Sunday, February 28th to Saturday, March 6th

Month of February: I ran 14 out of 28 days, 69.7 miles, 5.0 miles/run

I ran 4 times this week, 26.2 miles.

Sun: Rest day. CJ and I both felt like crap. I had toothaches on the left side of my mouth. CJ thought that her upset stomach was caused by a mild egg allergy. We watched the Winter Olympics - Canada beat the US in men's hockey. We could have watched the Nascar race or the Lakers-Nuggets game but the channel stayed stuck on the Winter Olympics. I made it out to do some grocery shopping. CJ fixed the broken zipper on my parka with a keyring ... she was quite resourceful.

Mon: Rest day. I did taxes for my family after supper ... how exciting!

Tue: 6.5 miles, 58:25, 8:59 pace, FF Cobb's Hill run, 34F, night, calm, 3 stops, no pain. I think I was a bit dehydrated.

Your usual FF Cobb's Hill run. Kind of warm though., I could have carried water. I did 3 Y's plus a bit to walk CJ back to FF. She did her first 1/2 Y ... she enjoyed it and can't wait to do more!

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for FF Cobb's Hill run, 3 Y's + bit extra

Life. A busy day at work, 10 flights of stairs, 4 buildings to roam about in during the course of my day. Plus, my dentist started a root canal on #10. How exciting!

Your usual FF Cobb's Hill run. I did 3 Y's plus a bit to walk CJ back to FF. She did her first 1/2 Y ... she enjoyed it and can't wait to do more!

Wed: 2.4 miles, 33:00, 13:45 pace, Snow Cheap #6, 31F, night, calm, no pain.

Last Snow Cheap of 2010. There was a lot of wet snow still up in Cobb's Hill. The footing was slippery. I ended up walking the big hills, running the flats and downhills, slid on my butt down the last big hill. Got some swag at the Winter Warrior awards, a small bag to hold stuff. I was 58th out of 111, results here. I was 5th out of 14 in my age group, results here.



Thu: Rest night.

Fri: 4.2 miles, 35:26, 8:26 pace, FF Happy Hour run, 31F, dusk, calm, no stops, no pain.

I ran easy and stayed up with the lead group. I didn't push since I want to run around the bay tomorrow.

My car lost power and died on 104 opposite Rochester General. Luckily CJ had AAA. She had the car towed to my auto mechanic, Russ. Hopefully, whatever wrong is something inexpensive.

Sat: 13.1 miles, 2:02:31, 9:21 pace, Run around the Bay, 20F at the start, easy, numerous walks, no pain.

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for Run around the Bay


Around 80 hardcore runners gathered at the Irondequoit Bay Outlet Bridge at 7AM. We started off back up the Culver Rd hill. I soon dropped back and started with walking breaks. I just didn't have the energy to keep running. I am not a morning runner right now. But I kept going, going down the Empire Blvd hill was sweet, running/walking back up not so much. I did the best I could. I know I am ramping up my running kind of quickly. I think that I need to take some medium distance runs of 8-10 miles before I attempt another half. But all in all, a great sunny, brisk morning to be out running ... relatively sweet.

My car was relatively inexpensive. My EGR valve was stuck open and my sending unit from the gas tank was dirty ... so I ran out of gas! I picked up the car and then took CJ for a drive to show her the various buildings where I work, the half marathon route I ran this morning and to Wal-Mart to buy a coffee maker. CJ made a pasta dinner with meatballs. We tested out the new coffee maker by making coffee with Kentucky brandy and whipped cream. Ymmm!

Keeping active, Doug

Sunday, February 21th to Saturday, February 27th

I ran 3 times this week: 15.5 miles

Sun: 3.1 miles, 23:32, 7:37 pace, Polar Cat #5 in Newark, 27F, sunny, a bit windy, a bit hard, no stops, no pain.

