I took 72,814 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, 2/3/2019: 13777 steps during the day, 9.05 miles, 1:18:01, 8:37 pace, avg cadence 164, 37F, 64% RH, 3 mph SSW wind, mostly sunny
I combined taking a Redbox DVD back to the 7-11 on Lake Ave with my long run. There had been a winter weather advisory about freezing rain that expired at 10 AM. I read later on Facebook that the few people that did the Round the Bay run at 7 AM had icy conditions. Me ... I slept in until 7:30 AM.
The temp was 37F and was forecast to climb towards 50F by the end of the day. I wore my CW-X tights, Darn Tough socks, short sleeve tech, Brooks 1/4 zip long sleeve pullover, Brooks beanie and heavy running gloves. I got out around 9:30 AM. I took the LOSP trail for about 1/4 mile to Latta. It was icy so I kept to the snow as much as possible. I tried to avoid icy sidewalks also but I did have some trouble on Lake Ave and in Ontario Beach Park. I ran on the shoulder on Beach Ave and out Edgemere Drive instead of the sidewalk. The SSW breeze caused me to overheat and take a few walk breaks in mile 7. I think I should have worn shorts instead of CW-X tights There is a big difference between running when the wind chill is 0F and 40F. I'm glad I only did 9 mile since my knees were a bit cranky when I got done. My splits weren't that great: 9:17, 9:26, 8:13, 8:10, 8:16, 8:37, 8:43, 8:22 and 8:32. The first 2 miles were due to the icy LOSP trail and icy sidewalks on Lake Ave.
But ... the weather warmed up all day. It was 50F by 4 PM. I could have ran in shorts if I had waited!
A bit of relaxing, a couple mugs of coffee and a bit of lunch soon ensued as I whiled away the time before the Super Bowl between the New England Patriot (boo! hiss!) and the Los Angeles Rams (cough ... should have been the Saints ... cough). The smart money said to bet on the Rams and the under 56. But ... the game had to be played first.
It turned out to to be a defensive game. The score was tied at 3 at the end of the third quarter so the under was safe. But .. the Patriots scored the last 10 points to win 13-3, links here and here. So .. the Pats along with Brady at QB and Bellichick as head coach have won 6 Super Bowls (2001, 2003, 2004, 2014, 2016 and 2018) and lost 3 Super Bowls (2007, 2011, 2017). Joy.
Monday, 2/4/2019: 6474 steps during the day, rest day.
I got my first of two Shingles vaccine shots today, link here. The pharmacist told me that I may have some shoulder discomfort. She wasn't kidding. It soon felt like someone punched me hard in the shoulder a couple of times.
It warmed up to 63F at the Rochester airport to break the record of 58F for this day. But ... what goes up in February will go down. Back to winter for tomorrow.
Tuesday, 2/5/2019: 16376 steps during the day, 6.6 miles, 28F, 68% RH, 6 mph W wind, wind chill 23F, mostly clear.
The temperature was 47F when I woke up and fell all day. So ... it was back to the usual winter running gear. Funny story though ... I had all my running gear in my running bag ... except my tights or shorts. So ... I had to go home before I could go out for my Tuesday night. My lovely wife, Christine, grabbed me and delayed me for a while but I did get out just after 6 PM. It was dark so I grabbed my NT360 lighted vest and headlamp from Ebay. I didn't notice that I had forgotten to turn on my Garmin Forefunner 220 until about 1.5 miles so I just ran onward. The LOSP trail had a bit of ice in the Dewey Ave - Island Cottage section so I ran home via road and lengthened the run a bit to boot. The eCrumb from RoadID doesn't give an accurate mileage since it pings off cell towers or a precise start or finish time so my estimate of 6.6 miles and 58:20. The calculate pace of 8:50 doesn't seem quite right so I sent half of my run on road. But ... I got my run done so it's all good!
Wednesday, 2/6/2019: 4803 steps during the day, rest day.
Weird February weather continued today. There was freezing rain by the end of the day. It was weird though ... it was 34F went I come out from work. The ice had frozen on the car but not the windshield. I could just knock the ice off the windshield wipers, mirrors and tail lights. I remarked to Christine when I came home that all this water will turn to ice if it gets below freezing during the night.
