Hi All,

I ran my first Lilac Festival 10K today, www.lilacfestival.com. I am the tall guy second from the right. The results are here. I ran a 7:12 first mile, a 22:38 5K, a 29:04 four mile and faded to a 46:22, a 7:29 pace. The course is a gentle downhill for the first mile or so but you have to run back up when you are finishing. I finished 213th out of 931, 22nd in my age group. I stuck around to smell some of the lilacs.

Then I headed out to Williamson to have lunch at the annual Williamson Airport Fly-In Breakfast, sponsored by the Williamson Flying Club. The usually excellent pancakes, sausage and eggs was served.

I am pretty tired now and could use a nap.

Keep running, Doug

Hi All,

Sunday, May 12th to Saturday, May 19th: 21.8

I ran my usual 6.8 miles on Sunday. I may go longer on Saturday and shorter on Sunday in the coming months. I ran my usual 4.4 mile zoo run during lunch on Tuesday and Thursday.

I ran the Williamson Appleblossom 10K on Friday night. It was on a new course starting from the middle school. My PR in a 10K was 47:37 ... well, no more. I ran a 6:55 first mile, a 22:20 5K (an unofficial PR), a 29:00 four miles and hung on to run a 45:13, a 7:18 pace ... a PR by 2:19! I was 11th overall out of 50 and got another third in my tough age group of 45-49, receiving another jar of sour cherry preserves. The results are here. I was a rabbit to the first woman to finish who hung on me for a couple of miles before passing me around mile four. The post race feed was pretty good with hot dogs, apples, lots of cookies, yogurt, water and chocolate milk.

Today, I am resting ... if you consider mowing and weed-wacking the lawn resting. The back of my right calf is sore. I am running in the Lilac 10K tomorrow morning. I don't know if I will PR again ... but who knows?

Keep running, Doug

Happy Mother's Day, 2007!

Hi All,

Sunday, May 6th to Saturday, May 12th: 29.8 miles

I found out that my usual running route was not 7.2 miles but actually 6.8 miles, which made for inaccurate pace times. I have adjusted all my previous blog entries.

I ran an easy 6.8 miles on Sunday in 55:00, a 8:05 pace. Then I ran my usual zoo runs on Tuesday and Friday. My Saturday long run of 13.6 miles on Saturday was good. The weather was rather cool, mid 50s with a cool wind out of the north. I ran a first 6.8 miles in 53:30, a 7:52 pace. After stopping for three minutes for hydration and gel, I went out for my second 6.8 miles in 55:34, a 8:10 pace. The total time was 1:52:34, a 8:17 pace.

I went to the Green Lantern Inn, www.thegreenlanterninn.com, on Friday night for a singles dance. It was "m" night .. I danced with three women named Marcia, Marie (who schooled me in the swing and waltz) and her friend, Mary. Marie told me about a dance school in Waterloo on Sundays at 5PM that I may check out.

I went up to the Water City Music Hall, www.waterstreetmusic.com, on Saturday afternoon to watch the Knighthawks, www.knighthawks.net, play the Arizona Sting. The Hawks got screwed out of their right to host the championship because of the circus being in town. So the NLL changed to the venue to Phoenix, Arizona. It was a great game televised on Versus, www.versus.com. The Hawks jumped to a 7-2 lead, led 7-4 at half, 10-6 after 3 quarters, were almost caught at 11-10, then won 13-11 to take the 2007 NLL championship. It was great, hanging with the K'Hawks Krew, and willing the Hawks to the championship!

Next week will be busy. I will be running in the Williamson Applefest 10k on Friday night and the Lilac Festival 10K on Sunday morning.

Keep running, Doug

Hi All,

Sunday, April 29th to Saturday, May 5th: 29.5 miles
Month of April: 98.9 miles, I ran 15 out 30 days

I upped my mileage this week. I ran my 6.8 mile route on Sunday. Then I ran my usual 4.6 mile zoo runs on the street at work on Tuesday and Thursday. I carried my cell phone in my hydration belt and kept a watchful eye out. Today I ran my 6.8 mile route twice for 13.6 miles. My times were 52:01 (7:39 pace) after 6.8 miles and 1:52:18 (8:15 pace). I stopped for 30 seconds on each loop and 3.5 minutes at the turn for hydration and gel.

I went to the Green Lantern in Fairport, www.thegreenlanterninn.com, for their Singles Dance on Friday night. I danced but with no one to write home about. I passed by the new Wal-Mart SuperCenter west of Macedon on Route 31 that just opened. Why do we need another Wal-Mart here? Where are the shoppers going to come from? Just another reason (read: another stoplight) for me to avoid traveling Route 31 up to Rochester. When I go to work in Rochester I head down to Manchester to hop on the Thruway to 490W so I can use my EZPass, www.e-zpassny.com. I don't hit any stop lights until I get off on the Inner Loop at Saint Paul Street.

A word about runner stuff. I have two black toenails (one on each foot) again plus a open sore on the inside of my right ankle where my left shoe clips me occasionally. I need to find something to protect it when I am running. I also put up a countdown clock to the Rochester marathon. Thanks to www.boilermaker.com for the idea and www.bloke.com for the countdown script. Hmmm ... running the Boilermaker 15K in Utica on July 8th.

