Sunday, 1/26/2020 to Saturday, 2/1/2020

My left IT band appears to be healed. I stretch before and after each run ... usually.
I ran 2 times for 11.8 miles this week.
I took 37,950 steps this week according to my Garmin Vivoactive HR (VA-HR) smartwatch.
My VA-HR gives me steps, heart rate, hours slept and floors climbed (take those last 2 data points with a grain of salt).
My Withings WS-50 Smart Body Analyzer scale gives my weight.

Sunday, 1/26/2020

12174 steps, 47/141 resting/peak HR, 7:55 hrs sleep, 6 floors climbed
run: 7.77 miles,1:06:26, 8:33 pace, 134 avg HR, 162 avg cadence, 36F, 82% RH, 15 mph W wind, wind chill 27F, overcast

Well ... today was the 62nd birthday of my darling wife, Christine. I managed to get my pulse up to 124 helping her celebrate it. We are on an external honeymoon you know, lol! .Then ... I went out for my morning run. I wanted a long run so I went to Island Cottage on the LOSP trail and then looped back to the "By the pier" route. The LOSP trail was a bit icy in spots but the roads were OK. I just went by the Ontario Beach Park on Beach Ave and Lake Ave. I was getting a bit tired and sluggish in the last mile. My splits were: 8:24, 8:43, 8:20, 8:17, 8:24, 8:41, 8:59 and 8:34 over the 0.77 mile.

The usual 2 mugs of post run coffee ensued along with a pizza for lunch. Then we headed out to England .. well we watch 2 movies set in England. The first was The Initiation Game set in WWII about breaking the Enigma code. The second was Downton Abbey.

A damper was put on Christine'birthday was the death of Kobe Bryant, his daughter and 7 others in a helicopter crash, link here.

Monday, 1/27/2020: 4534 steps, 51/107 resting/peak HR, 6:35 hrs sleep, 170.5 lbs, 4 floors climbed
Tuesday, 1/28/2020: 433 steps, 54/85 resting/peak HR, 8:32 hrs sleep, 2 floors climbed
Wednesday, 1/29/2020: 452 steps, 48/86 resting/peak HR, 9:08 hrs sleep, 171.6 lbs, 2 floors climbed
Thursday, 1/30/2020: 7429 steps, 50/124 resting/peak HR, 7:34 hrs sleep, 173.7 lbs, 6 floors climbed
Friday, 1/31/2020: 4974 steps, 50/107 resting/peak HR, 7:17 hrs sleep, 172.8 lbs, 4 floors climbed

So ... why no runs? I came down with a cold on Monday and stayed home from work on Tuesday and Wednesday. I suffered through work on Thursday and Friday.

Well ... it's the end of January so it's stat time!

I ran 16 times in January for 64.57 miles, 4.04 miles/run.
I ran 4 races in January:
 1/1 Freezeroo #2 7.55 miles, 1:02:34, 8:17 pace
 1/5 Polar Cat #1 2.98 miles, 22:38, 7:35 pace
 1/11 Freezeroo #3 5.07 miles, 40:42, 8:01
 1/25 Freezeroo #4 4.88 miles, 38:33, 7:56 pace
I took 260,738 steps during January.

Saturday, 2/1/2020

7954 steps, 49/137 resting/peak HR, 6:44 hrs sleep, 6 floors climbed
run: 4.05 miles, 35:57, 8:52 pace, 131 avg HR, 159 avg cadence, 28F, 89% RH, calm, overcast

I was still not 100% but I dragged myself out for a real gentle run. I chose my "2/3 of the LOSP trail" route and just took it nice and easy. I got it done. My splits were: 9:19, 8:36, 8:49 and 8:49.

Sunday, 1/19/2010 to Saturday, 1/25/2020 - Freezeroo #4

My left IT band appears to be healed. I stretch before and after each run ... usually.
I ran 3 times for 15.07 miles this week.
I took 60,361 steps this week according to my Garmin Vivoactive HR (VA-HR) smartwatch.
My VA-HR gives me steps, heart rate, hours slept and floors climbed (take those last 2 data points with a grain of salt).
My Withings WS-50 Smart Body Analyzer scale gives my weight.

