I took 69,720 steps according to my Pebble 2 HR smart watch.
Common abbreviations: OMEP is my Orange Mud Endurance Pack, NT360 is my NoxGear
Tracer360 vest, UWRG is my usual winter running gear: CW-X tights, Darn Tough socks, long sleeve tech, Brooks 1/4 zip long sleeve pullover, balaclava and Brooks beanie.
Sunday, 12/2/2018: 17308 steps during the day, 11.05 miles, 1:30:38, 8:12 pace, 46F, 93% RH, 13 mph S wind, wind chill 41F, overcast with a few sprinkles in the middle
I was up at 6:55 AM and puttered around like usual with a pre-run bowl of cereal along with catching up on Facebook and emails. It was in the mid 40s so I wore shorts, a short sleeve and long sleeve tech, earwarmers and light Brooks running gloves. I set up a nice pace with the wind to my back on the way out to Lowden Point Rd. But ... not so much on the way back with the wind in my face. I also ran out of energy and struggled a bit. It doesn't look it when you look at my pace though. But ... I got it done. My splits were: 8:12, 8:04, 8:05, 8:02, 8:03, 8:12, 8:11, 8:21, 8:22, 8:27 and 8:15.
A couple mugs of coffee soon ensued along with doing 3 loads of laundry. I watched the Bills - Miami game down in Miami. The Bills had their chances but stupid penalties didn't help. Their rookie QB, Josh Allen, ran for 135 yards (runs of 28, 26 and 25 yards helped) and almost had a game winning TD on his last throw. But ... the Bills lost 21-17, link here. It had warmed up to the mid 50s (high was 58) so I rushed out and vacuumed out the Cruzes before it got dark.
Monday, 12/3/2018: 5139 steps during the day, rest day.
Yeah ... 24 hours after a high of 58F .... it snowed when I drove home. Rochester weather in December ... don't put away your winter coat.
Tuesday, 12/4/2018: 6522 steps during the day, rest day.
My darling wife, Christine, noticed that I didn't have a dentist appointment so she made one for yesterday for today at 4:30 PM at the same time as hers. So ... instant date night! We went out to eat at Sticky Lips in Henrietta. Verdict ... the beef brisket was OK but not warm. We should have said something but we were hungry so we just ate it. I think we will try the Texas Roadhouse out on Ridge Rd next time we are in the mood for BBQ.
Wednesday, 12/5/2018: 6828 steps during the day, rest day.
Yes, another rest day. I let my achy knees talk me out of running. I don't much like running in the dark either ...even with my NT360 and headlamp from eBay. I am keeping the batteries separate from the headlamp though.
Thurday, 12/6/2018: 14832 steps during the day, 6.56 miles, 53:54, 8:13 pace, 34F, 75% RH, 13 mph WSW wind, wind chill 25F, overcast
I needed to run ... when, where and how long? Well ... I got back to B601 at 800 Lee Rd just before 11 AM so ... why not now in the daylight, from B601 and a nice and steady run of 6.46 miles? I hadn't done a before lunch run in quite a while. I set up a nice and steady pace into the wind down Lee Rd. The Erie Canal had just a dusting of snow on it and was runnable. There were some shady spots where it was covered with about 1/2 inch of snow. My splits were: 8:26, 8:16, 8:12, 8:25, 8:15, 8:09 and 7:32 over the last 0.56 mile.
Friday, 12/7/2018: 7550 steps during the day, rest day.
I had a notice on my Harris office that told me that my office would be carpeted on Tuesday night. It's a good excuse to go through all my crap that I have accumulated. I wish I had that motivation (ala time pressure) to do that at home.
Saturday, 12/8/2018: 11541 steps during the day, 5.18 miles, 59:38 (didn't turn off for a minute), 11:31 pace, 28F, 69% RH, 14 mph W wind, wind chill 17F, partly sunny
Today's race was the TrailsROC 0 Degree WTF! held down in Powder Mill Park down in Perinton. This race has a 5 mile loop can be run in 1 loop (11 AM start), 2 loops (10:30 AM start) or 3 loops (10 AM start). I have run the 3 loop version in 2014 - 3:37:00, 2015 - 3:21:21 and 2016 - 3:12:30. The 2 loop race was renamed the Jill Jackett Memorial 10 miler. Jill Jackett was killed by a hit and run driver on a training run near the U of R on 12/1/2017, link here. The 1 loop race was renamed the Lisa Vallone Memorial 5 miler. Lisa died recently, obituary here. I ran it to support Mike, her husband (he hugged me when he saw me).
I got down there around 10:10 AM. I saw Andy Ciaio as I parked the 2014 Cruze. I parked right next to his car as a matter of fact. He was running the 2 loop. I got my bib and walked around a bit. There was about 2 inches of snow on the ground and a bit of ice on the parking lot. I saw people with various traction devices (Yak Trak or Micro Spikes) ... and here I was with just my trusty and old Salomon SpeedCross 3 trail shoes with a bit over 800 miles on them. I was a bit nervous but what could I do? I have run enough to know that all I could do was take it easy and concentrate on my footing. It's not rocket science. It's putting one foot in front of the other while making sure that you absolutely concentrate on where you are putting that foot and looking out for obstacles in the instant before you plant that foot. Trail running is fun but can be dangerous if you are not careful ... but at least you don't have to worry about cars, lol!
I got to the start line a bit after Eric Eagan gave out some instructions ... something about ice and be careful. Prem Kubar came through the start/finish line after completing his first loop a couple of minutes before the start of my one loop race. Mike Vallone talked a bit about how this race was Lisa's first trail race, how much he loved her and how much he misses her. There were some family members that wore personalized T-shirts who were running the race. Death can come for us and those whom we love at any time ... make sure you hug them a little tight when you say goodbye.
And ... we were off! It was a bit of a scrum at first. I almost tripped over a large branch in the first 100 yards but I managed to keep going. The first hill or two was a bit slow to climb with everyone bunched together. Everyone was spread out after a mile. So ... up, down, left, right, look out for any ice or roots or rocks, keep running, walk the hills (if necessary). The girl in the banana suit was a welcome distraction for a few seconds. The steep hill across Woolston Rd at mile 3 was as steep as ever. Then the even steeper but merciful shorter hill with the rope just after crossing back across Woolston Rd mile 4 was also just as steep as ever. I didn't really use the rope too much. I did stop for a few seconds to catch my breath when I got to the top though. But ... I just kept running. I passed Prem on his second loop just before I finished. And ... I gave Eric Eagan a high five ... done! I saw and talked to Amy Lord for a minute before I remembered to turn off my Garmin.
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| The obligatory post 0 Degree WFT! selfie |
The results were posted shortly after I got home. I finished in 58:38, 22nd out of 74, 2nd out of 7 in my M 60-69 age group, results here. The 10 miler had 55 finishers (Andy was 21st in 1:55:25), results here. The 15 miler had 37 finishers (Prem was 23rd in 3:07:33), results here.
The usual 2 mugs of coffee and some serious relaxing ensued. I do love running races!
