Sunday, 4/3/2016 to Saturday, 4/9/2016 - Syracuse Half and Mess the Dress

I ran 4 times this week, 32.18 miles

Sunday, 4/3/2016: 2 runs of 0.65 and 13.24 (Syracuse Half) miles, 25F, 86% RH, 18 mph WSW wind, wind chill 11F, overcast with periods of snow and sleet

Christine and I stayed overnight at the Quality Inn and Suites at 454 James St in Syracuse in preparation for the Syracuse Half. I had set my alarm for 6:30 AM but I was awake at 6 AM..

Yeah ... there was 2 to 3 inches of snow overnight!

Holy crap did the weather change overnight! Our hotel room door opened onto a gated hallway that was also open to the outside. This made a simple walk to the front desk more of a challenge because the hallway was cold and also wet from the snow. Hearing it being predicted on TV the night before and actually seeing it the next morning were two different things!

The Syracuse Half Facebook page was active with people posting about the snow, traffic and difficulty getting to Syracuse. I threw on some clothes and headed to the free breakfast area. I saw a girl who was running her first Syracuse Half. I imparted some advice and wished her luck.

I went back to our room and started to prep. It's not like I'm a rookie ... I knew what to wear for these conditions. I put on my old tried and true standbys: Brooks tights, Darn Tough socks, short sleeve tech, Brooks 1/4 zip long sleeve pullover, balaclava, Brooks beanie and heavy running gloves. I added my GRTC shorts for a bit of added protection to my boy parts. I also carried a 20 ounce water bottle and had 2 HammerGels in an Amphipod on my waist. Boom ... I was ready.

A pic by Christine before I headed out for the start

Christine wished me "Good Luck", kissed me and sent me on my way. It was only a left onto East St for a hundred yards, a left onto State St and a 1/2 mile down to the OnCenter. When I turned the corner onto State St and felt the full wind I thought that I might want to turn back for my Brooks jacket but kept on going. I had asked my darling wife, Christine, to bring my dry gear down to the OnCenter around 9:45 AM and meet up so I could change out of my wet gear.

The 0.65 mile warmup run down to the OnCenter was uneventful at 9:06 pace, link here. I arrived about 10 minutes before the start of the race. The weather at the start was not too bad. Overcast, no snow and a bit of wind.

The start ... photo courtesy of Syracuse Half

And ... we were off! The course of the Syracuse Half went right by the Quality Inn and Suites where Christine still was.

I almost put my left foot in a pothole as I turned right onto James St. I got my left foot wet and could feel the edge of the pothole but didn't go all the way in ... lucky for me! Christine was not out and I continued onward. I had signed her up for progress pages at 5K, 10K and 15K plus I had started up the Live Update on my FR220 so I knew she would know where I was. Wendy Abbot passed me and said "Hi" around mile 1 as we climbed a long hill. I recognized her because of her trademark running skirt. She sure is speedy! The first 5K was uneventful. The footing was good, a bit wet with some water puddles but no troubles. It passed in around 25:00. Then ... it started to snow. Mile 5 was especially delightful. The course was twisty and I turned into a 20 mph wind ... a little bit further ... it started to snow ... a little bit further ... it started to sleet! The ice pellets stung! It was tough to see with the snow and wind obscuring my vision.

Somewhere on the course ... photo courtesy of T Willott Photography

Yeah ... then the footing started to get worse as the snow accumulated. The 10K mark passed in 50:20. The road became more like a trail with snow and a bit of ice for good measure. The snow and wind came from all angles as the course twisted and turned. I had a bit of vomit in my mouth for a long second or two at mile 8. Joy! I ran onward. I stopped for a bit of water from my hand bottle. The 15K mark passed in 1:17:00. I was slowing. It was hard to run in the slushy snow. I had to be careful due to ice on some of the turns. Runners passed me. I pressed onward. Mile 10 ... a bit of water or was it mile 11?

