Weekly Log 23-Jan to 29-Jan-2017: From Dog Mess to Dog Trail Runs

Monday:  0

Tuesday:  7
Woody Hill run in the dark and rain.  Started about 4:40pm in light rain, thus I was certain to run out of daylight and wore my headlamp.  By the time I made it to the beaver dam (or what's left of it after DEM destructed it), I was pretty much out of light.  Not sure how you could make it across without getting your feet soaked, but as I mentioned, it was raining anyway.  On the way around the pond, it really started to pour and remained heavy for the rest of the run.  Soaked, but fun.

Wednesday:  10
AM:  5 miles, Blue Heron Trail, Dedham, MA. Not a good start to my day:
1)  Had planned to run the full 8-10 mile loop, but construction would have forced me on to a very short, but dangerous section of road, where the traffic is busy and temporarily on a narrow one-way lane with jersey barriers hemming you in on both sides.  What to do now?  I ended up running a lollipop on trails instead, but never got into and just "jogged" it.
2)  Got into the car, and started to driving to the Charles River Y to shower and change for work.  What smells?  Sniffed again.  Ugh.  The unmistakable stench of dog s%#t.  I pulled over on a side street with lots of puddles and repeatedly dragged my shoe in the puddle getting rid of much of the caked debris, until I can get to the Y and hose the rest off.  As I get back into the car, I notice a bunch more caked on my clutch pedal.  Disgusting.
3) To add insult to injury, I forgot to bring a towel.  Drip dry naked for a few minutes, and then dress.  Not my morning.

PM:  5 miles, Wrentham State Forest, Wrentham, MA.  About 3:40pm.  Starting to get darker and I've never been here, so I don't want to take a lot of chances on unmarked trails.  Ran the main yellow loop, which while extremely well marked, just had to many sections of complete erosion.  Lots of climbs and rock scrambles.  Took 2 Strava CRs in the process.

Thursday:  6
Barn Island in late afternoon.  Laughed off a mud wipeout early in the run.  Ran through quite a few flooded sections of trails, but it was quite warm at 44 degrees.  At dusk, it was getting quite hard to see the trails, especially the perimeter trail which is sometimes hard to follow even in daylight (ask Beth!).  It actually got easier when darkness enveloped the preserve and my headlamp lit up the path. 

I used to get nervous of running out of daylight when running late afternoon, but recently with a headlamp, I embrace the impending darkness.

Friday:  5
Ran NST from the campground entrance to where it intersects with VG, then ran VG back into the campground.  Tried like heck to avoid the asphalt through the campground as I ran through campsites and dirt roads.  Made my way up to Legion Town, and then took VG out to Sanctuary Road, and wound back through Burlingame Trail and the trail that is the first mile or so of Brrr-lingame race.

Saturday:  20
Back to the roads after a week straight of running trails.  Seeing the wind at about 15mph with gusts to 25mph, my preference would be for another trail run, but I've got to put at least some road runs in before the spring marathon.
4 miles easy (7:20ish), then two sets of 3 miles at MP with one mile easy.  Both sets were hard to me, as I struggled to keep it below 6:30.  I was contemplating a 3rd set, but it would have been in the wind on Route 1, so no thanks.  I may have to have a talk with myself about what constitutes MP for me in 2017.
Wound through Weekapaug and found one Tommy FiveK running a Hell Field workout to the tunes of TNT.  "I'm dirty; I'm mean; I'm mighty unclean."  Good stuff.
The final stretch home along Atlantic Avenue into stiff headwinds wiped out what little strength I had left.  At one point, I was struggling to keep it below 9-minute pace against 25mph headwinds.

Sunday:  7
Woody Hill group trail run.  Tommy with Riley in tow, and WHS runners Matthew and Sam.  Hit the usual highlights.  Mostly single-track, mostly non-technical.  When we came to the few technical spots, neither Riley nor Tommy seemed to know what to do as they both slowed up to assess and figure out the situation.  The beaver dam is gradually coming back, and the stone fort needs a good clean-up.  Always good fun in Woody.

(In front of the stone fort at Woody Hill)
Out for a trail run with my new dog, Riley.
I need to teach this boy how to run technical trails! 
I can't rely on Tommy for that.  :)

Weekly mileage:  55

Weekly synopsis:  Another good mileage week.  Wednesday morning's run was a real downer, but otherwise all the runs were good.  Despite getting in my second 20-miler though, I still feel like I'm a long way from being in marathon shape.  Up next week is OMF.

