Here are my recollections of the Flower City Half Marathon, another excellent race brought to the Rochester running community by Fleet Feet and Yellow Jacket Racing. There are way too many people to thank for such a large event but kudos to every last one of them. Christine ran the Wegmans Family 5K. She had not run since Easter. She was signed up so she ran.
I was up early. Christine's snoring woke me up around 4AM. I got out of bed around 4:40AM. I did some of the dishes that were left from the night before. I had my usual pre-race breakfast of cereal with banana and OJ. I woke Christine up at 5:30AM. The temperature outside was 30F and the winds were calm. We dressed quietly. I paused at 6:15AM to look at the sunrise ... quite a sight. I posted on Facebook that I was aiming for a sub 1:40 race ... just a bit of pressure. We left for the Blue Cross Arena at 6:24AM. There was almost no traffic until we got downtown. We found a parking spot opposite the Dinosaur BBQ, geared up and headed down to the Blue Cross Arena. Christine's No-Bo picture was first, then my Brooks Racing Team picture was next.
I dropped off my drop bag with dry postrace clothes down in the Fleet Feet Recovery Zone ... a perk for Brooks Racing Team members. Then I headed out for a short 1.1 mile warmup run at 7:48 pace.
I got back from my warmup run with about 6 minutes to spare before the start. I lined up and got ready.
I dd turn around before the start ...
The lead pack of runners
Ellen counted us down and off we went at 7:30AM. The race first led us through the Susan B Anthony neighborhood where women in period costumes urged us onward.
I was running pretty well. Then we ran past Frontier Field and onto State St. When we got to Main St we could see the 5K runners up on Broad St starting their race. That was kind of cool. The race progressed up Main St and down East Ave to Brunswick St then back on Park Ave. I ran 5K in 22:52, 7:23 pace. Around the 4 mile mark, I stopped to rub my thighs for a few seconds. I was running well but they just felt off.
Mile 4.5 - East Ave and Oliver St
We turned onto South Goodman. I had a Gu and Gel at the water stop just before mile 6. I ran 10K in 46:41, 7:32 pace. We ran up South Goodman toward Highland Park. The spectator support here was very vocal along with signs and balloons.
The hills in Highland Park were certainly higher after having run 7 miles first. We entered Mt Hope Cemetery at mile 8. The cobblestone hill at the entrance was almost as difficult as a trail hill. The bagpiper at the top of that hill was nice. I ran with Mitch Moore for a bit. I ran very well past mile 9 once the Gu and Gel kicked in. I ran 15K in 1:10:58, 7:38 pace. I admit I used the "blonde ponytail" effect to pull me along before running past them and letting them follow me. We curved left and right, ran up and down for 2 miles before we exited. At mile 10, I saw Bill Beyerbach for a second to say "Hi". Just a 5K from here ...
Running through the U of R campus
Then we ran through the University of Rochester campus on the east side of the Genesee River for 2 miles. I saw Laura Church behind and beneath me as we curled up to the Ford St bridge to cross the Genesee River.
Crossing the Ford St bridge ... just under a mile to go!
I ran 20K in 1:34:07, 7:35 pace, with only 0.7 miles to go. I kept it cranked as I neared the finish line. I saw my darling Christine urging me on at mile 13 with a Go Doug! sign. I tried to pass one more runner, who just so happened to be in my age group, but he heard me and held me off. I closed the finish line ... tired and thirsty.
Sprinting for the finish!
The bling!
The 1:40 pace leader, Andy Franks, came in behind me so I did go sub 1:40, actually 1:39:23, 7:34 pace. A lifetime PR by 48 seconds!! Woo hoo! I finished 220th out of 2251, link here. I was 16th out of 105 in my M50-54 age group, link here.
Meanwhile Christine did OK in her 5K. She ran a 54:02, 17:19 pace. She was 850th out of 892, link here. She was 60th out of 64 in her F50-54 age group, link here.
Christine and I headed inside the Blue Cross Arena for some grub and to use the Fleet Feet Recovery Zone. We stayed for a bit and swapped running stories with fellow runners. We left, walked slowly to our car and were home by 11AM. Christine took a long nap. Meanwhile, I had lunch and coffee. I uploaded my Garmin to my usual sites and caught up on Facebook. A lot of PRs were set at this race. Dan Giblin ran a 1:28:42 and then went out for a 51 mile bike ride!
Heather Danielson ran 40.785 miles in 6 hours at BPAC, 1st overall female ... awesome!
Others like Heather Danielson and Tom Butler had ultra running fun at the 6 hour BPAC out in Buffalo, results here.
I was just a bit sore the rest of the day. Christine woke up sorer than I was so I ended up going out to KFC for supper. Mmm!
There are still things I need to work on if I want to improve on road races. I need to concentrate more on my stride. I am sure I could push off more if I concentrated on it. I need to able to drink water on the run. I walked through the water stops when I took water. I looked and that cost me about 2 minutes. It is going to look funny but I think Christine and I will have to practice water stops until I figure out a way to drink water on the run without coughing most of it back up.
But still ... all in all, a great day! The Democrat and Chronicle had stories here and here. Hopefully the drivers inconvenienced by the seemingly endless stream of runners were inspired to exercise! It's good for you!
Later, I ran over to Russell's house to retrieve our car. I took the scenic route. He had fixed the air conditioner in our 2000 Chevy Cavalier. Funny thing though ... the forecast is for 1-3 inches of wet snow by Monday night. But I bet we will be glad the A/C works before long ... I hope!
On the LA Lakers front, they played the Oklahoma Thunder at home. They came from 17 down at the start of the 4th quarter to force OT and then win in the 2nd OT, 114-108, link here. I didn't see much of the game though.
Monday, 4/23/12: Rest day.
Well ... the weather on Monday was not pleasant. A real light snow, rain and mist all day, certainly dreary! Christine made up a beef stew with onions, celery and carrots served over couscous along with salad, yum! Afterward we caught up on 3 episodes of NCIS: LA and an episode of GCB off of the DVR.