I remember this RWB guy with the flag passing me around mile 6 ... photo of MW Stout  at mile 11 taken by Bill Hansen

The photo above from mile 11 got picked up by Runner's World and made it onto their website. It and a video were posted here.

Onward ... no more stops. A long stretch on South Salinas St. Mile 12, a turn onto East Water St ... onward ... the final turn onto South State St. The home stretch ... the finish line in sight! I pushed it as much as I could ... which wasn't much. I was mildly disappointed to see the clock over 1:50 but I was glad to be done with 13.24 miles in 1:50:40.

Crossing the finish line ... photo courtesy of T Wellott Photography

I staggered a bit after I got the finisher's medal around my neck. I walked and ended the Live Update on my FR220. I tried to call Christine but it went to voice mail which I kind of expected. I figured she was close by and couldn't hear her cell.

I made my way to the OnCenter Exhibit Hall where I got my most excellent post race food: a pancake, bacon, sausage and 2 pieces of pizza. Christine found me and led me to where she was sitting. I ate ... then I hugged and kissed her (runners priorities, you know). I changed my wet upper clothing into dry clothing since I was starting to get chilled. Christine got me more food ... chocolate milk, Greek yogurt and a banana ... yum! She had brought hand warmers and I tried to keep my hands warm but they didn't really work.

We left to hoof it back to the Quality Inn and Suites around 11 AM since we hadn't checked out yet. The sun had come out! We saw and cheered for Tina Pellegrin as she motored her way toward the finish line. She yelled about how she thought this was a trail race ... which was true for most of the race. The walk back was long and cold. We had to stop for a bit to check our bearings. Thankfully, we were going in the right direction. The guy at the front desk seemed interested in how I did. I told him that we would need about 15 to 20 minutes before we were out the door. I changed out of my wet tights and socks ... which felt nice. Then I lugged all our luggage to the snow covered Cruze. We don't pack light.

The drive out of Syracuse was aided by Google Maps. What did we do before smart phones and Google Maps? I seem to remember wrestling with paper maps. We stopped at the Waterloo Premium Outlet Mall on the way back. I finally picked up a new leather coat at Wilson Leathers. A girl named MJ gave me a 15% discount. My old one was greater than 30 years old and had seen more than its share of wear.

Soon enough we were back home. I headed right back out to Wal-Mart to get new wiper blades for the Cruze. The old ones were 2 years old. The drivers side wiper that started to break apart. Then I got unpacked and sit down to catch up on Facebook, look at the results on www.leonetiming.com and upload my Garmin.

I did OK with a 1:50:34 gun time. I was 451st out of 3730, link here. I was 15th out of 124 in my M55-59 age group. Interestingly, I was 360th out of 1289 males. Which means that 2441 runners were female, a 34.55% / 65.45% split which is common in half marathons. I tried to keep a few cute females in sight but most were behind me. I was more interested in watching my footing anyway. My splits were: 7:53, 8:11, 7:54, 7:44, 8:01, 8:23, 8:28, 8:41, 8:13, 8:50, 9:00, 8:37 and 7:53 over the last 0.24 mile (according to my Garmin).

What a race! Facebook posts were posted fast and furious about how difficult and gnarly this race was. The Syracuse Half was 2 weeks later this year to try to avoid a repeat of the cold conditions of the 2015 race (16F with a wind chill of 3F). But ... old man winter had other ideas!

Monday, 3/4/2016 through Wednesday, 3/6/2016: Rest days.

I was a bit gimpy on Monday due to a blister under my left big toe. But I went to work and did my normal amount of walking ... a bit slower than usual though. I could have run Wednesday but bagged it.

Thursday, 3/7/2016: 13.15 miles, 1:50:33, 8:24 pace, 48F, 62% RH, 11 mph WSW wind, wind chill 43F, overcast.


