Tuesday:
6 miles. Stonington Fun Runs, week 5. Ran one lap warm-up solo, then ran the 2-lap course with Mike B in a leisurely conversational pace of 20:53. Waited for Matthew to finish, then Mike and I had a cool-down lap before getting in line on the docks for drinks. The RD said there were a record 160+ runners today!
Wednesday:
0.5 miles. Open ocean swim with Steve at 5:45AM in Misquamicut. Mistake! After I finally got into the cold water, Steve took off and was quickly out of sight. To say that I'm not even in his league wouldn't do justice to the fact that he's a front of the pack swimmer and I'm a back of the packer. At the agreed turn around time, I had so much trouble coming back swimming into the current and 4-5 foot swells, that it appeared I wasn't making progress at all and bailed to the shore and followed my natural inclination back to the Town Beach: running. I think gazelles just were not made for swimming. Steve was gracious as always and offered constructive tips, but a very humbling experience for me. |
| Post fun run with Jana & Matthew |
3 miles. Westerly Fun Runs, week 3. Results here. 18:24. 140 participants today! Took off at a fast pace (5:39 first mile) with a guy (Khamis) that comes down once per year. We passed Jonny at 1/4 mile and the pack thinned out quickly. He was still hanging with me until the "hills" where I gazelled down Kathleen Drive and didn't hear him again. I heard footsteps behind me several times on Crandall Ave and Atlantic Ave, and thought it was Khamis returning, but was pleasantly surprised at the finish to find it was Jonny just behind me.Thursday:
23 miles. 5:15AM ride from home to Y, where I met up with and rode the rest of the way with Steve. While Steve is a much faster cyclist than me, at least it's not double my speed as in swimming. Rode out 91 to Bradford, 216 through Charlestown, 1 back to Shore Road and a Misquamicut tour. Met up with Tom T (just back from a 188 mile Boston to P-town ride) and the three of us hammered it on Atlantic Ave at about 23mph (usually my tops here is 18-20mph). [1:17]11 miles. Immediately after the bike, I went for a solo run out to Noyes Neck, through Weekapaug including the public access path Tom showed me, and then beach to Pleasant View, and home. I was originally planning a shorter run, but running along the beach and drinking in the salt air and views are just heaven to me, so I kept it going. [1:25]Now I've finished 3 hours of solid exercising, and come back home looking forward to a big breakfast. Problem: today is the one day of the year I'm fasting for annual physical and lab work. I held out until 1PM, but it was painful with headaches. I'm guessing most patients don't exercise hard for 3 hours before a doctor's appointment?
Friday:
8 miles. Ninigret Park, Charlestown, 6:30AM with Tom. Ran a 3-mile warm-up on trails, and then headed to the soccer fields for a workout, and measured out approximate courses. Humid as hell. Is hell humid or is it a dry heat? Ran 4x800: [2:39, 2:40, 2:37, 2:38].
5 minute rest. Tom had to remind me my break was up.
Ran 4x400: [81, 80, 79, 78]
Jogged back to where we parked the car. I came into this with soreness, doubts, etc., but those quickly went away and am glad I did it.
Saturday:
14 miles. Trail and beach run with Tom and Mike B. Starting from my house, and then trails in Westerly Land Trust properties of Mastuxet, Champlin, and Lewis Pond. Deer flies were murder. Mike was setting a quick pace of about 7:15 on the roads. Trails right along Lewis Pond were pretty overgrown, but nice views. Back roads to Weekapaug, where Tom was a savior leading us to a water fountain and hose at mile 10. Next on Weekapaug Sand Trail it was hard running in soft sand. When we got out to Quonochontaug Breachway in Charlestown, we had a nice breeze which lasted for our run back on beach. Once Weekapaug was at hand and both my shoes were wet, I sprinted through the waves chasing Tom down until we got back to the water fountain again. The three of us got "chicked" on the short road to the car at Weekapaug Breachway; the runner was quite fit and it wasn't terrible to run behind her.
Came home and signed up for Camire's, where pre-reg prices were still honored.
0.25 miles. East Beach, Watch Hill. Late afternoon swim past the Ocean House. Tried but failed to get Matthew to swim with me, but he was a good sport for coming with me, so post-swim we dug holes in the sand instead. It's all good fun.Sunday:
4 miles with Matthew. We had planned an LSD run, but the sun, heat, and humidity really got to him, so we bailed early. Explained to him why we run at 6AM instead of 8:30AM; he agreed for next time. Saw Clem running and who invited us to join him, Buddy, and the rest of the "other WTAC morning running crew" out to Watch Hill, but not today.3 miles late afternoon solo beach run. Family outing at the beach. Discussed run logistics with Town Recreation Director for upcoming Stavros "On the Beach" Run, then ran from the town beach to Weekapaug Breachway. Caught up with Mike B at Seaside, then came back just in time for thunderstorm warnings to put the kibosh on any more family beach fun as well as a planned evening bike ride.Weekly totals:
Run: 49 miles
Bike: 23 miles
Swim: 0.75 miles
A really good week! High mileage running, including 10+ on the beach, 2 fun runs, a speed workout with Tom, and a good long group run. Also got in 2 swims and a killer fast bike workout for me. I love the summer in coastal RI!
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