Sunday, 1/2/2022 to Saturday, 1/8/2022 - Freezeroo #3

I walked 4 times this week, 7.2 miles.

I ran 4 times this week, 14.89 miles.

I didn't bike this week.

I took 60,738 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.

WALKING/RUNNING/BIKING: I am pretty sure that I have 95% recovered from plantar fasciitis in my right heel. I have been wearing compression socks and stretching a lot for at least 3 months now. It has slowly helped over the past 2 months. I ran (yes, ran) 4 times last week. A run is better than a walk in my 64-year-old mind.

BTW, I am on a 557 day streak of either a walk, run or bike of greater than 1 mile (as of Saturday night, 1/1). There were more than a few days when a mile was all I could walk or limp.

COVID-19: I have a L3Harris Vaccinated medal to put on my L3Harris badge when I work for Ricoh on-site. L3Harris went back to all mask policy despite vaccination status on 8/3 and will implement (I think) a full vaccine mandate on 1/8/22 (with an allowance for religious exemption). NY went back on an indoor mask mandate on 12/13 for the next month. I always wear a mask when I go into a grocery store like Wegmans or BJs. I still socially distance indoors. Why? Because of the Delta (and now the Omnicon) variant that's why. Christine and I have had both shots and the booster (hers was Pfizer and mine was Moderna). All my kids have had the COVID-19 vaccine or have had COVID-19 (and got the vaccine). My motto: get vaccinated, boosted and wear a mask properly!

Sunday, 12/26/2021

6029 steps, 41/134 avg/max HR, 12:55 hrs sleep (I doubt it), 179.7 lbs, 12 floors climbed

Run: 3.35 miles, 31:43, 9:27 pace, 32 feet elevation gain, 125/140 avg/max HR, 157/172 avg/max cadence, 24F, 100% RH, 4 to 17 mph NE wind, wind chill 17F, overcast with flakes of snow

Shoes: Salomon Speedcross 4 trail shoes blue: 158.58 miles

I woke up around 4 AM and stayed awake for a couple hours. I comtemplated just getting up and going out for a run but for two reasons: I had only 4 hours of sleep and it was snowy and icy. So ... I went back to sleep for another 2.5 hours. A cold front had blown the mid 40s warmth away and brought in mid 20s and an inch of snow. So ... I went back to my usual winter running gear of Brooks tights, Brooks 1/4 zip long sleeve pullover and Brooks beanie. I added my balaclava and some new stuff: Craft insulated underwear and Springs mittens. I even wore my Salomon SpeedCross 4 running shoes for traction. I got out and set up an easy and steady pace on my "Out to Dewey Ave" route. My new stuff was a little bit of an overkill but I was snug as a bug in a rug. There wasn't any ice or maybe my running shoes just cut through it.

Monday, 1/3/2022

9144steps, 42/97 avg/max HR, 6:36 hrs sleep, 180.1 lbs, 18 floors climbed

Walk: 2.0 miles, 31:41, 15:51 pace, 19 feet elevation gain, 83/98 avg/max HR, 114/135 avg/max cadence, 14F, 79% RH, 6 mph WNW wind, wind chill 6F, cloudy

Shoes: Salomon Speedcross 4 trail shoes blue: 160.58 miles

A saner man would have said "Screw this, it's a good day to bag it or do the treadmill!". But ... I guess I am not that man. Yes .. it was 14F with a wind chill of 4F. Yes ... it was dark, cold and a bit windy. Yes ... I am not sane ... or at least stupid. So ... I put on all my running winter gear. I got outside and got about 100 feet before I turned around and changed from my Brooks Adreanaline GTS20 running shoes to my Salomon Speedcross 4 trail shoes. I ventured forth and was walking at slower but OK pace when I hit a patch of ice on the sidewalk on Greenleaf Rd. It was dark but I knew that there were wet patches on that sidewalk from previous walks. Well ... those wet patches were now ice! I had traction on the crunchy snow but not on the smooth snow that had ice underneath it. So ... I moved to the snow covered grass when I got to where I knew ice might (and did) lurk. I encountered a solid stretch of ice on an uphill spot on the LOSP trail. There I just slowly inched up until there was crunchy snow again. I stayed upright and went straight inside without stretching. Brr!!!! I was cold and my fingers were freezing! Wow ... I ran in shorts two days ago!!!

Tuesday, 1/4/2022

9286 steps, 41/134 avg/max HR, 8:30 hrs sleep, 180.5 lbs, 20 floors climbed

Run: 3.35 miles, 30:39, 9:09 pace, 35 feet elevation gain, 128/136 avg/max HR, 159/167 avg/max cadence, 23F, 90% RH, 3 to 13 mph SSW wind, mostly cloudy

Shoes: Brooks Adrenaline GTS20 black: 416.91 miles

I fully expected it to be 10F when I woke up because that's what it was when I went to bed. But ... it had warmed up to 23F by the time I woke up at 5:50 AM. I wanted to keep on the streets so I chose a "Out to Beach Ave and around" route. The route was OK when I was on the road but not OK when I was on the icy sidewalk. I didn't do anything stupid so I stayed upright. I don't think I will run it again until the ice on the sidewalk melts.

Wednesday, 1/5/2022

9518 steps, 41/139 avg/max HR, 7:58 hrs sleep, 178.9 lbs, 30 floors climbed

Well ... my day didn't start out very well. First ... I didn't wake up until 7 AM. My cell alarm was set for 5:50 AM, MTWTF and the volume was up. My "punch in" alarm went off at 8 AM and I went downstairs to my basement office ... err, old kitchen table and punched in to Ricoh. Then ... I noticed a growing puddle under the hot water heater. I went up to Christine and she called the Greenleaf Meadows emergency number. A repairman was here at 8:26 AM. Soon, he was joined by another. One brought a carpet extractor and fan. The hot water heater was drained, cut out and a new one installed by 11:30 AM. I called out of work at 2 PM. I decided to get out for my walk that I didn't get to this morning.