I needed to run and knew it would be not a short run. It was a bit cool but I wore shorts (with no calf sleeves), a long sleeve tech, a short sleeve tech, light gloves and a hat anyway. I really should have worn my Brooks beanie because my ears were cold due to the wind. I knew I was going to do at least 8 or 9.3 or 12 or ... yeah ... 13.1. I made up my mind on the fly and did my half marathon course at a bit above a nice and easy pace once I settled. I carried my 20 ounce water bottle and no HammerGels. I gave myself just a couple squirts of water during the entire run. My splits were: 8:07, 8:14, 8:20, 8:34, 8:28, 8:16, 8:23, 8:27, 8:47, 8:17, 8:38, 8:24, 8:21 and 8:11 over the last 0.15 mile. Boom!

I was dumbfounded when I looked down and saw my time after this run. I just ran a practice half under optimal conditions at the same pace that I just ran the Syracuse Half four days prior under much worse conditions during the last 2/3? Either I ran faster than I think during a race or else I was in a hurry to get done on Sunday!

My darling wife, Christine, had left for Lakewood OH to visit her daughter during the day. She had a medical appointment at Cleveland Clinic on Friday morning and then they were going to some outlet malls in Sharon PA to shop for mother of the bride dresses.

Friday, 3/8/2016: Rest day ... like usual before a Saturday morning race.

Saturday, 3/9/2016: 5.14 miles, 47:55, 9:19 pace, 28F, 74% RH, 15 mph NNE wind, wind chill 17F, overcast with a bit of light snow at times

I was still in bachelor mode since Christine had stayed another night in Lakewood OH with her daughter. My second Mess the Dress out at Black Creek Park didn't start until 10 AM so I had plenty of time to eat my usual pre-race bowl of cereal with banana and get my gear ready. It was cold so I wore the usual: Brook tights, Darn Tough socks, long sleeve tech, Brooks 1/4 zip long sleeve pullover, Brooks beanie and ski mittens. I dug out my Salamon Speedcross 3 trail shoes ... necessary for a muddy trail race. I also wore a multi-color tutu that I had bought off of Ebay.

Styling at the door before leaving

I got down to the Sunnyside Lodge about a hour before the race so I had plenty of time to chill. There were a lot of different costumes for both sexes for sure. I guess I don't have much imagination since other costumes were so much more colorful. Prem Kumar wore tights along a white shirt, tie and old suit jacket. I just did a 1/4 mile warmup run before the race ... not worthy of a link. Eric Eagan, the race director, was his usual boisterous self before the race.

I had not run on trails all winter. I really think that trails are a bit too dangerous to run on during the winter because they can be so full of ruts and ice. I have been running enough to know that there is "road ready" and "trail ready" for a race so I was a trifle nervous. And ... we were off!


I settled in at a bit over nice and easy pace for a nice 5 mile trail race. Black Creek Park does have mud and water and I found most of it. The first couple of miles were mostly twisty and slightly muddy with some patchy mud slogs. The middle part of the course had the really deep mud slogs that were a hundred feet long or more. That's when the race got tough. It's tough to keep moving when your trail shoes are water logged or make a tight turn when your trail shoes are full of mud. But keep moving I did. I concentrated on keeping pace with the person in front of me. I remembered the course from last year so I knew that the end was near ... keep moving ... and done with 5.14 miles in 47:50 according to my Garmin FR305 (I went old school).

Prem Kumar took this post race pic

I was the only one in a tutu!

I did OK. I stayed upright and didn't fall. My official time was 47:50, 22nd out of 118, 4th out of 13 in my M50-59 age group, link here. My splits were: 8:51, 8:52, 10:27, 9:17, 8:54 and 8:07 over the last 0.14 mile. Soon enough it was time to head home.

I had done a lot around the townhouse while Christine was gone (5 loads of laundry on Friday night) and more needed to be done. I did another load of laundry (my muddy tech clothes) right away plus mopping the floor, making the beds, vacuuming the upstairs, doing the dishes .... etc.

My darling wife, Christine, arrived home around 5 PM while I was out shopping for supper. We had a bit of supper but she felt out of sorts and quickly went to bed. She said that hated shopping for "mother of the bride" dresses. It seemed that her and her daughter disagreed on the color and style of dress that was "appropriate" for her to wear.