Sunday, 8/9/2015 to Saturday, 8/15/2015 - Innovative Edge XC Series Race #2

I ran 7 times this week, 29.63 miles.
I biked once this week, 12.6 miles.

Sunday, 8/9/2015: A Du of 4, 12.6 and 4 miles.

I got up kind of late at 8:45AM. I read a bit of Facebook and learned of other athletes being awesome. The Sodus Point Triathlon (0.45 mile swim, 13.1 mile bike and 5K run) was held with 172 finishers, link here. I saw one person, Brian VanBuren, completed all 99 miles of the Mighty Mosquito 99 Mile Relay in 28:42:17, link here. I saw that Rob Wilder completed 100 miles in the Beast of Burden in 5th place out of 44 in 20:55:16: 100M results here, 50M results here and 25M results here.

I was determined that I wasn't going to be a slug like I was last Sunday. Hmm ... what to do? Hmm ... how about a run-bike-run (R-B-R)? Hmm ... how long? The numbers; 4, 12, 4 come into my head. So ... I went out and did them. Maybe I should call this the DeWeaver Du?

Christine said "You're awesome, baby!" and mostly stayed out of my way except to remind me to put on sunscreen and to be careful ... sound words of loving advice. I dressed, geared up and got out at a nice and easy pace for a 4 mile out and back run at 7:46 pace. My splits were: 7:35, 7:50, 7:52 and 7:50. The weather conditions were: 73F, 57% RH, 5 mph ESE wind, sunny. I was definitely a bit sweaty when I got back.


I got back to the townhouse, toweled off, had a long swig of water, backed out my bike, put on my helmet, lit up my front and rear lights and then set off. My transition was about 3 minutes. I made up a bike course of 12.6 miles on the fly. Most of the course had wide shoulders except for Edgemere Drive. I did use the left sidewalk on Latta between Island Cottage and Dewey for 1/2 mile since I was going to make a left on Dewey anyway. My average speed was 14.2 and my top speed was 28.4 mph. The weather conditions were: 75F, 54% RH, 3 mph N wind, sunny.


I got back to the townhouse, toweled off, had a HammerGel, another long swig of water and got back out on my run course. I took it a bit easier and put it into "get 'er done" pace at 7:56 pace. My splits were 8:12, 7:50, 7:57 and 7:45. The weather conditions were unchanged from the bike.


And ... done! I didn't feel like a slug and relaxed by watching lots of American Ninja Warrior ... nice!

Monday, 8/10/2015: Rest day.

I got home a bit early ... just in time to put together four lamps that Christine had bought online 2 weeks ago. They was very well boxed ... I even had to assemble the lampshades. Now I need to buy some 3 way energy efficient light bulbs.

I also discovered that I had broken the band of my RoadID on Saturday afternoon when I carried in a bag of topsoil to the back patio. I ran, biked and ran on Sunday without knowing that I didn't have it on which is kind of weird. I did have a spare band so I just put it on ... no fuss, no muss. I did cut it so it was a bit looser.

Tuesday, 8/11/2015: 5.3 miles, 42:33, 8:01 pace, 77F, 57% RH, 11 mph NW wind, sunny

Garmin Connect Activity for A short and easy 5

It was Tuesday so I got out and ran. I did cut it short since I wanted to run the Innovative Edge XC Race #2 down at Cobbs Hill on Wednesday. My splits were: 8:01, 8:12, 8:01, 8:11, 7:57 and 7:12 over the last 02. mile.

Wednesday, 8/12/2015: 3 runs of 2.6, Innovative Edge XC Series Race #2 of 2.83 and 1.5 miles, 73F, 53% RH, 10 mph NW wind, partly sunny.

I loaded my gear into the Equinox before work so I could pop down to Cobbs Hill for the Innovative Edge XC Series Race #2. It's a 4 night XC race held on four consecutive Wednesday nights in August, link here. I ran the entire series in 2011 (including the Tour de Pain) and 2013. It's a low key race with not too many amenities. Just show up and run.

I parked in the Fleet Feet Armory parking lot and ran over for a 2.6 mile warmup run at 8:35 pace, link here. I met up with Andy Ciaio and shot the breeze for a bit before the race. The kid's race held at 6PM ran long so we waited for a bit. Coach Reif introduced a celebrity in our midst. David Coyne, runner of 44 consecutive Boston Marathons, was running the race. I learned later that Bill Beyerbach started out and ran from his house at 6:10PM and arrived just before the race started.


And ... we were off! The course is almost a mile of grass, then the grass hill up to the reservoir road, over to the Washington Grove for a mile of trail and then back onto grass for the run back to the finish. It's billed as a 5K ... but it's short. I had it as 2.83 miles. Anyway ... I was behind Bill Beyerbach for 1/2 mile before he pulled away. Andy passed me shortly afterward. I took off my sunglasses when I entered the woods and shortened my stride (which seems to be working for me). I passed a few runners in the woods by taking a better tangent on the corners. I held my position as I sprinted (as well as I could) for the finish. And ... done in 23:25! I stayed around and talked a bit with Andy and Bill before I headed home. The hills at Cobbs Hill hadn't gotten any easier!

