Monday: 0
Tuesday: 0
Intentional second zero. Trying to back off for the third week. If this week feels good with no pain or issues, I'll start to ramp it up again.
Wednesday: 6
Hale Reservation, Westwood, MA. Tranquil single-track trail run at sunrise.
Thursday: 5
Morning road run at 26 degrees. Haven't acclimated yet.
Friday: 5
Mt. Tom Trail, Exeter. Solo late afternoon run. This was segment #5 of 5 in Jonathan Short's Fall Trail Segment Challenge. Started off at hunter check station on Route 165. I was the only one there, but intentionally got this in tonight, as tomorrow morning starts shotgun season in RI. Mt. Tom Trail goes south from here, through some really neat white pine forest. After a mile, it crosses Blitzkrieg Trail and Mount Tom Road, and then the segment starts. It was still light at this point, but with some long shadows appearing that made it a little harder to navigate (yes, I have excuses for everything). The mile segment climbs over 200', and while not very technical, a lot of it is on rock ledges. Really nice views. I came in 3rd on the segment, behind Jonny Hammett and Jonathan Short.
The rest of the run post-segment chasing was quite dark, and I stopped at every intersection to check Google Maps and verify I was going the right way. Really neat area that I ended up navigating through fine, even in the pitch dark. Perhaps not surprisingly, I never saw a single soul the whole way.
Saturday: 11
Bluff Point and Haley Farm State Parks, Groton, CT. Being the first day of shotgun deer season, I reached out to see if anyone else would be interested in running trails in a location where hunting is never allowed. Two of my WTAC teammates took the bait: Muddy and Jonathan. Ran nearly entirely single-track, and never had to worry about hunters or even wearing orange. While most people seem to stick to the fire roads here, there really is a neat mix of twisty single-track and rock scrambles.
Sunday: 3
Spent much of the day outdoors setting up Christmas lights. I really enjoy being outside, even with the temps in the 30s to low 40s today. Never quite understood how some guys can spend most of the weekend on the couch watching hours and hours of whatever sport is in season. I guess the downside to my tendency to spend hours outside is I often don't fit in on the Monday morning "water cooler" talk about the minute details of the game, but so be it.
Anyhow, I probably wouldn't have run at all today if it weren't for Matthew saying he was going for a short run at Bradford Preserve and asking if I wanted to come. He stuck to laps on the field, as he is slowly recovering and building easy miles, so we really didn't run together at all, as I ran parts of the Pumpkins 8K course.
Weekly mileage: 30
Weekly synopsis: Yes, that's very low mileage, and yes, for the 3rd week in a row, but that was planned. No regrets at all. In fact, it was a great week, as it was the first week in many that I went the entire week pain free! Hallelujah. Not sure if it was due to the meds I'm on or the lower dosage of miles or a combination of both as recommended by my doctors, but I'll take it!
So the plans next week will be to try ramping up the mileage (not to Jonny Hammett levels, but close to 50 would be nice), and then close out the week with fellow WTAC'ers in Newport for the Christmas 10K and lunch. Not in 10K road shape, but looking forward to it!
Weekly highlight: Solo Mount Tom run, as it was a fun challenge running the segment. The impending pitch darkness and being deep in the woods not knowing the area gave me an extra challenge. Close second to our group single-track run on Saturday.
Tuesday: 0
Intentional second zero. Trying to back off for the third week. If this week feels good with no pain or issues, I'll start to ramp it up again.
Wednesday: 6
Hale Reservation, Westwood, MA. Tranquil single-track trail run at sunrise.
Thursday: 5
Morning road run at 26 degrees. Haven't acclimated yet.
Friday: 5
Mt. Tom Trail, Exeter. Solo late afternoon run. This was segment #5 of 5 in Jonathan Short's Fall Trail Segment Challenge. Started off at hunter check station on Route 165. I was the only one there, but intentionally got this in tonight, as tomorrow morning starts shotgun season in RI. Mt. Tom Trail goes south from here, through some really neat white pine forest. After a mile, it crosses Blitzkrieg Trail and Mount Tom Road, and then the segment starts. It was still light at this point, but with some long shadows appearing that made it a little harder to navigate (yes, I have excuses for everything). The mile segment climbs over 200', and while not very technical, a lot of it is on rock ledges. Really nice views. I came in 3rd on the segment, behind Jonny Hammett and Jonathan Short.
The rest of the run post-segment chasing was quite dark, and I stopped at every intersection to check Google Maps and verify I was going the right way. Really neat area that I ended up navigating through fine, even in the pitch dark. Perhaps not surprisingly, I never saw a single soul the whole way.
 |
| The last light of day, as the sun fades over the horizon. Time to turn the headlamp on. |
 |
| My return route took me on Sand Hill Trail. Very easy to miss the few signs here, even with my bright headlamp. |
 |
| Next, the "Old Ten Rod Road" fire road emptied out into these sand pits you see here, which with the moonlight cascading down gave an extraterrestrial look. |
Saturday: 11
Bluff Point and Haley Farm State Parks, Groton, CT. Being the first day of shotgun deer season, I reached out to see if anyone else would be interested in running trails in a location where hunting is never allowed. Two of my WTAC teammates took the bait: Muddy and Jonathan. Ran nearly entirely single-track, and never had to worry about hunters or even wearing orange. While most people seem to stick to the fire roads here, there really is a neat mix of twisty single-track and rock scrambles.
Sunday: 3
Spent much of the day outdoors setting up Christmas lights. I really enjoy being outside, even with the temps in the 30s to low 40s today. Never quite understood how some guys can spend most of the weekend on the couch watching hours and hours of whatever sport is in season. I guess the downside to my tendency to spend hours outside is I often don't fit in on the Monday morning "water cooler" talk about the minute details of the game, but so be it.
Anyhow, I probably wouldn't have run at all today if it weren't for Matthew saying he was going for a short run at Bradford Preserve and asking if I wanted to come. He stuck to laps on the field, as he is slowly recovering and building easy miles, so we really didn't run together at all, as I ran parts of the Pumpkins 8K course.
Weekly mileage: 30
Weekly synopsis: Yes, that's very low mileage, and yes, for the 3rd week in a row, but that was planned. No regrets at all. In fact, it was a great week, as it was the first week in many that I went the entire week pain free! Hallelujah. Not sure if it was due to the meds I'm on or the lower dosage of miles or a combination of both as recommended by my doctors, but I'll take it!
So the plans next week will be to try ramping up the mileage (not to Jonny Hammett levels, but close to 50 would be nice), and then close out the week with fellow WTAC'ers in Newport for the Christmas 10K and lunch. Not in 10K road shape, but looking forward to it!
Weekly highlight: Solo Mount Tom run, as it was a fun challenge running the segment. The impending pitch darkness and being deep in the woods not knowing the area gave me an extra challenge. Close second to our group single-track run on Saturday.
Clearly I've missed something. Meds? Pain? I'm sorry, truly.
ReplyDeleteBeth, thanks for checking in. It's the same intermittent abdominal/groin pain I've been having for over 2 months now, and the same issue that got me sent to the ER on Sep 30 that I wrote about. At this point, I've been prodded and poked by four doctors and am being treated for prostatitis, a common old man's disease, while being monitored for a couple of other symptoms. Not complaining too loudly, as I realize this is minor compared to what others go through.
ReplyDeleteUgh. The body is a marvelous and moody machine and when it doesn’t function properly it is frustrating. Athletes have a high pain tolerance, your 3 maybe someone else’s 7. Outward issues are so much easier, keep the docs on their toes till they get it figured out!
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