A good rest night ... my achilles were bothering me when I had to go down stairs during the day.
Tuesday, 4/24/12: Sehgahunda Training at Washington Grove, 6.35 miles, 1:04:57, 10:14 pace, 44F, cloudy, light mist, calm, no pain.
I headed down to Riley Lodge at Cobbs Hill for the latest edition of Sehgahunda Training. Only 10 or so diehards showed up. We headed out to the Washington Grove after a warmup. Sean and Laura showed us a loop course ... so we looped around, charging the hills and resting on the flats and downs. It was a bit boring and unchallenging after enduring the Muddy Sneaker 20K last Saturday.
I did some grocery shopping at Wegmans and hit up the Redbox for Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. Christine cooked up some pulled pork, I added some potato chips. The movie was quite good in the things blowing up kind of way!
Wednesday, 4/25/12: Sehgahunda Training at Cobbs Hill reservoir, 8.7 miles, 1:13:52, 8:30 pace, 54F, sunny, calm, no stops, no pain.
I headed down again to Riley Lodge at Cobbs Hill for today's Sehgahunda Training workout. I met up with 5 of the group; Don, Jim, Carl, Tammy and Jennica. The workout was 15 min warmup, 20 min tempo, 5 min slow, 10 min tempo, 2 min slow, 5 min tempo, 15 min cooldown. We headed up to the reservoir and took a loop around as a warmup. I ran with Don who runs the same pace that I do. It turned out that a loop around the 0.7 mile reservoir was 5 minutes or 7:10 pace. So we really pounded out the tempo loops.
Christine cooked up some yummy chicken thighs along with a baked potato and peas. Then we caught up on the latest episodes of Grey's Anatomy off the DVR.
Thursday, 4/26/12: Rest day.
Just an usual rest day. Christine went out for a massage at Massage Envy. I stayed home and watched a DVR of In Harm's Way. A classic from 1965 with John Wayne, Henry Fonda and Patricia Neal.
The weather has turned clear and cold. It's around 45F and windy during the day and around freezing at night. Brr! My Sehgahunda Training workout called for 45 minutes nice and easy. I really didn't want to drive anywhere so I just ran around the streets of Irondequoit on a route I knew well. I tried to take it nice and easy, I even stopped once to smell a lilac bush. But ... I did run at 7:48 pace. I think that bodes well for the Flower City Half on Sunday!
Christine cooked up a roast beef roast over baked potatoes and onions along with salad. Yummy! Christine wanted to up my protein intake since I am doing so much running.
Saturday, 4/28/12: Rest day.
My Sehgahunda Training called for 90 minutes nice and easy ... my body said rest for tomorrow's Flower City Half. I did feel bad that I did not make it out to cheer on any of the Flower City Du or Tri athletes this morning. I needed to sleep. It was around 30F this morning and did not warm up until 40F until noon. Oh well!
I did make it out to my daughter's and my youngest son's apartments in Newark and Palmyra, respectively. It was nice catching up with them after not seeing them for a bit.
Christine cooked up some ziti for supper along with shrimp as an appetizer ... yum! Did I mention she is an excellent cook? Thank goodness she found me via Facebook way back in August 2009!
Sunday, 4/15/12: Sehgahunda Preview Run #3, 12.96 miles, 2:52:49, 13:20 pace, 60F, cloudy to a light mist, no pain.
Christine and I woke up around 6:20AM to get ready to get down to Letchworth State Park for the Sehgahunda Preview Run #3. We dawdled for a while so we got down there just in the nick of time.
This run was from Check Point #3 (CP3) to CP6 and back. It was 60F or so, humid and a bit windy. So ... I overdressed and wore my Sehgahunda Training LabRat tech shirt, Brooks Racing Team arm warmers, shorts and light gloves. As soon as I walked up, we all started off. I fell into a nice and easy pace as we ran down from CP3. I powered up and down the hills and soon I was at CP4. I was hot so I took off my arm warmers and took a GU. After 3 minutes I was off to CP5 and then CP6. CP6 was a bit farther than I expected so I thought I had missed it until I met runners coming back. I met up with Christine in our car at CP6 for a couple of minutes. I took some water, a Gel, kissed her and headed back down into the woods. I started to hear a light pitter patter noise and realized that it had started to rain ... really a light mist which became a light rain at times. When I got back to CP5 I realized that I really had to take my wet shirt off because my left nipple was getting irritated. So I ran the last 4 miles without my shirt. By this time we had all strung out. I just saw the same three runners ahead of me coming down from each check point and I knew that only one other guy was ahead of them. Soon enough ... well after running for almost 3 hours, I got back to CP3 and stopped. I must say that this section was very rooty, hilly, and rocky. It required every bit of my concentration to keep upright and safe. I talked with one guy who rolled his ankle, did a faceplant and then ran 9 more miles ... he was not too happy about it.
I ate a PB&J sandwich and changed into dry clothes. Christine drove back home. We argued about a mile about her driving until I realized that I was really a horrible side seat driver and just shut my mouth. Hey, I'm a guy ... I like being in control. We stopped at Palmer's Wholesale Foods for spare ribs and browsed at Lori's Natural Foods in the Rochester Public Market in Henrietta on the way back. Christine cooked up the spare ribs with the Sylvia Spare Ribs recipe. The result was typical ... mmm, fall off the bone, delicious BBQ spare ribs!
We watched the final episodes of Battlestar Galactica off the DVR. Christine agreed with my opinion of the final episodes ... unsatisfying. But we did enjoy watching this series with Starbuck, Apollo, the admiral, Roslin, Baltar, Helo, Dr. Cottle, Cally, the hidden four (Sam, Saul Tigh, Galen and Rehka, ) and the fifth, Ellen. Along with the Cylons; Number Six, Boomer, D'Anna, Cavil and the hybrid. Just an intricate web of characters, plot twists and sometime copies!