Sunday, 1/19/2020

10072 steps, 48/137 resting/peak HR, 5:39 hrs sleep, 170.9 lbs, 8 floors climbed
run: 5.66 miles, 56:06, 9:55 pace, 127 avg HR, 153 avg cadence, 27F, 78% RH, 17 mph W wind, wind chill 14F, overcast with light snow

I was up early and puttered around like usual. But ... I got out for a run. I chose the LOSP trail to keep out the road. A snowmobile and an ATV had broken a path on the vast majority of the paved LOSP trail and my Salomon SpeedCross 4 trail shoes made easy work of the rest. I just took an easy pace and chose my path carefully. I chose my clothing better today with my standard CW-X tights, shorts, Darn Tough socks, long sleeve tech, Brooks 1/4 zip long sleeve pullover, balaclava, Brooks beanie and ski mittens. The W wind was there but too much of a bother. My splits were: 10:05, 9:44, 10:14, 9:58, 9:56 and 9:54 over the last 0.66 mile.

I must say that watching romance movies like the Hallmark Channel do work well for romance ... just saying! Christine and I are still on our honeymoon as we both like to say!

Later, I watched the AFC Conference Finals (Tennessee Titans vs Kansas City Chiefs, xx-ss, link here) and the NFC Conference Finals (xx vs San Francisco 49ers, xx-ss, link here). The favorites won handily so it wasn't a good day if you were rooting for the underdogs as I was.

Monday, 1/20/2020: 10449 steps, 45/106 resting/peak HR, 6:52 hrs sleep, 170.9 lbs, 4 floors climbed
Tuesday, 1/21/2020: 5624 steps, 47/93 resting/peak HR, 6:22 hrs sleep, 171.0 lbs, 3 floors climbed

Wednesday, 1/22/2020

13964 steps, 45/140 resting/peak HR, 6:53 hrs sleep, 170.1 lbs, 11 floors climbed
run: 4.55 miles, 42:22, 9:18 pace, 131 avg HR, 156 avg cadence, 26F, 56% RH, calm, cloudy

I dragged myself out for a run after work. It was around freezing. I had a hope of just running back and forth between Latta and Greenleaf but it was just too rutty and icy on the LOSP trail. So I headed out to the "By the pier" route to get in some road miles. I got it done. I really have to put in fresh AAA batteries into my Noxgear Tracer360 lighted vest. It lights but I don't think it is as bright as it could be. (UPDATE: Fresh batteries do make a difference). My splits were: 10:04, 8:56, 9:08, 9:06 and 9:17 over the last 0.55 mile. I did speed up once I got to the road.

Thursday, 1/23/2020: 6202 steps, 46/98 resting/peak HR, 6:27 hrs sleep, 170.4 lbs, 2 floors climbed
Friday, 1/24/2020: 5634 steps, 44/105 resting/peak HR, 7:08 hrs sleep, 171.4 lbs, floors climbed

Readers may note that I am only running 3 days a week as of late. Yes ... sadly that is true. My mind wants to get me out there but lately I have let my body got the shots. Plus sometimes the weather (especially in the dark of winter) or life just gets in the way.

Take Thursday for instance. I got out of work late and wouldn't have gotten out until almost 6 PM. I wouldn't have had supper until at least 7:30 PM after a hour run. So ... no run on Thursday.

Saturday, 1/25/2020

8416 steps, 48/149 rest/peak HR, 6:34 hrs sleep, 170.6 lbs, 10 floors climbed
run: 4.86 miles, 38:33, 7:56 pace, 138 avg HR, 163 avg cadence, 35F, 85% RH, 12 mph SE wind, wind chill 27F, overcast with light rain / ice pellets

Today's race was my tenth Freezeroo #4. This race is one of the Freezeroo's that has moved around in venue and distance. It used to known as the "Hearnish 10K" (a joke that it was around a 10K but just a bit more at 6.385 miles) when it was held out at Powder Mills Park. I ran that distance in 2011 - 48:22, 2012 - 47:07, 2013 - 50:11 and 2014 - 50:43 This course had a beast of a hill around mile 5. Then the course was changed to 5.9 miles in 2015 - 44:04 and 6.34 miles in 2016 - 47:21. The race became the "Hearnish 5M" as it moved to Victor Town Park in 2017 - 36:26, 2018 - 37:21 and 2019 - 37:52.

I was up early and puttered around like usual. I left around 8:35 AM and got almost to Culver Ave before I realized that I had left my Freezeroo bib on my dresser. I didn't want to pay $5 for a replacement bib so I turned around since I had plenty of time. Then ... I got behind a slow poke that went 33 to 37 mph all the way to Herrema's before I could get around him. I had called ahead and Christine had the bib waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs. I yelled up "Love you" and headed out again for the 34 minute drive out to Victor Town Park. I arrived there at 9:30 AM. My Garmin Vivoactive HR was on 10% so I didn't go out for a warm up run.

I met up with Andy Ciaio at the start line. The temperature was just above freezing and there was a light sprinkle. Andy was in shorts and I was in my CW-X tights like usual. And ... we were off!

