Charlestown Chili 5K

Charlestown, RI
Saturday, January 27, 2018

Background:  This was the 3rd anniversary of Charlestown Chili 5K.  I had never run this race before due to conflicts, but the calendar worked for me this year.  Asphalt 5Ks are no longer my mainstay, but I wanted to run this both to support Jonny's efforts as course designer and to participate in the first Clamshell race of 2018.

Warm-up:  I arrived about 45 minutes ahead of race start and was surprised how few runners were there.  Of the runners that were there, I knew almost no one.  I got my bib, and instead of giving out shirts, we received goodie-bags with hot chocolate mix, chocolates, and a nutrition bar.  Works for me; I don't need any more shirts.  One thing was odd, though; my goodie-bag had a Luna nutrition bar for women.  Is my new winter beard not manly enough?  :)

Ran into Jonny, who directed me to the course start, and I went off solo to check out the course.  I ran almost the entire course and when I came back there were many more runners there, including a dozen or so WTAC'ers.

Mile 1:  There was an odd moment at the start where the RD directed us to run in the wrong direction and the timing company blocked off part of the course, but Jonny got them back on track and with the sound of the horn, we were off.  The course would be almost entirely on bike paths, and for the first half-mile or so, was fairly twisty.  Jonny took it out from the beginning, and I followed Jonathan Short out onto the bike path.  It was pretty neat to have a trio of green WTAC singlets lead out the race. Jonathan and I traded places a couple of times, before a Rhode Runner in blue pulled up alongside us.  After a little while, I moved ahead of both, but there was someone on my shoulder that I couldn't shake.  Towards the end of the first mile, he came up alongside me and it was Eric Ciocca from western MA!  He had recently joined WTAC and was starting to tell me about it.  The fact that he was able to talk while I was in oxygen debt gave me concern.  Mile 1:  5:46.

Mile 2:  For the next few turns, Eric and I were lockstep, with one slightly ahead of the other depending upon which way the course was turning.  As we crossed a parking lot and headed towards the tennis courts, I pulled just slightly ahead of him.  Getting onto the bike criterion course, I could hear his footsteps falling slightly behind.  Meanwhile, Jonny Hammett's gap on me continued to increase.  The bike criterion course was tough as it's wide open and we were going into the wind for most of this part.  Mile 2:  6:11.

Mile 3:  Leaving the criterion course now, the rest of the course was entirely on the narrower and more protected 2-lane bike path, and with wind no longer a factor or at times even a slight tailwind, I could pick it up again.  Approaching the Senior Center for the final section, there was a 90-degree right turn which allowed me to glance back.  I could see Eric, but he was a ways back.  (Maybe I shouldn't have looked and I would have run harder?)  Ran through the finish, very happy with my 2nd place.  Mile 3:  5:56.

Final results:  18:16.  Average pace 5:58.  2nd overall, 1st in age group.  Full results here.

Post-race, three of us (JH, JS, and me) ran the course as a cool-down and flag and arrow pickup.  We came back just in time for the awards ceremony, and afterwards I went in for some chili.  There were about ten different varieties.  I sampled the vegetarian and white chicken chili.  Both were excellent.  The turkey pumpkin chili looked interesting, but apparently others thought so as well, as it was gone by the time I got there.

Coming into this race, I was in the doldrums and had severe running apathy, and feared a finish north of 19 minutes.  To finish with a sub-6 average pace closer to 18 minutes, I was really happy.  Not that I'm about to revert to a weekend regular 5K runner, but it's good to mix it up and I enjoyed myself out here.  There ended up being 19 runners from WTAC today, so that's a great club turnout as well.

Weekly Log 22-Jan to 28-Jan-2018: Week of Non-Running

New week, new blog post.  Last week I whined too much about lack of motivation and the lack of preparation or even desire anymore to run a spring marathon.  Alright, move on, and figure it out:

Monday:  0
Planned rest day.

Tuesday:  7
51 degrees and pouring run.  Great recipe for a trail run, right?  Absolutely.  Solo run in Woody Hill traipsing through deep puddles, sinking mud, and COLD stream crossings.  And I loved it!  Really.

Wednesday:  0
Unplanned zero.  Stayed up late the night before, slept in lazily and lost my only window all day to get out there and run.  Need to turn this around.

