Sunday, 3/25/18 to Saturday, 3/31/18

I ran 2 times this week, 10.3 miles.

I took 56,700 steps this week according to my Pebble 2 HR smart watch
(My smartwatch was on my left wrist and probably is way high because I was moving my wrist a lot while I was working in OH)

Sunday, 3/25/2018: 6815 steps during the day.

Christine and I were out in OH until Wednesday, 3/28/2018. I had 3 days of Ricoh vacation that needed to be used before the end of March so here we were working on her late father's house. I spent 95% of the time working on the house with Christine's brother, Rich Wisniewski. Christine stayed at the hotel until Wednesday.

I spent Sunday taking apart a TV cabinet and taking off wallpaper borders in three rooms. The wallpaper border difficulty varied by the room. The living room and hallway border was easy. It had been put up correctly. It just peeled off. The kitchen border required scraping. It came off pretty well once it had been scored and wet down with a sponge. The TV room border was cemented on in comparison. Three grandchildren were under foot for a while and they all got a whack at it on the ladders. I went out to Wal-Mart to get some chemical help: Zinsser DIF Gel Wallpaper Stripper. It helped but it was still slow going. The room was still only half-done at the end of the day.

Monday, 3/26/2018: 10351 steps during the day; 4.05 miles, 34:18, 8:27 pace, 32F, 69% RH, 10 mph ESE wind, wind chill 24F, sunny.


I got out in the morning for a nice and easy out and back from the hotel before breakfast. My legs were really tired so the run mostly sucked. My splits were: 8:02, 8:33, 8:29 and 8:42.

Back to the salt mine ... the TV room wallpaper border removal was finished. Her late father's furniture had been donated to a homeless shelter and was removed around noon. Then ... it was on to the 2 bathrooms (one half bath and one full bath). The wallpaper was on all the walls. These rooms really sucked. The wallpaper was put on over untreated wallboard. The top vinvl came off but 95% of the adhesive didn't. There was a lot of gouging also. Rich tried a power sander with a fine sandpaper on one wall in the full bathroom. The result was a lot of noise and dust. We probably going to hire these bathrooms to be be refinished professionally.

Tuesday, 3/27/2018: 6707 steps during the day.

A relatively easy day on a rainy and dreary day. Rick and I washed and rinsed the kitchen, TV room and living room. We did have to touch up near the kitchen and TV room ceilings to take off any leftover wallpaper adhesive residue.

Wednesday, 3/28/2018: 3882 steps during the day.

Rich was already starting to prime the ceilings in kitchen and TV room! I was surprised ... and felt a bit like a louse for leaving him to work alone. Christine and I loaded the '18 Cruze with her mementos that we could fit and started to head home around 2 PM. It was an easy drive and we got home around 7 PM. I wish the car could have unloaded itself ... but it didn't like usual.

Thursday, 3/29/2018: 7300 steps during the day.

Back to work. Man ... did my knees and thighs hurt!

Friday, 3/30/2018: 14322 steps during the day; 6.25 miles, 52:13, 8:21 pace, 39F, 44% RH, 14 mph WNW wind, wind chill 31F, overcast.

I took a half day vacation since I had 4 more hours to use due to Ricoh's "use it or lose it by the end of March" vacation policy. I had a tire appointment for the '14 Cruze at noon at BJs so my first stop was there. I went straight home.

Then ... I discovered that my license was missing. I backtracked my steps to BJs, called where we stayed in OH and looked around the townhouse. I found it after a couple of hours where I should have looked first ... my work bag. Why did it fall out of my wallet? Well ... I bought a wallet from slimfoldwallets.com. I like the Original Tyrek RFID blocking wallet ... but the card pockets loosened up and stopped holding the cards tight. The last straw was losing (and thankfully finding) my license! So ... I switched back to my previous wallet. It's an old minimalist wallet that holds only 8 cards but holds them like a vise. There are a lot of slim wallets ... link here (who knew). I like carrying my wallet in my right front pocket and I need a slim wallet.  But slim wallets never seem to carry enough cards. I have ruined too many pairs of pants by carrying it in my right rear pocket.


