Hi All,

Sunday, April 6th to Saturday, April 12th: 23.3 miles

I ran the usual three times last week:

Sunday: Spring Forward 15K, 9.3 miles, 40F, PR by 3 minutes, 40F, calm, no stops, 7:40 pace
Tuesday: 7 miles, 65F, sunny, calm, no stops, 7:42 pace
Thursday: 7 miles, 55F, calm, no stops, 7:33 pace

I have amped up my running by concentrating on lengthening my strides and pushing off. Thursday's run on my usual 7 mile route was a PR.

My father is in Newark-Wayne Hospital with a bladder infection. I have been heading to the hospital after work to see him. He looks well.

Keep running, Doug

Hi all,

Sunday, March 30th to Saturday, April 5th: 24.3 miles
Month of March: 106.1 miles, I ran 13 out of 31 days, 8.2 mile average

I ran 3 times this week:

Sunday: 10.3 miles, 30F, sunny, calm, no stops, 8:11 pace
Tuesday: 7 miles, 55F and falling, very windy, no stops, 8:16 pace
Thursday: 7 miles, 55F, calm, no stops, 7:39 pace


I just got in from running the Spring Forward 15K held in Mendon Ponds. The results are here. I finished in 1:11:21, 7:40 mile pace! I set my Forerunner 305 to show me lap time per mile which helped a lot. I started out fast with a 7:09 first mile and kept it up. I was slowing at the end with one mile at 8:00. The Mendon Ponds hills tried their best to do me in but I conquered them ... today at least.

Michael's junior recital down at Ithaca College went very well yesterday. I had heard bits and pieces before never all of it. It sounded very well. He did a very good job. He had a CD made so I should have it by next week.

Well ... the girl that I was chatting with from fitness-singles.com told me I wasn't her type after a less than one minute conversation when I met her at medical fair that St. Michael's had yesterday. I was at least willing to give her time for coffee and conversation before I made my "yea or nea" decision ... call me old-fashioned. But I guess the internet age moves fast. Well, my mother told me that there are plenty of fish in the sea.

Well, time for a shower.

Keep running, Doug

I am still pumped about the great run I had yesterday!

It was a warm, calm 55F late afternoon. I wore shorts, long sleeve shirt and light mittens (just in case of wind). I had an Energy Gel GU before I headed out. I concentrated on lengthening my stride and pushing off instead of plodding. I ran a 7:20 first mile and didn't let up too much. I ran my usual 7 mile route in 53:35, a 7:39 mile pace!!

I hope to bring this into the Spring Forward 15K on Sunday. The rolling hills of Mendon Ponds may have other plans though. I ran a 1:14:29 last year, a 8:00 mile pace. I want to run under 8 and set a lifetime PR. I may be 50 but I still got some kick left!

I also chatted with someone from fitness-singles.com last night and tonight. Maybe I can find a exercise partner and more?

Keep running, Doug

Happy April Fool's Day!

The Top 100 April Fool's Day Hoaxes Of All Time

The weather of Upstate New York pulled its own joke today. Temperatures were in the mid 50s at 8AM, mid 60s by 2PM, then a fierce, gusty cold front whipped in and now it's 41F with a forecast low of 30F. The top gust at the Rochester airport was 54mph.

I went for a 7 mile run in the wind from 5PM to 6PM. I thought I would run in shorts and a ls shirt but I was glad I wore shorts with wind pants and a ss and ls shirt. I ran a slow but steady 8:16 pace. More than a few times I was almost blown over by the wind! Running in the wind is quite tiring.

Keep running, Doug

Saturday, March 23rd to Sunday, March 29th: 19.4 miles

I ran three times this week:

Sunday, 7 miles, 28F, sunny, a little windy, no stops, 8:10 pace
Tuesday, 7 miles, 42F, windy, no stops, 8:19 pace
Thursday, 5.4 miles, 40F, rainy, calm, no stops, 7:48 pace

I ran pretty hard on the Thursday run. It was sprinkling, damp and a little raw so I just went out, ran hard and went in. It felt good to just get out and let it go!

I went to a friend's house, MK, to help her paint on Saturday. I painted her kitchen ceiling while she painted the walls. It was a workout ... painting a textured ceiling with a 9" roller is hard work! We did have a little fun ... I stepped in her small paint tray while I looking up to see if I had missed a spot. It took longer than we thought, as usual with most things in life.

I have signed up for the Spring Forward 15K on April 6th in Mendon Ponds. It will be my first race of the season.

Keep running, Doug

Hi All,

Sunday, March 16th to Saturday, March 22nd: 20.4 miles

I only ran twice this week, alas!

