been gone

I've been away quite a while—it's been almost a month since I last signed on. Between my wife's recovery, a nagging Achilles Tendon injury and several other things that have been happening over the last month, my running has tapered off, but not stopped completely. Now comes the long winter training season. This (November-December) is actually the toughest part of the year for me. The sun comes up after I get to work, the sun goes down before I get home. The darkness combined with the almost constant overcast makes me tired all the time. I'm considering running in a new year's day race this year (or next year) I've never done that, and it would be a good way to start the year.

I saw my doctor recently. My migraine came back three times over the summer, when I usually get one every 18 months or two years. I thought that with the sudden increase in the frequency, it might be a good thing to see a doctor about it. There's nothing unusual, probably just stress. On the other hand, I did test high for cholesterol. Just a little bit high in the LDL.

Whenever my kids have schoolwork troubles—problems doing their homework or whatever, I call my parents and apologize for what I did to them. Over the summer, when I was putting in 30 miles in a bad week, I've got high blood cholesterol. It must be hereditary. I think maybe somebody owes me an apology now.

A little bit better

A nicer morning today, temp in the high 50s and the rain stopped before I got up. It's very dark out now, a result of my not running in the city any more, I guess. I haven't been using my light, but I have been using a reflective vest--according to the manufacturer, it reflects 150x the light that a road sign does.

I passed a small herd of deer this morning while I was running past Temple B'rith Kodesh. The other day, I literally almost ran into a deer, probably from the same herd. The road I was on has a hedge that comes down to about 5 feet from the curb. I ran up onto the sidewalk to make the turn onto the busier road, and the deer was at the edge of the sidewalk, browsing on the hedge. It was dark enough that I didn't see the deer until I was about 4 feet away. It heard me coming at about the same time and leapt off into the yard, startling the other 4 deer in the yard.

Today, the deer just watched me from about 30 feet away, turning their heads slowly to follow me as I went past, and returning to their feeding as soon as I was gone.

Starting to get cold

Cold and rainy today.

The surgery went well, my wife is home and recovering. I spent the weekend doing whatever she needed me to do, but I did get out for a few miles on Sunday. Today I'm home--it's a little slow at work these days, and she has an appointment to take out the surgical drain today, so I took the day off. I got out for a few again today, and it's around 45° and rainy. It's actually pretty nice running at 10:30 am; there's almost no traffic and very few pedestrians, including other runners, out there.

I'm now heading into my winter training phase--putting in the distance and preparing for the spring.

Rainy morning

I was out at the usual hour this morning, a little bit before 5am, running a long loop. When I got to 3 miles, a point which was a minimum of 2 miles from home, the lightning started. Since my run was in flat, open former farmland, with almost no shelter (I guess could have hid under a bridge), I decided to head for home immediately, giving me a total run this morning of 5 miles. I'm thinking I'll get out again later today. Oh, we may get snow tonight or tomorrow. That'll be fun.

Early morning

It took me a few minutes to get going this morning--I had trouble finding a key and my light's batteries chose this morning to give out. I hadn't realized that they were so low. I got out on Friday with the local group at Fleet Feet for the 5.3 mile Happy Hour run--an easy, relaxing run at a "conversational" pace to end the week. I live about five minutes (running) from the store, so I have a warmup and cooldown built into the day.

I'll have to miss the run this Friday, because my wife is going in for gallbladder surgery this Friday. I'll be spending the day with her and with the kids, I think.

I'm back

I decided to run from home again, even though I have about a month left on my gym membership. It's actually more difficult to get out and run from the gym, when you factor in commute time (I ride the bus). The bus leaves at 5:45 am (I get up between 4:45 and 5:00 for my morning runs), it takes about 15 minutes to get downtown--I've already lost an hour before I even get to the gym.

It was dark this morning at 4:55 when I stepped out the door. Dark enough that I had my strobe light for the first time since winter. That was one advantage at the gym--the routes I ran were well-lit and I could see well even at 6am. The temperature was pleasant this morning, around 50°F. I passed about 10 people out running, mostly in pairs except one person who was running with a dog.

I almost recycled the Megazord.

How many people can say that?

My daughter is doing a skit for homecoming tonight (in about an hour--good thing we live across the street) and it somehow involves the Power Rangers. Apparently the Power Rangers have something called the Megazord, which my daughter and her classmates constructed out of cardboard boxes. Well, today was garbage day, and it was dark outside when I took the garbage and recycling out to the curb this morning. The Megazord just looked like cardboard boxes to me. When my wife spotted it out at the curb, she told my daughter. That must have been the fastest anyone has ever woken up a teenager.