I did get out a run though afterward. I went out really nice and easy. My legs were still hurting from working out an entirely different set of muscles. So I just went on an out and back 10K ... nothing special. My splits were: 8:20, 8:26, 8:23, 8:25, 8:22, 8:22 and 7:40 over the last 0.25 mile.

Saturday, 3/31/2018: 7323 steps during the day, rest day.

I didn't run today because I helped my youngest son, David, move to a new apartment in Geneva. He got a 10 foot U-Haul truck in Macedon and met Christine and I at his mother's storage unit in Newark at 11:40 AM. I was impressed that he paid for and drove it himself. It was a beautiful sunny, albeit cool (50F), day for a move. He had his grandparents couch, table, recliner, microwave, some pot and pans and some boxes. We loaded up and headed to Geneva. He has a great upstairs apartment on South Main St. His bedroom looks out onto Seneca Lake. The couch was the hardest thing to get up the narrow staircase. Resting and letting the couch slide up the banister helped a lot. Then we headed to the local Wal-mart to get a futon. It was a simple mve with no troubles or blood.

Christine asked me to stop at the Corning outlet center at the Waterloo Premium Outlets. We have been using my parents plates and she wanted our own plates.

I helped her settle on a pattern named Country Cottage. We bought enough dishes for 8. She told me that in her 60 years so she had never had her own plates. Me neither (I think) ... so now we do!

It's the end of March ... so it's stat time!
I ran 17 times in 31 days for 117.42 miles, 6.91 miles/run.
I ran 2 races in March:
   Johnny's Runnin' of the Green 5 mile on 3/17:
      37:46, 7:29 pace, 134th out of 1331, 1st out of 37 in my M 60-64 age group
   Spring Forward 15K on 3/24:
      1:15:44, 8:05 pace, 65th out of 317, 3rd out of 19 in my M 60-64 age group
I have run 50 times so far in 2018 for 329.98 miles, 6.6 miles/run
I took 328,268 steps during March and 936,766 steps so far in 2018 according to my Pebble 2 HR smartwatch.
I have taken 936,766 s

Sunday, 3/18/2018 to Saturday, 3/24/2018 - Spring Forward 15K

I ran 5 times this week, 33.46 miles.
I took 81,120 steps during the week according to my Pebble 2 HR smart watch.

Sunday, 3/18/2018: 16041 steps during the day; 10.05 miles, 1:22:57, 8:15 pace, 25F, 58% RH, 5 mph WSW wind, wind chill 19F, overcast.


I slept in a bit until around 8 AM. I had my usual pre-run bowl of cereal and banana while I checked out Facebook and my email. I digested for a bit, got dressed in my usual "cold" running gear and got out there. I chose my balaclava and ski mittens since it was below freezeing. It was actually quite pleasant out since there was almost no wind. I set up a nice and steady pace. I decided on 10 miles so I just headed out to Lowden Point Rd and back. My splits were: 8:22, 8:26, 8:17, 8:13, 8:16, 8:12, 8:09, 8:11, 8:02 and 8:09.

Meanwhile, several runners (Steve Levitsky, Bambi Jasmin, Christine Antonini and Wendy Abbott) from Rochester were down in Virginia Beach running the Shamrock Virginia Beach Marathon. Elsewhere, the Genesee Valley Harriers (GVH) had teams of runners in 5 different locations (Virginia Beach 8K yesterday, NYC Half, National Masters Indoor Track Championships, Johnny's and Brooklyn Spring Half). Mike Reif wrote in Facebook: "our Open Men of Tim Chichester 1:05:42, Omar Boulama 1:08.07, Tyler Eustance 1:13.14, Matthew Pierce (team Captain) 1:13.29 and Brennan Root 1:17.05 WON the Overall Men's Team Title over an elite field from across the USA and the World. Over 21,000 runners and some of the best in the USA/World . . . Way to go Men!" Wow! 

I bought ribs from BJs along with potato salad. Christine cooked the ribs up ... mmm!