Weekly Log 16-Jan to 22-Jan-2017: Big Mileage Week

My Vazee Summit trail shoes when new.

The same shoes three months and ~300 miles later.
As opposed to my prior New Balance shoes, where the materials
had ripped and separated before 300 miles, these along with my
Vazee Pace have just held up so well with very little visible wear.
They certainly look dirty, which I think trail shoes are supposed to!
Still, my next pair will be dark color, but the same model.

Monday:  21!
MLK Day. Longest run since Sugarloaf Marathon last May. Started out with 9 solo up to and through a small portion of Woody Hill, with a few miles of trails.  Wound up at Tom's house in time to run with Tom and Mike.  A mix of dirt and asphalt roads before we hit the beach at mile 15 of my run, for two miles of soft-sand running.  I was doing well and feeling well up to this point, but this is where I met my Waterloo.  I was dragging behind the other two the whole beach portion.  When we exited back onto the road at Misquamicut State Beach, we rejoined for a bit, but otherwise I pretty much dragged behind the remaining four road miles.
Glad to get this one in, but it also showed my endurance needs to be upped a bit.

Tuesday:  0
Very sore from yesterday's run.

Wednesday:  11
AM:  5 miles.  Morning run at North Camp, Burlingame, with tacking on Schoolhouse Pond Trail.  Rainy but warm.  Legs gradually came to life.
PM:  6 miles.  Burlingame again, but this time in the dark and from Kings Factory Road.  I had packed my headlamp, so no nervousness about running out of daylight, which was imminent from the start.  Ran VG, Schoolhouse Pond, and Sammy C's.  Slower, but a lot of fun.  Spooked myself coming up on a rock structure covered with lichens in the mist, which looked a little freaky at first.  Otherwise, forgot how much fun headlamp runs can be.

Thursday:  6
Noanet Woodlands, Dover, MA.  Was very surprised to get up here and find a light covering of snow from overnight.  Slowed the run just a little, as the ground was pretty crunchy.  Yearning for a major snowstorm in RI, but unfortunately nothing in the forecast.

Friday:  8
Richmond / Hopkinton country loop from Arcadia Y.  Was meeting there at 8:30 on a BRR planning meeting, so I decided to get there at 7 and run someplace different and still be able to shower and not show up at the meeting all sweaty.

75% of my route was Skunk Hill Road to Dye Hill Road to Woody Hill Road to Fenner Hill Road.  Yep, this was going to be hilly.  It was also going to be winding and rural.  Really a fun run!  I should plan to incorporate this plus a little more at the next meeting in late Feb.

As to the meeting itself, I pitched several options but highlighted the idea of a point-to-point race ending at Camp Watchaug.  After some healthy devil's advocate type of discussion from both fellow committee members and Y management, the next move was a request for me to clean up a tentative route map for referring next to DEM for approval.

Saturday:  6
Not much time before headed out for a day at Yale, where I would watch Matthew crush his 3K PR with an 8:44.  Easy hospital loop.

Sunday:  16
Got an invite to join Seth and Muddy for an Arcadia group run.  Sounded good, but after a long day away at Yale, I decided to sleep in and run closer to home. 

Went to Burlingame about 9am with the intention of running about 10 miles. Parked on Buckeye Brook at the intersection of the road going down to North Camp and ran Lenny Lane (thanks Jonny for showing this to us!) and the VG CCW to the campground before running the Burlingame Trail and parts of Brrr-lingame course before rejoining VG CW to return.  I was already in about 11 miles at this point and starting to fatigue, but was really enjoying the now 53-degree weather and continued on Sammy C's and Schoolhouse Pond, where I was getting really tired and hungry and fell.  What a great day to be out on the trails.  I feel if I had packed a sandwich in a cooler, I could have gone on longer.  One of my longest trails runs ever.

29 mountain bikers counted.  1 hiker.  No other trail runners.

Weekly mileage:  68!

Weekly synopsis:  Thrilled with 68 miles.  Biggest mileage week in 11 months.  A rare 2nd on the WTAC weekly leaderboard.  (Caveat that it was a holiday week with bookended long runs.)  My 21-miler on MLK was tough on me and left me quite sore, but I felt great after the 16-mile trail run.  Will continue to mix it up to keep myself motivated and engaged.

Weekly Log 9-Jan to 15-Jan-2017: Happy Dog & Group Run Fun

A more positive and engaged week for me. 

