Sunday, 3/16/2014 to Saturday, 3/22/2014

I ran 2 times this week, 20.6 miles.

Sunday, 3/16/2014: Rest day.

I had an appointment with Bill Beyerbach to run around the Bay at 8AM but I couldn't get out of bed. Bill ended up running the Spring Forward 15K course out in Mendon at 10AM instead. I just couldn't get motivated to go anything. My darling wife, Christine, and I just snuggled and stayed in the entire day.

Monday, 3/17/2014: Another rest day.

I really should have gone out but I just couldn't get my motivation again. Definitely tomorrow though.

Tuesday, 3/18/2014: 11.1 miles, 1:29:05, 8:02 pace, 46F, 34% RH, sunny, calm.

Garmin Connect Activity for 11.1 miles into the sunset of Irondequoit

I really, really needed to run. I had lots of mojo when I got home and almost lost it as I sat on the couch watching "Intelligience" off the DVR. But I did get up and out. I oscillated on what to wear. It was 46F but with a cold breeze. I started out wearing shorts but switched back to my usual CW-X tights. I also wore a yellow long sleeve tech and a vest. I wore a hat instead of a beanie which was the wrong move. But I went out long anyway. I struck up a good pace and enjoyed the run. My splits were: 7:49, 7:59, 7:59, 7:48, 8:20, 7:54, 8:05, 8:06, 8:06, 8:03 and 8:09.

Wednesday, 3/19/2014: Rest day, nothing special.

Thursday, 3/20/2014: Crappy day.

I took our 2000 Chevy Cavalier to Bob Johnson Chevy to get its Check Engine (on for over a year) and its ABS (on for a month) lights checked out. I rented a sweet Chevy Cruze with 2212 miles on it to use during the day. I joked with the rental agent that I wished my old car would morph into this one.

Sweet ride for 9 hours!

Later I got the bad news. The Check Engine light was due to a "gross" vapor leak in the filler tube to the gas tank along with a gas cap. Fixing that would cost $381 plus tax. However, there might more leaks once that was fixed. The ABS light was due to two rear wheel hubs. Replacing them would cost $641 plus tax. Ouch! I know a guy who could do the work for about $200 outside his garage but even he suggested that fixing it may open a bag of worms just to get the car so it passed inspection by the end of March.. Plus I had an appointment with Fetzer Collision to get the right rear taillight fixed. So all this would cost at least $1000 at the very cheapest or $2000 through the most expensive plus probably more. So we decided to just pay the diagnostic fees and pick up the car and use that money elsewhere. So ... we have until the end of March to get another car. Joy ... not!

This is a big thing for me since I have been known to keep a car way, way past the time it would have been best to get rid of it. I put thousands of dollars into my last car, a Grand Am, trying to keep it on the road. I got rid it only when the transmission was reluctant to engage when turning left in the winter.

Friday, 3/21/2014: 9.5 miles, 1:15:37, 7:58 pace, 37F, 52% RH, dusk, calm.

Garmin Connect Activity for 9.5 miles on the usual route in Irondequoit

I got out a bit late but I did get out. I struck up a nice and easy 8:00 pace on my usual 10K route. I felt a nagging pain in my thighs at mile 5 but I didn't make the turn onto Seneca Ave and continued onward for another 3 miles. My splits were: 8:05, 8:00, 7:55, 7:56, 7:40, 7:54, 7:55, 8:06, 8:02 and 8:01 over the last 0.5 mile. I used my roller as soon as I got back. My wife, Christine, laughed when I groaned in ecstasy when I found the knot in my left thigh.

Saturday, 3/22/2014: Rest day.

Just a normal rest day. I watched the second half of the NCAA Tournament Round 2 game between Syracuse and Dayton (which beat OSU in Round 1). SU couldn't shot a three to save their lives (0-10) and lost 53-55, link here.

Sunday, 3/9/2014 to Saturday, 3/15/2014

I ran 2 times this week, 12.5 miles

Personal note: This post will be torn between running, the blizzard and my father's passing. My father had been in the Wayne County Nursing Home for almost seven years. His passing was not unexpected but still sad and hard to process.

Sunday, 3/9/2014: Rest day.

I took a rest day. I think my darling wife enjoyed having me all to herself all day! We made it out around supper time to get something to eat. 

Our first try was at Bathtub Billy's. We went in and sat right down in the empty dining area. The Nascar race out in Las Vegas had 20 laps to go. The bartender came over 10 to 15 minutes later when there was one lap to go to tell us that the kitchen was closed. Obviously it was too much trouble to tell us any earlier or to put up a sign that the dining area was closed. We were miffed but didn't say anything as we left. Our next attempt was Famous Dave's ... score! We sat right down, got our water, ordered and had our food in three minutes ... no lie! I had the Feast for One (pulled pork on cornbread, 1/4 BBQ chicken, 3 spare ribs, fries, baked beans, coleslaw, a three inch section of corn on the cob along with a small muffin. My darling wife, Christine, had the beef brisket. We rolled ourselves out of there! I felt like I should have taken a long run but couldn't have if I had tried!