'Cuse! The Syracuse Orangeman continued their improbable run in the NCAA Tournament by winning their third game in 5 days! They started in the First Four (for the first time ever) on Wednesday and beat Arizona State, 60-56, link here. Then they beat TCU, 57-52 on Friday, link here. Today, they beat the 3 Midwest seed, Michigan State, 55-53 in a nail biter, links here, here, here and here. Who would have thought that SU would advance to the Sweet Sixteen ... not me (and not a lot of other people)!

Monday, 3/19/2018: 7729 steps during the day, 5.15 miles, 42:35, 8:15 pace, 25F, 49% RH, 8 mph E wind, wind chill 16F, sunny.


I slept in again until the sun started coming in the bedroom window ... just before 8 AM. I did the usual before I got dressed and got out. It was sunny but chilly. I didn't want to go too far since I ran 10 miles yesterday. I set up a nice and steady pace just like yesterday. My splits were: 8:22, 8:17, 8:14, 8:19, 8:04 and 7:43 over the last 0.15 mile.

Tuesday, 3/20/2018: 3265 steps during the day, rest day.

I spent the day seeing all three of my children. First, I went out to Palmyra to pick up Karen at 11 AM. I got acquainted with her puppy, Pooky. He is kind of scrawny, needy and all legs. I guess I am not one with animals. Then we were over to Macedon to pick up my oldest son, Michael. Then onward to IHOP in Henrietta for lunch. I had the Blueberry Pancakes ... mmm! Michael had a 2:30 PM appointment with the Residence Manager so I dropped him off at 2 PM. I visited with Karen for a bit before I headed out to Del Lago Casino to see my youngest son, David. He looked nice in his grey suit jacket. I enjoyed catching up with all three of them. I think helping David move from Scottsville to Geneva will be in my future soon but I don't know when.

Karen's puppy named Pooky

Karen's cat named Hermone

David's place of employment

Christine and I had leftover ribs and potato salad ... mmm! They were doubly delicious warmed up in the oven for 50 minutes at 350F! I shouldn't have had seconds ... I was sick to my stomach when I went to bed and bloated when I got up ... up 1.7 pounds!

Wednesday, 3/21/2018: 8774 steps during the day, rest day.

The printers really missed me during my two days off. There was lots of stuff to occupy my day. I had my running gear in the 14 Cruze but I had a litany of excuses: tired, headache and my right knee hurt when I walked. Tomorrow is another day.

Thursday, 3/22/2018: 17683 steps during the day; 7.55 miles, 1:02:19, 8:15 pace, 39F, 44% RH, 7 mph WNW wind, wind chill 34F, mostly cloudy.


My mind tried to get me to bag this run but I didn't listen. I got changed just before 5 PM, clocked out and headed to Greece Arcadia High School for my usual Thursday night run. I thought about going short for 5 miles but made the turn left at the end of Janes Rd and did the full 7.55 miles. Yes, the brisk west wind was still there ... spring has still not sprung in Rochester NY. My splits were: 8:06, 8:24, 8:21, 8:05, 8:12, 8:16, 8:22 and 8:10 over the last 0.55 mile.

Friday, 3/23/2018: 9357 steps during the day, rest day.

A funeral for the late Congresswoman Louise Slaughter was held today at Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre, links here and here. Democratic luminaries Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi and John Lewis gave eulogies.

(Photo: TINA YEE, Democrat & Chronicle staff photographer)

I stayed up late watching 'Cuse play Duke in the Sweet Sixteen game. 'Cuse lost by 4 (but beat the spread). So ... I didn't get to sleep until 12:30 AM with a 5:30 AM wake up alarm.

Saturday, 3/24/2018: 18271 steps during the day; 2 runs of 1.35 and 9.36 miles, 1:15:45, 8:05 pace, 27F, 74% RH, 5 mph NNW wind, wind chill 21F, sunny.

