Sunday, 1/21/2018 to Saturday, 2/27/2018 - Freezeroo #4

I ran 5 times this week, 27.78 miles.
1 walked 75,873 steps this week according to my Pebble 2 HR smart watch.

Sunday, 1/21/2018: 11029 steps during the day; 7.25 miles, 58:02, 8:00 pace, 43F, 70% RH, 3 mph SW wind, overcast.


The cramp in my left calf was gone and it was still above 40F so ... I wore shorts when I went out for my Sunday run. Christine wanted to go the Greenleaf Meadows exercise room so I drove her down there and set off on my run. I wore shorts, calf sleeves, yellow/black Brooks 1/4 zip pullover, yellow/black Brooks beanies and heavy running gloves. There wasn't too much of my legs exposed but I bet I did scare some drivers, LOL! Oh, I also wore my new orange Scott Palani road shoes that I bough off of Left Lane Sports a couple of months ago. They did put a bit of a "new shoe" spring in my step. The outside of my right ankle rubbed against the top of the shoe but I paid it no mind ... this time. I decided to not go too awfully long since Christine was at the exercise room. My splits were: 7:41, 7:50, 8:03, 8:05, 8:04, 8:15 and 8:08 over the last 0.25 mile.

Soon ... I was warming up to a couple of mugs of coffee while I watched the NFL Conference Finals. Game 1 was the Jaguars versus the Patriots. The Pats came from 10 down in the 4th quarter to win 24-20, link here. Game 2 was the Eagles versus the Vikings. The Eagles completely dominated and won 38-7, link here. It was not a good day to beat against the spread. Both the Pats (-7.5) and Vikings (-3) didn't cover or lost outright.

Monday, 1/22/2018: 7534 steps during the day, rest day.

Tuesday, 1/23/2018: 14928 steps during the day; 5.05 miles, 42:27, 8:24 pace, 39F, 81% RH, 18 mph W wind, wind chill 30F, overcast.


Tuesday was a run day so I ran. It had turned colder again so I wore my usual cold weather gear: CW-X tights, Darn Tough socks, long sleeve tech, yellow/black Brooks 1/4 zip pullover, balaclava, yellow/black Brooks beanie and ski mittens. I wore my Nathan Tracer360 and Innogear headlamp to be seen and to see. I'm a creature of habit so I set out from Greece Arcadia High School like usual. I wore my new Scott Palani road shoes ... ouch!! The outside of the right ankle rubbed against the shoe. I stopped and adjusted it but to no avail. I had to really shorten my stride and hit mid-sole to alleviate the pain and I cut the run short which pissed me off. My splits were: 8:02, 8:46, 8:25, 8:07 and 8:39.

My darling wife, Christine, had cooked ribs and potatoes which really helped me post-run. Oh, how I love ribs! Oh, I love Christine too!

Wednesday, 1/24/2018: 5850 steps during the day, rest day.

My Ricoh cell and Pebble 2 HR smartwatch talk to each other ... as they should. Well ... my smartwatch vibrated just as I was going to step out the door to go to work. It told me of heavy traffic with a 21 minute delay to work. So ... I opened the Google Maps app and found that it suggested that I take Latta to Mt Read to Ridgeway to work. So ... I did and got to work on time. Well ... 15 minutes early which what time I like to get to work. Google ... so sweet but a little creepy!

Thursday, 1/25/2018: 13944 steps during the day; 6.25 miles, 50:52, 8:08 pace, 27F, 36% RH, 6 mph WNW wind, wind chill 20F, overcast.

I was determined to get my new Scott Palani road shoes to work for me so I added a pair of cushioned insoles that I had lying around. I wore them all day during work. I got a couple of comments during the day about my "loud" orange shoes. They were OK. The additional insole raised my right foot so my right ankle wasn't hitting the shoe but my left pinkie toe was up against the other shoe. So ... that was on my mind all day. Plus, I couldn't get my drivers window to roll down all day due to the cold. I know ... #firstworldproblems. I called up my darling wife, Christine, to ask her to make hamburgers for supper.


Anyway ... I needed to run. Work demands didn't let me get dressed to run just before work and run at Greece Arcadia High School so I went home. I got dressed there and headed out in my usual "cold but not too cold" running gear. I thought that the LOSP trail would be clear and I was correct. The 50F weather early in the week and no snow since then helped make it 95% clear except in a few shaded spots. The result was that I was able to get up some speed as I just did a 10K out and back in the dark (well lit by my InnoGear headlamp). My splits were: 7:59, 8:10, 8:03, 8:11, 8:13, 8:15 and 7:58 over the last 0.25 mile. Christine didn't want to use bread for the hamburgers so she made rice instead and served the hamburgers over rice with gravy ... mmm ... delicious!

Friday, 1/26/2018: 5562 steps during the day, rest day.

Christine's daughter, Beth, and her mother-in-law, Linda, came out from Cleveland to help celebrate Christine's 60th birthday. So we all met up at the Distillery on West Ridge Rd for supper. I had the Philly Cheesesteak for supper ... kind of tasty.

Christine with all her birthday presents from her daughter, Beth

Saturday, 1/27/2018: 17026 steps during the day, 2 runs of 4.35 and 4.88 miles.


I weighed myself when I got up at 6 AM and I had gained 3 pounds! So ... I got out for a short 4.35 mile run before the sun rose. I tried to hold myself back but I run how I run so I kept it short since I had to run a Freezeroo at 10 AM. The clouds in the east sky were kind of pretty. The weather was: 45F, 45% RH, 12 mph SW wind, wind chill 39F, mostly cloudy. My splits were: 8:13, 8:18, 8:06, 8:34 and 8:19 over the last 0.35 mile.