CJ and I made it out early to Newark to run the Polar Cat #5. I went out a bit hard, but kept it up. I passed two people on the hill between miles 1 and 2. I was passed by a 13(!) year old in the last 50 yards to finish 20th out of 59, 4th in my age group. Results here.

After a lunch break at BurgerKing we went to see my father at the Wayne County Nursing Home in Lyons. He seemed better than the last time. He initiated conversation, seemed interested and enjoyed our visit. He has not had his dentures the past two visits though. Then we went back to Rochester for a well earned nap. Afterward CJ made homemade pizza.

Mon: Rest day ... nuff said.

Tue: 6.2 miles, 53:03, 8:33 pace, FF Cobb's Hill run ... 3 Y's, 33F, night, calm, no stops, no pain.

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for Fleet Feet Cobb's Hill run - 3 Y's

Just your average Cobb's Hill run, just do it! I went out easy, didn't have it initially but warmed up after a Y. Got a bit faster ... a nice run with the group. A workout at work and play ... 8 flights, 14398 steps. Afterward, CJ made an excellent dinner of pasta and acorn squash.

Wed: Rest day, workout at work: 8 flights, 8279 steps. My ex just got back to Newark after taking my oldest son to visit the music grad school of UConn and UMass Amherst. So I went down to Houghton College to pick up my daughter for winter break.

Thu: Another rest day, workout at work: 14 flights, 6719 steps. Snowing with about a foot of snow, blowing, too dangerous to go back out after I sledded home ... with my car.

Fri: 4.1 miles, 41:20, 10:05 pace, FF Friday Night Happy Hour run, 27F, night, calm, really easy, 1 stop, no pain. Workout at work and play: 4 flights, 18002 steps

A strenuous run down at Fleet Feet. The roads were variable from hard packed snow to slushy snow. Once I turned on the Monroe Ave sidewalk, it was harder with 3 to 4 inches of snow. The run took a lot out of me but it was sweet!

Sat: 6.2 miles, 52:02, 8:24 pace, Freezeroo #6, 30F, light snow & wind, 3 stops, no pain.

A run with the GRTC runners, 174 strong. I started out in 8:03, then 7:52. I bonked a bit at 4.5 miles, had to walk 3 times. I repassed the people who passed me so it was all good. The last 2 miles were into a headwind with snow in my face. I managed to suck it up and finish OK. I finished 100th, results here. I finished 7th out of 12 in my age group, results here. All in all, a good time out in the cold.

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for Polar Cat #5

CJ was happy to see me when I came home. She takes good care of me ... though I do like to hang my pants on regular hangers, lol!

I helped RD drink her Dragon Joose, a grape flavored malt liquor with 9.9% alcohol. Check out www.drinkjoose.com. She, like so many others, is training a spring marathon.

Keeping active, Doug

Sunday, February 14th to Saturday, February 20th

I ran 4 times this week, 19 miles. A very good week!

Sun: I celebrated my first Valentine's Day with CJ. It was a lazy day. I gave her a box of chocolates and a Dunkin Donuts Apple Spice donut. I set up our new Canon Pixma MX860 printer. We can now print wirelessly. I haven't tried anything else yet ... like scanning.

Mon: I did want to work out after work but I felt like crap. My abs were really sore for some reason.

Tue: 6.2 miles, 52:51, 8:31 pace, Fleet Feet Cobb's Hill run, 27F, night, a bit windy, a light snow, no stops, no pain.

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for Fleet Feet Cobb's Hill run, 3 Y's

I ran a nice, steady, easy pace ... 3 Y's! Sweet! The best run of the young year! A workout at work and play ... 10 flights, 15301 steps.

Wed: 3.6 miles, 47:30, 13:12, FF Snow Cheap #5, easy, 27F, driving wet snow, brisk wind, no pain.
Early on ... before I took down my facemask
The finish
A return to racing in 2010 at Snow Cheap #5. CJ might have thought I was nuts to go out, but understood. Once I was there, it was sweet! Just took it easy, one foot in front of the other. It was a long course with a lot up and down. I finished 58th out of 109, results here and 6th out of 12 in my age group, results here. I enjoyed catching up with fellow racing friends. Yes, it was snowing ... we just chuckled, laughed and played in the snow!

