Sunday, 6/24/2018 to Saturday, 6/30/2018 - Charlie's Old Goat

I ran 4 times this week, 32.56 miles.
I took 82,108 steps this week according to my Pebble 2 HR smart watch.

Sunday, 6/24/2018: 16261 steps during the day; 11.45 miles, 1:34:29, 8:15 pace, 64F, 93% RH, 4 mph N wind, overcast.


I woke up at 5:52 AM. How do I know? Well ... I wondered why my M-F alarm hadn't gone off at 5:40 AM. My groggy mind thought it was Monday for a few minutes as I checked out my alarms and volume levels. I figured out before 6 AM (my weekend alarm) that it was Sunday ... yay! Another day of the weekend!

So ... I got out for a long run. I did putter around a bit but I was out a bit after 7:30 AM. It was a bit cool for June and quite humid. I set up a really nice and easy, "I could run forever" pace and did my best to keep it there. I went out of the LOSP trail like usual and then went around the 10K loop. I thought about extending it bit but I didn't since I had already pushed distance on all my runs by a mile or so last week. My splits were: 8:42, 8:18, 8:14, 8:10, 8:17, 8:05, 8:04, 8:14, 8:11, 8:11, 8:19 and 8:13 over the last 0.45 mile. Boom ... done. It certainly is weird that just running a nice and steady pace can yield a somewhat fast 8:15 pace. Now ... if I could transfer that pace to longer runs of say 16, 18, 20 or even 26.2 miles!

Monday, 6/25/2018: 5146 steps during the day, rest day.

Yada, yada, yada. A necessary rest day after running 10.35 and 11.45 miles on Saturday and Sunday. Prepping for the Empire State Marathon in October is going well. So far I am doing this by the seat of my pants ... like usual. It works ... mostly. I am slowly pushing my usual runs up but not pushing the pace ... now they are 8.15 miles on Tuesday and Thursday.

Tuesday, 6/26/2018: 18684 steps during the day; 8.15 miles, 1:06:37, 8:10 pace, 79F, 32% RH, 4 mph ESE wind, partly cloudy.


Well ... back to Greece Arcadia High for another 8.15 mile run on my 10K loop (Janes Rd-Long Pond-Edgemere Drive-Island Cottage). The school is out for the summer so I parked in the Middle school lot since it had 2 cars in it instead of 1. I set up a nice and steady pace and let the run happen. My splits were: 8:05, 8:16, 8:07, 8:03, 8:11, 8:14, 8:17, 8:12, and 7:50 over the last 0.15 mile. I need (will) convince myself that I can hold this pace (or something close like 8:25) for 18 more miles.

My darling wife, Christine, thought I needed pasta for supper ... she was right. We ate and then got out and voted in the New York 25th Congressional District Democratic Primary since we are both registered (and proud) Democrats. This seat was held by Congresswoman Louise Slaughter for 32 years until she died in March. I met her twice after running the Scarecrow 5K in Fairport. She always had a positive message after the race and for her constituents in general. Joe Morelle won the 4 way primary with 45% of the vote over Rachel Barnhart, Adam McFadden and Robin Wilt, link here. I could get on my soap box and let loose some politics ... but I will let the opportunity slide. Suffice to say ... #notmypresident and #resist (I couldn't resist LOL). I hope we all get the chance to vote (and that our vote counts) in November ... barring any October surprise that might cancel the elections or throw support in an unexpected direction

Wednesday, 6/27/2018: 5152 steps during the day, rest day.

Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy decided to step during at the end of July today, link here.. Yeah ... the election in November will be even more important now. Yeah ... I look at cnn.com, washingtonpost.com, newyorktimes.com. msnbc.com, nbc,com, cbs.com, abc.com, pbs.com and bbc.com for news. You know ... sites that practice journalism and win Publitzer Prizes. I don't consider foxnews.com, brietbart.com or infowars.com to be news in the slightest degree.

Thursday, 6/28/2018: 17698 steps during the day; 8.15 miles, 1:08:20, 8:23 pace, 82F, 58% RH, 8 mph NNW wind, partly cloudy.


The weather has turned from warm to hot and humid for the next 10 days so I took it nice and easy on my run. My splits were: 8:31, 8:25, 8:26, 8:20, 8:13, 8:15, 8:26, 8:29 and 8:10 over the last 0.15 mile. Boom ... done. I was drenched with sweat when I got done. I stripped and went straight upstairs and took a shower when I got home.

