Sunday, November 16th to Saturday, November 22nd: 15.4 miles

Stairs:
Mon: 10, Tue: 15, Wed: 18, Thu: 16, Fri: 31 flights

DM gave me a pedmeter on Wednesday. I will try to wear it during my workday. I didn't think I walked that much at work!
Steps at work:
Thu: 8852, Fri: 9820

Winter came early to Rochester but I ran 4 times this week:

Sun: 5 miles, Upstate XC Series #5, 42:39, 8:32 pace, 37F, easy, very windy, mild right knee pain, multiple stops
Tue: 3.1 miles, Seneca Zoo run, 25:17, 8:10 pace, easy, 25F, night, light snow, calm, real mild right knee pain, no stops
Thu: 3.3 miles, Seneca-Titus-Paul run, 25:52, 7:50 pace, a little hard, 30F, dusk, calm, no right knee pain, no stops
Fri: 4.4 miles, FF Happy Hour run, 34:00, 7:44 pace, easy, 20F, night, calm, mild right knee pain, no stops

Sunday dawned very windy and snowy. The women raced their 6K first at 11AM. I cheered on KK when she finished. The men raced at 11:45AM. It was still very windy, a little snowy and a little sunny. It was a long run with the usual right knee pain. I talked with CR afterward. He suggested that I rest my knee for two weeks while exercising on a bike. I ran a 42:39, good for 138th out of 147, results here. I saw KK at the race on Sunday and talked a bit.

Monday ... our family (ex and I) dog, Blackie, died unexpectedly. We got the dog on Halloween nine years ago. He was a cocker spaniel and black labrador mix, tall like a lab with the fur of a cocker. He was a nice dog, friendly. When my ex moved out in September 2005, I inherited the dog and an old cat named Inkie. I took care of Blackie until March 2008 when I persuaded my ex to take him. I adjusted to just having Inkie. When I moved up to Rochester I had to give Inkie to my ex. I do miss him, he is 21 years old, "older than dirt", and absolutely adores me. Well, Blackie was having some issues and my ex was going to take him to the vet tomorrow. He became worse and she was taking him tonight. Well, she was stopped at the stoplight by BurgerKing in Newark when Blackie started howling. She was petting and reassuring him when he died right there. She continued on the vet who said that there was nothing she could have done ... that he must have had a heart attack. My ex called me with the news ... crying her eyes out. My daughter, Karen, is heart-broken. My ex is going to pick up Karen tomorrow from Houghton so she can see Blackie before he is cremated. A sad ending to a Monday.

RIP Blackie
Tuesday's Seneca Zoo night run was excellent. A short 5K in real light snow, 25F, calm winds ... just a nice run. Thursday's Seneca-Titus-Paul run was excellent. Another great winter run. Friday's Fleet Feet Happy Hour run was good. The roads were icy for the first mile or so. But a run is all good when it's done.

I had a first date with a woman that I met at a running event went well. We went to the Cracker Barrel in Henrietta for a leisurely dinner then to see Quantum of Solace. I didn't particularly like this Bond movie ... too much cold-blooded vengeance, no chemistry between Bond and his leading lady. We both rightfully took issue with the bad science behind the finale.

Saturday, I headed down to Ithaca College to pick up Michael and take him to stay with my ex in Newark, then I headed to see my father at the Wayne County Nursing Home in Lyons.

Well, I really should unbox, sort, put away and/or throw out my junk.

Oh, I signed up for the 33rd Annual Newark Turkey Day 5 Mile Race.

Keeping active, Doug

Sunday, November 9th to Saturday, 15th: 13.2 miles

Since I climb a lot of stairs at work I am going to include my daily stair flight count.