Andy and I exiting from the Victor Town Park ... photo courtesy of Tim Matthews from http://runnerpics.shutterfly.com

I got up to race pace quickly ... perhaps too quickly since I had no warm up run. The first 1.5 miles of this course was rolling hills. I had to stop to take a tiny walk break before mile 1. Joe Ciecierega and Jeanette George both passed me. I got my breath back and soldiered onward. The light sprinkle changed to light ice pellets for about a mile. It did help that the last 2 miles were mostly downhill. I caught up to and passed Bill Crowe in the last mile. And ... done with 4.86 miles (i.e. the Hearnish 5M title) in 38:33, 7:56 pace. Not bad ... a race under 8 minute pace is always good in my book. Andy finished in 36:25. Jeanette finished in 37:44. I was the next person behind Joe's 38:13. Bill Crowe was right behind me at 38:39.

I headed into the lodge and had a PB&J rollup and 2 slices of pizza. I changed out of my wet upper 2 layers (old Freezeroo long sleeve tech and Brooks 1/4 zip long sleeve pullover) and put on a dry long sleeve tech. I left ... and forgot my heavy running gloves. I have reached out on Facebook but have not heard any word about if anyone has found them. I hope they will be at Freezeroo #5. I like those gloves ... sniff, sniff.

Oh well. I did OK. My official time was 38:32. I was 48th out of 128, link here. I was a distant 2nd (behind Tim Dwyer's 31:03) out of 8, link here. Tim was drinking a Guiness, "the breakfast of champions" he said, when I left, lol! My splits were: 8:08, 8:18, 8:03, 7:38 and 7;28 over the last 0.86 mile.

Sunday, 1/12/2020 to Saturday, 1/18/2020

My left IT band appears to be healed. I stretch before and after each run ... usually.
I ran 2 times for 10.9 miles this week.
I took 56,061 steps this week according to my Garmin Vivoactive HR (VA-HR) smartwatch.
My VA-HR gives me steps, heart rate, hours slept and floors climbed (take those last 2 data points with a grain of salt).
My Withings WS-50 Smart Body Analyzer scale gives my weight.

Sunday, 1/12/2020

9364 steps, 49/141 resting/peak HR, 6:29 hrs sleep, 169.4 lbs, 13 floors climbed
run: 5.05 miles, 42:42, 8:27 pace, 135 avg HR, 160 avg cadence, 30F, 72% RH, 18 mph NW wind, wind chill 20F, overcast

I woke up during the night as a burst of rain passed through. Then I woke up around 6 AM when the wind came. It wasn't unexpected since the forecasters had predicted it for 2 or 3 days. The National Weather Service Observed Weather for past 3 days at the Rochester airport recorded at 58 mph wind gust at 5:54 AM. The max wind gust was 63 mph sometime during the morning.

So ... I chose to stay in and start doing laundry while I waited for the wind to die down. I started feeling like a slug so I got out in the early afternoon for a 5 mile "By the pier" route. The waves were crashing across the pier about 100 yards out so I stayed off the pier. My splits were: 8:32, 8:14, 8:44, 8:20 and 8:18.

Later, it was football time. First was the Houston Texans - Kansas City Chiefs game. The Texans jumped out to an early 2nd quarter lead of 24-0 (while they must have said "hold my beer" to the Bills losing a 16-0 lead the previous week). Then ... they were down 24-28 by halftime and lost 31-51, link here. The second was the Seattle Seahawks - Green Bay Packers game. I didn't watch but the Packers won 23-28, link here.

Monday, 1/13/20: 4517 steps, 51/107 resting/peak HR, 7:22 hrs sleep, 169.2 lbs, 3 floors climbed
Tuesday, 1/14/20: 7162 steps, 50/117 resting/peak HR, 7:30 hrs sleep, 171.2 lbs, 6 floors climbed

Wednesday, 1/15/20

15692 steps, 508/144 resting/peak HR, 6:51 hrs sleep, 171.4 lbs, 9 floors climbed
run: 5.85 miles, 51:04, 8:43 pace, 135 avg HR, 158 avg cadence, 40F, 55% RH, calm, overcast

Tonight't run was needed ... just because and just to get out before winter (cold, snow and wind are forecast for the next week). So ... 40F and calm condition were ideal conditions for an after work run on the LOSP trail. I had forgotten to charge my headlamp so I was glad I was on the paved LOSP trail. The light was sort of dim when I started and got worse as I ran. So ... my splits kind of reflected that: 9:10, 8:28, 8:22, 8:35, 8:45 and 9:04 over the last 0.85 mile.

