Sunday, 6/14/2015 to Saturday, 6/20/2015

I ran 4 times this week, 33.8 miles.

Sunday, 6/14/2015: 12.4 miles, 1:40:36, 8:07 pace, 68F, 78% RH, calm, mostly sunny

Garmin Connect Activity for Out to Manitou Rd and back

I was up early, per usual, around 6:30AM. I puttered a bit, then dilly-dallied a bit more. But I got out there. I struck up a nice and easy pace down Greenleaf Rd, left onto Beach Ave and then out Edgemere Drive all the out to Manitou Rd and back. I had just waster so I was pretty much under 8:00 pace until mile 8 went I ran out of energy a bit. You can see it in my splits: 7:59, 7:51, 7:46, 7:54, 7:55, 7:54, 8:03, 8:05, 8:11, 8:35, 8:22, 8:31 and 8:43 over the last 0.4 mile.

Later, I busied myself moving lots and lots of boxes around in the basement to make room for the GE washer/dryer that Charlotte Appliance will be delivering on Monday. Then I move some furniture around in the living roomI started around 1:30PM and was more than happy to stop at 6:30PM.

Monday, 6/15/2015: Rest day

My body really needed to rest today. My right arch ached which was pretty unusual. Meanwhile, Charlotte Appliance delivered our GE washer/dryer. It sure will be nice to wash and dry our own clothes without feeding quarters or tokens. Christine used her small tabletop grill for the first time. She was outside on the patio grilling four hamburgers when I got home. I could smell someone cooking something. I looked for her on the first floor, second floor and basement but couldn't find her. I yelled for her and she said she was outside on the patio. It was her cooking ... sweet! We moved a couple of folding chairs and tables out there and ate there while we watched golfers putt on the sixth green of the Lakeshore Country Club. Pretty nice!

Tuesday, 6/16/2015: 7 miles, 55:52, 7:59 pace, 79F, 45% RH, 14 mph NW wind, sunny.

Garmin Connect Activity for A sweaty 7 mile loop

I wanted to get back on my usual Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday schedule so I got out there. Christine's cell phone was acting up and I probably should have helped her take it to Verizon but ... I needed to run. I wanted to explore a new loop so when I got down to Beach Ave I turned right not left. I got down to Lake Ave at mile 2. I turned right onto Latta Rd. I saw Tom Butler and his wife, Amy, at mile 2.7 as I continued on Latta. Then a right onto Dewey, another onto Ling, and another onto Greenleaf before a left into the complex. A nice loop though with a lot too much sidewalk for my taste. My splits were: 8:09, 7:48, 8:09, 8:00, 7:55, 7:59 and 7:50.

Yes, the Cleveland Cavs lost in Game 6 to the Golden State Warriors, 97-105, link here. Oh, well.

Wednesday, 6/17/2015: Rest day.

I should have gone to bed early ... but didn't like usual. Christine and I watched "Harry Potter: The Half Blood Prince" off the DVR.

Thursday, 6/18/2015: 8.2 miles, 1:05:18, 7:58 pace, 81F, 62% RH, 12 mph W wind, mostly sunny.

Garmin Connect Activity for A sweaty out and back to Long Pond Rd

Thursday night ... time to run. I got up off the couch and got out there. I just did an out and back on Beach Ave and Edgemere Drive to Long Pond Rd and back. I started a bit fast and held it until mile 5. I brought water and had a sip when I turned around. My splits were: 7:47, 7:50, 7:50, 7:56, 8:04, 8:03, 8:05, 8:08 and 7:50 over the last 0.2 mile. All in all, a sweet run.

Friday, 6/19/2015: Rest day.

I met my honey at a new restaurant, The Original Charbroil House, on the corner of Island Cottage Rd and Edgemere Drive. I went directly there ... she took the scenic route from her PT appointment in Penfield. We like the atmosphere and both deemed it our new "go to" restaurant. Done!

Saturday, 6/20/2015: 6.2 miles, 50:18, 8:06, 57F, 67% RH, a bit of wind, partly sunny.

Garmin Connect Activity for Just a 10K

I was up early like usual. I dilly-dallied like usual but got out there at 7:30AM. I explored a new route and was not entirely satisfied with it ... but I got out there. My splits were: 8:18, 8:17, 8:10, 7:54, 8:06, 7:57 and 7:49 over the last 0.2 mile.

My summer cut ... I won't have to comb it for sure!

Then I got out and out back to the old neighborhood to get my haircut at the OK Barber Shop, get gas at Deltasonic and get some shelf dowel pins at Black's Hardware. All these businesses are with 500 feet of each other. Boom ... done!

Sunday, 6/7/2015 to Saturday, 6/13/2015 - Dirt Cheap #3

I ran 4 times this week, 12.47 miles.

Sunday, 6/7/2015: Rest day.

There were some people who made it out to run and compete ... that much I saw on Facebook. The Pittsford Tri and the Keuka Tri were held today. Me ... I didn't. I did put some time in unboxing and sort stuff in the living room. There are fewer of my boxes in the living room now.

Later, Christine and I watched Game 2 of the NBA Finals ... the Cleveland Cavs versus the Golden State Warriors. Christine is from Cleveland and is rooting for the Cavs ... so I am too. The Cavs led most of the game and held on win in OT, 95-93, link here. It seemed for a while that the Cavs were searching for a way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory but Lebron notched a triple double of 37, 16 and 11 to pull the Cavs to a victory and even the series at 1.

Monday, 6/8/2015: Another rest day.

I should have ran ... but I was hungry when I got home so I didn't. I really should have just sucked it up and ran instead of lighting into Christine for what I thought was her lack of unpacking during the day ... she had unpacked 3 boxes upstairs. I just wanted everything unpacked and put somewhere ... packing, moving and unpacking is very stressful to me. I am not handling the unpacking very well at all. Christine and I just tried not to say anything to each that would set either of us off the rest of the night. I love my darling, Christine, but ... I just want both of us to be unpacked. A washer/dryer in the basement would help too.

Tuesday, 6/9/2015: 7 miles, 57:11, 8:10 pace, 63F, 93% RH, 3 mph wind, overcast with a bit of fog

Garmin Connect Activity for Out to Edgemere Dr and back

I set my alarm for 5:15AM because I wanted to see if I could get out for a run before work. I woke up at 4:49AM with my darling wife, Christine, sawing wood next to me and the bird chirping up a storm outside. So ... I got up, got dressed, programmed the coffee and got out there by 5:20AM or so. I just did a nice and easy out and back down Greenleaf Rd, down Beach Ave and a bit out on Edgemere Dr. It was quiet and peaceful with just minimum traffic. My splits were: 8:20, 8:12, 7:59, 8:10, 8:17, 8:11 and 8:00. The only people out were dog walkers ... some said "Morning" and some didn't. I was back by 6:30AM and sat down to a nice hot mug of coffee.

Christine had sorted all the laundry and was doing it at the complex laundromat (only $1 a load!) when I got home so I stopped to help. Nine loads of laundry took longer than I expected. I broke off when Game 3 of the NBA Finals between the Cavs and the Warriors came on at 9PM from Cleveland. It was a good game ... Lebron went out for 40, 12 and 8, Dellie went off for 20, 5 and 4 as the Cavs blew a 20 point lead down to 1 but won by 5, 96-91, link here, to lead the series 2-1.

