Sunday, 05/28/2018 to Saturday, 6/2/2018

I ran 5 times this week, 26.29 miles.
I took 67,167 steps this week according to my Pebble 2 HR smart watch.

Sunday, 5/27/2018: 10191 steps during the day, 6.55 miles, 54:38, 8:20 pace, 73F, 73% RH, 7 mph WSW wind, overcast.



I should have got up and out earlier. So ... it was a bit warm and humid when I got out. I overheated at mile 6 and shortened my run from a 15K to an out and back 6.55 miles. My splits were: 8:09, 7:58, 8:09, 8:15, 8:20, 9:05 and 8:27 over the last 0.55 mile.

I should have gotten up after the run and got some stuff done that was on my "Things to Do" list but ... I didn't.

Later, Christine and I watched the NBA Western Conference Playoff Game 7 between the Golden State Warriors and the Houston Rockets. The Warriors had too many good shooter and Houston couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. Houston went 0-27 from beyond the 3 point line at one stretch in the 2nd half which doomed their chances. Houston won 101-92 and advanced to the NBA Finals to face the Cleveland Cavs, links here, here and video highlights here. Yes, the Cavs would have matched up a LOT better against the Rockets. But instead it'll be the Cavs versus the Warriors for the fourth straight year which hasn't ever happened in NBA Finals history.

Monday, 5/28/2018: 13791 steps during the day; 6.55 miles, 1:01:09, 9:20 pace, 73F, 83% RH, 9 mph SW wind, partly cloudy.



I got up and out a bit early in an attempt to beat the heat and humidity ... not. I got about 3 miles before the humidity zapped me. So I lapsed into a run/walk. I felt what I thought was a cramp in the middle of my left calf. It slowly got worse until I limped a bit. My splits were: 8:19, 8:16, 8:31, 10:52, 10:04, 10:16 and 8:48 over the last 0.55 mile.

Well ... the "cramp" didn't go away. I was in moderate pain when I walked, went up or down stairs all days. And ... I did 6 loads of laundry so I was up and down stairs until evening. I didn't get as much as I wanted to get done during the Memorial Day weekend but I did get a few things done.

Tuesday, 5/29/2018: 3753 steps during the day, rest day.

That "cramp" still nagged me so I rested it. I didn't walk as much as I usually do either.

Wednesday, 5/30/2018: 13715 steps during the day; 5.05 miles, 43:32, 8:37 pace, 90F, 43% RH, 15 mph S wind, partly cloudy.


It was 90F at least after work. Saner people would have turned to the nearest AC unit but ... not me. I thought it would be cooler up near Lake Ontario so I headed up to a parking lot at East Manitou Rd and Edgemere Drive. The outdoor temp hit 100F as I drove up East Manitou Rd and settled on 97F when I got out of the '14 Cruze. Well ... the wind was from the south so it was just as hot as anywhere else. Oh well. I just headed out for a really nice and easy out and back on Edgemere Drive. I hydrated every mile and took a wee walk break after mile 4. It was hot! My splits were: 8:45, 8:40, 8:30, 8:17 and 8:53. My "cramp" didn't bother but I didn't push it either. Maybe it was caused by not enough potassium?

Thursday, 5/31/2018: 5219 steps during the day, rest day.

Yes, I didn't run. I thought about it and I had my running gear in the '14 Cruze but ... I just went home. My darling wife, Christine, and I spent a bit of time outside on the porch behind our townhouse just relaxing before we had leftovers for supper. It was nice outside so we ate them outside which is something we almost never do.

Then we went back inside to watch 3 of the 5 last episodes of "The Americans" that were saved on our DVR. The final season is building up to a climax. I have tried not to see or read any of the spoilers that I come upon. Then I watched the last quarter and OT of the NBA Finals Game 1 between the Cavs and Warriors. Lebron went for 51-8-8 and tried to put the Cavs on his broad shoulder. But ... the Warriors outscored the Cavs 17-7 in the OT to win 124-114, links here, here, here and video highlights here. The last minute of regulation, link here.

Well ... it's the end of May so it's stat time!

I ran 17 times in May for 143.03 miles, 8.41 miles/run.
I ran 4 races in May (14 so far in 2018)
 05/09 Dirt Cheap #2, 4.05 miles, 41:10, 10:11 pace
 05/12 Mind the Ducks, 52.52 miles, 11:57:44, 13:38 pace
 05/20 Lilac 10K, 6.2 miles, 46:25, 7:29 pace
 05/26 Sunset House 5K, 3.1 miles, 23:20, 7:32 pace
I have run 81 times in 2018 for 585.82 miles, 7.23 miles/run
I took 367,422 steps (most ever) in May according to my Pebble 2 HR smartwatch.
I have taken 1,627,089 steps so far in 2018.

Friday, 6/1/2018: 4877 steps during the day, rest day.

I just realized that the McMullen Mile is next Friday, 6/8/2018. Maybe I should do some track workouts?

Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys in The Americans (2013)

We watched the last 2 episodes of "The Americans". Christine and I watched all 75 episodes over the last 6 seasons. It was sad to see Phillip and Elizabeth back in Mother Russia.  I was surprised that Stan, the FBI agent who lived across the street, let them go. Is Stan's girlfriend, Renee, a Russian agent herself? What will happen to their kids, Henry and Paige, who stayed behind? Did you know that Phillip (Matthew Rhys) and Elizabeth (Keri Russell) have been in a relationship since 2013?

Saturday, 6/2/2018: 15621 steps during the day; 2 runs of 3.09 and 5.05 miles, 57F, 82% RH, 10 mph NNE wind, overcast.



