Second to the last week of tapering. As always during a taper, I wish the marathon time were now, and I don't like the waiting. I feel like I'm ready for the marathon, and am looking beyond it and towards easier races and other running fun.
Monday: 0
Tuesday: 7
Cold midday run in the rain from the Y. Tried to find somewhat quieter streets to avoid car splashing and exhaust. Never really warmed up on this one, and the rain intensifying mid-run did not help. Finished up the run as a woman yelled out to me, "Wow, you're dedicated!". That was really good to hear.
Wednesday: 5
Needham Town Forest. 36 degrees and drizzling rain. Had to convince myself to even get out of the car and make this run happen. Even then, took me a good couple of miles before I got into it.
Thursday: 6
3rd straight day of cold, raw, rain runs. I am really sick of this. Highlight of this run was when it was over and I quickly went inside at the Y and hung out inside the sauna until I thawed out.
Friday: 0
Saturday: 8
Marathon day dress rehearsal. Got up at similar time, ate a similar breakfast as planned for marathon day, similar race morning travel time and motivation tunes during ride to Newport (technically Middletown) to run last 8 miles of course. Really picturesque. Just worried about the two 1/2 mile sustained climbs at miles 19 and 23 and what those will feel like so late in the race.
Since I was in Newport County already and didn't need to be anywhere for the next few hours, I enjoyed my time there, climbed on rocks along the seashore, went to the Newport County Y to shower and change, and went to a neat coffee shop in Middletown to relax and catch up on e-mail on my Surface. Other than summer traffic craziness, I think Newport or Aquidneck Island in general is a fun place to hang out.
Sunday: 7
Spent most of the day on RD duties at the Clamdigger. We had 195 entries, which is pretty good for this race. The numbers have come back up at this race after we started offering the 5K distance in additional to the classic 5-Mile distance.
While the 5K and 5-Mile races are what make money for the club, my happiest and favorite moment came from a different race at the Clamdigger: the free kids' run on the beach! After all the kids crossed the makeshift finish line in the sand, they all lined up AGAIN! What's going on? I was starting to walk away, when several of the under-10 kids said, "We want to run it AGAIN!". Even Seth's daughter Ezri, who was the youngest 5K runner on the day at age 8, was doubling up here. Well, how could I turn the kids' enthusiasm down? I explained to them that this would be the last run, as I needed to get the awards ceremony started, and then fired off the siren to start their 2nd race!
After a long day at the Clamdigger, I got home to find Matthew hadn't run in the morning either, so we went to Stonington Borough to run. A mix of running road and a few miles of trails in Pafford Woods.
Weekly mileage: 33
Weekly synopsis: I would normally be quite disappointed with a weekly tally of 33 miles, but this was by design with where I am in taper mode. It was interesting running in the Needham Town Forest, but clearly my favorite run of the week was my run Saturday in Middletown. Great weather, beautiful scenery, and comforting to run the back part of the course.
Final week coming up. Really happy about that. Tapering and waiting is hard. Also real happy that the race is on a Saturday. More races should be on Saturdays.
Monday: 0
Tuesday: 7
Cold midday run in the rain from the Y. Tried to find somewhat quieter streets to avoid car splashing and exhaust. Never really warmed up on this one, and the rain intensifying mid-run did not help. Finished up the run as a woman yelled out to me, "Wow, you're dedicated!". That was really good to hear.
Wednesday: 5
Needham Town Forest. 36 degrees and drizzling rain. Had to convince myself to even get out of the car and make this run happen. Even then, took me a good couple of miles before I got into it.
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| I got to the 3rd board on this crossing and then the board just sunk down a good 6" into the water. Cold! After this, I stopped pansying around the flooded trails and had more fun splashing through them. 
|
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| When running on this crossing, really had to watch my footwork to avoid falling. |
Thursday: 6
3rd straight day of cold, raw, rain runs. I am really sick of this. Highlight of this run was when it was over and I quickly went inside at the Y and hung out inside the sauna until I thawed out.
Friday: 0
Saturday: 8
Marathon day dress rehearsal. Got up at similar time, ate a similar breakfast as planned for marathon day, similar race morning travel time and motivation tunes during ride to Newport (technically Middletown) to run last 8 miles of course. Really picturesque. Just worried about the two 1/2 mile sustained climbs at miles 19 and 23 and what those will feel like so late in the race.
 |
| Beautiful coastline just at the start of Sachuest Point Road. My photography skills are poor, so I was really happy to catch the moment of water spraying up over part of the rock. |
Sunday: 7
Spent most of the day on RD duties at the Clamdigger. We had 195 entries, which is pretty good for this race. The numbers have come back up at this race after we started offering the 5K distance in additional to the classic 5-Mile distance.
While the 5K and 5-Mile races are what make money for the club, my happiest and favorite moment came from a different race at the Clamdigger: the free kids' run on the beach! After all the kids crossed the makeshift finish line in the sand, they all lined up AGAIN! What's going on? I was starting to walk away, when several of the under-10 kids said, "We want to run it AGAIN!". Even Seth's daughter Ezri, who was the youngest 5K runner on the day at age 8, was doubling up here. Well, how could I turn the kids' enthusiasm down? I explained to them that this would be the last run, as I needed to get the awards ceremony started, and then fired off the siren to start their 2nd race!
After a long day at the Clamdigger, I got home to find Matthew hadn't run in the morning either, so we went to Stonington Borough to run. A mix of running road and a few miles of trails in Pafford Woods.
Weekly mileage: 33
Weekly synopsis: I would normally be quite disappointed with a weekly tally of 33 miles, but this was by design with where I am in taper mode. It was interesting running in the Needham Town Forest, but clearly my favorite run of the week was my run Saturday in Middletown. Great weather, beautiful scenery, and comforting to run the back part of the course.
Final week coming up. Really happy about that. Tapering and waiting is hard. Also real happy that the race is on a Saturday. More races should be on Saturdays.
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