Sunday, 12/3/2023 to Saturday, 12/9/2023 - Freezeroo #1

I walked 3 times this week, 4.55 miles.

I ran 5 times this week, 18.04 miles.

I didn't bike this week.

I took 57,996 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 have gotten over a nagging ache in my left hip/hamstring through lots and LOTS of stretching. So ... I do short walks (1.65 miles), runs (< 6.2 miles) or bike rides (< 20 miles) and then stretch afterwards. A run or a bike is better than a walk in my 66-year-old mind but any exercise is good in the end.

Walk/Run/Bike electronics: I use my Garmin Venu for runs and walks (backup for the bike). I listen to my Shokz OpenMove bone conduction headphones.

Trek Bike electronics: Garmin Edge 530 sensor bundle, Garmin Varia RVR315 rearview radar, Livall EVO21 smart helmet, and Redshiftsports Arclight pedals.

BTW, I am on a 1257 day steak (3 years, 5 months) of either a walk, run or bike of greater than 1 mile (as of Saturday night, 12/2). There were more than a few days when a mile was all I could walk or limp.

Sunday, 12/3/2023

7:55 hours sleep, 7812 steps, 47/145 avg/max HR, 170.2 pounds, 38 floors climbed

Run: 4.45 miles, 38:09, 8:34 pace, 72 feet total ascent, 131/148 avg/max HR, 159/181 avg/max cadence, 45F, 87% RH, 5 mph E wind, cloudy

Shoes: blue Brooks Glycerin GTS20 - 422.45 miles

I didn't get out until noon but I said for maybe the thousandth time ... "Runs don't get done by themselves". But I got out. It was above 40F so I wore shorts and the usual Brooks 1/4 long sleeve pullover along with my trusty Brooks beanie. I felt sluggish so it was like pulling teeth when I struck my usual nice and easy pace. But ... I just ran and kept on running when my body tried to tell me to stop like a thousand times. I was surprised when I saw that I ran a 8:34 pace since it felt like a 9:00+ pace. My splits were 8:49, 8:39, 8:42, 8:23 and 7:57 over the last 0.45 mile.

Monday, 12/4/2023

7:26 hours sleep, 9334 steps, 44/94 avg/max HR, 172.1 pounds, 6 floors climbed

Walk: 1.25 miles, 16:45, 13:22 pace, 7 feet total ascent, 85/97 avg/max HR, 124/136 avg/max cadence, 37F, 75% RH, 15 mph WNW wind, wind chill 29F, overcast

Shoes: blue Brooks Launch GTS8 -  355.44 miles

I accidentally deleted my 5:20 AM alarm on Sunday so I was both miffed and a bit more pissed when I woke up at almost 7 AM. I felt a bit off all day until I finally broke out while I was still clocked in on Ricoh's time for 30 minutes to do a brisk 1.25 mile walk around the L3Harris B601 building. My splits were 13:34 and 12:34 over the last 0.25 mile.

Tuesday, 12/5/2023

7:06 hours sleep, 4713 steps, 47/94 avg/max HR, pounds, floors climbed

Walk: 1.65 miles, 24:41, 14:58 pace, 10 feet total ascent, 78/92 avg/max HR, 118/128 avg/max cadence, 36F, 64% RH, 10 mph WSW wind, wind chill 29F, cloudy

Shoes: blue Brook Launch GTS8 - 357.09 miles

I felt like crap when my Alexa alarm went off at 5:20 AM. I dragged myself out and got a walk done. My splits were 15:23 and 14:18 over the last 0.65 mile.

Wednesday, 12/6/2023

7:14 hours sleep, 11421 steps, 44/140 avg/max HR, 174.5 pounds, 18 floors climbed

Run: 4.45 miles, 38:46, 8:43 pace, 64 feet total ascent, 129/145 avg/max HR, 160/198 avg/max cadence, A nice 8:43 pace. 30F, 86% RH, 5 mph NW wind, light snow

Shoes: blue Brooks Glycerin GTS20 - 426.90 miles

Alexa woke me up at 5:20 AM and told me that it was 30F with light snow ending in 15 minutes. I had felt out of sorts for the past 2 days but today it was back to the grind. Yes, it was a run day so I got up, did the usual, dressed like usual and got out there and did the usual "Out by the pier and around" route. There was a bit of ice on the boardwalk at the Ontario Beach Park. I ran carefully and had no trouble. The NW wind was a bit biting and tried to push me back during mile 3 on Beach Ave. My splits were 9:02, 8:39, 8:48, 8:42 and 7:56 over the last 0.45 mile.

