Monday, September 3, 2018

Sunday, 9/2/2018 to Saturday, 9/8/2018 - Dirt Cheap #6

I ran 3 times this week, 29.9 miles.
I took 73,677 steps during this week according to my Pebble 2 HR smart watch.
Common abbreviation: OMEP is Orange Mud Endurance Pack

Sunday, 9/2/2018: 3865 steps during the day, rest day.

Just your normal Sunday. It was hot and humid all day. My darling wife and cook, Christine, put together a menu for the next week along with a grocery list. My job ... hunt and gather the items on the list. I ended up going to Herrema's and Wegmans. She cooked up a wonderful calzone for supper.

Oh ... the Oak Tree 5K and Half Marathon was held this morning. I totally forgot about this race until I read Kevin Clinefelter's race report on Facebook. He was 16th overall in 1:36:41 and won our M 60-64 age group. Tim Chichester won the half in 1:10:53 by a 3:35 margin. Tim Dwyer was 12th overall in 1:29:40 and won the M 55-59 age group in 1:29:40. Heather Patterson was 35th overall in 1:47:11 and won her F 40-44 age group. Prem Kumar was 38th overall in 1:48:24. Andy Ciaio was 46th overall in 1:53:26. Christine Antonini was 57th overall in 1:54;23. Wilt Alston ran a 2:35:37. Tom Butler ran a 2:53:43.

Here is an interesting race recap here. 248 runners finished the half, results here. 251 runners finished the 5K, results here.

Monday, 9/3/2018: 17073 steps during the day; 11.05 miles, 1:42:29, 9:18 pace, 75F, 89% RH, 7 mph wind, sunny.

I was up at 6 AM and out the door around 7:30 AM. I had 1600 ml of ice cubes and water in my OMEP. My earbud wouldn't turn on so I ran without music. It was humid (again) so I adjusted my pace and distance to match. This was not the weather to attempt an 18 mile run by no stretch of my imagination. I just headed out to Lowden Point Rd and back ... 11 miles. I set up a really nice and easy pace ... that lasted about 7 miles before I lapsed into a run/walk. My splits were: 9:02, 8:41, 8:51, 8:55, 9:01, 9:08, 9:09, 9:50, 9:59, 10:14 and 9:34. I went upstairs to take a cool shower as soon as I got back to the townhouse.


My darling wife, Christine, and I lazed around for the rest of the day. A Harry Potter marathon was on the Syfy channel so we watched the Goblet of Fire, Order of the Phoenix, the Half-Blood Prince and most of Deathly Hollows: Part 1 before retiring for the evening.

Tuesday, 9/4/2018: 5760 steps during the day, rest day.

Wednesday, 9/5/2018: 15596 steps during the day; 3.84 (actually 4.7 miles), 39:22 (actually 47:31), 10:16 pace (actually 10:07 pace), 91F, 53% RH, 10 mph wind, sunny.

Today's race was Dirt Cheap #6, the last of the 6 2018 Dirt Cheap Trail Race (DCTR) series. Tonight's venue was Mendon Ponds Park at the lodge next to the Beach parking lot. I took a hour of vacation so I could get down around 5 PM in plenty of time for the 6 PM start.

It was hot and humid ... like the South hot and humid. I didn't bring my OMEP so I made due with my 18 ounce Nathan SpeedDraw flask filled with ice and water. I talked with Andy Ciaio before the race. He had ran the Oak Tree Half Marathon down in Geneseo on Sunday and took 3rd in his age group. He said it was "stupid humid" and that he was dripping with sweat by mile 1. Well ... it was hotter and probably just as humid tonight. I didn't take a warm up run and just lined up with everyone else at the start flags.

And ... we were off! I had read on Facebook that Boots had shortened the course a bit. I did see evidence of that when we didn't climb the second grassy hill after the start but other than that not so much. I set up a nice and easy trail pace and just soldiered onward. I sipped water and squirted water on top of my head about every mile or maybe less. I ran into a branch or tree stump at one point when I followed the person in front of me and went off course. Somebody yelled at us and we made our way back on course. Then ... I ran out of water with about a mile to go ... which sucked. Oh ... there was a woman sunbathing somewhere in the last mile. She was right by the pond and the course took a right about 10 feet from her. I only gave her a glance but I am pretty sure she was lying on her back and was topless. But ... I kept running. I have run this course many times so I knew I was close to the end. And ... done with 3.84 miles in 39:22 according to my Garmin Forerunner 220. I was beyond drenched with sweat. I quickly had a bottle of water and a piece of pizza.