Another thing ... the Grey's Anatomy episode which introduced Addison's possible spinoff had an interesting moment. One woman said that the reason she ran so much was so she didn't think about not getting any sex from her husband (who turned out to have a tumor, of course). It was hilarious!

Keep running, Doug

Hi All,

Sunday, 4/22 to Saturday, 4/29: 26.2 miles

A lot went on this week ... not all good. My running was good as usual. I did two zoo runs of 4.4 miles on Tuesday and Thursday. I also ran 5.3 miles on Sunday and my usual long run of 12.1 miles (6.8 + 5.3) today. I PR'ed again with a 1:39:11, 8:12 pace. My intermediate splits were 5K of 23:50 (7:41 mile pace) and 6.8 miles of 52:15. I had a PowerBar Performance bar before I headed out. I had more energy today. I stopped only twice for a minute each and three minutes when I went by my house at 6.8 miles. I was definitely in the zone where I felt I could run for a long ways. I clipped my inside right ankle with my left sneaker eight times and ended up with a blood spot on my sock. Cool!

I went out to see the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra at the Smith Opera House on Thursday night. I was one of the younger ones in the audience. The music was very good ... some of it first played before I was born. One of their trumpet players was 82 and Tommy Dorsey was 88. They both can still play very well.

The not so good part. I had been heading out for two mile walks lately during lunchtime at work. Just a walk on the Genesee River Trail to the mile tree and back. Well on Friday I headed a little later than usual. I was walking back on the trail in the area where it dips down where you are isolated. Well, two black males (1 tall, 1 shorter and stocky, both wearing red) were coming the other way. I nodded when I approached and the shorter one just ran up and hit me on the left side of my head, knocking my glasses off. No words were spoken, no robbery attempt was made. I kept on going, they kept on going. If I see them again, I will recognize them. I have seen them before. Last week on a hot day, they were just hanging out in the same area of the trail when I walked by. They were still there when I came back so I took a shortcut up to the street above the trail. This time there was no time, it all happened so quickly. This is the first time I have even been hit while running or walking.

I didn't let this assault stop me from seeing the Knighthawks, www.knighthawks.net, play the Buffalo Bandits in the MLL Eastern conference finals. I parked on the street like usual. It was a very tense game, it seemed that the Hawks were down by two goals all night. They just seemed a step slow all night. They were three down going into the 4th quarter, tied it up late, went up by one, got tied and went into OT. John Grant ended it 26 seconds into OT. The Hawks won 14-13.

I am watching the news right now. There was a homicide on Avenue D on Friday night (a couple blocks from work). Senseless violence at a party. The area where I work on Saint Paul Street is not exactly the safest.

Keep running, Doug

Happy Earth Day, 2007!

Hi All,

The road beckoned today, I went out for a nice, but slow, 5.3 mile run. I finished in 43:32 without stopping, a 8:13 mile pace.

I did some recycling today. The Park Presbyterian Church in Newark had an Earth Day event where I disposed of an old B&W TV set, monitor and printer.

I also went down to Ithaca College to see Michael in a Madrigal Singers concert. They sang Schuetz's "Musikalische Exequien". It was a beautiful drive and concert on a beautiful day. It was unseasonably warm, close to 80F.

Keep running, Doug

P.S. A mild rant: Some people think that it is impossible to get in shape. It's not ... it just takes effort and determination. You just have to look yourself in the mirror and resolve to make it happen. Starting three or four years ago, I weighed 182 pounds and slowly transformed into the runner I am today. It wasn't overnight by a long shot. In fact, it took some starts, stops and restarts. You have to persist with exercise until it is not a pain in the ass but a habit that you make time for consistently. Doing a long run on Saturday is a big time commitment of three hours or more when you consider the warm up, run and cool down time. By upping my running and changing my diet I have gotten in the best shape of my life. Now I weigh 165 pounds. I don't always eat right, I drink diet soda but on the whole I eat OK for a guy who lives by himself and can barely cook. Working on my upper body is the next thing I will be working on.

I am not saying that everyone needs to run. I am saying that everyone who wants to get in shape needs to make a consistent commitment to whatever exercise and diet that works for them. A exercise partner may work for some people. I haven't found one yet. Self motivation has worked thus far.

Hi All,

Sunday, 4/15 to Saturday, 4/21: 20.9 miles again

The nor'easter on Sunday night and Monday was far enough away that in Newark we got about two inches of wet snow and a lot of rain.

I run the usual zoo run of 4.4 miles twice on Tuesday and Thursday. Tuesday was around 40F and Tuesday was around 60F. The second time was on new Brooks Adrenaline GTS 7s. Man, what a difference running on new shoes! Spring is here!

I ran 12.1 miles on Saturday, a combination of my 6.8 and 5.3 mile routes. I ran a 7:22 first mile, a 23:38 (7:37) 5K, 53:50 (7:55) for 6.8 miles and finished with a 1:42:16 (8:27) for the 12.1 miles. I walked for probably six minutes and stopped for gel and water at the turn for two minutes. It was around 62F when I started at 10AM. I was careful to stay hydrated.