Friday, 6/29/2018: 7236 steps during the day, rest day.

Saturday, 6/30/2018: 11931 steps during the day; 4.81 miles, 48:29, 10:04 pace, 79F, 70% RH, 11 mph WSW wind, partly cloudy.


Today's race was my seventh Charlie's Old Goat Trail Run held out in Ganondanga State Historical Site in Victor NY. Charlie Sabatine has put on this time for a number of years with various lengths (2011 - 7.0 miles, 1:03:11; 2012 - 6.14 miles, 56:42; 2013 - 6.68 miles, 1:13:11, 2014 - 6.54 miles, 1:09:56, 2015 - 6.3 miles, 55:38 and 2016 - 5.99 miles, 58:53). It was forecast to be hot and humid so I was prepared with shorts, an old orange Charlie's tech shirt and my Nathan SpeedDraw flask. I wore my trusty blue Salomon SpeedCross 3 trail shoes. Yes, they have over 700 miles on them and have a few holes around the toes but they get the job done on the trail for short distances when I need the traction. I got down to the venue around 8: 15 AM and just lost out the last parking spot so I had to park on the grass nearby. You gotta get up early to get to a Charlie's!

I got my bib and short sleeve tech shirt at the table in front of Seneca Art and Culture Center. This year's color was blue. I ambled up the hill to the start line. I met up Prem Kumar and Andy Ciaio before the race as we stood under a shady tree before the race. It was hot so I did no warm up run nor did I stretch before the race.

And ... we were off! The course was advertised to "5-ish" miles this year. I took my time getting up to a trail race pace. Charlie had told us during the pre-race announcement that the boards could be slippery so I slowed down when I ran on them on the way out and back. I tried to remember to take a few sips of water every mile. The first mile was mostly down hill. There was enough water in the stream to get my shoes wet and then muddy as we climbed out of it. I took a cup of Gatorade both coming and going at the aid station just before crossing School Rd. I endured the switchback hill as I ran up it and thought about how nice it would be to run down it on the way back. I power walked up the big hill before the meadow and noticed that the course did not go all the way around. So ... back the way we came ... down the switchback hill ... across School Rd ... across the stream ... back up the hills ... past the longhouse ... finish line in sight ... and done with 4.18 miles in 48:29, 10:04 pace. My splits were: 8:46, 10:30, 10:07, 10:54 and 8:13 over the last 0.81 mile. Not bad! The Relive link to Charlie's Old Goat is here.

A Charlie's Old Goat Trail Run selfie

I was very hot and walked right back to the shady tree. There was a water sprinkler set up there and I made sure to go under it a few times. The post-race food was set up under a tent to the left of the Seneca Art and Culture Center at the bottom of the hill by the parking lot. There was a nice hot breeze blowing and lots of pizza and home made cookies ... mmm!

It was hot when I got home just before noon. I spent the rest of the day inside with the downstairs fan on me. Our townhouse has A/C but try not to run it ... I don't like getting the high RG&E bill. So ... I thought cool thoughts as I drank my usual mug of post-race coffee. Though Christine and I sometimes don't ... lol!

Score-this.com did the timing and their results were quickly posted. I was 37th out of 167 and placed 3rd out of 13 in my M 60-64 age group, link here.

It's the end of June so it's stat time!

I ran 22 times (3 were warm ups before races of 1, 1 and 2.25 miles and 1 was a cool down of 2.05 miles) in the 30 day of June for 127.5 miles, 5.84 miles/run.
I ran 4 races in June and 18 races so far in 2018:
 6/8 - McMullen Mile, 6.34.39. 4th out of 8 in my M 60-64 age group
 6/13 - Dirt Cheap #3 - 3.41 miles, 40:44, 11:47 pace, 101st out of 335, 2nd out of 11 in my M 60-64 age group
 6/17 - Medved "Almost 5K" - 2.94 miles, 20:55, 7:07 pace, 76th out of 402, 4th out of 18 in my M 60-64 age group
 6/30 - Charlie's Old Goat Trail Run - 4.81 miles, 48:29, 10:04 pace, 37th out of 167, 3rd out of 13 in my M 60-64 age group
I took 330,685 steps during the month of June.
I have run 103 times for 714.32 miles in 2018, 6.94 miles/run.
I have taken 1,957,474 steps so far in 2018

Sunday, 6/17/2018 to Saturday, 6/23/2018 - Medved "Almost 5K"

I ran 6 times this week, 33.89 miles.
I took 78,181 steps during the week according my Pebble 2 HR smart watch.

