast.

Garmin Connect Activity for Out before dawn

My darling wife, Christine, woke me up around 3AM with her lovely snoring. Luckily I had gone to bed early. I got up and puttered for a bit and then decided to go out early for a long run. I had my usual pre-run bowl of cereal, programmed the coffeemaker, got dressed, geared up and got out there. I brought a headlamp but didn't need it since there were streetlights along all of my route. It was pretty dark and quiet at 4:30AM but I just struck up a nice pace and "got 'er done". I slowed about mile 6 or 7. I just ran out of energy. It was quite humid but the breeze did feel good. It started to sprinkle a minute after I got done ... which I could have used about 30 minutes before! My splits were: 8:23, 8:27, 8:05, 8:16, 8:11, 8:24, 8:33, 8:38, 8:59 and 8:40. I was a bit gimpy during the rest of the day.

Friday, 7/31/2015: Rest day.

Run stats for the month of July: 18 runs for 124.16 miles, 5.9 miles/run; four were warmup runs of 2, 1.6, 1.5 and 0.4 miles; one was a cooldown run of 1.25 miles; 6 races (Irondequoit 10K, Dirt Cheap #4, Boilermaker 15K, Shoreline Half, Shoreline Du and Karknocker 5K). I biked three times (18.36, 16, 18.7 miles).

Saturday, 8/1/2015: Shoreline 20K, 12.47 miles, 1:38:14 (1:38:48 by my Garmin), 7:56 pace, 70F, 64% RH, 6 mph W wind, sunny.

My alarm was set at 5:30AM for my seventh running of the Sauerkraut 20K (1:44:56 in 2006, 1:35:48 in 2008, 1:39:12 in 2010, 1:37:08 in 2011, 1:40:51 in 2013 and 1:42:27 in 2014). I had gone to bed early and was asleep by 10PM so I was already awake by 4:45AM or so. Christine begged off again since she said that she had lamps arriving by USPS or UPS (they didn't come anyway) ... and that she didn't want to antagonize (which she does) any of my children that I was going to see after the race. I dressed quietly, changed up my pre-race meal with a bagel and banana, geared up and was out the door at 6:30AM. I should have left a bit earlier but I got down to Phelps around 7:15AM.

I had a bit of trouble finding a parking spot but I soon found a spacious one. I got my bib and 2015 yellow tech shirt. I remember to apply BodyGlide, sunscreen and down a couple of Endurolytes before the race. I took a 10 ounce water bottle and had three HammerGels on me. I said "Hi" to Prem Kumar, Alex Tong and Andy Ciaio before the race. I didn't have my running sunglasses with me. I didn't let it bother me and made do without them. I got out for a real short 0.2 mile warmup run, link here.


I lined up about 30 feet back from the start and to the left for the low key start at 8AM ... and we were off! I settled into a nice, kind of hard pace. Andy and Prem caught up to me after mile 1. Prem said he was doing a "training" run. Andy and I chuckled as he went ahead ... then Andy went ahead. I had water on the run at mile 3, then a Gel and water at mile 4. The first big hill was at mile 5.25. I crossed the 20K mark at 49:50. I shortened my stride and felt good. The second big hill was at mile 7.1. I took tiny walk breaks on each hill of maybe 100 or 200 feet. I had my second HammerGel at mile 8ish along with water. There was no more aid stations the rest of the way. I just kept running There was no traffic control at the corner of Toll and Griffith Rd or aid station around mile 10. I had to adjust my turn across the road there since a truck came whipping down Griffith Rd. I ran onward ... only 2 miles to go. I started passing 5K runners who had started at 9AM and early start 20K runner who had started at 7AM. I tried to encourage every runner. I picked up the pace ... onward ... left onto Fort Hill Rd which became S Wayne St ... into Phelps ... left onto Park St ... finish line in sight ... and done in 1:38:14! Andy had finished 31st in 1:36:10, Prem was right behind him, 32nd in 1:36:35. I finished 35th out of 120. We congratulated each other and talked shop until the results were posted. Prem won his M40-44 age group, Andy was 2nd in his M50-54 age group and I won my M55-59 age group (out of 7). Overall results, link here. Age group results, link here. My splits were: 7:35, 7:50, 7:51, 7:42, 8:12, 8:51, 7:36, 8:40, 7:40, 7:50, 7:56, 7:41 and 7:18 over the last 0.47 mile.

