Heading into my two-week vacation soon. I will have a total of 17 days off. I already know they will fly by quickly, so besides lounging around for the holidays, I had better set some objectives:
Monday: 0
Rest day after Christmas 10K. Good news: we have the heat working again! First time in a few days the indoor temp has seen above 58F.
Tuesday: 7
Fun, warm (40s and calm), and sunny midday run from West Beach, Charlestown, through the Quonochontaug beaches and neighborhoods. I'm actually enjoying running roads again. The horrible HHH weather from the summer is a distant memory, and the cool air invigorates me.
Wednesday: 5
Old Furnace State Park, Killingly, CT. Right off Route 395, convenient for a stop on my way back from working in MA. The lot was deserted when I arrived, except for two other cars, so I parked far enough away to be able to change into running clothes. Just as I was finishing up, despite the lot being still deserted, a car with one broken (as in smashed in) headlamp pulled up real close perpendicular to me. A big guy got out and walked over to my side looking into my car. Weird! A cop checking that everything was alright? Nope. I got ready to put the window down, and he turned and walked into the woods. OK, then.
Put on my running shoes, locked the car, and off onto the trail. Once the trail went into the woods, here's that same guy just standing on the edge of the woods barely into the woods, looking at me. I say "hi", but he just stares at me. OK, this guy is creeping me out. Continued on the trail, and about 1/2 mile in I was relieved the next person I saw seemed much more normal: a woman in her 30s out hiking with her skittish puppy. She was stopped on the edge of the lake, said she was from NH but liked hiking here when she was in the area, and explained to me where there were really cool cliffs that I could run. Sounds good; thanked her and off I went.
Descended on a different trail, which cut across a different parking lot, where I saw the same car with the same broken headlamp! I didn't see the grizzled creeper anywhere, and once I entered the trail on the other size of the parking lot, I picked up the pace to get away from there. As I'm continuing further away from my car, I am acutely aware that I am rapidly losing daylight. The trail continues around the southern edges of Ross Pond, and as it leaves the pond and back into the woods, the trail is getting harder to see. It starts to get technical as it climbs, and at every intersection I am pausing long enough to make out where the blue blazes go. The last half mile is getting really tricky as the last vestiges of twilight are fading. I slip a couple of times, but don't fall. As I make it back into the original parking lot, night has fallen. There is only one car in the lot now; you've got it - it's the creeper. Fortunately, he's in the car with the car running, so I know where he is. Now his car starts moving and soon his one headlight will be shining on me. While he's probably fine and I'm probably overreacting, I am feeling very uncomfortable and run into the woods despite no trail here and I can no longer see. I crouched down until his car passed and left the parking lot. I don't know why I had such a reaction, but I'm so glad he's gone and I get back to my car, get inside, lock the doors, and hightail it out of there.
Took one CR in the process and am just 7 seconds off a technical CR, which turns out to be Critchlery's from 3 1/2 years ago!
Thursday: 10
AM: 5 miles solo at Riverwood Preserve. Small and neat preserve with lousy access and intimidating neighbors trying to keep people out with multiple "No Trespassing" signs, despite the fact that the Westerly Land Trust has a right-of-way for public access. I hope someday they succeed in getting a more friendly access point. Slipped on ice I didn't see and fell on a rock, but bruised nothing but my ego.
PM: 5 miles in the Borough for a Christmas Light Run with Mikey and Tommy. 23 degrees, the wind made it feel colder than that, but even with shorts once we got going, I warmed up nicely. The lights were less impressive than just the fun of getting out with friends. Finished up at the outdoor fire at the Dog Watch. Just like in the summer, except that it was dark, there were no other nuts out running, and it was just a few degrees colder.
Friday: 0
My last day working for 2016. A planned late afternoon run didn't pan out, as I kept getting "just one more request" several times over, and ended up working later than I had planned.
Saturday: 12
There's no run like a snow run! Was just about to head out the door when I got a text from Tommy 5K asking if I was still going for a run this morning. Absolutely! Come join me. Ran around the pond, plus a little extra out Ocean View Highway. 24 degrees means shorts, despite the snowfall. First half was really nice in the falling snow, but by the second half the snow had turned to rain and was starting to get slushy. Glad we didn't start any later.
Sunday: 8
Slushy run at Bluff Point & Haley Farm State Parks. With Mike B, Jonathan Short, and Matthew. The snow was basically gone in Westerly, so I figured it would be the same in Groton. Unfortunately, it was a lot of slush we ran through. Still a good time, but at times the feet were quite cold from running through slush and cold puddles of melted snow.