Sunday, 6/17/2018: 13510 steps during the day; 3 runs of 2.25, 2.94 and 2.05 miles, 75F, 61% RH, 5 mph WSW wind, partly cloudy.

Today's race was my seventh Medved 5K to cure ALS (2012 - 20:12, 2013 - 21:26, 2014 - 20:59, 2015 - 21:28, 2016 - 21:47 and 2017 - 22:38). I like this race since it's downtown at Frontier Field, it's easy to get to, it has easy parking and has a flat course. I was up about 10 minutes before my alarm went off at 6 AM. I only had 5.5 hours of sleep but it was a race morning so I got up. I have run 450 races (451 now) so I know what to do ... eat a bowl of cereal, get dressed and kiss Christine goodbye. I did make a pot of coffee and brought a Contigo of coffee but forgot to put my wallet in my running bag.

I left a bit after 7 AM and got down to Frontier Field 17 minutes later ... easy-peasy. I picked my bib and my newest favorite Medved 5K tech shirt. I met up with Prem Kumar. He had run not one but two races yesterday, lol! He ran the first RH Kicking Hunger 5K in the morning (9th, 3rd in his age group) and the ROC City Run Against Cancer 10K (4th, 3rd male). We both groaned when we started out but we got out for a really nice and easy 2.25 mile warm up run at 9:30 pace, link here. We went slow but I was sweating when we got done. I hydrated at the '14 Cruze and then ambled off to the start.

Prem Kumar took this picture of me overlooking High Falls

High Falls

It was a bit congested at the start but we got off without incident. I got up to race pace but held back a bit due to the heat. Prem was ahead and stayed there. I passed Tony Gingello at about mile 1/2. He later told me that he had run a race for GVH on Friday night. "One Mile" Pete called out 7:10 when I passed 1 mile. I maintained my pace as well as I could. I stalked Christine Antonini for a while. I passed her for a little bit before she passed me back.

Mile 1 on State St ... photo courtesy of Margaret Baackes and tagged by Dave Farrands

Stalking Christine Antonini on Plymouth Ave ... photo courtesy of Margaret Baackes and tagged by Chris Patterson

I remember turning where I thought we shouldn't but I just followed everyone else and ran onward. Back to Frontier Field ... in the back entrance ... along the warning track from right field to left field ... down the 3rd base line ... under 21 (wow!) ... and done with 2.94 miles(!) in 20:55, 7:07 pace. I heard pretty quickly that we did turn too early onto Brown St instead of Jay St in the third mile so the course was 0.2 mile too short. Oh well ... stuff (or s***) happens!

I checked the posted results and found that I placed 4th in my M 60-64 age so I went out for a easy 2.05 mile cool down run at 9.04 pace, link here, to pass some time. I knew I wouldn't get out later. I made my way back to the post race food and grabbed a banana to eat and a couple of energy bars to stuff in my running bag. Officially, I finished 76th out of 402, link here. I was 4th out of 18 in my M 60-64 age group, link here. The Relive link to Medved "Almost 5K" is here.

I went straight home since I didn't have my wallet. A couple of mugs of coffee soon ensued along with a muffin coated with PB & J. Yum!

A nice Father's Day ... Christine and I spent it reconnecting. My oldest son, Micheal, messaged me on Facebook. My daughter, Karen, called me. My youngest son, David, texted me. I did learn that he has a "gf" ... no photos could be found on social media to collaborate this though (I checked).

Monday, 6/18/2018: 5495 steps during the day, rest day.

A good day to take a rest day. Tropical heat visited Rochester for a day ... it got to 93F and was quite humid before a line of thunderstorms moved through in the late afternoon.

Tuesday, 6/19/2018: 16278 steps during the day; 8.15 miles, 1:06:01, 8:06 pace, 73F, 38% RH, 11 mph NNE wind, partly cloudy.


I plan on upping my mileage to prep for the upcoming Empire State Marathon in October ... so today was a good day to do it! Not much ... just 0.8 miles today but I did end up pushing the pace. I concentrated on pumping my arms and pushing through on my stride. It did help push my pace down. My splits were: 7:55, 8:08, 8:04, 8:06, 8:04, 8:07, 8:15, 8:10 and 7:57 over the last 0.15 mile. Boom ... done.