Thursday:  0
Pretty simple:  I had zero motivation to run, so I didn't.  Worked nine hours at the office, and then came home and worked four more.  Ugh.

To further dampen my mood, I received e-mail notification that someone had stolen my Via Della Nocetta Climb CR in Italy.  Again.  So I had to flag it.  Again.  This must be the 4th time I've had to go through this.  If someone is even close to legit, I'll kudo them and move on.  Last time I Google-translated the person's post that took the CR and he actually wrote in his description something to the effect of "the last mile or so was driving in my car.  haha"  (the trail segment climb parallels the road he drove on).  Yeah, hilarious.  Why can't athletes have the common sensibility to fix/flag their own runs?  Argh.  This latest violation came from a runner that actually looks like he ran the course, but as his post shows he has purportedly world record smashing times in consecutive miles at sub-3 pace, yeah, I don't think so.

Friday:  0
Same story.  Triple zero; the first since June 2016 when I was sick as a dog with the triple whammy of tick diseases.  I have to face reality that at least for the next two months, for weekdays I can run in the dark in the morning or I can run in the dark in the evening.  Getting to bed earlier and becoming good friends with my headlamp is the best possible solution.

Saturday:  7
Charlestown Chili 5K.  Fun way to pass a few hours on a Saturday.  Write up to follow.

Sunday:  7
Avondale/Watch Hill group run on a rainy Sunday morning.  Jeff V has been putting on these weekly runs, posting on the nascent WTAC Yahoo run board, and having great success.  Most of the group runs at 8:15 pace, he has recently added a 10+ pace group, and when he advertised this past week that he was looking for a faster pace group (faster than 8:15) this week, it sounded like a possibility.  I reached out to Tommy 5K and he was game.  Met up at Avondale Farm Preserve where 10 runners showed up!  Ran the first mile with most of the group before Tommy and I continued at a mid-to-high 6s pace down to the Watch Hill Lighthouse and back Ocean View to Browning.  Between being all asphalt and the same route every week, I won't likely be a regular at these runs, but it's nice to have as an occasional option.

Weekly mileage:  21 (yeah, that's pretty embarrassing)

Weekly synopsis:  No valid reason for barely running at all, and missing 4 of 7 days.  I'm not going to whine here.  A week off never hurt anyone.  Let's use it as a learning lesson, plan to get to bed earlier, rise earlier, and get out there.

Weekly highlight:  The Charlestown Chili 5K.  I went into the race feeling in the doldrums, fearful I'd run 19+ minutes at the 5K.  Ran faster than I expected and had a good time in the process.

Weekly lowlight:  Continued lethargy and torpor.

Weekly Log 15-Jan to 21-Jan-2018

Monday:  7
MLK Day.  Lolly-gagged around in the morning trying to figure out what to run, and hoping the temps would warm up.  A text from Chris inviting me to an afternoon run in NK made my choice easy, and allowed me to keep working on refreshing the club website for 2018.

Chris and Nate (run organizer) were both saying how it was a haul for me, but really, it was a 35 minute ride in a heated car with heated seats and listening to Tom Petty, the ride flew by.  It's worth it to drive a bit to vary up the routes and participants.

The run itself was pretty neat.  We ran trails in King and Benson Preserves, both of which looked relatively new, and neither of which I had ever been in.

Chris' "Tempting Fate" picture.
Some day I'll grow up.  Today is not that day.

Tuesday: 0

Wednesday:  5
Post-work run at Barn Island.  Ran out of daylight and in the dark, slipped in mud and broke through ice I couldn't see.  How I remained upright is beyond me.  I should just put my headlamp in the car for times like these.

Thursday:  5
Snow and ice at Noanet Woodlands, Dover, MA.  Ran 1 mile in trail shoes, but just slid all over the place.  Put on Yak-trax for another 2 miles, which while better, still slid a bit before grabbing onto the ice.  Came back and ran final loop in snowshoes, which worked really well with no sliding.

Cool ice formations at the remains of the old Dover Iron Works.

Friday:  0
Another raw day.  Just didn't feel like running.

Saturday:  14
West Greenwich and Coventry, RI.  Finally got in a good run.  Planned this out the night before using a combination of MapMyRun, others' Strava runs, and online trail maps for Tillinghast Farm Management Area.  A nice mix of snowy single-track, very rural country roads, and dirt roads through forests.  Felt sore afterwards; likely indicative of my low running quantities of late.

