Saturday, March 9, 2024

PLR ShamRock & Roll

 

New Haven, CT
Sunday, March 3, 2024

USATF-CT 5K Championship.  As for the name of the race, when I arrived, I heard over the loudspeaker, "Welcome to the 99.1 PLR Crosspoint Federal Credit Union ShamRock & Roll 5K".  Yeah, what a mouthful.  That's why I hear runners refer to the race as simply "PLR", "Shamrock", etc.

At any rate, this was my second year running this race, and it's the first race of the year of the USATF-CT Road Grand Prix.  I find this race to be really well organized, run by JB Sports, the same company that manages the New Haven Road Races in September, with 5K, 20K, and Half options.

Alarm went off at 6am.  I stayed in bed for another ten minutes, then got up, took Brady out, and made my typical pre-race breakfast of oatmeal with blueberries and cranberries.  I was a bundle of nerves for the 1-hour drive to New Haven.  As I got out of the car, I ran into Scott Grandfield.  My first thought was "Ugh".  Nothing against Scott personally of course; it just meant another very strong AG competitor in a race where I eked out a 1st place last year by one second, and 1st and 4th place in my AG were separated by just seven seconds!

As I entered Toad's Place to pick up my bib and shirt, I waited in line for less than 60 seconds, before being directed to the next available person to check me in.  Got my bib, went into another room to pick up my shirt, and there was no line there at all.  I was asked "tech" or "cotton" and I immediately answered tech, but walking out with my tech shirt, I reflected that it was neat to have that option and I actually get very few cotton shirts that maybe I should've answered differently.

As I went on my warm-up, I resolved to not fret about my competitors and instead just run my own race.  That helped as I lined up ready to go.

Mile 1:  I had lined up in about the 5th row.  The announcer said race would start in 4 minutes, and although he gave periodic time updates, it seemed to take so long for those 4 minutes to pass.  I remembered last year I got boxed in on the first right-hand turn that comes up quick, so I lined up on the left this time, figuring it was better to go wide and potentially add a few feet.  That part worked and I had no issues with being crowded in even from the start.  
In starting line, just before the start.
Didn't realize until now that Dave Goodrich was right in front of me.
(Pic courtesy of Chris Colangelo)

This is a DEEP starting line.  You need to plan accordingly
and line up in time.
About five rows back and ready to go

I thought I lined up well, but I was passing so many people in the first half mile or so that I questioned it.  Again, not an issue as they weren't in my way like at Honolulu Marathon.  I just went to the outside and had a clear shot.  It wasn't until close to the end of the first mile that I saw Dave Goodrich ahead of me, and then Scott just a few runners ahead of him.   Mile split 5:38.

Mile 2:  Early in the mile, I caught and passed Dave Goodrich.  I didn't know it at the time, but that put me in first place for the Striders.  That's certainly not where I want to be.  Sam Alexander was signed up but sick, Jared in Mexico, and not sure on others.  

At any rate, as I made the turn off the main thoroughfare (Whitney Ave) to start the small lollipop before reversing direction, I noticed Scott was just a few places ahead of me.  I think that helped me to maintain pace and keep me motivated through the four turns to get us headed south back towards home.  Mile split 5:44.

Mile 3:  With one mile to go, the race was far from over, at least for my age group.  Brett Stoeffler, my friendly adversary of many of these USATF-CT races, went past me easily and I had no response.  (Brett would go on to run a 5:30 3rd mile, something outside of my current abilities.)  Next I saw Brett catch and pass Scott.  It looked like Scott was trying to latch onto him and stay with him, which I give him credit for, but it didn't last long as Brett charged ahead leaving Scott behind.

This course is really near pancake flat (my Strava post showed an elevation gain of 48').  With about 1/2 mile to go, there is a very slight downhill of about -15' drop.  I used this to my advantage and for the first and only time of the race, caught right up to Scott.  Unfortunately, he turned and looked back (he probably was startled by hearing the breathing of a dinosaur) and saw me.  He had another gear to finish out the race, and I did not.  Mile split 5:43.
Just before the final turn to
finish line

Photos by Chris C


Final result:  17:48 gun, 17:45 chip.  39th overall out of 1,274.  3rd in age group (of 61).  Full results here.