Thu: A rest day. A workout at work: 22 flights, 6737 steps. CJ made an excellent dinner of ribs, scalloped potatoes and peas. Later, some German Riesling along with some Valentine's Day candy.

Fri: 4.15 miles, 32:20, 7:47 pace, FF Friday Happy Hour run, 31F, a little hard, night, calm, no stops, no pain.

My Garmin wouldn't turn on, so my time is off of someone who was roughly 30 seconds behind me. I definitely put the hammer down for this run ... it felt good! CJ says that my "runner's ass is back"! CJ went out to Planet Fitness for a 8 or 9 mile workout on the bike. We had a salmon and scallop potato dinner.

I soft reset my Garmin by using http://wiki.motionbased.com/mb/Soft_Reset with success.

BTW, I finally got around to scanning from the ADF on the new printer. I can scan to any laptop ... sweet!

Sat: A lazy morning and afternoon with CJ. I waited for the wind to die down a bit so I could go out and change my oil. Then CJ and I made out to Planet Fitness for a late workout. CJ did a 2 mile workout on the 'mill, I did a 700 calorie, 5K in 25:10 (8:07 pace), 5 mile in 41:10 (8:14 pace) workout.

Keeping active, Doug

Sunday, February 7th to Saturday, February 13th

I ran 3 times this week, 15.3 miles ... almost as much as the whole month of January!

Sun: 5.3 miles, 45:00, 8:29 pace, PF treadmill, 1 walking stop after 5K, no pain.

Lazy Sunday morning with CJ. We made it to Planet Fitness for an afternoon with adjacent treadmills. I did the first 5k in 24:40, 8:57 pace. A good 680 calories workout before the Super Bowl.

Mon: Rest night. A workout at work: 16 flights, 8279 steps.

Tue: 5.8 miles, 50:02, 8:38, Fleet Feet Cobb's Hill run, 22F, steady and easy, night, calm, no stops, no pain.

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for Fleet Feet Cobb's Hill run, 2 Y's and a loop

CJ and I went down to the FF Cobb's Hill run for a sweet run. I did 2 Y's and a loop. CJ went up to the corner of Monroe and Highland and back. Also a workout at work: 18 flights, 19288 steps.

Wed: Rest night. A workout at work, 28 flights, 8279 steps. CJ has a fever, I went out grocery shopping and got a thermometer. She had a 103.6F fever.

Thu: Rest night. A workout at work, 10 flights, 9801 steps. CJ's fever is down to around 100F. She is feeling somewhat better.

Fri: 4.2 miles, 34:14, 8:09 pace, FF Happy Hour run, easy, 26F, night, calm, 1 stop, no pain.

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for Fleet Feet Happy Hour run

Just your average FF Happy Hour run. I went out in a 7:35 first mile, slowed with a 8:28 mile as I hit the hills, had a stitch in my side from mile 3 in. Sweet! CJ made a pasta dinner when I got home!

Sat: Rest day. Kudos to those who ran the Freezeroo #4, a 8 miler out in Greece ... link here.

A lazy day with CJ. We made it out to pick my new Canon Pixma MX860 printer at Best Buy. I took CJ out for a nice day before Valentine's Day dinner at Ponderosa. Afterward, we went out to Newark to see my two boys. My oldest will be heading out shortly for two trips to see three graduate schools that he is interested in. One will be to Cincinnati Conservatory in Ohio and the other will be to Yale in Connecticut and UMass Amherst in Massachusetts.

Keeping active, Doug

Sunday, January 31st to Saturday, February 6th

I ran 4 (yuck!) times last month: 15.4 miles. I will be amping up my exercise this month for sure.

Mon: Planet Fitness workout, 107 calories on the Stair Climber, 450 calories on the Elliptical.

