Weekly Log 15-Apr to 21-Apr-2013

Monday:
 28 miles.  Boston Marathon.  See separate write-up.

Tuesday:  0
Sore and limping.

Wednesday:
 6 miles.  Headed out for a ride with FiveK on a nice warm afternoon.  Going along fine through Watch Hill, until I had a tire blowout.  Replaced the flat and barely continued on when the tire went flat again.  FiveK rode back to get my car, while I started walking, as I only had one tube.
Brought the tire into Ray Willis later and the owner cut his finger on a short steel wire he found protruding through the tire that he had to use tweezers to remove.  Said I could have changed the tube 100 times and still would've gone flat.

Thursday:
3 miles.  Rotten day at work, where in addition to various issues, I was asked to return to India soon to train new hires there.  But wait, there's more good news:  1) the average daily high this week is in mid-90s, 2) I've been asked to spend more than one week there this time, and 3) yes, they also had bombings in Bangalore this week.

Nice to visit the trails in the forest again,
even if my legs aren't quite ready

Really need a stress-buster, so I went to visit an old friend:  the Westerly Town Forest.  Slow and still sore, I just took my time enjoying the trails and solitude.  Needs some clearing on red trail.

Friday:
16 miles.  Redeemed myself with FiveK by having an honest ride with no flats or other issues.  Wound through Weekapaug, Misquamicut, and Watch Hill.  He's already at the distance for a sprint tri, so should have no problem.  From here, it'll be adding some speed and hill work.  Avg speed 16 mph.


Saturday:
 8 miles.  1 mile tarmac, the rest trails in Woody Hill and Wahaneeta, in the rain, with Crutch, Muddy, and FiveK.  I woke up to a steady rain and was expecting to see texts like "Do real men run in the rain?" (yes, they do), or "are we going to delay it until it stops raining?" (no, we're not).  Fortunately, no such texts at all, and all of us showed up at the appointed time (well, except for that guy that had recent surgery, so we'll give him a break, but this time only).
Started off cold as got pretty wet right away, but a hill climb up to the Woody Hill entrance got us working.  Took the main carriage road over to the Swamp Trail, which was delightful in the rain and mud, and then worked our way over to Wahaneeta - kudos to the Westerly Land Trust on a great job with clearing and new signs.  Ran over to South Woody Hill Road, and then some single-track over to the Woody Hill Dam, before working our way over the boulder and single-track out to the quarry and Quarry Road back.  We took the pace easy and had a good time. Got home and hosed the mud off the trail shoes.
 15 minutes Aqua-Jog in warm Buckley Pool (warm pool), followed by 700 yards in Fuller Pool.  FiveK showed me how to use Aqua-Jog while we waited for the lap pool to re-open.  I will never smirk at people Aqua-Jogging again - much, much harder than it looks.  I was certainly feeling it on today's workout, especially in the chest and arms.  I really need to get into the pool more often.

Sunday:
 6 miles.  Misquamicut Beach solo run.  Still a little sore from yesterday's workouts, combined with yard work yesterday and today.

Weekly totals:

Run: 45 miles
Bike: 22 miles
Swim: 700 yards

Week wrap-up:
Nice to have the marathon behind me, and to be able to focus on fun stuff coming up, such as Tri season and RI State Police next weekend.  Having said that, I've already starting Googling fall marathons, looking for a flatter run than Boston.  Hartford?  Smuttynose (NH)? Maine?  We'll see.  Not planning to sign up for anything immediately, but rather just enjoy the fun running, biking, and swimming, and hopefully some warmer weather!