Thursday, 2/7/2019: 13476 steps during the day, 5.05 miles, 33F, 88% RH, 5 mph SW wind, 161 avg cadence, wind chill 30F, overcast with snow/wind
Well ... the water on the ground froze overnight. The grounds crew at Greenleaf Meadows had salted the sidewalks so I didn't encounter the ice until I got to the 2014 Cruze. I started it up and then tried to scrape the ice off. Well ... I slid backwards most of the time when I tried to scrape the ice off! It was kind of comical. The roads were mostly clear. I got to work on time ... barely.
I did get out after work. The roads on Island Cottage and Janes Rd were fine. I enjoyed looking at the ice on the grass while I ran ... until it got dark. My splits were: 8:16, 8:16, 8:22, 8:25 and 8:30.
We had a bit of excitement after supper. Christine turned the oven off and we ate supper. A bit later we heard a pop and then what sounded like rain outside. Christine got up to check a few minutes later. The sound was coming from the oven. She opened it and yelled ... "There's a fire!" She wanted to go 911. Luckily there was nothing in the oven. I cleared everything off the top of the stove and kept the oven door open a bit. The small flame was coming from the left front of the coil. Christine called the Greenleaf Meadows maintenance line. The flame went out while she talked to them. The maintenance guy call over within 10 minutes. He told us that electric stove coils can arc like that and will burn themselves out when the connection is burnt through. It's curious though ... the oven knob was definitely in the OFF position when she went to the stove according to Christine. I verified that when I got to it. Weird.
Friday, 2/8/2019: 4096 steps during the days, vacation day
The wind was forecast to get up to 60 mph during Thursday night ... and I am sure that it did.
Pete, the maintenance guy, came before before 9 AM and had the stove up and going in 2 visits. One to take out the old coil (held by 2 screws to the back of the oven and 2 screws to the wires) and find out the oven model. The next to install the new coil. Christine made another call to maintenance. Pete came back to plunge the toilet and sink. He was good and efficient. I watched him and learned how I could unplug the sink the next time it happens.
I did get some stuff done. I organized my tech shirt collection on my clothes rack by race and year ... I need to get more hangers! I moved some boxes around the master bedroom ... big thrill. I tried to get more stuff done but ran out of time and maybe a bit of motivation too.
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| Goodbye to 12 pairs of shoes! |
Saturday, 2/9/2019: 13812 steps during the day, 2 runs of 1.25 and 7.98 miles, 18F, 62% RH, 18 mph W wind, wind chill 3F, overcast with occasional light snow
Today's race was my seventh GRTC Freezeroo #5. Four were from the Greece DPW (2011 - 1:01:36, 2012 - 59:41, 2014 - 59:29, 2015 - 1:01:56) and the last three from Braddock Bay Park (BBP) (2016 - 1:00:20, 2017 - 1:00:57 and today's 1:03:35). The race started at 9 AM (not 10 AM as many GRTC emails told me). I live about 8 miles away so I left at 8:15, hopped on the Parkway for 3 exits and was there by 8:30 AM.
I hauled my running bag into the lodge so I could change my damp upper running clothes after the race. It was cold and windy so I wore more than usual; CW-X tight, Darn Tough socks, long sleeve tech, Brooks 1/4 zip long sleeve pullover, balaclava, GRTC neck gaiter, Brooks beanie and ski mittens. I got out for a much needed warm up run of 1.25 miles at 8:36 pace just behind Heather Patterson, link here.
I had about 10 minutes before the start so I huddled between a wood fence and a dumpster along the GRTC president, Doug Jones, and Kevin Clinefelter to get out of the wind. It did make a difference. But ... a race doesn't get done if you don't run it.
And ... we were off! I got up to race pace quickly. The road out of BBP was a bit snow covered and into the wind. It's all good once your arms go a bit numb! But ... onward. I kept up a sub 8 minute pace down East Manitou Rd, left on Frisbee Hill Rd, right on Flynn Rd, left on Kuhn Rd, left on Long Pond Rd. I slipped and almost fell as I ran over the Parkway. I was on the snow covered shoulder as a car was coming. I got into the road as soon as the car passed. Onward ... left on Edgemere Drive.
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| The 6 mile mark on Edgemere Drive ... photo courtesy of Tim Matthews of https://runnerpics.shuttlefly.com |
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| Post Freezeroo #5 selfie |
Hourglassworks.com had the results up before I got home. I did OK. I was 42nd out of 133, link here. I was 3rd out of 8 in my M 60-64 age group, link here. My avg cadence was 170 and my splits were: 7:52, 7:49, 7:46, 7:49, 7:58, 8:27, 8:12 and 7:52.
