Hi All,

Sunday, October 7th to Saturday, October 13th: 10 miles

Nothing too exciting ... I just ran my usual two 5 mile zoo runs at lunch during the week. It was a busy weekend. I painted the trim in the hallway and entranceway. Exciting stuff ... not!

I gave blood yesterday for the 61st time. My pulse was 72, blood pressure was 110/72. I guess I will continue kicking for a while.

Tonight I am going down to Ithaca College to see my oldest son play in the Wind Ensemble.

Ithaca College School of Music Concert Calendar

Keep running, Doug

Dallas 25, Buffalo 24 - October 9th, 2007

Hi All,

Sunday, September 30th to Saturday, October 6th: 13.1 miles

I ran my usual two 5 mile zoo runs at lunch during the week. I ran the Fairport Scarecrow Safe Journeys 5K on Saturday morning. I ran a PR of 22:17 with a first mile of 6:30. I placed 46th out of 286 (11 seconds out of 3rd). I even walked for a 100 feet or so. One of these days I will run a 'perfect' 5K and break 22 minutes.

Race results: http://grtconline.org/2007Results/2007ScareCrowOverall.html

It was a busy weekend. No painting got done. Saturday, I visited my daughter down at Houghton College during homecoming weekend. We saw an exciting men's soccer game, HC versus Point Park. HC won 1-0 on a goal with no time left in the 1st OT.

Houghton Men Win as Time Expires in First OT

Sunday, I visited my son down at Ithaca College. I saw him in two of the five choral groups, Chorus and Madigral Singer, during their Choral Collage concert.

Ithaca College School of Music Concert Calendar

I took both of them grocery shopping which I am sure was appreciated. However, it was a lot of driving and a pretty tiring weekend.

And yes, I watched the second half of the Dallas - Buffalo game on Monday Night Football. It was 7-7 when I joggged over to Parker's Grille and Tap House and it was Buffalo up 17-7 when I got there. Things were looking good ... up 24-13 in the 3rd quarter and even up 24-16 in the 4th quarter. Though the three touchdowns were on two interception returns and a 103 yard kickoff return. Then ... things went downhill. Of course there was a lone Dallas fan that cackled with suppressed glee as the Bills couldn't get a first down when it really mattered. Then Dallas scored the touchdown, failed in their bid for 2, went for an onsides kick, got it, and then the knife ... made not one attempt, but two attempts at the winning field goal and took the win and the breath away from the sold-out Ralph. Well ... at least we will have the top spot on SI's Best MNF Finishes of last 20 Years. Man ... to lose two games out of five to last second field goals ... but if the Bills offense could have made first downs when it mattered ... their record could have been 3-2 not 1-4. But would have, could have doesn't cut it in sports ... or in real life.

Keep running, Doug

Hi All,

Sunday, September 16th to Saturday, September 22nd: 11 miles
Sunday, September 23rd to Saturday, September 29th: 10 miles
Month of September: 38.5 miles, I ran 8 out of 30 days

Well, I am running just two days a week now. Usually Tuesdays and Thursday during lunch. Just to the zoo and down to the bottom of the hill and back is 5 miles. My left knee hurts after 3 or 4 miles but I just ignore it and motor on.

Let me step on my soapbox ... there are plenty of people that don't run that I see taking the elevator or outside smoking ... I just shake my head. I'm 50 ... I run. Everyone should do some form of exercise. Hey, I am 6' 3" and I used to weigh 182. I took me about 3 years to get down to 160 which I have maintained for the past year or so. I feel great. It wasn't all roses. I just discovered that I enjoyed running and slowly went from walking to running a little to running a lot to running long distance. Yes, I eat healthy ... mostly. Yes, it can hurt ... but I would rather hurt after running 5 miles than get out of breath because I went up two flights of stairs. OK, I will step off my soapbox now.

I am skipping my weekend run for now. I have to paint the inside of my house every weekend. So I need all the daylight I can get so I can see to paint. I really don't like painting at night. So far, I have two rooms (upstairs right bedroom and living room) almost done. Just bits and pieces need to be done in each room.

I thought a friend was going to help but maybe yes, maybe no. She helped one Friday night. We disagreed that the living room ceiling needed painting. It had not been painted in ten years. So I painted it the next day. It does look better. When I do a job I want it to look good ... even if I am going to sell the house after I get done.

Keep running, Doug

September 16th, 2007 - Happy 50th Birthday to me!

Hi All,

Month of August: 39.1 miles
Month of September (so far): 17.5 miles

It's been a long time between blog posts ... real life and injuries have gotten in the way. I am finally on the mend from a right calf pull, then a left knee ache. I ran the Palmyra Canaltown Days 5K in a PR of 22:30, a 7:15 mile pace, finishing 12th and good for 2nd place in my new 50-59 age group. I wanted to just run for fun ... after all, I hadn't run a race in 4 months but the competitive juices just flowed ... plus I was pacing someone for the first mile and a half. She left me in her dust when we started to go up a hill. I ran a 6:41 first mile and ran pain free.