Mon: 15, Tue: 17, Wed:17, Thu: 20, Fri: 22

I ran three times this week:

Tue: 5.3 miles, 43:00, easy, 40F, cloudy, calm, right knee pain, no stops, 8:07 pace
Thu: about 3.5 miles, 27:21, Seneca-Titus-Paul run, 55F, easy, dusk, calm, little right knee pain
Fri: 4.4 miles, Fleet Feet Fun Run, 60F, a little hard, night, calm, really mild right knee pain

Tuesday, I ran out to the zoo plus two loops around the pond. By the time I got back my right knee pain had worsened from mild to moderate which slowed me quite a bit. I did climb up and down 17 flights of stairs at work so that may have had something to do with it. This pain that only comes on when I run is really beginning to piss me off. I want to run longer but can't.

Thursday's night run was nice and easy as I discovered a new run route up Seneca Ave to Titus and back down St. Paul St. The aftermath was not. I had my apartment and door key on a key ring in my left shorts pocket wearing shorts and a ss tech shirt. I heard them jingling all the way up Seneca Ave. Well, by the time I got back to my apartment ... they had bounced out somewhere. I retraced my steps all the way back to Seneca Ave but could not see them in the gathering gloom and cold. It got a bit cold and windy during the time I was out hunting for my keys. I had to buzz the nice woman in C so I could get in. I must have looked like a sight! I was cold and shivering when I stopped concentrating on looking for my keys. She let me call maintenance for an emergency key which cost me $20. I need to get some extra keys made for sure. Next time I will run with my keys knotted in my sneakers! I walked my running route up and back on St. Paul Street and Titus Ave during the daylight on Friday with no results.

I ventured out to Newark on Saturday to fix my youngest son's laptop. He said that the LCD was gone. I had a similar laptop that wouldn't boot so I thought it was just a LCD transplant. Well ... it turned out that his video cable between the LCD and mainboard was severed so I had to replace the video cable. How did it get severed? Well, let's just say that he is rough on his stuff. I updated all the usual stuff and he was all set. I also headed out to the Wayne County Nursing Home to see my father. We watched the end of the last Nationwide race on ESPN2, link here.

I really need to unpack my apartment ... but I am procrastinating. That is one of my weaknesses.

Oh, I have started drinking coffee after all these years. Just at work and not straight black ... but if you add enough half and half it just tastes like bitter hot chocolate.

Keeping active, Doug

Sunday, November 2nd to Saturday, November 8th: 13.4 miles

I ran three times this week:

Sun: 6.2 miles, 48:42, Turkey Trot + 1.2, a little hard, 28F, sunny, calm, mild right knee pain, no stops, 7:51 pace
Fri: 4.4 miles, Fleet Happy Hour, a little hard, 55F, calm, mild right knee pain, no stops
Sat: 2.8 miles, Seneca Zoo run, easy, 55F, dusk, calm, mild right knee pain, no stops, 8:07 pace

The Sunday morning run was beautiful. It was shortly after 7AM just after the time change back to EST. The ground was frosty, the sun was coming up, it was calm and peaceful. The run just came out of me. I was thinking that this would be my last run from my house.

The Friday night run was pretty good. I broke away from the slow pack and just ran ... enjoying the night. I have found that I have to run my pace ... I can't run slow. My pace is usually 8 minute mile or a little better ... I guess it's because of my long legs. I met a woman afterward, we talked and exchanged contact info. I enjoyed the short drive back to my apartment.

I took a short run from my apartment to the Seneca Park Zoo and back on Saturday just to see how far it was. I must remember to take both my apartment key and door key next time ... having just my apartment key does not get into my door. Luckily, someone in my unit came ... after 30 minutes or so.

The past several days have been a blur of sorting, packing, moving and unpacking (more to do). I thought I had already gone through my stuff ... boy was I wrong! I ended up making several "Misc" boxes with who knows what in them! The move day was Wednesday with the help of a 24 foot U-Haul truck (I only rolled one curb), my ex, my youngest son and Pedro. It was a long day but I am 95% moved out of Newark and up to Rochester. All I did on Wednesday night was set up my bed, unpacked some clothes and crashed. Thursday, in typical guy fashion I set up the TV, electronics, stereo and internet first. The cable guy said he did that too ... it must be a guy thing. Then I watched a heart wrenching episode of Grey's Anatomy.