To keep myself motivated, I've started to put together a list of tentative races for this year.  Like Crutch, I will keep and intersperse my "standard races" (e.g. Blessing, Block), but otherwise, it looks like my year is roughly shaping up with a tilt towards the following breakdown:

• Spring:  Road marathon(s) and prep
• Summer:  Mountain races, triathlons, and hopefully a destination race
• Fall:  Trails

The tentative schedule will continue to evolve, with some races added and some dropped, but here is my current thought on 2017 Events.

Monday:  0

Tuesday:  5
White Rock / North End.  10 x (60 seconds on, 30 off).  First few felt easy, but by the 7th or 8th felt I hadn't caught my breath when it was time to take off again.

Wednesday: 5
Needham, MA.  Sloppy mess with ice, mud, melting snow, and slush.  Opted for roads.  The only time I saw another runner, we were both sliding on ice covering a dirt road.  They can't all be good runs!

Thursday:  5
Back in the woods.  Single-track from Wahaneeta with a loop into Woody Hill.  What a great feeling, especially after yesterday's slop run dodging cars and slush.  As I came back into Wahaneeta, heard someone in the distance yelling something unintelligible.  I also couldn't ascertain the distance or direction, and just hoped someone wasn't yelling for help as I stopped briefly and then trucked on.

Finished up just as it was getting dark.  Started the car and saw something small and orange go by in the headlights.  A fox?  Got out to check.  It turned around and is headed back my way.  A dog.  A small orange dog. Ran right up to me.  Very active and happy little dog.  Not little like a rat-dog, but maybe just a little smaller than Gus.  Now it's running circles in the dirt parking lot, occasionally coming back to see me.  Is it lost?  Does it know how to get home?  I check for a dog tag, hoping for a phone number I can call.  Nada.  When I re-open my car door, he looks like he's going to jump in.  I'm guessing now that the previous yelling was calling the dog, and I'd be happy to bring him home, but again I don't know what direction the yelling was coming from.  I trying yelling myself.  The dog took off into the woods.  Nope, it's back with a stick in his mouth.  He wants me to play fetch!  Just as I'm hoping he'll throw the stick and I can run after it, an SUV comes down the adjoining dirt road.  I run through the brush to get out to the road and the driver sees me and stops.  I ask him if he's looking for a dog, and he smiles and says, "Yes, but you can take him home with you if you'd like!".  While I don't know him personally, I know who the man is and I'm relieved that the dog and owner are reunited.  He thanks me and says he sees me in the trails often, and we share a laugh recounting the time I scared the heck out of him last summer in Wahaneeta.

Our fetch game is interrupted as the dog's owner arrives

It is only after he leaves that I remember learning from the WLT that just less than a month ago he had the tragedy of losing his daughter. Instead of a scary dog and irresponsible owner story that I occasionally write, this one had a happy ending.

Friday:  5
Back to the trails.  Woody north this time.  As with yesterday's run and Woody Hill runs in general, I never see a single soul during my run.  Just love it here.

Saturday: 12
Group trail run at Burlingame with Jonathan and Jonny.  When I got an e-mail from Jonathan, I didn't think I would be able to make this one as Matthew had an all-day meet in Providence.  There was an open mile in the meet, and I actually contemplated that until I realized the open mile was at 9:30am and Matthew's first event at 1:30pm.  Too much sitting around, as I'd be here all afternoon.  How out of character would that be for me to run an indoor track mile?  I've never set foot on an indoor track before.  Matthew lowered his mile PR to a 4:29.

Anyhow, the run was fun.  When isn't it fun to get into the woods for a trail run?  Ran 3+ miles on my own going up to the tower in Kettle Pond and back via the campground.  From there, met up with the Jonathans and we ran the length of Sammy C's CCW.  What a great trail; so much fun playing on the rocks.  Ran west incorporating VG and some twisty NEMBA fun on "Lenny's Lane".  A good run.

Sunday:  5
After a group run in Arcadia fell apart, just couldn't get it together to figure out what I wanted to do.  By the time Tommy texted me about a trail run in Champlin (yes, you heard that right), I had already showered and just eaten breakfast and started a project.  Ended up running in Hopkinton Grills with Matthew, before the three of us went to see "Patriots Day".  Watching the movie about Boston Marathon 2013, the last year I ran it.  Watching and reliving the chaos, murder, and terrorism that ensued that day and week just left me angry.  I will take some solace the same day that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev suffers the same fate as Timothy McVeigh.