I've been running on and off, a little stiffness in the lower legs making me sit out a day here and there.

We're still up for the race on October 14th.

With a group

I've started running with a group on Friday evenings. Everyone gathers at a running store after work and stes off for a nice, easy, 4± miles at a relaxed pace. I understand that the crowd was a bit small last week because of an upcoming race. I live about 5 minutes (jogging) from the store, so I can take the bus home, change and get over there in plenty of time.

It's been a long time since I ran with a group, and I'd forgotten what it's like. It's a nice group of people, I enjoyed the run and I'm planning on going back tomorrow.

My next race will be a benefit for a Hospice, and Oed will be running in the kids' race. We're planning on getting matching shirts to run in for the race.

Oak Tree Half

First off, I have to give credit where it's due. Electra, my teenage daughter, took the pictures of the cross-country race below.

Sunday morning, I ran in the Oak Tree Half Marathon in Geneseo. I started the race running with my friend Andy, figuring that I've been running even with him for a while. When I saw that he ran the first 3 miles in just over 22 minutes, I decided that he was in better condition than I was and dropped off the pace a bit. I ran the rest of the race I took it much easier. I finished 91st, out of 188 finishers, so I was at just about the halfway mark in the race, and Andy finished about 6 minutes ahead of me.

The turkey vultures circling over the halfway point were kind of unnerving, though. I wonder how the race directors managed that.

I took today off, still kind of sore, and went to a baseball game with Oed. The Red Wings lost the game, but it was still a good time.

Cross-Country Race

The last cross-country race of the season was last night. I declined to run in the Tour de Pain, because I just wasn't ready for it. I do plan on running next year, though.

Oed ran in the kids' race with me this time. He almost backed out at the last minute, but between his mom and me, we managed to talk him into coming.

We warmed up together before the race.




Here's a picture of him with about 200 meters to go in the kids' race:



He was very happy to have run in the race, and his ribbon is going into the box with my race ribbons. I still have the first ribbon I ever got in a race--it's just a finisher's ribbon, from a high school invitational meet in central New York, and it says "Proven Harrier" on it. Nothing about my place or time. The ribbons and medals for the faster runners were of a higher quality, and gave the finish place on the front. I've has that ribbon for 32 years. I won a lot of ribbons over the years, and a few medals and trophies as well, but I think that one is the most important. It gave me the taste for racing.

My race didn't go as well as I would have liked. My time was a bit slower than all three previous outings in the series. I think that was because I did not get a chance to have anything to eat after lunch yesterday, so I was running the race on a mostly empty stomach. For the previous races, I got a chance to have an afternoon snack.

The hill really took it out of me.



The mile point is just a few yards from the bottom of the hill, and the race goes all the way to the top, so after a nice, fairly flat, fast course of about nine tenths of a mile, you start up this hill. But hey, at least nobody moved the course markers this time!

Posting rarely

I hardly ever get to post anymore--I go to the gym in the morning before work, and so I can't post in the morning, but I have to compete for computer time with three other people in the afternoon, so it's difficult to post then, too.

I ran in the third cross-country race of the series on Thursday. I ran a 23:10, but I think I was actually faster than that. Smeone had moved some of the markers on the trail, and a large number of us--most of us, I think--took a detour in the woods. I ran into my friend Andy at the race (not literally), and he's talked me into running the Oak Tree Half Marathon down in Geneseo, with beer afterwards. It happens the Sunday before Labor Day (the Monday following the first Sunday in September). We both went to college in Geneseo, so we'll be revisiting old haunts.

Back on the road

My ankle is feeling better now, so I'm back on the road. The third cross-country race of the series is this Thursday, so I can't slack off now. I'm expecting to do better this week--hopefully I won't be falling this time!

MC Lars put on a great show, and I wasn't the oldest person there! At least, I wasn't the oldest-looking person there (when I'm clean-shaven, I'm told that I look younger than I am).

Boy, Kevin Beck really hates Florida.

Off today

I won't be running today. I ran in the second cross-country race of the series last night. Around two miles, I stepped on a root and went down. Nothing serious, but I twisted my ankle before I went down, and I don't want to run on it today. It's not swollen, but it is a bit sore.

I finished the race (5033 meters) in 23:10 -- just 9 seconds slower than last week. When you figure that last week I didn't fall, I'd say that I should have been a few seconds faster than last week.

