Sunday, 10/7/2018 to Saturday, 10/13/2018

I ran 3 times this week: 17.65 miles.
I took 55,131 steps this week according to my Pebble 2 HR smart watch.
Common abbreviation: OMEP is Orange Mud Endurance Pack

Sunday, 10/7/2018: 9797 steps during the day, 5.15 miles, 44:14, 8:35 pace, 57F, 94% RH, 9 mph NE wind, overcast.

I slept in until just after 7:30 AM but I knew I wanted to get out for a run. My left calf needed another test. I puttered around for a bit but I got out around 9:30 AM. I set up a nice and steady pace like yesterday but just slightly faster it turned out. I just went out to Island Cottage and back. I could feel my left calf but it didn't hurt or bother me. My splits were: 8:44, 8:31, 8:39, 8:35, 8:28 and 8:19 over the last 0.15 mile.

Meanwhile ... the Mohawk Hudson Half and Full Marathon was held out in Albany NY. This was a point to point marathon. The Oil Creek 100 Trail Runs was held down in Titusville PA. Chris O'Brien in 21:57:23 was 36th of the 54 finishers (29 DNF) in the 100K, results here. Bambi Jasmin in 30:55:08 was 58th out of 70 finishers (90 DNF) in the 100 Mile, results here. Awesomeness down in NY and PA!

Monday, 10/8/2018: 3730 steps during the day, rest day.

Well ... I dropped to the Half marathon at next Sunday's Empire State Marathon. I emailed them and received the code DEWEAVERDIVCHANGE so that when I registered for the half I only paid $10 plus a small processing fee. They don't advertise this on their website FAQ nor that the fact that they will allow emergency packet pickup (shirt size is not guaranteed) on race day morning for those that can't pick it to Fleet Feet Syracuse on Saturday.

Tuesday, 10/9/2018: 12719 steps during the day, 5.15 miles, 43:50, 8:30 pace, 82F, 62% RH, 6 mph SW wind, partly cloudy.

I got out a short out and back run to Island Cottage right after I got home from work. It was warm and muggy so I set up a really nice and easy pace. I could feel my left calf but it didn't bark at me so that was good. I forgot to resume my Garmin when I stopped to cross Dewey Ave so my Garmin only recorded 4.62 miles but I know it was my 5.15 mile route. My splits were: 8:13, 8:25, 8:32, 8:38 and 8:17. I was dripping with sweat when I got done so I went straight upstairs to take a cool shower before my darling wife, Christine, served supper. I even put on the AC for about three hours before we went to bed early.

Wednesday, 10/10/2018: 5379 steps during the day, rest day.

Thursday, 10/11/2018: 14934 steps during the day, 7.35 miles, 1:02:25, 8:29 pace, 64F, 68% RH, 17 mph W wind, overcast.

The weather was changing and I was in a bit of funk so I needed to get this run in. I went in wondering if my left calf would bark at me. I set up a nice and steady pace. I thought I would have to cut it to 5 miles but everything felt fine so I pushed it to 7.35 miles with no trouble. So ... maybe everything will be fine at the Empire State Half on Sunday. I didn't like dropping to the Half but running is supposed to be fun. Running to try to beat a 3:50 marathon with three poor 18 mile training runs and a "Maybe OK-ish" left calf would not be fun. Anyway ... my splits were: 8:11, 8:29, 8:25, 8:23, 8:17, 8:33, 8:31 and 8:26 over the last 0.35 mile.

Friday, 10/12/2018: 5345 steps during the day, rest day.

Saturday, 10/13/2018: 3227 steps during the day, rest day.

My usual rest day before a big race so I rested. My darling wife, Christine, and I divided and conquered today. She took care of taking my oldest son, Michael and daughter, Karen, grocery shopping. I went out to Fleet Feet Syracuse to pick up packet for the Empire State Half tomorrow morning. Then I met up my youngest son, David, and his "friend" (it's complicated), Tatiana, at Eddie O'Brien Grille and Bar in Geneva. We sat and talked for about 30 to 45 minutes for Christine to make her way from Macedon. Our lunch wasn't that great. My chicken and waffles had a tangy cheese sauce that absolutely sucked. Christine's Reuben sandwich had very little Reuben. But the conversation made up for it.

Meanwhile, other athletes were out being awesome. The CanLake50 was held. Amy Lord beat her goal of 3:30 by 4 minutes in the 25K and Jason "Jmac" McElwein was 3rd overall in the 50K. The Finish Strong 5K/15K was held, 81 finished the 15K and 90 finished the 5K, results here. Kevin Clinefelter was 1st in our M 60-64 age group. Dan Giblin was out in Hawaii and completed the Kona Ironman World Championship with a 1:37:03 swim, 6:26:15 bike, 5:00:20 run for a total 13:17:53. His daughter posted his finish on Facebook, link here. News link about the Kona Ironman here.

Christine thought that I should have stayed up in Syracuse but I disagreed. The Half start was moved from 8:00 of last year to 9:30 this year so I could leave at 6:45 AM and get to the NBT Stadium around 8:30 AM in plenty of time. I sleep better in my own bed and wanted to save money too. I went to bed around 10:30 PM, set my alarm for 6 AM and fell right asleep.