Overlooking Tillinghast Pond

Neat ice floes at a brook in Tillinghast Pond Management Area

Am I still in RI?  Was wondering if I would get bored and hate the road
portion of today's run, but it was a very rural (as you can see) mostly car-free
run on scenic country roads with hills and distant views.

And yes, of course I'm still in RI.  Sand Hill Road in West Greenwich,
to be specific.

Bucks Horn Brook, Coventry.
Along the trail; looks beautiful in snow.

This sign speaks for itself. 
First time here.  I found it kind of neat.

Forestry clearing is going on in a number of preserves,
including in Westerly.  This sign was at a large
clear-cut area in Nicholas Farm Management Area, Coventry.
I still find these clear-cut areas to be ugly and question
their need, but this sign provided the best brief and concise
explanation I have ever seen.

Sunday:  7
Ninigret Park, Charlestown.  Mix of manicured trails, bike paths, and roads.  A very rare (for me) average 6:31 pace.

Weekly mileage:  38

Weekly synopsis:  Once I get out there I'm fine, but I'm having trouble to find the motivation to get out there and run.  Seasonal affliction with less daylight hours?  Stress at work?  No race goals?

Weekly highlight:  The 14-miler I ran on Saturday.  Adventure run in new areas really kept me interested.  Despite being my longest run all week, that was the only one all week where I wanted to keep running further and explore some more.

Weekly lowlight:  Seeing the reality that as each week goes by, the likelihood of me meeting my goal of running a spring marathon becomes less and less.  A number of reasons really, but the top ones include 1) I haven't signed up for a marathon, so I don't have a goal on the calendar, 2) no mileage base:  I was consistently running 50-60 miles per week from June through October, but then ever since some minor health issues in November, I have only run a single week over 40 miles, 3) stressful work project with a strict moratorium on days off until mid-April, working most days until after 5pm and then some evening work, and Saturdays at the office in late March means less daylight time available for running, and 4) perhaps the biggest reason:  I just don't have the drive and motivation this time around.

I've run 19 marathons and I'll run more.  But when I do resume them, it should be because I want to run them as opposed to some sort of self-imposed expectation that I should be running a marathon every spring.  I want to run London, and I want to run other marathons both near and far, but it needs to be fun.  Now in the meantime to snap out of my temporary run doldrums, I need to plan out a spring calendar, even if that is devoid of marathons.  A topic for next week ...

Resolution Beach & Trail Race 2018

Narragansett, RI
Sunday, January 14, 2018

This was the 7th edition of this beach and trail race at Scarborough State Beach.  I believe I have run the race every year, except last year when I had a conflict.  I haven't been training at all lately, and hadn't made up my mind to race this, until the night before when I signed up. 

I got to the race about 45 minutes ahead of the start.  The temps were cool, but not cold.  It was about 23 degrees at the start, but with a thaw, snow melt, and rain the previous two days, there would be a fair amount of ice.  On my warm up I ran into RD Mike G, who asked if I'd help put a few flags down.  I was happy to do so, but with the frozen ground, this was not an easy task!

The start:  With 23 and sunny and a very light wind at the start, I opted for short shorts and just a single layer on top.  It has certainly been much colder and windier at this race in some of the previous years.  Fortunately, there wasn't much standing around and according to my Strava post, the race started at 10:02am.  For the first time in the race's history, we started out going north, as the out and back southern beach section was nixed.  I followed Chris out at the start, but soon felt like I was breathing like a dinosaur and people were going by me handily.  Yeah, I really should do some speedwork.  I was really happy when we finally turned off the beach and momentarily out of the wind.  The lead woman went ahead of me here, and I cut into the sand trail just ahead of Leslie.

New trails:  I repassed the lead woman a minute or two later, and then at the point where we normally go onto Ocean Road, we took a hard right instead into some very recently cleared and still rough trails.  Good!  No roads at all on this race anymore.  The rough hewn trails gave me an advantage here, as I was able to pass three runners who slowed more than I did on the roots, holes, ice, etc.  One of them looked like a teenager and his previous nice stride turned into something more dainty here.  I couldn't wait to get past him.  Another one was a guy sporting a ponytail.