I was still tasting dirt after I got home last night. It's been a long time since I last fell during a race--probably 1981 or so.

This weekend I'll be taking Electra and a few of her friends to an MC Lars show.

I ran in a race on Thursday--it was part of the Genesee Valley Harriers Thursday Night Cross Country series. The races, four in all, are approximately 5033 meters, cross-country style, at Cobb's Hill. The races have one large hill and one smaller one, about a mile of trails, and only a very short stretch of roads.

I ran a 23:01 in the race, which is pretty good. I was also the 4th masters finisher at the race.

The "Tour de Pain had to be moved, due to construction at my former high school. Instead, the track events will be held at the high school across the street from me. The cross-country portion of the event will be held at Cobb's Hill. I'm planning to run in all of the cross-country races, and possibly in the tour de pain as well.

It's been a long time

I haven't been able to post for a while, for several reasons, one of which is that I don't have the necessary permits for the explosives it would require to remove my 15-year old daughter from the computer.

I have been running most of the summer, though. The weather is making it difficult right now--when the low temperature is 76°, and the high is in the upper 90s, it's difficult to get out and do a workout. I've been running at 5 am, which is just before dawn, so the day is coolest. The weather is supposed to break soon, and temps should be back down into the 80s, with lows down into the 60s.

I started at a gym today. I bid on a 3-month membership at a downtown gym at a benefit dinner/auction, and ended up winning, so I signed up on the 31st of July, and started working out today.

OK, so windows is being annoying, and not accepting any ascii characters. If I try to use an ascii character, I am sent to a previous page.

It was 80 degrees outside today, at 8 am when I started running. It looks like it will be very hot today, since it was 82 by the time I got back. Running in the heat will (hopefully) make me more acclimated ot the heat, so I can run in the cross-country series in August. Several 5k races at Cobb's Hill Park, culminating in the Tour de Pain; a 5k cross-country race, followed an hour later by a 400 meter run on the track, followed an hour later by a mile race on the track. It all sounds very painful, and a lot of fun.

Almost didn't make it

I dragged myself out of bed this morning and almost got right back in. I'm glad I didn't, though--it was one of my better mornings. Once I got warmed up, I felt pretty good, running lightly and easily--one of those mornings where you can feel why you like to run.

The next race I'm looking at is a 4th of July race, a 5 miler in the town where I grew up. I've actually been running this race since 1977. Not every year, but I've seen several courses for this race.

The race starts and finishes around the same place as the race back in April. This one, however, runs in a different direction, and is quite a bit hillier. The race is followed by an independence day parade and picnic in the park.

Last year's winner was also the winner of the July 4th race held in the town where I now live. On the same day. He won a 10k in Brighton, jumped in his car, rushed out to Fairport, and won the 5 miler.

Trail run

I ran in my second Trail Race today--my first one was last year at this same race. There were two races, the short course (4.5 miles) and the long (9 miles). Since I didn't really feel ready for a 9 mile race, I decided to go for the short course. I was the first masters finisher in the short course, in 40:25. It's a pretty brutal course, with steep climbs and even steeper descents.

I haven't been able to update at all this week because of work. We're swamped, to the point where we can finally afford to hire another person for my department. She starts soon, but not soon enough. I'll be going in to the office tomorrow morning, early, to get some of our backlog cleared. Once we hire the new person, I'll be able to work on that stuff more, and won't be tied down with the kind of sork I've been doing.

I made an error regarding today's race--I gave blood yesterday. I'm not sure whether the mistake was giving blood the day before a race or racing the day after giving blood.

Hills.

I ran up to Cobb's Hill today and ran some hills. A city reservoir is on top of the hill, and it's surrounded by a park. There's a road that runs up to the top, around the reservoir, then back down. I went up the side of the hill, a long, steep grass slope, then up and down on the road a few times.

It felt pretty good--I haven't run there in a long time. It was our league course when I was in high school, although I didn't run the section in the woods today.

I missed the Beth El 5k today. I just needed the sleep too much. The race started at around 8 this morning, and I just couldn't get myself up that early today.


(I had to delete and repost this due to a comment spammer)

Better

Temps have gone back down--it was only 64° outside this morning. I got in a nice 5 miles at a nice relaxes pace on my "church run".
The sun is up before 5:30 am now, so I can see where I'm going most of the way.

I'm thinking about running in the Temple Beth El 5k this weekend. It starts and finishes near my house. I'll have to see how I feel. I believe it's on Sunday, not Saturday.