Sunday, 12/27/2020 to Saturday, 1/2/2021

This blog post is saved as I write it to avoid the Blogger "Auto Save" feature. I have found (as have others) that if you accidentally delete your entire blog post before you publish it that "Auto Save" will kick in within seconds to take you to a blank page. I have done this more than once! This feature is turned off once you publish the blog post. Then if you accidentally delete your entire post it is not final until you click Update (so you have a chance to realize that you are about to do something stupid).

I walked 7 times this week for 7.5 miles.

I didn't run this week due to a right glute injury.

I didn't bike this week. 
I took 25,526 steps this week according to my Garmin Venu smartwatch.
My Venu 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.

RUNNING/BIKING: My right hip (actually right glute) was injured when I took a trail run in the Lakeshore Country on  12/19. I can only walk/limp which does hurt. I wear a Buff when I am out so I can slip it up when I approach someone. BTW, I am on a 186 day streak of either a walk, run or bike (as of Saturday night, 12/26).

COVID-19: I work for Ricoh as a Site Leader. I work mostly from home now. I support the 169 Ricoh printers in the four L3Harris SAS buildings. I can remotely monitor them. I am required to wear a cloth mask when I enter any L3Harris building (actually when I exit my car in the parking lot) and also pass an automated temperature test before I can enter a turnstile. I also wear a cloth mask whenever I enter any public building ... like Wegmans or BJs. I realize that a cloth mask isn't a N95 mask but it's better than nothing. I don't have disposable gloves so I wear light running gloves. News links about gloves and clothing here, here and here. I don't want to spread COVID-19 if I am asymptotic (heaven forbid) nor do I want to catch it because someone isn't wearing a mask of their own. Remember ... wear your mask! It isn't a political statement! We are NY Tough!

Sunday, 12/27/2020

3165 steps, 48/101 resting/peak HR, 11:11 hrs sleep, 173.4 lbs, 4 floors climbed

walk: 1.05 miles, 22:29, 21:21 pace, 23 feet elevation gain, 89 avg HR, 107 max HR, 89 avg cadence,  31F, 77% RH, 4 mph S  wind, cloudy

I got out for yet another walk/limp. Yes ... it hurt a bit. Yes ... I did it anyway. Yes ... I need to see a doctor. I have a physical scheduled for 1/11/2021. I may go sooner. I had to slow down a bit on the LOSP Trail since it was a bit icy in spots and I definitely did not want to fall and hurt myself further.

Monday, 12/28/2020

2852 steps, 44/101 resting/peak HR, 12:35 hrs sleep, 171.9 lbs, 3 floors climbed

walk, 1.05 miles, 22:24, 21:20 pace, 13 feet elevation gain, 92 avg HR, 106 max HR, 90 avg cadence, 32F, 72% RH, 7 to 19 mph SSE wind, cloudy

I almost didn't get out before dark but I did. Sometimes it feels so pointless going out for a 1 mile walk but I forced myself to get dressed for the cold, get outside and get walking. My right hip felt a tiny bit better. I still limped but not as much. Progress? Maybe ... maybe not.

Later, I watched the Bills - Patriots game, link here. The Bills gave the Pats a 3-0 lead, then it was 3-3, 10-3, 10-9, 17-9, 24-9 at halftime, 31-9 and 38-9 .... yay! Several records fell. The Patriots were swept by a AFC East opponent and have a losing record this year (both since 2000). The Bills improved to 12-3 (first time since 1999), Josh went 27-36, passed for 320 yards, 4 TDs before he was rested early in the 4th quarter. He got his 34th TD pass in 2020 (most in a Bills season, one more than Jim Kelley), Stephon Diggs had 9 receptions, 3 TDs and 145 yards. He has 120 receptions and 1459 yards in 2020 (most for a Bills receiver, better than Andre Reed in both cases and best in the NFL this season). 

Tuesday, 12/29/2020

2713 steps, 50/91 resting/peak HR, 11:54 hrs sleep, 173.6 lbs, 3 floors climbed

walk: 1.1 miles, 21:44, 19:44 pace, 20 feet elevation gain, 78 avg HR, 86 max HR, 92 avg cadence, 27F, 80% RH, calm, mostly clear

My right hip felt a bit worse when I walked around our townhouse during the day. But ... I got out and walked anyway. My right hip did loosen up and I walked with a bit of a limp. There was a bit of crunchy snow and a smidge of black ice on the LOSP Trail so I had to be careful.