Monday, 4/16/12: Rest day
Today was a well earned rest day ... and also the Boston Marathon! It was a hot day in Rochester with a high of 86F. It was even hotter out in Boston which affected the multitude of runners out there. I knew several people that ran: Tim Dwyer, 3:19:38; Heather Danielson, 3:48:32; Katie Urbonas, 4:14:07; Wendy Abbott, 4:16:18; Kathy Reardon, 5:10:23 and Steve Levitsky, 5:10:23.
Christine suggested that it was too hot to cook so I went back out to KFC and got a 6 piece meal with a mashed potato side. Mmm ... was that delicious!
Tuesday, 4/17/12: Sehgahunda Training at Cobbs Hill, 5.05 miles, 48:25, 9:34 pace, 50F, partly cloudy, a mild but cold wind, no stops, no pain
I headed down solo to Cobbs Hill for my usual Sehgahunda Training run at Cobbs Hill. I was a bit late because I stopped at Fleet Feet Brighton to sign up the Dirt Cheap series. I caught up with the group and learned about the workout. I did a 8 minute warmup, 3 reps of the stone steps, diagonal and the switchback, followed by a 12 minute cooldown. Just your average hill workout.
Wednesday, 4/18/12: Dirt Cheap #1
I headed down to the Devil's Bathtub section of Mendon Ponds Park for the first Dirt Cheap solo. The traffice was heavy so I didn't get there too early. But I was there just early enough so Boots (head of Sehgahunda Training) could suggest that I needed to get moving since it was only 12 minutes to race time. So I headed out for a short pre run before the race.
I lined up before the race and exchanged pleasantries with fellow runners. The race started ... my plan was to not to run out fast. My phone rang about a mile into the race, I ignored it. I settled into a pace that I could manage and tried to hold on. Running hills fast (Dirt Cheap style) is more than a bit different than running hills slow (Sehgahunda style). I walked the steep hills that I had to walk and manged to hold off some runners. I do believe that we went up the same hill twice but I am not sure. I remember that Boots was standing at the top of a steep hill taking our picture. I finished strong ... running up the infamous stairs.
I changed out of my wet tops into a sweatshirt. Then I listened to Heather Danielson and Kathy Reardon talk about their Boston Marathon experiences. The usual post race raffle was next. I won the last and best prize ... the Salomon trail shoes! Woo-hoo! I did OK in the race itself. I was 50th out of 286, link here. I was 5th out of 19 in my M50-54 age group, link here. Bill Beyerbach mentioned that he thought I ran it faster this year than last year. I ran DC#1 in 4.61 miles at 9:07 pace last year and 4.74 miles at 8:40 pace this year. He was right!
I went home expecting a luscious BLT waiting for me. Well ... due to a failure in communication Christine thought I had already eaten. My darling went to the freezer, pulled out the frozen bacon, cooked up the bacon and made us BLTs! It took a while but by 10:30PM we were eating luscious BLTs ... mmm! Meanwhile we caught up on a couple episodes of NCIS off the DVR. A late night but sweet!!
Thursday, 4/19/12: Rest day.
Christine and I had a nice stretch after I got home from work. Then we proceeded to do our laundry which had piled up for about three weeks. A late night ensued as we caught up on the rest of the NCIS episodes off the DVR.
Friday, 4/20/12: Rest night.
I know I was supposed to run ... but Christine and I decided that I needed to rest and carbo-load instead. I have a lot of running this weekend. The Muddy Sneaker 20K is tomorrow morning plus we want to fix our 2000 Cavalier's A/C this weekend. This will involve runs to and from our auto mechanic's house (3.5 miles minimum distance one way plus whatever I tack on).
Saturday, 4/21/12: Lots of running.
Christine and I got up at 6AM to get ready to drive down to Naples for the Muddy Sneaker 20K. The drive took an hour, then we drove up and up Parish Hill Rd to the start. We got there around 8:20AM ... in plenty of time. The weather was 45F, light rain and calm winds. It was a bit dreary but lots better than last year!
Just before the start ...
Waving as I go by up the hill from the start ... a long way to go!
I picked up my packet and got ready, just some stretches. Christine elected to stay in the car. This race attracted some serious trail runners. The race started on the road for 1/2 mile then into the woods for some rooty, rocky, muddy fun until mile 3ish.
The dancing chicken!
The dancing chicken at mile 3 signaled us onto loads of double track jeep trails. Up, up until mile 5 (we were running into either fog or clouds), then down, down until mile 6, then back up, up until mile 7.5. We saw the dancing chicken again at mile 7. Then back into the woods for more rooty, slippery, muddy, singletrack downhill fun for a long ways. We broke out for a bit then at mile 9 ran down a long, very steep downhill until we crossed a creek at mile 10.25 (the lowest part of the course at 853 feet). Then it was a walk up a very steep hill until we broke out into a double track jeep trail that led uphill to the finish. My Garmin will tell you I ran between 753 and 1899 feet and ran 2210 feet in elevation. I can tell you that I ran a lot of long ups and downs.
I crossed the finish in 2:08:11, which was a 6:50 minute PR, link here. I was 11th out of 33 in my M50-59 age group. Sweet! I was drenched and tired but done! My Sehgahunda Training on hills really helped me on the long uphills. I chowed down on some pizza with some hot chocolate. Then I called for Christine to bring the car closer ... I knew that I needed a warm change of clothing and really didn't want to walk a 1/2 (OK, 1/4) mile to the car. Getting out of my wet clothes into dry clothes was quite a struggle but worth it. The SmartWool socks in the swag bag helped since I had forgotten to bring a change of socks!
While I was out running in the rain my darling Christine had spent her time calling hotels down near Letchworth State Park. She had booked us into a bed and breakfast named the Genesee Valley Inn in Portageville on Sehgahunda Trail Marathon weekend, aka Memorial Day weekend. Christine drove home and made sure that she hung up all my wet clothes and fed me. She is such a sweetheart! We had some lunch and just lazed around.