I headed out to the Greece Arcadia High track for an on-the-fly track workout. I just did 4 400 meter laps of 1:38, 1:35, 1:34 and 1:28 with a cool down lap in between and a mile cool down afterward. The wind was a bit bothersome when I was running into the wind but I pushed through it. Easy-peasy. Running track when you are trying to run fast is a lot different than just running steady on the road.


Then I ran a nice and steady 5 miles on the road. My splits were: 8:08, 8:14, 8:15, 8:09 and 8:06. Boom ... done.

Meanwhile ... lots of other stuff was going on with a race for everyone. First: The Fast and Furriest 5K and 10K was held down at Verona Street Animal Society for the road runners. The 5K had 321 finishers, link here. The 10K had 211 finisher, link here. Prem Kumar finished 1st in his M 40-44 age group and Andy Ciaio finished 2nd in his M 50-54 age group. Second: the Frost Town Trail Fest was held down in Cummings Nature Center for the trail runners. The 10K had 51 finishers, link here. The 25K had 52 finishers, link here. Third: the Rochester Duathlon was held out at Grace and Truth Sports Park for the duathletes.

Later, Christine and I headed down to the Blue Cross Arena for the National Lacrosse League Final Game 2 between the Saskatchewan Rush and the Rochester Knighthawks. The Hawks were down 0-1 in the best 2 out of 3 series after losing last Saturday 16-9 in Saskatchewan, link here. I had bought 2 $10 (regularly $15) tickets off of a Living Social deal that I saw earlier in the week. The game was at 8 PM. We left around 7 PM in the '14 Cruze. I dropped Christine off opposite the BCA around 7:20 PM and parked about 1/2 mile away up in Corn Hill. I though about how many times I had run down Exchange Blvd to the BCA as I walked back ... maybe 15? Later, I found that it was 17 (9 Flower City Half Marathons and 8 Johnny's).

I had printed off the tickets before we left and presented them with no issues. We found a row of just 2 seats at the very front of Section 209. They were about even with the right hand goal. We did have to lean forward to look over a bar but other than forcing good posture we had good sight lines and no one in front of us. The BCA was fairly packed for this game ... go Hawks!

A selfie from the first row of Section 209!

The game started with the Rush scoring the first goal in 50 seconds ... and then another one. Hmm ... but the Hawks evened the score and then pulled ahead 3-2 before the Rush scored to tie it up just before the end of the first quarter. The Hawks were ahead 8-4 at the end of 2 quarters and ended up with the win to tie the series, 13-8, link here. The joint really jumped after a Hawk goal for sure!

Hawks win!

Christine walked most of the way back to the '14 Cruze before she said "Pick me up" ... so I did. I took the scenic way home (Exchange Blvd, left onto Ford St, right on Mt Hope, I-390N to the Parkway) ... but one I knew like the back of my hand.

Sunday, 5/20/2018 to Saturday, 5/26/2018 - Lilac 10K & Sunset House 5K

I ran 6 times this week, 27.29 miles.
I took 78,526 steps this week according to my Pebble 2 HR smart watch.

Sunday, 5/20/2018: 18651 steps during the day, 2 runs of 1.2 and 6.26 miles.

Today's race was my ninth Lilac 10K held in Highland Park on the last weekend of the Lilac Festival. My previous 8 chip times were: 2007 - 46:22, 2010 - 49:03, 2011 - 46:28, 2012 - 43:53, 2013 - 47:37, 2014 - 44:51, 2015 - 47:40 and 2017 - 46:29.

So you could say I know the course well. It's not an out and back but you do run back up that same mile long gentle downhill that you just a lot faster down 5 miles ago. So it is a test and a lot tougher test if it is hot and humid. Today's weather was a lot better: 61F, 88% RH, 8 mph WNW wind, overcast.

I was up at 5:30 AM for the same reason that most 60 year old men are ... I will let the reader figure it out. I knew I won't go back to sleep so I read Facebook for a bit and got up around 6 AM. I puttered around, had my usual pre-race bowl of cereal. I got dressed and kissed Christine goodbye. I was in and out of the townhouse a few times because of weather concerns ... it was a bit cool and there was a bit of a wind. I ended up wearing shorts and my 2017 Lilac 10K shirt. I brought my orange Empire State Marathon long sleeve tech, orange Fleet Feet hat, light gloves and my yellow/black Brooks jacket as back up just in case. I guess I am almost packing for winter races even in late May. I left just after 7:30 AM and arrived down near the Al Sigl Center just before 8 AM. I wanted to get down there before the Lilac 5K started. I knew the drill: pay $5 to park at the Al Sigl Center and walk up through Highland Park to the start/finish line ... easy-peasy. Been there ... done that and have the tech shirts to prove it. Meanwhile, the Lilac 5K at 8 AM was being held, the gun time results of 1076 finishers here.

I walked up with Dan Wimer and Jason "Jmac" McElwain. I got out for a nice and easy warm up run of 1.2 miles at 9:20 pace, link here. I talked with Bill Beyerbach for a few minutes before the race. He was going to riding in the pace car at the head of the pack. I settled into my usual spot at a start ... about 30 feet back and off to the right. I saw Prem Kumar for a few seconds. He had just ran Sehgahunda on Saturday in 5:13:42, results here. Heather Patterson was just ahead of me.