The post race grub was rather sparse: just bananas, energy bars, chocolate milk and an energy drink. But we all got a real small can of sauerkraut ... yahoo! Later I found that we did get a ticket for a hot dog at the Sauerkraut festival grounds elsewhere in Phelps (which I didn't use). It's really a shame about the Sauerkraut 20K. I want to like this race. I have run it sever times. It's the only 20K around. But the numbers have been falling off over the years (). I think it is because of how we are treated after the race. Years ago we had hot dogs and bagels. The winners received plants. The race had character ... now not so much. If you needed water past mile 8 today you were SOL (shit out of luck). Oh well.

7/18/2015 and 7/19/2015 - Shoreline Half and Du

7/18/2015: I ran 13.1 miles during the Shoreline Half Marathon

I woke up during the night around 4 AM as a severe thunderstorm moved through upstate NY. It produced an intense lightning show with lots of rain and thunder. I got up to close windows ... Christine slept through it. I went back to sleep and woke up just before the alarm at 6 AM. I tied to get Christine up long enough to go with me but ... she wishy-washed and finally chose to go back to sleep ... I just left at 6:55AM for Hamlin State Park for my fourth Shoreline Half (2011, 2012, 2014 and now 2015). So I knew going in that the Shoreline is usually hot, flat and had little shade if it's sunny.

A beautiful sunrise at Hamlin State Park - taken by Barb Boutillier

I go to the park and got in line with every other car that tried to get to the venue at 7:20AM ... lots of cars. The parking lot at lot 4 was 90% full when I got there. I popped open the back of the Equinox and immediately noted that I had forgotten my Garmin Foreunner 310XT .. oh, well. I adapted and overcame. I had Strava on my Droid so I fired that up and also sent my honey a eCrumb, link here, before I hit the starting line with really not much of a warmup. It was hot (around 70F) and humid when I toed the line. The good thing was that the sun was under clouds. I talked to a woman named Brittany who was running her first half and offered her encouragement.

The Shoreline Half course

The start! - taken by Kim Smith

A long line of runners - taken by Barb Boutillier

And ... we were off! I got up to speed quickly and ran the first 2 miles entirely inside the park at a pretty good pace.

Still inside the park - taken by Kim Smith

Brittany got ahead of me ... so I followed her for a while. I went into a run for 2 miles and walk through the aid stations past mile 4. It worked. Some runners would pass me but I would pass them again when I got back up to speed.

On the S curve of Priem Rd - taken by Barb Boutillier

A couple of cute signs

A trio of cute kids cheering their Mom on!

I walked a bit at mile 9 ... then Brittany told me "I could do this" and I just put her behind me. I took a tiny walk at the aid station at mile 10 and then knocked the side of my head, said "reset" and ran for the next 2.5 miles. The sun came out just as I got back to the park at mile 11.

The finish line is somewhere up ahead - taken by Kim Smith

There were 3 women in front of me when I got to the path on the shoreline with 1.1 miles to go ... I put them behind me before I hit the finish in 1:47:04 ... done!

I was drenched with sweat and was approached by volunteers who thought I needed help but I didn't. I downed a few cups of water and was fine. I hit up the post-race grup for a blueberry bagel and a banana. I was 5th in my age group so left before the awards, changed in the Equinox and headed on to my next task.

So ... my next task was helping move my daughter, Karen, from her mother's couch to a studio apartment in Farmington. My ex had picked up a Uhaul 10' truck in Geneva at 9AM and waited for me to arrive around 1PM. Then Karen, my oldest son Michael, the ex and I loaded what was left from her mother's and from mother's storage unit in Newark. It was hot and humid so I got a bit of sweat from my brow onto her stuff as I arranged her stuff in the hot truck. Then I drove the truck to her new place. She has a nice roomy studio with a nice sized kitchen and main area. Michael and I were puzzled for a while trying to put together one of her couches with no instructions before we figured it out correctly. Then I drove the truck to Victor to drop off the Uhaul. The ex drove me back to my Equinox in Newark so I could drive home. So ... another move of one of my kids done. I have really forgotten how many times I have moved each of them ... it does seem like a lot. Did I tell my darling wife, Christine? The answer would be no ... it had to be done so I just did it. I do what I can for my kids. Karen told me that Farmington has a nice bus system and that she wants to get a job in Canandaigua. I hope she does.

I got back up to Rochester by 6PM. I busied myself by taking out the garbage from the patio and putting my Saris bike rack onto the Equinox.  Soon it was time to go to bed early at 10 PM. I had signed up for the Shoreline Du for the first time so tomorrow was another race.