Wednesday, 6/10/2015, 3 runs of 1.47, 0.63 and Dirt Cheap #3 of 3.37 miles, 75F, 69% RH, 9 mph SSE wind, mostly sunny.

Today's race was Dirt Cheap #3 held at Lucien Morin Park on Empire Blvd next to MacGregor's. I loaded all my gear into the back of the Equinox before work so I just changed there and headed straight over afterward. I got there at 5PM and was rewarded with a prime parking spot. Christine called and said that she would meet me there.

I met up with Prem Kumar and we went out for a really nice and easy warmup run of 1.37 miles at 13:29 pace on the white and blue trails, link here. I found the portion of trail that we ran to be variable with some slick spots. I fell once on my left side with no damage ... just dirt. Really ... I just fell onto my butt. We also saw a big branch fall to the ground about 100 feet. First we heard some cracking and ... then boom! I think we were both happy it happened over there and not over our heads! I was drenched with sweat when I got back to the Equinox and gulped water ... which led to multiple trips to the bathroom with no lines ... the woods. I got out for another warmup run on the road of 0.63 mile at 10:41 pace where I thought Christine would park (but I didn't see her), link here.

This race had a 4 wave start due to over 300 runners. I was lucky to be in Wave 1. I would imagine that the footing got worse as more and more runners went over the same terrain. It warmed up to 81F before the race started so it was plenty hot and muggy back in the woods.



And ... we were off! As usual, it was a scramble to get down the stone road to where the trail turned left into single track. A choice ... go out hard and then pay for it on the long uphill after the single track or go out a bit hard and have a bit left for that long uphill after the single track. I chose to go out a bit hard.

I was behind 69 year old Tom Dutton for a good half mile before he motioned me ahead. He said that he got tired of hearing me behind him. Joe Ciecierega passed me just as we passed close to the Irondequoit Creek. I almost got caught leaning the wrong way on one of the turns there. The trail is narrow there and you could easily fall in. He laughed when I told him that. He did say that he would have helped me out ... while laughing about it of course. We both got a chuckle and continued onward. Up ... down ... sideways ... be careful of slippery ups and downs ... onward. I did fall hard once on my left side and lost my 10 ounce hand bottle for a second. I reached back for it as Tom Dutton passed me again. My left thumb hurt as I grasped my water bottle but I gathered myself and ran onward. I ran under control and made it out to the finish without further incident. And ... done with 3.37 miles in 39:06! Christine was there to greet me after I drank some water. Soon we headed inside for some food and drink. I had the usual post race MacGregor's grub (veggies, salad and pasta) and she ordered a Reuben. I did have some of her fries though.

My darling wife, Christine, did have some surprises for me. She got her nails done (2 repaired and all 10 sharpened), her blonde hair trimmed and got herself a Vivofit. She says that she is going to start exercising ... good for her!

We made home just ahead of yet another thunderstorm. There was a report the next day that a EF0 tornado touched down in Farmington in Ontario County southeast of Rochester, link from 13WHAM here. I took a quick shower to wash the mud off of me. I had to wash off the walls of the shower after I got mud on them!

All in all, a pretty nice day! I looked at the results later in the evening. I was 55th out of 347, link here. I was 4th out of 13 in my M55-59 age group.

Thursday, 6/11/2015 through Saturday 6/13/2015: Rest days from running.

We watched Game 4 of the NBA Finals between the Warriors and Cavs. The Warriors won 103-82, link here, to even the series at 2.

It's a bit weird that I didn't have a race this weekend but that just my race schedule worked out. I could have and should have gone out for a run on Thursday night or Friday night or Saturday morning but just didn't get around to it. I guess I just needed to recharge my running batteries.

My darling wife, Christine, and I did get out on Saturday afternoon to enrich the Rochester economy. First, it was to locally and family owned Charlotte Appliance where we purchased a GE washer/dryer. This GE washer is one of the few left that has the old style electro-mechanical dials that allow you to add your detergent, let water in dissolve it and then add clothes. The new style has the locking mechanism that makes you add the detergent, the clothes and close the lid before the water starts. Christine is old school so we went old school. The washer/dry is being delivered Monday. Second, it was to BJ's where we purchased a Samsung 40" LCD HDTV and Shark Rotator vacuum. The new HDTV is sweet! It's so much bigger and lighter than our old 35" Sanyo CRT TV. We also had our first "garbage" plate at Harbor Hots on Lake Ave. We both had gas and heartburn afterward.

Sunday, 5/31/2015 to Saturday, 6/6/2015 - McMullen Mile and Webster Trail Classic

I ran 6 times this week, 23.71 miles.

Sunday, 5/31/2015: Rest day

My darling wife, Christine, and I just lazed most of the day. We did do a bit of unpacking but not enough to really notice. I did unpack my short sleeve and long sleeve tech shirt into the 2nd bedroom. It looks that this bedroom will morph into the stash for my running stuff.

I ran xx times this month for only 82 miles. I have run xx times this year for xx miles. So ... my 20 month streak of running at least 100 miles per month is over. I could use the fall at Mind the Ducks and moving to Greenleaf Meadows for an excuse but I won't. I still have opportunity to get out there and get it done but chose not to so ... time to start a new streak.

Monday, 6/1/2015: Rest day.

I was hobbled today by muscle aches two days after the Ontario Summit Trail Race. I have found that my body aches the worst two days after a major running event. Christine made a lot of progress in the living room ... we can actually see floor! Now ... if we could just find our plates and flatware. I have a feeling that they are in the ... basement.

Tuesday, 6/2/2015: 11 miles, 1:31:17, 8:17 pace, 63F, 55% RH, 8 mph E wind, mostly sunny

Garmin Connect Activity for A nice 11 mile loop

I dilly-dallied like usual but eventually said "Runs don't get done by themselves". I got dressed, got ready and got out there. I am still exploring run loops and figured out this one on www.mapmyrun.com. It was a bit long so I ran a bit hard for the first 8 miles and then slowed it down a bit for the rest of the way. My splits were: 8:00, 8:04, 8:07, 8:10, 8:01, 8:16, 8;34, 8:46, 8:48 and 8:25. The only part I didn't like was the bike path part. The path is pretty windy and bikes can come upon a runner or walker quite quickly.

Wednesday, 6/3/2015: Rest day.

I thought about running but I was still sore from running last night. I found out that the blue Brooks Adrenaline GTS running shoes that I ran on were old ones with plenty of mile ... not the new ones. No wonder my legs felt like crap. So .. no run on National Running ay for me. So I unboxed most of my running stuff in the 2nd bedroom. I found out out that I have at least 64, yes 64 short sleeve tech shirts. I still have another box to unbox too. Wow!

Thursday, 6/4/2015: Rest day.

Christine found the flatware during the day. I went through the boxes in the basement to look for the dishes. I found a couple of small unlabeled boxes that had stuff packed in newspaper and brought them up. I continued sorting boxes downstairs until I had either looked in each box or looked at what was labelled on them. Christine had found some more glassware and a few more small dishes in one of the boxes when I got back upstairs. Maybe the other box has our dinner plates!

The 2015 Rochester Marathon and Half Marathon course has been set, news link here, half map link here and full map link here. It looks gnarly for a road course ... trust me! It explores the north part of Rochester, the Genesse River Trail, goes up the Thomas Ave hill at mile 8 (for the half and full) and mile 20 (for the full), runs down St Paul St and through the Seneca Park pedestrian bridge. Hills ... truly a Boots designed course!.