Thursday, 12/7/2023

6:54 hours sleep, 10536 steps, 40/131 avg/max HR, 174.7 pounds, 18floors climbed

Run: 4.46 miles, 41:32, 9:19 pace, 61 feet total ascent, 122/134 avg/max HR, 158/202 avg/max cadence, 

30F, 86% RH, 5 mph S wind, light snow

Shoes: blue Salomon SpeedCross 4 - 255.53 miles

Alexa woke me up at 5:20 AM and told me that it was 30F with light snow. I had gone to sleep before 9:30 PM last night so I was well rested. It was another run day so I got up, got dressed and got outside. There was about 1" of wet snow that felt a bit slippery when I tested it so I changed to my rarely used Salomon SpeedCross 4 trail shoes. I set up a really careful pace and headedd out. There were a few slippery spots on the boardwalk by the Ontario Beach Park and the unplowed section of Greenleaf Rd before a snowplow came by. I got off the road by 20 feet when it came by. All in all, no worries. My splits were 9:41, 9:19, 9:16, 9:14 and 8:50 over the last 0.46 mile.

Friday, 12/8/2023

8:25 hours sleep, 4501 steps, 42/114 avg/max HR, 173.2 pounds, 9 floors climbed

Walk: 1.65 miles, 21:36, 13:05 pace, 24 feet total ascent, 101/121 avg/max HR, 123/191 avg/max cadence, 37F, 81% RH, calm, cloudy

Shoes: blue Brooks Launch GTS8 - 358.74 miles

I got out for a brisk walk on my usual "Out to Ling Rd" route. It was the usual walk on the day before a race. My splits were 13:18 and 12:46 over the last 0.65 mile.

Saturday, 12/9/2023

9:46 hours sleep, 9679 steps, 41/153 avg/max HR, 172.4 pounds, 11 floors climbed

Today's race was Freezeroo #1, a 6 race series of various distances that the Greater Rochester Running Club (GRRC) puts on every winter. The race venue was the Northstar Christian Academy on Lyell Ave where it's been held since 2014. The course is an out and back that snakes between buildings, a park, out onto Long Pond Rd and Trolley Blvd. It was a mild December morning so I wore shorts and a short sleeve tech. You gotta love a mild December morning!

Run: 1.55 miles, 14:08, 9:06 pace, 13 feet total ascent, 123/147 avg/max HR, 153/161 avg/max cadence, 54F, 47% RH, 5 mph S wind, cloudy

Shoes: blue Brooks Glycerin GTS20 - 428.45 miles

Run: 3.13 miles, 24:24, 7:47 pace, 16 feet total ascent, 145/156 avg/max HR, 163/223 avg/max cadence, 52F, 50% RH, 3 mph S wind, cloudy

Shoes: blue Brooks Glycerin GTS20 - 431.58 miles

I met up with a few runners (Joe Ciecieraga, Andy Ciaio and Laura Ciaio) before the race. I got out a really nice and easy warm up run of 1.55 miles at 9:06 pace. I took off my running jacket and settled in for the start. My approach to racing after over 570 races is just to line up and see what happens. And ... we were off! I got up to a quick race pace. My mile 1 split according to "One Mile" Pete was 7:48 ... a bit quick. I slowed a bit and just concentrated on mechanics. The turnaround was at about 12:08. I took a tiny walk in mile 3 and let 3 or 4 runners pass me again. I got back up to speed, held on and passed 1 or 2 of those runners. I was really surprised when I rounded the last turn and saw that the digital timer was just over 24 minutes ... and done officially in 24:25. So ... I ran another fastest 5K of 2023!

I went inside and had some cookies and a bit of a bagel. I did really well. I was 59th out of 148, 4th out of 11 in my M 65-69 age group. The hourglasstiming.com overall results here, age group results here. My splits were 7:39, 7:46, 8:04 and 6:59 over the last 0.13 mile.