Weekly Log 18-Jun to 24-Jun-2018: June Injury #2

Monday:  7
Lake Brandt, Greensboro, NC.  Last day in NC, and I won't miss this weather.  83 degrees and dripping humidity by 7:30am, before going up to 98 degrees in the afternoon.  I have a brother in inland Georgia and a son in Tampa, FL, and I really don't understand how either can stand to stay in the south in the summer.

Anyhow, other than the heat and deerflies (5 kills), the trails were pretty interesting.  Started off on a mile of paved bike path, then ventured onto the dirt single-tracks.  Nothing technical, but a fun trail network that was entirely shaded.  Really just scratched the surface of the trail network here.

Frequent overlooks onto Lake Brandt

Fun single-track through the forests

Many commemorations of RI General Nathaniel Greene can be found here,
including this trail.  Greene was a highly respected general from RI serving under
George Washington and credited with turning around the war in the southern states.

Almost stepped on this poor guy!
He blended right in on the trail and I just spied him at the last minute.

And the walls came crumbling down (Mellencamp?):  What fresh hell is this?  (Sheldon Cooper?)  Unlike with last week's calf injury, there was no defining moment that precipitated today's injury.  The run felt fine throughout, but lo and behold, the rest of the day I was hobbling from pain in my gluteus / right hip area.  We had time to kill in the afternoon before flying back to RI, and when visiting a neat aquarium outside Charlotte, I tried my best to walk normally, but my Mom detected my limping right away.  When Jana and my Mom wanted to walk some more, I found a comfy chair, winced, and collapsed into it.

Tuesday:  0
Nope, not happening.

Wednesday:  0.2
Adams Farm, Walpole, MA.  Not even close.  Stupidly tried to jog and did nothing but hobble in pain.  Abort running.

Thursday:  0
Nada.  Pain and limping.

Friday:  0
Durham, NH.  Up here for student/parent orientation.  Really, really, really wanted to run in College Woods and adjoining trail systems, but that's not happening. 

On the way back home, we stopped at Treetop Adventures in
Canton, MA.
Full disclosure:  the green course (novice) was fun, the blue course
(intermediate) was quite challenging for me or at least 2 of the stations were,
and by the black course (advanced) Dad had bailed and relegated himself
to watching and photographing Matthew traverse the course (above).

Saturday:  0
Nope.

Sunday:  18 bike
Bike with Mikey felt just fine.  Around the beach easy pedal with a coffee break at the end in Weekapaug, and catch up on life.  It's all about the iced coffee stops for me.

Weekly mileage:  7  (does 7.2 sound better?)

Weekly synopsis:  Lowest mileage week ever.  Even the week of my ventral hernia surgery I managed to eke out 9 miles.  Every single day this week I have been in pain and hobbling.  What is wrong?  Why isn't this getting better?  I've resolved that tomorrow morning either I magically wake up feeling better, or I'm paying a visit to old sawbones.  Depressed and worried.

Weekly Log 11-Jun to 17-Jun-2018: June Injury #1

Monday:  0
Planned day off.

Tuesday:  7
New London, CT.  Dropped car off at Audi dealer in New London, as was having a duplicate key programmed.  Was told it would take about 1/2 hour, so went off for a run.  Started with my fear of running sidewalks and sucking down exhaust fumes, but actually only for a very short distance as I quickly got onto back roads and after two miles, actually ran trails, real dirt single-track trails!  Ran 2+ miles of single-track, and then grass fields at Conn College, before returning to the dealer.

Single-track!

Fun running at Conn College

Lots of fields to run on.  

Odd thing happened at the end of the run.  After traffic passed, I crossed a main artery and stepped up onto a sidewalk.  Must have stepped in an odd direction or height, as all of a sudden my left calf was in sharp pain.  Half-walked, half-hobbled into the dealership, and was kind of glad my car wasn't quite ready as it felt good to sit down at their customer waiting area, have a water, and just relax for a moment.

Wednesday:  3
Westerly Fun Runs #2.  My left calf was rock hard by now and uncomfortable but not exactly painful.  Ran 6:30 pace with Muddy.

Thursday:  0
Giving it a break.  The calf is really uncomfortable.

Friday:  0
One more day off.

Saturday:  3
Calf is still rock hard, but less discomfort today, so made another go of it.  Easy run on the flat trails at Ninigret with Jana.

Sunday:  5
Greensboro, NC.  Heat and oppressive humidity galore.  Ran 5 miles from hotel on local roads.  Kept it "easy", although picked it up on the three segments I ran and managed to take all three! 

Surprised to be able to get this set of wheels as a rental car.
First time ever driving a Mustang.

Weekly mileage:  19

Weekly synopsis:  Obviously very disappointing volume, but it was the right thing to do to back off on running, with a calf injury that I had never had before.

Weekly highlight:  Oddly enough, the run in New London, mostly due to unexpected terrain of single-track and grass fields.

Weekly lowlight:  Clearly the calf injury.  Disappointing.