And ... we were off! I didn't have any trouble getting up to race pace. I tried to hold back but still ran a 7:04 first mile according to Pete who was yelling out the times (I had 7:02). I enjoyed running through the Rochester Running Company cheer section just past South Clinton Ave. A few runners cheering had run Sehgahunda the previous day. So ... out to Monroe Ave and hang a right. Mile 2 in 7:15. I swapped hands with Mort Nace before the right turn onto Winton Rd South. Then another right onto Elmwood Ave. Mile 3 in 7:11. The next 2 miles were on some neighborhood streets and back on Elmwood Ave. I stopped to drink a cup of water. Mile 4 in 7:43. There was a gentle uphill back to Highland Ave. I stopped to drink another cup of water. Mile 5 in 7:49. The RRC cheer section was a welcome sight! Now it was a gut check to the finish ... a gentle uphill (but not so gentle after 5 miles). I picked off a few runners on the way. Mile 6 in 7:32. There was a gentle turn so I couldn't see the finish but trust it was there. I let a runner sprint past me ... he was going much too fast to match. I heard my name called ... and ... done with 6.26 miles in 46:31, 7:29 pace according to my Garmin Forerunner 220. I had a 7:21 pace in the last 0.26 mile. I grabbed a couple cups of water. I was parched and sweaty. Heather finished ahead of me in a chip time of 44:33. Prem was behind me with a chip time of 48:14.

I wandered back to the '14 Cruze to change into my dry long sleeve tech. I was getting chilled in my sweaty short sleeve tech plus it has started to mist a little bit. I wandered into a part of Highland Park that I had never been in before on the way back ... the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, link here. I walked through it with silent reverence to the honored 280 men who had died from the Rochester area.

I found my way out of the memorial by hopping a broken part of fence and made my way for the awards. I had offically finished with a gun time of 46:30, chip time of 46:25, 105th out of 744, 5th out of 22 in my M 60-64 age group, gun time results here. The Relive link to Lilac 10K is here.

I made my way home and settled down with a mug of coffee for a bit before I had to change to go do my next task. I went out to Palmyra to put in an air conditioner for my daughter, Karen. She got a Sears 12,000 BTU A/C unit free when a next door resident had died. Her daughter didn't want it so Karen took it along with a coffee table. It was heavy and just fit in the opening. But it fit. I did have to make a trip to the Macedon Walmart to get some duct tape to seal the cracks around it. I had not brought any tools and had to rely on Karen's tools but I managed.

Monday, 5/21/2018: 6342 steps during the day, rest day.

Just a word about the NBA playoffs. Only the Cavs and Celtics are left in the East along with the Warriors and Rockets in the West. Each series is tied at 2. But ... who cares about the West? I am rooting for the Cavs. Yes, I know that the Cavs are pretty one-dimensional this year ... Lebron and the not named Lebrons. But ... Christine is from Cleveland and I am a Laker fan from the 80s. So ... I will not root for the Celtics.

I can still remember being in a bar in Nashua NH during a NBA Finals game between the Lakers and Celtics in the early 80s. I lived in Nashua from 1980 to 1986. What year? I can't recall (either 1984 or 1985). Google is no help; rivalry wiki here, 1984 stats here and 1985 stats here. More links here, here, here and here. It could have been 1984 Game 1 (Lakers 115-109) or 1985 Game 2 (Lakers 109-102). Anyway ... the game was held down in Boston and being in a bar was the only way to see the game. I quietly was rooting for the Lakers while I was in a bar full of Celtics fans. I did get more than a few glances when Byron Scott pulled up for a dagger 3 to put the Lakers ahead with under a minute to go. The Lakers won that game and I bid a hasty retreat out of the bar and home. So ... go Cavs! But .. if the Cavs do get out of this series I don't think they have a chance against the West winner. But ... never count out Lebron. He is having a monster of a playoff run this year.

Tuesday, 5/22/2018: 16738 steps during the day; 7.35 miles, 59:41, 8:07 pace, 70F, 83% RH, 12 mph W wind, overcast.



I was a bit bitchy during the day ... just normal stuff. I knew that if I didn't get out for a run after work I would be become even more bitch ... maybe even grouchy ... so I did. I changed just before I got out of work at 5 PM and drove up to my usual spot at Greece Arcadia High School. I set up a nice and steady pace and ran with tunes in my left ear (third time now). I did slow a touch in the latter half of the run (OK ... maybe not). My splits were: 7:49, 8:08, 8:09, 8:01, 8:09, 8:08, 8:09 and 8:43 over the last 0.35 mile.

Meanwhile ... lots of people were down at Frontier Field running the 3.5 mile Corporate Challenge. 7086 were listed as finishers. I ran this race way back in 2006 in 28:57 when it was held out at RIT. My impression back then was that it was a very disorganized, high priced and non-standard distance race with lots of walkers to dodge. So ... I have never run it again.

Wednesday, 5/23/2018: 4368 steps during the day, rest day.

Thursday, 5/24/2018: 15114 steps during the day; 7.35 miles, 1:02:08, 8:27 pace, 82F, 27% RH, 8 mph NW wind, sunny.



I slipped out a bit early so I could enjoy the afternoon warmth. I was up to the Greece Arcadia High School around 3:45 PM. I set up a slightly nice and easy pace. I had ice and water in my Nathan SpeedDraw. I heard the ice clinking for about 3 miles. I overheated a bit at mile 6. The wind had become a welcome cooling breeze (when did that happen?). My splits were: 8:20, 8:15, 8:19, 8:20, 8:31, 8:29, 8:50 and 8:35 over the last 0.35 mile. I was dripping when I got done ... and probably will be after every run for the rest of summer!

Friday, 5/25/2018: 7880 steps during the day, rest day.

There was a MFAMTL (Maybe the First Annual Maybe the Last) 5 mile trail race held out at Durand Eastman Park, results here. It had sold out in a day and I had not signed up. I thought about just showing up and running it. I could have since 49 ran and 11 didn't start. But ... it was a good thing I didn't in hindsight since I usually have a rest day before a race.

