Hi All,

Sunday 2/11 - Saturday 2/17: 18 miles.

The weather relented so I could run two 5 milers on Sunday and Saturday and two 4 mile runs on the treadmill on Wednesday and Friday. I have a new routine: 3.75 miles at 7 mph and a 0.25 mile at 8 mph. It's a good workout.

Plus I got three workouts outside shoveling my driveway. I am not like some people who either have a plow come do it or just drive over it. I like a clean driveway.

Today, the Polar Cat #6 5K was held in Newark. So I braved the elements: 20F, a little snow, a little wind. I ran a 23:32 and placed 7th out of 25. I was third in my age group. The male 45-49 age group is a tough one. The results are at: http://www.grtconline.org/2007Results/2007PolarCat-6.html

I picked up an application for Johnny's Runnin' of the Green on St. Patrick's Day. It's a 5 miler up in Rochester. It will be my next race hopefully. I am also thinking of the Spring Forward 15K on April 1st.

Keep running, Doug

Happy Valentine's Day, 2007!

Hi all,

A Happy Valentine's Day to all the women who read my blog ... Ok, don't all crowd in at once!

It was sunny, cold and relatively calm on Sunday, 2/11, so I did a 5 miler outside. Just up and down Grace Ave twice. It was nice to get outside but a bit nippy!

Today I am taking a snow day. We have gotten 10 inches of snow so far today and it's still snowing. The forecast is for about 6 to 12 more before it's all done tonight. Right now, it's 18F and the wind is starting to pick up.

I have made a things-to-do list and I am trying to check them off. One thing will be a nice 4 mile run on the treadmill.

Well, wherever you are reading this from I hope you are staying warm!

Keep running, Doug

Hi all,

Sunday 2/4 - Saturday 2/10: 16 miles.

Well, it's on the treadmill! I ran 4 times; Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday. I have a new 4 mile routine, all at 4.0 incline: 3.5 miles at 6.5 mph, .25 mile at 7 mph and .25 mile at 8 mph. It's a good workout and it's done in about 40 minutes.

The weather was just too cold and windy for me! Most of the week had temps struggling to get into the teens and wind chill struggling to get above zero! Well, at least there wasn't very much snow ... unlike around Oswego NY which got around 100 inches in a week!

Here is a link to a CNN gallery about the snow in upstate NY:
http://www.cnn.com/interactive/us/0702/gallery.lessthanzero.ireports/frameset.exclude.html. Look at the eighth picture in this gallery. It's taken from the bridge overlooking the Lower Falls in Rochester NY. Well, that bridge is about one hundred yards from where I work. I run over that bridge to and from the Genesee River Trail when the weather is good.

My dance class is one half over and is going well. I can do an OK impression of the swing ... less so the waltz and two-step. The instructors keep on threatening us with the polka, though.

Keep running, Doug

Hi All,

Sunday 1/28 - Saturday 2/3: 14.6 miles. January: 86.1 miles. I ran 17 out of 31 days.

A slacker week! Just a 5 mile run (6mph, 4 incline) on the treadmill on Tuesday night (no dance class) and two almost 5 mile runs outside on snow covered streets on Thursday and Friday during lunch. It warmed up to just below freezing for a couple of days so I got outside! I think I twinged my left knee on Friday's run by running on a snow covered sidewalk.

Saturday brought artic windchills and the forecast is for a lot more of the same! So it looks like more sessions on the treadmill for me.

Keep running, Doug

Hi All,

Sunday 1/21 - Saturday 1/27: 24.4 miles.

Due to the snow, I ran 5 miles on my basement treadmill three times at 6mph, 4.5 incline. Along with a 4.4 mile run out to the Rochester zoo during lunch in about 4 inches of snow and a 5 mile run out at B6 before the snow hit. I don't really like to run on the treadmill but it is a good workout. It's better than running outside when it's 15F with wind chills in the single digits, I guess. Upstate NY has gotten hammered with snow, cold and wind lately.