Thursday, 8/13/2015: Rest day.

My mind wanted to run but my body said pizza ... so I went and got pizza!

Friday, 8/14/2015: 9.3 miles, 1:13:44, 7:55 pace, 75F, 74% RH, 7 mph W wind, overcast.

Garmin Connect Activity for A quick 15K

I needed to get out tonight since tomorrow will be a travel day for a quick trip to Ravenna OH. It was a mixed bag of weather: partly cloudy to a light rain for 1/2 mile around mile 2 to partly sunny by the time I finished. I struck up a kind of hard pace and just kept it up ... I don't do really nice and easy too much when I run on the road. My splits were: 7:52, 7:46, 7:49, 7:52, 8:16, 7:45, 7:52, 8:03, 8:09 and 7:32 over the last 0.3 mile. I was drenched with sweat when I got done ... sweet!

Saturday, 8/15/2015: Travel day

My lovely wife, Christine, and I traveled to Streetsboro OH to spend the night. We planned on seeing her father the next day. We arrived around 3:30PM after an uneventful trip. We stayed at the Wingate by Wyndham Hotel. We had a very nice room with a king bed, desk, chair and nice sized bathroom along with refrigerator, microwave, coffee maker and even a safe! Plus this room had 13 outlets! We even got into the pool for a swim before we walked over to eat supper at Ruby Tuesday's. We both had steak ... oh, so good!

Sunday, 8/2/2015 to Saturday, 8/8/2015 - Young & Wyld 5K and Bergen 5K

I ran 7 times this week, 27.48 miles.

Sunday, 8/2/2015: Rest day.

I really, really, really should have done something ... anything! But ... I didn't and felt like a slug. I caught up on Facebook and saw awesome posts about the Keuka Tri, results here. The usual long runs and long bikes were also celebrated. But ... I rested and felt like a slug.

Monday, 8/3/2015: 6.2 miles, 48:26, 7:48 pace, 81F, 48% RH, 13 mph WSW wind, sunny

Garmin Connect Activity for A nice 10K

I got out there for a quick and not so easy 10K. I could have gone longer but cut it short. My splits were: 7:49, 7:37, 7:47, 7:57, 8:03, 7:44 and 7:10 over the last 0.2 mile.

The band on my Garmin Forerunner 310XT broke when I took it off. Parts went flying! The piece that held the clasp on went flying. I was sweaty and didn't feel like kneeling on the bedroom floor and searching for it.

A screen capture from gpscity.com of a replacement band

The piece is not one of the two that hold each side of the band to the FR310XT but the one that holds the clasp to the bottom band above.

I cobbled together my FR310XT so I could hold it in my hand

I really should buy either replacement band or another fitness watch. I do like the Garmin brand but ... the Magellan Switch is looking really good. The sale price of $84 for the Switch Up is really talking to me, link here.

Tuesday, 8/4/2015: Rest day ... ugh!!

The usual rest day before a race ... boring!!

Wednesday, 8/5/2015: 2 runs of 2.1 and Young & Wyld 5K (3.08 miles)

I had signed up for my second Young & Wyld 5K a couple of weeks ago. I knew that I needed to run 5Ks to actually get used to running 5Ks. This race is down in Honeoye Falls on a familiar, flat and fast course that I have run about 5 times between various races. It's a bit of a drive but there is nice scenery and a waterfall to boot!

I loaded all my gear in Equinox before when I went to work. Well ... I did have to go home for lunch to pick up my gym shorts! I kind of thought that I had forgotten them and I had. So I changed after work and headed straight there. I arrived at 6PM in plenty of time for the 7PM start. The weather conditions were pretty ideal: 73F, 44% RH, 12 mph WNW wind that shifted to 13 mph NNW wind before the race, partly sunny.

Well .. Honeoye Falls does have a falls

I saw Andy Ciaio and Bob Dyjak before the race. I got out for a nice and easy 2.1 mile warmup run at 8:28 pace, link here. I adjusted my FR310XT so I could just hold it in the left hand while I ran. It seemed to work so I ran with it ... lol!

I started up my eCrumb so that my darling wife, Christine, could track me in the last minute before the race. It was a small race with around 100 runners.  I lined up a few feet from the start and to the extreme right to get around.some of the little kids that were up too close to the start.


And ... we were off! The course was your basic loop with the added twist that all the turns were to the right so we had traffic to our backs. It's slightly more dangerous but it's the course so I ran it. I struck up a hard pace and struggled to hold it as well as I could. Andy Ciaio passed me during the first mile (6:59). I knew I slowed down a bit during mile 2 (7:14). I grabbed a cup of water at the halfway point and gulped a mouthful of water without breaking stride. I tried to hold on for mile 3 (7:11). I turned the last corner ... sprint (5:55 during the last 0.08 mile) ... clock under 22 ... done in 21:50! I found, grabbed a bottle of water and downed it quickly. I was a bit parched.

A post race root beer float hit the spot!

I looked at the results when they were posted and found that I finished 18th and won my M55-59 age group. Andy was 12th in 21:55 for 2nd in his M50-54 age group. Bob Dyjak finished in 26:51. The overall results, link here. The age group results, link here. I won a $10 gift certificate to the JoJo Bistro & Wine Bar in Pittsford. Nice!