Saturday, 5/26/2018: 9433 steps during the day; 2 runs of 2 and 3.13 miles, 70F, 64% RH, 8 mph SW wind, partly cloudy.

Today's race was my first Sunset House 5K. It was designated a GRTC Rochester Runner of the Year (RROY) race back in January. I signed up about a month ago since I run most of the 12 RROY races.

I was up early like usual. The race start was at the Irondequoit Church of Christ at 644 Titus Ave at 9 AM which is about 10 minutes away. It was warm and muggy so I wore shorts and my orange Spring Forward 15K tech shirt. I stuffed my running bag with a few extra shirts. I kissed my darling wife, Christine, goodbye and got out around 8 AM.

I got a close parking spot and ambled over to get my bib and cotton t-shirt. I met up with Prem Kumar. I remember meeting Prem several years ago when he had just run 1 or 2 races and just moved to Rochester. I must have had a big impression on him ... he has run many races since. In fact he was running his fifth race in 8 days (Sehgahunda on Saturday, Lilac 10K on Sunday, Corporate Challenge on Tuesday, MFAMTL on Friday and Sunset House 5K on Saturday). I laughed and told him that I had once run 4 races in 5 races but one of them wasn't Sehgahunda! We got out for a longish warm up run of 2 miles at 9:08 pace, link here.

I was dripping a bit when I stopped by the '14 Cruze and I had 10 minutes before the start. So ... I unpinned my bib and changed my shirt. I chose my white 2013 Sauerkraut 20K shirt. I felt a bit like a drama queen but it was nice not dripping before the start. But ... three people remarked about my shirt (1 before and 2 after). I settled in my usual spot before a race ... about 10 yards back and off to the right).

The start (I'm in the white shirt with sunglasses) ... photo courtesy of Tim Matthews of https://runnerpics.shuttlefly.com

There were a few announcements before the race and ... we were off! I got up to speed quickly and settled in. A 5K is over quickly but not quickly enough that I don't suffer. The first mile was down Cooper and St Paul St to Pinegrove Ave. Mile 1 in 7:02 pace. Then ... it became muggy and my legs felt like lead. There were a few people that had put lawn sprinklers onto the road and I ran through four of them. Mile 2 in 7:35 as the course meandered through neighborhood streets. I just concentrated on staying in my current position.

Cruising into the finish ... photo courtesy of Ron Piazza

A guy passed me with 1/2 mile to go and I wondered if he was in my age group (he was in the 50-54) but I couldn't match him and let him go. I could see Tony Gingello in the 70-74 age group ahead of him about 200 yards away. Tony may be short but he certainly can move his legs fast! Mile 3 in 7:51 pace.

I pulled into something resembling a sprint. And ... I was done with 3.13 miles in 23:22, 7:28 pace. The last 0.13 mile at 7:05 pace. I was a bit disappointed by running over a 23 minute 5K but I did the best I could.  I was parched and got took a pint of water. Prem had finished ahead of me in 21:07. We talked a bit and had a piece of breakfast pizza before he left to do his fatherly duties. I checked the results and saw that I was 33rd out of 315, link here. I was 4th out of 10 in my M 60-64 age group, link here. Charlie Andrews and Kevin Clinefelter, who were in my age group, were there so I was happy to finish fourth. The Relive link to Sunset House 5K is here.

Another 5K in the books ... my 80th. I was soon home eating an apple fritter and drinking a mug of coffee. I wanted to get something done so I put a bit of effort in to clean a bit of the master bedroom. I boxed up my race bibs and medals from 2017 and 2016 ... then my gumption left me. I have so much to straighten up and throw away ... but I rarely get to it. Usually there is more to take care of by the time I get back to it. So it may be a never ending battle unless I get a gallon of gumption. Oh well.

Later, Christine and I buckled in to watch the NBA Eastern Conference Final Game 7 between the Cleveland Cavs and the Boston Celtics. This series has been an all home win affair ... split at 3-3. The winner went on to the NBA Finals. It was a close game ... but the "King" showed up to play. Lebron answered the call in his 100th game of the season with 48 minutes and a 35-15-9 (along with 8 turnovers) body of work, the Celtics didn't shoot well and Lebron got just enough help with his "Lebron-Nots" (Jeff Green with 19). Lebron AVERAGES 34.9 points in Game 7s over his career! His spectacular has become his norm.The Celtics were up 72-71 with 6:04 left but the Cavs went on a 16-7 run and the Celtics shot 2-13 ... game over. The Cavs won by 87-79, links here, here, live blog here and full video highlights here. So .. the Cavs are back in the NBA Finals for the fourth straight year and Lebron is back for the eighth straight year, link here.

Sunday, 5/13/2018 to Saturday, 5/19/2018

I ran just once this week, 6.25 miles.
I took 37,366 steps this week according to my Pebble 2 HR smart watch.

Sunday, 5/13/2018: 1000 (estimated) steps during the day, rest day.

Well ... I lost 4.1 pounds running Mind the Ducks. My first walk down the stairs in the townhouse was one painful step at a time. I discovered that I had a blister on the bottom of my left foot.

I also discovered that my Pebble 2 HR smartwatch lost its connection with my personal cell around noon. It probably happened when I was busy all day updating it from Android 5.0 to 6.0.1 along with numerous security updates.

Monday, 5/14/2018, 1198 steps during the day, rest day.

I took a floating holiday from Ricoh today so I could rest up my aching feet. A wise move.

I had to delete and install my Pebble app on my personal cell so that nixed all my steps from Sunday and a bit of Monday. I tried to toggle the Bluetooth, delete the connection and add it back to no avail. So ... I started over. I do like being able to control my personal cell with my Pebble. I can answer or decline a call, control my music, find out the weather and see notifications right from its screen.