Wednesday, 6/20/2018: 5198 steps during the day, rest day.

Thursday, 6/21/2018: 18785 steps during the day; 8.15 miles, 1:07:34, 8:17 pace, 70F, 38% RH, 6 mph NE wind, partly cloudy.


I was a bit late getting up to Greece Arcadia High but I still kept to my plan of doing my 8.15 mile run. I did take it a bit slower. My splits were: 8:19, 8:14, 8:12, 8:09, 8:14, 8:18, 8:36, 8:19 and 7:55 over the last 0.15 mile. I did a bit of grocery shopping at Wegmans plus I picked up a prescription for Christine afterwards. Needless to say ... supper was a bit late. My darling wife, Christine, cooked up an excellent roaster chicken along with pasta and peas ... yum!

Friday, 6/22/2018: 4084 steps during the day, rest day.

Saturday, 6/23/2018: 14831 steps during the day; 10.35 miles, 1:28:00, 8:30 pace, 66F, 83% RH, 7 mph SE wind, overcast.


I was up at 6 AM and so was my darling wife, Christine. So ... I didn't get out early while we listened to it rain outside ... and did some cuddling. I thought of all the Many on the Genny runners starting out at 6 AM down in Letchworth State Park. I ran this race last year (41.64 miles in 12:43:44) so I seriously thought about running it this year ... but didn't.

It was drying but still humid up by the time I got out after 8 AM. I plotted up a 8.566 mile new route using www.plotaroute.com that took me out to the Genesee River pier by Ontario Beach Park using the entire LOSP trail. I thought about doing 2 loops so I planted a jug of water by Greenleaf Rd and the west LOSP trail entrance. I set up a nice and steady pace and set off. But ... my left foot hurt a bit after halfway and I took a few tiny walk breaks. I didn't do the second loop but adding a trip through the neighborhood across Greenleaf Rd. My splits were: 8:49, 8:11, 8:16, 8:14, 8:32, 8:15, 8:40, 8:59, 8:57, 8:16 and 8:06 over the last 0.35 mile.

I checked out Facebook all day for Many on the Genny updates and pictures. The cell coverage down there is spotty. The results of 106 finishers, 3 DNF and 13 DNS were posted at 11:48 PM, link here.

Meanwhile, two runners did extraordinary stuff.

Jamie Hobbs finished Western States Endurance Run, a 100.2 mile point to point trail run from Squaw Valley CA to Auburn CA (with 18000 feet of ascent and 23000 feet of descent), in 23:33, male results here. An excellent link, here. Jim Walmsley, link here, and Courtney Dauwalter, link here, won in 14:30:04 (a course PR) and 17:27:00, respectively.

Denise Faligno attempted the Manitou's Revenge 54 Mile Ultra. I read her race report ... holy crap! Going down a class 5 descent with a bum knee where a slip could kill you? She dropped at the next aid station.

Sunday, 6/10/2018 to Saturday, 6/16/2018 - Dirt Cheap #3

I ran 4 times this week, 21.16 miles.
I took 69,020 steps this week according to my Pebble 2 HR smart watch

Sunday, 6/10/2018: 15335 steps during the day; 9.35 miles, 1:18:00, 8:21 pace, 70F, 53% RH, 8 mph ENE wind, partly cloudy.



I had a Redbox that needed to be returned so I combined that with a run ... two birds, one stone! So ... it was off to the 7-11 on Lake Ave and then out and about. The wind going out on the pier slowed me down some but helped on the rest of the run. It was quite a beautiful morning! My splits were: 8:17, 8:23, 8:21, 8:21, 8:12, 8:14, 8:16, 8:23, 8:39 and 8:04 over the last 0.35 mile. Another run of just a nice and steady pace. Now I have convince myself that I can hold that pace (or something close) for 17 more miles, take nutrition and drink water regularly.

Meanwhile ... other races were being held. The Keuka Tri was held down in Keuka College, results here. The Boulder IM was held out in Boulder CO. Rochester's Jim McLaughlin, Jeff Rose, Chuck Straub and Denise Kenyon flew out. The conditions according to Facebook posts were hot, hot and hot! Jeff Rose finished in 16:38, results here. Jim and Denise withdrew due to the head and Chuck had a minor bicycle crash. Kudos to all!

Monday, 6/11/2018: 5209 steps during the day, rest day.

My thighs complained when I went up and down steps ... must have been running four days in a row!