What has happened to me running-wise over the past two months? Well, I did not run the Boilermaker 15K. I could not have run the race more than a couple of miles before I would have had to walk the rest of the way. My right calf slowly healed. Then when I started to run again my left knee hurt. But that has slowly gone away. I am happy to just run for fun now. I don't know if I will be able to run the longer distances. I think that always pushing for PRs, or pushing my mileage up too fast got me injured. I wanted to run the Rochester full or half marathon this morning but didn't want to injure myself again.

What has happened to me personally over the past two months? Well, I have come to the realization that I will have to fix up and sell my house so I can move up to Rochester. It is just too expensive to live way out in Newark and commute to Rochester. I grew up in Newark but what can you do?

Personally, life is frustrating. I am still not divorced. My wife ran out of retainer money with her lawyer and we have nothing to show for it. No settlement, no nothing ... we have been living separately for two years now. It is frustrating being lonely and wanting to have a relationship but not being able. So JK is a friend now ... not a girlfriend. I don't know what I was to her back in June and early July. I thought she was a girlfriend ... whatever that means nowadays. I guess I reached for something I couldn't have right now. I don't know much about the dating world of today. I asked her to let me know if I was screwing up ... well, she didn't. I thought I had found someone special ... for a while I was the happiest I had been in years. I had found happiness, motivation ... all that good stuff. Now I am just getting over the heartache and getting back the motivation that I will need to fix up my house. JK says she will help me fix up my house. I could use her input ... she knows quite a bit about this sort of stuff.

Well, it is my birthday but I need to get busy with my house. I have one upstairs bedroom painted and I have a lot more to do. I started out wanting to do one room a weekend. If I want to do that I will have to work every night after work. My first room took two weekends. Even though my house is just a small three bedroom cape ... it's a big house when you are all by yourself working on it.

I will continue to work in some running. Twice a week during lunch up at work and once during the weekend. I need the joy that running gives me.

Keep running, Doug

Hi All,

Sunday, June 24th to Saturday, June 30th: 0 miles

Yes, zero miles again. I did take a couple lunchtime walks of three and five miles around B6. My right calf is starting to feel better. I hope to try a test run of a mile or so either today or tomorrow.

I am signed up for the GRTC bus to the Boilermaker on Sunday morning plus the Boilermaker. I have to be at the RTS Park and Ride on 31F near 490 at 4:15AM. The bus will leave for Utica at 4:30AM. Hopefully, I will be able to get some more sleep! My plan for the Boilermaker is to finish with no plans for a certain time. The forecast for Sunday in Utica is sunny, race time temperature in the mid 60s.

The house is starting to look a little nicer. JK and I planted some flowers near the front and back entrances.

Keep running, Doug

Hi All,

Sunday, June 17th to Saturday, June 23rd: 0 miles

Yes, zero miles. The pain in the right calf prevented me from running. I did a walk around the parking lot at B6 one day. No, I have not gone to a doctor. I am trying the age-old method of trying to let it heal on its own. I am signed up to run in the Boilermaker 15K in Utica on July 8th. I will walk this race if I have to but I will be there!

I have turned some of my energy to home improvement. Last weekend my girlfriend and I pulled the carpeting leading to the upstairs bedrooms and cleaned the back room. I have been told to think of all the work that my house needs as room sized weekly projects. Just think of what you want to accomplish that week, else you will get paralyzed by all the work that needs to be done. That philosophy can be applied to life as well.

Keep running, Doug

Hi All,

Sunday, June 10th to Saturday, June 16th: 6 miles

Yes, you read that right ... a whopping 6 miles. I ran a slow 5 miler (greater than 9:00 pace) on Sunday to try out my new Pearl Izumi trail running shoes. I felt the usual pain in my right calf but this time it was sharp. I iced it and took ibuprofen. Then I ran a measured mile at Fleet Feet on Wednesday. I ran a 6:56. The same sharp pain was there. Ellen says I have a knot in my calf that needs to be worked out. I did manage to get a massage on Friday. So I am not running for the time being. I think I will try to get my bicycle tuned up so I can crosstrain.

Personally, it was a busy weekend. I hung out with JK on Friday night watching 'Night at the Musuem' and went up the Rochester Jazz Festival on Saturday to listen to the The Capitals and Rusted Root. There were thousands and thousands of people at the Jazz Festival. I was a first-timer and was totally amazed. I also tried a DeCaf Mocha Latte at Spot Coffee afterwards.

