Monday: 0
Needed rest day after Ocean's Run Half. After the half Sunday, I came home and napped on the couch, and was sore the rest of the day. (Don't tell the WTAC guys, lest they razz me.)
Tuesday: 5
Knowing I would be working at Fidelity's Smithfield campus today, I reached out to Seth in advance to see if possible for him to coordinate a run. He did not disappoint. Westerly and Smithfield may be in the same small state, but today the terrain could not be any different, as the Smithfield campus is still completely covered in snow, yes, even with temps in the high 50s there today. Today's run was probably 75% trails and 25% roads.
The trails we started on near the Fido buildings had only a few inches of snow and were relatively easy, but the farther away we got, the deeper the snow the got. We paused at a loop around a vernal pond, where a small sign stated its inhabitants are "fairy shrimp". Fairy shrimp, really? Good to learn something new. On to a long single-track where we were running through virgin snow that in many places was a foot deep. As we circled back first on to an old dirt road and then onto the campus proper, the snow depth again diminished. Wow, what a workout! Thanks Seth!
Wednesday: 5
Afternoon run in the rain in Champlin Glacier Park. Trails 99% clear of snow, as previously advised by Crutch. Rolled my ankle really bad, and had to stop for a few minutes. Otherwise, fun running.
Thursday: 0
Woke up to the sprained ankle bothering me, and between that and the weather (howling wind, rain/snow mix), I punched the alarm back off at 4am and slept some more.
Friday: 12
Morning: Short 700 yard swim at the Y, followed by an easy 7-miler into Pawcatuck and back.
Afternoon: Weekapaug run with FiveK and Lulu.
Saturday: 19+
Unlike the past few large group runs, this time we had just three takers: Triple J, the original WTAC long run crew. Chris had a race this weekend, as did Mike G. Nate was on the side of the pond running in my favorite country. Mike B missed the pre-race practice opportunity, as he was stuck with a house full of teenage girls, and FiveK had this excuse about not wanting to run trails, but yet found himself on trails in the very same venue later the very same day! Go figure. He must have been afraid I was going to wear my short shorts.
I digress (as usual). Jonny planned out two loops of the upcoming Brrr-lingame course, one easy and one hard. This was the course from two years ago, not the shortened Snowy Sufferfest course, so parts looked familiar and parts didn't. After the foot-bridge sections through the bog and back out to Vin Gormley, we did our best to guess the rest of the course and scout trails in the general direction. Made our way back to the field for the start of Round 2, where we all pushed the pace pretty hard. Muddy led by a good distance, and I hung right behind Jonny which was especially challenging on the uphills. After catching our breath, we meandered through the campground and cooled down to the tower on the Kettle Pond Visitor Center property. For the last section back to the car, I was starting to bonk as I was completely out of gas and spent; very hungry.
We bid Jonny adieu, as Muddy and I fueled on food and drink we had in our vehicles. The two of us headed out Prosser to Kings Factory, where I was afraid I was going to die by the side of the road. Fortunately, soon after entering the trails, the GU and granola bar started to work their way into my system, and I was feeling much better. After crossing the Pastore Center Road (where Muddy's friend from the group home called out to him), we ran north on Schoolhouse Trail circling over Galoob's funky mountain bike bridge, then on Sammy C's to eventually reverse on Vin Gormley again back out KF Road. Awesome sections of trail, newly marked with orange bands on the trees.
Really, really good run, as well as I'm glad we pushed it hard on 2nd loop to try to simulate race day.
Sunday: 3
Very short loop from Wahaneeta up Fern Drive Trail into Woody Hill, around the swamp on the nascent Swamp Bypass Trail, and back on the main N-S road before veering through my tree obstacle course (which needs some work) and back onto Wahaneeta blue trail. Stopped many times to pick up branches across the trail from the harsh winter, but the breaks were fine as I just really enjoyed getting back out into the woods, and true be told, still had a tinge of soreness from yesterday's long run. Truly whet my appetite to get back in here again real soon.
Weekly mileage totals:
Run: 44
Swim: 1x
Recap: Again, much less miles than in recent weeks, and less than I would have planned for. Highlight was clearly the long trail run with the crew on Saturday, and just getting back out onto the trails in general. That should help with both confidence building and fun factor going into next week's Brrr-lingame trail race.
Needed rest day after Ocean's Run Half. After the half Sunday, I came home and napped on the couch, and was sore the rest of the day. (Don't tell the WTAC guys, lest they razz me.)