Tuesday, 6/12/2018: 5950 steps during the day, rest day.

The usual rest day before a race ... Dirt Cheap #3 tomorrow!

Wednesday, 6/13/2018: 14044 steps during the day; 2 runs of 1 and 3.41 miles, 77F, 61% RH, 16 mph W wind, mostly cloudy.

Today's race was Dirt Cheap #3 held down at Lucien Morin Park at the bottom of Irondequoit Bay next to McGregor's Grill and Tap Room off of Empire Blvd. It was my tenth DC #3 (2009 - 54:23, 2010 - 41:55, 2011 - 36:30, 2012 - 34:48, 2013 - 36:56, 2014 - 37:48, 2015 - 39:06, 2016 - 36:24 and 2017 - 37:44) so I knew the drill ... get there early to get a close parking spot. So ... I got there a bit after 5 PM and scored a back-in spot to the left against the trees.

The Dirt Cheap #3 of 2009 - 54:23 brought back memories. It was an epic mud fest after it rained all day and during the race! It was so slippery that I could barely make it up the hills. Going down hills was treacherous at best. I fell numerous times. I was fairly new to trail races and I remember wondering what the hell I was doing out there! Ellen (the CFO of Fleet Feet Rochester) ran the race and split her pants! She ended up walking around afterward with a long t-shirt. It is amazing that McGregor's, the bar where the post race food was held, ever let us back inside ... we must have made a mess!

Back to the present ... I browsed Facebook while I waited for the 6:30 PM start. I got out of the '14 Cruze around 6 PM. I met up with Andy Ciaio and talked with Bill Murphy. Bill is recovering from triple-bypass heart surgery. He looked pretty good. I could tell he wanted to be back out there but he told me that he was just watching. He said that he could walk a mile but then he would have to take a two hour nap. I got out for a little 1 mile warm up run at 10:20 pace, link here. It was warm, muggy and windy with a severe thunderstorm warning (that didn't materialize). The trails were as dry as a bone in spite of a brief shower in the morning.


And ... we were off! I didn't sprint down the stone road to the left turn into single track ... I just took it nice and steady along side Andy. I followed him into the single track and up, up and up the first set of hills. Boots was up almost at the top giving some encouragement. I let Andy go and ran my own race. DC #3 is the shortest of the 6 Dirt Cheap race but I think it is the hardest. It has lots of root and narrow single track so I was careful to pick up my feet. The first mile was OK. Then ... it got hot. I started to walk most of the hills and then ran the flats (if any) and all the downs. I took a wrong turn twice and got called back twice by runners who were behind me. I guess I wasn't looking out for the pink flags as well as I should have been! I knew it was a short race but I just couldn't get much energy to run any harder. Soon enough ... I was done; 3.41 miles in 40:44, 11:57 pace. My splits were: 9:40, 12:04, 13:45 and 12:55 over the last 0.41 mile. Not my best DC #3 but I finished and I didn't trip ... both good things. The Relive link to Dirt Cheap #3 is here.

I ate upstairs at McGregor's  next to Andy and across from Tom Dutton. We all agreed that it was warm, muggy and that this race seemed a lot longer than usual. I don't know about the other two but I just like racing.

Thursday, 6/14/2018: 6514 steps during the day, rest day.

I usually run on Thursday with long runs on Saturday and Sunday. But ... I am plan on switching to a long run on Friday afternoon, a rest day on Saturday and the Medved 5K plus a few miles on Sunday, Father's Day. Maybe I can get some sorting and gardening done on Saturday! I usually get up early so maybe I can get it done before noon!

Friday, 6/15/2018: 21061 steps during the day; 9.35 miles, 1:19:17, 8:29 pace, 79F, 23% RH, 6 mph WNW wind, sunny.


I forgot to pack my Brooks Ravenna 8 running shoes when I left for work so I had to head home before I could go out for this run. It was warm so I stuck with a nice and steady pace. I thought about pushing past my usual 9.35 mile route by turning left onto Janes but I went straight and "settled". My splits were: 8:28, 8:17, 8:24, 8:28, 8:26, 8:25, 8:34, 8:37, 8:44 and 8:16 over the last 0.35 mile.

Saturday, 6/16/2018: 907(!) steps during the day, rest day.