Weekly Mileage: 42
Weekly synopsis: My runs were fun, even through the slush, but I am not happy at all with the mileage quantity. It's easy to make excuses, but with being off for the rest of the year now, there should be absolutely no excuse next week.
- Run at least 65 miles in a week
- Ski
- Volunteer for a good cause
- Register for a spring marathon
- Get at least something done on the honey-do list (replace leaky faucet, fix broken deck door handle, etc)
Monday: 0
Rest day after Christmas 10K. Good news: we have the heat working again! First time in a few days the indoor temp has seen above 58F.
Tuesday: 7
Fun, warm (40s and calm), and sunny midday run from West Beach, Charlestown, through the Quonochontaug beaches and neighborhoods. I'm actually enjoying running roads again. The horrible HHH weather from the summer is a distant memory, and the cool air invigorates me.
Wednesday: 5
Old Furnace State Park, Killingly, CT. Right off Route 395, convenient for a stop on my way back from working in MA. The lot was deserted when I arrived, except for two other cars, so I parked far enough away to be able to change into running clothes. Just as I was finishing up, despite the lot being still deserted, a car with one broken (as in smashed in) headlamp pulled up real close perpendicular to me. A big guy got out and walked over to my side looking into my car. Weird! A cop checking that everything was alright? Nope. I got ready to put the window down, and he turned and walked into the woods. OK, then.
 |
| Some water crossings had bridges ... |
 |
| ... and some didn't! |
Put on my running shoes, locked the car, and off onto the trail. Once the trail went into the woods, here's that same guy just standing on the edge of the woods barely into the woods, looking at me. I say "hi", but he just stares at me. OK, this guy is creeping me out. Continued on the trail, and about 1/2 mile in I was relieved the next person I saw seemed much more normal: a woman in her 30s out hiking with her skittish puppy. She was stopped on the edge of the lake, said she was from NH but liked hiking here when she was in the area, and explained to me where there were really cool cliffs that I could run. Sounds good; thanked her and off I went.
 |
| Lake shore where I paused to talk to a woman hiking with her dog. Lake had a thin veneer of ice. |
 |
| View from the recommended cliffs was indeed worth the steep climb. |
 |
| Rugged territory! |
Took one CR in the process and am just 7 seconds off a technical CR, which turns out to be Critchlery's from 3 1/2 years ago!
Thursday: 10
AM: 5 miles solo at Riverwood Preserve. Small and neat preserve with lousy access and intimidating neighbors trying to keep people out with multiple "No Trespassing" signs, despite the fact that the Westerly Land Trust has a right-of-way for public access. I hope someday they succeed in getting a more friendly access point. Slipped on ice I didn't see and fell on a rock, but bruised nothing but my ego.
PM: 5 miles in the Borough for a Christmas Light Run with Mikey and Tommy. 23 degrees, the wind made it feel colder than that, but even with shorts once we got going, I warmed up nicely. The lights were less impressive than just the fun of getting out with friends. Finished up at the outdoor fire at the Dog Watch. Just like in the summer, except that it was dark, there were no other nuts out running, and it was just a few degrees colder.
Friday: 0
My last day working for 2016. A planned late afternoon run didn't pan out, as I kept getting "just one more request" several times over, and ended up working later than I had planned.
Saturday: 12
There's no run like a snow run! Was just about to head out the door when I got a text from Tommy 5K asking if I was still going for a run this morning. Absolutely! Come join me. Ran around the pond, plus a little extra out Ocean View Highway. 24 degrees means shorts, despite the snowfall. First half was really nice in the falling snow, but by the second half the snow had turned to rain and was starting to get slushy. Glad we didn't start any later.
 |
| First snow of the season! |
Sunday: 8
Slushy run at Bluff Point & Haley Farm State Parks. With Mike B, Jonathan Short, and Matthew. The snow was basically gone in Westerly, so I figured it would be the same in Groton. Unfortunately, it was a lot of slush we ran through. Still a good time, but at times the feet were quite cold from running through slush and cold puddles of melted snow.
Weekly Mileage: 42
Weekly synopsis: My runs were fun, even through the slush, but I am not happy at all with the mileage quantity. It's easy to make excuses, but with being off for the rest of the year now, there should be absolutely no excuse next week.
A fun variety of runs and I'm glad you didn't end up in that creepy guy's trunk.
ReplyDelete