Sunday, 2/25/2018 to Saturday, 3/3/2018

I ran 3 times this week, 29.25 miles.
I took 76,792 steps this week according to my Pebble 2 HR smart watch.

Sunday, 2/25/2018: 15100 steps during the day; 9.35 miles, 1:16:58, 8:14 pace, 48F, 81% RH, 14 mph S wind, overcast.


So .. my running spreadsheet had me at 91 miles for the month of February ... what to do? Well ... go out for a 9.35 mile run to get over the hump! So ... I got out there and did it. There was a wind advisory from 9 AM to 6 PM so I got out early. There were a few wind gusts but I put one foot in front of the other and kept going. There was even a brief burst of light sprinkles. I didn't push at all on my usual LOSP trail and Island Cottage 15K route. I just got it done. My splits were: 8:13, 8:06, 8:08, 8:08, 8:22, 8:03, 8:13, 8:21, 8:32 and 8:07 over the last 0.35 mile. Boom ... done.

Christine called around 11:30 AM to tell me that she was heading home with a car full of her father's stuff that she and her brothers had packed. I struggled to get some stuff off of my "Things to Do" list done. I managed to go through some old magazines, mop the kitchen floor and do three loads of laundry before she came home. I was just getting done with grocery shopping at Herrema's when she pulled up. She was tired but still cooked up a nice steak from Herrema's along with baked potatoes for supper ... mmm!

I was kind of sad that the Winter Olympics were over tonight. I watched more than a bit. I didn't see too much figure skating but saw curling (still don't understand it), biathlon, short track, ski jumping, hockey, halfpipe (snowboard and skis), cross country and snowboard. I enjoyed watching the competition. I didn't give a hoot about the US medal race though I did enjoy the US winning a medal here and there.

Monday, 2/26/2018: 5038 steps during the day, rest day.

My wife, Christine, must have caught something on her trip back to NY. She was laid up with a fever that reached 102.1F before I went to bed. She had no appetite. I brought her up a mug of black tea and some crackers before I made my supper of leftovers. I did have a piece of cherry pie and ice cream for dessert ... mmm!

Tuesday, 2/27/2018: 6643 steps during the day, rest day.

Life got in the way of running as it sometime does. Work got a bit busy before lunch (OK ... donuts with the boss) so no run before lunch. Work got a bit busy before and after around 5 PM so no run after work. Christine still felt crappy so I made BLTs for supper ... mmm!!

Wednesday, 2/28/2018: 20618 steps during the day, 10.55 miles, 1:28:16, 8:22 miles, 52F, 76% RH, 18 mph WSW wind, overcast.


I felt cranky last night and this morning. Christine knew what was the matter ... I needed to run and told me to get out there! So ... I did. I took 2 hours of vacation so I could go long. I did putter around and look for my Nathan SpeedDraw flask that had the Hammer Gel flask in it but settled on my other flask without it. I got out around 4 PM and settled into a nice and steady pace on my 15K route. I stretched it by heading onto Edgemere Drive almost to Dewey Ave. My splits were: 8:20, 8:19, 8:09, 8:21, 8:26, 8:33, 8:33, 8:14, 8:28, 8:22 and 8:12 over the last 0.55 mile. Boom ... done.

Christine was still under the weather so I heated up some leftovers along with frozen mixed vegetables ... boom, supper!

Stat time for February 2018!

I ran 16 times in February for 111.52 miles, 6.97 miles/run.
I ran 2 races:
2/17 - Freezeroo #5: 8 miles, 1:00:57, 7:39 pace
2/24 - Freezeroo #6: 4.4 miles, 32:31, 7:23 pace
I took 287,650 steps during February according to my orphaned (Pebble was bought by Fitbit and then discontinued) Pebble 2 HR smartwatch.
2018: 33 runs for 212.56 miles, 6.44 miles/run.
Lifetime (since 9/12/2006): 2183 runs out of 4185 days for 14,156.76 miles, 6.49 miles/run.