Changed out of my carbon fiber shoes, and went on a 3+ mile cooldown with Scott, finishing up intentionally at the advertised race awards time.

Thoughts on the race:
  • 5K to me at this point is such a hard distance.  Yes, it's by the far most popular racing distance is the USA today, but I think (total conjecture on my part) that's because the vast majority of people are running it an an easier effort than me, and I'm racing to win (my age group of course, not outright).  Unlike longer races like a 10M or marathon, this is just pure oxygen debt the whole way and I'm literally huffing and puffing pretty much out of the gate to the finish line.
  • It's a flat and fast course!
  • Very well organized.
  • I ran more consistent splits than last year:

  • It's fantastic that the main sponsor is a rock radio station, and that rock music is played at bib pickup and awards venue.
    (Race FB photo)

  • Having ice cream post-race is amazing!  Yes, I'm one of those weirdos that skips the free beer line altogether and goes straight to the ice cream table, even in March.
  • I'm not a fan of EVERY USATF-CT race, and I don't think 5K is "my" distance, but I do like this race and will likely keep coming back.
  • I stopped at Madison Coffee House on the way back, just like last year, and had lox and bagels.  Awesome stuff; I like to "reward" myself after racing hard or racing well (I would check both of those boxes this time!).  Maybe that will be a tradition as well?
    My age group finisher prize

Saturday, March 2, 2024

February 2024: Snow Runs!

Running stats:

Miles run:  297.6
Elevation gain:  17,927'
Weekly miles (for weeks ended in month):  80, 60, 69, 80

February saw the highest monthly run mileage for me in a year,
and that's in a short month!

Primary running surfaces:  Roads (145 miles), trails (136)
Primary running locations:  Charlestown (128 miles), then Westerly (31), then Hopkinton (23)

Other disciplines:
Walk / hike:  13 miles

Quick synopsis:
  • Another great month of running!
  • I only got three Border Patrol Challenge runs done this month, but they were some of the longer/harder runs.  I'm at 13 out of 20, so with seven to go in just 19 days before Spring Equinox, and me avoiding the BPC challenges close to race days, I'm not sure I'll finish them.  But that's fine, as race training has always been my priority anyway.  Stay tuned ...
  • Speaking of race training, I got three quality long runs in.

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Interesting runs:

  • Charlestown long run, Charlestown, February 3.  Besides being the first time in 13 days that we had a mostly sunny day, this was a fun combination solo / group run.  14 miles solo, and then 5 with a few WTAC friends before we all had breakfast at the Beach Rose Cafe.
    The owner of the Beach Rose Cafe later told me she loved that
    we stopped in and also posted this on FB.

  • South County Bike Path workout, South Kingstown, February 8.  OAB on the bike path, with two sub-6 miles.
  • Arcadia roads snow run, Exeter, February 14.  More fresh snow.  Zero traffic on largely closed roads.

  • Burlingame in the falling snow, Charlestown, February 17.  11 miles with Brady in the falling snow.  So serene.
    So beautiful out there!  Really enjoyed the snow runs in February.


  • Quinebaug in the snow, Plainfield, CT, February 18.  I hate Quinebaug Trail, right?  Well, usually pretty much.  But at least the snow hit much of the rough washed out jeep road sections.  Besides, snow always put me in a great mood.  17 miles in the snow with Brady, Matt S, and Justin P.  On the way out, we stayed together for much of the run, but towards the half-way mark and then on the way back, ran with Brady (usually leading) and Matt, as Justin was having some trouble.  Fortunately we all finished it.  Baker's Dozen for replenishment!
    Nice to get to the turnaround point at southern
    terminus of Quinebaug Trail.  I don't like OABs,
    but if you have to do them, there's something nice
    about reaching the turnaround point.
    These new signs are great!

    Snow was up to 6" deep in places.
    Brady did a lot of waiting for us
    (Matt in blue, Justin in orange)

  • George Washington in the snow, Glocester, February 22.  Sensing a pattern here with the snow?  With rain and a significant warm-up in the near term forecast, I figured this might be my last chance for a while (or maybe for the whole winter season?) to get in a snow run.  There must have been a foot of snow here!  Similar to when we tried and failed to run here with Matthew in January, I made the identical wrong turn about two miles in.  But this time, what helped us is there had been a number of folks out snow-shoeing prior, and the trail was easier to run on.
    So much snow here!