I met up with Andy Ciaio and Chris Barry. They told me that their Garmins had the course at 4.7 miles and wondered if I had cut the course. I was wondering if I had so I checked the results. It said that I had finished in 47:31. So I figured that my Garmin had been paused somehow during the race ... which had never happened during a race before that I can remember. I didn't see my Garmin trace until I got home and it looks like it just stopped a mile before the end. Weird. My splits were: 9:16, 11:17, 10:32 and 9:49 over the last 0.84 mile that the Garmin record before it just shut off. The Relive link to Dirt Cheap #6 is here.

Post DC #6 ... drenched with sweat
DCTR series bling - Darn Tough socks and Once Again peanut butter
Anyway ... I finished 46th out of 223, link here. I was 47th male out of 125 over in the DCTR series, link here. I won the M 60-64 age group in the DCTR series, link here. The swag was good: a jar of Once Again peanut butter and a pair of Darn Tough socks ... sweet!

Thursday, 9/6/2018: 5409 steps during the day, rest day.

Yeah ... I usually run on Thursday. But ... my right hamstring felt a bit gimpy and I was tired.so I called a rest day. I think that Dirt Cheap #6 took more out of me than I cared to admit. I guess I should play the long game and not try to kill myself by sticking to my schedule.

Friday, 9/7/2018: 6399 steps during the day.

Saturday, 9/8/2018: 19575 steps during the day; 13.15 miles, 1:53:15, 8:37 pace, 63F, 65% RH, 15 mph NE wind, overcast.

It has turned cooler so I didn't have to try to get up before the crack of dawn and get out. OK ... I slept in until around 6:45 AM but I didn't get out until after 9 AM. It was cooler and there was a stiff breeze out of the NE. I set up a nice and steady pace. How long? Well ... I knew that the Webster Trail Classic and the Old Forge Half and Marathon were being held. So ... I decided to just head out to East Manitou Rd and make sure that I ran a half marathon. I was pleased that the section of Edgemere Drive between Lowden Point Rd and East Manitou Rd was freshly paved ... nice! I passed a Monroe County Sheriff's work detail bus. I joked with the flagmen that I was glad that I wasn't running north into the wind today. Well ... I couldn't have anyway since I was right next to Lake Ontario. It kind of sucked that my right hip started ache around mile 9 ... like usual. I just lapsed into a run/walk and got the run done. It sucked. My splits were: 8:28, 8:22, 8:22, 8:33, 8:30, 8:11, 8:26, 8:29, 8:46, 8:55, 8:52, 9:20, 8:43 and 8:25 over the last 0.15 mile. The usual two mugs of coffee ensued afterward along with a late lunch.

My darling wife, Christine, must have had enough of my Saturday and Sunday complaining about my feet, knees and hip after long runs since she insisted that I go to Fleet Feet Armory to get fitted for a new pair of running shoes. My Brooks Ravenna 8 road shoes only had 435 miles but I went because I was sick and tired of pain after just about every long run. We got there around 3:40 PM. The fitting area was full but Cheryl was there in a few minutes to help me. She measured my feet using their new Fit ID system and told me that I should wear a size 12 (not 13), that I had a high arch and a slightly narrow foot. Hmm! I tried on a Brooks Transcend 5, an Asics Kayano 25 and a Hoka Arahi 2. I took each for a run out in the parking lot. The Hoka felt weird on my feet so that was a no. I couldn't feel a difference between the Brooks and the Asics. I went with the Brooks Transcend 5 because I put 681 miles on my old Brooks Transcend 3 road shoes plus I do have a lot of Brooks clothes. Gotta be brand coordinated you know ... lol! I also bought a pair of green Run Comfort SuperFeet insoles to support my high arches. Well ... I should say Christine bought them ... she said it was my birthday gift. Maybe ... I will be able to do a long run without pain once I get used to everything!

A brand new pair of Brooks Transcend 5 shoes with green Super Feet insoles
I caught up on Facebook. I learned that Prem Kumar ran a 3:30 at the Old Forge Marathon.