Sunday, 7/2/2017 to Saturday, 7/8/2017 - Irondequoit 10K

I ran 4 times this week, 22.57 miles.
I biked once this week, 20.26 miles.
I took 59,179 steps during the week.

Sunday, 7/2/2017: 2561 steps during the day, 20.26 miles on the bike, 1:36:06, 12.6 mph average speed, 20.2 mph maximum speed, 82F, 42% RH, 20 mph WNW wind, mostly sunny.



I slept in until almost 9 AM so I missed the window for an early run. I wanted to do a ride and thought it would be nice to hook in my Pebble. I downloaded Endomondo and MapMyTracks to both my cell and my Pebble. Lots of tech ... but I chose to give Endomondo the first whirl. I geared up and got dressed in summer biking attire: padded bicycle shorts, shorts and an orange Charlies's Old Goat Run short sleeve tech. I brought along water and Hammer Gel to give me sustenance. I started up a RoadID eCrumb, started Endomondo on my cell, put my Endomondo face on my Pebble, started my Garmin Forerunner 310XT. My plan was for my cell to send data to my Pebble ... which it did for about 3.63 miles and then quit. Endomondo was still working because it would tell me mileage and lap splits every miles. Oh well ... first world problems. My 310XT worked as always. It was a bit windy when held down my speed a bit. A good thing because I almost ran down a woman runner on Island Cottage. I was on the extreme right shoulder of a left hand turn and she on the extreme left shoulder of a left hand turn ... so we were on a collision course. It was just past Jane Rd going toward Latta Rd. It would have been my fault. I had my head down and wasn't looking far enough ahead. She screamed "Look out" when I was about 30 feet away and jumped to her right. I veered a bit to my right. She might have more to say once I passed. I know I would have ... and none of it kind words.

Monday, 7/3/2017: 4518 steps during the day, rest day,

I received a set of 5 Volutz USB to Micro USB cables (3 x 3.3', 1 6' and 1 10') that I bought off of Ebay. I immediately tested the 3 3.3' cables using Ampere. They all charged at about 660 to 700 mA which is about the best my old Droid can handle. Good deal! Now I will just have worry about just keeping the thing working.

Tuesday, 7/4/2017: 15591 steps during the day, 2 runs of 1.4 and 6.17 miles, 63F, 88% RH, 5 mph SW wind, sunny.

Today's race was my third running of the Irondequoit 10K. Why? The Irondequoit 10K was the cheapest ($20) I could find at a late date, the longest (thus the best race distance per mile ratio) and the hardest course. I have run a variety of July 4th races and had 4 to choose from this year: the Brighton 5K (21:01 in 2011 and 21:36 in 2016), the Firecracker 4 (Firecracker 5: 39:49 in 2006, 36:39 in 2008, 40:12 in 2009 and 38:06 in 2010; Firecracker 4: 28:49 in 2014), the Greece Freedom Run 5K (I have never run it) and the Irondequoit 10K (44:09 in 2012 and 45:14 in 2015). The Sodus Point Lighthouse 5K (23:06 in 2013) was on July 2nd this year.

I was up before the sun like usual. My bedroom faces north and the room gets light with the approaching sunrise ... so I wake up. I had a banana for my pre-race meal since the milk in the refrigerator smelled funny. I dressed for the summer: black shorts, an orange Charlie's Old Goat Trail Run short sleeve tech along with my Asics GT-1000 road shoes. I got down to Christ the King Church around 7:20 AM and was rewarded with a shady parking spot right along the building. The 2 mile race started at 7:45 AM and the 10K started at 8:15 AM so I knew to get there early both to pick up my race packet and for easy parking.

I geared up for a warmup run and broke the larger of the two zip pockets in my running belt when I tried to zip it shut. Granted that I had bought 2 of these for only $9.97 from Yugster.com about 3 months ago it won't be a great loss. But still ... I had to adjust. I put my Droid in the smaller pocket ... a tight squeeze and put my car key in the pocket on my 20 ounce water bottle which I was forced to carry now. I went out to watch the 2 mile race start and then got out for a nice and easy 1.4 mile warmup run at 8:51 pace, link here.

I noticed this colorful guy starting the 2 mile race ... photo courtesy of Tim Matthews of https:runnerpics.shutterfly.com

I had plenty of time to stop by the Cruze for a drink of water. I also had a Hammer Gel before the race. I lined up next to Bill Beyerbach. The race had a friendly neighborhood vibe with about
200 runners. And ... we were off!

The 10K start ... photo courtesy of Tim Matthews of https://runnerpics.shutterfly.com

I have run this race before and knew not to go out hard ... easy to say, hard to do ... especially for me. The start was flat but soon was rolling hills (mostly down) on Kings Highway down to Lake Shore Blvd. Mile 1 passed by in 7:15 which was OK. I was running well. I had a guy with a stoller pass me ... huh? I thought I'll pass him back soon enough. Out onto Lake Shore Blvd ... 5K in 23:10. Now .. the hard part ... going back up to the finish on Titus Ave. Luckily it's mostly shaded. I stopped to walk through 2 water stops but didn't lose a position. The guy with the stroller was still in front by about 50 yards. This race does have its perks ... people sit by the roads aiming sprinklers onto the course. I ran through about 5 of them! Mile 4 ... mile 5 ... the gentle, winding uphill sucked. The right turn onto Oakview Drive .. I knew the finish was soon ... one more hill ... then a left onto Titus Ave and then the finish. Gut it out ... the guy with the stroller still ahead ... couldn't catch him ... clock ticking toward 48 ... done!