Tuesday, 5/15/2018: 6526 steps during the day, rest day.

Wednesday, 5/16/2018: 6330 steps during the day, rest day.

So ... is weight gain after an ultra a thing? I am up 7 pounds since Sunday, WTF?

Thursday, 5/17/2018: 5308 steps during the day, rest day.

I thought about running but I got out of work a bit late plus I had a pain behind my left knee.

Friday, 5/18/2018: 15038 steps during the day; 6.25 miles, 52:01, 8:19 pace, 62F, 36% RH, 11 mph ENE wind, mostly cloudy.


I knew I had to get out for a run ... so I did. The Lilac 10K is on Sunday and I wanted to rest on Saturday. I went home to change and then got out for an out and back 10K on my LOSP trail and Island Cottage route. I tried an easy peasy pace but I settled into my usual pace after a mile. The blister on the bottom of my left foot bothered me on the way back ... ouch! My splits were: 8:28, 8:12, 8:10, 8:21, 8:22, 8:27 and 7:56 over the last 0.25 mile. Some of my running friends on Facebook and Strava reminded me that I ran 52 miles just 6 days ago. But I run what I run ... even if it hurts sometimes.

Saturday, 5/19/2018: 1966 steps during the day, rest day.

I was up before 7 AM so I could watch the royal wedding of Harry and Rachel across the pond; Town and Country link here, BBC links here and pictures here. The Brits did start on time ... just after 7 AM. My lovely wife, Christine, got up around 7:30 AM and wanted to watch it too so I started to replay a CBS feed that had started at 4:30 AM. That was a bit boring so we got up after a couple mugs of coffee to make French toast. I was pressed into service as the French toast flipper while Christine got the bread ready. We were using Italian bread so my flipping skills were tested. We were like a finely oiled machine after a few pieces. The DVR got screwed up when we sat down to eat so we watched a DVR of the CNN feed that had started at 6 AM. Oh ... the French toast with real maple syrup was excellent! We enjoyed watching the royal wedding .. the royals know how to have a nice wedding!

Meanwhile, Sehgahunda was being held down in Letchworth State Park. I thought of the ladies heading out at 7:45 AM and the men heading out at 8 AM. There was a light mist in the morning so I hoped it wasn't pouring down there. I have run Sehgahunda four times (a DNF at CP3 with a broken rib in 2010 with a brief hospital visit, a DNF at CP6 with overhydration and electrolyte imbalance in 2011 with a 2 day hospital visist, a 6:06:21 in 2012 and a 6:33:08 in 2014). So I am 2-2 down there. I have scratched that itch and do not want to try Sehgahunda again. But ... I love this race. Reaching the finish in 2012 is still a vivid memory. So ... I read everything about it on social media every year. A news article about this year's race, here, runner blog posts here and here.

One could almost say I am 3-2 down there since I did succeed at Many on the Genny last year in 12:43:44. I went out too hard on the first 20 miles and walked about 90% of the Sehgahunda course backward on the FLT back up to the Visitor's Center, 41.64 miles in total. My darling wife, Christine, did mention that she did not like waiting for me for hours and hours to finish.

Much later, I went out to Medved in Pittsford to pick up my bib and tech shirt for the Lilac 10K tomorrow. It's a GRTC Rochester Runner of the Year race so all the speedy runners will be there. Keven Clinefelter was there giving out the bibs and Wilt Alston was handing out GRTC volunteer assignments and hats.

Sunday, 5/6/2018 to Saturday, 5/13/2018 - Dirt Cheap #2 & Mind the Ducks

I ran 4 times this week, 69.19 miles.
I took 146,034 steps this week according to my Pebble 2 HR smart watch.

Sunday, 5/6/2018: 16876 steps during the day; 11.65 miles, 1:38:42, 8:28 pace, 66F, 43% RH, a light wind, mostly overcast

I was up around 7 AM but didn't get out early at all. I puttered around, had my usual pre-run bowl of cereal and banana and then puttered some more. But ... long runs don't get done by themselves. So ... I got dressed and got out there. I carried water and a flask of Hammer Gel. I set up a really nice and steady pace at the start. Then ... I kept it there. I didn't push. I just let the run happen. I don't really like out and backs but I wanted flat and my route (LOSP trail, Island Cottage and Edgemere Drive out to just past Lowden Point Rd was flat. I thought about the Mind the Ducks race next Saturday, all the runners doing the Medved Madness and everyone out there doing a half or full marathon up at the Mississauga Marathon in Ontario Canada and down in Pittsburgh. My splits were: 8:33, 8:30, 8:25, 8:26, 8:28, 8:36, 8:28, 8:17, 8:33, 8:24, 8:34 and 8:22 over the last 0.65 mile.

A couple of thoughts. If I could maintain this pace for a full marathon it would be around a 3:43. This would be a BQ by 12 minutes for my M 60-64 age group. So ... I know I can do it physically for almost 12 miles. Can I keep that pace for 14 more miles? I will have to convince myself mentally that I can do it.

I listened to classic rock in one ear again off of gotmusic.com/classicrock. I checked and it used about 100 MB of my data plan for 90 minutes before the battery died today. I used 109 MB on my run of 10.65 miles on Saturday, 5/5. So ... maybe I will put some music on my phone. I have never done that before ... I know ... gasp.

How will I handle Mind the Ducks on Saturday? It's a 12 hour race. I think I will walk the "hill" past the first hour and run everything else. Just a thought.

Monday, 5/7/2018: 6337 steps during the day, rest day.

Tuesday, 5/8/2018: 6195 steps during the day, rest day.