CJ and I went out to Planet Fitness for a good Monday night workout. CJ worked out on the reclining bicycle. I got a good workout at work: 22 flights of stairs, 7405 steps.

Tue: 5 miles, 44:53, 8:59 pace, Fleet Feet Cobb's Hill run, easy, 24F, night, calm, 2 stops, no pain.

I made it down to my first Cobb's Hill run of 2010 ... just nice and easy, 2 Y's. Just a bit harder to run on sidewalks with a bit of slush. Caught up with some friends down at FF. A workout at work: 18 flights of stairs, 7000ish steps (pedometer reset itself midday).

Wed: Rest night, A workout at work: 7767 steps, 1 building.

Thu: Another rest night, a workout at work: 10 flights, 8223 steps, 4 different buildings. CJ made an excellent dinner of gingered apple pork tenderloin.

Fri: 6 miles, 52:32, 8:45 pace, FF Friday Hour run, hard and easy, 24F, night, calm, 1 stop for traffic, some pain afterward. A workout at work: 12 flights, 10270 steps.

I went down to my first Happy Hour run of 2010, hard and then easy. I went out with HD for a first mile of 7:30. This was a quite a bit fast ... I slowed down and let her go. I added a slow twist and a loop at Cobb's hill. I felt a bit funny on the way back on Monroe Ave, a bit tender around my surgery site. CJ met me at the door when I got home. I iced down and ate an excellent dinner of marinated tilapia, pilerogies and Brussels spouts. 8400 more steps during my run. CJ thinks I overdid it ... she is probably right.

Sat: rest day with a lazy morning then out to see my father at the Wayne County Nursing Home", get my hair cut at my usual barbershop in Newark, then out to see and the kids and do some taxes. I gave my son his diploma from Ithaca College. FYI, he graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Music in Music Theory and Music Performance. He framed it in the frame that his girlfriend gave him. A slight workout during the day: 1375 steps.

All in all, a busy week of work, running and leisure.

Keeping active, Doug

Sunday, January 24th to Saturday, January 30th

Sun: CJ and I cocooned most of the day. We did make it out to my ex's apartment to work on my youngest son's laptop. He had managed to lose the screw that holds one side of the LCD to the laptop body. I managed to reattach it after much trouble using one of the other laptop screws. I also tried to fix some of his software issues, AVG version 7.5 and his explorer crashing without any success. We left very hungry and went immediately to Wendy's.

Tue: Happy birthday, CJ! We woke up early and celebrated! She is just as old as I am now!

Mon-Fri: Work has definitely been hard work lately. I get enough of a workout walking around 5 miles at work, going up and down stairs and deploying printers.

Sat: 4 miles, 7:00 pace, worked out with CJ at Planet Fitness", 70F inside, 8F outside. Getting out to PF was a major achievement at 5PM after noting that it was below 10F all day!

My kudos to all the Freezeroo #4 runners who ran this morning at Powder Mill Park in 2F weather, results here.

Trying to keep active, Doug

Sunday, January 17th to Saturday, January 23th

I ran 2 times this week: 13.2 miles

Wed: 3.5 miles, 30:30-ish, 8:45 pace, back from Russell's house, 25F, night, calm, real easy, no stops, no pain (yea!).

I have been having a lot of trouble getting my running mojo back. CJ is back in Cleveland, lots of walking and stress at work, etc. One way is to be forced to get my car fixed. My Low Coolant light keeps coming on. It did come on once a month ... now I have to add antifreeze daily. Hopefully it wouldn't be too expensive.

Wed: 3.5 miles, 29:37, 8:28 pace, to Russell's house, 25F, night, calm, easy, no stops, no pain.

Well ... it was a sweet run back from Russell's house. My car needs an intake manifold. Basically, my antifreeze is leaking into my crankcase. So the gallon of antifreeze that I put in last night and today ended up mixed up with my oil. I will get it fixed on Saturday.

Thu: Just some minor knee pain today. Yahoo!

