First full week of December. Looks like good running weather ahead, with highs in the 40s.
Monday: 6
Rare father/son day: Spent most of the day with Mark in Providence getting his cast off, then out for a late lunch. I told the surgeon if he asked us to wait another two weeks again, I was sending Mark to live with him. He said that was fine, but Mark would have to help change diapers on his new baby "brothers". Should've seen the look on Mark's face on that one!
The day was frequently interrupted with calls from work, and I needed to get out onto the beach for a cathartic run, which I did at sunset. Out towards Watch Hill and back, finished in the dark.
Tuesday: 11
Work started for me with a phone call at 3AM. I told Mark he should think hard if he wants to get in the IT field, or at least for a big international company where the business day never ends. By the time we finished up addressing the issue du jour at 7AM, I needed some downtime alone (translate "run"). The beach sand was too thick with high tide, but otherwise had run meandering around Winnapaug Pond.
Wednesday: 5
Time for something different: Riverwood Preserve. One of the many gems of the Westerly Land Trust, but for some reason I hadn't been in here in over a year. The last time I remember it as wet and overgrown, but it seemed fine today, if not a few places where I got scraped up by briars. The perimeter trail (orange) is mostly flat and features a number of straight sections; nice along the Pawcatuck River. The interior trails (blue and red) is where all the work is, including steep climbs and places where you drop 100' in 1/10 mile. Well worth it, though, not only for the workout but also the views and cool rock faces. Some nice views of Chapman Pond. One of those places where I think to myself "Am I still in Westerly?", although unfortunately, unlike Woody Hill/Wahaneeta, you can still hear cars most of the time, mostly from Route 3 or 91, depending on where you are. Went down twice, mostly because the frost covered rocks were slippery. No harm done.
Thursday: 0
Friday: 12
AM: 2.5 miles. Drizzly day, but can't complain as had the day off. Ran with Jana on her usual Newbury loop.
PM: 9.5 miles. Introduced Ryan Woolley to Wahaneeta / Woody Hill trails. 75 minute run. Rain returned mid-run, but with temps in the high 40s, it was fine.
Saturday: 7
Run from the Y out past Springbrook School, and back via Canal and the North End. Just missed a run with Jeff Duda, and Elise was also at the Y asking why I didn't invite her. No shortage of potential running friends lately - awesome! I missed any speedwork this week, as my primary running partner is battling an ankle injury, so tried to fit in what I think he had planned for us: ran 2 x 1 mile (6:14 uphill, 5:43 downhill), followed by 2 x 800 (2:53, 2:47).
I liked the idea of Jonny's 10K workout of 3 x 2 miles, but pretty sure I don't have the mental perseverance to run that one solo. Have no idea how I possibly ran an average 5:52 pace at last year's Christmas 10K. Scaring me a bit at the moment. We'll see how it turns out.
Sunday: 5
Lexington, MA. Minuteman National Park. 24 degrees with patches of snow and ice on the trails. Stayed overnight for a cousin's holiday party, and started the following morning off right with a quick drive to this area popular with runners. Matthew and I saw a few group runs and encountered at least a dozen runners, with he and I noticeably the only ones in shorts.
Matthew later told me our run was one of the highlights of his weekend! That made my day, as it's tough to impress a teenager and parents are so uncool.
Weekly totals: 46
Another really good mileage volume week. That's only going to get better as we get into the holidays and I have more time off.
Monday: 6
Rare father/son day: Spent most of the day with Mark in Providence getting his cast off, then out for a late lunch. I told the surgeon if he asked us to wait another two weeks again, I was sending Mark to live with him. He said that was fine, but Mark would have to help change diapers on his new baby "brothers". Should've seen the look on Mark's face on that one!
The day was frequently interrupted with calls from work, and I needed to get out onto the beach for a cathartic run, which I did at sunset. Out towards Watch Hill and back, finished in the dark.
Tuesday: 11
Work started for me with a phone call at 3AM. I told Mark he should think hard if he wants to get in the IT field, or at least for a big international company where the business day never ends. By the time we finished up addressing the issue du jour at 7AM, I needed some downtime alone (translate "run"). The beach sand was too thick with high tide, but otherwise had run meandering around Winnapaug Pond.
Wednesday: 5
Time for something different: Riverwood Preserve. One of the many gems of the Westerly Land Trust, but for some reason I hadn't been in here in over a year. The last time I remember it as wet and overgrown, but it seemed fine today, if not a few places where I got scraped up by briars. The perimeter trail (orange) is mostly flat and features a number of straight sections; nice along the Pawcatuck River. The interior trails (blue and red) is where all the work is, including steep climbs and places where you drop 100' in 1/10 mile. Well worth it, though, not only for the workout but also the views and cool rock faces. Some nice views of Chapman Pond. One of those places where I think to myself "Am I still in Westerly?", although unfortunately, unlike Woody Hill/Wahaneeta, you can still hear cars most of the time, mostly from Route 3 or 91, depending on where you are. Went down twice, mostly because the frost covered rocks were slippery. No harm done.
Thursday: 0
Friday: 12
AM: 2.5 miles. Drizzly day, but can't complain as had the day off. Ran with Jana on her usual Newbury loop.
PM: 9.5 miles. Introduced Ryan Woolley to Wahaneeta / Woody Hill trails. 75 minute run. Rain returned mid-run, but with temps in the high 40s, it was fine.
Saturday: 7
Run from the Y out past Springbrook School, and back via Canal and the North End. Just missed a run with Jeff Duda, and Elise was also at the Y asking why I didn't invite her. No shortage of potential running friends lately - awesome! I missed any speedwork this week, as my primary running partner is battling an ankle injury, so tried to fit in what I think he had planned for us: ran 2 x 1 mile (6:14 uphill, 5:43 downhill), followed by 2 x 800 (2:53, 2:47).
I liked the idea of Jonny's 10K workout of 3 x 2 miles, but pretty sure I don't have the mental perseverance to run that one solo. Have no idea how I possibly ran an average 5:52 pace at last year's Christmas 10K. Scaring me a bit at the moment. We'll see how it turns out.
Sunday: 5
Lexington, MA. Minuteman National Park. 24 degrees with patches of snow and ice on the trails. Stayed overnight for a cousin's holiday party, and started the following morning off right with a quick drive to this area popular with runners. Matthew and I saw a few group runs and encountered at least a dozen runners, with he and I noticeably the only ones in shorts.
Matthew later told me our run was one of the highlights of his weekend! That made my day, as it's tough to impress a teenager and parents are so uncool.
Weekly totals: 46
Another really good mileage volume week. That's only going to get better as we get into the holidays and I have more time off.
Excellent! I'll be looking for a tour of Riverwood soon, sounds like a cool place!
ReplyDeleteI actually "learned" it from Muddy. A little hidden, but indeed a cool place. Happy to give a tour anytime.
ReplyDelete