Friday, 6/5/2015: 3 runs of 0.75, 0.8 and McMullen Mile of 1.03 mile, 79F, 59% RH, calm, mostly cloudy.

Today was my fourth McMullen Mile. My darling wife, Christine, was supposed to meet up with me but got lost and ending up in Penfield before giving up and going home disappointed. Her phone (and its GPS) died just when she needed it. Anyway ... I got down to the Nazareth College track around 5:15PM in plenty of time for the 6PM start. I found that I was registered for the Masters Elite Men with times less than 6:15. I requested to be put down to the Men less then 8:00 but greater than 6:15 heat. I really didn't want to finish last or close to it. This heat had about 55 runners so I was in the 2nd heat. I had plenty of time to get in two warmup runs of 0.75 at 8:45 pace and 0.8 mile at a faster 8:06 pace, links here and here.

And ... we were off! I started fast but not fast enough for the front. I settled in around 8th or so and just held on as well as I could. Andy Ciaio passed me on lap 2. I passed a few other guys on laps 2 and 3. I settled in behind another guy during lap 4 and then blew by him on the home stretch as I sprinted into the finish ... 6:20.65! I guess that was pretty good for no speedwork what so ever. It's a whole different type of running when you try to run flat out versus running road nice and easy or trail nice and steady. The results from Leonetiming are here. I was 2nd out of 8 in my M55-59 age group, link here. All pictures below were taken by Ron Heerkens Jr, link here.

I could see rain coming out of the west. Two more heats went off before the rain, lightning and thunder came in. I waited around for a bit for it to stop but gave up and went home. I had an early wakeup call the next morning.

Saturday, 6/6/2015: 2 runs of 0.6 and Webster Trail Classic of 9.53 miles, 54F, 71% RH, 15 mph NNE wind, mostly cloudy.

I was up at 5:55AM and puttered around a bit before I woke up my darling wife, Christine, at 6:15AM. I had everything mostly laid out the night before so I didn't take long to get ready for the inaugural Webster Trail Classic. We arrived at Webster Town Park around 7:15AM in plenty of time for the 8AM start. There were a lot of races today: the Airport 5K, the Fast and Furriest (5K and 10K) and the Mendon Mauler (4 mile, 8 mile and 12 mile). I wanted to try something new so I chose this race a couple of months ago before I knew of all the other races. I said "Hi" to the usual trail running group of runners ... Mark Monachino, Andy Ciaio, Prem Kumar, Steve Levitsky, Frank Quattrone and others. It was a bit chilly so close to the lake so ... I put on a long sleeve tech and short sleeve tech to wear. Bad move ... which I did regret a bit later. But I did get out for a 0.6 mile warmup run at 10:44 pace, link here.

And ... we were off! This trail race had a bit of everything ... standing water and mud in the first 1/2 mile, rocks and roots throughout along with a mile or so of rolling open meadow.

This was taken in the first 2 miles before I took off my short sleeve tech - courtesy of Eric Eagan

I settled into a nice and easy trail pace and just rolled with what the trail gave me. I stopped to take off my short sleeve tech around mile 2. Andy Ciaio passed and said "Too hot huh?". I continued onward ... run the ups, run the downs, try to pick up a bit of speed on the flats ... onward. We ran into and out of 3 different parks with plenty of vollies to warn us of traffic. Prem passed me in the last mile and I followed him up a hill where we ran out of flags to follow ... wrong turn so we backtracked down the hill and got back on course.

Just before the finish - courtesy of Eric Eagan

And ... done with 9.53 miles in 1:31:17 at 9:34 pace! My splits were: 10:01, 8:05, 10:25, 10:02, 8:53, 9:31, 9:21, 8:51, 10:04 and 11:29 over the last 0.53 mile. Mark finished in 1:21:28, Andy finished in 1:26:49 and Prem finished just ahead in 1:30:58, Steve finished in 1:35:32 and Frank in 1:39:16. I was 31st out of 123, link here. I was 7th out of 18 in my M50-59 age group.

I headed over to see Christine who was waiting in the Equinox for me to finish. There was a lot of pizza and cookies for post race grub ... mmm! We didn't stick around for the awards since I wanted to head over to Nazereth College to see the rest of the postponed McMullen Mile at 11AM. I watched 2 of the 4 races: the Elite Men (Steve Mangan won in 4:09.34), the Elite Women (Sarah Loerch beat out Amanda White by 0.8 second in 5:11:48).

Then we hit up Bed Bath and Beyond for some stuff that we needed  like seat cushions, dish towels and new sheets and maybe some stuff we didn't but we bought it anyway. Christine made some Lloyds ribs ($5 off at Wegmans) for supper ... mmm!

Sunday, 5/24/2015 to Saturday, 5/30/2015 - Moving and Ontario Summit Trail Race

I ran 3 times this week, 36.88 miles.

Sunday, 5/24/2015: Moving day 2.

Our first night in the new townhouse ... nice! We soon found out that it's very dark and very quiet. Our townhouse faces north onto 6th hole of the Lake Shore Country Club so there aren't any lights. We are no longer a mile away from Rochester General so no police or ambulance sirens. Nice!

I did go back to old apartment for 5 hours. I packed more stuff into the Equinox and also arranged for a 15' Uhaul truck on Memorial Day. Joy, oh joy.

Monday, 5/25/2015: 5.2 miles,  42:54, 8:15 pace, 63F, 83% RH, calm, overcast and moving day 3.

Garmin Connect Activity for A nice and easy exploratory run

I got out for my first run from the new townhouse. I am not a fan of this loop yet but I might learn to like it. My splits were: 8:40, 8:15, 8:05, 8:06, 8:07 and 8:12 over the last 0.2 mile.

But ... more moving soon ensued. My wife went out to Newark to pick up my oldest son, Michael. She headed back to the old apartment. I meet up with her there. Michael and I busied ourselves taking boxes down to the 1st floor landing for a bit before we went out and got the Uhaul truck at noon. More loading ensued once we got back. I soon discovered that Michael had a sore back and really couldn't help much. Christine texted my youngest son, David, to come over after he got off work at Loomis. He was pissed because he had been working long hours but he came and was a godsend. I was surprised that we had so much stuff. Between the boxes still left in the old apartment and the downstairs storage unit we filled the truck. We still left some stuff in the old apartment when we left for the townhouse. Not much but still some stuff. Unloading ensued when we got got to the new townhouse. Michael couldn't help at all so it was just David and I. He would work the dolly with boxes into the townhouse and I would take the boxes down to the the basement. He said that we had too much crap and I agreed. Christine is a certified packrat and I am not too far behind. We really need to go through our crap.

We had the Uhaul truck back by 5 PM. I took Michael back to Newark and then stopped by the old apartment for a Equinox load of stuff. I did see a rainbow after a brief rain shower moved through. Some say that it is an omen of good luck.

Tuesday, 5/26/2015: Rest day ... yada, yada, yada.

Wednesday, 5/27/2015: 9 miles, 1:19:47, 8:51 pace, 84F, 37% RH, 16 mph WSW wind, part cloudy.

Garmin Connect Activity for A sweaty 9 miles

It was hot and muggy but I got out for a run anyway. I headed out Beach Ave and Edgemere Drive for 4 miles before I had my first sip of warm water ... which didn't help and probably made my thirst worse. I thought that heading back on Dewey and Ling would be shorter but added another mile to the run. The last 5 miles were a sufferfest. My splits were: 8:18, 8:17, 8:15, 8:27, 8:54, 9:03, 10:14, 8:46 and 9:32.