  • Mindless meandering in Ninigret, Charlestown, February 23.  For a run that I made up as I went along, this turned out much better than I expected.  I had to improvise as I went along, as the bike path was really slushy, and the roads had puddles.  Ended up running a lot of the run on the only place that was dry:  the "crit" (criterion bicycle path).  20 miles at an average 6:44 pace!  I'll take it!

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Races:

King of Pain (Feb 11):
Glastonbury, CT

First time running this 10 1/4 mile hilly road race.  Found this blurb on a race report by my AG competitor in the race, Scott Livingston:

"Kudos to Rob for catching back up to me and then catching a very strong Jeff Walker (59 years old!) who took the 50-59 age group win. For the first half of the race, I would catch Jeff on the uphills, only to lose contact with him when the road tipped down. He was fast."

Yeah, exactly as Scott described.  And I love the exclamation mark after my age!  Can you imagine someone that age is still running?!  This blurb re-affirmed my downhill road skills, but I truly feared he was going to catch me in the latter half.


-------------------------------------------------------------

Miscellaneous:

My comic of the month.  I'm with Poncho on this!




Feb 8 hike that I led:  Mt Misery
I was wondering if I chose a place too far away and/or
too rugged for the "target agile seniors" group, but we got
a great turnout!

I later learned that Bill Bentley was part of a group
that built this shelter!  Small world.
Another area I was concerned about:  the Cedar Swamp,
flooded and iced over.  I thought about re-routing to avoid
this part, but participants said they loved it, found it to
be surreal, and asked if I could repeat leading this hike again
in the future.  Ok then!


Feb 13:  in last month's blog post,
I was lamenting I hadn't been able to build
a snowman in two years now.  Finally
we had not only 4" of snow, but it was wet
snow good for snowman building.
---
Several of my neighbors said they really liked
our snowman.  What I found disappointing was
that while the 59-year old retired guy was out
playing in the snow most of the day, other neighbors
including teenage kids who had the day off from school
never once went out and played in the snow in their yard, and we had
snow on the ground for over a week!  Sign of the times?
Get outside!

Feb 21:  excuse my shadow.  The snow
had disappeared from our front yard
eight days later, but I was able to periodically
patch and keep this (now skinny!) snowman
going for over a week.


Time for new shoes:
It was fun to track the progress of my VJ Xtrm 2
shoes from Helsinki to Westerly.



VJ Xtrm 2:
So far I'm loving them!
They don't have the narrow toebox issue that I
had with the VJ Ultra.

NB 1080v12:
My foray into this trainer didn't go
well, as they rubbed against my ankle bone
area and broke the skin.  Will have to wait until it
heals, and then try both BodyGlide and better socks.

NB Rebel 3:  at least my 3rd pair.  I love these
shoes; they feel great and springy right out of the box.

In the "learn something new" department, I initially panicked
when I finished my run in the snow in Glocester, RI and found
my car key FOB battery was dead and wouldn't unlock the car.
I was guessing I would have to ask Jana to drive the 1 hour+ here
with a spare key, as modern cars don't have traditional key locks.

Or do they?  It turns out the locks are there but just not exposed anymore,
since you seldom need them.  Well I'll be darned.
Usually I lock my cell phone in the car when I run, but fortuitously I
had my phone in my pocket to take pics in the snow.  Which
enabled me to Google and find this valuable info!

This dessert seems made for me!
Actually, in today's politically-correct world,
I'm surprised someone hasn't found it offensive
and required it to be renamed.

I chuckled at this bumper sticker on a car parked
at King of Pain race.  We've all had longer runs due to missed turns.


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Looking ahead to March:

Two races on the docket:
  • PLR ShamRock and Roll 5K, New Haven, March 2.  USATF-CT championship race.
  • New Bedford Half Marathon.  USATF-NE championship race.  Will use this as a marathon tune-up
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Monthly highlight: 
Any of the fantastic snow runs, really.  But I'll single out this one in Burlingame
 in the beautiful falling snow from February 17.



Monthly lowlight:
February was really a great month, so I'd be grasping to guess at something.  Melting snow?  Dead mice in the basement?  Onwards to March ...