Oh, Rochester set another record high today ... 64F. The month of February 2018 was the second warmest in history ... right behind February 2017.

Thursday, 3/1/2018: 6112 steps during the day, rest day.

I had a twinge of pain above my right knee when I walked so I decided not to run on it ... that didn't mean that I didn't think that I should have run anyway!

Friday, 3/2/2018: 6271 steps during the day, rest day.

A nor'easter roared in overnight and dumped about 6 to 8 inches of wet snow by 7 AM. I left for work 30 minutes early. The Parkway hadn't been plowed for a while, I-390 was OK but its first lane sucked south of Ridge and the side streets were variable. The snow was over by noon. So ... record high on Wednesday and a nor'easter on Friday as March came in like a lion!

Saturday, 3/3/2018: 17010 steps during the day; 9.35 miles, 1:16:30, 8:11 pace, 32F, 72% RH, 12 mph NNW wind, wind chill 23F, overcast.


I was up around 7 AM. I thought about getting out early but ... I gave Christine a few hugs first, ;-). I did get out. It was a bit cooler and windier than I anticipated but I kept going and I warmed up. I ran my usual 15K route. My splits were: 8:09, 8:35, 8:18, 8:07, 8:09, 7:45, 8:08, 8:15, 8:11 and 8:08 over the last 0.35 mile.

Christine and I puttered around for a while before we started to get ready to head out to Niagara Falls NY for the night. Why Niagara Falls NY? Well, I have 8 nights out of 10 in my hotels.com account and I needed to stay somewhere by 3/6/18 or else I would lose all 8 nights. I get a free night off of hotels.com if I stay 10 nights so ... just one more night.

I picked the Wingate at Wyndham in Niagara Falls as our hotel. It was convenient to the American Falls, Horseshoe Falls and the Seneca Niagara Casino. So ... we started out around 2:30 PM and arrived in Niagara Falls around 4:15 PM. Christine had set our OnStar destination as the Como Restaurant. She had ate there when she was taking Beth to Niagara University. We both had the "Taste Of Italy", dinner menu here, ... mmm! Lots of celebs had eaten there: Frank Sinatra in 1982, Lou Grahm and Liberace.

We then proceeded (with full stomachs) to the hotel. We had high hopes of using the pool and/or the exercise room ... but usually never do. Hint ... we didn't. Christine had a headache and went to sleep. Her snoring lured me to sleep after I watched some TV.

Sunday, 2/18/2018 to Saturday, 2/24/2018 - Freezeroo #6

I ran 6 times this week, 34.54 miles.
I took 84,454 steps this week according to my Pebble 2 HR smart watch.

Sunday, 2/18/2018: 13866 steps during the day; 9.35 miles, 1:16:25, 8:10 pace, 32F, 80% RH, 8 mph WSW wind, wind chill 25F, overcast.


I slept in until after 8 AM and then puttered around a bit. But ... I got dressed and got out there. It was around freezing so it was the usual "cold" weather gear. I am so predictable in the winter. I wear the same running clothes run after run. I just throw on more if it's colder. There was about 1/2 inch of snow overnight. The shoulders weren't plowed but it didn't bother me. I ran in the road when I could. Anyway ... I set up a nice and steady pace. I think I picked up the pace a bit after mile 4. My splits were: 8:07, 8:22, 8:12, 8:24, 8:27, 7:48, 7:56, 8:04, 8:15 and 8:02 over the last 0.35 mile. Boom ... done. I have 32 miles to go until I get to 100 miles for the month. I'll make sure that I get there.

Christine and I didn't do much the rest of the day. We watched most of the Daytona 500. I called the crash with just over 1 lap to go. I've watched enough Daytona 500s to know that there is practically ALWAYS a crash with under 5 laps to go. I could sense that someone was going to get someone else to crash. We watched three episodes of "60 Minutes" off of the DVR instead of the taped Winter Olympics coverage.

Monday, 2/19/2018: 7929 steps during the day, rest day.

Typical rest day ... watched a lot of old "X Files" off of Spectrum OnDemand.