Thursday, 5/28/2015: Rest and cleaning day.

I met up with my darling wife, Christine, at the old apartment after work. We spent 3 hours cleaning. We heard sirens heading to Rochester General five times before we stopped counting. I vacuumed, cleaned the radiator and window sills, wiped down the stove and refrigerator, mopped and took out the rest of our stuff and trashed the rest. Christine cleaned the bathroom and refrigerator along with scrubbing the kitchen countertop. We were more than ready for our first visit to the Sonic Drive-In on East Ridge Rd. A tasty supper of a bacon cheeseburger toaster combo with a 1/2 priced chocolate milk shake ensued ... Mmm!

Friday, 5/29/2015: Rest day.

I dropped off the keys to the old apartment at Pine Ridge Crossing. I had lived there 6.5 years and Christine had lived there about 5.5 years. It served its purpose but it was time to move on. Will I get back my security deposit of one month's 2009 rent? I am not holding my breath.

My darling wife, Christine made a nice dinner of pasta and meatballs so I could carboload for tomorrow's trail marathon. We haven't found most of the dishes or flatware yet but we did manage to find a couple of bowls and forks.

I got all my stuff together for the Ontario Summit Trail Race and I am glad that I did. I had to find my blue Salomon SpeedCross 3 trail shoes. I found them around 8:30PM in the dim of the basement. We had not gotten around to putting many lights up down there yet. We went to bed early with an early wakeup alarm of 5AM. I was signed up for the trail marathon which started at 8:30AM. I wanted to leave at 6:15AM. My darling wife, Christine, was coming with me to act as my support crew and to pick the pieces if need be.

Saturday, 5/30/2015: 2 runs of 0.3 and 22.68 miles, 75-85F, humid, windy, mostly sunny

We got up, ready and out the door by 6:19AM for the 1 hour, 7 minute trip (according to Google Maps) down to Ontario County Park (OCP). We made a short side trip to a gas station to pick up two 7 pound bags of ice. It was forecast to be a hot day. We got down to the race venue at 7:30AM. The view was beautiful! I got my race bib, ate a couple of energy bars and put on a bit of sunscreen. I should have put on Body Glide but didn't suffer too much because I didn't. I said "Hi" to some trail running friends: Chris O'Brien, Andy Ciaio, Chris Washburn, Prem Kumar, Stacy Maier and Heather Ostrander (aka HBO). Lots of other trail runner friends were running the half: Bambi Jasmin, Kathy Reardon, John Muoio, Jeanne Herrick, Jeanne Herrick and Beth Springar among others. Anzhela and Diana Knyazeva were up from DC to run the half. Their 1 loop half started at 9:30AM. The 2 loop full started at 8:30AM.

I got out for a really brief 0.25 mile warmup run ... basically I ran to the bathroom, did a bit of business and ran back, link here. The pre-race instructions were a bit weird. The course was marked by orange flags with orange tape to mark where not to go. However, the hill at mile 7 was marked with white flags and white tree blazes. But we were warned that there were orange flags up there too but not to follow them.

The OSTR elevation profile ... there were hills

Larger link to the elevation map is here.

The course is on this link, http://www.roadsarepoison.com/ostr/ostr-map.html. I can't get it to open in an iframe like on their website.

And ... we were off! I started off too fast like usual. The first 1/2 mile was in open field before we hit single track in the woods.

The start - courtesy of IamLesher

The start - courtesy of Eric Eagan

Luckily we were in the woods for about 80% of the race with a nice breeze most of the time. The switchbacks provided a brief glimpse of runners behind and ahead of me. I came in a bit too hot to Aid Station 1 (AS1) around mile 3 and forced myself to slow down. I settled into a routine of drinking water, filling my 20 ounce hand bottle, jamming it with a bit of ice, downing a Gu and endrolyte and having 3 pretezels before heading back out. It seemed to work for me because I was not in any distress during the entire race.

Somewhere in the woods ... courtesy of IamLesher

Somewhere else in the woods - courtesy of IamLesher

Another place in the woods - courtesy of Eric Eagan

There was a long down of 400 feet at mile 4 as we passed onto private land. I remember then Andy, Prem and Stacy passed me around here. Chris Washburn caught up with me at mile 5. I ran with him off and on for the next 10 miles at least. I remember running by a beaver pond and then 0.9 miles on road to get back to the OCP. The road portion did have a few shady spots and I trotted as fast as I could to get there. AS2 at the Gell Center was just before a 600 foot hill up to the Overlook. That hill was a serious up that we walked. It was getting hot but the wind really helped. AS3 at mile 10 was also AS1 on the other side. We made it back to start/finish line at 2:45:22. I had the usual at the start/finish AS4 and hit the head. I gave a brief thought to just quitting ... but I wasn't done yet. I took off after Chris. I caught up with him just after we entered the woods again. Chris tripped a couple of times and slowed around the beaver pond. I continued onward. The 0.9 mile run on the road was in direct sun with no shade this time. I caught up with Andy Ciaio at AS2 and then power walked up the 600 foot hill. I saw a few people who looked like they were lost on the hill. I collected one guy by the name of Kevin and ran with him the rest of the way.

But ... here is where the shit hit the fan. Not physically but mentally.  I remember running past the Overlook. Kevin and I paused for a couple of seconds to admire the view. I was in the lead and missed a turn. It was all my fault. I lost my Garmin data but I do have an eCrumb that I sent my wife. I can definitely see that a portion of that map doesn't have 2 tracks over each other. I remember seeing a total of 5 MTBers on the second loop ... maybe they took down orange flags or orange tape? But ... still it was my fault. I was concentrating on lifting my feet and not tripping. I was following the trail and not so much on the orange flags and tape. I eventually came to the realization that we had missed the last AS. Kevin agreed but he didn't remember missing a turn anywhere either. But ... what to do? My Garmin said 20+ miles. How far back did I miss the turn? Do I turn back ... do I go forward? I chose to go forward but I should have gone back. I could see the finish line at times as we weaved in and out of the woods around the start/finish. I remember finishing 22.68 miles in 5:23 something.

Looking for water after the finish - courtesy of Eric Eagan

I met up with Christine and then got some food and a beer. I knew that I had to tell Mort Nace and the timing crew to DQ me. I was unworthy. They appreciated my honesty but still gave me 2nd in my M50-59 age group. The full marathon results show that I was 16th overall ... but I really wasn't. I looked at the results and I believe I would have won the 2nd in my age group fair and square if I had done the entire course. It still ticks me off that I missed a turn. I definitely have unfinished business with this race.

Full results of people that I knew of the 41 finishers, link here: Chris O'Brien, his sublime blog post here, finished in 4:55:19; Stacy Maier finished in 5:37:08; Prem Kumar finished in 5:49:40 and Andy Ciaio finished in 6:02:44, Michael Meynadasy finished in 6:47:55 and HBO finished in 6:51:44.

Half results of people that I knew of the 93 finishers, link here: Liz Matthews in 2:00:09 (her head to head battle with her husband is at 3-1); Brian Matthews in 2:06:32; Mark Monachino in 2:20:18; John Muoio in 2:21:50; Bambi Jasmin in 2:52:39; Jeanne Herrick in 3:01:34; Kathy Reardon in 3:19:12; Anzhela Knyazeva in 3:37:04; Diana Knyazeva in 3:37:06; Beth Spingar in 4:43:52; Ron Heerkens Jr rolled his ankle and DNFed. 16 people pulled from the full and completed the half.