A dripping wet selfie

I drank some water right away. This 10K course was a tough one! I looked at the results. I ran a 48:00 even and was 2nd in my M 55-59 age group by seven seconds. The guy in the stroller was 34 years old so I didn't feel so bad about being behind him. I stuck around for the awards. The guy who won my age group was Dale Gerew. Bill, Dale and I talked during the awards and while we walked back to our cars. Dale was a talker. We even don't like the same race (Oak Tree Half) and fallen at the same race (Charlie's Old Goat Trail Run). I'll probably see him at the Shoreline Half on July 15th.

I went home with a side stop at BJ's. I had a coupon for Lloyd's ribs that expired on July 9th that needed to be used. Soon I was home ... feet up, coffee mug at the ready ... checking for race results from PCR-timing.com and checking up on Facebook. I did OK. I was 47th out of 235, link here. I was 2nd out of 14 in my M 55-59 age group, link here. It was my slowest (by far) of my three Irondequoit 10Ks ... but at least I'm still out there. My splits were: 7:16, 7:41, 7:41, 8:21, 8:09, 7:47 and 6:47 over the last 0.17 mile. I guess I took a lot of tangents with all the twists and turns on this course! The 2 Mile race also had 235 finishers, link here.

The other races going on: the Brighton 5K had 508 finishers, link here; the Firecracker 4 had 697 finishers, link here; and the Greece Freedom Run 5K had 150 finishers, link here. The Sodus Point Lighthouse 5K back on Sunday, 7/2, had 514 finishers, link here.

The construction of the Erie Canal (aka Clinton's Folly of Big Ditch) was started on July 4, 1817. Some links here, here, here, here, and wiki here. It opened on October 26, 1825, link here. I grew up in Newark NY on Whitbeck Rd about 1/2 mile from it. I used to watch barges push cargo back in the late 60s and early 70s. I remember skipping stones underneath the bridge long before the Erie Canalway Trail (links here and here, interactive map here) was built.

We stayed home and listened to all the fireworks going off around. I saw a neat picture that Richard Detwiler took of the City of Rochester fireworks reflecting in the Genesee River.

Wednesday, 7/5/2017: 7431 steps during the day, rest day.

I went out to the free Rochester Philarmonic Orchestra (RPO) concert at Ontario Beach Park. I was pleased to see that there is beach to walk on now. The RPO concert was well attended. I think I was on the low end of the age scale of people who attended, lol!

I left at "halftime" (when the RPO took their break) because I parked the Cruze in a grass field with about 300 cars and one exit. I might have been there until 10 PM if I had waited and tried to exit with everyone else. I will park across the Genesee River and park at Herrema's the next time I attend one of these free Wednesday concerts, list here.

I prowled Facebook earlier in the week and found a link for 20% off the Empire State Marathon which will be held on Sunday, October 9th, out in Syracuse. It was advertised as flat, fast and a good BQ course. I am kind of familiar with the course since I ran the Lake Effect Half on part of it in February 2015. I pushed myself over the edge and clicked Submit ... I saved $21. I have never run a marathon in October. All three of my road marathons have been in Rochester (2008, 2013, and 2016). Can I BQ this time? Well ... this will give me something to train for during the summer for sure!

Thursday, 7/6/2017: 17,307 steps during the day, 7.5 miles, 1:02:54, 8:23 pace, 86F, 48% RH, 4 mph NE wind, partly sunny.

It was a hot and humid Thursday. It would have been easy to not run ... but I run on Thursdays. So I dressed after work, drove out to Janes Rd, geared up, brought my hand bottle with 20 ounces of water and set forth.


I kept up a good pace until around mile 6 when I stopped for some water three times. I got overheated a bit. I gutted out the rest. My splits were: 8:11, 8:14, 8:19, 8:18, 8:16, 8:42, 8:51 and 8:06 over the last 0.5 mile.

Friday, 7/7/2017: 8588 steps during the day, 7.5 miles, 1:02:38, 8:21 pace, 82F, 55% RH, 10 mph WNW wind, mostly cloudy.

I don't usually run on Fridays but Saturday is going to be a rest day because the Boilermaker 15K is on Sunday. So I ran in the heat and humidity right where I ran on Thursday. It's convenient, has wide shoulders and is on the way home. I even took a hour off of work at PTO. I filled up my 20 ounce water bottle with ice, dressed after work, drove out to Jane Rd, geared up and set forth.


My plan was to better hydrate on this run. The icy water in my 20 ounce water bottle did help. I hydrated at 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7. I did walk a wee bit just before mile 6. My splits were: 8:11, 8:06, 8:12, 8:24, 8:22, 8:39, 8:32 and 8:28 over the last 0.5 mile.

Saturday, 7/8/2017: 3183 steps during the day, Rest day.

Definitely a rest with the Boilermaker 15K tomorrow morning. We did get out in the afternoon so I could take my lovely wife, Christine, to New Nails. I did a grocery run at Wegmans while she got her french manicured nails sharpened and polished, ;-). She made up the shopping list for the Irondequoit Wegmans at Wegmans.com beforehand. I printed it out (all 6 pages), went to the appopriate aisle and got the items ... easy, peasy.