Sunday, 7/19/2015: 1 run of 0.4 mile and the Shoreline Du, 75F, 89% RH, 9 mph WSW wind, mostly sunny.

My wakeup call was 5:30AM this morning ... but I heard Christine's phone sound a notification at 5AM and I was up st 5:15AM ... no matter. I loaded the dishwasher and did the dishes in the sink before I tried to wake Christine ... but she begged off and went back to sleep. I didn't let it bother me and got ready, geared up and got my bike onto the bike rack. I nicked my right forefinger putting the bike onto the rack ... I just put some Kleenex on it and got going out to Hamlin. I was out there by 7:15AM for the 8:15AM start. I got my stuff together and was marked with my 267 bib number on my right hand and right calf as I entered transition. I racked my bike and noted that it was right opposite from the Finish line. I was a bit nervous since I had not done a Du since the Autumn Classic in 2013. I noted that it was a bit warmer (78F) and windier (9 mph WSW wind).

Getting ready to my first Du in 2 years

My trusty steed

I got out for a 0.4 mile warmup run at 7:54 pace, link here. Hey, I got this. It was just a run, bike, run ... right? I tried to start up a eCrumb for my honey but it was rejected just like my Facebook update because of bad cellphone coverage in Hamlin.

I turned my Garmin on at the beginning of Run 1 and just let it go. The result is that it thought that the Du was just one big run. I managed to chop up the TCX file into separate Run, Bike and Run files but ... it was a lot more difficult than I thought. Some Goggling was involved. But I ended up doing it in WordPad. Run 1 and Bike was relatively easy. I had the most trouble with Run 2 since Strava thought for a long time that it was a duplicate of Run 1. But I finally fixed it.


And ... we were off! I got off to a fast start and was 7th for the first mile. Some runners passed me in the second mile before I got to transition for the 16 mile bike. I put on my helmet and gloves, took a swig of water and ran/walked my bike to the mount area. I was on my bike and rolling ... out of the park and onto the course.


It was windy ... from 9 mph from the WSW. So a lot of the ride was into a crosswind or headwind. My bike is just a ordinary bike set up with a straight handlebar, city tires and no aerobars. So .. I heard "On your left", "Left" or nothing at all as rider after rider passed me. I pedaled as best as I could for my third ride of the season and pedaled some more. My butt hurt a bit and I ran out of energy about half way through the 16 mile course. There were slight hills and definitely a headwind on the course ... for sure! Our bike course was even on the Parkway for a couple of miles. I was really tired but I pedaled on and on and on until I got back into the park and to the dismount area. Wow! Did it hurt to walk or try to run again! Ouch! I got into transition, racked my bike, took my helmet and gloves off, toweled my head off and tried to run again.


I groaned quite loudly for the first 5 steps as I left my bike to begin the 4 mile run. There was an aid station right outside of transition and I downed 2 cups of Fluid to get some electrolytes in me. I was tired but it did hit the spot. I got up to a slow run and managed to hold it for most of the first 2 mile loop. I had another 2 cups of Fluid when I got around to begin the second loop. I remember seeing a sign just as I got back that read "Run Bike Run with the first two crossed out. I managed to get up a bit of speed when I crossed the finish line. And ... done in 1:57:59.70!

On the run course - taken by Kim Smith

In the finish chute - taken by Kim Smith

I got my finisher's medal, downed a cup of water and ambled toward the lodge where I gobbled down a banana and a couple of hot dogs. I was drenched with sweat and took a while to just relax. I found that I had finished 24th out of 58 so I stayed for the awards.

Later the results were posted. I was 24th out of 58, link here. I was 6th out of 9 in my M55-59 age group, link here. I did OK: Run 1 of 2 miles was 13:46, 6:51 pace, 12th out of 58; Transition 1 was 1:13; Bike of 16 miles was 1:07:44, 13.9 mph average (23.5 mph max according to my Garmin), 44th out of 58; Transition 2 was 1:09 and Run 2 of 4 miles was 34:13, 8:33 pace, 12th out of 58. So ... I did OK on the run and not so much on the bike. Hey ... it was fun. I got to see a lot of really fast bikes whiz by me!

Lloyd's Ribs ... tasty!

My darling wife, Christine, cooked up my favorite supper ... ribs! Along with french fries and ketchup!

Sweet Shoreline Swag!

All in all ... a great weekend!