June 2017 Running Challenge

June Running Totals (miles)
6/1 – 8.25 warm up, speed work, cool down
6/2 – rest day
6/3 – 12.18 solo + group run
6/4 – 7.21 easy with fast finish
6/5 – 7.07 easy
6/6 – 11.05 warm up, speed work, cool down
6/7 – 7.38 group run
6/8 – 5.33 warm up, easy speed work, cool down
6/9 – 3.01 warm up + McMullen Mile
6/10 – 15.01 group run 6 + solo run 9

June total to date – 76.49

Nominal Challenge Goal – 230 miles
Real Goals: Stay healthy. Train toward Rochester Marathon. Run McMullen Mile in under 5:50 on June 9. [Done!] Run Medved 5K to Cure ALS in under 20:00 on June 18.

Today's notes – Got to bed past midnight after yesterday's evening race, awards ceremony, and taking a long time to wind down. When the alarm went off at 4:30, I made the executive decision I wasn't going to get up that early to run today. Woke up again at 6. Could have rolled over and grabbed more sleep, but I felt about as rested as I normally would when the alarm goes off at 4:30 on Saturday, so I got up, hustled through breakfast, and made it to the 7:30 group run at the third running store in town. They were offering routes of 6 and 9 miles.

I hadn't been to the group run with this store before, but it's between sessions for the program I pace for so I was at loose ends. Saw a bunch of unfamiliar faces, and a bunch of people I had met at various races and other social runs. Set off with the pace group that held up the 8:00 sign. It quickly became clear that they were going to be running faster than 8:00; when they were running a 7:20 pace, I let the group run away from me. I can run that, but I didn't want to go that fast for 15 miles.

Got to run on some roads I hadn't seen before, and along trails marked with flags. The early instances of this, there were people stationed to be sure we went the right way. After perhaps 4 miles, another laggard and I caught up with a leader who had dropped back to make sure we didn't get lost. Then we caught up with the group. They really weren't that much faster than me; they got sucked into a too-fast race because Superman was running with them. I recognized Superman, and knew better than to try to run with him. He aged up to 55 when I was 59, and ran the Flower City half 4 minutes faster than me to take the age group . . . 6 days after he ran a 3 hour Boston. I'm not it his class.

The group missed some flags in the later part of the run, then found the route and got back to the store about 0.2 miles short. No big whoop, I need to add distance anyway. But everyone else went to the store for a break at 6, and I wanted to keep running. Okay, the next 3 are clear. Until I get to turn on an unfamiliar street and follow flags. I missed the street, because I quit looking for it before I got there. I knew where I was, and had already decided to add distance another way. So instead of turning and going back to the store to finish at 9, I kept running on the Genesee Riverway Trail. It occurred to me that I'd already stopped for traffic lights and to wait for others to decide where to turn in the first 6 miles, so there's no harm in more brief stops for pictures. The Genesee River was kind of pretty today:



Ran along the path, which is part of the Johnny's Runnin' of the Green race route, and came to a branch where the race follows the path, but there's also a bridge over the river. I knew where that bridge went, but I'd never run it. What the heck. Let's give you pictures looking downstream and upstream from the pedestrian bridge:




Ran along the Riverway trail on the west side of the river, and saw a nice view of the Rochester skyline:



But the real reason I was running on the west side of the river was because it was sunny, that was beginning to feel a bit warm, and there was quite a bit of trail that looked about like this:



Crossed back to the east side at the Court Street bridge. The flow over the RG&E dam wasn't as low as full summer, but at least it isn't the flood stage it was in March:



Construction prevented me from running where I planned, so I detoured through a familiar part of downtown, took the Clinton Avenue pedestrian overpass to get across I-490, and back to the river. Looked at the watch. I'll get back to the store around 13 miles. I need 15. I can run south on Mt. Hope Avenue then follow the Flower City Half route through Mt. Hope Cemetery. It's a confusing route through the cemetery, but I've run the race 3 times and done preview runs several times. I think I can find it. Took a picture of the cobblestone hill, but it doesn't look as steep as it is, and the bumpy surface doesn't show well in the picture:



For those who had wondered about the propriety of running in cemeteries, Flower City was designed to showcase some of the heritage of Rochester, NY. It runs past the grave of Susan B. Anthony:



Here's the poorly marked turn that I missed on the preview run before Boston:



Here's a shot from very near the high elevation point of Flower City. We don't have to run up the steps:



The Flower City tic sheet uses the Strong mausoleum as a landmark for one of the turns. I don't know which Strongs are entombed there, but the Strong family is a big name in Rochester philanthropy, from Strong Memorial Hospital to the Strong Museum of Play that is the beneficiary of the annual Reindeer Run 5K.



After the turn at the Strong mausoleum, the course is easier to find. There is only one confusing turn, marked by the Getman mausoleum. I can't read the Getman name in the picture, but I could read it live from where I took the picture:



Even adding the Flower City route through the cemetery, I ended up doing OCD laps of the parking lot to get to my 15 miles. My legs had felt heavy off and on since mile 9, probably because I didn't have my customary rest day on Friday. But the bottom line, with all the running too fast and stopping and waiting and running by feel the last 9 miles was a reasonable average pace with reasonable HR statistics.