Weekly mileage:  38.

Weekly synopsis:  Mileage was pretty pathetic and uninspiring.  A paltry and meager five five-milers, plus a 12-mile fun trail run.  This isn't going to get me to a spring marathon.  On the other hand, I've snapped out of my torpor, the group runs are motivating, and tomorrow is a new week.

Weekly Log 2-Jan to 8-Jan-2017: Back to Work Blues

17 days off is my longest stretch in a long time, likely quite a few years.  Hit a number of my vacation goals, including a 20-mile, a 60+ mileage week (2 in fact!), and got some skiing in. Even replaced the leaky kitchen faucet, although the garage door opener replacement job is only half done, and I have parts and wiring from both the old and new assemblies spread across the floor -yeah, I really should finish that.

Monday:  5
Last day of vacation. Had planned out a 16-miler, but by the time my window of opportunity opened, it was raining and 36 degrees.  Went to SHS instead to explore any options there for a summer event the town rec department would like us to host or co-host there.  Will see how that plays out.  They really have been most gracious and supportive of us thus far by offering us to host Bottone last year and this year with all fees waived, when Westerly declined and Chariho approved but with about $200 of fees.
Anyhow, there's plenty of asphalt, grass fields, and trails there (not to mention a fantastic track!) to put together something pretty interesting.

Tuesday:  6
Road, trail mix through Champlin. Depressed for work restart.  Gets me thinking more about retirement planning.

Wednesday:  6
White Rock / North End loop from the Y.  Post-holiday depression has officially settled in.

Thursday:  0
Sloth-like and unmotivated.

Friday:  6
So excited to see snow falling!  Tried to avoid roads where snowplows were out, so headed down to Misquamicut.

Saturday:  14
This was the first time ever that I had missed the Resolution 5K, and it looked like it would be fun in the snow, but with Matthew having a meet every Saturday until late Feb, I'll miss most races unless the times diverge enough.
I got up to run and it was 18 degrees, so I put a pair of tights on instead of shorts.  I may have been able to get away with the shorts, and there were times when I felt a little too warm, but also felt brisk with the northeast ocean breeze.  Other than the first and last miles, all my miles were sub-7, so felt really good with that.

Sigh.  The end of another holiday
season.

Sunday:  5
Fresh snow!  8 inches of the white stuff.  My torpor is gone, and I'm excited to get out to play.  The unplowed roads beat the plowed, wet roads.  Fun, but exhausting run in the deep snow on the trails in Champlin.

As with manual transmission drivers, us snow-shovelers
are a small and shrinking minority.  Most in my neighborhood either
use a snowblower, or worse, hire someone to plow/shovel while
they remain indoors.

Just a beautiful day to be outside!
Not looking forward to inevitably hearing people
at work complain about the snow, or how they
spent the entire day plopped on the couch watching
football and other TV.

Weekly mileage:  42

Weekly synopsis:  Not the mileage I was looking for, but I knew this week would be a struggle to get the miles in.  Low and depressing points were end of the holidays, end of a long vacation, return to work, and bringing Mark to the airport likely not to be seen again until late April.  The only high point and motivator to me this week was the weekend snowstorm.

Out with the Old, In with the New: 2016 Review, 2017 Goals

2016 Review:

Another year has passed.  While there were a number of setbacks for me in 2016, there were certainly some bright spots as well.  Let's jump into it with a review of goals:

• Distance:  Run 2,315 miles.  Exceeded!  Final tally of 2,340 miles is my highest ever.
• PRs:  I set 5 specific distances to PR in.  This is my biggest disappointment, as I didn't really even come close to PR'ing in any distance.  Sure, I can come up with plenty of excuses, but I have to face reality that this was the first year in my 14 years of running that I have not had a single PR.  I still think it's possible to pull another PR, but they're going to be few and far between and likely at the longer distances.
• Return to the Marathon:  Run a full marathon in 2016.  Did it!  It was a tough day at the Sugarloaf Marathon being soaking wet, cold, and shivering, but I still managed to pull out a 2:58:44.
• New trail course planning:  Success all around: 1) Added a 5-mile option to the BRR (only to have it last a single year as DEM said no events in the campground during campground season going forward - more on that later), 2) added the Wahaneeta 5K as WTAC's newest race and first in the Fall Trail Race Series, 3) together with a number of WTAC volunteers, planned, cleared, and mapped a new WHS XC course.  All of these were a lot of fun and personally rewarding.
• Trail running:  Run at least one destination trail race.  Success in a major way.  During the month of July, ran both the Loon Mountain Race in NH and the Westfjords Vesturgatan 24K Wilderness Race in remote northern Iceland.  What a blast!