Yes, I purposely did not run on Saturday. I was a bit off all day and I think it was because I DIDN'T run. I should have gone out for a 5 mile run at the very least because ... well ... that is what I do on Saturdays! RUN! I did spend a bit of time up in the master bedroom straightening up my crap. I am not done but I did make progress. And ... I couldn't get to sleep right away when I did go to bed. I was still awake at 12:20 AM with a 6 AM wake up alarm and the Medved 5K at 8:30 AM. But what can you do?

Sunday, 6/3/2018 to Saturday, 6/9/2018 - McMullen Mile

I ran 6 times this week, 30.7 miles.
I took 80,578 steps this week according to my Pebble 2 HR smart watch.

Sunday, 6/3/2018: 14169 steps during the day; 9.35 miles, 1:20:02, 8:32 pace, 72F, 69% RH, 7 mph SSE wind, sunny.


I didn't get out too early but I did get out. I felt yesterday's track workout so I started out slow. I loosened up and did speed it a bit. I thought about just doing a 10K but was bullheaded and pushed it to 15K. But ... I overheated again at mile 6 and had to take a few walk breaks. I was hungry and I did have my flask of Hammer Gel so I took at few gulps at mile 7. Then I sucked it up and ran it in. Ehh ... my splits were: 8:30, 8:17, 8:05, 8:32, 8:25, 8:24, 9:25, 8:53, 8:37 and 8:18 over the last 0.35 mile.

I could have gotten up after my usual 2 mugs of coffee after a run to get some stuff done ... but I didn't. Christine and I caught up on the last 3 episodes of "Designated Survivor". We are slowly but surely trying to watch all the shows that are in our Spectrum DVR. Will we cut the cord and go with YouTubeTV (which I think we would need to have so we could still have a DVR, old review here) ... who knows?

Later, we watched the NBA Finals Game 2 between the Cavs and Warriors. The smart money favored the Warriors by 11.5 points. I could sense that the Cavs didn't have the same fire that they had in Game 1. The Cavs were down 15 at half. Christine went upstairs. I stayed until the bitter end but only had one eye on the TV. The Cavs lost 122-103, link here. So .. the Warriors at up 2-0 as the series moves east to Cleveland for Games 3 and 4 on Wednesday and Friday. Hopefully the Cavs can regroup and make the series interesting again.

Monday, 5/4/2018: 7119 steps during the day, rest day.

Random sighting: There's this truck at B601 that I walked by every morning that a "13.1 Half Crazy" sticker on it. Well ... today there was a 26.2 sticker below it! I guess that person is crazy now ... lol!

Tuesday, 5/5/2018: 13814 steps during the day; 5.05 miles, 41:50, 8:17 pace, 63F, 59% RH, 13 mph NNW wind, overcast.


Back at the Greece Arcadia track after work. I decided to do 800m to try to get some more practice running hard. I did 4 x 800m: 3:38, 3:29, 3:19 and 3:22 along with a mile cool down. One thing about a track workout ... I tend to get it done quick.

Wednesday, 6/6/2018: 5551 steps during the day, rest day.

Today was "National Running Day". Fleet Feet Rochester and Yellow Jacket Racing held The Big Run 5K out at Genessee Valley Park with 632 finishers, link here. I thought about running ... does that count? I usually rest on Wednesday, run on Thursday and rest the day before a race. Though I may violate the rest rule for the McMullen Mile on Thursday. Maybe ... maybe not.

Christine and I watched the NBA Finals Game 3 between the Warrior and the Cavs. The smart money was on the Warriors with the line decreasing from from -5 to -3.5. It was a close game but Kevin Durant with 43-13-7 outdueled Lebron's 33-10-11, 110-102, link here. So ... the Cavs are down 0-3. It looks pretty dire for their hopes ... NBA teams that have fallen 0-3 in any playoff series are 0-131.

Thursday, 6/7/2018: 12687 steps during the day; 5.05 miles, 42:13, 8:21 pace, 75F, 39% RH, 9 mph WNW wind, partly cloudy.


Well ... I ran anyway even though I have a race the next day. The McMullen Mile on Friday is only a mile ... so running 5 miles today really nice and easy shouldn't be an issue. I set out easy and didn't push the pace at all. My splits were: 8:15, 8:25, 8:21, 8:23 and 8:25. Maybe I should take this pace out on a longer run ... say 26.2 miles at the Empire State Marathon (ESM) in October? Though I think I will try out this pace on shorter long runs this summer on my build up to the ESM.

I watched the last period of the NHL Stanley Cup Finals Game 5 between the Washington Capitals and the Las Vegas Golden Knights. The smart money was on the Capitals and they won 4-3 to win the Stanley Cup, link here.