But ... I had made an appointment with our auto mechanic, Russell, to get the A/C in our car repaired. So that meant driving out to Russell's house and running the 3.5 miles back. I was a bit creaky at first but got into a groove and ran a 8:11 pace back. It was still 43F, light rain and still calm.
We just kind of lazed around. Christine went to bed early. I just stayed up and puttered around while I watched Iron Man 2 off of Netflix.
Christine and I woke up on Easter morning in Cuyahoga Falls OH at her daughter's apartment. The right hamstring ache that bothered me the day before was gone. We ate Easter brunch at her brother's house in Ravenna, OH. It was nice seeing everyone again.
I fully expected today to be a rest day but after everyone came back, everyone but me said that they wanted to exercise. So they left in her daughter's car. It was just before sunset but I didn't want to be a slug so I drove out to another trailhead of the Summit County Hike and Bike Trail, map here, and headed west. At mile 2.4, I met up with Christine who was headed east. I headed past her 0.1 mile and headed back. I ran past her for a mile, then doubled back. It was getting dark so I escorted Christine 1/3 mile to her trailhead where she met up with her daughter and boyfriend. Then I ran onward into the gathering gloom until I got back to my trailhead. So I was not a slug after all.
Monday, 4/9/12: Travel day.
Christine and I drove home from Cuyahoga Falls OH back to Rochester. We started at 8:50AM and arrived around 2:30PM. Nothing unusual ... just your usual interstate travel.
Tuesday, 4/10/12: Cobbs Hill workout, 6.5 miles, 52:59, 8:06 pace, 42F, cloudy, calm, no stops, no pain
Tonight's Sehgahunda Training was unstructured with a nutrition talk at 7PM at Fleet Feet Brighton. So I just headed up to Cobbs Hill, did 2 Y's and took the long way back. I tried to go nice and easy but really didn't ... like usual. I learned a bit during the nutrition talk that Boots led. I really have to nail down three things to succeed at Sehgahunda ... hydration, nutrition and electrolytes. Everyone is different though, I have to figure out what is right for me.
Wednesday, 4/11/12: Sehgahunda Training at Fleet Feet Ridgeway, 7.7 miles, 1:02:22, 8:05 pace , no stops, a really mild right hamstring ache.
I headed down solo to Fleet Feet Ridgeway for my scheduled Sehgahunda Training. Christine just couldn't get motivated. I slightly modified my workout: 5 minutes warmup, 15 minutes @ tempo (7:30ish in my case), 5 minutes cooldown, 15 minutes @ tempo (7:15ish in my case), 5 minutes cooldown, 5 minutes @ tempo 7:30ish, 12 minutes cool down. I felt a bit of right hamstring ache after a bit of the 3rd tempo so I shut it down and just did a cool down run in, no worries. The light mist turned into a rainbow ... I wished that Christine would feel happy again.
Thursday, 4/12/12: Just your average rest day.
Friday, 4/13/12: I almost got out for a run ... but Christine and I decided to reconnect after a long week of work by cross training for a hour at Planet Fitness. ;-)! I really want to get out tomorrow morning. We watched 3 episodes of Missing before we went to bed early.
My Sehgahunda Training called for 90 minutes, nice and easy. So ... after a refreshing night of sleep I headed down to Mendon Ponds Park. I ran the Blue and Green trails a bit hard, no stops, 6.66 miles in 1:01:10, 9:11 pace. I took 2 gels, then ran the Blue trail nice and easy as a cool down, 10:00 pace. Lots of people were out on the trails. One interesting side note, though. I was running the Green trail when a guy coming up on me recognized my black Sehgahunda LabRat shirt and yelled out, "Nice shirt! I'll see you there in a month!" Sweet!
Mmm ... lobster!
Christine and I went out to the Crab Shack for supper, thanks to Groupon. The meal was delicious ... I just love lobster! Later, we caught on the latest episodes of GCB off of the DVR before we went to bed.
Sunday, April Fool's Day: Spring Forward 15K, 1:09:15, 7:27 pace, 36F, cloudy, no stops, no pain.
Christine and I got out early for the 10th Spring Forward 15K and 2.5 mile run down at Mendon Ponds Park. We got there about 25 minutes early and were astounded by the number of cars that were already parking on the road. We quickly got our stuff together and got going.
I had a bit of a warmup before my 15K ... maybe a 1/4 mile run. I really had no expectations before the race. I had not run the day before and felt a bit off. So when the race started I just started easy and tried to hold back. Bill Beyerbach and Don (from Sehgahunda Training) passed me before mile 1. Heather Danielson passed me a bit after mile 1. I kept on cranking and took a bit of water at the first water stop at mile 1, didn't stop. I saw and heard Kelly Schroeder playing her banjo around mile 3.5. I caught up to Bill Beyerbach around mile 4.5. I motored up and down the rolling hills of Mendon ... the hills were just another obstacle to overcome (Sehgahunda Training mindset, I guess). I took another bit of water at the second water stop at mile 6, didn't stop. The same at the third water stop, didn't stop. I saw Kelly playing her banjo around mile 8 ... initially I thought it was someone else! But I did notice the same zebra boats so I was confused until she cleared it up. I was in the home stretch now. I noticed that my right shoe was untied, hoped I wouldn't trip ... I just kept it going and let it all hang out coming down to the finish. I passed 3 runners in the last 100 yards, 2 women and the M55-59 age group winner, Frank Quattrone. My splits were: 7:07 (started easy ... sure), 7:31, 7:21, 7:21, 7:24, 7:31, 7:36, 7:43, 7:23. My pace over the last 0.3 mile was 6:34. My total time was 1:09:15. I didn't find out until we got home that it was a 1:05 PR over last year ... yeah, baby!!
The camera is about a mile into the race, I appear around 1:50 with my red earwarmer.
Somewhere before mile 3.5 where I took off my red earwarmer.