But it's not the first time in a trail race I have gone forward instead of going back. I went forward instead of back when I tripped and broke a rib during Sehgahunda 2010. I realized that I was hurting with CP2 a mile behind me. I tried to make it to 5.2 more miles to CP3. Yeah ... I still have that scar on my right forearm.

Christine did remark that I didn't look too bad after I got done. She has seen me looking like death warmed over after a trail race. I let her drive home. A lazy afternoon and evening ensued. She made some Lloyd ribs ($5 off at Wegmans) for supper ... mmm!

Sunday, 5/17/2015 to Saturday, 5/23/2015 - Lilac 10K and Moving

I ran 3 times this week, 16.92 miles.

Sunday, 5/17/2015: 2 runs of 1 mile and Lilac 10K (6.32 miles), 64F, 68% RH, calm, sunny

I was up early around 6 AM like usual. I knew that Christine needed her sleep so I let her sleep while I quietly got ready for my 8th running of the Lilac 10K (2006 and 2010 through 2015). I knew the drill ... dress for a summer race in shorts and an old Lilac 10K tech shirt plus carry water. I chose a 10 ounce hand bottle. I knew where to park: the Al Sigl Center at the corner of Elmwood and South Ave for a $5 donation. I kissed Christine goodbye and headed out around 8 AM. No worries ... I was parked at 8:15 AM in plenty of time for the 9:15 AM start. Bill Beyerbach pulled in opposite me just as I was getting out. We talked running while we geared up and then walked up toward Highland Park. Bill ran ahead to warm up. Me ... I was worried about my ribs. I knew they weren't 100%. So ... why was I racing? It's what I do I guess.

A new feature at the Lilac 10K this year was that the start/finish line for the 5K held at 8:15 AM with 928 finishers and the 10K was the same line. Last year, the 5K runners had to run through the 10K runners who were lined up to get to the finish line and some stopped because they didn't know that they had another 0.1 mile to go.

I got out for a really nice and easy 1 mile warmup run at 9:05 pace, link here. My ribs ached so I kind of figured that it would be a painful Lilac 10K. Oh well. I noticed that it was warm and sunny so I knew that this would be a factor too.

 So ... I lined up a bit further back than I usually do. And ... we were off! It took me 23 seconds to cross the start/finish line to start the race. I slowly eased into a nice and easy race pace (if there is such a thing) as I carefully weaved around slower runners. I passed Pete and the 1 mile mark in 7:58 pace. My ribs didn't really bother me so I just tried to keep at this pace for the rest of the race. The mile or so down Monroe Ave and Elmwood Ave with no shade was definitely sunny.

A long line of runners on Monroe Ave - courtesy of Patrick Brynes

I saw Mort Nace of Medved and then the Fleet Feet cheer team on the corner of Monroe Ave and Elmwood Ave. I slapped hands with as many as I could and enjoyed their yells of "Go, Doug". I decided to kick it up a small notch ... only 3 miles or so to go. I decided not to stop for any tiny walk breaks or any water ... a gutsy decision because I knew that the rest of the course was slightly uphill. But I stuck with it and followed my plan as we weaved through shaded residential streets.

Mile 5 - courtesy of Facebook

Up Hemingway Drive ... back on Highland Ave ... mile 5 ... onward ... mile 6 ... got nothing left ... kick it up a bit ... clock just past 48 ... done! I quickly got some water ... I was parched. I just took a banana and a couple of small bottles of delicious juice afterward. I met up with Andy Ciaio (44:33) and Bill Beyerbach (45:17 and won his M60-64 age group). I talked for a bit with Heather Ostrander and her husband, Rick. She tried to recruit me for the RoadKill Racing masters team. I stuck around for a while and took some pictures of the lilacs before I headed home.

Oh ... way up front "Kip" Tisia won the Lilac 10K in 29:56 and Hannah Davidson was the first woman in 34:58.

"Kip" Tisia crossing the line in 29:56

Joshua Perks and Hannah Davidson at mile 5

All in all ... I did OK. I ran at a nice and easy pace, didn't re-injure myself, didn't take any tiny walk breaks and survived to run another day. My official gun time was 48:03, 7:44 pace, 173rd of 1035 finishers, link here. My net time was 47:40, 7:41 pace. I was 11th out of 52 in my M55-59 age group. The Lilac 10K was a Rochester Runner of the Year (RROY) race and brings out a lot of fast runners. Eleventh place did not get me any RROY points. My splits were: 7:44, 7:32, 7:25, 7:28, 7:50, 7:41 and 7:30 (6:33 at the finish) over the last 0.32 mile.

Back at home ... packing awaited. So ... I attacked the bookcase in the bedroom. My darling wife, Christine, was impressed that I did throw out a lot of magazines. I took four trips out to the garbage dumpster. I really didn't need several years of old PC World, Maximum PC, Men's Health, Runner's World (gasp) and Running Times (gasp) magazines. Hopefully both of us will be packed by the end of the week.

Monday, 5/18/2015: Rest day.

I took it easy and just went through the stuff of my deceased family who died on 3/10/2014. I had just piled whatever mail that came my way on top of the small filing cube that I used to store his stuff. I just didn't have the desire to deal with it until last night.

Tuesday, 5/19/2015: 6.6 miles, 53:56, 8:10 pace, 57F, 59% RH, 15 mph W wind, overcast

Garmin Connect Activity for A nice and easy run on dead shoes

I needed to get out there. The weather tried to throw me a curve. It was warm in the morning but cool and windy by the evening. I wanted to run hills at Cobbs Hill but realized that I didn't have the clothes or inclination. So I went home. I dilly-dallied like usual. I "borrowed" an XL long sleeve tech from Christine (sssh ... don't tell her) and found my light running gloves and got out there. I struck up a really nice and easy pace on my old New Balance 860 running shoes with 575 miles on them. My ribs were a bit stiff at first. I had thought about doing a 15K when I started out but cut it to just the 10K route when my thighs started to hurt. I can definitely tell the difference between the old shoes and the new shoes that I wore for the Lilac 10K. But ... I got out there and got it done. My splits were: 8:19, 8:18, 8:00, 8:40, 7:58, 7:55, and 7:49 over the last 0.6 mile.

It would turn out that this was my last run on my usual 10K route that I have run so many times in the past 6.5 years that I have lived in this cozy 1 bedroom apartment at Pine Ridge Crossing. Will I miss it? Maybe a little.

Wednesday, 5/20/2015: Rest day.
I have brought home lots of boxes. Hopefully they will be the correct size for what we need to put in them. It kind of sucks to put stuff in a box and then not be able to lift it comfortably when you get done. Then throw in that my ribs still aren't 100% ... which sucks.

I packed a whole three ... yes, three boxes before I stopped for the night. Two were CDs, DVDs and VHS tapes and the other was my medal (2006 through 2014) with socks. It just sucked. I gotta pick up the pace on Thursday and Friday.

Thursday, 5/21/2015 and Friday, 5/22/2015: Packing days.

Packing sucks. Christine's daughter, Beth, came out from Lakewood OH on Friday and helped Christine go through her stuff and pack the kitchen. She was a godsend. But even then, not everything was packed by Saturday. There was just too much crap to go through and not enough places to put it once it was gone through anyway.