Monday, 3/10/2014: 1 mile warmup at 8:00 estimated pace, 5.2 miles, 39:55, 7:40 pace, 46F, 57% RH, overcast, daylight! 

Garmin Connect Activity for 5.2 miles on the streets of Irondequoit

I needed to run and it was warm for March so I wore my shorts, long sleeve tech, Brooks vest, Brooks beanie and light gloves. My Garmin didn't start up right away so I fired up MapMyRun and headed out on my usual 10K route. . When my Garmin finally started up I hit Start and continued running. I laid out a fast pace for the entire run that the Garmin picked up though I did back down a bit on the fourth and fifth mile. My splits were: 7:45, 7:30, 7:34, 7:43 and 7:48. I noticed that my 5 mile time was 38:20, 7:40 pace. I decided to only do a 10K because my thighs were a bit tight.

Later ... sad news. My father, Bernard DeWeaver, passed away at the Wayne County Nursing Home at 8:15PM. I got the call from my sister, Diane, at 9PM. I texted my kids and my ex-wife. I exchanged calls and texts with Diane, my older brother, Don, and my kids for the next couple of hours. I posted the sad news to Facebook before 10PM and soon my phone was bouncing with alerts as my social media friends expressed my condolences. My heartfelt thanks.

Tuesday, 3/11/2014: A busy rest day.

I went to work in the morning but my mind wasn't in it. I spent a lot of the morning talking to Diane, Don and the Yost Funeral Home as we tried to plan the first stages of the funeral and obituary. I took the afternoon off to get Fetzner Collision to do an estimate on fixing the right rear of our 2000 Chevy Cavalier and so that my lovely wife, Christine, and I got go to the dentist. Then we went out to the Wayne County Nursing Home so that I could box up my father's belongings. I took pics of everything before I boxed it.

Wednesday, 3/12/2014: Blizzard day

I ended up taking the next three days off for bereavement. The blizzard named as Vulcan by the Weather Channel barreled down on the upstate NY. The weather at 8AM deteriorated during the day. It snowed and it got colder. The forecast called for 14 to 18 inches with 25-35 mph with gusts up to 45 mph. Which it certainly was. I saw Facebook posts of other runners who went out on snowshoes. I busied myself by scanning old pictures that I took down from my father's room. My darling wife, Christine, made comfort food during the day: BLTs for lunch and mac'n'cheese for supper.

A scene from Leroy

Rt 250 up by Webster almost impassable

A satellite picture from mid February of the Great Lakes (about 85% frozen over).

The Great Lakes were 92.19% frozen over as of 3/6/2014, link here, which is second to the 95% of 1979.

The Weather Channel's Mike Siedel broadcast from the Irondequoit Bay Swing Bridge (where we ran 5 days ago)

 

A bit of Photoshop magic by somebody, somewhere

 

Thursday, 3/13/2014: Prep for Funeral, day 1

I met up with my brother, Don, and sister, Diane, at the Yost Funeral Home in Palmyra NY at 1PM. The roads were variable. The Thruway was as dry as a bone. The north-south main roads were not so great. Village streets in Palmyra and Newark were better than the town roads outside of the villages.

We met up with Bob Yost for a while to discuss the funeral. Dad was cremated like Mom. Our next stop with The Settlers Post out on Goldsmith Rd to arrange for the flowers. Then we headed out to Jim's (Diane's husband) sister's home to look at old pictures. Our plan was to make up two poster boards with pictures to place near the urn and a digital presentation of scanned pictures to play on a LCD TV. I brought my laptop and 4"x6" ImageBox scanner so I was in charge of scanning old pictures that we liked. We had a hoot of a time looking at old pictures of ourselves, Mom, Dad and other relatives.

Friday, 3/14/2014: 6.3 miles, 48:30, 7:41 pace, 46F, 42% RH, sunny, wind chill 40F.

Garmin Connect Activity for 6.3 miles - 2 days after the blizzard

My darling wife, Christine, and I lazed around a bit before we started our day. I made her a coule of waffles and a mug of coffee for our breakfast. She headed out to do "girly" stuff: get her hair cut and colored and her nails touched up. I started our laundry. During the first load in the dryer I snuck out for a fast loop of my 10K course. The weather had warmed up to above 50F so I just wore shorts, a 1/2 zip long sleeve tech, light gloves and a hat. The main roads were clear with a bit of slush, the side streets were slushy and the side walks were slushy with areas of water to splash around or through. I struck up a fast pace and navigated my way through or around the slush. I was a bit surprised by my fast pace. I kept it up except on Cooper Rd and Titus Ave where I had to pick my way around the slush on the sidewalks. My splits were: 7:45, 7:42, 7:27, 7:29, 8:11, 7:41 and 7:25 over the last 0.3 miles.

An aside: what a five days in Rochester! Running in 50F plus weather on Monday, my father's passing on Tuesday, a blizzard on Wednesday with 16 inches of snow and temperatures falling 40F to 12F from the day previous, looking through pictures of my father on Thursday and running in 50F plus weather on Friday. Wow!