Wednesday, 12/30/2020

5419 steps, 47/114 resting/peak HR, 6;21 hrs sleep, 175.2 lbs, 4 floors climbed

walk: 1.0 mile, 25:19, 25:14 pace, 16 feet elevation gain, 97 avg HR, 125 max HR, 69 avg cadence, 43F, 60% RH, 16 mph SSW wind, overcast

OK .. I am f***ing stupid. I am still walking on a right hip has something f***ing wrong with it. This walk sucked. My right hip felt worse than yesterday not better.  It wasn't a sharp pain but I couldn't walk without a limp and worried that I was doing something bad on every step. It felt like someone was twisting a dull knife in my right hip with every step. Whoever was watching the security cameras at L3Harris B601 must have wondered if they were going to have to go out and help me! I have an unrelated doctor appointment tomorrow afternoon. I need him to fill out a Ricoh healthcare form with height, weight, blood pressure, glucose and cholesterol numbers so I can save $300/year on my healthcare. It's due on 12/31 ... nothing like waiting until the last day (I do this every year). I do think I will mention my right hip. I can just feel my lovely wife, Christine, nodding her head if she reads this.

Thursday, 12/31/2020

5525 steps, 

walk: 1.1 miles, 21:13, 19:19 pace, 13 feet elevation gain, 85 avg HR, 104 max HR, 97 avg cadence, 34F, 68% RH, 6 to 24 SSW wind, overcast

I got out early for my walk. My right hip felt better than yesterday. I got it done.

This was my last entry for 7 Races 7 Continents. I have been doing the Individual Run-Bike for this virtual face since 9/1, 122 days ago. My final stats were: 19 walks for 35.68 miles, 1.88 miles/walk; 55 runs for 294.77 miles, 5.36 miles/run and 48 bikes for 657.21 miles, 13.69 miles/bike. Total mileage was 993.1 miles. I would have liked to get to 1000 miles but another run or bike just wasn't in the cards due to injury.

I went to see my PCP, Dr. Lavender at Eastridge Medical Center. Part of the reason was to get my Ricoh healthcare form filled out and the other reason was to complain about my right hip and that I cough a lot. He also talked about my elevated TSH level. He determined that I had a strained right glute, he suggested that I hadn't been taking my Zrtec and I should drink more water. He also prescribed levothroxine to bring down my TSH level.

I left work a bit early to do a bit of grocery shopping. I stopped at BJs, Skip's on the Ridge and Wegmans. The longer I was out the worse my right glute hurt. I was limping badly and hurt quite a bit (OK ... A LOT!!!) by the time I got home. It seems that my right glute can only take so many steps during a day. I fought to get my Ricoh healthcare form uploaded to Quest for a bit before I could relax. My lovely wife, Christine, made an excellent New Year's Eve meal of filet mignon, shrimp, baked potato, mixed vegetables and salad. Mmm!

It's the end of the year so it's stat time!

I walked 13 times in December for 18.38 miles, 1.41 miles/walk and 48 walks for 91.26 miles, 1.9 miles/walk for 2020.

I ran 13 times in December for 66.17 miles, 5.09 miles/run and 159 runs for 778.49 miles, 4.9 miles/run for 2020.

I biked 5 times in December for 61.66 miles, 12.33 miles/bike and 98 bikes for 1328.92 miles, 13.56 miles/bike for 2020.

Total mileage was walk - 91.26 miles, run - 778.49 miles, bike - 1328.92 miles for a total of 2198.67 miles

I walked 195,467 steps in December and 2,319,898 steps in 2020.

So ... what to say about December? I was running pretty well until I decided to run in the Lakeshore Country Club on Saturday, 12/19. I put my right foot into a depression and tweaked my right glute. I limped and hoped that it would heal itself. I have walked/limped since then ... just to continue my 191 day walk/run/bike streak. Perhaps not so smart ... but I am not too smart sometimes and stubborn besides.

And ... what to say about 2020? All seemed normal but all races went virtual by early March as COVID-19 spread. Soon I was running virtual races and wearing a buff when I walked/ran/biked so I could pull it up if I got within 6 feet of someone. I ran quite a few virtual races before I went towards the longer multi-month virtual ones. I found that you can injure yourself when you run a virtual half marathon ... namely the Big Foot Virtual Half Marathon on 5/10. Pain in my left knee got worse and worse until I was forced to walk. I started the Summer Around the Finger Lakes 11 Lakes on 6/1 (completed 408.2 miles on 7/24). I walked and biked until I could run again on 6/30. I started a walk/run/bike streak on 6/24. I started the 7 Races 7 Continents Individual Run-Bike on 9/1 (completed 993.2 miles on 12/31). I injured my right glute on 12/19 when I ran in the Lakeshore Country Club but I continue to walk. I finished 2020 on a 191 day walk/run/bike streak (of at least 1 mile). So ... 2020 was a difficult year on the running front ... but I rolled with what life gave me to either walk, run or bike.