Icy shoreline trails:  As we exited this new section, we turned left back onto the old course and I knew a big patch of ice covering the width of the trail was coming up.  I had planned my route to hew closely to the left on the few clumps of grass to give me some traction.  It worked!  When we got onto the stone dust type of trails at Black Point (not my forte), I caught up to and passed Bob Corsi, but someone stuck with me and I couldn't tell if it was him or someone else.  I couldn't shake my shadow and he stayed with me the whole way back to the stone house.  At the ice patch, a woman coming the other way had stopped on MY grass clumps, my only safe passage.  NO!  I kept coming right towards her until she realized my intentions and fortunately gave me just enough room to pass.  Taking a sharp turn just before entering the stone house, I could see now that my shadow was Ponytail and not Corsi, the latter of whom I would later learn had gone down hard on the ice.

Beach return:   Coming out of the icy stone house foundation, you had to jump a wide stream, which was a really fun obstacle!  After the stream jump, Ponytail pulled up right beside and slightly ahead of me.  Youth - this was not going to work well.  I pushed hard and eventually retook him and even closed a bit on Turtle rivals Ralph Lufkin and Mike Daniels ahead of him, but alas I could catch neither. 

Final results:  16:22 (closer to 4K than 5K), 10th overall, 1st in my age group.

After cool-down and awards, met up at the Mews for lunch with a group of about 13 mixed Turtles and WTAC.  See, we can play nicely in the sandbox.  Lunch took just shy of two hours, so it's not something I have the time to do frequently, but it was enjoyable.  I can't believe I ever debated whether to not to run this race.  It was such a fun event!   Already signed up for the next event in the trail series:  Old Mountain Field 5K on February 10.

Weekly Log 8-Jan to 14-Jan-2018: Snowshoe Week

Monday:  3 mile snowshoe hike
Received an invite from the Westerly Land Trust to join a noon group snowshoe hike at Crandall Family Swamp Preserve.  The time was awkward, but this preserve is closed to the public, so I tried hard and made it work.  So glad I did!  I had been in this preserve one other time, but not to this section as we were in the swamp and ponds, something you could only do when it is frozen over.

Neat to be on solid ice:
the teeth on the snowshoes worked well

The crew sent me to try to find a trail through here.
Yeah, right.

So cool out here!

Tuesday:  3 mile snowshoe run
Beautiful day at Wahaneeta.  Started out in some deep snow making tracks myself, until I came across a very well tracked snowshoe path.  I guessed right away it was some of my Westerly Land Trust friends, and I guessed right.  They made a loop of just about 3 miles, and it made it awesome for a snowshoe run.

Well worked tracks over the bridge on the perimeter trail at Wahaneeta Preserve

Wednesday:  5 mile snowshoe run
Ran the same loop as yesterday, except started from Fallon Trail, and tacked on a run around the pond.  Sunny and warm.  A couple of times I was hit in the back of the head with snow, and turned around half expecting to see someone throwing a snowball at me.  Dolt!  Of course, it was myself churning and kicking up snow.

Trail really getting packed down now!  Finally easy to run on;
of course, just as the snow is about to melt.

Sign outside a downtown restaurant.
I got a chuckle out of this :)

Thursday:  5 mile snowshoe run
With temps this day forecasted to reach near 50, and tomorrow a drenching warm rain and fog, I figured today would be the last opportunity to snowshoe for a little while.  Got out there about 7am, and was surprised to see the headlights of a vehicle approaching.  It turned out to be the WLT president, Sheilia, having similar thoughts, and coming out for a trail run on the snow with her 3 dogs.  We stayed together for the first mile or so before I continued on.
About a mile later, I feel like I'm having trouble picking up my snowshoes and I looked back to find one of her dogs ON my snowshoe!  You probably had to be there to appreciate it, but I found it quite surprising and funny.

Friday:  0
Warm and pouring rain.  So depressing to see the snow melt away.  I know I should get out there and at least run roads, but just had no interest.

My lunch today.  Pretty sure this was the first time I ever ate Laotian food.
Who knew there is a Laotian restaurant right in Westerly?!  Am I the only
one that is clueless?
The owner seems friendly, and when I asked for a traditional dish from
Laos, he suggested this dish (Bahn Soi - a northern Laos yellow curry noodle dish). 
Delicious!
We have far too many pizza joints in Westerly - good to see
some culture coming to Westerly.

Saturday:  0
A rare double zero for no reason.  Trails would have been mud.  Kept putting it off later and later in the day until I told myself that I really had zero interest to get out there and run roads.