Today's race was my 12th consecutive Spring Forward 15K. My times have been: 2007 - 1:14:29, 2008 - 1:11:21, 2009 - 1;12:49, 2010 - 1:17:05, 2011 - 1:10:20, 2012 - 1:09:15, 2013 - 1:11:40, 2014 - 1:18:00, 2015 - 1:15:24, 2016 - 1:11:14 and 2017 - 1:13:04.

I was up early like usual. It was cold so I wore my usual "cold" running gear: CW-X tights, long sleeve tech, yellow/black Brooks 1/4 zip pullover and yellow/black Brooks beanie. Runners who know me probably can tell it's me a mile off during the winter. It took a solid 30 minutes to get down to the Beach parking lot of Mendon Ponds Park. I got there at 7:15 AM in plenty of time for the 8 AM start. I didn't have my bib yet so I trudged up to Steward Lodge to get it. I pinned it on my tights and stashed my bag with a dry shirt and jacket. I got out for a 1.35 mile warm up run at 8:51 pace, link here. I was cold so I put on my balaclava and changed to my ski mittens instead of heavy gloves.


I met up with Andy Ciaio and Prem Kumar before the start ... kind of like usual. And ... we were off! I tried to hold back and not rabbit.

The Spring Forward 15K start

I'm the yellow speck in the distance

I ran well for the first 5 miles and then ran out of energy. I felt a bit bummed that the 8:00 pace group passed me but I was OK with it ... I have to learn to run my own race. The hills of Mendon were still there. I went into a run'walk for a bit. I sucked it up and finished in 1:15:45, 8:05 pace according to my Garmin Forerunner 220. My splits were: 7:42, 8:00, 7:51, 7;49, 8:04, 8:26, 8:25, 8:30, 8:13 and 7:34 over the last 0.36 mile.

I checked the results in the lodge and found out that I was 3rd in my M 60-64 age group. I didn't stay to pick up my award since I was in a bit of a time crush ... or so I thought. I can pick up the plaque from Fleet Feet Armory for the next 2 weeks. I officially finished in 1:15:44, 8:09 pace. I was 65th out of 318, link here. I was 3rd out of  19 in my M 60-64 age group, link here. The Relive link to Spring Forward 15K is here. There were 87 finishers in the 2.5 mile race, link here.

Christine's late father's house needs work to be done so I had told her brother's that I would come out and work on it until Wednesday. I have 3 vacation days that I have to "use or lose" by the end of March. I had wanted to leave for Ravenna OH by noon but we didn't get going until almost 2 PM. I have learned to be rather loose with my departure times. We got out to OH a bit before 7 PM. We went out to supper at Pizza Hut with Christine's youngest brother, Rich. He went over what we hoped to accomplish in 4 days. Then it was back to the Fairview Inn & Suites in Streetsboro for the night. We got a great rate of $39/night thanks to Christine's cousin, Natalie, who works for Marriott.

Sunday, 3/11/2018 to Saturday, 3/17/2018 - Johnny's Runnin' of the Green

I ran 5 times this week, 29.6 miles.
I took 77,256 steps this week according to my Pebble 2 HR smart watch.

Sunday, 3/11/2018: 10180 steps during the day, 7.05 miles, 58:19, 8:16 pace, 27F, 86% RH, 7 mph WSW wind, wind chill 19F, overcast.


The first day of Daylight Saving Time ... and the first run. I turned off my alarm when it went off at 6:40 AM and woke up just before 8 AM ... daylight. I got up, had my usual pre-run bowl of cereal and banana, got dressed for a "cold" run and got out. I thought about a 10K out and back,  an 8 miler out and back or a 15K. I settled on a 7 mile out and back. I tried to keep it nice and easy but ... pushed it a bit once I warmed up. It's what I do. My splits were: 8:24, 8:28, 8:29, 8:17, 8:07, 8:07 and 8:03.

Monday, 3/12/2018: 8974 steps during the day, rest day.