It's kind of tough to find the time during the week to run on the treadmill though. I am not a morning person who can wake up and exercise so my runs have been on the weekend so far. Now I will have to just come home and do the treadmill before supper which will be a big test of mind over hunger.

Keep running, Doug

So far in Jan 2007

Hi all,

This post will catch you up on what's happened in 2007.

Monday 1/1 - Sunday 1/6: 20.6 miles.

I ran in shorts and long sleeves in 60F and lots of wind on 1/6!

Sunday 1/7 - Saturday 1/13: 17.8 miles, return to seasonal temps.

I ran the Freezeroo #3 up at Camp Eastman in Irondequoit on Saturday, 1/13. I didn't 'rabbit' (a problem of mine), ran a 7:16 first mile, kept it strong and finished 94th out of 243 with a 22:34, 7:17 pace. The result ... a PR by 9 seconds! I'm the guy on the right. Results link: http://grtconline.org/2007Results/2006-07-Freezeroo3-Overall.html. A new runner, Sara, ran her first race. I also got some grief from Mike for wearing wind pants instead of tights. Sales at Fleet Feet are coming up soon!

Side note: I joined a 8 week dance class on Tuesday nights. Hopefully I will learn how to dance or at least fake it through the swing, waltz, box step and two step.

Sunday 1/14 - Saturday 1/20: 18.3 miles.

I had to contend with the snow at last. It's like running in sand.


I said "Good-bye" to a fellow runner, Janet, who moved to Washington. She has been and will continue as a positive influence on my running. She showed me the running routes around work so I can run during lunch, kept a running journal with her mileage and ran more races that I did. She will be missed by all the runners who knew her but will be back for some races this year. Perhaps a 5K or two?

The weather is turning colder now so I will be faced with the dilemma of bundling up and running outside and just running on the boring treadmill.

Side note: I gave blood for the 57th time on 1/19. My pulse was 56, blood pressure: 106/72.

Keep running, Doug

What happened in 2006

Hi all,

I would like to take a moment to show how I ran in 2006. Red denotes lifetime PR, blue denotes year PR. It was a nice year, trying to find out my limits, trying to set PRs.

You can see that my times varied but I gave it my best in every race. Though in the Oak Tree Half Marathon I ran with a mild left hamstring pull and pulled it again halfway through the Safe Journey Scarecrow 5K. I finished, I am stubborn once the gun sounds.

All in all, 2006 was a great running year. I didn't keep track of my mileage until after I bought a new pair of running shoes, Brooks Adrenaline GTS, in September. October was 69.4, 14 out of 31 days; November was 70.1, 14 out of 30 days; and December was 102.1, 17 out of 31 days. The fall and winter weather were very mild for upstate NY. We only had 5 inches of snow by the end of December!

Keep running, Doug

P.S. Here is a picture of me at the Mendon Ponds 20K Trail Run on November 11th, 2006.

Starting off

Hi all,


I have been meaning to start this blog since the beginning of the year but just kept putting it off. Who am I? I'm a 49 year old runner who lives in Newark NY. I have been running now for about three years.

Why do I run? Well ... as I got to my mid 40s I wanted to do something physical, stay active, maintain a decent weight and get rid of stress. I picked running. Non-runners may not understand but slowly, I have become hooked. First, it was only up and down my street when it was nice. I turned serious in 2006. Now, it's 5 miles or more 4 times a week. There's nothing like heading out and running at least 5 miles! You come back exhausted but feeling great for having done it!

My first road race was the Newark 5 Mile Turkey Day Race back in 2005, finishing in just under 48 minutes. Since then I have run in 16 more races, anything from 5Ks to a half marathon. I run anywhere from a 7:17 (my 5K PR) to 9:09 (my PR in my only half marathon). I am competitive in trying to set PRs but don't apply any scientific methods (at least not yet) other than just getting out there and running.

My goals this year are to try to set more PRs and to run my first marathon. The Rochester Marathon, http://www.rochestermarathon.com/, is on my 50th birthday. So .... what a great excuse to run it! Why a marathon? Well, why not?

Keep running, Doug