Sunday:  7
Resolution 4K race.  Write-up to follow.

Weekly mileage:  20!

Weekly synopsis:  Embarrassingly low mileage week.  On the other hand, I got out there and snowshoed four consecutive days (where it's harder to get the same mileage as running dry trails or roads) and I got in a good beach/trails race.  Sounds a little better when I justify it that way.

Weekly highlights:  Wow, tough call.  I really enjoyed the Resolution race, but I'm going to have say my highlight this week was my snowshoe runs.  Just unique and beautiful out there.

Weekly Log 1-Jan to 7-Jan-2018

Monday:  8
New Year's Day freezer run with Tommy 5K.  Zero degrees at start, 4 degrees at finish.  Fortunately, we ran trails at Woody Hill and for the most part avoided the wind.

Tuesday:  0
Depressing back-to-work day after having had 12 consecutive days off.   Mood and motivation low.

Wednesday:  5
Barn Island at lunch.  Scrambled to get this one in and get back to Westerly to show and make a meeting, but it was worth it.   Had all 1,000 acres to myself.

Thursday:  6
Blizzard run with Tommy.  Love the snow runs!  Super windy at the beach; hurt my eyes to look forward into the wind and blowing snow on the way back, but the wind was really tempered once we got into the trails at Champlin.  As Tom titled his Strava run this day, "there's no run like a snow run".

Snowstorm at Misquamicut Beach

In Champlin Glacier Park, on green trail

Friday:  3
Easy pace miles with Matthew, just coming back slowly from his injury.

Saturday:  5
Snowshoe at Woody Hill!  Tough-going, but fun! 13 degrees; my feet were frozen for a while.  Maybe should look into some trail shoes that protect me a little better from the cold and wet elements when snowshoe running.  Highlight was seeing not one, but two coyotes crossing the trail in front of me.

Woody Hill Marsh - frozen and snow-covered
Beautiful!

Making fresh tracks just north of the Woody Hill Marsh

After spending a month at home, for Mark's last night in RI,
he requested to go to Peking-Tokyo restaurant in Mystic.
My dinner of smoked eel was fantastic!

Sunday:  5
5 miles to/from Dave's Coffee, with a loop into Quonochontaug and back. Matthew said he thought the route was boring, but I liked how quiet it was with almost no cars (other than the short Route 1 section obviously).

Got home from bringing Mark to the airport,
and it was still frigid!
Kudos to the tough folks that got out there;
I bagged it and ran mid-afternoon when it warmed up to the teens.

Weekly mileage:  32

Weekly synopsis:  Low mileage week.  A little depressed between the combination of the holiday season coming to an end, my son Mark returning to school in Florida when I might not see him for seven months now, and back to work on a stressful project.  On the plus side, the snowstorm was fantastic!

Weekly highlight:  The blizzard run with Tom!

2017 in Review; 2018 Goals

With 2017 in the rear view mirror, let's start off with reviewing goals, copied verbatim from a year ago, and how I fared:

• Mileage:  2,400.  Time to up it again!  Success!  2,571 miles logged in 2017 is my most ever!
• Marathon:  Run a spring marathon.  Not signed up for any yet, but Ocean's Run (Westerly) and Newport Rhode Races are both possibilities.  Success!  Ran the Newport Marathon, with Tommy, as my 19th marathon.  2:58:59.
• Run at least one new trail race.  Success!  Ran 3 new trail races:  Exeter Trail Race, Pioneer Ridge Vertical Mile, Bimbler's Bluff 50K.
• Run a destination race.  Success!  Two of them, both in Alaska:  Alaska Mens Run, Pioneer Ridge Vertical Mile.
• Run a mountain trail race.  Success!  Loon Mountain Race and Pioneer Ridge Vertical Mile.
• Run a 50K trail race.  Could this be the year?  Success!  Bimbler's Bluff 50K.
• 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.  Failure.  Not for lack of interest, but rather prioritization and time allocation.  Deferred into 2018.