When I got back I continued doing the laundry, 5 loads in total. Christine came home with and less hair (about 1 inch) but blonder. Her nails were colored with OPI Quarter Cent Cherry. Nice! She cooked up a nice supper: tuna loaf, potatoes and peas.

I fiddled with the scanned pictures and made up the digital presentation file. I will have to take my laptop and feed the LCD TV via Windows Media Player and the proper VGA to VGA cable.

Saturday, 3/15/2014: My father's funeral

My father's obituary:

Bernard J. DeWeaver
(September 21, 1925 - March 10, 2014)

PALMYRA: DeWeaver, Bernard J., died on Monday, March 10, 2014 at the age of 88. Family and friends are invited to call from 11am – 2pm on Saturday, March 15 at the Robert L. Yost Funeral Home, Inc., 123 West Main Street, Palmyra where a funeral service will follow calling at 2pm. Burial will be in East Palmyra Cemetery in the summer. Bernie was born on September 21, 1925 in Palmyra the son of Francis and Stella Groffman DeWeaver. A veteran of the United States Navy, the funeral home proudly flies the navy flag in honor of his service to our country. Bernie was a member the James R. Hickey American Legion Post 120 and the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 6778. Mr. DeWeaver was predeceased by his wife Doris VerPlank DeWeaver. He is survived by his daughter Diane (Jim) DeMent; sons Doug (Christine) DeWeaver and Donald (Sherri) DeWeaver and eight grandchildren.

My darling wife, Christine, and I got to the funeral home just after 10:30AM. I hooked up my laptop to the LCD and started the video presentation. I don't know if many people watched it but I enjoyed putting it together. My sister, Diane, assembled two poster boards of pictures, enlarged several pictures to put into frames.

 

Flowers for Dad

 

Flowers from the grandchildren

 

Flower from the company where I work

 

The first posterboard

 

My sister, Diane, and I

 

My brother, Don, and I

 

My oldest son, Michael; my daughter, Karen; my youngest son, David

I was the "official" photographer so I busied myself taking pictures of everything and almost everyone that arrived. I didn't get everyone. I also tried to talk to everyone. The American Legion sent over a honor guard at 1PM and gave a short heartfelt presentation. The funeral service at 2PM was sad yet uplifting. The minister, Diane, gave a perfect service and my sister gave a short and heartfelt eulogy. My sister and brother cried and I had tears in my eyes. We adjourned to the American Legion on Cuyler St for a buffet lunch. There were plenty of leftovers which we tried to split up.

 

Back up in Rochester, 1764 runners ran in Johnny's Runnin' of the Green, link here. I wasn't there ... there will be other races.

Sunday, 3/2/2014 to Saturday, 3/8/2014

I ran 3 times this week, 34.3 miles.

Sunday, 3/2/2014: 11 miles, 1:34:01, 8:33 pace, 18F, 68% RH, wind chill 7F, overcast.

Garmin Connect Activity for 11 miles around the streets of Irondequoit

I slept in a bit and didn't get out until after 11AM. The weather had turned colder overnight ... yet again. An inch of snow had fallen overnight ... yet again. I took up a nice and easy pace. The streets were predictable ... yet again. The main streets were clear, the side streets were snow covered and the sidewalks were kind of clear. So I just ran carefully, stayed flat on my usual 10K route and got the run done. My thighs were screaming for me to stop by mile 10 so I obliged them at mile 11. The nozzle of my insulated water hose froze by the time I got done. I am so sick of winter. I am tired of adjusting my running schedule to try to avoid most of the yet another "polar vortex". Arrrggghhhhh!!!!!

I just lazed the rest of the day. We watched some shows off the DVR and some live TV. I also got news from my brother and sister that my father is starting a slow decline along with lethargy and lots of sleeping. He has been in the Wayne County Nursing Home since 2007. Sad news.

I read that our local pole vaulter, Jenn Suhr, vaulted an indoor world record 5.02 meter (16' 5.5 inches) down in Albuquerque NM, news link here, video link here. Christine and I saw her vault 4.91 meters (16' 1.3 inches) at the White Birch Gold Course in Lyndonville (between Rochester and Buffalo) back on June 14, 2013.

Monday, 3/3/2014 and Tuesday, 3/4/2013: Rest days

Monday ... a true rest day. Yes, it got even colder. The high was for the day was the low teens with a cold wind. The low tonight will be around 0F ... joy.

Tuesday ... a quasi rest day. I think I will run Wednesday and then rest two days before I run 15 miles on Round the Bay.

Wednesday, 3/5/2014: 9.3 miles, 1:18:53, 8:28 pace, 16F, 78% RH, wind chill 7F, dark.

Garmin Connect Activity for 15K around the streets of Irondequoit

I needed to get out and 16F did feel kind of warm. I thought about doing just a 10K but stretched it out to a 15K. The inch of snow of during the day left the side streets and sidewalks like usual: snow covered with a bit of ice to boot. But I just took it nice and easy. My splits were: 8:41, 8:17, 8:23, 8:18, 8:26, 8:29, 8:34, 8:28, 8:37 and 8:54 over the last 0.3 mile. My eyes felt a bit dry from the cold when I got home.

