Sunday, 11/1/2015 to Saturday 11/7/2015 - Grocery Run 5K & Mendon Ponds Trail Run 30K->20K

I ran 6 times this week for 39.31 miles.

Sunday, 11/1/2015: 12.75 miles estimated, 1:45:00 estimated, 8:14 pace. 61F, 63%, 23 mph WSW wind, mostly sunny.

I used the hour that I got back from the end of Daylight Savings Time to sleep. I didn't get out to run until 10 AM. It was lot warmer than yesterday ... 27F to be exact. Yesterday, I wore CW-X tights, long sleeve tech, Brooks jacket, Brooks beanie and heavy gloves. Today, I wore CW-X shorts, short sleeve tech, orange hat and light gloves.

My plan was to try to run a half at a nice and easy pace. I chose to run out Edgemere Drive to East Manitou Rd and back. It was really windy. I had a crosswind on my left side for the out. It was really gusty when I was out in the open by the ponds. My Garmin died at mile 5.35 so I was in the blind at to where mile 6.65 was ... so I winged it. The crosswind was on my right and sort of a tailwind on the back which was nice. I'll bet my splits were all over from 8:00 to 8:30 on the out to 8:20 to 7:50 on the back ... who knows?

Meanwhile ... down in New York City a whole lot of runners were running in the NYC Marathon, results here.

The coffee was brewing when I got back. So .. my feet were up very shortly. The Buffalo Bills had a bye week so I caught a very entertaining NFC football between the NY Giant and the New Orleans Saints down in the Crescent City. Drew Brees of the Saints passed for 7 TDs and Eli Manning passed for 6 TDs. The game fittingly was decided by an end of the game FG as the Saints won 52-49, links here and here.

Christine was feeling a bit better so she cooked up some spare ribs, baked potatoes and spinach. Mmm ... tasty!

Monday, 11/2/2015: Rest day.

Tuesday, 11/3/2015: 5 miles, 51:30, 10:18 pace, 64F, 56% RH, 5 mph E wind, sunny.

Garmin Connect Activity for Switchbacks and Grassy Vs

I have some trail races coming and my Salomon SpeedCross trail shoes were feeling unloved so I needed to do hills. What better place to do hills on Tuesday night than Cobbs Hills. So I loaded the running gear into the Equinox before work. I made sure that I included my reflective vest and headlamp. I changed at work and headed to Cobbs Hill after work. What a beautiful evening! Indian summer is truly upon us for now at least!

I took it nice and easy when I started out. I kept my pace there and just enjoyed going up the switchback and then up and down each side of the grassy V. My splits were: 10:31, 10:06, 10:33, 10:27 and 9:52. Nice!

My new Brooks Adrenaline GTS15 running shoes that I ordered from Road Runner Sports were waiting for me when I got home ... sweet! Yes, I didn't buy local. Boo, me ... money talked this time. There are plenty of times where I buy local.

Wednesday, 11/4/2015: Rest day.

Thursday, 11/5/2015: 5.1 miles, 43:43, 10:43 pace, 72F, 53% RH, 3 mph S wind, mostly cloudy.

Garmin Connect Activity for More switchbacks and grassy Vs

I needed more hills I headed back to Cobbs Hill for more hills. It was a bit darker so I put on my headlamp a bit earlier. My splits were: 10:45, 10:31, 11;32, 10:37 and 10;23. I didn't think I ran slower than I did on Tuesday but I guess I did.

Friday, 11/6/2015: Rest day ... but not the best rest day.

Christine made an excellent salmon loaf for supper. What's bad? I ate way too much and stomach distress the rest of the night ... which is not the best way to prepare for a two race morning the next day.

Saturday, 11/7/2015: 3 runs of 1, Grocery Run 5K and Mendon Trail Run 20K

I had a plan to run two races today, the Grocery Run 5K and the Mendon Trail Run (MTR) 30K, just like I did last year. I was not feeling the best in the morning. I still felt a bit bloated due to overeating the night before. But it was race morning so I checked the temperature (46F), got geared up with a couple of long sleeve tech shirts, brought my trail shoes for the second race and a DCSR hoodie for afterward, and left for my first race. I got there around 7:30AM which was in plenty of time for the 8:15AM start. I parked in the Rochester Museum and Science Center parking so I could make a quick exit onto North Goodman after the race. I already had my bib so I was all set. I got out for a 1 mile warmup run at 9:01 pace, link here. I just wanted to get warm ... nothing special.


I moved up a bit closer to the start line than usual. I was right behind the GVH group when they did their usual pre-race chant.