Weekly Log 4-Jun to 10-Jun-2018

Monday:  0

Tuesday:  0

Wednesday:  9
AM:  6 miles in Hale Reservation, Westwood/Dover, MA.  Easy mix of trails.
PM:  3 miles at 1st Westerly Fun Run of the season!  I felt like I was pushing it, so the finishing time of 19:11 was a tad disappointing.

Walking to get lunch mid-day at the Wellesley Office Park,
I almost stepped on this poor guy.
I remember when I accidentally chopped up a snake with a lawn mower
in my youth at my parents' house; I was devastated.

Thursday:  0

Friday:  17
AM:  11 miles from Arcadia Y.  Mix of asphalt and dirt roads up into Exeter via Blitzkrieg Trail, and back via Skunk Hill Road.  The country roads here are so nice and quite.  Went more than 5 miles without seeing a car.
PM:  6 miles with Matthew at Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge, Sudbury, MA (off I-495 west of Boston).  As with this morning's run, a mix of asphalt and dirt.  We underestimated distances on the trail map, and had to cut our run short to avoid getting mega-mileage the day before Matthew's NE meet.

Saturday:  7
Oaklands Forest, Exeter, NH.  Was trying to follow a 5-mile loop marked with red blazes, but got off course so many times.  Far too many intersections were just completely unmarked, leading me to taking wild guesses.  Thanks to local mountain bikers Ben and Paul for repeatedly pointing me in the right direction.

Trailhead where I started from

Trail going right through a cool rock formation

A number of bogs in the town forest

Sunday:  9
Metacomet Trail, Meriden/Berlin, CT.  With Matthew.  He planned this one out.  Almost all single-track, with some asphalt mixed in early to be able to make a loop.  Very technical, very steep for much of the way, with rewarding views, especially from appropriately named if unimaginative East and West Peak.

Descending from West Peak.
Watch your footing here!

Very technical.  Yes, this is the trail.
You can see Matthew pausing to wait up for the old guy.

Views from Castle Craig.

Castle Craig

Awesome lake views on the way back.

Weekly Mileage:  42

Weekly Synopsis:  Far too many zeros this week, but somehow still made it to 40+.  Fun runs in four different states.

Weekly Highlight:  Metacomet Trail in CT.  Great training and views.

Double Race Weekend: Twilight & BRR

Twilight "Trail" Run
Groton, CT
Friday, June 1, 2018

I really enjoy running in Bluff Point and Haley Farms State Parks, site of tonight's run.  While I did realize ahead of time that most of the race would be on carriage roads and not on my preferred single-track, I was still looking forward to the single-track heading out from Bluff Point on the way to Haley.  Tonight held an added bonus as it had rained much of the day and the single-track would be wet and muddy.  Fun!  Or so I thought ...

Last minute sign up and check-in just 15 minutes before race start.  What a rookie!  Caught up with CT runners Rob Buttermore, Mathew Ridley, Paul Gray, and a few others.  Only had time for a 1/2 mile warm-up, then toed the line.  The race featured both a 3.5 and 7.4 mile distance, but it looked like all the fast runners were running the long distance.  The race director announced that the single-track was too wet and muddy to run on, and so that portion of the race would also be re-routed onto carriage roads.  What?!!  How is that possible?  I've raced through swamps, boulder fields, a foot of snow, ice, etc., so how can a race course be "too wet and muddy" to run?  Had I known this ahead of time, I wouldn't have come.  I know I probably sound like a spoiled little brat or at least a poor sport, but bear in mind that I paid $30 to run the Twilight TRAIL Race, and I wouldn't end up running trails at all.

The gun went off, and I tried not to sulk and stay positive, but my motivation was gone.  Not an exciting race for me by any means.  The two leaders took off so fast that I figured [incorrectly] that they were running the short race.  I saw Mathew Ridley for a little while, I got chicked by fast Becky Snelson, and then I settled into a routine.  At about 1.5 miles where we round the peninsula and start a slow climb, I passed one runner, uphill, go figure.  The re-route not only took away the only single-track on the course, but also added injury by having you run through the finish line and then out again.

I followed Becky out to Haley Farm and passed her there.  After that I just ran in no-mans land for the rest of the race, missed the finish line completely, which added a few seconds to come back and cross, but I really didn't care.  Scratch this race off my list.  Again, Bluff and Haley are fine places to run, and my disappointment was entirely that the race terrain (carriage roads) didn't live up to the race billing.  False advertising.  End of whining.

Final results:  49:25, 5th overall, 1st in age group.  Full results here.

Back Road Ramble
Charlestown, RI
Sunday, June 3, 2018

This was the 7th annual edition of this race, of which I've raced all 7, and served on the race committee for the past 6.  This race has had many race modifications, the latest last year when DEM put the kibosh on any more races that go through the campground during camping season.  As an alternative, I came up with the idea of starting out on dirt roads (North Camp) to allow a mass start, and then single-track the rest of the way, including the moderately technical Sammy C's, before running the mile road to finish at the YMCA's Camp Watchaug.  The hitch was being point-to-point meant we needed to provide transportation, and I was skeptical we could pull that off, but when the Chariho bus company donated two buses and drivers, we were in!