Meanwhile (I wasn't there), down at Cobbs Hill Snow Cheap #6 was held with 235 runners, results here. These two pics are from Facebook of two previous Snow Cheaps just to show how pretty running in the dark in the winter with headlamps really is ... believe it or not!

The Winter Warrior Queen and King were crowned. Tina Pellegrin won with the most points overall and Ralph Loehr was the top male.

Winter Warrior winners, Tina Pellegrin and Ralph Loehr

Thursday, 3/6/2014 and Friday, 3/7/2014: Rest days.

Thursday and Friday were rest days before and after long runs.

Saturday, 3/8/2014: 14 miles, 2:00:38, 8:37 pace, 35F, overcast, calm.

Some (OK, 99%) people were in bed at 5:30AM but not me. It was a Round the Bay kind of morning. So I got up to head down to the Irondequoit Bay Swing Bridge by 6:40AM. I met up with Bob Dyzak to pick up my Round the Bay long sleeve tech that he designed and distributed for a nice price of $15. Thanks, Bob!

I also met up with Prem Kumar, Bill Beyerbach and spotted lots of other runners that I knew. I found out that I had left my Garmin Forerunner 310XT at home so I ran "naked" for the first time in a long time.

The Round the Bay run is an informal gathering of runners who meet up at 7AM in early March to run around the Irondequoit Bay before they swing the Swing Bridge on April 1st to open up boat traffic. Why? Because we just do. A long run before most people are awake and have had their first cup of coffee. There's plenty of time for coffee after I'm done with my long run.


Anyway, the run started up at 7AM like usual. My warmup was heading up the hill back up Culver Rd as we started ... i.e. no warmup. I ran with Bill and Prem at the start. Bill soon fell back because he had a cold and wanted to listen to his body. Prem caught up with me and we ran together the rest of the way. Prem had his Garmin so I knew mileage and pace. We struck up a nice and easy pace up Culver Rd, east on Titus Ave, south on Kane Dr, east on East Ridge Rd and then onto Bay Shore Blvd. Down we went and then back up a not so nice hill. We pushed each other subconsiously and didn't break to a walk. Bay Shore Blvd had become Bay View Rd during the hill. We ran where we couldn't see other runners in front so I missed the left turn onto Glen Haven Rd. I didn't realize this until we started to cross I590. We stopped to ask for directions from other runners behind us. No one seemed to know what to do so we continued on and made a left onto Helendale Rd and a left onto Empire Blvd. The miles were clicking along. We saw where the runners who ran the "correct and hilly" route came out from Orchard Park Blvd. We ran down the downhill on Empire Blvd down to the bottom of Irondequoit Bay and then endured the long uphill without breaking stride again. I broke out my bottle of gel and water and took some nutrition and hydration without stopping. My gel was a bit slow and thick due to the cold but at least it wasn't frozen. We turned left onto Bay Rd. Prem and I were cranking out the miles around 8:15 pace as we ran up Bay Rd and then left onto Lake Rd. I saluted as we passed the Fireman's monument opposite the burned down Spengler house ... so sad, link here. Our shortened route turned out to be 14 miles at 8:38 pace. Our splits were: 9:15, 8:26, 8:18, 8:11, 9:00, 8:45, 8:20, 8:47, 9:26, 8:39, 8:17, 8:23, 8:04 and 8:19. The joy of running 14 miles by 9AM ... priceless!

I enjoyed running with Prem. We both ran the same pace and pushed each other a bit. I learned that the first anniversary of his first race is next month ... 21 races and counting so far! I'm an older veteran with 252 races since I started way back in Newark NY on Thanksgiving 1995. It's like I have been running forever but it also seems like yesterday.

The rest of the day was a bit of a lazy one. Christine and I did make it out though. We headed down to Lyons to see my father at the Wayne County Nursing Home.

He was asleep when we got there. He woke up for a bit when a couple of aides came in and adjusted his position. I talked to him and told him that I loved him. I don't know if he knew we were there ... but I hoped so. His eyes seems sunken in and Christine said his urine seemed cloudy.

Dad was asleep when we entered his room.

He woke up after two aides shifted his position.

We moved onward and saw my daughter and oldest son in Newark before we headed back to Rochester. My youngest son didn't feel well so we will see him at another time.

Sunday, 2/23/2014 to Saturday, 3/1/2014

I ran 2 times this week, 25.7 miles.
I ran 16 times during the month of February, 109.35 miles, 6.8 miles per run (2 runs were warmup runs of 1 and 2 miles)

Sunday, 2/23/2014: 13.1 miles, 1:55:12, 8:48 pace, 37F, 60% RH, 20 mph W wind, wind chill 27F, sunny.

I wanted to get in a half marathon long run to honor all the runners that were out in Syracuse running the Lake Effect Half Marathon. I read all their Facebook comments later and I'm gonna sign up next year and not get shut out. Anyway, I got up and out at 9:45AM.


My thought was to do a "both sides of the Genesse River" type run like I have done before. It all started out nice. I ran my usual 10K route until I got back to St Paul St, continued down St Paul St until almost Thomas Ave, connected up with Thomas Ave, crossed the Genesee River at the O'Rorke Bridge and headed down to the Genesee River Trail on the west side. All good: 6.1 miles at 8:03 pace. I had a couple gulps of Gel and some water.