Tuesday, 2/20/2018: 16525 steps during the day; 8.65 miles, 1:10:29, 8:09 pace, 64F, 88% RH, 8 mph SW wind, overcast.

The temperature rocketed up to 71F during the day! Two Rochester NY records were set: the highest low and the record high (62 back in 1994). It was the 2nd highest high for February since records have been kept (73 was the highest on 2/21/1993).

It was mentioned on the channel 10 weather that 3 years ago in 2015 the low was a record low of -11F and the high was 2F!. I looked at my running spreadsheet ... I ran dreadmill on 2/19/2015 and 2/20/2015. Who knew that there is a Rochester Weather Alamanac, link here? Cool!


Anyway ... needless to say I wore shorts and a short sleeve tech for my usual Tuesday run. I took a couple hours of vacation so I could get out earlier. I pushed it a little farther to celebrate the warmth. It felt weird to have a wipe off sweat during a run in February! My splits were: 7:49, 8:06, 8:10, 8:04. 8:07, 8:14, 8:13, 8:23 and 8:15 over the last 0.65 mile. I was dripping with sweat when I got done so I took a shower when I got home.

My darling wife, Christine, cooked up a chicken breast, baked potato and salad for supper ... mmm!

Bronze medalist Lindsey Vonn, right, celebrates on the podium with gold medalist Sofia Goggia of Italy, center, and silver medalist Ragnhild Mowinckel of Norway, after the women's downhill in the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.- Tom Pennington/Getty Images

Then we watched the Winter Olympics ...  Lindsey Vonn captured the bronze in the Women's Downhill, link here, here and here. The US men's hockey team was "C'zeched" out of the Olympics after losing in a shootout. The game was tied at 2-2 a bit into the 2nd period ... I went to sleep.

Wednesday, 2/21/2018:  5000 (estimated) steps during the day, rest day.

Well ... the record warmth didn't last. It was back to 40F by 9 AM. Easy come ... easy go.

Rest day ... more Winter Olympics. The women, Jessica Diggins and Kikkan Randall, won a gold medal for the first time ever in the team sprint, link here. Jessica passed Norway's Maiken Caspersen Falla  on the last winding downhill and passed outsprinted Sweden's Stina Nillson to the finish by 0.19 second. I knew it before I saw it ... it was still exciting to watch it on tape!

Jessica Diggins edging out Stina Nillson in the Cross Country Ladies Team Sprint Free Final ... photo courtesy of Sporting News

Diggin (left) and Randall (right) - NY Daily News

Crazy ... skiers skiing in a half pipe? The US men, David Wise and Alex Ferriera, won gold and silver, respectively, link here! There was a crazy crash when a guy hit the edge hard on his first trick and then skidded to a stop. He laid there as medical personnel attended to him for a few minutes ... he got up and skied to the bottom.

From left; Silver medal winner Alex Ferreira, of the United States, gold medal winner David Wise, of the United States, and bronze medal winner Nico Porteous, of New Zealand, celebrate after the men's halfpipe final at Phoenix Snow Park at the 2018 Winter Olympics - ABC News

David Wise and his family celebrate after winning gold in the Freestyle Skiing Ski Halfpipe ... photo courtesy of Sporting News

US skiers, Mikaela Shriffin and Lindsey Vonn, skied in the women's alpine combined (downhill and slalom). Vonn led all skiers on the downhill but failed to finish the slalom. Shriffin trailed Vonn by 1.98 seconds after the downhill and skied third in the slalom to bag the silver.

Alpine skier Mikaela Shiffrin competing in the women's combined slalom at the 2018 Winter Olympics

JAVIER SORIANO/AFP/Getty Images

Finally ... US womens hockey. Such storylines ... the US women hockey team last won gold to Canada 5 Winter Olympics ago in 1998 and have lost the gold medal to Canada the last 4 times. The game didn't start until after 11 PM and I watched a bit of it before falling asleep. But ... I left the TV on. I woke just as the game, tied at 2-2, went into a shootout. The US outshot Canada 3-2 to win the gold medal!! Monique Lamoureux knotted the game late in the third period and her twin, Jocelyn Lamoureux scored the winning goal on the sixth shot of the shootout! Lots of links here, here and here. Factoid ... the game was on the 38th anniversary of the "Miracle on Ice" when the US mens hockey team defeated the CCCP 4-3 at Lake Placid, YouTube link of the last minute, here.