I am going to toss the stuff that I don't need ... which is quite a bit. Though talking about tossing stuff and actually tossing it are two different things.

Keeping active, Doug

Sunday, October 26th to Saturday, November 1st: 13.1 miles
Month of October: 73.8 miles, I ran 15 out of 31 days

I ran 3 times this week:

Sun: 3.7 miles, 30:58, Upstate XC Series #3, a little hard, 50F, sunny, calm, 8:20 pace
Wed: 5 miles, no time, zoo run, 40F, windy, easy, 40F, cloudy, windy, mild right knee pain
Fri: 4.4 miles, 31:52, FF Happy Hour run, a little hard, 55F, dusk, calm, mild right knee pain, 7:15 pace

I ran the Upstate XC Series #3 down at Ithaca College on Sunday morning. It was a beautiful fall day (50F, sunny, a little windy) after an all day rain on Saturday. The course was uphill for the first two miles (including up the local Mt. Everest) and then downhill back. The start was pretty congested ... someone fell behind me when we turned a corner. I finished in 30:58, 121st out of 131 males, results here. This XC Series attracts a fast group which was why I at the bottom of the group. Michael and her girlfriend, who go to Ithaca College were at the start and finish and invited me to a leisurely brunch before I headed back home. Oh, Michael's senior recital is Wednesday, April 9th at 9PM.


I gave blood for the 65th time on Wednesday after work. My pulse was 60, blood pressure was 120/70. If you want to give blood, go here to sign up.

I was busy all week looking for a one bedroom apartment up in Rochester. I looked at several and found one at Pine Ridge Crossing on Seneca Manor Drive in Rochester, website here. This apartment (with heat and water included) is the Taj Mahal compared to all the ones I have seen ... trust me. This will give me an opportunity to start over.

Those who know me know I have been living alone for a little over three years now, officially divorced for about four months ... afraid to make a decision about almost anything. I should have sold the house years ago. I have fixed it up as much as I could. Moving from this house will force me to downsize ... well, not unless I just start dumping stuff into boxes. So I will busy this weekend for sure.

Gas prices have continued to fall. I saw $2.79/gal in Palmyra and 2.88/gal in Newark on the way home on Friday from the FleetFeet Happy Hour run. According to www.rochestergasprices.com the cheapest is $2.52. I talked to my brother in Syracuse and he said that www.syracusegasprices.com says his cheapest gas price is $2.19/gal. Hey, anything under $3/gal is a bargain to me. My new apartment is 2 miles away from work. Newark is around 40 miles one way from work. If you crunch the numbers assuming that I will work 22 days/month, gas mileage of 25 miles/gal and gas price of $3/gal, I will save around $200/month. Now I will have to head out to Newark to see my children and out to Lyons to see my father but still I will be ahead. When gas goes back up to $4/gal (and you know it will) I will save even more.

Keeping active, Doug

Sunday, October 19th to Saturday, October 25th: 17.5 miles

I ran 3 times last week:

Mon: 5.5 miles, 41:58, a little hard, 55F, sunny, calm, mild right knee pain, no stops, 7:41 pace
Wed: 6 miles, 46:54, easy, 38F, light mist to sprinkle, windy, mild right knee pain, no stops, 7:49 pace
Fri: 6 miles, 46:28, easy, 55F, cloudy, windy, mild right knee pain, no stops, 7:45 pace

Lots of stuff going on. I will be moving up to Rochester shortly. I was busy apartment hunting this morning.

I had a coffee date at Tim Hornton's just as the all day rain was ending. She is an active woman but no spark on either end. There was a pretty rainbow as the sun set on the way home.

Gas prices continue to go down. It's $2.999 in Newark and more expensive in Palmyra at $3.099. Usually it is the other way around. But I am happy to see lower prices for sure!

Keeping active, Doug