Then ... I discovered that the Genesee River Trail was all snow covered and icy. The wood trail over the Genesee River wasn't but then the trail went back to crap. I should have sucked it up, endured it and continued straight for another mile or so until it connected back to Lake Ave. But no ... I turned right up a trail and tried to find a way back to Lake Ave. Soon I was walking through the woods kind of lost. I did know at least which direction I wanted to head. I saw a building and headed toward it. I ended up going down an 10 foot embankment to the road by the building and then followed the road out and up to Lake Ave. Ugh ... another 2.3 miles at 11:05 pace. Now that I knew where I was I just ran home and stretched the run out to 13.1 miles ... another 4.7 miles at 8:33 pace. So the run took 1:55:12 at 8:48 pace and took more energy than I wanted. My splits were: 8:03, 7:51, 7:49, 7:46, 7:51, 9:03, 9:26, 11:46, 10:48, 8:33, 8:31, 8:59 and 8:04.

What I should have done is just run my usual 10K route in Irondequoit on the east side of the Genesee River which was snow free(!) and did my mini loop twice to hit 13.1 miles. I would have been a lot happier, ran faster and gotten more fitness. Instead I beat myself up with 2.3 miles of crappy snow and ice which I did not expect. But ... a run is a run and much better than no run.

Later, I droove out to Newark to cart my daughter and a friend up to RIT so she could attend a poetry reading. More Winter Olympics watching ensued once I got back home to my darling wife, Christine.

Monday, 2/24/2014: Rest day.

A well deserved rest day after 3 days of running: 6.2, 8.2 and 13.1 miles. My Achilles tendons on both legs hurt when I started walking. I even felt twinges of pain once or twice ... joy.

Christine and I treated my daughter and her friend to dinner at Denny's in Henrietta before I took her back to her apartment in Newark. One note: the computers at the IHOP in Henrietta were down all day. So ... rather than put a sign on their door that they were taking cash only instead they locked their doors while the lucky people with cash were eating inside. How did they get in? FAIL ... to the hungry people who came to their doors wanting food like us!! A long day ... sleep ensued as soon as we got home.

Tuesday, 2/25/2014 to Friday, 2/28/2014: more "Polar Vortrex" days

I was a total wuss and stayed off the roads. It was just too cold for me. The wind chills just got lower all week. Thursday was the worst ... -16F or worse. Friday was a bit better, -10F. My darling wife, Christine, convinced me not to go out. So ... I stayed in just like the past 5 nights.

Saturday, 3/1/2014: 12.6 miles, 1:50:40, 8:47 pace, 23F, 42% RH, wind chill 16F, overcast.

Garmin Connect Activity for 12.6 miles around the streets of Irondequoit with Bill Beyerbach

I was just gearing up to go out solo when Bill Beyerbach called and asked if he could run with me. He had overslept his 5:30AM alarm to run with the Oven Door group at 6:30AM and knew that I ran later in the morning. I agreed, geared up and waited for him. We took it nice and easy on my usual 10K route with an additional loop along with taking the Chapel Hill Drive hill twice. The roads were OK: the shoulders of the main roads were clear, the side streets were mostly snow covered and the sidewalks were OK on the sides. We stopped twice for hydration. It did warm up during the run. I could tell by the change in the snow texture underfoot. Our splits were: 9:01, 8:49, 10:07, 8:29, 8:45, 8:37, 8:39, 8:47, 9:54, 8:51, 8:34, 8:30 and 8:19 over the last 0.6 mile.

We had a mug of coffee after the run before Bill left. He was going to try to make a Boot Camp course at the Penfield Racquet Club where he is a member.

The rest of the day was just a lazy one. My darling wife, Christine, made some banana bread. I devoured most of it while we watched our usual crime dramas. I did have an allergy attack that started about a hour after my run. I went through a lot of tissues before I admitted defeat and took some Dayquil. I ended up going to bed early to try to get rid of it.

Meanwhile, out in Vermont the Dion 2014 Snowshoe Championships were held. These pictures and videos are from the website or Facebook.


Women's race

F 60-64: Gold - Marcy Schwam (in the American Ultrarunning Hall of Fame), Silver - Jeanne Herrick, Bronze - Patti Catalano (in the National Distance Hall of Fame)

A picture of Jeanne Herrick in action!

Men's race, Dave Sek placed 3rd in his M7-74 division.
Women's results are here and Men's results are here.

2/24.2014 - Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics

I just got done with the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics. The past 17 days are just a jumble ... NBC Olympics did an OK broadcast. Bob Costas had a rough start with an eye infection, Matt Lauer stepped up, Rebecca Lowe did the late night. NBC had their usual slew of personal pieces ... some interesting and some not so much. My fingers were ready on the DVR FF button. OK ... prepare for a really long sentence that isn't even remotely grammatically correct.