The body of 14 year old Trevyan Rowe was pulled from the Genesee River today, link here. The autistic teen went missing from School 12 on Thursday, 3/8. It turned out that he had been marked "present" by three different adults that day and he wasn't declared missing until he didn't come home from school. There were multiple calls to 911 that morning of someone on the Freddie-Sue bridge. One adult at School 12 tried to change his "present" to "absent" the next day. Three people at School 12 and 6 people at the 911 center were held responsible. What will ultimately happen? Who knows? I was pulling for the kid and hoped he would be found alive. Perhaps changes will be made that will prevent something like this from happening again.

Tuesday, 3/13/2018: 15000 (estimated ... see Wednesday's post) steps during the day; 7.55 miles, 1:02:14, 8:14 pace, 34F, 64% RH, 12 mph WNW wind, wind chill 25F, overcast.


This run was brought to you by the fact it was Tuesday and I run on Tuesday. The temperature, wind and wind chill didn't help but I do what I do. I got to Greece Arcadia High School just before 5 PM, geared up and set forth. The wind in my face on Janes was not welcome for sure and I slowed a bit but "a run doesn't get done by itself" ... so I just kept running. Running was a lot betting with a tail wind or even a wind from the side. My splits were: 8:02, 8:38, 8:26, 8:07, 8:12, 8:13, 8:12 and 8:00 over the last 0.55 mile. Boom ... done.

Wednesday, 3/14/2018: 8424 steps during the day and ... AARRGGHH!!

I had a thought last night before I went to bed ... maybe I should back up my Ricoh cell. I should have stayed up and done that.

Well ... I was driving out to B101 and my Ricoh cell felt warm in my pocket. Why? Well ... it was busy doing a factory reset and deleting all my contacts and pictures. There wasn't anything I could do but just accept the prompts and let it continue. I got the contacts back in minutes but the pictures were in the wind. I do remember that this happened last year and I somehow got my pictures back but so far I have figured it out. I have got my pictures that I had posted or others had posted to Facebook thanks to Picasa. I did find old pictures on Dropbox, Google Photos and OneDrive. But my most recent pictures are still not there. The Ricoh cell was locked in my pocket! How in the hell did it just up and decide to do a factory reset! Did I say AARRGGHH?!!

Thursday, 3/15/2018: 16879 steps during the day; 8.25 miles, 1:06:55, 8:07 pace, 39F, 41% RH, 16 mph WNW wind, wind chill 31F, overcast.


I took 1 hour of vacation so I up at Greece Arcadia High School by 4:30 PM. It was still cold and there was the west wind that bit right through me. I started out on the same old, same old route. This time I decided to try out a new route just to mix things up: I turned right on Long Pond (I stayed on the right hand sidewalk and road until past the first Parkway exit and ran all the way up to Edgemere, right on Edgemere and right onto Island Cottage ... so just a big loop. Plus it was something new and exciting ... lol. My splits were: 7:57, 8:30, 8:20, 8:05, 7:56, 7:53, 8:11, 8:08 and 8:01 over the last 0.25 mile. I set a quicker pace once I was running out of the wind or sideways to it ... like usual.

I smelled something good cooking when I got home. Christine was cooking up a Saint Patrick's meal 2 days early ... corned beef, potatoes, cabbage and carrots! It was absolutely delicious!

Friday, 3/16/2018: 6381 steps during the day, rest day.

I went down to Johnny's Pub after work to pick up bib and shirt for tomorrow's Johnny's Runnin' of the Green. I always get lost getting there or coming home. I came from the north on Culver and got lost twice. I missed a jog on Culver and had to turn around. Then I went past Johnny's and had to turn around.

Taking a break at Johnny's after picking my bib and new favorite long sleeve T-shirt

I sat and stayed for a while instead of rushing off. I sipped a Guiness while I waited for 2 Fish Fry takeouts. Then I missed the jog going north so I got onto 104 on Goodman ... oh well. The Fish Fry was still hot and very delicious when I got home ... mmm!