Thursday, 1/16/2020: 4322 steps, 49/99 resting/peak HR, 6:45 hrs sleep, 1701 lbs, 2 floors climbed
Friday, 1/17/2020: 8271 steps, 48/107 resting/peak HR, 7:10 hrs sleep, 171.1 lbs, 3 floors climbed

Saturday, 1/18/2020

6733 steps, 47/139 resting/peak HR, 7:41 hrs sleep, 171.3 lbs, 10 floors climbed
run #1: 0.84 miles, 7:47, 9:14 pace, 125 avg HR, 152 avg cadence, 16F, 65% RH, 13 mph SE wind, win chill 6F, overcast
run #2: 3.15 miles, 27:08, 8:36 pace, 131 avg HR, 159 avg cadence, 16F, 65% RH, 13 mph SE wind, win chill 6F, overcast

Well ... the weather had turned way colder with a wind chill in the single digits. So ... I broke out my Kraft base layer that I rarely wear along with a long sleeve tech, CW-X tights, shorts, balaclava, Brooks beanie and ski mittens. I had a NetFlix DVD to mail and a Redbox to take back to 7-11 so I chose my "By the Pier" run.
It was cold so I set up a nice and easy pace. I paused my Garmin when I dropped off the Redbox at 7-11. My mind was a bit foggy and I pressed OK to end the run instead of Continue. Hence 2 runs instead of 1. Whatever ... I continued onward. The pier had ice on it about 100 yards out so I head out that way. I thought about heading out Beach Ave instead of turning left on Greenleaf Rd. The run felt like a struggle so I turned left and headed home. So ... just a 3.99 mile run today. My splits for the 2nd run: 8:33, 8:50, 8:28 and 8:15 over the last 0.15 mile.

A couple mugs of coffee soon ensued. My darling wife, Christine, and I somehow got sucked in more than a few Hallmark Winter Wonderland movies. Later she had a headache. I applied my patented headache medicine ... it disappeared ... lol!

Sunday, 1/5/2020 to Saturday, 1/11/2020 - Polar Cat #1 & Freezeroo #3

My left IT band appears to be healed. I stretch before and after each run ... usually.
I ran 5 times for  13.56 miles this week.
I took 63,305 steps this week according to my Garmin Vivoactive HR (VA-HR) smartwatch.
My VA-HR gives me steps, heart rate, hours slept and floors climbed (take those last 2 data points with a grain of salt).
My Withings WS-50 Smart Body Analyzer scale gives my weight.

Sunday, 1/5/2020

9191 steps, 51/157 resting/peak HR, 4:52 hrs sleep, 168.2 lbs, 8 floors climbed
run #1: 1.05 miles, 9:38, 9:08 pace, 131 avg HR, 157 avg cadence, 34F, 58% RH, 6 mph NW wind, wind chill 23F, cloudy
run #2: 2.98 miles, 22:38, 7:35 pace, 148 avg HR, 169 avg cadence, 34F, 58% RH, 6 mph NW wind, wind chill 23F, cloudy

Well ... I signed up for the new Polar Cat Winter Race Series around 8 AM. The series gift is a Polar Cat branded pair of sweatpants. They should go well with my Polar Cat sweatshirt (that I have to find first). Anyway .. it is a 3 race series with dates of 1/5 at Seneca Park, 2/16 at Mt Hope Cemetery and 3/1 at TBD. I last ran a Polar Cat back in 2012 when the late Bill Kehoe was the race director. A Democrat & Chronicle article on Bill's death, link here. So ... still changing things ... running different races.

The race start time was noon so I had plenty of time to putter around, get ready ... and still forgot my Nathan water bottle along with my earbud and MP3 player. It was around freezing so I wore my CW-X tights, long sleeve tech, Brooks 1/4 zip long sleeve pullover and Brooks beanie.

The race venue was the Wegman Lodge in the park below the Seneca Park Zoo. I got there around 11:15 AM and had to park 1/4 mile away. I got out for a nice and easy 1.05 mile warm up run at 9:08 pace, link here. I was a bit warm so I took off my inner long sleeve tech layer before the race. So ... I was a bit chilly as I stood around with about 150 other runners before the race. It was a laid back group ... I knew Prem Kumar, Steve Levitsky, Tom Hawkins, Tina Pellegrin and Bill Murphy. Oh ... this was my 500th race too!