Tuesday: 7.8 miles, 40F, misty, windy, uphill, 1 stop for a hat, 8:17 pace
Friday: 12.6 miles, 28F, a little windy, no stops, 8:18 pace

Not too much happened this week. Only four days of work because Kodak had Good Friday off ... so I do too, unpaid. I spent the morning attending to my car. I got my car inspected, tires rotated and fixed the rattle. It turned out that my right rear strut mount needed to be replaced. Many thanks to RTR Enterprise in Palmyra. My green 99 Grand Am has 198K on it. It runs pretty well. I get around 25.8 mpg. It may have a few rust spots but it gets me from point A to point B.

I went to another Rochester Run Raisers happy hour at the Holiday Inn Airport on Thursday night. I didn't stay too long. I checked out the room and didn't see any woman my age that I wanted to meet.

Karen is home on Easter break from Houghton College again. She was over on Friday night with a couple of friends, Josh and Travis, to celebrate her 20th birthday.

I went out on Saturday night with a friend. We met at the Olive Garden near Marketplace Mall in Henrietta for supper then proceeded to take back some returns that she had. We didn't go a mile from where we met.

I am still working on those three kitchen cabinet doors that won't close. I am going to see if Home Depot will take the doors and notch off 1/8" the inside edges. That would be a tremendous help. Then I will repaint and rehang the doors.

Keep running, Doug

Hi All,

Sunday, March 9th to Saturday, March 15th: 30 miles

I ran four times week ... getting back to my every other day schedule for a bit.

Sunday: 6 miles, Treadmill, 1/2 - 7.5mph @ 5%, 1/2 - 7.5 mph @ 4%, 8:00 pace
Tuesday: 7 miles, 32F, calm, no stops, 7:58 pace
Thursday: 7 miles, 40F, a little windy, no stops, 8:06 pace
Saturday: 10 miles, 44F, calm, no stops, 8:01 pace

My times are quicker this week. I think it's because I consistently concentrated on extending my stride. I was under 8:00 pace on my Saturday run until the very end.

FYI, I read in April issue of Runner's World that a 160 pound runner burns 873 calorie per hours running at a 8 minute mile pace. Gee, that sounds like me!

I hung all my kitchen cabinet doors ... except for the two above the refrigerator. These two are a PITA! The left one matches up height-wise with the others but will not close. The right one is about 1/4" high and will not close. I tried switching them to no avail. I believe I will have to plane them to fit. Why they didn't fit like the others is beyond me. Maybe they didn't fit in the first place and I just didn't know?

I went to Garden Scape at the Dome Center in Rochester on Saturday night with a friend. There was certainly a lot to see ... a sensory overload of people, plants and ponds! We ate supper afterwards at the TGI Fridays opposite MCC. I took Michael back to Ithaca College on Sunday. I couldn't see my father at the Wayne County Nursing Home on Sunday because his unit was on quarantine. I didn't want to give or receive the flu.

Keep running, Doug

Hi All,

Sunday, March 1st to Saturday, March 7th: 14.7 miles

I only ran twice this week. Work and snow conspired against me.

Monday: 8.7 miles, night run, 54F, windy, no stops, 8:13 pace
Friday, 6 miles, night run, 32F, wet snow, sloppy, no stops, 8:28 pace

March has come in like a lion ... just look at the temperature extremes this week. Right now, it's windy 19F outside on Sunday morning at 9:21AM. Monday, the high was 65F in Rochester NY. I awoke to a quarter inch of ice on my car on Wednesday morning. I took the Thruway and 490 to work rather than 31. I ran around the high school track on Friday night to get in a run. It was more hazardous driving to the track because the roads had not been plowed than it was running around it 24 times. The weather on Saturday was even worse ... around 28F with a combination during the day of freezing rain, sleet, snow and a couple rumbles of thunder! I did get out during a break in the weather to get some stuff around Newark done (bank, post office, a hair cut, groceries at Savealot).

I am still, yes still, finishing up the kitchen. I absolutely will get done today hanging the cabinet doors and getting stuff out of boxes back into the kitchen.

I did go to a Rochester Fun Raisers happy hour at the Holiday Inn Airport on Thursday night with a friend, MK. It was OK. I mingled a little.

Michael is home from Ithaca College this week on break. He and I caught up on our sleep on Friday night. Him after several weeks of study and me after a week of work.

Keep running, Doug

Hi All,

Sunday, February 24th to Saturday, March 1st: 22.4 miles

I ran three times this week. It was very cold on Wednesday and Thursday, with highs below 20F and lows close to 0F with wind to boot. I ran on the ... cough ... treadmill on Friday morning. The snow on Wednesday night or the windchill on Thursday night or Friday morning was just too much.