Our Congresswoman, Louise Slaughter, died in the early morning. Her obituary is here and her biography is here. I met her a couple of times after the Scarecrow 5K held in October in Fairport. She was described as "a force of nature" and don't doubt it. I am proud to be a Democrat and think she did a good job representing her constituents. I know that there are others that do not share my beliefs. But ... I listen to my echo chamber and they listen to theirs. I am sad that politics has descended to this ... but it has. It seems that no politician (local, county, state or federal) wants to compromise and meet in the middle to get the important things that need doing done. Don't get me started about what I think of 45.

Saturday, 3/17/2018: 11418 steps during the day; 2 runs of 1.7 and 5.05 miles, 30F, 69% RH, 15 mph WNW wind, wind chill 21F, sunny.

Today's race was my 8th Johnny's Runnin' of the Green, link here. It was the first race of the 2018 twelve race Rochester Runner of the Year series. My previous times were: 2007 - 37:34, 2011 - 34:35, 2012: 33:58 (lifetime PR), 2013 - 36:23, 2015 - 36:18, 2016 - 35:40 and 2017 - 37:10. It is a simple out and back from the Blue Cross Arena out Exchange Blvd, over the Ford St bridge, right onto Wilson Blvd in the U of R campus, out until a turnaround and back.

I got up at 6:30 AM to have plenty of time to get ready. I checked out Facebook and found that a lot of Genesse Valley Harriers, aka GVH, runners were down in Virginia Beach at the USATF 8K Championship along with other runners from Rochester who were running the Shamrock Marathon tomorrow. I ate my usual pre-race bowl of cereal and banana, got dressed in my usual "cold" running gear, kissed Christine goodbye and left ... I had to come back in twice to get my beanie and glasses. I got down to a parking spot on State St and was in the Blue Cross Arena by 8:35 AM. I hung out and talked to Tim Matthews, who takes pictures of a lot of races. He told me that he takes his warmth seriously: 6 layers on the top and 3 on the bottom ... wow! I got out for a bit too long warm up run of 1.7 miles at 7:58 pace, link here. I got back in time to go to the bathroom and then got right back out to the starting line.


I lined up next to Andy Ciaio. We commiserated about the recent cold weather and our mutual hate of the west wind ... lol! And ... we were off! Andy went ahead ... he's not in my age group. I was far enough near the front where I had no trouble getting up to some semblance of a race pace. It was tough going from a cold start though ... trust me.

A couple hundred yards from the start ... photo courtesy of Tim Matthews of https://runnerpics.shuttlefly.com

Ron Herkeens Jr took a good picture as I crossed Ford St bridge on the way out, link here. "One Mile" Pete was at the one mile mark just past the Ford St bridge ... "7:14" he called out as I passed. Heather Patterson said "Hey" as she passed me just about there. Ellen and Boots from Fleet Feet Sports were in their usual spot around 1.25 miles (3.75 miles on the way back) and were shouting encouragement to all runners. I eased up a bit as we ran toward the turnaround. That west wind in my face sucked! I stopped at the water stop just long enough to drink a cup of water. Then onward ... I tried to keep the same pace ... way too soon to push. Back down Wilson Blvd with the wind at my back, past Boots and Ellen, over the Ford St bridge, right onto Exchange Blvd.

Coming back down Exchange Blvd to the finish ... photo courtesy of Tim Matthews of https://runnerpics.shuttlefly.com

Push up the pace ... not very much ... see the Freddie-Sue bridge ... see the Rochester Center City sign ... push the pace ... in the chute ... sprint ... pass the girl on my right ... Mort Nace announcing my name ... and done in 37:46, 7:28 pace

I grabbed a pint of water and walked a bit to cool down. I checked the results on the side of the Blue Cross Arena and saw that I won my M 60-64 age group. I went inside and hung out. I had a bagel and a bit of coffee while I waited for the awards. The top three in each age group won a bottle of Casa Larga wine or sparkling water. I picked out a bottle of Dolci Russo. I told Wilt Alston that this bottle won't age well at home. It probably won't last the weekend.