Saturday, 5/23/2015: Move ... day 1

Why day 1? Well ... the movers, Highline Moving Delivery and Storage, that my darling wife, Christine, selected were 45 minutes late and showed up with only a 16 foot truck. I had busied myself by moving box after box after box down from our 2nd floor 1 bedroom apartment to the landing on the first floor. I also filled my Equinox with my computer stuff that I did not want manhandled by anyone else but me. My reasoning was that I needed to clear an alleyway for the big furniture (queen size bed, 5 dressers, 2 filing cabinets, old Sanyo 35" TV, leather recliner couch, computer desk, 2 dining tables). Christine had to leave around 10 AM to meet up with Time Warner to get a All-In-One (Internet, TV and Phone) package hooked up.

Well ... soon after the movers, Chris and Teddy,  told me that they had a hard 1 PM cutoff time and that they would just concentrate on the heavy stuff and whatever that I had already put down on the landing. So ... I was a bit miffed but what could we do? We hired them to move the heavy stuff. We had found out that no one with muscle and stamina was available to help us move by ourselves. My youngest son, David, had been putting in 14 hours shifts at Loomis and was unavailable. Anyway, they filled the truck with what they could and off they went to the new townhouse at Greenleaf Meadows. The unloading went OK but all they did was put all the boxes in 2 rows on the first floor and then the heavy stuff where we wanted. They did take our old 35" Sanyo CRT TV to RCR&R to be recycled for $25. They settled up the bill with Christine and off they went minus their portable drill ... which we are keeping if they don't call for it.

Christine and I did head back to the old apartment to get a Equinox sized load of stuff. There is a whole lot of stuff that still needs to be moved. I went online to arrange with U-Haul for a 15 foot truck on Monday to get the rest of the stuff.

We went to bed early. The first thing we noticed is that our new townhouse is dark and quiet at night. Our bedroom faces north onto the Lakeshore Country Club so there is no light after dark. We have an excellent view of the 6th hole by the way. We had to have flashlights to make our way to the bathroom! We slept like logs ... zzzz!

Sunday, 5/10/2015 to Saturday, 5/16/2015 - Dirt Cheap #2 (DNS)

I didn't run this week ... my 100 miles per month running streak is in seriously jeopardy.

Sunday, 5/10/2015: Recovery day

I survived on just sitting around and taking 400mg of ibuprofen every four hours. I found that I could move somewhat but it was more than a bit painful.

Monday, 5/11/2015 through Friday, 5/15.2015: Recovery days

I slowly got better. My ribs subsided from a pain to an ache. I really wanted to run on Wednesday for Dirt Cheap #2 but ... I realized that my body was not up to it. If I had fallen I really would have screwed myself up. I have to heal because Christine and I have to start packing our apartment in order to move to Greenleaf Meadows on May 23rd.

Wednesday: We signed the new lease and posed for our photo IDs to use the laundry and fitness center. I picked up my race bib and tech shirt for the Lilac 10K on Sunday. I may not be 100% but I will run. Why? Because I was already signed up and that is what I do ... I race. I couldn't sleep on my back until Wednesday ... Christine said that I snored like a trooper ... just like she does! Sad news ... my Uncle "Bud" Nevil died on Wednesday morning. His desire was to die at home and his family moved him back to his house in Marion on Monday. The calling hours are on Friday from 5 to 8PM at Steven's Funeral Home in Marion and the funeral is in Newark on Saturday morning.

Saturday, 5/16//2015: Another recovery day plus day 1 of packing

My darling wife, Christine, and I headed out to St Michael's Church in Newark for my Uncle Edward "Bud" Nevil's funeral at 10AM. It was a nice Catholic funeral service follow by internment at the Marion Cemetery links here (look for Marion) and here. I had never been in a funeral procession before ... you get to go through red lights. A nice touch was that as we got to Marion the route led by his house. Uncle "Bud" was a SeaBee during WWII and had a honor guard at his internment. I had never seen the folding of the flag in person before. We headed back to the basement of St Michael's Church for a reception afterward. We sat with my cousin, Sanday, and her husband, Bill Bastian.

Uncle Bud's grave in Marion Cemetery

Front view of Mom and Dad's grave in the East Palmyra Cemetery

Rear view of Mom and Dad's grave. I think Uncle Bud placed those plastic flowers ... bless him.

Once I got back home I got to packing. I thought that packing my running stuff would be an easy place to start ... that would be a NO. I had no idea how many short sleeve cotton running shirts, long sleeve cotton running shirts, short sleeve tech running shirts and long sleeve tech running shirts I had until I started parking them. Three or four hours later ... I was done. I did find that rolling a tech shirt does make it take up a lot less room. Christine had emailed me about this. I found one way, link here. I found another about the military 6 inch roll, link here, which sounds even tighter. I just hope that there is no earthquake between now and Saturday ... I might get buried.

5/9/2015 - NCA 5K and Fly By Night Du (DNS and NSFW)

I had intended to run 2 races today: the NCA 5K at 9AM at the Northstar Christian Academy and the Fly By Night Du down in Watkins Glen. But ... that is not what happened.

Caution ... NSFW means Not Safe For Work ... I swore in my writing of this blog post.

I woke up around 6:30AM. I didn't try to wake up my darling wife, Christine. She had spent the night on the couch because she had not wanted to disturb me. I try to deserve her love. I quietly ate my pre-race bowl of cereal, checked the temperature (75F), dressed in shorts and a short sleeve tech shirt, geared up and headed out. I arrived down at the NCA around 8:10AM with plenty of time to snag a parking spot in the shade and get my race bib to prep for the 9AM start.

I had plenty of time to go for not one but two warmup runs. One was for a mile at 8:12 pace, link here. The other was for 0.4 mile at 7:28 pace, link here.


Score-This! did the timing and required us to run through their narrow 15 foot arch at the start. I was up near the front and heard everyone tell each other to "Be Careful". I was one of them since I knew what it was like to get tripped at the start (Airport 5K last year). So ... we were off .... carefully!

I got up to speed after the start quickly. I knew this course well. The Freezeroo uses this course and this was my second NCA 5K. It's is an out and back, twisty at the start, goes through a park, gets on Long Pond Rd and Trolley Rd and then turns around back the same way. I did OK the first mile, 6:43 pace, as we got onto Long Pond Rd. Beth DiCantis passed me. She is faster so I let her go. The mile on Trolley Rd was a bit slower, 6:53 pace. I could see that Mark Herberger was behind me at the turnaround. I wanted to keep him there. I endured the third mile. I really wanted to take a tiny walk break but didn't. I shortened my stride and just gutted it out ... through the park and passed a few younger runners, through the twists, mile 3 marker at 7:14 pace ... 0.1 to go ... clock was under 22 ... push ... done! My Garmin had 0.17 miles at 6:34 pace with a best pace of 5:45. I was drenched with sweat and downed three cups of water right away.

I made my way down to the cafeteria and cooled down as I talked with Bob Dyjak and Mark Herberger. Officially, I finished in 21:55, 12th overall, link here. I was 2nd out of 15 in my wide M50-59 age group. I got a $10 Wal-Mart gift card for my efforts.

I left and could have gone home which would have been the safer move. But ... I wanted to support those runner who were running around and around at the Mind the Ducks 12 hour run in Webster. I knew several of them. So ... I went out to North Ponds Park in Webster.