Jocelyne Lamoureux scoring the winning goal on the 6th shot of the shootout vs Canada - photo courtesy of Sporting News

The United States team celebrates winning the women's gold medal hockey game against Canada at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Gangneung, South Korea, Thursday, Feb. 22, 2018. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum) 

Thursday, 2/22/2018: 14719 steps during the day; 7.55 miles, 1:01:18, 8:07 pace, 34F, 86% RH, 7 mph E wind, wind chill 28F, overcast.


Back to the usual winter running apparel. I got out a bit and made it to Greece Arcadia High School at 5 PM so I could run my usual route. The wind was chilly but I powered through without any trouble. It was getting a bit dusky when I got done ... without any reflective gear or a headlamp. Well ... I did have on my usual yellow/black Brooks 1/4 zip pullover and beanie (what else). My splits were: 7:47, 8:02, 8:09, 8:20, 8:14, 8:13, 8:08 and 8:00 over the last 0.55 mile.

I warmed up ribs, baked potato and beets for supper and watched a bit of the Winter Olympics. Nothing too spectular ... a bit of biathalon and women's free skating finals. The Russian women, Zagitova and Menvedeva went 1-2 (after I was asleep), link here. A technical explanation of why they are hard to beat, link here.

Alina Zagitova of the Olympic Athletes of Russia performs during the women's free figure skating final in the Gangneung Ice Arena at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Gangneung, South Korea, Friday, Feb. 23, 2018. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Friday, 2/23/2018: 6635 steps during the day, rest day.

My darling wife, Christine, went out to OH solo today. She joined her brothers, Bill and Rich, in going through her father's belongings. Her emotions are still raw but she knew that she had to do it s she went. I had other obligations on Saturday that I really didn't want to break plus I thought it was something that she and her siblings had to get through together.

I took down my 36 2017 race bibs and medals ... a bit late since I have already run 6 2018 races.

My 2017 race bibs and medals

So ... I ate leftovers and watched more of the Winter Olympics. Let's see ... men's 4 men bobsled, men's 1000m skating and men's big air.

Germany went 1-2 and South Korea captured the bronze in the men's 4 men bobsled, link here. I can't imagine being in a 1400 pound sled rocketing at up to 88 mph down an icy track! The German pilot, Francesco Friedrich, became the second man in 30 years to take home gold in both the 2 men and 4 men bobsled.

MARK RALSTON/Getty Images

Justin Olsen of the US pilots during 4 man bobsled training ... photo courtesy of Sporting News

Kjeld Nuis of the Netherlands captured the men's 1000m speedsking by 0.04 second, link here.

Andreas Rentz/Getty Images

Sebastien Tourant of Canada won the inaurgural mens snowboard big air, link here. Its best two out of three format added extra excitement. Tourant landed his first two jumps with great scores, 84.75 and 89.5. Only 2 of 11 competitors landed their third jump cleanly.

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Saturday, 2/24/2018: 15652 steps during the day; 3 runs of 2.39, 4.35 and 2.25 miles.

I slept in until 6:45 AM. I didn't have to get ready until 8:20 AM so I had plenty of time to have a breakfast muffin and putter around for a bit.

I saw a tape of the men's curling final between US and Sweden. The shot that sent the US from a 5-5 time to 10-5 at the 8th end was awesome! A video of that shot, link here, and a NPR link here.