Sprinting for the finish!
Meanwhile, Christine ran the 2.5 mile run. It was 3/4 road and 1/4 trail. She said she felt good and was perfectly dressed for the conditions. She was quite happy she did it.
Christine appears at 8:08
We did pretty well. I finished 70th out of 561, link here. I was 8th out of 47 in my M50-54 age group, link here. Christine finished in 43:51, link here. We ate some hot dogs and hung out a bit then headed to the car. We both really had to change into some warm and dry clothes. Some homemade coffee and a donut each from Dunkin Donuts when we got back home really helped too!
More running ... our car was making a squealing noise so I took it to our auto mechanic, Russell.
Garmin Connect Activity for Home to Russell's House
Russell called with the news that it was just the squealer bar on the front brakes saying "replace the pads and rotors". So I ran to ESL and out to Russell's House in a nice and easy 8:06 pace to retrieve our car.
So ... I ran 16.85 miles on Sunday, nice! My muscles were just achy, not really sore. Christine made up a nice chicken leftover supper while we watched Frozen Planet. Then we watched GCB before we headed to bed ... late on Sunday like usual.
Monday: Rest day ... totally deserved. I was a bit achy but not too bad.
Tuesday: Sehgahunda Training at Cobbs Hill, 46F, cloudy, calm, no pain.
Garmin Connect Activity for Sehgahunda Training at Cobbs Hill - Triple Blast x 3
Christine and I headed down to Fleet Feet Brighton to pickup my Sehgahunda Training tech T-shirt ... sweet! Then we headed down to Cobbs Hill to meet up with the group. Christine stayed in the car ... I think she is coming down with something. The training was different tonight. After a 10 minute warmup run, Mark introduced us the joy of the Triple Blast. A Triple Blast is: charge up the stone path, ease down, charge up the diagonal, ease down, meander over to and charge up the switchback, ease down. I did repeat #1 in 10:38, repeat #2 in 10:37, repeat #3 in 10:51. Kind of consistent. Then I did a 20 minute cooldown run. Nice!
Wednesday, 4/4/12: Sehgahunda Training Tempo run, 1:01:33, 7.9 miles, 7:48 pace, 50F, sunny, a west wind, no stops, no pain.
I know I have been ragging on Kobe Bryant ... well, maybe he just had a bad stretch, maybe it was just matchups but lately he hasn't been knocking 'em down. Kobe scored 40 at home against Golden State on 4/1, Lakers win by 8, link here. Kobe scored 24 at home against New Jersey on 4/3, Lakers win by 4 (after blowing all of a 12 point lead in the 4th quarter, Kobe hits the game winning 3), link here.
Christine and I headed down to Fleet Feet Ridgeway for my Sehgahunda Training run. Christine didn't feel well so she stayed in the car. My training called for 15 minute warmup, then 10 minute tempo and 5 minutes easy times three, then a 15 minute cooldown. I modified it to 8 minute warmup, then 8 minute tempo around 7:00 pace or better, 4 minute easy times four, then a 12 minute cooldown. A beautiful evening to be out ... nice!
Thursday, 4/5/12: Rest day.
Just your usual rest day except I had a headache from lack of sleep all day. Christine and I did make it out though. Christine went to a massage at Massage Envy which she says I would enjoy. I went to Medved to listen to a talk about their upcoming Endurance Project.
Friday, 4/6/12: Another rest day.
My Sehgahunda Training called for 45 minutes easy but I decided that 8908 steps at work was good enough. I am taking Monday, 4/9/12, off so I was running around to make sure that all the printers that I care for were happy printers ... as much as printers can be, I guess! I started packing early since we are headed for Cuyahoga Falls OH to spend two nights at Christine's daughter's apartment and Ravenna OH for Easter.
Saturday, 4/7/12: Sehgahunda Preview Run #2, 17:05 miles, 3:38:15, 12:49 pace, 40-50F, sunny, a bit breezy at the top, a bit of right hamstring ache.
Christine and I woke up early. Christine didn't pack so fast so ... I just did everything else I could to take the burden off her. We started out around 8:20AM for Check Point #1 on River Rd south of the Mount Morris Dam. I knew I would be late ... but no worries, I would start when I got there. The morning was sunny, cool around 40F with a light breeze when we got down to CP1. This Preview Run was to run down from CP1, turn left on the FLT, up to CP2, down from CP2, turn left on FLT out to CP3 and then back to CP1 without going up to CP2.
I stretched out, got geared up with my Camelbak and GU, kissed Christine and headed down from CP1 at a nice and easy pace. There was mud and gnarly roots for sure. I powered up and down the hills, then up the mile to CP2. I got there in 27:57. I did a GU and took a 2 minute break before I headed back down. Since I came late, I say "Hi" to fellow runners when I encountered them. I took a wrong turn on the way back down ... which ended up to be a shortcut. I caught up to, then passed Boots, Sean and their posse of runners. I forged onward to CP3 which was a good 6 miles away. I remembered to sip my water and have a GU every 40 minutes or so enroute. As time passed I was getting a bit anxious that I had passed the turn up to CP3 but soon I saw runners coming back so I knew I was getting close.
Just before the turn up to CP3
Jim Roche was standing at the bottom of the turn. He pointed left and told me that I was 0.4 miles up to CP3. I got there at 1:50 elapsed time. I was tired and ambled over to her car where I met up with Christine. I had a ham and cheese sandwich, a GU, water, 2 Endurolytes, refilled my Camelbak, kissed Christine and headed back down ... all this in 5 minutes. I knew I was tired so I was more careful about my footing. My right hamstring had started aching but I persevered and continued onward. My hill training helped me out, I powered up and down the hills ... just slower.
Joe and Mark caught up to me and I ran with them for a couple of miles. I left them behind as I motored up the 0.7 run back to CP1. I got there in 3:38, 1:43 after I started back from CP3. I immediately started to eat and ambled onward. I greeted fellow runners as they came up the trail. My muscles ached ... but it was a good ache.