Miscellaneous 2017 running stats:

• Races run:  22 (2016: 29, 2015:  36)
• Race breakdown by terrain:  Road - 8, Trail - 12, Beach - 1, Tri - 1
• Age group wins:  18
• Miles run:  2,571 - highest ever!  (2016:  2,340)
• Elevation run:  192,644'  (most ever)
• Most elevation gain in a single run:  5,265'
• Hours run:  360 (2016:  313)
• Days run:  315 (2016:  290)
• Lowest mileage week:  22 (minor pain issues in late Oct)
• Highest mileage week:  70
• Highest mileage day:  32
• Highest mileage run:  32 (Bimbler's Bluff 50K)
• Longest running streak:  35 days
• Longest non-running streak:  2 days
• Number of deerflies killed during runs:  139
• Most number of deerflies killed during a single run:  57
• Number of deerflies eaten:  1
• Deerfly kill season:  Jun 25 - Aug 31
• Number of horseflies killed during runs:  1
• Number of tickborne diseases:  1 (Anaplasmosis; had 3 different diseases in 2016, so I guess that's good?)
• Number of segment CRs:  19 (although some of them subsequently stolen)
• Number of states run in:  15 (including all New England states for the 3rd consecutive year)
• Number of states first time run in:  4 (Texas, Illinois, Wisconsin, Alaska)
• Number of countries run in:  1 (first time I didn't leave the country in at least 10 years)
• Run furthest from home:  Alaska

2017 Pictorial Review by Month:

 

Jan:  1st time in years I didn't race every month of the year
(had a conflict with Resolution), so no race pic.
Outside the stone fort at Woody is always one of my
favorite places, so this works.
(With Sam, Matthew, and my occasional canine trail running
partner, Riley)

Feb:  Looking fat at one of my favorite
trail races (Old Mountain Field)

Mar:  Ocean's Run frigid 13-degree

half marathon (no pics; scheduled photographer didn't show)




Apr:  Newport Marathon (2:58:59)
Great training and then running with Tom
for 21 of 26 miles
(The winter fat was apparently gone by now)

May:  Shad Bloom Trail Race, Block Island
Super happy with the WTAC turnout

Jun:  Exeter Trail Race, Exeter, NH
Thrilled to win my age group in the USATF-NE Championships

Jul:  Pioneer Ridge Vertical Mile
Palmer, Alaska
 Brutally tough, but awesome race
(Yes, this is July!)

Aug:  Stonington XC 5K
Our newest event was a huge success, with 150 total runners!

Sep:  Another good turnout and fun time
at the Stavros Beach Run

Oct:  Bimbler's Bluff 50K
First 50K!
Took a lot out of me, but "fun".

Nov:  26th annual Li'l Rhody;
my 14th straight year running it

Dec:  Return of the WTAC Jingle Bell Run
This time it had an interesting twist with being held on
trails, with trail markers lit up with LED lights.
Fresh-fallen snow was a bonus!
Hopefully next year the number of attendees at both
the run and new party format will increase.

Miscellaneous:

Last year, Muddy commented that my deerfly total season counts
were immature, so this year I figured I would take it to a new low.

 Notable observations:

• 2017 was the first year ever that I ran more trail races than road races.  This will likely become a trend with me.
• Only did one tri this year, with a solo trip to Block Island.  Not sure if a bunch of people abandoned tris, or just an off year.  I do anticipate continuing tris myself, albeit they will never be the focus that running is.
• Probably the highest number of states (15) that I've ever run in during a single year.  Most likely won't top that for a while.
• Enjoyed running Jonathan Short's fall trail segments series.  Much like the Clamshell Series, it's all for fun, but does get you out there.
• Most notable changes for WTAC events this year were:  1) adding a new Stonington XC 5K Fun Run, 2) adding an 8K distance to Run for the Pumpkins, and 3) changing holiday party venue to a private club in Bradford and adding Jingle Bell Run.  The first change (Stonington) drew the biggest numbers; hopefully the other two will increase over time.

2018 Goals:

• Mileage:  2,600.  Time to up it again!
• Marathon:  Run a spring marathon.  Not signed up for any yet, but a repeat at Newport (April) or Providence (May) are both possibilities.  On the other hand, would prefer not to drag marathon training out until May, and it also increase the risk of heat.
• Run at least one new trail race.
• Run a race that I've never run before (e.g., snowshoe, indoor, mud, etc).
• Left over from 2016:  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.
• Go on night headlamp group runs.
• Run at least two of the USATF-NE mountain circuit races.  Sure, I'd like to run all 8, but let's start with something more practical.
• Frequent big chain coffee shops less and independent coffee shops more.
• Go camping at least one night.  I miss it.

 Happy New Year!  Happy running!