Sat: 6.2 miles, 55:23, 8:56 pace, back from Russell's house plus a loop around the zoo pond, 20F, sunny, calm, real easy, 6 stops, no pain.

Well, not such a great run back from Russell's house. I just wasn't feeling it and bonked. Maybe I was too hot, maybe the hard work Greg and I did all week deploying about a dozen printers caught up to me. But ... I was out there trying to bring it.

My girlfriend, CJ, is coming back from Cleveland sometime today. I guess I really should clean up the apartment. She will take me to get my car after it is fixed. My 1999 Grand Am just turned 235K ... the trunk lid is rusted, it needs a new exhaust pipe, but it runs. I want to keep it running until it needs to get inspected in April. It gets me from point A to point B.

I am seriously thinking about entering an easy race either tomorrow or next week. My 2010 race calendar is empty.

Keeping active, Doug

Sunday, January 10th to Saturday, January 16th

Mon: CJ and I went over to the new Planet Fitness with CJ. It was quite crowded. I got on an elliptical machine for a 30 minute, 310 calorie workout. CJ was on a workout bicycle.

Tue: Pasta night with CJ. Too tired to work out with FF. Also laundry night.

Wed: Gave blood today for the 71st time. Stats were BP: 120/64, pulse: 58.

Sat: Cocooned with CJ, let the world go on without us. She will be going back to Cleveland tomorrow morning. Her daughter has a Michebag party. She also has to go through more stuff at her apartment. Life will be different without her temporarily. CJ promises to return pronto!

I am having trouble getting my running mojo back. I want to make sure my area around my hernia surgery is healed. Luckily I have a job where I do a lot of walking ... probably 5 miles or so plus I go up and down probably 20 flights of stairs daily. I walk right past the people who press the 'up' or 'down' button.

Trying to keep active, Doug

Friday, January 1st to Saturday, January 9th

I ran once, 4.4 miles

Fri: I didn't do the Resolution Run this year, link here. CJ made a beautiful New Year's Day feast ... horseradish encrusted top round with cheddar cheese potatoes.

Sat: No, I didn't even know about the Frozen Assets 5K (a snowshoe race), link here. I feel for DS who broke his patella (kneecap) ... he finished.

Winter has come to western NY with a vengeance. The lake effect snow machine was in full throttle from Sat to Wed. Some areas east of Rochester got over two feet of snow coupled with wind and cold. Another batch of snow and cold is due in for the weekend. At one point it snowed 116 hours in a row at the Rochester airport ... dropping 12.3 inches of snow, link here.

Thu: 4.4 miles, 41:21, 9:24, Seneca-Collingwood-Zoo-Pond & back, really easy, 27F, night, calm, 3 stops (2 water, 1 traffic), some moderate pain.

I really had to get out and try to run. I went really easy ... snow on the side roads that the city of Rochester doesn't plow does that. I was quite a bit sore in my abs (and lower) when I came in and requested ibuprofen and ice from CJ when I got in. I guess work takes a lot out of me.

I got CJ's car into my auto mechanic, Russ. I got her power steering, trunk release and right wheel bearing fixed for less than she was quoted in Cleveland (Power steering: $245 vs $60, trunk release: $130 vs $20, wheel bearing: $237 vs $155).

CJ and I have a tendency to "cocoon" and just stay inside. It didn't help that she broke her toe walking around the apartment in the dark. CJ joined Planet Fitness at their new location at 1850 East Ridge Rd just past the Medley Center. I transferred my membership there.

Sat: CJ and I took my daughter on a road to Owego to see a friend. While she was visiting CJ and I ate lunch at Beer Belly's, then saw Sherlock Holmes at the Tioga Theater. It was a bright, sunny and cold day to walk around Owego, trust me!

Trying to keep active, Doug

Happy New Year, 2010!

New Year's Eve Reflection Run!

Stats for December: 22.2 miles, 5 runs, 4.4 miles/run
Stats for 2009: 1140.1 miles, 186 runs, 6.1 miles/run
I ran in 26 races in 11 months, 17 trail and 9 road.