Monday, 8 miles, night run, , 32F, calm, no stops, 8:09 pace
Friday, 3.1 miles, treadmill, 7 mph, 4% incline, 8:34 pace
Saturday, 11.3 miles, 36F, windy, slushy, no stops, 8:33 pace

I got my first paycheck from Adecco. No brakes! I had a big surprise when I tried to stop at the end of Grace Ave on my way to my first divorce hearing. So part of my first paycheck was spent on getting rear brake lines done on my car. Thanks to RTR Enterprise in Palmyra for squeezing me in on Friday. More money will get spent when my child support is readjusted ... oh, joy. I could rant but again will pass. I will just be happy when I am divorced. I have a bottle of champagne already chilled.

I ended up taking all of Friday off due to the divorce hearing and getting my car fixed. I went out with a friend to the Cracker Barrel in Henrietta. We had a good meal (Chicken BLT for me and Chicken and Dumplings for her) and shared a Coca-Cola Double Fudge Chocolate Cake for dessert. We also talked tech. It's refreshing to be able to talk tech with a woman and not have her eyes glaze over. We browsed their extensive gift shop after dinner. I also responsibly recycled an old TV and computer at eWaste.com (aka Regional Recycling and Computer Recovery) in Victor earlier in the day.

My daughter had some friends over on Saturday night. Karen bakes very well. We had cookies, some pizza dip and watched a couple DVDs of Jeff Dunham. He is pretty funny.

Both the Newark girls (link here) and boys (link here) got bounced in the semifinals so no trips to the finals for me I guess.

Keep running, Doug

Hi All,

Sunday, February 17th to February 23rd: 25.4 miles

I modified my running schedule due to work (which is a good thing):

Tuesday night: 7 miles, 20F, windy, no stops, about 8:30 pace
Thursday night: 7 miles, 20F, calm, no stops, 8:23 pace
Saturday afternoon: 11.4 miles, 36F, calm, no stops, 8:25 pace

I amped up my long run. I could have run more ... I just keep on going like the Energizer Bunny, I guess.

My new job at Kodak office on the IT Help Desk is interesting. Their help desk is designed for high and critical priority calls and handles a lot more people with more apps and accounts. Kodak has a lot of online FAQs so that users can handle a lot of their support. I have listened to calls, received training and slowly got my accounts up and running. I handled two tickets on Friday; one via email and one by calling the customer with an answer to her question. Next week I am told that I will answer some live calls with someone listening to help me. The drive on Route 31 is 33 miles one way.

I am still finishing up the kitchen. I am laying down contact paper in the cabinets and drawers right now. I will be rehanging the cabinet doors this week. Then the bathroom will be last, but not least.

I watched War from the RedBox at Wegmans in Newark. I have been watching action movies lately.

Both the Newark girls and boys basketball teams have made it to the quarterfinals in their respective Section V tournaments. The girls bracket link is here. The boys bracket link is here. I hope to catch both finals (if they make it that far).

I am still converting my VHS tapes (ST-DS9 and ST-Voyager right now) to DVD. I ran into quite a string of bad DVDs (10 or so) this week. Either that would not even load or would not close after the write. I have changed to another brand of DVD-Rs. The first two were good.

Today I am headed down to Ithaca for Michael's Wind Ensemble concert. The concert will be held away from Ithaca College at Cornell University's Bailey Hall. According to Michael, it will be loud ... he will be wearing earplugs.

Keep running, Doug

Update: I am back from Ithaca. The concert was awesome. Bailey Hall is a horsehorse auditorium with a balcony built especially for musical concerts. The last piece was Circus Maximus by John Corigliano. Here is a quote from the program:

"The Circus Maximus of ancient Rome was a real place - the largest arena in the world. 300,000 spectators were entertained by chariot races, hunts, and battles. The Roman need for grander and wilder amusement grew as its empire declined.

The parallels between the high decadence of Rome and our present time are obvious. Entertainment dominates our reality, and ever-more-extreme "reality" shows dominate our entertainment. Many of us have become as bemused by the violence and humiliation that flood the 500-plus channels of our television screens as the mobs of imperial Rome, who considered the devouring of human beings by starving lions just another Sunday show."

Back to the concert - there were trumpets, snares, trombones, etc stationed all around: behind, to the left, to the right and on the balcony. The trumpets heralded like the Roman trumpets. The climax in the sixth movement was quite loud, the climax at the end was punctuated by a shotgun blast.