2017 races:
January 1, 2017 Freezeroo #2 (Resolution Run 7.5 mile) (Mendon, NY) Finished in 50:45
January 7, 2017 Winter Warrior Half Marathon (Gates, NY) Finished in 1:32:40
January 14, 2017 Freezeroo #3 (Pineway Ponds Park 5 mile) (Spencerport, NY) Finished in 33:42
January 28, 2017 Freezeroo #4 (Hearnish 5 mile) (Victor, NY) short course, finished 4.88 miles in 32:50
February 4, 2017 USATF Cross Country National Championship Masters 8K (Bend, OR) Finished in 35:39, team won the 60+ Men's cross country championship
February 11, 2017 Freezeroo #5 (Valentines Run "In Memory of Tom Brannon" 8 Mile) (Greece, NY) sat out due to training schedule
February 25, 2017 Freezeroo #6 (White House Challenge 4.4 mile) (Webster, NY) short course, finished 4.34 miles in 27:51
March 11, 2017 Johnny's Runnin' of the Green 5 mile (Rochester, NY) finished in 33:25
March 18, 2017 USATF Masters 8K Championship (Shamrock 8K, Virginia Beach, VA) finished in 30:59, PR for 8K
April 17, 2017 Boston Marathon (Hopkinton, MA) finished in 3:49:42
April 30, 2017 USATF Masters 10K Championship (James Joyce Ramble, Dedham, MA) finished in 39:54, PR for 10K
May 21, 2017 Lilac Run 10K (Rochester, NY) finished in 40:04
May 27, 2017 Canandaigua Classic Half Marathon (Canandaigua, NY) finished in 1:33:06
June 9, 2017 Charlie McMullen Mile (Fairport, NY) finished in 5:44.90, PR for mile
June 18, 2017 Medved 5K to Cure ALS (Rochester, NY)
July 28, 2017 Karknocker 5K (East Rochester, NY)
September 3, 2017 Oak Tree Half Marathon (Geneseo, NY)
September 17, 2017 MVP Rochester Marathon (Rochester, NY)
November 23, 2017 Race with Grace 10K (Hilton, NY)

June 1 – 6.0 miles
June 2 – 6.0 miles w/6 x 400m intervals
June 3 – 3.0 miles Easy Run HC22 Resistance 1
June 4 – 0.0 miles Rest Day HC22 Cardio 2
June 5 – 5.0 miles Easy run w/strides (8) HC22 Resistance 1
June 6 – 0.0 miles XT Day Water Zumba and 30 min of swimming laps
June 7 – 10.0 miles Long Run
June 8 – 0.0 miles XT Day HC 22 Cardio 2 and Resistance 2
June 9 – 6.0 miles w/8 x 400m intervals
June 10 – 3.25 miles Easy Run & HC22 Resistance 2
Total: 39.25 miles/100 miles

Treadmill run today. I haven’t run on a treadmill in ages! In fact, I never could RUN on a treadmill. It always freaked me out to go faster than a walk. Plus, even though I’m a pretty consistently paced runner, I still fluctuate my pace when I’m on the road. You can’t do that on a treadmill. I was pleasantly surprised that today’s run wasn’t horrible, and I managed to keep a steady pace the whole time. There’s hope for me yet!

Pros and Cons of running on a treadmill:

Cons: 1. Can get a bit boring. It’s definitely a mind game to keep going.
2. I can’t spontaneously start dancing when a great song comes on. Yes, I’m a freak show on the road. Get over it.
3. The room I have the treadmill in has a very low ceiling. I’m 5’6” tall and can touch the ceiling without even straightening my arms. So, I currently cannot raise the incline at all.
4. I’m pretty sure training on a treadmill does not adequately prepare you for a road race.

Pros: 1. Climate control! Which is, of course, the whole reason hubby got me the treadmill in the first place.
2. I can wear what I want. If this crazy old lady wants to run in just a sports bra and booty shorts, I can, and I don’t have to care who sees all my scars and marks!
3. No headphones. I can just let my music play out loud.
4. Convenient bathroom locations.

Overall, I was grateful for the break from the heat, but I probably won’t use the treadmill for much more than my easy run days. I can’t imagine doing my long run on it. Two hours staring out the window at the truck parked in the driveway. Meh. I’ll pass. I might try watching something on my computer next time. We’ll see.

I hope everyone is having an amazing weekend and enjoying your races!


Races:
June 23 – St. Pete Beach Series, Race #1, 5K
July 21 - St. Pete Beach Series, Race #2, 5K
August 5 – Great Brain Wash 5K Obstacle Run, St. Pete, FL
August 18 - St. Pete Beach Series, Race #3, 5K
September 16 – Samoa Challenge (Thin Mint Sprint 5K and a Tagalong Trot 1 mile), Safety Harbor, FL
November 18 – Insane Inflatable 5K Obstacle Run, Tampa, FL

1---5.06
3---6.31
4---6.29
6---3.69 walk
7---4.37
9---3.76
10---6.34

35.73/70

Upcoming races

June 17th Turtle run 5K
AIM for the Cure- 5K, virual run
July 8- XTERRA Jurassic Trail Run, 5K.  Glen Rose,TX
Dec 2- POOP trail run, Hoping for a half! Norman OK.

Pre-op PR's
1 mile 8:27  5k 24:42. 10k 1:00.52.  HM 2:17.28
Post-op Training PR's
1 mile 10:50  5k 37.46 10k 1:20.25

@elise4270 yes there are color options and for an additional fee you can personalise wit a phrase on the back. I like "WWMCD" what would MobyCarp do.