Walk: 1.0 mile, 13:30, 13:26 pace, 12 feet elevation gain, 88/97 avg/max HR, 120/130 avg/max cadence, 39F, 68% RH, 3 to 17 SSE wind, wind chill 37F, overcast

Shoes: Brooks Adrenaline GTS20 black: 417.91 miles

I intended to get out for a 2 mile walk and headed out to Beach Ave. I set a brisk pace and then decided to switch it up by adding a run.

Run: 3.1 miles, 26:53, 8:41 pace, 82 feet elevation gain, 131/140 avg/max HR, 157/165 avg/max cadence, 39F, 68% RH, 3 to 17 SSE wind, wind chill 37F, overcast

Shoes: Brooks Adrenaline GTS20 black: 421.01 miles

I knew that the weather forecast was colder weather tomorrow so I decided to add a 5K run all the way out to the end of Beach Ave and back ... just in case. The bonus was that I got a run in during the daylight. Boom ... done! My splits were 8:49, 8:33, 8:40 and 8:35 over the last 0.1 mile.

Thursday, 1/6/2021

8821 steps, 44/143 resting/max HR, 178.3 lbs, 17 floors climbed

Walk: 2.1 miles, 26:07, 12:25 pace, 54 feet elevation gain, 132/154 avg/max HR, 130 avg cadence, 23F, 76% RH, 9 to 33 mph SW wind, mostly cloudy

Shoes: Brooks Adrenaline GTS20 black: 423.11 miles

It didn't do much overnight ... except get colder and windy. So ... it was damn cold for a walk. So ... I set a very brisk pace on my "Out to Beach Ave" route. I found out how windy it was when I turned back at the end of Greenleaf Rd to head home. Brr!!! My splits were 12:20, 12:26 and 12:59 over the last 0.1 mile.

Friday, 1/7/2022

6682 steps, 41/104 avg/max HR, 7:01 hrs sleep, 180.1 lbs, 12 floors climbed

Walk: 2.1 miles, 27:57, 13:19 pace, 42 elevation gain, 92/111 avg/max HR, 125/142 avg/max cadence, 23F, 96% RH, 5 to 12 mph SSW wind, wind chill 17F, cloudy

Shoes: Brooks Adrenaline GTS20 black: 425.21 miles

My alarm went off at 5:50 AM and I was out the door by 6:30 AM. It was just as cold but not as windy. It was definitely a walk day since I have Freezeroo #3 tomorrow morning, a 5 mile race out in Spencerport. I set a brisk pace on my "Out to Beach Ave" route. My splits were 13:03, 13:19 and 15:57 over the last 0.1 mile

Saturday, 1/8/2022

11258 steps, 42/147 resting/max HR, 8:42 hrs sleep, 181.3 lbs, 27 floors climbed

I slept in until 7:10 AM ... wow! It was cold, pretty calm and sunny ... a good morning to stay in bed under the covers. But ... there was a Freezeroo #3 to be run so I got up, ate a bit to eat, got dressed and got going. It was cold so I brought most of my cold weather running gear with me. I got to Pinewood Ponds Park around 9:10 AM in plenty of time for the 10 AM start. I got my bib and relaxed. I didn't drink much water so I didn't have to wait in the long line for the bathroom. I took about a 1/2 mile warm up run (unrecorded). It was chilly and sunny with not much wind. The park road was plowed but had a thin coat of snow so the traction was not the best but my Brooks Adrenaline GTS20 running shoes did OK.

Run: 5.09 miles, 42:02, 8:16 pace, 70 feet elevation gain, 138/151 avg/max HR, 164/175 avg/max cadence, 16F, 79% RH, 7 mph S wind, wind chill 7F, sunny

Shoes: Brooks Adrenaline GTS20 black: 430.30 miles

The start - taken by Christina Darlak Ruhland

I did about a 1/2 mile warm up run that I didn't record on my Garmin Venu. I stood next to Andy Ciaio at the start. And ... we were off! I got up to race pace quickly. The traction was OK ... but a bit iffy during the detour into the neighborhood streets during mile 1. It was better when we got to the main roads. Everyone ran in the road so I did too. I stayed with the pod of runners I was with ... until they got too slow. I've run this Freezeroo with this course 8 times now so I knew what to expect. I powered up the hill at mile 2 and just kept my pace as I ran. I didn't really think of stopping to catch my breath. I just wanted to keep my position in the group of runners I was running with ... mile 3 ... mile 4 ... turn onto Rt 269 ... turn into the park ... see the finish ... under 42 ... done! I bumped fists with some runners and walked to the warm lodge. I was very happy with my pace. It's been a long time since I ran a good 5 mile race like that.

Cruising into the finish - taken by Christina Darlak Ruhland

Cruising into the finish - taken by Vicky Beaver

I'm a creature of habit. I wear mostly the same winter running gear and eat the same post race food (the mini-muffin was new)

The race results were up on hourglassworks.com practically before I got home. I did OK. My official time was 41:58. I was 57th out of 142, results here. I was 5th out of 13 in my M 60-64 age group, results here.

I was pretty OK when I came home ... but I slowly but surely came down with a cold during the afternoon and evening. I had multiple sneezing jags (including a personal best of 13 in a row). My daughter and others think I should get a COVID test since the Omnicron strain presents as a cold to vaccine boosted people (like myself). Joy ... not.