My 2020 races (in-person and virtual)

01/01 Freezeoo #2 - 7.5 miles, 1:02:32, 8:17 pace

01/05 Polar Cat #1 - 3.0 miles, 22:36, 7:35 pace

01/11 Freezeroo #3 - 5.0 miles, 40:40, 8:08 pace

01/25 Freezeroo #4 - 4.86 miles, 38:33, 7:56 pace

02/08 Freezeroo #5 - 8 miles, 1:06:09, 8:17 pace

02/16 Polar Cat #2 - 3.1 miles, 23:27, 7:38 pace

02/22 Freezeroo #6 - 4.32 miles, 34:15, 7:56 pace

03/01 Polar Cat #3 - 3.1 miles, 23:48, 7:40 pace

03/15 Virtual Runnin' of the Green -  5.0 miles, 40:18, 8:04 pace

04/04 COVID-19 19K virtual race - 11.78 miles, 1:40:37, 8:32 pace

04/18 Spring Clean Half virtual run - 13.1 miles, 1:55:36, 8:47 pace

05/02 FLRC COVID-19 19K virtual race - 11.78 miles, 1:43:21, 8:46 pace

05/09 Fleet Feet Virtual Mile - 1.0 mile, 7:18 pace

05/10 Bigfoot Virtual Half - 13.1 miles, 1:58:00, 8:58 pace

05/22 Power Hour - 5.52 miles, 1:00:00, 10:52 pace

06/1-07/24 Summer Around the Finger Lakes-11 Lakes 408.2 miles - 16 walks for 30.7 miles, 13 runs for 32.87 miles, 26 bikes for 344.63 miles

06/07 The Big Run 5K - 3.1 miles, 1:20:27, 25:55 pace

09/1-12/31 7 Races/7 Continents Individual Run-Bike for 993.2 miles - 19 walks for 36.4 miles, 55 runs for 297.5 miles, 48 miles for 659.3 miles

11/28 COVID-19 Race with Grace 10K - 6.2 miles, 53:45, 8:36 pace

I could say a bit about politics in 2020. Ok ... let's just say that 81 million voters will breathe a sigh of relief when Joe Biden puts his hand on his Bible on 1/20/21 to become the 46th President of the US! I could type all sort of Democrat talking points but ... it wouldn't change any Republican minds that Trump was the worst "President" in my lifetime. It seems that everyone has their own echo chamber nowadays. I don't frequent Fox News, Breibart or OANN for my news ... just CNN, the New York Times or the Washington Post.

Friday, 1/1/2021

2934 steps, 47/96 resting/peak HR, 10:10 hrs sleep, 174.4 lbs, 3 floors climbed

walk: 1.1 miles, 21:33, 19:31 pace, 33 feet elevation gain, 87 avg HR, 106 max HR, 102 avg cadence, 34F, 75% RH, 3 to 11 mph E wind, cloudy

I could have rested my right glute ... but what fun would that have been? I took a walk instead (and extended my 191 day walk/run/bike streak by another day. My right glute felt kind of OK. I walked with a slight limp. Onward!

Eric Eagan took some pictures this morning from his home on Cranberry Pond

I read on Facebook that some runners ran the Freezeroo #2 course that was cancelled due to COVID-19. Others ran trail or ran around the Bay.

Leftover shrimp for breakfast

sausage, baked potato, country spare rib, homemade cranberry sauce, applesauce

My darling wife, Christine, cooked and made an excellent dinner ... Mmm! I gather the food, she cooks it and I do the cleanup ... it works for us.

Saturday, 1/2/2021

2928 steps, 51/103 resting/peak HR, 9:02 hrs sleep, 174.7 lbs, 4 flors climbed

walk: 1.1 miles, 18:39, 16:57 pace, 23 feet elevation gain, 90 avg HR, 111 max HR, 108 avg cadence, 32F, 100% RH, 6 to 22 W wind, wind chill 26F, overcast

I got out for another walk. My right glute felt better good at first so I only had a slight limp. It got slightly worse by the time I got done. Progress ... I guess?