After a bit we got everything together and set out for Cuyahoga Falls, OH for Easter. The first part of my maps.google.com route took us on 406, 436, 305 through some Amish farms, then west on I-86 to Erie, PA. The view of the steep hills surrounding I-86 of the Southern Tier was very scenic. All we could think of was how Boots would love to make a trail race down here. We stopped periodically along the way so I could stretch my aching right hamstring. I walked gingerly but I did walk. We got there around 7PM and ate at our usual haunt, the Wing Warehouse. The steak was passable ... not memorable for sure, but the beer was cold.
As soon as we got to the apartment of Christine's daughter, I tossed down our stuff, said "Good night" and went to bed. It was around 9PM but I was exhausted. I had a fitful night of sleep ... different bed, different lighting but I slept until 9:45AM the next morning.
I ran 4 times this week, 29.15 miles.
Month of March 2012: 150.93 miles (most ever in a month), 21 runs in 31 days,7.2 miles/run
2012 so far: 345.35 miles, 54 runs in 90 days, 6.4 miles/run
Sunday, 3/25/12: Sehgahunda Review Run #1, 2:18:56, 11.96 miles, 11:32 pace, 44F, cloudy, a light mist at times.
Christine and I woke up around 6AM. After a fast stretch we got up and at them ... again. I thought that the Mount Morris Dam was 70 minutes away so we started out at 7:30AM. Well, it's only 50 minutes away. So even not hurrying, we got there early at 8:20AM. I had plenty of time to get ready. I was just wearing compression shorts and socks, long sleeve zip T shirt, hat, light gloves and my slightly used Brooks Adrenaline ASR GTX trail shoes.
We started out just after 9AM. The Sehgahunda Preview #1 route was the Finger Lakes Trail from the Dam out to Check Point 1 (CP1) and back. It was a route that I knew well after having partially done two Sehgahundas (I got that far at least) and 3 Dam Goods. I settled into a nice, easy, slightly fast pace that kept up and even led the lead group for a bit. The trail was muddy but not too sloppy ... initially. A light mist started soon after we started. The lead group left me behind at a hill at mile 2. Two of them told me that they were avid readers of this blog before they passed, lol! Then I was running by myself. The trail became muddier and sloppier at times. A guy quietly came up behind me around mile 5. We got to the high tension power lines that indicated that the turn for CP1 was just ahead. We turned left and up for the 3/4 mile uphill run to CP1. We definitely found lots of sloppy, ankle deep mud on the way up. I hydrated and took in 2 GUs at the turn, 1:04:54, 5.98 miles, 10:51 pace.
I was by myself the whole back. I said "Hi" to all the other runners still running to CP1. The light mist stopped on the way back. I thought that either the mud was more slippery or stickier. Maybe I was more tired? I almost lost my left shoe in the mud at mile 8.2. I just motored along, trying to keep upright and not trip. I was successful except for having to put my hands down once to keep from falling when I couldn't get any traction as I was climbing out of a water crossing. I was glad to see familiar landmarks on the way back knowing that I was almost done. My darling Christine was at the finish when I broke through the trees into the Dam parking lot, 1:09:04, 11:33 pace. She did take some pics but I will have to find them.
Coming back
My right leg is clean ... the left leg not so much ...
I was very surprised that with all ankle deep mud and water that I encountered that the inside of my Brooks Adrenaline ASR GTXs were still dry ... wow! I changed into dry clothing, shoes and socks before we started back home. Christine drove while I read the Sunday paper. We stopped at McDonald's in Mount Morris for a bite and coffee. Once we got back home, we relaxed with a nice, long stretch. Then I took a well deserved, long nap. Christine was a darling and made some luscious, fall off the bone spare ribs for a late supper using Sylvia's Ribs Recipe, yum! We were watching Bizzare Foods America before ... not exactly the best show to watch while you are starving.
Monday, 3/26/12: Rest day.
Thank goodness for a rest day. My right ankle hurt for a bit because of being jammed more than once yesterday but that soon went away. I felt tired all day. Christine made up some Wegmans pizza for supper along with some cherry pie for dessert, yum! I fully intended to go to bed early but we ended up catching up on the latest episodes of Missing and GCB off the DVR. We just started watching both shows. Missing has Ashley Judd as a ex-CIA operative whose son goes missing. GCB is about some good old Christian B****es from Texas. Kind of like Dallas only about women minus the oil. We did go to bed somewhat early though ... maybe 30 minutes.
Tuesday, 3/27/12: Sehgahunda Training, 48:54, 4.79 miles, 10:09 pace, 44F, sunny, a cold wind, no pain.
Christine and I were preoccupied for a bit after I came home from work but I did make it down to Sehgahunda Training down at Cobbs Hill only 15 minutes late. I stretched quickly and headed up the switchback to join the group. I met up with Mark who told me the workout: the switchback, 3 mini loops, then up and down the diagonal. I did three loops plus another switchback before running a 10 minute cooldown. Then I headed back to Fleet Feet Brighton for a Brooks Racing Team meeting. I resigned up for the next year. This year we will have to do more to help promote the Fleet Feet brand ... like volunteer at 4 races and do 2 race reports. I will certainly be doing one about Sehgahunda!
Wednesday, 3/28/12: Sehgahunda Training, 43:03, 5.5 miles, 7:50 pace, 54F, cloudy, a cold wind, no pain.
Christine and I headed out to Fleet Feet Ridgeway where her No-Bo run was being held. My Sehgahunda Training workout called for hills. I went and tried find some ... but the pickings were scarce. I found a bit of a hill on Old Erie Trail so I ran up and down it 4 times. No worries, just my usual "a bit hard" pace. Christine went out for 42 minutes but her Garmin died en route.
We caught up on a Private Practice and Hawaii Five-O off of the DVR before hitting the hay a bit early. The Hawaii Five-O episode, Kalele , had Ed Asner reprise his role as August March from the original Hawaii Five-O episode, Wooden Model of a Rat, back in 1976, 36 years ago. A very good episode!