(before) Helping to clear a stone-laden section that would become
the new Westerly HS XC course
(Thanks to my brother Greg and his equipment above)

(after)  Looking better!  This was one of my proudest accomplishments in 2016,
of planning, and leading the clearing and marking of the new course.  The XC coach
and a number of the runners feel this is now one of the best courses in the state.
Stay tuned:  this will become part of the Run for the Pumpkins 8K course in 2017.

Miscellaneous 2016 running stats:

• Races run:  29  (2015:  36)
• Race breakdown by type:  Road - 14, Trail - 10, Beach - 2, Tri - 3
• Age group wins:  17
• Miles run:  2,340 - highest ever!  (2015:  2,315)
• Hours run:  313
• Days run:  290 (2015:  304)
• Lowest mileage week:  12 (slammed by triple-whammy of tickborne diseases)
• Highest mileage week:  68
• Highest mileage day:  26
• Highest mileage run:  26 (Sugarloaf Marathon)
• Longest running streak:  17 days
• Longest non-running streak:  5 days (see above tickborne issue)
• Number of deerflies killed during runs:  50
• Most number of deerflies killed during a single run:  12
• Number of deerflies eaten:  1
• Deerfly kill season:  Jun 22 - Aug 13
• Number of horseflies killed during runs:  1 (New Jersey)
• Number of states run in:  10 (including all New England states for the 2nd consecutive year)
• Number of countries run in:  2
• Run furthest from home:  Iceland

2016 Pictorial Review by Month:


Jan:  Started off the year with the Resolution 5K. 
2017 may be the first year I miss this event.



Feb:  Feb 7 was one of the few
snowstorms (7") to get out and run
in the snow in 2016

Mar: Was having a good run at
Ocean's Run Half, making it all
the more disappointing to find out
it was a long course.  2017 edition
is supposed to be certified.

Apr:  Cleaning up the team award at RI State Police 5K,
with WTAC teammates



 

May:  Running is more than just your own individual
feats.  Running is a community of support.  Above, giving
some support to Tommy 5K, who became "Tommy 42K"
for the first time at Providence Cox Marathon.
Look at the smile on that guy!

Jun:  Running what would become the final edition of the Back Road
Ramble to go through Burlingame Campground, per DEM change in
rules.  Working with the YMCA for alternatives for this race in 2017.

Jul:  Iceland!!  Vesturgatan 24K Wilderness Race, Þingeyri, Iceland.
Friendly people, amazing scenery, fjords, mountains, icebergs, and caves.  I crossed this off
my bucket list after decades of wanting to visit, yet I am left with a strong
yearning to visit again someday.

Aug:  My favorite triathlon, the Block Island Tri.



 
 







Sep:  My dazed, cadaver like expression
and sweat-drenched clothes were
just too frequent in super humid and hot
racing this summer.  (Surftown Half:
my 6th and perhaps final for a while.)
Brutal summer racing conditions were a
real turnoff for me.






Oct:  Run for the Pumpkins trail race.  I've put a lot of effort into this one,
as have many volunteers, and I'm super thrilled with the way this nascent
trail race has turned out.






Nov:  Rhody, a perennial favorite.







Dec:  Christmas 10K:  A fun team outing, race, and lunch.
By December, after a long miserably hot and humid summer,
I was finally getting comfortable with road running again.

 

2016 Runs by Terrain:

Notable observations:
Beach runs were quite sparse, especially in June/July when tick disease medicines kept me out of the sun.
2016 trail runs were the most in quantity that I ever ran.  The uptick is especially notable from Sep - Nov,
where I would go weeks without a road run after a depressing hot and humid summer.

 

2017 Goals:

• Mileage:  2,400.  Time to up it again!
• Marathon:  Run a spring marathon.  Not signed up for any yet, but Ocean's Run (Westerly) and Newport Rhode Races are both possibilities.
• Run at least one new trail race.
• Run a destination race.
• Run a mountain trail race.
• Run a 50K trail race.  Could this be the year?
• Document history of one of my favorite and most frequented running areas:  Woody Hill.  The WLT has requested that I research and write up the history on Wahaneeta, which I'll do but include adjacent Woody Hill and Sunnyacres Preserve.

