July 2018 Running Challenge

Been so busy no time to read but I’ll come back later. Skip got a new shirt at work today I had to share.

July Running Totals (miles)
7/1 – rest day
7/2 – 5.11 not easy enough
7/3 – 4.14 warmup, speed work, cool down
7/4 – 6.22 commute to/from town park
7/5 – 3.74 warmup, tempo run, cool down
7/6 – rest day
7/7 – 10.01 poorly paced run
7/8 – 7.72 easy 60 minutes
7/9 – rest day
7/10 – 9.92 warmup, MP intervals
7/11 – 5.21 group run
7/12 – 6.15 warmup, HMP intervals
7/13 – rest day
7/14 – 14.49 warmup, Shoreline Half Marathon
7/15 – 3.85 hot and sunny
7/16 – rest day
7/17 – 6.35 warmup, speed work
7/18 – 7.14 group run
7/19 – 10.01 MP intervals
7/20 – rest day
7/21 – 12.03 paced run

July running total to date – 112.09

Nominal July mileage goal: 100 miles

Real goals: Get healthy. Build base. Work toward being able to run Wineglass in September.

Today's notes – Paced run based out of Durand-Eastman park on the shore of Lake Ontario this morning. According to Garmin, it was 70º F (21º C) when I started running. Don't know the humidity, but it felt pretty nice. The sun was shining, but there was considerable shade on much of the route. Felt like heaven for much of the run.

A couple of pre-run pictures of the lake, just because I was there:

No one showed up for an 8:00 pace other than my substitute pacer. No one showed up for an 8:30 pace, and the 8:30 pacer elected to run with the 9:00 group. So two of us set off for a route that was structured as 7 (out, loop, back) + 2 (out, loop, back) +1 (out and back) miles. My sub pushed the pace a little, I tried slowing him down on the downgrade, he complained that I was trying to kill him on the upgrade, and we ran from near lake level to near the top of the Niagara escarpment twice.

Got chatting, and missed the traffic circle where we were supposed to turn. Figured it out at the next traffic circle and backtracked. That let some other groups pass us, so we got to pass the 9:30 group and heckle a few of them for passing their pace leader. Ended up at the end of the 7 mile segment right around 8 miles distance. Guess we can chop off the 1 mile out-and-back, what a shame. (not!)

Caught up with the 9:00 group doing the 2 mile extension, and that gave us 10 miles. My sub stopped then, and I went to run the 2 mile in reverse to get 12 in, because that felt about right and makes this an appropriate cutback week in total distance. Got to see 2 or 3 other pace groups on my final 2 miles, as they were running the 2 miles as written and I was running it retro.

Ended up averaging 7:46 per mile, which would bother me if I were responsible for a paid program participant; but with just us volunteer pacers, it's no big deal. Cooled down, stretched, and enjoyed some fine conversation on the lake shore before I headed home. And just because I was there, here's how the lake looked after I ran:


2018 races:
February 17, 2018 Freezeroo #5 (Valentines Run "In Memory of Tom Brannon" 8 Mile) (Greece, NY) finished in 54:48
February 24, 2018 Freezeroo #6 (White House Challenge 4.4 mile) (Webster, NY) finished in 28:46
March 17, 2018 USATF Masters 8K (Shamrock 8K, Virginia Beach, VA) finished in 31:55
March 24, 2018 Spring Forward 15K (Mendon, NY) ran at MP, finished in 1:10:47
April 16, 2018 Boston Marathon (Hopkinton, MA) finished in 3:28:43
April 29, 2018 USATF Masters 10K (James Joyce Ramble, Dedham, MA) finished in 41:33
May 20, 2018 Lilac 10K (Rochester, NY) finished in 42:21
May 26, 2018 Sunset House 5K (Rochester, NY) finished in 20:12
June 3, 2018 USATF Masters Half Marathon (Ann Arbor, MI) finished in 1:34:42
June 9, 2018 Ontario Summit Trail Half Marathon (Naples, NY) DNS - injury
June 17, 2018 Medved 5K to Cure ALS (Rochester, NY) short course, 18:04 for ~2.9 miles
June 30, 2018 Charlie's Old Goat Trail Run 5 mile (Victor, NY) 4.89 miles by Garmin, 43:15
July 14, 2018 Shoreline Half Marathon (Hamlin, NY) finished in 1:45:54
July 28, 2018 Battle at Bristol 10K (Naples, NY)
September 2, 2018 Oak Tree Half Marathon (Geneseo, NY)
September 30, 2018 Wineglass Marathon (Bath, NY)
November 11, 2018 Syracuse Half Marathon (Syracuse, NY)

July goal is 150 miles

7/1..... 5.00............ 5.00/145.00
7/2..... Rest............ 5.00/145.00
7/3..... 7.00............12.00/138.00
7/4..... 5.00............17.00/133.00
7/5..... 7.00............24.00/126.00
7/6..... 5.00............29.00/121.00
7/7..... Rest............29.00/121.00
7/8..... 16.00..........45.00/105.00
7/9..... Rest............45.00/105.00
7/10.... 6.00...........51.00/ 99.00
7/11.... 4.00...........55.00/ 95.00
7/12.... 6.00...........61.00/ 89.00
7/13.... Rest...........61.00/ 89.00
7/14.... 14.00.........75.00/ 75.00
7/15...... 6.50.........81.50/ 68.50
7/16.... Rest...........81.50/68.50
7/17.... 10.00.........91.50/ 58.50
7/18...... 5.00.........96.50/ 53.50
7/19...... 7.00........103.50/ 46.50
7/20..... Rest.........103.50/ 46.50
7/25..... 19.50.......123.00/ 27.00


Upcoming races:

October 20: Sinnemahone Ultra Marathon Trail Race (50K)

Re: expensive socks

I wear Darn Tough wool socks to run in. They're great, but they are pricey; I think it's up around $20 for a pair of crew socks now. But I'm not paying $20 for my next 3 pair. Just packed 3 pair that are wearing thin in a box to send back under warranty, and I'll get 3 pair in replacement. I expect this to cost me $6 or $7 in postage.

These are socks that I bought in 2015, before I returned the 5 pair of socks I bought in 2011-2012 for warranty replacement. Since then, I've been wearing these 3 by preference so that they'd wear out while the 5 pair I got under warranty in 2016 are still good. As planned, I can still run while I'm waiting for the warranty claim to process.

I don't expect to have to buy running socks again for as long as the Darn Tough warranty policy remains unchanged. I will have to pay some postage every 3 or 4 years.

Testimonial: I ran 26.2 miles in the rain last April wearing Darn Tough wool socks, and I got no blisters. (Toenails are over-rated.)