And ... we were off! The course was around the park, up to St Paul and back. I got up to a hard race pace ... and held it as best as I could. It hurt a bit but I managed. I desperately wanted to stop to take a tiny walk break but ... I didn't. It was nice heading back down the hill just past mile 2. I could see the finish arch .... and done in 22:38 but only 2.98 miles. I did hold a 7:35 race pace and I was quite pleased at that. I had a cup of coffee and a couple of donuts afterward. The second donut was not the best idea but ... oh well.

I wasn't in the results but an email quickly to the timing group quickly fixed that. My official time was 22:36. I was 22nd out of 141 and 2nd out of 6 in my M 60-64 age group, link here. My splits were: 7:41, 7:44 and 7:21 over the last 0.98 mile.

Monday, 1/6/2020: 6645 steps, 53/103 resting/peak HR, 6:24 hrs sleep, 169.3 lbs, 4 floors climbed

Tuesday, 1/7/2020: 4867 steps, 50/118 resting/peak HR, 6:06 hrs sleep, 171.8 lbs, 1 floor climbed

Wednesday, 1/8/2020: 6325 steps, 47/100 resting/peak HR, 7:54 hrs sleep, 172.1 lbs, 3 floors climbed

Thursday, 1/9/2020

10373 steps, 47/150 resting/peak HR, 7:23 hrs sleep, 172.0 lbs, 11 floors climbed
run: 3.85 miles, 34:31, 8:57 pace, 133 avg HR, 158 avg cadence, 27F, 51% RH, 10 mph SE wind, wind chill 18F, overcast
I just had to get out so I wouldn't feel like a slug. I just kept to the LOSP trail. There was abut 1/2 inch of crusty snow but my Saloman SpeedCross 4 trail shoes made easy work of it. My splits were: 9:16, 8:37, 9:02 and 8:53 over the last 0.85 mile.

Friday, 1/10/2020: 12953 steps, 48/116 resting/peak HR, 6:48 hrs sleep, 171.2 lbs, 0 (!) floors climbed

Saturday, 1/11/2020

12951 steps, 49/157 resting/peak HR, 6:58 hrs sleep, 170.0 lbs, 4 floors climbed
run #1: 0.61 miles, 5:26, 8:58 pace, 122 avg HR, 154 avg cadence, 57F, 70% RH, 17 mph SSW wind, overcast
run #2: 5.07 miles, 40:42, 8:02 pace, 146 avg HR, 163 avg cadence, 57F, 70% RH, 17 mph SSW wind, overcast

Today's race was my tenth Freezeroo #3. Freezeroo #3 (site and distance) has changed around over the years. Here are my previous Freezeroo #3s (Camp Eastmond 5K - 2007 - 22:34, 2011 - 22:24; Casey Park 10K - 2013 - 40:06; Pineway Ponds Park - 2014 - 37:04, 2015 - 36:43, 2016 - 36:18, 2017 - 37:42, 2018 - 41:46 and 2019 - 38:42). Today's Freezeroo #3 was different ... first it was 57F and windy, second ... I changed over to my smaller running bag. So ... I left stuff behind (filling up my water, my personal cell, charging my earbud and filling my water bottles). But ... it wasn't my first race (501st actually) so I made due. I got to the race venue a bit because I stayed a bit later to make sure that my honey, Christine, had her morning coffee. I got there just before 9:40 AM. I could see that the early start runners were assembling just as I parked. I got out for a wee 0.61 mile warm up run on the way to the start line, link here.

I said "Hi" to Andy Ciaio before the race. He said that he wanted to draft off me since it was windy. He does that ... I can usually only run with him for less than a mile ... lol! And ... we were off!

The start ... photo courtesy of Christina Darlak Ruhland

I got up to race pace easily. Andy moved ahead after about 1 mile. Joe Ciecierega and I passed and repassed each other before he moved ahead after mile 2. I had a bit of trouble during mile 3 as the course turned into the wind. I had to take 2 or 3 tiny walk breaks to catch my breath. I got back up to race pace ... and pushed it ... only a mile to go ... push ... timer was over 40 ... and done in 40:40 or so!

Cruising in the finish ... photo courtesy of Christina Darlak Ruhland

Done! Photo courtesy of Vickey Beaver

I headed back to the lodge. I couldn't stay long so I had a mini-muffin, mini-bagel and chocolate chip coffee. I had time to check on email, Facebook, check on Christine and a shower before I had to head back out. The results at hourglassworks.com were up before I could sit down though. I finished in 40:40, 51st out of 164, link here. I was 4th out of 13 in my M 60-64 age group, link here.

I headed back out to take my daughter, Karen, and her dog, Pooka, to PetSmart in Victor so Pooka could get a trim. We wandered around Eastview Mall while we waited He did look like he had less hair when she picked him back.I was back up to Rochester by 6 PM.