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Today's race was Freezeroo #6, the last race of the 6 race series. It was my eighth. The race has moved around and has been various distances. Churchville 10K - 2010, 52:02; 2011, 45:13 and 2012, 46:35. Northstar Christian Academy 5K - 2013, 23:11. Webster Casey Park 10K - 2014, 46:39; 2015 was canceled due to high snow banks and 2016, 46:03. Webster White House 4.4 mile - 2017, 31:20. The drive only took 20 minutes. I got there a bit before 9 AM so I snagged a prime parking spot.

The course was the old Polar Cat #2 2 loop course that I ran 2010, 31:31 and 2011, 30:21. I, along with other runners that I talked to, was not a fan of the clockwise course that runs with traffic at our backs.

I got out for a warm up run on the course as it should be run: counter-clockwise. I just took it nice and easy: 2.37 miles, 8:25 pace, link here. I met up with Prem Kumar and Andy Ciaio before the race. The RD explained the course and .... we were off! The weather conditions were: 41F, 70% RH, 7 mph N wind, wind chill 36F, overcast.



I was a bit farther back than I liked and there were a few elbows and apologies before I found some good running room.

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

I got up to race pace and talked a bit with Andy before he went ahead. Heather Patterson said "Hi" as she passed me just before mile 1. The "running with traffic at our backs" got a bit dicey on one of the side streets with traffic going both ways trying to get by but not hit us. The run up the hill before the end of loop 1 ... begin loop 2 ... and repeat.

Loop 1 ... photo courtesy of Christina Darlak Ruhland

Pushing up the last hill on loop 2 ... photo courtesy of Christina Darlak Ruhland

I was a bit tired but I kept my pace and kept going. I wasn't going to catch the runner in front of me but I made sure no one passed me either. I gave encouragement to every slower runner that I passed on the second loop. Passed mile 4 ... downhill ... last uphill ... and done with 4.35 miles, 32:33, 7:29 pace according to my Garmin Forerunner 220. I started to walk back to the White House lodge but ... hooked with several runners out for a cool down run. I did another loop of the course: 2.25 miles, 8:37 pace, link here.

Post run loop with Prem ... photo courtesy of Christina Darlak Ruhland

There wasn't much pizza left when I got to the lodge so I had 3.5 donuts along with several cups of apple cider. I won my series M 60-64 age group and got $25 in cash. Bill Kehoe, the RD of the upcoming Johnny's Runnin' of the Green on 3/17 was there ... so I filled out the app and gave him the money. He and I got a chuckle out of it.

Bill Kehoe took my $25 from winning the Freezeroo series M 60-64 AG and my app so I could enter the 3/17 Johnny's Runnin' of the Green

The race results were up by the time I got home. Quick! Oh, my splits were: 7:24, 7:33, 7:35, 7:31 and 7:09 over the last 0.35 mile. I finished in 32:31, 42nd out of 146, link here. I was 3rd out of 13 in my M 60-64 age group, link here. I was behind Kevin Clinefelter and Bob Hamilton. I was 1st out of 7 in my series M 60-64 age group, link here. The Relive link to Freezeroo #6 is here.

I finally took down the 2017 race bibs and medals that had been decorating one of the walls in our townhouse. I figured it was time ... I've already ran 6 races in 2018.


I led the bachelor life with Christine away ... I ate leftovers. I made up a "Things to Do" list ... and proceeded to not "X" off many of the items (unfortunately). I also watched the Winter Olympics ... what else?

Ester Ladecka of the Czech Republics became the first women to win gold in alpine (Super G) and snowboard (Parallel Giant Slalom), links here and here. She is the reigning World Cup champion in the Parallel Giant Slalom for the past 2 years. Awesome!

Ester Ledecka powers down the parallel giant slalom course en route to her second gold medal of the 2018 Winter Games. (Martin Bureau / Associated Press)

Sunday, 2/11/2018 to Saturday, 2/17/2018 - Freezeroo #5

I ran 3 times this week, 17.52 miles.
I took 59,258 steps this week according to my Pebble 2 HR smart watch.

Sunday, 2/11/2018: 2631 steps during the day, sick and laundry day.