I parked on the west side of North Ponds Park in the Holiday Inn Express parking lot around 11AM. I could see the runners go by about 50 yards away. Spoiler alert! Mistake ... I wore my prescription sunglasses and not my running sunglasses when I got out of the Equinox.

I gave encouragement to runners I knew as they went for about 5 minutes. I joined Prem Kumar when he went by. I hadn't seen him and wanted to talk to him. He said that he had run 22 laps. We talked and ran at his nice and easy pace ... through for him (and around for me) the start/finish ... and into the hollow where TrailsRoc had set up their tent. The ground here dipped. I was running to the left on the shoulder because the paved path had narrowed and I didn't want to crowd Prem.

Now ... my prescription sunglasses were bifocals so I had almost no view of my feet. Well ... my left shoe caught a root and down I went! I remember it in slow-mo ... falling ... hoping I wouldn't ... FUCK ... hitting the ground ... visions of falling the same way at Sehgahunda in 2010 ... FUCK ... Ouch! ... trying to catch my breath for what seemed a minute ... Ouch! ... looking at my bloody right forearm ... it's right on top of my Sehgahunda scar ... people were around me ... I needed help getting up ... people helped me up ... walking ... limping ... a slow jog or two with Prem. I apologized to her for distracting him. He apologized to me for I know not what. We got back to where my Equinox was parked and I bid Prem "good luck" for the rest of the day. I inspected the carnage: right forearm , right shoulder, right leg and my right ribs hurt .... just like the fall at Sehgahunda 2010. I thought ... FUCK, I have the Fly By Night Du down in Watkins Glen at 6PM ... I hoped I could still go ... I wet a towel in my gym bag with water and toweled off the blood and dirt ... then I drove home.

I edged my body out of the Equinox, limped up the stairs and called out to Christine to help me. I ached and it hurt to move my right side. She helped me out of my clothes, bandaged me up with some 2"x3" bandages (two on my forearm and one on my shoulder) and eased me into bed. I got up after a hour and tried to move around. I wanted to see if I could move enough to run and bike later. But ... no. I knew that I would just injure myself just moving around or maybe really injure myself by falling while running or crashing on my bicycle. So I pulled myself from the Fly by Night Du around 2PM ... SHIT!

One highlight of the afternoon was that a new pair of Brooks Adrenaline GTS14 running shoes arrived from Road Runner Sports via FedEx. I found that I saved about $50 by ordering last years shoes mail order. Christine went to the main door since I was in absolutely no condition to get up. It really hurt to move. Getting up was pretty painful.

Life happens. I got a call from my cousin, Mary Tack. Her father, my Uncle Bud Nevil, was in the Canandaigua Hospital. We threw on some clothes after supper and went down to see him. I could walk ... just not so fast. Google told us the directions since I had never been there. We met up with the Nevil clan around 7:30PM as he was being brought up from the ER to a private room. Everyone was curious about the bandaged arm. Their hug squeezes were a bit painful. I talked with Uncle Bud and told him how I got banged up.

We encountered rain and saw distant lightning flashes over Lake Ontario as we headed home. I thought of the runners who did the Fly by Night Du, results here. I wish I could have been there.

Anyway ... I eased myself into bed and found that I had to sleep on my back. I will heal. I have Dirt Cheap #2 at Black Creek Park on Wednesday. Maybe I won't be up to full speed but I want to be there. I don't like to DNS (Did Not Start). I have unfinished business in 2016 with both the Fly by Night Du and Mind the Ducks now  ... hopefully they won't be on the same weekend.

Lesson learned ... DO NOT RUN WITH PRESCRIPTION BIFOCAL SUNGLASSES!!

Monday, 5/4/2015 to Friday, 5/8/2015

Monday, 5/4/2015: Rest day.

I learned that I knew the pilot who killed at the Penn Yan airport on Sunday, 5/3/2015, link here. He was Steve Seely, link to his obituary here. He used to live across the street from my house on Whitbeck Rd in Newark NY when I was a kid. His family moved to another house in Newark when I was 10 or so. Sad news.

Tuesday, 5/5/2015: Another rest day.

I had to stay late at work so it was just an impromptu "Cinco de Mayo" celebration later with Christine and I ... if you can call pizza the proper menu choice.

Wednesday, 5/6/2015: 11.2 miles, 1:31:47, 8:11 pace, 70F, 31% RH, 13 mph NE wind, sunny

I needed to run so run I did. I had my customary pre-run bowl of cereal, got dressed and got out. I told my darling wife, Christine, that I was "going long" and gave her an eCrumb so she could track me before I started.


A run is a run. I struck a nice and easy pace and held it. I added Chapel Hill Drive and went around Trout Lake below the Seneca Park Zoo to add distance to the usual 10K route. Anyway, my splits were: 8:14, 8:05, 8:00, 7:56, 8:35, 8:03, 8:08, 8:10, 8:29, 8:22 and 7:33 over the last 0.2 mile.

My feet felt good for the first half of the run. Then I got various aches and a twinge in my right Achilles during the last half of the run. I think a new pair of running shoes is in order since my New Balance 860 running shoes have 561 miles on them.

Thursday, 5/7/2015: Rest day.

Friday, 5/8/2015: Another rest day.

I donated 10 pair of shoes to Fleet Feet Armory after work. Let's see: I said goodbye to 5 pairs of Brooks Adrenaline, 1 pair of Brooks Cascadia, 1 ASIC, 2 pair of Saloman XT Wings and 1 Clark's dress. I said "Hello" to a sweet Sehgahunda hat!

Then I headed out to the Murphy Funeral Home in Newark for Steve Seely's calling hours. It was hot (about 90F) but not humid. The idea was to meet up with my brother, Don, at 6PM but he texted to he couldn't get out of things out in Syracuse. I did have the fortune to stand in line with Rick Rommel. My brother, Don, and him are the same age and grew up together. His daughter, Andrea, and my oldest son, Michael, graduated together at Newark High School. We talked about a lot of things since there was a long, long line to get in. I expressed my condolences to his wife's kids and wife and to his two surviving brothers, Jerry and Craig, as well to his mother, Dorla Seely. Calling hours and/or funerals are for the living ... it's important that you show up. I saw my two kids in Newark, Karen and Michael, briefly before I hightailed it back to Rochester.

5/3/2015 - Medved Madness Trail Race

I ran twice, 0.7 and Medved Madness of 14.41 miles.

I woke up at 5:40 AM. I noticed that my darling wife, Christine, was on the couch. I did the dishes from the previous night and then tried to wake her. She told that she had trouble sleeping during the night and was groggy. I knew better than to try to wake her and let her sleep. I quietly got ready. It was 55F so I just wore shorts, an old Medved Madness tech shirt, calf sleeves and my blue Salomon SpeedCross 3 trail shoes. I pinned on my race bib, made sure that I had my water bottles filled, put some HammerGel in the pouch of my 10 ounce hand bottle, put a change of clothes in my gym bag, kissed Christine and headed out at 6:55 AM. I arrived down at Hopkinton Point at Mendon Ponds Park around 7:15 AM. I got a pretty close parking spot ... one of the benefits of getting to races early.

I said "Hi" to lots of trail running buddies who were running the race: Mark Monachino, Rob Tyler, Chris O'Brien, Chris Patterson and Andy Ciaio. Amy Lord and Prem Kumar were volunteering and were greeting runners. I wandered around before I got out for a 0.7 mile warmup run, link here. The weather was 55F, 51% RH, 5 mph SW wind, sunny.