My impressions of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics off of our DVR .. watching Men's and Women's Slopestyle, watching the Netherlands conquer almost all the skating events, watching Men's and Women's Moguls, watching Bode Miller in the Men's Downhill (8th) won won Bronze in Men's Super G and his tearful interview afterward when asked about his deceased brother (link here), watching Julia Mancuso win Bronze in the Women's Super Combined (link here) and place 8th in the Women's Downhill, watching Victor An from Russia in the chaos of Short Track (link here), watching Men's and Women's Ski Slopestyle, watching Evgeny Plyushchenko of Russia battle his back to help win gold in the Men's Team Skating and then bow out before the Men's Free Skate (link here), watching Men's and Women's Ski Jumping, watching Kaitlyn Farrington win gold in the Women's Halfpipe (link here), watching Shaun White get shut out in the Men's Halfpipe (link here), watching Noelle Pikus-Pace climb into the stands to celebrate with her family after winning Silver in the Women's Skelton (link here), watching US-1 win silver and bronze in the Women's 2-Men Bobsled (link here), watching US-1 win bronze and Alexander Zubkov (link here) of Russia-1 win Gold in the Men's 2-Men and 4-Men Bobsled (link here), watching Men's and Women's Snowboard Cross, watching Vic Wild of Russia (born in Washington state) win Gold in the Men's Snowboard Parallel Giant Slalom and Parallel Slalom (link here) and his wife, Alena Zavarzina, win Bronze in the Women's Snowboard Parallel Giant Slalom (link here), watching Meryl Davis and Charlie White win Gold in Ice Dance (link here), watching the drama of the Women's Figure Skating (a bit of politics and judging inaccuracies), watching the US beat Russia, 3-2 in a shootout in Men's Hockey (link here) and then lose to Canada 1-0 (link here), watching the US lose to Canada 3-2 in OT in Women's Hockey (link here), watching Mikaela Shiffrin win Gold in the Women's Slalom in dramatic fashion (link here), Ted Ligety win Gold in Men's Giant Slalom (link here) and DNF (along with half the field) in Men's Slalom (link here), watching Gracie Gold win Bronze in Women's Team Figure Skating (link here), watching Men's and Women's Aerials, watching Curling (OK just a bit via not understanding the rules) and Nordic and Biathlon and watching all the athletes giving their all ... wow!!!

Now maybe I can get more sleep and life can return to normal. Maybe I could continue to get up early, get to LA Fitness and work out in the mornings I don't run ... or not. I'll see.

Sunday, 2/16/2014 to Saturday, 2/22/2014 - Freezeroo #6

I ran 5 times this week, 29.75 miles.

Sunday, 2/16/2014: 4.2 miles, 49:15, 11:43 pace, 16F, 73% RH, wind chill 5F, overcast.

Garmin Connect Activity for 4.2 miles on snowshoes at the Seneca Park Zoo

I woke up around 8:45AM just like Saturday. My rented Dion snowshoes were due back at Medved by noon so I thought I needed to get another snowshoe run in before I gave them up. Two more inches of fluffy snow had fallen overnight. It was too far to go down to Mendon Ponds Park again so I went over to nearby Seneca Park Zoo instead. I parked in their parking lot, geared up and headed out. My plan was to run the west side of their trail out past the zoo fence and then come back on the east side of their trail back to the parking lot. It was a bit colder, 16F, but I soon warmed up. I mostly followed cross country ski tracks when I could. There was more snow to plow through so I got more snow covered than yesterday. My splits were: 11:55, 11:04, 12:33, 11:36 and 10:35 over the last 0.2 mile. I enjoyed my nice and easy snowshoe run. I gotta give me a pair! I got my rented Dion snowshoes back to Medved at 12:15PM.

Another snowshoe selfie

My darling wife Christine wasn't feeling well so she slept until 2:30PM before getting out of bed. A hot coffee and bagel revived her. We spent the rest of the day watching the Winter Olympics along with an AMC version of "Snakes on a Plane" ... the G rated version off of AMC.

Monday, 2/17/2014: Rest day.

A solid rest day ... well deserved after running 8 miles on Friday, snowshoeing 6.2 miles on Saturday, snowshoeing 4.2 miles on Sunday and walking 12129 steps at work. I was asleep on the couch by 8:15PM  ... watching the Winter Olympics with my eyes shut. My darling wife, Christine, might not be a fan ... she has said more once, "Are they over yet"?

Tuesday, 2/18/2014: 11.1 miles, 1:32:20, 8:19 pace, 27F, 68% RH, wind chill 17F, dark, overcast.

Garmin Connect Activity for 11.1 miles out in the dark of Irondequoit

I thought about bagging this run during the day since I was tired during the afternoon. But ... I was made of sterner stuff or just stubborn. I fueled with my usual cereal, geared up and headed out. I found that the roads were mostly ice-free: the main roads yes, the side streets better with tracks to run in and the sidewalks 90%. So I just struck up a fast pace and tried to keep it up. I did slow a bit on the usual icy sidewalks on Titus. My splits were: 9:39 (stopped a minute and a half or so to mail small packages at the USPS drop box), 8:02, 8:00, 8:34, 8:07, 8:08, 8:25, 8:30, 8:11, 7:57 and 7:14. So I estimate my true time was 1:31:00 for a pace of 8:12. All in all, it was a "zen" run. Runners know what I mean. The miles just seemed to flow!  I felt great afterward ... full of joy and endorphins!!