Yes ... I felt like crap. But ... 4 loads of laundry (towels, dark, tech and white) needed to be done so I did them while I felt like crap.

Monday, 2/12/2018: 5546 steps during the day, rest day.

I took a half day off of work in the afternoon to do a little grocery shopping. Then I stayed in bed and watched the Olympics. A nice touch of foreshadowing by NBC was to be had. They did a piece about 17 year old Chloe Kim who competed live in the women's half pipe later that night.

Chloe Kim won the gold medal in the snowboard women's halfpipe final at Phoenix Snow Park in the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile via Getty Images

Kim’s gold-medal run. Composite image by Alexandra Garcia and Jeremy White of the NY Times

Well ... she laid down a first run of 93.75 to take (and keep) the lead and then a final run of 98.25 to win gold. “I knew that if I went home with a gold medal knowing I could do better, I wasn’t going to be very satisfied,” Kim said at the bottom of the pipe. - NY Times article. 

Awesome! Links here, here, here, here and here.

Tuesday, 2/13/2018: 6208 steps during the day, rest day.

I felt a bit better today. Christine seemed a bit surprised when I told her I was coming straight home instead going out for a run. I guess I have trained her that she has to make a late supper on Tuesdays and Thursday, lol!

The Winter Olympics was a bit of a bust early with delays due to wind for the alpine events along with some boring curling, hockey and warm ups for pairs in the ice dancing. But ... then it was time for the men's halfpipe. Shaun White took first with a 94.25 first run. He fell on his second run and then fell to second when Ayumu Hirano did a 95.25 with twin 1440s.

Shaun White is a gold medalist once again. (Gregory Bull/Associated Press)

So ... the stage was set for the last run, White's third and last run. He put down a 1440, 1440, and a double McTwist 1260 ... for a 97.75 and the gold medal. Awesome! Links here, here, here and an interesting take on White as a flawed hero here.There was a bit of online controversy ... in his excitement he let the US flag drag on the ground, link here.

Wednesday, 2/14/2018: 7245 steps during the day, rest day.

I came straight home after work, it was sunny ... I could have gotten for a 4 mile run but I didn't. I have to get back the 25 miles of running that the cold stole from me ... but not today.

Mikaela Shiffrin, gold medal in giant slalom - Screen grab from NY Post

Mikaela Shiffrin won the women's giant slalom while I was sleeping ... it was televised on tape in the evening due to the 14 hours time shift, link here.

Thursday, 2/15/2018: 15206 steps during the day; 7.55 miles, 1:02:35, 8:17 pace, 55F, 77% RH, 16 mph WSW wind, overcast.

So ... funny story. I took 2 hours vacation so I could get out in the 55F weather before sunset. I had my running gear so my plan was to change at work and work 7.55 or 10 from Greece Arcadia High School. Well ... I didn't have shorts or tights. Yep ... nothing to wear below the waist. So ... I went home. My shorts were in my running gear pile and my tights were still hanging up in the basement after being washed on Sunday. Well ... I changed and got out there.


I was a bit cold first due to the wind but I warmed up. The LOSP trail was 95% clear from Greenleaf Rd to Dewey and about 70% clear from Dewey to Island Cottage (there was a 200 yard shaded spot where I ran in 2 inches of wet snow ... no worries). I felt a bit sluggish but still thought about a 15K run instead of a 10K so I split the difference and ran Island Cottage up to Janes before turning for home. I saw and said "Hi" to Tom and Amy Butler on the LOSP trail. My splits were: 7:58, 8:31, 8:11, 8:19, 8:22, 8:34, 8:16 and 8:00 over the 0.55 mile.

Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images

Skeleton racing at the Winter Olympics is crazy! Imagine heading down an icy track face first!! Well ... South Korea won its first non-skating medal. Home court advantage for "Ironman" Yun Sung-bin who won gold, link here.

Friday, 2/16/2018: 6774 steps during the day, rest day.

Just your normal Friday ... work, groceries at Herrema's, supper, Olympics, bed.

