Sunday, March 4, 2018

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!