Friday, 6/8/2018: 12671 steps during the day; 2 runs of 1 and 1 mile, 73F, 41% RH, 7 mph N wind, sunny.

Today's race was my sixth McMullen Mile (2012 - 5:52 which is my mile PR, 2013 - 6:25, 2014 - 6:12, 2015 - 6:21 and 2017 - 6:36). It's a memorial race dedicated to Charlie McMullen who ran 3:56 mile in the mid 70's. Here is an obituary that I found on www.letsrun.com, link here. The race venue this year was St John Fisher College. It started at 6 PM and I arrived around 6:15 PM. I knew that my race wouldn't be until a bit later. I met with Andy and Laura Ciaio and we chatted for a while.

I got out a really easy warm up run of 1 mile at 10:12 pace, link here. I relaxed for a bit. I thought my race (Men between 5:00 and 8:00 pace) was 7 instead of 6. Luckily I was on the field talking to Andy when I learned it was race 6. Our race had a lot of runners so it was divided into 2 heats. Andy and I were in the slower 6:30 to 8:00 pace race. Coach Reif gave us instructions (a mile is 4 laps and 9 meters) and lined us up. I was out around lane 5 or 6.


And ... the gun went off! There was a bit of a scrum at the start. I had to run in lane 2 or 3 for about 1/2 to 3/4 a lap before I could finally drop to lane 1. Andy had taken off fast and was way up ahead. Lap 1 in 1:38, lap 2 in 3:18. I drafted a runner before on the backstretch on lap 3 and passed him, lap 3 in 5:00. I hiked up my pace a bit .. I drafted another run on the backstretch on lap 4 and passed as I pulled up into a sprint ... and done in 6:34 (according to my Garmin Forerunner 220). I think I was 6th or 7th in my heat. Andy told me that he finished in 6:05. The Relive link to McMullen Mile is here. I was parched and drank some water. I started to cough and cough and drank more water. I ended up coughing for at least 30 minutes after the race. I haven't ever coughed like that after a race that I can remember. I guess I must have gulped a lot of air during the race!

I stayed around for the rest of the races. The elite woman, Mackenzie Donahue, won in 5:13.54. The elite man, Isaac Garcia-Cassini won in 4:13:39. So no one still has ever run sub 4:00 in Rochester. Yen Timing soon posted the results, link here. I ended up 18th out of 24 in my heat with a 6:34.39. I found out later that I ran 2 seconds faster than last year. Take that Father Time!

Saturday, 6/9/2018: 14567 steps during the day; 9.35 miles, 1:17:55, 8:20 pace, 61F, 82% RH, 5 mph SW wind, partly cloudy.


Well ... I slept in until 7:36 AM. I needed the sleep. I had my usual pre-run cereal and milk and puttered around. I got out at 9 AM. I took it nice and steady like on Wednesday. I didn't push the pace like I usually do. I had classic rock tunes in my left ear like I have had for a couple weeks now. It does help a bit. There were some people out: runners, walkers and bicyclists. My splits were: 8:31,
8:20, 8:12, 8:18, 8:16, 8:17, 8:20, 8:21, 8:29 and 8:12 over the last 0.35 mile. Hmm ... running without pushing at 8:20 pace ... nice!

A couple of mugs of coffee soon ensued along with a viewing of "McClintock" with John "The Duke" Wayne and Maureen O'Hara. Later, Christine let me watch "Terminator 2" as a pre Father's Day present. "Come with me if you want to live", "Hasta la vista, baby!", "Trust me" and "I'll be back", baby!

Meanwhile ... lots of races today. The Airport 5K was held with 226 finishers, link here. The Beat Brain Cancer 5K was held in East Rochester with 398 finishers, link here. The Ontario Summit Trail Half and Marathon was held with 101 half finishers and 31 full finishers, links here and here respectively. The Tour de Cure was held in Webster. The Black Fly Challenge was held up in the Adirondacks. Barry Cherney finished in 2:40:30, results here. I saw another race, the Greece Gauntlet, taking place at the Greece Arcadia High School as I ran by.

Well ... the Rochester Knighthawks quest for a NLL title didn't come to pass. I didn't remember early enough to watch the entire game from Saskatoon but I did see most of the fourth quarter with Rochester only down 1 goal initially, 11-10. The Saskatchewan Rush ended up winning 15-10, link here.