Tuesday, February 13, 2024

King of Pain

 

Glastonbury, CT
Sunday, February 11, 2024

First time running this race.  The race description includes "The course offers breathtaking South Glastonbury orchard scenery, along with hill, after hill, after hill."  I don't know about the orchard scenery as I didn't notice that, but I can sure vouch for the hill, after hill, after hill!

With a race start at 9am, I left home at 7am, got there about 8am with an easy traffic-free ride, and volunteers were directing me to parking behind the Hopewell Elementary School, where the race would start and finish.  Despite this not being a USATF-CT race, I saw so many Mohegan Striders runners, who it was good to catch up with inside as I was picking up my bib and shirt.

Ran a mile and a half warm-up, trying hard to stick to flat roads, as I knew I would be running enough hills soon!  Got back to the car with plenty of time to change out of my trainers into my carbon fiber race shoes, and get into my standard race gear of short shorts and a singlet.  The only tactical error I made was not wearing gloves.  I brought two pairs of lightweight gloves, but as the temperature was 41°F, I figured I didn't need them.  More on that later.

Caught up briefly again with my Strider teammates, wished them luck, and headed to the start line, lining up in the 2nd row.  You know those races where there is a long set of race directions and perhaps multiple introductions?  Well, this was the opposite.  It was pretty much, "Are you guys ready for some hills?!!", and then "Go!".

First half:  I counted that I was roughly in 7th place, until we turned off the main road.  I had roughly studied the course ahead of time by finding it on a Strava segment, so I knew roughly what was going to come.  Downhill running is my strength (with uphill being a weakness of mine), and I quickly passed four runners to be in 3rd place for the rest of the first mile.  I knew it wasn't going to last, but fast downhill running is just how I roll.

Sure enough, as I began climbing the next 200' hill, four runners caught up and passed me.  Three of them went by me with ease, but they all looked at least twenty years younger than me (they were), but the fourth guy I couldn't tell if he was in his 40s or 50s and he was just steps ahead of me.  I would later find out he's Scott Livingston, whose name I had certainly heard before in races, and he is indeed in his 50s.  Over the next few miles of rolling hills, I would go ahead of him on the downhills, and then on the uphills, he'd catch right back up to me.

At about Mile 4, we turned left onto the infamous Belltown Road climb.  The lead runner was way out ahead of everyone else, and as I was starting up the hill, he was finishing up the downhill, as it was an OAB on this 1/2 mile road.  I was really surprised and impressed when he shouted out some encouragement to me.  Based on the Strava segment of the climb, it was 200' up over 1/2 mile, with an average grade of only 8.1%, but it sure felt like more than that.  Most around me were walking as we were hitting the back of the pack of the early starters that went off 30 minutes ahead of us.  I wasn't in danger of walking, but I did notice how much more comfortable they appeared than me huffing and puffing my way up.  At the top of the Belltown hill, Chris Colangelo called out my name, as he was volunteering there.  I grabbed a quick cup of water, made my turnaround, noticed Scott was just behind me, and started my downhill.
Making my way up Belltown Hill.
Scott is in orange over my right shoulder, just
steps away.  The other people around me
are walking as part of the early start group.




Second half:  From the top of Belltown, we descend over 400' over the next mile and a half, and it was time for me to play the downhills to my strength.  I pushed it pretty hard, with Mile 6 my fastest at 6:06.  By seven miles in, I was really starting to tire.  But I knew I couldn't let up.  The next three miles were mentally tough as well as physical, as while the long climbs were over, it was just constant rollers punishing the legs.  At 90-degree turns, I would glance back to see where Scott was.  I never did see him again, but couldn't take that for granted.  

With a mile to go, I heard a runner coming up on me fast, and I figured for sure this was Scott making his final move back on me, but it was the runner that had been ahead of me at Mile 6.  How did that happen?  (At the finish, the runner [Robert Amatruda] told me had missed a turn and gone temporarily off course.)  I thought the course was well marked, but it would still be easy to miss a turn, especially running tired late in the game in no man's land.

When I saw the Mile 10 marker, I knew that we had just 1/4 mile to go (yeah, weird distance) and it was finally downhill.  Kicked it in the best I could, to come across the line in 6th overall.  Scott would finish about a minute behind me, and the next guy in our age group about 4 minutes behind him.
Finished!