Yes, it was a Tuesday and I usually run on Tuesdays. But ... tomorrow is Dirt Cheap #2 and I rest the day before races. The location of DC #2 is being flip-flopped with DC #5 due to trail conditions at Black Creek Park. So ... tomorrow's race will be at Durand Eastman Park.

I busied myself while I paid a bit of attention to a NBA playoff game by using ClipGrab to make classic rock MP3 files off of YouTube music videos. It is very easy to do once you get the hang of it and a LOT easier and faster than finding, lugging up from the basement, dusting off and converting my old albums to MP3 files. Yes, I still have them ... and have moved them too. Anyway, I can do about a song a minute. Sweet!

I just have to put the MP3 files on my Ricoh cell (it has the best battery) and keep both it and my bluetooth earbuds charged while I am running Mind the Ducks on Saturday. I am getting another pair of bluetooth earbuds that should arrive on Thursday (now Saturday!). I will be using an Anker 6700 mAh battery with a one foot Android cable to do the charging. I can put everything in my Nathan Zipster. I almost never run with music but ... I am making an exception for Mind the Ducks and the long runs that I need for marathon training this summer.

Wednesday, 5/9/2018: 15366 steps during the day; 2 runs of 0.65 and 4.05 miles.

Today's race was Dirt Cheap #2 held this year at Durand Eastman Park. I took a hour of vacation so I left at 4 PM, went home, kissed Christine a few times, changed, looked (and found) stuff that I needed and headed out. I got down to a prime parking spot by 5:10 PM in plenty of time for the 6:30 PM start. One thing I noticed that it was definitely cooler by Lake Ontario. It had been almost 80F in Rochester but it was 60F when I got out of the '14 Cruze. I charged my cell while I surfed Facebook and waited. I got out for a short 0.65 mile at 9:00 pace (link here) warm up run just before my wave started at 6:30 PM.

And ... we were off! My goal for this race was a steady trail pace and to stay upright ... I succeeded at both. My first mile was the fastest per usual. It was mostly flat at the start plus the last half mile was downhill. The other miles had more hills and lots of roots. I didn't like the section where we had to run on a twisty trail along the side of a hill with a pond on the left. I managed but it seemed to last forever. Andy Ciaio passed me at mile 2 when I stopped to walk a hill and take a breather. There was only a tiny mud puddle so I did get a bit of mud on my legs. I could hear Ellen at the finish with about a half mile to go ... just keep running ... up and down hills ... Boots was up above giving encouragement ... up ... suck it up ... up ... finish line ... done! My Garmin had 4.05 miles in 41:12, 10:10 pace. My splits were: 8:10, 10:49, 11:17 and 10:32.

Post Dirt Cheap #2 selfie

I was very winded after the finish but got my breathing under control quickly. I talked with Andy Ciaio and Chris Barry afterward. Andy told me that running DC #2 probably wasn't a good idea with Mind the Ducks on Saturday. We both laughed since we both had just done it and are both running Mind the Ducks on Saturday. Chris told me that he is glad that he aged up and is out of my 60-64 age group.

The results were not entirely correct initially with regards to age, link here. It listed my age as 59, Andy's age as 51 and Chris's age as 64. Really, we are 60, 52 and 65. So .. I guess Yellow Jacket Racing got a lot of result correction requests to fix the results (they did by 10AM on Thursday).

I learned from Facebook that a fellow runner, Bill Murphy, had a heart attack during the race (he was listed in the results). It was probably a good thing that Fleet Feet has an ambulance at every race. Bill, who is 69, race walks a LOT of events. He did over 50 Mainly Marathon events all across the US in 2017. UPDATE: Bill had a triple bypass at Rochester General Hospital and was home by the following Wednesday ... with orders of no running or racing for several months. I talked with him before he took the early start at 6 PM. He was looking forward to walking 6 half marathons in the New England Challenge on the next Monday. He is such a nice guy ... I hope to see him toeing the start line at a race before the end of the year.

Thursday, 5/10/2018: 5188 steps during the day, rest day.

I took a hour of vacation so I could meet my youngest son, David, at the McDonald's on West Henrietta Rd near Lehigh Station Rd near the I-390 exit on the NYS Thurway. He was coming home from a casino seminar at Seneca Niagara Casino in Niagara Falls. He had my tent and I needed it for Mind the Ducks on Saturday. I had to wait for half a hour before he got there since there was construction on I-190 in Buffalo.

Friday, 5/11/2018: 7303 steps during the day, rest day.

I had a bit of trouble figuring out how to download music to either cell (personal or Ricoh). I tried and tried to download music to my Ricoh cell but was walled off from downloading anything or even seeing the internal files on the cell by its Ricoh security. I had download a update from Android 4.4 to 5.0 to be able to "see" inside my personal cell and download my 126 songs. So ... I have lots of Pat Benatar, Aerosmith, Heart, ACDC, Led Zeppelin,  Bachman Turner Overdrive, Deep Purple and Queen to listen to tomorrow. By a bit of trouble I mean a bit of bitching along with a bit of swearing, scratching my heart and finally succeeding. It was a bit of a challenge.

5/12/2018, 88769 steps during the day; 52.84 miles, 11:56:35 (11:57:44 officially), 13:34 pace, 46F, 71% RH, 6 mph ENE wind, overcast with light sprinkle off and on until noon, sun came out around 4 PM

Today's race was my third Mind the Ducks (26 miles in 2016 in 5:42:08 hours, 40.32 miles in 2017 in 8:33:14. My feeling going in was to last the entire 12 hours and to silence the voices in my head that say "You can't do this" or "Quit". I sort of knew I could do this because I had finished 41.64 trail miles running Many on the Genny in 12:43 last year. My C goal coming in was at least 40 laps like last year, B goal was 50 laps and my A goal was 62 laps or 100K. Lofty B and A goals for sure.