A list of my races:

1/1/09 Freezeroo #2 Resolution Run - 7.5 miles 62:33 8:20
107th out of 287, 12th out 33 in age group

1/7/09 Snow Cheap #2 Trail Race - 2.7 miles 31:55 11:49

1/21/09 Snow Cheap #3 Trail Race – 2.5 miles 44:34
(got lost)

2/4/09 Snow Cheap #4 Trail Race – 2.5 miles 31.34 12:37

2/18/09 Snow Cheap #5 Trail Race – 2.5 miles 30:51 11:20

3/4/09 Snow Cheap #6 Trail Race – 3.3 miles 34:15 10:23

4/5/09 Spring Forward 15K 72:49 7:49
141st out of 378, 15th out of 26 in age group

4/11/09 Cat’s Half Marathon 1:51:49 8:32
38th out of 89, 3rd in Age Group

4/15/09 Dirt Cheap #1 – 4.5 miles 38:40 8:36
89th out of 198, 6th out of 13 in age group

5/3/09 Medved Madness 15 mile Trail Run 2:30:09 10:01
52nd out of 69

5/15/09 Williamson Appleblossom 10K 45:44 7:23
14th out of 68, 1st in Age Group

5/20/09 Dirt Cheap #2 – 6 miles 53:24 8:54
88th out of 184, 6th out of 10 in age group

6/6/09 Power Bar 9 Mile Trail Run 85:05 9:27
61st out of 92, 6th out of 7 in age group

6/13/09 Newark Run for the Red 5K 22:04 7:07
3rd in Age Group

6/17/09 Dirt Cheap #3 – 4 miles 54:23 13:36
Epic mudfest!
149th out of 210, 9th out of 10 in age group

7/4/09 Fairport Firecracker 5.1 Mile Race 40:12 7:53
172nd out of 588, 12th out of 44 in age group

7/15/09 Dirt Cheap #4 – 4.5 miles 40:12 8:54
113th out of 211, 8th out of 11 in age group

8/9/09 ‘Dam’ Good Trail Run – 13.6 miles 2:23:42 10:34
51st out of 104, 7th out of 14 in age group

8/19/09 Dirt Cheap #5 – 6 miles 55:13 9:12
95th out of 187, 7th out of 10 in age group

9/5/09 Summerfest 12K 62:42 8:26
66th out of 212, 5th out of 14 in age group

9/16/09 Dirt Cheap #6 – 4 miles 38:01 9:30
Happy Birthday!
77th out of 161, 5th out of 10 in age group

10/11/09 Towpath 10K 48:35 7:50
45th out of 418, 5th out of 16 in age group

11/14/09 Dirt Cheap Stage Race 1 – 3 miles DQed
Missed a turn

11/14/09 Dirt Cheap Stage Race 2 – 5.5 miles 45:04 8:12
45th out of 82, 11th out of 15 in age group

11/15/09 Dirt Cheap Stage Race 3 – 11 miles 2:05:52 11:26
49th out of 74, 9th out of 12 in age group

11/26/09 Newark Turkey Day 5 Mile Race 38:50 7:46
45th out of 144, 5th in Age Group

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thu: 6.5 miles, 1:01:19, 9:25 pace, Seneca-Titus-Winona-St Paul-Norton-Seneca run, 32F, night, fine mist, 1 stop, some mild ab pain.

I just had to get out for the last run of the year. I had to run carefully, I didn't want to slip on any snow on the sidewalk or road. The run was sweet, just really easy, trying to see if I have healed enough to run harder. No, I have not is the short answer. But I am optimistic that I will fully heal ... just not as fast I would like. Perhaps I push too much ... but isn't that the nature of runners? My goal in 2010 is to run a sub 4 marathon.

I wish everyone who reads this blog a Happy New Year filled with everything that they wish for. 2009 was a great year which ended very well!

Keeping active, Doug