Bill Kehoe, the race director along with the bottles of red or sparkling grape juice that the top 3 in their age group could choose ... photo courtesy of Tim Matthews of https://runnerpics.shuttlefly.com

Soon I was home with my feet up and drinking a mug of coffee. Christine was happy that I won my age group. I told her that all the speedier guys in my age group were elsewhere. I just run and love to race. PCR timing took its time getting the results ... 5:30 PM. I was 134th out of 1331, link here. I was 1st out of 37 in my M 60-64 age group, link here. My splits were: 7:08, 7:37, 7:27, 7:34 and 7:17. The Relive link to Johnny's is here.

Christine didn't do much the rest of the day. We binge watched "Timeless" so we could understand the season opener and then watched "Blacklist" and "Blindspot".

Sunday, 3/4/2018 to Saturday, 3/10/2018 - Round the Bay

I ran 4 times this week, 34.7 miles.

I took 83,799 steps this week according to my Pebble 2 HR smart watch.

Sunday, 3/4/2018: 10235 steps during the day; 3.55 miles, 31:33, 8:53 pace, 28F, 59% RH, 11 mph N wind, wind chill 19F, sunny.


Christine and I woke up in Niagara Falls NY at the Wingate by Wyndham hotel. We shared a few hugs but it was Sunday and I needed to run. Where to run? Well ... down to see the falls naturally! It was cold and windy so I put on my usual running gear. I went outside and thought I had better add more layers. I went back inside and added another long sleeve tech and my balaclava. I felt like "Nanuck of the North" when I went back outside but I was warmer. It was sunny and around 28F but the wind cut through me like a knife. I wanted to go onto Goat Island  to see both the American and Horseshoe Falls so I just ran toward the sound of the falls until I found a bridge that led me onto the island. The bridge I found was steel plated and rather old. I suspect that it was only used for pedestrian traffic. It was early so I pretty much had the whole island to myself except for a photographer and a few walkers. I got a few good pictures. I tried to take a video but my fingers were cold and the sunlight washed out my phone controls so it came out badly.

American Falls

Nikola Telsa statue

Terrapin Point

Horseshoe Falls

I was surprised to see a Nikola Telsa statue. I did remember reading that Telsa and Edison were competitors after Telsa quit working for Edison. Telsa championed alternating current and Edison championed direct current. Telsa worked with Westinghouse and built the first hydro-electric power plant in the world at Niagara Falls in 1895, link here and here.

The bridge that I found to run back on was much better. It was a shorter run than usual but ... I was hungry. My splits were: 8:42, 9:52 (left my Garmin running while I took pictures), 8:24 and 8:17 over the last 0.55 mile.

The complimentary breakfast at the hotel was good: scrambled eggs, pancakes and ham along with juice and coffee ... mmm! I managed not to pig out. We checked out exactly at 11 AM. Then we took a drive around Goat Island. Christine had a headache plus it was $8(!) to park near the American and Horseshoe Falls so we didn't stop. We went into the Seneca Niagara Casino but were driven out by the smoke on the gaming floor. I bothered me and Christine had to take 2 puffs of her inhaler afterward. Ugh!

Christine wanted to see the Our Lady of Fatima Shrine in Lockport NY so we let OnStar guide us there.

Shrine front picture from the fatimashrine.com website

Then we took the scenic route home on Route 18 and Parkway along Lake Ontario home. We stopped at the Victorianbourg Wine Estate winery and did a 13 wine tasting. I just took a mouthful of each since I was driving.

Monday, 3/5/2018: 5283 steps during the day, rest day.

Just your typical Monday ... the printers and plotters missed me ... joy. I am thankful that I have a job though ... things could be worse.

Tuesday, 3/6/2018: 16046 steps during the day; 8.55 miles, 1:12:19, 8:27 pace, 39F, 60% RH, 8 mph ESE wind, wind chill 34F, overcast.


I thought about doing 10 miles but I felt a bit sluggish plus I knew that I would be running around 15 miles on Saturday. The sluggish part might also being running on my Brooks Transcend 3 shoes with over 650 miles on them. Just getting it done. My splits were: 8:03, 8:19, 8:32, 8:31, 8:31, 8:27, 8:36, 8:42 and 8:24 over the last 0.55 mile. Boom ... done.