To broaden appeal, we have both a "long" course (5.8 miles) and a short (2.7), and typically get about 100 runners.  Why the waterfront activities (use of kayaks, canoes, swimming, water trampoline) and lunch included in race entry don't induce more runners to sign up is beyond me.

Arrived at 6:30am to set the course with fellow committee member, Sergio Cherenzia.  We ran, flagged, and marked both the long and short courses, before arriving back at Camp Watchaug in plenty of time to meet with the course marshal and water stop personnel.  Unlike last year's scramble, I headed out earlier to get both groups situated at their designated points and got to the start line 10 minutes ahead of the start.  After some pre-race remarks from Karen (RD and Arcadia Y branch manager) and me, we were off.

Crowded start line with a number of the usual suspects.
(All pics courtesy of Jana except as marked.)

A kid of about 8 flew out ahead of everyone and then 100 meters in, unceremoniously completely stopped in the middle of the trail.  Odd.  Chris and Jonny took it out pretty good, and I followed them for the mile down to the North Camp beach.  At that point, I had occasional glimpses of Jonny for the next mile, but they were basically gone and no one was around me.  This was in sharp contrast to last year, when I stayed with leaders Galoob and Jonny for 2 miles and had youngsters nipping at my heels.

In no-man's land about 2 miles in.
(Courtesy YMCA)

Unfortunately, I was lulled into a slower pace than I realized.  By all rights, I should have run faster than last year's much hotter weather, but it wasn't to be.  All of Sammy C's passed by fairly quickly and easily, which confirms I wasn't working hard enough.  Hitting the road for the final 0.9 mile, I passed a few walkers from the short course.  Finally picked it up, but finished 37 seconds slower than last year.  My cool-down was a swim out to the water trampoline, which unfortunately I couldn't drag any of my teammates along this year.  :(

Finishing up at Camp Watchaug

Final results:  40:26, 3rd of 36 in the long course.  Preceded by Chris and Jonny, and succeeded by Jonathan Short.  Full results here.

With a few of my teammates at the waterfront

Post race follow-up:  We met as a race committee a week later for a post-mortem as we always do.  It really is a good idea while the successes and short-comings are fresh in one's mind.  We had 102 registered runners this year, with 82 finishers across the two races.  This was the lowest turnout in a few years.  Plausible explanations ran the gamut, from too many race conflicts on this same date, colder weather tampering interest in water activities, a second trail race in Charlestown just one week later, absence of SNERRO keeping away a few race entrants, and late day start a turn-off for some as it takes up so much of the day.  After much discussion, the only planned changes thus far for next year are to hold it later in the month (June 23, 2019), start 1 hour earlier (10am) and nix the grill items due to time of day and replace with something else.

Weekly Log: 28-May to 2-Jun-2018: A Return to Racing

Monday:  8
Memorial Day.  Why can't every weekend be a 3-day weekend?  Who made up the stupid 5-day workweek?  Probably the French.

Technical Yawgoog trails in the AM with Matthew.  Out to Southwest Marker, and the CCW around Yawgoog Pond.  North of Hidden Lake, I missed a seemingly obvious right turn on blue, and back-tracked when it didn't look right.  This added about a mile, but would've been much more had we kept going, as we were on the blue trail headed towards Green Falls Pond instead of the blue trail headed back towards Camp Yawgoog.  Really like these trails, but I did get worn out during the run.  Wimp.

Tuesday:  5
Run for the Pumpkins course at Noon.  81 degrees; too hot.

Wednesday:  14
Noon:  6 miles.  Surveillance of the Back Road Ramble course at Burlingame Management Area.  Totally bonked on this one.  Note to self: you may want to eat something more substantial before Sunday's 11am race.

Evening:  8 miles.  Haley Farm and Bluff with Matthew and John Walker (no relation on the latter).  Ran progressively faster miles mostly on fire roads, but when the mile pace dropped to 6:24, that seemed like a good time to break off and run single-track for a while.
Finishing up in Haley (just after crossing the RR bridge), there was a deer on the side of the trail.  I ran up beside it and past it, coming about 3 feet away, the closest I've ever been to a deer.  I felt like I could reach out and touch it.  It looked nervous, but never ran off.  I could never shoot a deer or eat venison.  Awesome wildlife moment.

Thursday:  5
Legs feeling yesterday's double, so I took it easy mostly with grass laps at Bradford Preserve.

Friday:  8
Twilight Trail Run.  Separate write-up forthcoming.

Saturday:  6
Kettle Pond, Kimball, and B-game campground trails solo.  Controlled slow and easy, as between races.

Sunday:  15
Course marking, racing, and course clean-up at the 7th annual Back Road Ramble.  Separate write-up forthcoming.

Weekly mileage:  61!

What's wrong with this picture?
Unusually at the top of the club leaderboard.

Weekly synopsis:  Return to high mileage for me.  I know Jonny Hammett would yawn over a mere 60-mile week, but for me, that's my highest mileage since last October!  I don't expect next week or every week to be a 60-miler, but I would like to get at least 50 as my norm through the summer.  Really happy with this week's runs.

Weekly highlight:  The Back Road Ramble trail race.  From both volunteering and participating in this race, it's just a fun time.