Final result:  1:07:06, 6th overall of 242, 1st (of 31) in age group.  Full results here

Post-race reflections:
  • My hands were so cold in this race (obviously my own fault).  At the finish line, a volunteer handed me a bottle of water and I just couldn't open it.  While 41°F is pretty warm, I guess it was more that there was a 10mph wind and no sun.
  • Every turn was clearly marked with big arrows on yard sale type signs like we use at WTAC.
  • Those hills are no joke.  They were just relentless with pretty much not a flat section the whole race.  Made it challenging.
  • There were three turn arounds in the race.  I'm no fan of cone turnarounds, but they didn't really bother me in this race, and here's why:  If this had been a flat 10-mile course like Blessing of the Fleet where I'm going for a certain time, I would have hated it, but this was a novelty 10.25 miles with hills galore, so it didn't matter.  Two out of the three turnarounds were obviously added just to get the ensuing hills, and two of the three were actually cul-de-sac wide turns.
  • Post race food and drink were pretty good.  I had a bowl of tomato soup (there was also chicken noodle), a roll, PowerAde, and multiple thick chunky soft chocolate cookies.  I felt I had earned the latter!
  • I really had no idea what to expect on this unique hilly course, but I'm happy with my efforts and result!
  • And the ultimate test:  would I run it again?  Yes.  Not sure I would run it every year.  But it was fun and challenging, and at $45 for a 10+ mile race with food, fairly priced.

With the only other Striders age-group winner,
also 50-59, Alison, sporting our awards.
(from Striders FB)
(close-up of above)

Today's loot (clockwise from upper left):
Tech shirt (to first 150 registered), finishers medal,
running gloves, scarf



Monday, February 5, 2024

January 2024: Running Through Snow & Floods

Running stats:

Miles run:  290.9
Elevation gain:  19,074'
Weekly miles (for weeks ended in month):  34, 64, 76, 73

Well, I know it's the start of a new year, but this just looks silly with one column, right?
Maybe I should use a rolling 13-month chart instead?

Yes, much better.  Takeaway is that my Jan '24 mileage was exactly the same as
my Jan '23, which was the highest mileage of last year, before a sharp decline due to a
bad ankle sprain.  Hopefully a better outcome this year.


Quick synopsis:  I'm really happy with my running this month.  I completed half of the Border Patrol Challenge, got in some long runs, got to run with Matthew before he returned to California, and got in some SNOW runs!

Interesting runs:

  • Arcadia Snow Run, Exeter, January 8.  First snow run of the season!  Not much snow, but just enough to make it pretty and fun.

Breakheart Trail, Arcadia, January 8
A few inches of wet snow, including on Brady!

  • George Washington, Glocester, January 9.  Went with Matthew and Brady to George Washington Management Area to run the 8-mile Walkabout Trail as part of my Border Patrol Challenge.  While southern RI had received just 2-3 inches of snow, the northern part of the state received 8-10 inches.  Unfortunately, no one has ventured onto the trails and the heavy and wet nearly one foot of snow makes the trail just unrunnable.  We decide to bail on the trail at the nearest road crossing and cut the run short, finishing up on the snow covered road.

George Washington Mgmt Area.  In retrospect,
we should have just run the roads here.
There is a lot of snow here.  Brady doesn't seem to mind,
as he just sits down in it.  Quite a change from where he
was born (Florida), but he seems to love winter.


  • Breakheart / Shelter / Hudson, Exeter, January 13.  After the snow came the rains.  Torrential rains.  By the time six of us ran this group run, the trails at Arcadia, especially on Breakheart Trail north of the pond, became the most flooded I've ever seen in my life.

Seven of us, including Brady.  
This is actually the middle of the trail!

This is also the middle of Breakheart Trail!
Pretty unrecognizable as the last two of us,
Matt and Erin, cross the trail.


  • Arcadia Roads, Exeter, January 18.  Snow-covered, with just a few icy spots, but both Matthew and I wore traction devices, and it was not issue.  Just a very enjoyable run in the snow!
    Snow on the ground, and sunny.  Felt great.
    Brady's stick came along for a few miles as well!