Thursday, 3/29/12: Rest day.
Just a well deserved rest day. Christine cooked up a nice pasta supper. I tried to stay up to watch the LA Lakers host the Oklahoma City Thunder. I did hear that the Lakers lost by 9, link here. I read that Kobe jacked up 7 for 25(!) for 23 points. Meanwhile Bynum was 10 for 15 for 25 points. Maybe Kobe should shot less??
Friday, 3/30/12: FF Ridgeway run, 6.9 miles, 1:04:31, 8:10 pace, 40F, cloudy, a cold wind, no stops.
Christine and I had a quick stretch after I came home from work. We made it to Fleet Feet Ridgeway with time to spare. The temp was 40F with a cold wind. I think I was a bit underdressed but out we went. Christine went out for a 3 mile run. My Seghahunda Training called for a one hour run, nice and easy. I tried ... really. I did a double Pickdale and noticed that I still had time so I went out another. My left side started to hurt a bit so I slowed a bit. I think I could have used water and nutrition on this run.
Saturday, 3/31/12: Rest day.
My Sehgahunda Training called for a 75 minute run ... but I just didn't feel it today. I got up early enough ... but just couldn't get my butt out the door. But Christine and I did get out to get my hair cut and her nails done. Then a quick bite and out to the Blue Cross Arena for an afternoon Knighthawks game against the Colorado Mammoth. The Hawks lost 12-16, link here. They were behind or tied the entire game and were tied 12-12 before Colorado pulled away. John Grant Jr, ex-Hawk, had a "Mammoth" game with 3 goals and 8 assists. The Mammoth surely did pass better than the Hawks. Then it was back home where we watched the Final Four games; Kentucky beat Louisville, link here, and Kansas beat Ohio State by 3 in a close game after being down 13, link here.
Meanwhile, Kobe continued his rim clanking ways by opening 0-15 (worst game ever) when the Lakers hosted the Hornets. He finished 3-21 but the last one was a 3 with 20 seconds left for the game winner, link here. Even a 104 year old woman who he met in a "meet and greet" before the game told him "you need to play better".
I don't usually move too fast on Sunday mornings. This Sunday was the usual. I did get out around 1 PM down to my favorite trail, the Blue and Green down at Mendon Ponds Park. I could not believe the warm and sunny weather. It is March 18th, not June 18th? I just ran a bit hard, just stopping 3 times for water. I motored up and down the trail, enjoying the day and just getting my running endorphins, sweet!
Christine and I did our laundry. While she was minding the laundry, I went grocery shopping, did the dishes and then came back to help her fold our clothes. Just an ordinary rest day ... and we actually got some stuff done!
Christine and I headed down to Cobbs Hill for my Sehgahunda Training and for Christine to do her No-Bo run from Monday. My group headed out for a 10 minute warmup in Washington Grove, 5 loops of the switchback with a meander over to and down the diagonal, followed by a 10 minute cooldown. It was a beautiful evening with lots of people out enjoying the park. Christine headed out with the intent to run the Pumpkins in the Park 5K course. She cut out the loop around the reservoir and ran 2.38 miles.
My monthly mileage just went over 100 miles, probably the earliest it has ever. I still have 11 more days until the end of the month.
Christine and I headed down to Fleet Feet Ridgeway for her No-Bo run. I went for my Sehgahunda Training run. I had a bit of trouble with my Garmin so I reset it and picked up 2 minutes of warmup, an out A-B of 2.3 miles of 19 minutes, 8:16 pace, a rest of 2 minutes, a back B-A of 2.3 miles of 16.5 minutes, 7:10 pace, then a cooldown of 5 minutes. Sweet! The only downer was a kamikaze bug that flew into my left eye on the way back. Man, did that smart! It took a bit before I got it out but I didn't stop running!
Christine rocking her own blonde ponytail!
Meanwhile, Christine had gone out for a run of 2.48 miles. She said that she felt good and ran well. Doubly sweet!
Thursday, 3/22/12: Rest day.
A nice rest day. I put my IT hat on and replaced our D-Link G wireless router. A few weeks ago I had purchased a NetGear RangeMax N150 wireless router along with some NetGear N150 wireless adapters from 1saleaday.com. I even read the instructions since these refurbs came with no CDs. I scratched my head a few times but soon succeeded in upping our download speed from 10.5 to 16 and our security from the weak WEP to WPA2-PSK. I also rehooked up our Canon Pixma MX860 wireless printer. Meanwhile I was also trying to watch the Sweet Sixteen matchup between Syracuse and Wisconsin. Ok ... not so much but I did catch the moments that mattered. The last 15 seconds was not so pretty for Wisconsin as SU hung on to win 64-63, link here.
Friday, 3/23/12: Fleet Feet Ridgeway, 5.75 miles, 44:19, 7:42 pace, 60F, cloudy, a bit windy, no stops, no pain.
Christine and I drove out to Fleet Feet Ridgeway for our usual Friday night Happy Hour run. The weather was nice, but a bit cool compared to the last three nights where it was 70F. Ok ... so I am really spoiled with all this hot March weather, lol! My Sehgahunda Training called for 45 minutes at nice and easy. Me ... I don't do nice and easy when I run road by myself. I just ran ... I tried to hold back but I just can't. I am what I am. Christine wanted to do 3 miles but her knees bothered her so she did 2 miles. So ... doubly sweet!
I set the alarm for 6AM. Christine needed to be down at the Blue Cross Arena for her No-Bo 5K run at 7:30AM. We both so wanted to just roll over and go back to sleep ... but what fun would that be? So ... after a couple minutes of listening to the radio we got up and at them. We made it downtown around 7:15AM. My Sehgahunda Training called for a nice and easy 1:30 run. I stretched and just headed out south on the west side of the Genesee River trail at a really nice and easy pace. My joints hurt a bit but I kept plugging onward. I went out for 3.75 miles at 8:26 pace before I stopped for 2 minutes. Then I headed back, soon I crossed over to the east side of the Genesee River trail and plugged onward, 4.25 miles at 8:09 pace.