Linsay Vonn after her "wide turn" run - Getty Images

Lindsey Vonn took a wide last turn in the Super G and finished out of the medals in a tie for sixth, link here. Ester Ledecka of the Czech Republic won the Super G in an upset by 0.01 second, link here. She asked a cameraman after her run, "How did this happen?"

"I just wanted to leave here satisfied with what I have done and I definitely am," Nathan Chen said, after rebounding from a rough short program to make a personal-best score in the men's free skate. - Aris Messinis /AFP/Getty Images

Nathan Chen landed 6 quads in his free skate, link here. He was first for a while and eventually finished in fifth.

Saturday, 2/17/2018: 15648 steps during the day; 2 runs of 2 and 7.97 miles.

Today's race was Freezeroo #5. The race venue was Braddock Bay Park which is just a 10 minute hop, skip and jump down the Parkway from my townhouse. This was the second year at this venue. I ran 1:00:24 last year. The race wasn't held in 2016 due to below zero wind chills. I ran this 4 out of 5 years when it was held at the Greece DPW on Long Pond Rd (2011 - 1:01:36, 2012 - 59:41, 2014 - 59:26 and 2015 - 1:01:56). The weather was ideal: low 20s, sunny and light wind.

I was up at 6:30 AM. I had been emailed 5 or 6 times about the early Freezeroo #5 start of 9 AM so I started to get ready at 7:30 AM. I had already had my usual pre-race breakfast of cereal and banana. The temperature was in the low 20s so I wore my CW-X tights with shorts over, a long sleeve tech, yellow/black Brooks 1/4 pullover, yellow/black Brooks beanie, ski mittens and sunglasses. I drove the 2014 Cruze and got to the race venue just after 8 AM. I picked up my race bib and got out for a 2 mile nice and easy warm up run at 9:04 pace with Prem Kumar and Steve Levitsky, link here. The weather was: 21F, 79% RH, 6 mph S wind, wind chill 13F, sunny.

The start .... photo courtesy of Christina Darlak Ruhland

Everyone seemed a bit bashful about lining up for the start until the last second. And ... we were off! I ran next to Andy Ciaio for a bit. He almost didn't miss a patch of ice just as we made it to E Manitou Rd. I started a bit fast and that did catch up to me. Runners started to pass me as I slowed a bit ... Steve Levitsky and Heather Patterson. The miles slowly went by ... there were ice fishermen on Cranberry Pond. I gave a "You can do it" or something like that to every early runner that I passed. Eric and Sheila Eagan who lived about 100 yards away from the course on Cranberry St (around mile 6) were out giving everyone encouragement.

Heather Patterson passing by Eric Eagan. I'm the yellow speck in the background.

I had a slight pain in my right thigh that I tried to ignore ... but I was tired and did slow a bit. I didn't stop to walk but just sucked it up and kept going. Mile 7 on East Manitou Rd ... the turn back into Braddock Bay Park ... still 1/2 mile ... keep going ... timer over 1 hour ... done in 1:00:58, 7:39 pace by my Garmin Forerunner 220. The weather was: 25F, 74% RH, 6 mph SW wind, wind chill 18F, partly cloudy.

Cruising into the finish .... photo courtesy of Christina Darlak Ruhland

I headed into the lodge. I had a delicious bagel with 1/2 strawberry jelly and 1/2 Reeses peanut butter/chocolate spread along with a pint of water. Soon I was home with my feet up and a mug of coffee in my left hand. The results were soon up on hourglassworks.com. I was 34th out of 125, link here. I was 3rd out of 13 in my M 60-64 age group (behind Charlie Andrews and Kevin Clinefelter), link here. My splits were: 7:29, 7:34, 7:38, 7:40, 7:36, 7:42, 7:52 and 7:38 ... so I didn't slow down as much as I thought. The Relive link to Freezeoo #5 is here.