Wednesday, 2/19/2014 and Thursday, 2/202014: Rest days

Wednesday was a full rest day due to 11.1 miles on Tuesday. Meanwhile I did notice that a total of 217 runners braved the icy conditions down at Cobbs Hill to run Snow Cheap #5.

Thursday was a rest day due to rain. The weather had warmed to 40F and a light rain was falling by the time I got home from work. I just stayed in ... I would have gotten drenched. I would rather be warm and dry than wet and cold. I used the time to keep up to date on my Winter Olympics watching ... which is a chore. I try to set to DVR to tape the late night from 1AM to 3AM, the afternoon from 3PM to 5PM and the evening from 8PM to 11:30PM. I have gotten up early to star watching before work and as soon as I can after work. Just gorging on the different winter  athletic competitions. Though I might get more sleep after it is all over.

Friday, 2/21/2014: 6.2 miles, 49:41, 8:01 pace, 39F, 70% RH, wind chill 32F, dusk to dark.

Garmin Connect Activity for 10K in the dark of Irondequoit

I got home from work a half hour early but had to finish up remotely so it was a wash. I got out around 5:30PM for what I told my darling Christine would be a "nice and slow" 10K. Yeah ... right. It turned out to be nice and easy and kind of fast. I did try to go easy but once I got warmed I turned up the speed a bit. My splits were: 7:47, 8:07, 8:01, 8:15, 8:01, 7:59 and 7:38 over the last 0.2 mile. It's all good.

Saturday, 2/22/2014: 2 runs of 2 and 6.25 miles, 43F, 40% RH, 20 mph SW wind, wind chill 34F, sunny.

I woke up at 7:30AM ... can't sleep too late on a Freezeroo morning! I quietly got ready, kissed my darling wife, Christine, goodbye and headed out to Casey Park in Ontario NY for Freezeroo #6 named the End of the World 10K. I got there in plenty of time at 9AM. I headed out with Prem Kumar for a nice and easy 2 mile warmup run at 8:23 pace ... perhaps too fast in hindsight.

Garmin Connect Activity for 2 mile Warmup before Freezeroo #6

We got back just 6 minutes before the start. I had time for just a quick trip to the car for a drink of water before the start. I made it to my usual starting spot: the right side about 20 feet from the front. I said "Hi" to Mark Herberger and off we went.

Freezeroo #6 ... Go!!!

About a mile in ... Mark Herberger and Joe Ciecierega are stalking me!

I am in the frame at 1:27 to 1:41.
This 10K was really the tale of two 5Ks. Mark Herberger passed me at mile 1. Later he thanked me for letting me draft behind me. I could hear his racing flats behind me until he passed and he was soon out of sight. I passed Joe Ciecierega at mile 1. I ran the first 5K in 22:01, 7:06 pace. I made a turn into the wind at mile 3.5 and all of a sudden my legs felt dead. I took two tiny walk breaks to catch my breath. Soon Joe passed me and then Heather Danielson passed me. She gave me encouragement as she passed, "You can do it, Doug" like she had done before. I gathered myself and headed after them. I gave it my best but I couldn't catch them. The wind definitely bothered me in the second 5K. My second 5K was 24:39, 7:57 pace. My splits were: 6:54, 7:10, 7:29, 7:58, 7:56, 7:24 and 7:11 over the last 0.25 mile.

Mark Herberger in at 44:59.

Joe Ciecierega in at 46:14.

I finished in 46:39.

Prem Kumar in at 48:41.

Bill Beyerbach in at 51:01.

Mark finished 44th in 44:59, Joe finished 50th in 46:14, Heather finished 53rd in 46:20, I was 55th in 46:39 (7:31 pace by my Garmin), Prem was 69th in 48:41 and Bill was 91st in 51:01. The overall results, link here. I was 3rd out of 19 in my M55-59 age group, link here.

Soon I was hanging out in lodge with Prem and Bill Beyerbach. Wilt Alston, the GRTC president, announced the series winners. Mark Herberger won 1st, I won 2nd and Matt Degma won 3rd in the M55-59 age group.

Handing out the M 55-59 age group awards.

I helped pick up chairs and tables before I left. Soon I was home and prepared my customary post race coffee and bagel for my wife and myself. A good way to spend a morning and a bit of the afternoon!

A lot of Winter Olympics watching soon ensued. I watched the 2nd half of the SU-Duke down in NC off of watchespn.com since our DVR was busy recording 2 shows. SU lost 66-60, link here, to go 25-2. The charge call with 10.4 seconds to go that went against SU was absolutely a blown call and sent their coach, Jim Boeheim, absolutely ballistic ... which earned him his first regular game ejection ever.

Sunday, 2/9/2014 to Saturday, 2/15/2014

I ran 4 times this week, 24.8 miles.

Sunday, 2/9/2014: 1 measly mile on the hotel treadmill

We woke up late at the Millennium Hotel in Buffalo. I trudged downstairs to do one, yes one, measly mile on the treadmill. I was strapped for time since checkout was 11AM. Yes, we didn't use the hotel pool ... again. There was no continental breakfast so we went across the street to Jim's Truck Stop to have breakfast before we headed home.