The Grocery Run 5K - photo courtesy of Grocery Run 5K Facebook page

And ... we were off! I got up to speed quickly. A 5K is really over quickly ... what can I say? Mile 1 passed in 6:50. I didn't run as quick as I usually do on a 5K. I didn't do it on purpose but I did ... mile 2 in 7:08 and mile 3 in 7:25. I closed with a 6:37 in the last 0.1 mile. And ... done in 22:06 officially. Which is my slowest 5K of 2015. I stuck around for a bit to see if I could find out how I placed in my M55-59 age group but the results weren't uploaded yet so I took what food I could (a cookie and a piece of fudge) and went back to the Equinox around 8:55AM. Time to head over to my second race at Mendon Ponds Park (MPP).

I wonder how many times I have turned down in the Beach parking lot of MPP for either a trail race or just to run trail? I have run 162 trail races out of my 356 races so probably quite a few. But it never gets old though. I love to race. It was about 9:15AM so I made my way to Stewart Lodge with my gear to get my bib ... I saw Chris Washburn (doing the 50K) running back up to Douglas Rd after loop 1.

Chris Washburn during his 50K - photo courtesy of Dave Cornell

I forgot my trail shoes and mistakenly thought I had left them home. So ... I ran on my Brooks Adrenaline GTS15 road shoes with 588 miles on them. Oops!

I met up with Andy Ciaio before the race. I knew others there ... Ron Heerkens Jr was one of the photographers, Dave Cornell was out on the course. And ... we were off!

The 10K/20K/30K start - photo courtesy of Richard Detwiler

The 10K/20K/30K start - photo courtesy of Justin Newcomer

I stopped for a few seconds along the beach of Hundred Acre Pond to start up my eCrumb so that my Christine and my kids could track me. Then I set off and tried to get back where I felt I should be running. It took a bit of energy ... which probably I shouldn't have expended. But I did. The 10K loop of the MTR is your basic blue-green loop with a road closing to get out to Stewart Lodge for a start/finish and an aid station.

Somewhere on loop 1 - photo courtesy of Dave Cornell

300 yards from the start/finish line - photo courtesy of Richard Detwiler

I felt OK during loop 1. I had some water and a Gu at the aid station around mile 4. But I did have a GI issue ... I had to pee once during the loop and again in the bathroom just after loop 1. I felt worse during loop 2. I was just out of energy plus my heels hurt. I slowed to make sure that I didn't trip and fall. I had more to eat, a few pretzels and some M&Ms, at the aid station at mile 4. I had to pee again shortly afterward. I had decided to pull the plug at the end of loop 2. So I ran onward, got back to start/finish line and told the timer my intentions.

Coming into the start/finish line - photo courtesy to Richard Detwiler

Feeling exhausted as I finish loop 2 - photo courtesy of Dave Cornell

I must have looked a sight because Amy Lord got over to check on me. I thanked her and went into Stewart Lodge to get something to eat. I had a bagel ... one half with peanut butter and the other with jelly. It tasted delicious. I soon felt better enough to go home.

I usually finish any race that I start. But today ... not so much. I have learned that when I don't have it to not push it. Last year I did both the Grocery Run 5K and the MTR 30K. This year ... no. The MTR 10K/20K/30K allows one to either go up or down in distance without penalty. The MTR 50K is either you finish or it's a DNF. If I had been doing the 50K would I have quit? Probably not ... I would have walked it if I had to. But today I felt it was better to quit and race another day.

Here are the results, link here. 59 runners finished the 10K; Amy Lord in 1:24:25. I finished the 20K 49th out of 63 in 2:27:19, 14th out of 17 in my M50-59 age group. Andy Ciaio finished 9th in 1:24:48 which was 46 seconds behind his son, Ben, who won his M0-19 age group, Sarah Hardy in 2:33:51 and Tina Pellegrin in 3:20:05. 43 runners finished the 30K; Anzhela and Diana Knyazeva came up from D.C. to finish in 3:55:49. 61 runners fnished the 50K; Prem Kumar in 5:34:28; Chris O'Brien in 5:54:02, Chris Washburn in 5:58:43, Sheila Eagan in 6:15:2, Danielle Feligno in 6:26:24 and Tom Butler in 9:40:54.

Diana and Anzhela Kynazeva - photo courtesy of Justin Newcomer

Meanwhile, Heather Bailey Ostrander was running the Stone Cat 50 Mile Race in Ipswich MA and being awesome and badass!

A selfie from HBO at two hours and 9.6 miles. I would run faster, HBO!

I and a lot of other people stalked her via Facebook. She gave it her all and finished in 12:19:22, results here. Way to go, HBO! Her race report is here and a post from Kristen Peterson, here.