I rested a bit and then got geared (I thought) for Freezeroo #4. The race venue was a lodge at Victor Municipal Town Park for the second year. The distance of Freezeroo has varied over the years I have run it: 6.385 miles at Powder Mill Park with the big hill before mile 5 in 2011 (48:22), 2012 (47:07), 2013 (50:11), 2014 (50:43); 5.9 miles at Powder Mill Park in 2015 (44:04), 6.34 miles at Powder Mill Park in 2016 (47:21) and 4.88 miles at Victor Municipal Park in 2017 (36:26).

I wore my usual cold weather gear: CW-X tights, a long sleeve tech and my yellow/black Brooks 1/4 zip pullover. But ... I saw the temperature increase to about 50F as I drove out to Victor. So ... I was thinking I would be overdressed. But ... I checked my running bag and found no shorts. So ... I ditched the long sleeve tech and made do. I met up with Andy Ciaio, Prem Kumar and Heather Patterson. Andy ribbed me about my lack of shorts, Prem said "Hi" and Heather looked great for having a baby 3 months ago. Chris and her baby were out in the parking lot. I saw Bob Hamilton and knew I was second in my age group since he's faster. I got my bib and waited for the start after I did an itty-bitty unrecorded warmup run. Oh, the weather was: 45F, 45% RH, 12 mph SW wind, wind chill 39F, mostly cloudy.

The start ... photo courtesy of Christina Darlak Ruhland

The start ... photo courtesy of Tim Matthews of https://runnerpics.shuttlefly.com

 And ... we were off! I got up to speed quickly. I never saw Prem after the start. Heather and Andy talked for a bit while they ran ahead of me for a 1/2 mile or so. Then Andy pulled away. This course had rolling hills for the first mile and I was hurting after the first mile. I maintained my speed as the course flattened out with a long uphill to mile 2. I'm told that there was a downhill for the last 2 miles but I can't verify that.

At Break of Day Rd ... photo courtesy of Tim Matthews of https://runnerpics.shuttlefly.com

But I kept running .. it's only 5 miles! I saw Heather about 100 yards ahead but I couldn't get any closer. Her running is really coming along!

Flying for the finish ... photo courtesy of Christina Darlak Ruhland

I could see the finish line up ahead ... and ... done in 37:21 according to my Garmin.

I headed over to the 14 Cruze to get a sweatshirt since I was pretty sweaty. I had a couple pieces of pizza up at the lodge and then headed home. The results were soon posted: my official time was 37:21, 7:39 pace. I was 37th out of 150, link here. I was 2nd out of 9 in my M 60-64 age group, link here. My splits were: 7:33, 8:09, 7:42, 7:31 and 7:17 over the last 0.88 mile. A good morning with 2 runs! The Relive link for Freezeroo #4 is here.

Christine, Beth and Linda were out and about at one of Beth's friend's house in Churchville and then over to Casa Larga Vineyards in Fairport. I met up with them at the Genesee Brew House while I watched them eat.

A Genny poster at Genesee Brew House

High Falls from the Genesee Brew House roof

I had a couple of bites of Christine's Sausage Platter since I had the GRTC Annual Banquet at 6 PM. I cut out to head out to the Bergundy Basin Inn in Bushnells Basin around 4:45 PM.

The agenda ... photo courtesy of Vicky Beaver

I used Google Maps and got there a bit after 5 PM. I sat with Tom and Amy Butler, Kevin Clinefelter and his wife, Prem, Jack and Tom Lamme. The GRTC Annual Banquet proceeded as usual: the food was better than usual, the GRTC Hall of Fame presentations for Pete "One Mile" and Tim Dwyer went well and I got the usual swag for finishing 4th in the 2017 Rochester Runner of the Year M 55-59 age group. I never knew that Pete had a tryout with the Dallas Cowboys back in the day! Kudos to Tim Dwyer for running 82 marathons and 50 triathlons in 15 years!

Walking back to my table with my swag ... photo courtesy of Vicky Beaver

Pete "One Mile" Van Peursen ... photo courtesy of Vicky Beaver

Tim Dwyer ... photo courtesy of Vicky Beaver

The 12 race 2018 Rochester Runner of the Year schedule was released:

3/17/2018	Johnny's Runnin' of the Green 5-Miler	5 Miles
5/13/2018	Highland Hospital Lilac Run (10K)	6.2 Miles
5/26/2018	Sunset House 5K	3.1 Miles
6/15/2018	Charlie McMullen Mile	1 Mile
6/17/2018	Medved 5K to Cure ALS	3.1 Miles
6/30/2018	Charlie's Old Goat Trail Run	7 Miles
9/2/2018	Oak Tree Half Marathon	13.1 Miles
9/23/2018	Iron Angel (XC) 5K	3.1 Miles
10/13/2018	Finish Strong 15K	9.3 Miles
10/20/2018	Scare Brain Cancer Away 5K	3.1 Miles
11/3/2018	East Avenue Grocery Run	3.1 Miles
11/22/2018	Race with Grace 10K	6.2 Miles

Johnny's always kicks off the racing season. The Lilac 10K is always there along with the Charlie McMullen Mile, Medved 5K to Cure ALS 5K, Oak Tree Half Marathon (I hate that course), Iron Angel 5K, Finish Strong 15K, Scare Brain Cancer Away 5K, Grocery Run 5K and Race with Grace 10K. Charlie's Old Goat Trail Run is returning after a year hiatus. The Sunset House 5K is new. It looks like I have some races to sign up for!