 Well, running friends, that's a wrap!  Happy New Year, and happy running!





Weekly Log 26-Dec-2016 to 1-Jan-2017: Closing Out Another Year

As I write this on New Year's Day, I'm trying to avoid a post-holiday funk as start un-decorating and get ready to go back to the rituals of work and school.  Key to keeping my interest level up will be to get out running goals for 2017, which I expect to post in the next couple of days.

Monday:  20!
Longest run since my last marathon in May.  Ran 5.5 solo from Dave's Coffee south throughout Quonochontaug, then back to Dave's to meet up with FiveK and Mikey for the balance.  Rest of run was north through the Charlestown hills.  The legs were a little sore afterwards as we sat down for coffee at Dave's, but nothing terrible.  Happy with this accomplishment.

Tuesday:  5
Downtown Providence run.  Matthew had 3 hours between events, so I thought I would take advantage of the downtime and sunlight to get outside for a run.  Ran from Providence Career & Technical Academy ("PCTA"), where most indoor meets are held in RI, out to Brown University, and back a different route to make a loop.  The run varied from scary locations to busy downtown to dodging pedestrians on sidewalks on the East Side to pleasant running through near-deserted Brown campus.  Managed to take one CR ("Governor Street") as a plus.

Wednesday:  8
Workout at Ninigret Park with Tommy and Mikey.  This was one that Tommy had put together.  warmed-up with Matthew, and then he branched off as the rest of us went on for 4 x 400 on grass, 10 minutes at HMP on bike path (I ran 5:55 pace), and then 4 x 200 on grass, before cool-down.

Upon arriving at Ninigret, Mikey informed me that a headlamp or
parking lamp might be out on my car.  Kudos to him for noticing.  My headlamp
lenses had become so incredibly oxidized that I couldn't see through them.

Spent more than an hour later that day cleaning the lenses with a 3M
headlamp restoration kit, including progressive sanding disks and polish.
Incredible how they cleaned up, as seen in "after" photo here.
Mikey was right - the parking lamp (lower, slightly off-center to the right) was burned out,
but until this moment I couldn't even tell that there were two bulbs in this
headlamp.  This has got to have a positive effect on night visibility.
Maybe I'll hate driving at night a little less!

Thursday:  0
Nasty rain day.  Ended up taking a zero.

Friday:  11
Scone run!  Run with Tommy and Jonny from The Bakery in Charlestown.  Got both legs into the ocean trying to get past a pile of rocks in front of a house in Green Hill.  The ocean water ran out of my shoes pretty quickly, but was left with a fair amount of sand in my shoes for the rest of the run.  Warm scone and coffee hit the spot!

Saturday:  10
Group trail run from Ashville Pond to Beach Pond.  Met Jonathan Short at Beach Pond, where I dropped my car and he gave Matthew and me a ride back to the start (Ashville Pond), where we met up with Crutch, Jonny, and Muddy.  The first few miles were very technical, and while enjoyable, I was glad we were not returning through here.  North of north road, the trails were much more runnable.  We broke up a few times, but always regrouped.  North of Hidden Lake up to Tippecansett was the only part I hadn't run before, but Crutch helped me us on track.  My least favorite part was the double-track north of Route 138, as it went on much, much longer than I anticipated.  Overall, a good through run that I had planned for a while, and was fun to execute.

Saying farewell to the old year at a bonfire
at Ninigret Park, Charlestown,
while catching up with Tommy and Jonny and their families.

As the conflagration settled, the roman numerals (lower left)
for the new year appeared.

Sunday:  7
Back to technical trails again!  From Voluntown on the Green Falls Pond Road, ran up to the dam and then around the pond clock-wise.  Very technical!  At one point, in a rock garden, I got my foot caught under a rock outcropping somehow, and down I went.  My shin smacked onto a rock, and then my knee was next.  That smarted.  Got up as quick as I could and continued, trying not to focus on the injury.  Took Narragansett Trail out to Dinosaur Caves and the blue/yellow blazed trail hugging the CT/RI border.  Ran Hidden Lake clockwise (Matthew ran it counter-clockwise)

Weekly mileage:  61

Weekly synopsis:  Second consecutive 60+ mileage week!  Also, banged out my first 20-miler in a long time.  Granted, having these two weeks off was very helpful in getting me here.  Now let's see if I can manage to keep it up as I return to work next week and get deeper into winter.