Weekly Log 31-Jul to 6-Aug-2017: From the Block to Acca Dacca

Monday:  7
Chariho Fun Runs.  The only one I would make it to this summer.  6:31 for the mile event, as no one took it out fast and I didn't want to look a fool (any more than usual, that is).  18:51 for the 3-miler.

Things run with a more slower degree of organization and priority at Chariho than Westerly.  Much waiting around between events.

Tuesday:  18 (sounds impressive, until you see that it's a double)
AM:  7 miles on Hell Field with Tommy and Matthew.  4 x 1K (3:40, 3:40, 3:45, 3:35), 2 x 200 (38, 37).  Very humid.
PM:  11 miles at Stonington Fun Run with Tollgate coach Norm.  Been talking about getting together with him for a run for more than a year.  It finally happened.  Olympian Deena Kastor and BM winner Geoff Smith were here tonight.

Wednesday:  9
AM:  6 miles in the soupy fog at Noanet Woodlands.  I was the main course on today's deerfly feast, and I retaliated with 13 DFKs.

Technical trail at Noanet Peak in the fog.  Dover, MA

PM:  3 miles.  Westerly Fun Run.  5:52 pace.

Thursday:  7
Combination Pumpkins and Wahaneeta course previews.  Longing for fall trail running.

Friday:  7
Avondale / Watch Hill Roads.  A large coyote atop the hill on Browning was the highlight on this run.  I wasn't intimidated; I didn't want to shoot it; I didn't think it had rabies; I didn't fear for children or small animals; [fill in all the other recent fears in local newspapers].  I just thought it was a majestic animal.

Saturday:  1/4 swim, 12 bike, 7 run
The Block Island Tri!  Normally I post a separate write-up, but I'm just so far behind in blogging that the more minute details escape me now.  Quick summary:

This was my 8th BI Tri in a row.  Was up at 4:30am and out the door by 5am to catch the 6am ferry.  On the ride over, was wondering why I was going at all.  The number of WTACers had slowly grown over the years, from 3 participants when I did it back in 2010, up to a max of 7, before abruptly crashing this year down to one (myself).  Once I got over on the Block, set up in transition, and caught up with competition John Gadrow and Jim Ortel, it sunk in that while it was fantastic to have WTAC friends come over for a day of adventure and a lunch outing, I really do love this race in its own right.

Deserted beach before the start of the tri.  You can have Providence, Pawtucket, etc.

Block Island, Newport, Jamestown, and other southern
coastal towns are the real gems of RI to me.

Then I went for a warm-up, and my glee intensified.  The tide was high when I arrived, so I went on roads.  I planned on about a mile total, and then 1.5 miles out on Corn Neck Road soaking up the scenery and loving the quaint country island run, decided I need to come back here at some point, but maybe I should turn around and actually get to the race that I came here for.

Farm house and dirt roads on Corn Neck Road.  Quintessential Block Island.
Would love to come back here running in the fall.

The swim:  106 out of 320.  I'm a back-of -the-pack swimmer, and this race is the exception to finish in the top third.  I started in the 8th wave.  The water was a little choppy.  As always, the fast guys in my wave reached the first buoy and were long gone by the time I arrived, but there are also so many "tourist" entrants into this tri that you get a wide mix of tri skills.  I passed many a swimmer that were doing the backstroke or some kind of side stroke.  1/4 mile - my kind of swim distance!

The bike:    35th out of 320.  19mph average on hills and tight turns.  A little slower than the previous two years, but still quite happy with this effort.  The problem for me is I had no competition on the ride (the fast guys were way ahead of me and I never saw them), so as I'm passing rider after rider, I think I'm going fast, which I was relative to them, but could have pushed myself harder.  Finally, well into the 2nd lap, a cyclist passes me and I give chase.  We must have been somewhat evenly matched as we took turns passing each other just before finishing.

My challenge for the transition to bike
is always remembering which row is mine in?

The run:  2nd overall out of 320 finishers!  I'm in my element now.  4 barefoot beach miles in 27:34.  Mile splits varied from 6:15 to 6:47, which really was dictated by whether I was running headwind or tailwind.  Gained on my competitors, but finished quite a ways behind BI native Jim Ortel.

There are some that just maybe
should cover up a little bit more.
(Or are people saying the same about me and my short shorts?)

Check out the "bib number" marked onto this guy's arm!
I got a great chuckle out of this.

19th overall in full tri.  Could be better, but not bad.  Did not place in my age group.

The BI Tri is over, and I'm back on the mainland by 3pm, but my day is just revving up:

Scored free parking and free tickets to the Charlestown Seafood Festival (by volunteering).
Went solo to listen to classic rock.  Started in the back far from the stage...

... and slowly made my way all the to front row!
AC/DC (familiarly known as Acca Dacca in their native Australia)
tribute band Dirty Deeds!  They even look like the real thing,
mimicking Brian Johnson (left) and Angus (right)

When they started playing TNT and asked the crowd to get involved,
the crowd went wild.  Stayed for about half the show before heading to the airport
to pick up Mark at 11:30pm, as he was coming home for a 10-day visit from FL.

Amazing show!  Having not been to a concert in decades, the downside that I had
forgotten was tinnitus.  Yeah, the ears were pretty messed up for next 12 hours or so.
Maybe next year I don't go up so close.  And maybe next year I invite Chris,
Tommy, or Mikey to use some of the extra tickets.

The fireworks between sets were also awesome.

Sunday:  0 run, 23 bike
For once, passed on a double race weekend, and rode to Run 4 Kerri with Mikey and Chris to watch Mile 1 and the finish.  It was fun to watch fellow competitors that I know well, but also there a tinge of regret that I wanted to be in the race myself.  Of course, the weather was unusually perfect this year with cooler temperatures and low humidity.

Came home, cleaned up, and went to volunteer at the Charlestown Seafood Festival with Jana, and then we had a rare dinner there with Mark.  Happy to see him for the fleeting moments; completely understood that right after our seafood dinner he was off to visit his friends on a Saturday night.

Not being a soda drinker, I didn't partake, but the general concept
was that you bought a tin mug, and then you could keep coming back
for free refills.  Maybe if these were casks of single-malt scotch?
Is this a southern, or maybe midwestern thing, as they say "pop"?

Weekly Mileage:  56

Weekly Synopsis:  Happy with 56.  Would like 60 on a regular basis, or at least average.  A lot of fun events this week