Lots of Winter Olympics watching ensued. Women's Biathlon, US Men's Hockey, Long Hill Ski Jump, Short Track, Aerial Jumping and more. We also watched most of the Saskatchewan Rush - Rochester Knighthawks lacrosse game held live downtown at the Blue Cross Arena. The Hawks held on to win 16-11 versus a previously undefeated road team and improved to 4-6 on the season.

Sunday, 2/4/2018 to Saturday, 2/10/2018

I ran 3 times this week, 24.45 miles.
I took 69,915 steps during the week according to my Pebble 2 HR smart watch.

Sunday, 2/4/2018: 12840 steps during the day; 9.35 miles, 1:15:50, 8:07 pace, 36F, 87% RH, 7 mph SSW wind, wind chill 30F, overcast with a light mist.


Sunday ... time for another run. I didn't get out until just 10 AM. Better late than never. It was warmer so I choose my "cold" gear: CW-X tights, a long sleeve tech, yellow/black Brooks 1/4 pullover, yellow/black Brooks beanie and heavy running gloves. I wore my Brooks Transcend 3 running shoes age ... gotta get them up to 600 miles! I set up a bit quicker pace on the same route as yesterday. My splits were: 7:54, 8:02, 7:58, 8:15, 8:33, 7:48, 7:56, 8:10, 8:25 and 7:57 over the last 0.35 mile. Just getting it done.

Soon I had changed out of my sweaty clothes, had my feet up with a mug of coffee by my side and I was watching the pre Super Bowl hype. My darling wife, Christine, had a cold so she was upstairs nursing it. I brought up food and drink occasionally ... chicken noodle soup and a cheese sandwich along with water.

The Super Bowl between the Philadelphia Eagles and the New England Patriots was epic full of twists and turns. The Eagles won, 41-33, links here, here, here and here. The ads were pretty good, link here and here.

Monday, 2/5/2018: 6571 steps during the day, rest day.

Tuesday, 2/6/2018: 17342 steps during the day; 7.55 miles, 59:54, 7:56 pace, 23F, 63% RH, 9 mph W wind, wind chill 13F, mostly cloudy.


I got ... err ... snuck .... out 20 minutes early from work so I was up at Greece Arcadia High School at 5 PM. It was great to run after work in the daylight! I didn't turn on my Tracer360 and InnoGear headlamp until heading back on Island Cottage. I pushed the pace a bit ... boom. My splits were: 7:34, 8:00, 8:07, 7:45, 7:52, 8:00. 8:02 and 8:09 over the last 0.55 mile.

Wednesday, 2/7/2018: 8605 steps during the day, rest day.

Thursday, 2/8/2018: 16920 steps during the day; 7.55 miles, 59:19, 7:51 pace, 19F, 67% RH, 13 mph W wind, wind chill 6F, mostly sunny.


A couple of things ... I got out early again so I was up at Greece Arcadia High School at 5 PM. I didn't remember that I had forgot to lock the doors of the '18 Cruze until I was about 1/2 mile down Island Cottage. But ... I didn't turn around. The car was parked in a high school parking lot and it was daylight. It did put a bit of pep in my step though. It was just windy enough to make it feel a bit nippy. I wore my balaclava and ski mitten along with my usual "cold" running gear. My splits were quick: 7:31, 7:58, 7:57, 7:42, 7:49, 7:55, 8:00 and 8:04 over the last 0.55 mile. The '18 Cruze had been undisturbed in my absence. I got really cold shortly after I got home. A mug of hot chocolate and leftover ribs cured that ... ahhh and mmm!

Friday, 2/9/2018: 6887 steps during the day, rest day.

Saturday, 2/10/2018: 750 steps during the day, sick day.

I woke up with a head cold ... and pretty much stayed in bed all day. I wanted to run ... but couldn't. How did I catch it? Well ... I got too close to my darling wife, Christine, and caught her cold. I'll leave to the reader's imagination how that happened ... the perils and pleasures of being married. So ... I laid in bed and watched a couple of free TNT On Demand movies off of Spectrum: The Man from U.N.C.L.E and Ant-Man along with the Winter Olympics. Christine was still getting over her cold so we did what we had to do and not much more.