  • Tippecansett Trail OAB, Exeter, January 24.  Fresh snow again!  So pretty and enjoyable out there in the woods.  
    This is the only place that Brady had trouble, both coming
    out of this steep ravine, and then on return, going 
    down into it.  

  • Chariho Hills, Hopkinton, January 27.  I had run 20 miles a week ago, most of it with Matthew, but really struggled and that was in flat Charlestown Beach / Matunuck area.  So today to run 18 miles solo with over 1,000' of elevation gain, at an average pace of 6:48 - well, I was pretty stoked!
  • Arcadia Trail OAB, Exeter, January 29.  It had been a couple of years since I've run this trail in its entirety, and I had forgotten how rugged the trail is overall.  It was definitely more challenging given all the near-record rainfall recently, with many cold water crossings and very slippery bog bridges.  I was also very surprised to see a red squirrel dart across the trail while running.  Honestly, I didn't even know they existed in Rhode Island.  I was pretty beat after this 14-mile rugged run, but Brady seemed no worse for the wear.
  • Woody Hill recovery, Westerly, January 30.  So seldom do I run late afternoon.  I had planned to run late morning post-CCC, drove to my chosen start point and start to change into running clothes.  I can recover from almost any packing omission, but today's omission was running shorts.  Yeah, no nudity, please.  So late afternoon was my next window.  Lately I have seen almost no one on my trail runs, so was surprised to see three solo individuals out there as it was getting dark, including a single woman, which I seldom encounter unless with a dog.  The last mile was quite dark, and I tripped and fell on a low stump I didn't see.  Fell into soft mud, so no issues.

Primary running surfaces:  Trails (184 miles), roads (110)
Primary running locations:  Charlestown (82 miles), then Exeter (61), then Westerly (48)

Other disciplines:
Walk / hike:  9 miles


Looking ahead to February:
I just have one race on the docket, the hilly King of Pain race on February 11.  Not that there are many races in February anyway, but that works well for me to continue with my marathon training and keep up relatively high weekly mileage.  I should have a long run almost every weekend, with a few bursts of MP mileage interspersed.  I'll also continue making progress on the Border Patrol Challenge, and hopefully complete all 20 routes by winter's end, but that goal is secondary to marathon training.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Races:

Millenium Mile (Jan 1):
Londonderry, NH

I ran a net time of 5:26.7 (gun 5:28), a full six seconds slower than the previous year.  I'm trying to balance that disappointment with the realization that at least I won my age group, as it really wasn't the result I was expecting.  As always, the event is always very well run.  

Finishing up the race in a
crowded field.




-------------------------------------------------------------

Miscellaneous:

My comic of the month.  Poor snowman!
I just hope I have the opportunity to at least build a snowman this year, as I did
not last year and I'm a kid at heart.

I recently was surprised to read that of runners on Strava, only 21% ran one or more races in 2023.  Wouldn't you think it would be more?  I personally know runners on Strava that don't race and don't have an interest in racing, but I had thought those were the minority.  On the other hand, it doesn't surprise me that only 5% of Strava runners ran a marathon in 2023 and only 2% an ultra.
Source:  Outside magazine online article "Runners are Racing More than Ever"

View of the insanely flooded Pawcatuck River,
while monitoring WLT's Cottrell Preserve on Jan 16
---
January 2024 was the second wettest January on record in RI
with 9.33" of precipitation, second only to 1979 (11.66")
- Source:  abc6.com


Brady turned six years old this
month.  Time really flies.
Here he patiently awaits his
"birthday dinner", to which Jana has
added some cooked chicken and
spinach.  (I'm guessing we had chicken
and spinach ourselves that night,
but I'm too old to really remember.)

Speaking of dinner, Jana and I got in some great dinners
ourselves, including this one at Samurai Noodle in Mystic on Jan 28.
Japanese cuisine is probably my favorite, followed next maybe
by Mexican.


-------------------------------------------------------------

Monthly highlight:  Snow running in general, as especially inland at Arcadia we received several inches of snow several times during the month.  Just enough to be pretty and easy to run in.
Tippecansett Trail on Jan 24.  Brady and I had the whole place to ourselves,
and it was just gorgeous.


Monthly lowlight:  If the weather in the beginning and middle of the month was characterized by light snow showers, by the end of the month, the snow was gone and it was just day after day after day of cloudy and dreary.  Actually felt depressing.