Wednesday, 3/7/2018: 5938 steps during the day, rest day.

Thursday, 3/8/2018: 18210 steps during the day; 7.55 miles, 1:02:44, 8:18 pace, 30F, 64% RH, 8 mph W wind, wind chill 23F, overcast.


It was Thursday ... so I ran. I cut out early and made it up to Greece Arcadia High School by 5 PM. I decided to give my Scott Palani shoes some love. I don't really like since I did have to add a cushioning layer on top of the insole already there but ... they only cost me $44.04 and I want to get some use out of them. These runs decidedly make me run more on my front foot which is a good thing I guess. I didn't have any issues ... other that the west wind felt pretty cold on my face. Just your typical run. My splits were: 8:07, 8:33, 8:20, 8:11, 8:16, 8:14, 8:23 and 8:26 over the last 0.55 mile. Boom ... done.

Friday, 3/9/2018: 7840 steps during the day, rest day.

I got my hair cut at Sport Clips on Long Pond-Latta. A woman named Jessica took her time and cut with the #4 clipper (about 3/8"). She told me what Christine told me when she tried several times to cut my hair ... my hair grows in funny directions!

Saturday, 3/10/2018: 20247 steps during the day; 15.05 miles, 2:08:39, 8:33 pace, 28F, 80% RH, 9 mph W wind, wind chill 20F, overcast with light snow.


Today's run was the annual Round the Bay run. The Rochester running groups: Oven Door Runners from Victor, Gold Rush Runners from Irondequoit and Bagel Bunch Runners from Greece advertise to their group and we all just show up ... if we don't have a race and if it fits our running distance. This was my 10th year running Round the Bay. I have run the route or a variation of it 16 times.

It's an early start at 7 AM. I was up at 5:30 AM and had my usual pre-run bowl of cereal and banana. I was out the door at  6:35 AM, cleared off the 18 Cruze and was down to the Swing Bridge in Irondequoit at 6:53 AM. I had on my usual "cold" running gear. I added my balaclava and ski mittens (maybe a bit of overkill). I carried my Nathan SpeedDraw and 2 Hammer Gels. There weren't as many runners as usual ... maybe 50 at most.

Round the Bay 2018

Matt Kellman gave a few words and someone took a pre-run picture. Off we went. The parking lot was icy and the first 4 miles were kind of icy in spots. I set my pace as nice and steady as I settled into a long run. We mostly ran in the road up the way up Culver and down Titus. It was overcast with a light snow.

A funny thing happened at mile 4 on Bay Shore Blvd. A woman headed off the road and down a hill and I expect looked for somewhere out of sight to go pee. I ran onward. Well .. there was a porta-potty by a construction site about 0.4 miles away that 4 guys were waiting to use, I bet she was pissed when she saw that ... lol!

I stopped at the water stop at mile 7 and had a Hammer Gel before I headed down Empire Blvd. I ran all the way back up the long hill to mile 9. I passed Tom Butler and Tina Pellegrin at the corner of Empire and Bay. The snow stopped a couple of miles from the end. Mile 13.1 passed in 1:53:00, 8:38 pace. Onward ... down Bay, left on Lakeshore ... salute at the memorial for the 2 fireman, link here ... keeping going ... hug the non existent shoulder as cars go bye ... over the Swing Bridge ... and done in 2:08:39, 8:33 pace. I managed to not fall as I circled the parking lot to get to 15.05 miles. My splits were: 9:00, 8:36, 8:27, 8:21 9:16, 8:26, 9:17, 8:17, 9:05, 8:16, 8:12, 8:21, 8:13, 7:58 and 8:26. The Relive link to Round the Bay is here.

I just stretched and headed home afterward. I stopped at the Wegmans on E Ridge Rd to take back a couple of Redbox DVDs ("Darkest Hour" and "Dunkirk") and at Herrema's to pick up a couple of Cinnamon Buns (mmm ... with frosting!). Soon I was home with my feet up and a mug of coffee by my side ... nice! Running around the bay is just a nice way to start a weekend morning!