My brother and I saw my father at the nursing home for a father's Day party on Saturday afternoon. We took him outside to see the car show in the parking lot. We had some hotdogs and pop for lunch. It was a good day to see Dad, he was 'there'.

Keep running, Doug

Hi All,

Sunday, June 3rd to Saturday, June 9th: 21.5 miles

I only ran twice this week. Real life plus a tight right calf got in the way. I took my car in for service at RTR Enterprise in Palmyra on Wednesday for a left wheel bearing, front pads and rotors. Rather than wait around for two hours while it was done I decided to go out for a run. I headed over to the canal trail and headed west out and past Macedon 6.2 miles (49:00, a 7:54 pace), with a 0.2 mile break and 6.2 miles back (total 1:44:21, a 8:20 pace). The weather was perfect, mid 60s and sunny.

Today I ran in the PowerBar 9 mile Trail Race at Mendon Ponds put on by Fleet Feet. This was the second trail run for me ... by far the most difficult. The course was up, down, sideways and a little slippery ... particularly when we have to come down a rather steep hill. I finished 100th out of 136, in 1:29:46, a 9:58 pace. The results are here. As usual Fleet Feet put on a great race with a great post-race party. Afterwards I checked out the Outdoor Expo close by. I tried out a kayak for the first time. It was quite relaxing and fun.

This is Newarkfest weekend. Friday was quite the washout. The weather was initially around 90F. A severe thunderstorm rolled in around 7PM with lightning and high winds. A transformer blew and cut the power in a lot of Newark. I headed over and saw a couple of trees down on Bartle Ave. I tried to get something to eat but just ended up have a couple of beers at the Elks Lodge. Tonight there was quite the crowd ... quite young and perhaps looking for trouble.

My father has been moved upstairs at the Wayne County Nursing Home. He still knows who I am but often doesn't know where he is, where I live, etc. All I can say if that you should cherish your parents while they are alive and aware ... you can never tell when that may change.

Keep running, Doug

P.S. Oh, I signed up for the BoilerMaker 15K in Utica on July 8th.

Please Give Blood, June 7th, 2007

Hi All,

I gave blood for the 59th time today. I have had a drop of my blood spun to check if my iron level was high enough. A first for me.

My pulse was 50, my blood pressure was 118/68. My blood draw took 10 minutes. I was in and out in 45 minutes.

So remember ... please give blood. If you are squeasmish about needles, just shut your eyes ... I do. If you don't give blood, please consider donating money to the American Red Cross. You may not save your own life but you could save someone you care about. Sign up at: http://www.donatebloodnow.org.

Keep healthy, Doug

Hi All,

Sunday, May 27th to Saturday, June 2nd: 26.6 miles
Month of May: 120 miles, I ran 17 out 31 days

I only ran three times this week. I ran 6.75 on one of my usual routes in Newark on Monday (Memorial Day), 52:42, a 7:49 pace and Wednesday night, 52:21, a 7:46 pace.

I also ran 13.1 miles, a slow 2:02:05, a 9:16 pace, on a new route around Newark on Saturday morning ... like a dummy. I did carry water though ... a point in my favor. When I started around 9:30AM, it was already 77F. By the time I finished around noon ... running out of water at 10 miles, it was 88F. I was close to my house and drenched myself with water since I was seeing spots. I made it inside and immediately drank a Gatorade and spent some time on the floor with my legs up waiting for the tingling in my hands to go away. Well at least I know the warning signs. I should have run early Sunday morning but I am stubborn.

Things are really starting to pop on the running front. I have signed up for Fleet Feets Long Distance training program to give me some pointers on running the Rochester marathon in September. Race-wise, I am signed up for the Powebar 9 mile trail run in Mendon Ponds next Saturday and will probably run in the Medved 5K at Frontier Field on Father's Day. Janet will be in town from WA and might run. It will be fun to catch up if I see her. I am not going to sign up for many 5Ks so I may run all out. Maybe I can figure out my Forerunner 305s Virtual Runner feature to push myself. Then after that is the Harborfest 10K, the Furry Scurry 10K, the Firecracker 5 Mile and the Boilermaker 15K. Yes, I have signed up the GRTC bus trip to the Boilermaker on July 8th ... now to sign up for the race. I know I said that I wouldn't sign up for so many races ... but I have succumbed to the siren call of the race!

I went up to the Green Lantern on Friday night for a singles dance. I danced some. I hung out with a friend, JK, on Saturday night to watch a movie. I thought ahead and watched the Cleveland Cavs close out the Detroit Pistons to advance to the NBA Finals against the San Antonia Spurs via tape delay. I may have found the motivation that I have needed to get off my ass and starting doing the stuff that I need to get done. Time will tell.

Keep running, Doug