I was up with my alarm at 4 AM after a bit less than 5 hours of sleep. It was dark o'clock but I had a race at 7 AM so I was up. I ate my usual pre-race bowl of cereal and banana and caught up on Facebook. I saw that other "Duckers" were up. The weather was going to a bit rainy and cool so I gathered up a few long sleeve tech shirts, my heavy running gloves, light running gloves, orange Fleet Feet hat, yellow/black Brooks beanie, a few pairs of socks, my Garmin Forerunner 310XT, my Garmin Forerunner 220 as a backup and some warm clothes (sweatpants and a DCSR hoodie) to wear before and after. I also took my fully charged Anker battery and an earbud so I could listen to music. My running attire was running shorts and my orange Moore than a Race long sleeve tech. I made 3 PB&J sandwiches (with Once Again Peanut Butter of course) and a ham and cheese muffin for my own stash of nutrition just in case.

I kissed Christine goodbye and asked her to stop by in the afternoon and to bring an adult beverage for after the race. I was out the door at 5:31 AM to head out to North Ponds Park in Webster at 5:50 AM. The parking lot was half full already.

I picked out a nice camping site right across from the packet pick up table (and the porta-potties) and about 100 feet before the start/finish line. I didn't want to be too far from the '14 Cruze. I hadn't put together my tent in a long time ... probably ten years or more. Andy Ciaio (on his first Mind the Ducks) appeared out of nowhere and helped me. He had been in Scouts and definitely knew his way around tents. We had the tent up in 5 minutes.

Camp DeWeaver

I went back out to the '14 Cruze and got my all my other running gear. Then I finally got my bib from the registration table right across from my tent site. I pinned it on my running shorts so I could easily change my top if I needed to. I put on my yellow/black Brooks running jacket, yellow/black Brooks beanie and heavy running gloves since it was cold. I put on gray sweatpants when it started to sprinkle before the start and moved my chair inside the tent. I needed to start my cranky and old Garmin Forerunner 310XT twice before it finally started up. I wanted and needed its 20 hour battery life. I ate my muffin and people watched before the race until it was time to peel off the sweatpants and amble off to the start. I lined up next to Andy Ciaio like I usually do when he and I race together.
Quick aside: It took 4 hours on Sunday morning to upload the TCX file from my Garmin Forerunner 310XT before it finally synced. When I initially opened it on Garmin Connect it had a small rectangle out in Webster and then a straight line back to Greece. Oops! I remembered that I accidentally hit lap as I fumbled to turn it off when I was back home in Greece. I used a program called NotePad++ (it aligned all the <> and </> that NotePad didn't) and www.latlong.net to figure out where the trackpoints were pointing to and also to figure out that I had to remove an entire lap. It took a bit of head scratching but I have done it before. So ... that's how this pretty Garmin Connect map was made. I changed back to using the Garmin Connect embed instead of the Strava embed ... it's more curvy and less angular.

We were sent off without any announcements that I could hear ... we just started running. So ... around and around the 1.01203 paved path course. I settled into a steady pace.

After the start ... photo courtesy of https://runnerpics.shuttlefly.com

Lap 1 of 52 is almost over ... photo courtesy of https://runnerpics.shuttlefly.com

I peeled off my Brooks jacket at lap 3 and threw it inside my tent as I passed. The half passed in 2:05. I remember seeing that I was 9th overall at one point. The weather was great for running: cool with not much wind and some light sprinkles. I had my first PB&J sandwich at 10 AM. I talked with Andy Ciaio a bit around mile 15. He told me that he going to quit because of a pain in his side. He hoped that it wasn't appendicitis. I told him that I hoped it wasn't and wished him well.

I slowed a bit. I turned on my earbud and music at mile 20. I changed from my Scott Palani to my brand new Brooks Ravenna 8 running shoes at mile 22. I thought that it would help ... not so much. My feet still hurt and hurt worse with the new shoes! I tried to run/walk. The full passed in 4:32. I remember seeing that I was 1st in my Super Veteran (60-69) age group as I passed. Then ... I walked and walked. I fell to 2nd in my age group at lap 31. Walking up and down the small hill (10 feet at most) at mile 0.35 hurt. Somewhere in all this walking I changed from my heavy to light running gloves and from the Brooks beanie to my orange Fleet Feet hat. I also remember putting on sunscreen at some point.

I did try to treat the aid station like a pit stop. I tried not to spend more 30 seconds there when I stopped. Just pick something (PB&J squares, Pringles, M&Ms or a piece of pizza when available), a thumb-sized cup of water and get out of there. Oh ... the porta-potty. You can stop there and waste a minute entirely too often when you pass by them every lap. I was guilty of that probably a couple of times.

So ... I walked. My pace was down to around to 17:00 pace or so. I had my second PB&J sandwich around 2 PM. I calculated in my head that I could achieve my B goal of 50 laps if I stayed ahead of 20:00 pace. I passed the slower walkers. Then ... I slowed some more. It hurt to walk and it hurt worse to run. I had to charge my personal cell. Then my earbud died and I had to charge that. So ... I walked without music for a couple of hours. The faster walkers were passing me now. I was third now in my Super Veterans age group.

I people watched while I walked. There was a group of 17 called the "Quazy Quackers" (the women's overall winner was a member), a group of Marathon Maniacs were there Their tent was over by the hotel. I recognized one guy from the Empire State Marathon last year. The Rochester Running Company (Kathy, Bambi and Steve), and Fleet Feet Syracuse were there. Prem Kumar, his wife Anita and his kids came to cheer in the afternoon for a few hours. Rob Wilder came by. Chris Patterson, Heather and their baby came to cheer. Tom and Mary Crowe stopped by to cheer. There were a couple of cars in the parking lot with interesting license plates ... a Connecticut plate of LUV2RUN and a NY plate of RUN217MI. I learned later that the NY plate belonged to a guy who ran 217 miles in 6 days! I walked with Tom Butler for a lap.