Thursday, 8/6/2015: 9.3 miles, 1:14:13, 7:59 pace, 73F, 50% RH, 8 mph N wind, partly sunny

Garmin Connect Activity to A new 15K route

It was Thursday and it was my night to run ... so I did. I brought up mapmyrun.com to try to find a new 15K route because I was a bit bored with running out onto the pier by the Ontario Beach Park on my old 15K route. I found a nice route that involved running out Edgemre Drive to Island Cottage to Latta to Dewey back to Edgemere Drive. It popped up as an exact 15K so I ran it. I struck up the usual nice and easy pace ... which I pushed like usual after I warmed up. Island Cottage, Latta and Dewey all had wide shoulders. My first first 5K was 24:50, second 5K was 24:55 and the last 5K was 24:28. My splits were: 8:04, 8:01, 7:59, 8:01, 8:13, 7:50, 7:53, 8:00, 7:56 and 7:27 over the last 0.3 mile.

Friday, 8/7/2015: Rest day ... boo, hiss!

Saturday, 8/8/2015: 3 runs of 1.8, Bergen 5K and 1.9 miles, 64F, 77% RH, calm, overcast.

I woke up at 6AM for my fourth Bergen 5K (20:31 in 2011, 21:36 in 2013, 21:32 in 2014). It's a Rochester Runner of the Year race that I enjoy running. It brings out the cream of the western NY runners with lots of fast runners from Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse and other locales. I had my pre-race bowl of cereal, dressed quietly and got my gear ready. I kissed my darling wife, Christine, goodbye. She surprised me by getting ready quickly and coming with me. We left at 7:23AM and arrived out in Bergen at 7:50AM in plenty of time for the 8;30AM start..

I got my bib and black tech shirt at packet pickup. I saw Prem Kumar, Bill Beyerbach, Mark Herberger and Bob Dyjak before the race. I got out for a nice and easy 1.9 mile warmup run at 8:40 pace, link here.

I lined up next to Bob a bit farther back than usual because of the fast crowd. I remembered to start my eCrumb just as the gun started.

The start - courtesy of Wayne Fingerlakes Cross Country and Track and Field

Getting up to speed at the start - courtesy of Bergen Road Race

And ... we were off! I got a bit busy as I tried to get up to speed while trying to stow my Droid in my SpiBelt ... and not drop anything. Hence ... I forgot to start up my Garmin FR310XT for about 0.2 mile. I didn't let it bother me. I just concentrated on letting the slower runners ahead of me give me room to pass them. The course was a new one. I hit the 1 km mark in 4:16 and the 1 mile in 6:42. I concentrated on keeping my pace and shortened my stride.

4K mark - courtesy of Tim Matthews

I started to pick off runners the rest of the way ... probably 5 or 6. I turned back into Hickory Park at mile 3.

Trying to catch 117 - courtesy of Wayne Fingerlakes Cross Country and Track and Field

Trying to draw even - courtesy of Wayne Fingerlakes Cross Country and Track and Field

Sprinting for the finish  - courtesy of Bergen Road Race

She beat me by a foot! - courtesy of Bergne Road Race

Bergen 5K swag

I saw a woman in front of me as we moved off the road to the finish on the grass. I sprinted ... she heard me coming and finished a foot in front of me ... and done in 21:30, 6:56 pace! Fastest 5K of the year! I knocked a fist with Prem ... he finished in 21:07, He had a relay race to go to afterward. Mark finished in 22:03. Mark and I congratulated Bill on his 20:00. He PR'ed at age 60!! He knocked 26 seconds off his previous PR. His workouts with GVH are really paying off!

I checked out the results, link here. The male winner, Sam Morse, finished in 14:44 and the female winner, Hannah Davidson, finished in 16:03! The first 52 finished under 17:00, 77 finished under 18:00 and 99 finished under 19:00 ... a truly fast field of runners! I finished 151st out of 337 and was 3rd out of 14 in my M55-59 age group. I received a plastic cup with the Bergen 5K logo ... nice! I got out for a nice cooldown run of 1.9 miles at 9:00 pace, link here.

Christine and I headed home with a stop at BJs on the way home. Soon she and I were relaxing with coffee. Well ... after I carted in the groceries and she put them away that is!

Meanwhile ... lots of other races were going on. The Women Run the ROC had 516 finishers (515 women and 1 lucky guy), link here. The Beast of Burden was held out in Lockport.

A map of the Mighty Mosquito relay course

A view of some of the tents

I headed out to Hopkinton Lodge at Mendon Ponds Park to check out the Mighty Mosquito 99 Mile Relay. The 5 solo runners started at 6AM and the relay teams started at 10AM. I chatted with the race director, Eric Eagan, and saw Prem Kumar go out for his second of three runs. There were teams of 6 runners who each ran loop 1, then each ran loop 2 and then all ran loop 3. Each loop was about 5 to 6 miles and would take about a hour or more. So each runner would run about every 6 hours. Headlamps were certainly necessary to run after dark. Maybe next year ...