Meanwhile ... back in Rochester over 2000 people took part in the 14th annual Polar Plunge, link here. Yes, the Brooks Racing Team was there ... according to pics from Facebook.

Luen, Katie, Suzanne and Kate before ...

Luen, Suzanne, Katie and Kate after!

Later ... I thought about heading out for a Sunday long run and felt like a slug when I didn't.

Monday, 2/10/2014: Rest day ... with another 3 loads of laundry.

Tuesday, 2/11/2014: Another rest day ... the couch's pull was too strong!

Wednesday, 2/12/2014: 9.6 miles, 1:24:48, 8:50 pace, 21F, 45% RH, wind chill 13F, dark, clear.

Garmin Connect Activity for 9.6 miles out on the streets of Irondequoit

The morning was cold, -4F, cold even with a wind chill. Anyone went for a run in the morning deserved triple badasss points! I waited until after work. It had warmed up to the mid 20s during the day so ice had formed or was in the process of forming by the time I stepped foot outside at 6PM. I wore my trail shoes and set forth at a really nice and easy pace. I found that the main streets were mostly clear, the side streets were mostly snow covered and the sidewalks were mostly icy. So I was mostly careful. I slipped a bit here and here but didn't fall. My splits were: 8:10, 8:24, 8:27, 8:28, 9:51, 9:08, 8:50, 9:39, 8:46 and 8:28 over the last 0.6 mile.

My darling wife, Christine, had cooked a roaster chicken along with mixed vegetables ... yum! We promptly devoured most of the chicken while we watched the Winter Olympics.

Thursday, 2/13/2014: Rest day. I thought about heading out but didn't.

Friday, 2/14/2014: 8 miles, 1:05:42, 8:13 pace, 27F, 74% RH, wind chill 16F, twilight to dusk, clear.

Garmin Connect Activity for 8 miles out in the twilight of Irondequoit

It had warmed up a bit to 30F during the day so I hurried to get out before it got dark and the ice started to set in. So I headed out around 5:30PM into the twilight. I set up a nice and easy pace. I found the main streets were clear, the side streets were still mostly snow covered but better than Wednesday and the sidewalks were still icy on Titus. So I was careful where I needed to be. I saw the full moon rise ... it looked pretty. My splits were: 8:12, 8:09, 7:54, 7:59, 8:39, 8:39, 8:14 and 7:55.

Oh ... it was Valentine's Day. Some people don't celebrate it. They say that it's a made up holiday and that you should celebrate with your honey every day. Well ... I got my darling wife Christine a gift certificate to Massage Envy and an amber necklace. It's how I roll.

Oh ... a feel good story from the Winter Olympics tonight was the story of Noelle Pikus-Pace, link here. She was 4th by 0.1s at the 2010 Winter Olympics, retired, had a miscarriage in 2012, came back to training and racing with her family, came to Sochi, won silver in Skeleton and climbed into the stands to celebrate with her family.

Saturday, 2/15/2014: 6.2 miles, 1:11:45, 11:34 pace, 25F, 74% RH, wind chill 15F, overcast to light snow.

Garmin Connect Activity for 10K on snowshoes at Mendon Ponds Park

I woke up late around 8:45AM. I did last nights dishes and watched the US-Russia hockey game. The US won 3-2 in a 8-inning shootout ... what a game! I put stuff off ... I had to get out and get stuff done. So I got my hair cut. I walked right in, sat right down, got it done ... boom.

Then I changed and went to Medved to rent some snowshoes. Why? Well ... Medved rents them for $10/day and Fleet Feet is $15/day. Simple economics. While I was there they asked if I had signed up for the Muddy Sneaker 20K yet. I hadn't and was going to do it on my iPhone when they suggested I do it at ultrasignup.com on their salescounter computer. Sign up had opened up at 3PM. I was 147th out of 200 at 4:30PM.

A pic from the Muddy Sneaker 20K website ... hopefully it will be as snow free on April 19th!

I continued onward to Mendon Ponds Park. There were lots of people down in the park ... sledding, walking their dogs, cross country skiing and snowshoeing (just me). I geared up and headed out nice and easy on the blue and then the green trail. You can't go as fast on snow shoes but it was a good workout. It was getting dark and it had started to snow by the time I got done.

A nice pair of Dion snowshoes!

We watched "Undercover Boss" so ... I only got to watch the last 20 seconds of the NC-Syracuse mens basketball game. The game was delayed to 7PM from 3PM when NC didn't land in Syracuse until 3:07PM. What a last 20 seconds! SU was down by 1 with the ball. Ennis drove the lane and was called for an offensive foul. NC passed the ball long and SU fouled NC before the shot went in (NC disagreed). It wasn't 1-1 yet so it was side out. SU stole the inbound pass and Ennis made the layup with 6.7 seconds to go up 1. SU's D only allowed an off balance 3. SU won to go 25-0, link here. SU has danced on the edge of the knife to win at the last second the past two games.