I went to see a free concert by a cello rock band, Break of Reality, on Thursday night at Roberts Weslayan College. Who knew that cellos could rock? They played two sets. One was acoustic with a bongo drum and the second was amped with a drum set. Awesome!

A word about VA Tech. I am sad that 32 people died because one deranged person didn't take his own life first. I saw two different viewpoints about gun control on CNN.com. One from Ted Nugent, Nugent: Gun-free zones are recipe for disaster and one from Tom Plate, Plate: Let's lay down our right to bear arms. I fall mostly on the right to bear arms side with the exception that gun ownership needs to be regulated. I also think that the Virgina gun ownership law needs to be changed, it is much too lenient.

Keep running, Doug

Hi All,

Sunday, 4/8 to Saturday, 4/14: 20.9 miles

I did my first long run, 12.1 miles. First I ran my 6.8 mile route. I had some gel, hydrated, then ran my 5.3 mile route. The weather was great, around 40F at the start, warming up to around 45F at the end. My time was 1:45:20, a 8:42 pace. I stopped about six or seven times for short walking breaks. My aim was conditioning, not a time. But being the competitive runner that I am, I will try to beat it next week.

I also ran twice up at work out to the zoo and back, 4.4 miles. I ran under 8 minute miles each time.

I believe I need new running shoes. I have about 570 miles on my Brooks Adrenaline. They still look good but I think they have lost their cushioning. I hope that FleetFeet, www.fleetfeetrochester.com, has a size 12 pair. I plan on using my $25 gift certificate that I got for Christmas.

I had a free $22 ticket to a Rochester Knighthawks, www.knighthawks.net, game thanks to giving blood last month. I couldn't find a companion so I went by myself. I had a really good seat in the corner, 119-N18. It was a good time, Rochester beat Buffalo 14 to 8 in front of a sellout crowd. The Hawks are 14-2 and have won twelve in a row.

Keep running, Doug

P.S. My youngest son, David, has been out of the hospital for a week now. He is gaining strength and is back on solid food.

P.P.S. There is a major winter storm warning for Sunday night and Monday as a nor'easter barrels up the coast. The forecast is for six to twelve inches of wet, heavy snow by Monday afternoon.

Hi All,

Sunday, 4/1 to Saturday, 4/7: 31.2 miles

An uptick in my weekly mileage due to the Spring Forward 15K last Sunday and today's CATS Leo Austin Memorial Half Marathon.

I ran two zoo runs up at work this week. Tuesday's run was excellent; it was about 40F, I was dressed exactly right and I ran a 7:40 pace. Thursday's run was OK, it was about 22F with a headwind coming back and I ran a 8:01 pace.

Today the conditions for the half marathon was definitely chilly, around 25F with no wind at the start. I dressed for the cold with two T-shirts and my wind jacket and pants. I definitely appreciated my hat and mittens. Somehow, the Mendon hills didn't seem as steep the second time around. I kept a steady pace and didn't really walk very much, just a little on some hills after the 8 mile mark. I didn't have any kick at the end, the finish just popped up all of a sudden. I finished 38th in 1:50:45, a 8:27 mile pace. I bettered my previous PR by 9:06. Right now, my legs are quite beat and I could use a nap.

Results are at: http://grtconline.org/2007Results/2007CatsHalf.html

But stuff needs to get done. I have to go see my father at the nursing home. Plus my youngest son, David, is in the hospital recovering from a severe case of mono. So I have been bouncing around for the past few days.

I stopped to give a friend a happy 50th birthday hug. I would never give anyone black balloons for their birthday. A birthday is not a negative event, but a positive one.

Keep running, Doug

Happy April Fool's Day, 2007!

Hi All,

I just got back from the Spring Forward 15K down in Mendon Ponds. It was nice and cool, cloudy around 45F plus the monsoon held off until I was heading back to Newark.

I ran a 1:14:29, a 8:00 mile pace, which was my goal. I was 117th out of 328. The hills of Mendon did me in I guess, I did walk about 100 feet on five of them. I ran a 7:32 first mile, 23:02 5K, 39:14 5 mile, 49:14 10K and gutted out the last 5K.

Results are at: www.yellowjacketracing.com/
Spring%20Forward%20Overall%20Results%202007.htm . I finished 20th out 38 in my age group.

Fleet Feet, www.fleetfeetrochester.com, sure knows how to host a race. The volunteers did a great job and the after race spread (bananas, veggies, hot dogs and pasta along with plenty of water and pop) was excellent. Thanks to Boots, Ellen and all the volunteers! Thanks for the Running keychain!

I had a flyer on my windshield about the Leo Austin Memorial 26th Annual Half Marathon next Saturday at Mendon Ponds. It sounds interesting ... if I want to try the Mendon hills again.

My sister, Diane, just got in from Kentucky around noon. My brother, Don, from Syracuse, Diane and I will converge on the Wayne County Nursing Home to see Dad this afternoon. A lot of catching up will ensue!

Keep running, Doug