I lined up a bit farther back at the start while the color code of the flags was explained: blue flags and blue/white streamers were for loop 1, pink flags and pink/black streamers were for loop 2 and red flags and red/black streamers for loop 3. This was my sixth time (2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014 and this year) running the Medved Madness so I knew the drill.
And ... we were off! I tried to hold back and run easy. My unofficial plan was to try to stay with Andy for a while since he said that he was not going to go out hard.

The first loop had a small stream crossing, a bog area with little mud but holes that I had to careful of, mud and hills. Oh yes ... and the course leads into Hundred Acre Pond for about 50 feet just before the end of loop 1. I was about 50 feet behind Andy when I got up to it. Splash! Splash! My trail shoes were soaked and full of water which made running hard work. My Garmin time for loop 1 was 42:26, official time was 41:42, distance was 4.81 miles, 8:40(!) pace. I had a lemon/lime Gu and a drink of water before I headed back out.

The second loop had mud and a lot of open grassy trails with no shade. It was warming up and so did I. I resorted to a run/walk when I needed to. I only had a 10 ounce water bottle so I had to conserve my water and use the water that I found at the self-serve aid station. I remember running and running through parts of MPP that I don't often run through. On and on. My Garmin time for loop 2 was 1:22:48, official time was 1:22:31, official loop 2 time was 40:49, distance was 8.91 miles so loop 2 was 4.1 miles, 9:57 pace.

The third loop was long and longer because I was tired. I estimate that it had warmed up to at least 70F. I just told myself "run the flats, run the downs and do what you gotta do on the ups". I remember just running and running. One highlight was seeing runners from another race heading towards me for about 1/2 mile about halfway through this loop. Luckily they were following pink flags. I remember walking up Cardiac Hill and seeing the dual pink and red streamers on the trail on top. I knew I was almost done so I willed myself up to a run and kept it for the 0.3 mile to the finish. I heard Amy tell me to go around the tree and to the finish line. My Garmin time was 2:18:18, my official time was 2:18:16, official loop 3 time was 55:45, distance was 14.41 miles so loop 3 was 5.5 miles, 10:06 pace. My splits were: 8:51m 8:43, 9:29, 7:57, 9:23, 9:27, 9:55, 9:33, 11:23, 10:24, 9:40, 8:52, 10:10, 9:55 and 11:10 over the last 0.41 mile.

I was hot and thirsty. I am sure that I made a couple of people nervous when I staggered a bit before I had a bit more water and potato chips. A bit of shaved orange mango ice from xx helped too. The catered chicken dinner by xxx also helped. Mmm! I sat with Andy and Chris Patterson. We all agreed that it was a bit hot and that we were glad to do done! The memory of running with subzero wind chills in February was still fresh so we were careful not to complain too much about running in 70F weather in May

The results were up later that night. I did pretty well, 53rd out of 129, link here. I was 8th out of 21 in my M50-59 age group, link here. My splits were: 8:51, 8:43, 9:29, 7:57, 9:23, 9:27, 9:55, 9:33, 11:23, 10:24, 9:40, 8:52, 10:10, 9:55, 11:10 over the last 0.41 mile.

I left after the awards and went straight home. I had made up a plate of leftover chicken, ravoli and salt potatoes before I had left and presented it to Christine when I got home. She appreciated it ... plus there was enough for leftovers later.

Soon ... my legs were up, I was drinking coffee and checking out my email and Facebook. What a way to spend a beautiful Sunday morning!

Other runners had wonderful exploits during the day. Joe Ciecierega (4:06:46) and Tina Pellegrin (6:23:28)  ran the Pittsburgh Marathon. Steve Levitsky (3:50:55), Rob Wilder (3:50:00), John Muoio (3:37:49), Kathy Reardon (4:23:50) and Frank Quattrone (3:49:59) ran the Mississauga Marathon. Frank, who will turn 60 next year, needed a 3:55 and BQed by 5 minutes!

Monday, 4/27/2015 to Saturday, 5/2/2015

I ran 2 times this week, 11.7 miles.
I biked once this week, 19 miles.

Monday, 4/27/2015: Rest day.

Just a full rest day after running the Flower City Half Marathon (FCHM) yesterday. I saw lots of congratulations to the Fleet Feet Rochester and Yellow Jacket Racing pages on Facebook. Physically, I fared pretty well. I only had mild aches and pains when I walked up and down stairs during the day.

Tuesday, 4/28/2015: 6.2 miles, 1:00:43, 9:47 pace, 66F, 37% RH, 14 mph WNW wind, mostly sunny

Garmin Connect Activity for Cobbs Hill workout

The Medved Madness Trail Race is coming up on Sunday, 5/3/2015, so I needed to run hills. I packed my running gear and changed at work. I was in the Fleet Feet Armory parking lot by 5PM. I geared up and headed out to Cobbs Hill. I took it really nice and easy since it was my first run since the FCHM and because it was warmer. I just did 3 Vs on the grass hill, 2 switchbacks (I lost count) and took the long way back. A really nice and easy 6.2 miles ... if there is such a thing for me.

Ellen Brenner of Fleet Feet Rochester posted about the story behind the Flower City Challenge, link here. It's nice to hear the a bit of  the backstory behind the race that I have run 6 times.

Wednesday, 4/29/2015: Rest day ... yada, yada, yada.

Thursday, 4/30/2015: 5.5 miles, 64F, 1:00:51, 11:03 pace, 37% RH, 14 mph NE wind, mostly sunny

Garmin Connect Activity for Lucien Morin Park

I wanted to run trail but didn't want to run down at Cobbs Hill again. I didn't want to drive all the way down to Mendon Ponds Park either. So I went to an old standby of mine, Lucien Morin Park. It was my first time there this year. I called my darling wife, Christine, to come down and meet me at MacGregor's afterward around 6:30 PM.

I changed into my running gear at work and got here around 5:15 PM. I headed out for an in and out on the white trail. Man, what a workout! Lucien Morin Park is very technical with lots of roots, uphills, downhills, rock and some narrow trails. I only fell once when I was going up a hill on the way back. I caught myself with my hands so no harm came to me. It was nice getting out on a nice trail. My splits were: 10:59, 9:59, 11:49, 11:23, 11:50 and 9:34 over the last 0.5 mile.

I toweled off at the Equinox before I went into MacGregor's ... but no Christine. I called her and she told me that she was lost. She had put Lucien Morin Park into her GPS and it guided her to Old Browncroft Blvd and Parkview Dr at the south end of Lucien Morin Park. She finally backtracked to Browncroft Blvd and got her bearings once she got on 590-N. We met up around 7 PM and had a pair of nice California Club Wraps.

Friday, 5/1/2015: Rest day ... another case of yada, yada, yada.

Saturday, 5/2/2015: 19 miles on the bike,

I was up early like usual. I had the Medved Madness Trail Race tomorrow but I couldn't resist a bike ride on such a beautiful day. So I got the Trek FX7.2 out of the storage unit in the basement, geared up and headed out. I took a trip out to see the new townhouse at Greenleaf Meadows. I learned that the previous tenant in our unit had moved out yesterday but that the unit was not ready yet. I didn't expect that it would be but I wanted to see it anyway ... well, from the outside anyway. What a beautiful day!

My darling wife, Christine, made ribs later. I had bought them from Wegmans. They weren't the best ... so I guess Skip's on the Ridge will be where I buy ribs in the future.