Ellen caught on the left trying to get out of the picture as I came back.
Christine out on her Flower City 5K preview run
I got back just a few minutes before Christine came back in from her 5K. We hung around for a bit before we headed home for some nutrition and a nap. I headed out to Newark to wish my daughter a belated happy 24th birthday, then out to Lyons to the Wayne County Nursing Home to see my father for a bit.
Once I got back I settled down to watch Syracuse play Ohio State. Alas, Ohio State solved SU's 2-3 zone and won 77-70, link here. We did keep up with the latest Battlestar Galactica episodes off of our trusty DVR. Then it was to bed relatively early ... we are headed down to Letchworth for the Sehgahunda Preview run #1 tomorrow. Ok ... not so early!
It was Spring Forward last night. So I woke up a hour later at 9AM and had to set our clocks a hour ahead.
What a difference a day makes! It was 41F at 9AM, then 44F at 9:30AM as I puttered around. I was scheduled for a run so I put on the usual clothing for a run around 40F. When I got out at 10:30AM, it was sunny and 51F so I had to go back inside to change into short sleeves!
I headed out nice and easy, downwind towards the lake. My plan was to run to the lake and back. Well, my left Achilles started aching at mile 3.6 so I turned back at mile 4. My pace up until then was 8:05. I started for a minute then headed back really nice and easy, 8:48 pace. I think I upped my mileage way too fast. Last week was 43 miles.
I stopped to get the Sunday paper and a couple of Apple Spice donuts from DunkinDonuts. Later, Christine and I watched the LA Lakers beat the Boston Celtics in LA, 97-94, link here. Also, SU got the East #1 seed in the NCAA tournament. Go 'Cuse! We also caught up on the latest Battlestar Galactica episodes off of the trusty DVR.
Monday, 3/12/12: Total rest day.
I definitely needed this rest day. My left leg just had a soft ache all day. I definitely did not move fast. Plus I was tired from not getting enough sleep.
Tuesday, 3/13/12: Another rest day.
I was scheduled for a Sehgahunda Training session down at Cobbs Hill but I decided to bag it. I just wasn't feeling it. Christine made a most excellent supper of roasted chicken with garlic and sage, homemade stuffing with celery, onions, apples and raisins along with fresh broccoli .... mmm, yummy! We just chilled ...
Wednesday, 3/14/12: Sehgahunda Training, 1:41:02, 10.5 miles, 9:37 pace, 52F, sunny, calm, 2 stops, a bit of pain.
I really needed to run. Tonight's Sehgahunda Training plan was for a 1:15 run, mostly on trails. So Christine dropped me off at Cobbs Hill while she went on to Fleet Feet Ridgeway for her No-Bo run. I just up and ran. I did 4 Mark's loops on trail, 4 loops around the reservoir on the road, 3 loops around the big field and 2 loops around the pond. I found that my left Achilles hurt a bit when I ran on the road and a whole lot less when I ran trail. Interesting. Meanwhile, Christine was running 2.5 miles on her No-Bo run. I just ran until I saw her pull into the Riley Lodge. A perfect evening ... for anything on Cobbs Hill. I ran by people playing tennis, running, walking their dogs, playing basketball, cooking out and fishing.
Thursday, 3/15/12: Rest day.
Just an average rest day. Christine and I just lazed around. We watched some Unforgettable episodes off the DVR. We also rooted for SU as Syracuse beat UNC-Asheville, 72-65, link here. They did have some favorable calls down the stretch.
Friday, 3/16/12: Another rest day.
My Sehgahunda Training plan called for a nice and easy hour run. But I really don't like to run the day before a race. So I just took it easy.
Christine outdid herself when she whipped up Shrimp Creole Pasta for supper. She did substitute some ingredients for what we had ... scrumptious!
Saturday, 3/17/12: 3 runs of 12.17 miles (2, 5 and 5) with Johnny's in the middle.
I was very loose as I lined up about 10 minutes before the race. Over 2400 were registered so the start line was packed. I was about 50 feet back next to Heather Danielson. Heather said that she wanted to run sub 33. Bill Beyerbach was about a yard behind.
And they are off!
The start was chaotic as every runner tried to find some space to run. The first quarter mile was a bit slow but we soon got up to pace. I stuck with Heather for at least 2 miles, then Beth for about a mile. I did slow a bit in mile 4 before I picked it up with the finish line in sight. I saw the clock with under 34 minutes so I sprinted for the line and clocked in with a 33:58, a 20 second PR! Yeah, baby!!! My splits were: 6:51, 6:38, 6:47, 6:56 and 6:41. I walked for a bit and then headed out for a post run.
I appear at about 1:50 ... with my orange Fleet Feet hat.
Just after mile 4 ... I appear around 8:17
Steve Levitsky, Frank Quattrone, Heather Danielson and I about a 1/4 mile after the start.
Going out over the Ford St bridge (about 0.8 miles)
I just headed out a really nice and easy run to catch up with Christine. My joints were hurting for sure. I didn't catch up with Christine until mile 4.75. Yes, she finished last but she made the effort and lapped everyone who was on the couch!
We just hung around the Blue Cross Arena for a bit when we chowed down with some water and bagels. We caught up with some fellow runners. Bill Beyerbach won 2nd in his M55-59 age group, Matthew Roberts was 1st in his M25-29 age group. I did OK, I was 159th out of 2297, link here. I was 9th out of 167 in my M50-54 age group, link here.
We caught the last half of Syracuse - Kansas State game. SU was up at half by a point 26-25. SU ended up winning 75-59, link here, to advance to the Sweet Sixteen! We watched the latest episodes of Battlestar Galactica live, too tired to move. Then we just lazed around ... too tired to move again.
