Couch2Boston

So I did the Rochester 13.1 yesterday. It was a blast. High 40's, no wind with a sunny day on a heavily shaded course. Basically, very fast conditions on a slow course. It is hilly, with a net uphill from start to finish and 2 short climbs that are at a pitch that can only be described as obnoxious. Both of them make you feel like you are going to stall out while climbing. I finished with a 1:33:42 which felt great for a day that I was just out to have fun. I started behind 2 women but blew past them on a fast downhill right away. They caught me on the uphill so I tucked in behind them and let them set the pace. After a couple of miles I asked what they were planning and they said an average around 7 minutes a mile. Cool, that works. We chatted for a while off and on and it was nice having some running partners. I left them behind on another big downhill and said I'd see them in the middle of the next big uphill about a mile later. Sure enough, halfway up that big hill they s...

I got into Erie around 2pm, hit packet pickup on Presque Isle and checked into the hotel. During the weekend I think there were more Boston jackets per capita there than anywhere else in the world outside of *maybe* Boston and most of them were from 2018. I was at a Microtel and had specifically booked a room at the end of the hall because I thought it would be quiet. What I didn't realize was that I booked a smoking room. I didn't even think to look. I can't remember the last time I saw a hotel room with ash trays in it. The room smelled bad, but it could have been worse. The hallway was much worse. Oh well, the window opens to the outside so I turned off the wall unit and opened the window. I stopped by a Wegmans to buy snack food for the morning of the race and wound up with 3 packages of sushi for dinner. Back to the hotel to relax for the evening where my sinuses started bothering me and it sounded like the guy in the next room was working on a construction project. ...