Oh ... I also geese watched. There weren't any ducks that I saw. There were families of geese moving around the park. I had to stop at one point to let a family of geese cross the paved trail. I knew better than to walk on through between a mother goose and her goslings!

Every time I went by my tent I could see that Christine wasn't there. Then ... I saw her just before I completed lap 46 around 5 PM. She waved a cup of coffee at me and asked me if I wanted it. Duh! I went to up to the start/finish to complete lap 46, looped back to avoid tripping the line and sat down with her. Ahh!! Coffee! I thought about quitting and even clicked off my 310XT for a minute. Then ... I told myself that I wasn't done just since it wasn't 7 PM yet. I sat down for about 20 minutes.

It hurt a LOT to get up and move. I headed to the timing tent (again going around the timing loop since I was technically on lap 47). I fully intended to tell the RD, Egil Robs, that I was going to quit. But ... Gil wasn't there so I went to the aid station for some M&Ms and water. I walked down the course. Just one more lap. I started to run ... and it didn't hurt! So ... I kept running. It was a bit before 6 PM. I calculated in my head that if I could knock down 10:00 miles that I still still hit my B goal of 50 miles. So ... I kept running. I told almost everyone that I passed that my wife bringing me coffee was the reason I was running. Boom! I counted down the laps I needed to do to get to 50 every time I passed Christine ... 4 ... 3 ... 2 ... 1. She would clap every time I went by.

I stopped for a few seconds before I completed lap 50 ... picture posted by Maria Erdman

I came around for lap 50. Christine shouted out "Do one more for me". I stopped at the aid station. Mike Meydasnasy told me that I still had 20 minutes ... time enough for 2 more laps to get to a double marathon in 12 hours. I walked off, thought about it and wanted to do one more lap. Then ... I started to run. I had the time ... so I just kept running. I hit lap 51 with 11 minutes to go. There were a lot of  people cheering. I kept running. I pushed it on the final lap. My lap 52 pace was my fastest of the day, 8:39!  Lap 52 at 11:57:44 ... done! Double marathon, baby!

Christine took this picture as I crossed the finish line on lap 52

Lap 52 done in 11:57:44 ... picture posted by Maria Erdman

The Super Veteran leader board

A few more runners came through ... I think Tom Butler was the last one across the line. Mind the Ducks 2018 was over. I sat by the aid station and munched on M&Ms. I was hungry, sweaty and tired and sore. Christine came over and told me that she was proud of me.

I slowly went over to pick up my swag ... it was quite a haul. My Mind the Ducks bag had a jar of Once Again creamy peanut butter (I love this!), a Mind the Ducks mug, a 26.2+ sticker, 50K coffee mug, a 40+ sticker, a red 50 mile hand towel and a double marathon water bottle. We got a red Mind the Ducks hat when we picked up our bib too.

A picture of the swag taken a few days later

It hurt to move but my tent and gear wouldn't get packed and get home unless I got it done. I had my own way of doing it and Christine had her way ... a guy stepped over and helped me do the rest and get our stuff to the '18 and '14 Cruze. Thank you whoever you were!

I took my time coming home ... just getting it done. I got my running stuff and swag into the townhouse, struggled painfully up the stairs and collapsed on the bed. It hurt to move. Christine got her groceries in, put them away and joined me. I told her about the events before she had joined me today. We had some of the adult beverage that she had bought. I was sore but in a good way. I fell asleep around 11 PM ... exhausted.

Stat time: I think I was 33rd overall, 3rd out of 11 in my M 60-69 age group, link here. The splits link is here. Here they are: 1 - 10:21, 2 - 9:28, 3 - 9:34, 4 - 9:18, 5 - 9:13, 6 - 10:30, 7 - 8:56, 8 - 9:09, 9 -  10:05, 10 - 9:30, 11 - 9:17, 12 - 8:57, 13 - 12:47, 14 - 12:02, 15 - 9:24, 16 - 9:13, 17 - 9:05, 18 - 10:31, 19 - 12:00, 20 - 9:38, 21 - 10:56, 22 - 15:43, 23 - 10:45, 24 - 11:55, 25 - 13:36, 26 - 12:08, 27 - 11:56, 28 - 14:28, 29 - 16:24, 30 - 16:36, 31 - 17:05, 32 - 15:49, 33 - 17:16, 34 - 19:59, 35 - 17:50, 36 - 17:10, 37 -15:18, 38 - 16:02, 39 - 16:26, 40 - 22:58, 41 - 18:54, 42 - 20:08, 43 - 19:47, 44 - 19:21, 45 - 18:02, 46 - 19:20, 47 - 41:26 (slowest), 48 - 9:57, 49 - 9:21, 50 - 9:57, 51 - 13:39, 52 - 8:39 (fastest). My official average pace was 13:48. The Relive link to Mind the Ducks is here.

So ... what did I learn? Well ... I did better than last year. I still kind of suck once I get past 16 miles or so in a long race. I will have to work on that if I want to qualify for the Boston Marathon when I run the Empire State Marathon in October. I think I have a mental block that needs to be broken down. I probably could have managed more of a run/walk when I walked from miles 28 through 46. I probably would have gotten into the mid or high 50s for mileage. I doubt if I could have got to 62 for the lunch box. I did the best I could on this day ... and I will be happy with that.