Weekly Log 8-Oct to 14-Oct-2018: Summer-to-Fall Weather, a Rejection, and Fifty-Plus

Monday:  7
Columbus Day.  Run on Burlingame trails Lenny, Vinny, and Sammy with Jonathan and Tommy.  Temps in upper 50s.  Still just slightly humid, but nothing like yesterday.

Tuesday:  11
Late after muggy road run, with just about one mile on trails in Woody Hill / Wahaneeta.  With an average pace just under 7-flat, I felt like I was pushing it just a little.  Yet another run where I was absolutely drenched at the finish.

Today is Leif Erikson Day.  During the run, I pondered why schools still falsely teach that Columbus "discovered" America, when since at least 1960 we have had scientific evidence that Erikson crossed the Atlantic approximately 500 years before any of Columbus's four ocean-crossing journeys.  Based on that alone, Erikson is more worthy of the holiday, before even getting into the fact that unlike Erikson, Columbus never even set foot on the North American continent, nor the historical genocidal baggage that Columbus carries.

Statue of Leif Erikson that Matthew and I
visited on a run in 2016 in Leif's native Iceland

Unfortunately, received this rather expected e-mail of bad news today.  The odds are just stacked against one entering the London Marathon lottery, and unfortunately, while my times qualify, those are only valid for UK citizens.  The US tour operator (Marathon Tours) is sold out for London 2019, and even if they weren't, the package you have to buy from them runs 3-4 grand, exclusive of airfare.
---
Now I need to think about which marathon to run in the spring.  I don't want 2019 to be a repeat of a marathon-less year.

Wednesday:  5
Moose Hill Wildlife Sanctuary (not to be confused with the adjacent Moose Hill Farm trails)

Not the best of trail maps,
but I could follow it and at intersections, cross-reference where I was on the map

Trail names were always well marked.
I would have to stop at intersections and see where I was
on the map I snapped on my phone, but that kept me
from getting lost.

Shot from the "Bluff Trail".  This was one of the best trails
that I ran on.  Some unfortunately were designed poorly
(e.g., straight down a hill, encouraging erosion) and/or overgrown (e.g., "Forest Trail").
--------------
I retraced Chris' steps on his May 2018 run here; apparently he was smarter
than me and avoided the Forest Trail.

Another well marked trail intersection.
Loved the Summit Trail.

Scrambling up the Summit Trail.

Firetower at the top of the Summit Trail.
Unfortunately, it was fenced off, so I couldn't
climb it.

Glad I got my run in during the morning.  When I left work in Wellesley, MA at 3pm, the temp was 86 degrees.  Not exactly a typical fall day in October in New England.

Thursday:  6
Weekapaug Sand Trail.  Unseasonably warm temperature of 73 degrees at sunrise, coupled with 100% humidity, led me to drive to the ocean to start my run, so that I could end it with a jump in the ocean.  Ran Sand Trail out to Quonochontaug Breachway.  There were a few fisherman at the start of the Sand Trail, but then absolutely nobody for the final mile plus out to the breachway.  I like it best that way.  Just me and hundreds of birds.  Slower going on the way back as it was near high tide.  Jumped in at Fenway Beach; SO refreshing!

Friday:  5
Afternoon run at Grills Hopkinton.  Had planned to run over to Westerly side and back, but just felt creaky and sluggish, so stayed on the flat sections in Hopkinton.  Never felt good on this one.  Can't win 'em all.

We've had a lot of rain lately.
Not sure if this picture does it justice,
but the banks of the Pawcatuck River (at Grills trailhead)
were quite swollen and flooded.

Saturday:  8
Arcadia Management Area.  46 degrees and slight rain.  What a pleasant change in weather!  My hands were actually cold for the first mile; something I hadn't experienced since early spring.

Different start and trails than I've run on.  Thanks to Jonathan Short for planning this one out.  Ran from an entrance on Escoheag Hill Road, and then there were parts that looked vaguely familiar, including the structure in the "Ledges" area at the top of rocks.  There are actually more marked trails here than I thought.  Paid particular attention at intersection of marked trails, including Escoheag and Breakheart.  Today's run was not only fun, but super helpful from an orientation standpoint.  I think I could almost attempt a loop run in Arcadia myself now.  Also great getting in the hills - just over 1,100' elevation gain.

Sunday:  9
6:15am:  5 miles on the dark trails with Tommy.  42 degrees!  Met up at Kimball Refuge.  I did not want to get out of bed in the dark, cool morning, but was really happy once out there.  Felt great!
7:00am:  4 miles with Paul, making final tweaks to and running the brand new 4-mile "Half Runaround" course for Rhody.  While I'm not a fan of the necessary Sanctuary Road, the rest of the course should be really fun, including the finishing section Paul put in right on the shores of Watchaug Pond.

After the run, I was long, long overdue, for cleaning the gutters
and fixing where the gutter was actually separating from the fascia boards
above the roof soffits.  Years overdue actually.  Jana reminded me
that I've taken care of my mother's gutters a number of years, but not
our own.  Yeah, a little embarrassing.
-----
Obviously I can't rest the top of the ladder on gutters that are coming unattached and
that I'll be working on securing, but if I put the top of the ladder under
the roof soffits, how do I then awkwardly reach over the gutter and work
on it?  Watching other contractors work on our house this summer,
plus a few how-to YouTube videos,
"I" figured it out - a ladder step out stabilizer!
$40 from ACE (above on back of garage) and I'm on my way.

Especially helpful on the upper part of the house, where although I'm
not afraid of heights, leaning off the ladder makes me just a tad more nervous.
This did the trick!

Take a look at the two brackets:
Right:  The original 20-year old cheaper bracket, where the screw over the
years has come completely out and is long gone.  Several of these brackets
were in same decrepit conditions.  That might be why the gutter was separating
from the house!
Left:  The new sturdier bracket, before I drilled it deep into the fascia board.

Put in 7 of these suckers.  I'll have to wait until the next
heavy rain to see if this stops the water rushing off the roof
and between the fascia board and separated gutter,
but I'm already feeling a sense of accomplishment.

Weekly mileage:  53!

Weekly synopsis:  Super happy with this week's running.  Ran all seven days (since Monday was a holiday, hard to pass up), ran in a different place all seven days, and ran MORE THAN 50 MILES!  I know that running 50+ is not a major running accomplishment, but it gave me great confidence as it was the first time I had done so since the first week of June, immediately before my summer-long injury.  Did I mention that I was happy with my running this week?!  :)

Weekly highlight:  I loved that I got out with different running friends several times this week, but if I had to choose a single day of running, it would be the day I ran Moose Hill.  Even though I ran some overgrown trails that I wished I had avoided, it was a brand new experience for me and now I know which trails to avoid and the super fun ones to repeat.  Besides, Moose Hill Wildlife Refuge connects to several other trail systems, so there is plenty of exploring to do!

Weekly lowlight:  Friday at Grills Hopkinton.  Nothing to do with Grills; it was all on me as the body just wasn't feeling it.  Fortunately, it lasted for that day only.