Tuesday: 5
Knowing I would be working at Fidelity's Smithfield campus today, I reached out to Seth in advance to see if possible for him to coordinate a run. He did not disappoint. Westerly and Smithfield may be in the same small state, but today the terrain could not be any different, as the Smithfield campus is still completely covered in snow, yes, even with temps in the high 50s there today. Today's run was probably 75% trails and 25% roads.
The trails we started on near the Fido buildings had only a few inches of snow and were relatively easy, but the farther away we got, the deeper the snow the got. We paused at a loop around a vernal pond, where a small sign stated its inhabitants are "fairy shrimp". Fairy shrimp, really? Good to learn something new. On to a long single-track where we were running through virgin snow that in many places was a foot deep. As we circled back first on to an old dirt road and then onto the campus proper, the snow depth again diminished. Wow, what a workout! Thanks Seth!
Wednesday: 5
Afternoon run in the rain in Champlin Glacier Park. Trails 99% clear of snow, as previously advised by Crutch. Rolled my ankle really bad, and had to stop for a few minutes. Otherwise, fun running.
Thursday: 0
Woke up to the sprained ankle bothering me, and between that and the weather (howling wind, rain/snow mix), I punched the alarm back off at 4am and slept some more.
 |
| On the positive side, two weeks ago, I e-mailed YakTrax company to inquire if possible to buy spikes to replace a bent and missing one from this winter, and this arrived in the mail today for FREE! |
Friday: 12
Morning: Short 700 yard swim at the Y, followed by an easy 7-miler into Pawcatuck and back.
Afternoon: Weekapaug run with FiveK and Lulu.
Saturday: 19+
Unlike the past few large group runs, this time we had just three takers: Triple J, the original WTAC long run crew. Chris had a race this weekend, as did Mike G. Nate was on the side of the pond running in my favorite country. Mike B missed the pre-race practice opportunity, as he was stuck with a house full of teenage girls, and FiveK had this excuse about not wanting to run trails, but yet found himself on trails in the very same venue later the very same day! Go figure. He must have been afraid I was going to wear my short shorts.
I digress (as usual). Jonny planned out two loops of the upcoming Brrr-lingame course, one easy and one hard. This was the course from two years ago, not the shortened Snowy Sufferfest course, so parts looked familiar and parts didn't. After the foot-bridge sections through the bog and back out to Vin Gormley, we did our best to guess the rest of the course and scout trails in the general direction. Made our way back to the field for the start of Round 2, where we all pushed the pace pretty hard. Muddy led by a good distance, and I hung right behind Jonny which was especially challenging on the uphills. After catching our breath, we meandered through the campground and cooled down to the tower on the Kettle Pond Visitor Center property. For the last section back to the car, I was starting to bonk as I was completely out of gas and spent; very hungry.
We bid Jonny adieu, as Muddy and I fueled on food and drink we had in our vehicles. The two of us headed out Prosser to Kings Factory, where I was afraid I was going to die by the side of the road. Fortunately, soon after entering the trails, the GU and granola bar started to work their way into my system, and I was feeling much better. After crossing the Pastore Center Road (where Muddy's friend from the group home called out to him), we ran north on Schoolhouse Trail circling over Galoob's funky mountain bike bridge, then on Sammy C's to eventually reverse on Vin Gormley again back out KF Road. Awesome sections of trail, newly marked with orange bands on the trees.
Really, really good run, as well as I'm glad we pushed it hard on 2nd loop to try to simulate race day.
Sunday: 3
Very short loop from Wahaneeta up Fern Drive Trail into Woody Hill, around the swamp on the nascent Swamp Bypass Trail, and back on the main N-S road before veering through my tree obstacle course (which needs some work) and back onto Wahaneeta blue trail. Stopped many times to pick up branches across the trail from the harsh winter, but the breaks were fine as I just really enjoyed getting back out into the woods, and true be told, still had a tinge of soreness from yesterday's long run. Truly whet my appetite to get back in here again real soon.
Weekly mileage totals:
Run: 44
Swim: 1x
Recap: Again, much less miles than in recent weeks, and less than I would have planned for. Highlight was clearly the long trail run with the crew on Saturday, and just getting back out onto the trails in general. That should help with both confidence building and fun factor going into next week's Brrr-lingame trail race.
Ahhhh...it all makes sense now!
ReplyDeleteOuch. Hope the ankle's alright.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.chacha.com/question/how-many-minutes-a-day-does-a-gazelle-sleep
ReplyDelete