Monday: 0 run, 650 yards swim
Knee is super stiff one day after Rhody and with two falls. Felt good in the pool.
Tuesday: 6
Narragansett. After my annual physical, drove a short distance to Narragansett Pier and ran a beach / road / trail loop. Raw and 39 degrees.
Wednesday: 9
Blustery in the Bluff. Run with Matthew. Very exposed and windy in a number of areas. Mostly single-track in Bluff State Park, with a small loop into Haley Farm State Park. I like the trails in Haley, but that "Amtrak sprint" section along the tracks to get there and back is just awful. In addition to all those small awkward rocks used along the tracks, today it was just totally exposed to the cold wind. Fortunately, the train track section is really short, and overall I really enjoyed the trails and run. In fact, I felt really good in the last mile and actually picked up the pace for some reason.
Thursday: 7
Thanksgiving Day. Waited a little late, as unfortunately my morning holiday "fun" was replacing a dripping garbage disposal, then cleaning up the mold from who knows how long it had been dripping under the counter, and then apply a layer of Killz to the boards.
Because of that unplanned diversion, didn't start my run (with Matthew) until 11:30am and that narrowed our choices to fit in before heading to Narragansett for turkey dinner at my brother Kurt's. Anyhow, parked at the Burlingame North parking lot, and ran Lenny Lane, the North Camp trails down to the beach, Vin Gormley out to Cool Springs Road, and then Sammy C's back. 21 degrees and windy at times.
Friday: 10
Barn Island Black Friday group run with Muddy, Tommy 5K, and Matthew. 14 degrees! I really feared I would just freeze out there, so besides tights and a quarter-zip over a long-sleeve tech shirt, I wore my thickest running socks, thickest hat, and warm gloves that aren't even running gloves. I overdressed. Was mildly cold (can you use "mild" and "cold" together?) for the first mile only, and then sweated most of the run. Despite only warming up to 16 degrees, it is amazing how warm you can feel when it's sunny and pretty much no wind.
Mostly a single-track run today, which is my bread and butter. Unfortunately, a number of the Barn trails, especially some of the more obscure and less traveled twisty trails I took today, are very narrow to the point of being overgrown. I wish the State of CT (owner of Barn Island Management Area) would get in there with weed-whackers at the end of each summer growth period, like the Westerly Land Trust does, but it isn't to be. Good run regardless.
Saturday: 8
Grills Preserve. Ran from Hopkinton side, looped around in Westerly including my favorite trail, the yellow trail along the Pawcatuck, the former XC course, and back over the Polly Coon into Hopkinton. Back in Hopkinton, took the yellow trail that goes right along the river, and at one point, had to break through shallow ice to keep going, as there was no way around it. Soaked the shoes, socks, and feet, but it was near the end and in mid-40s anyway. Matthew took off the last half-mile, and I was already completing fading and had nothing to give.
Sunday: 11
Road run. Loop from Arcadia Y, Richmond. Up Blitzkrieg Trail (dirt road) into Exeter, back on Skunk Hill Road (almost a good portion dirt road). For road runs, this is really one of my favorite courses. Went a full nine miles without seeing a car! Thus we ran in the middle of the road most of the way. Felt really good; last four miles were in the 6:30 - 6:40 range.
Weekly mileage: 52
Weekly synopsis: Second week in a row with mileage north of 50, and second week in a row of solid runs where I felt good. No complaints!
Weekly highlight: While I really enjoyed the camaraderie of the Black Friday group run, I actually most enjoyed today's run (super quiet and rural roads in Richmond and Exeter). Super happy with a solid 11 miles at sub-7 pace, and having enough in the tank to finish strong.
Weekly lowlight: I have to think hard to even think of a lowlight, but it is the way I was fading and bonking at Grills on Saturday. If that's the worst, I'll take it!
Knee is super stiff one day after Rhody and with two falls. Felt good in the pool.
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| Sweet loaner A5 that I had today, while our car was in for service. Brand new loaded car with many features I don't have. |
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| Sirius XM has a separate station for Tom Petty?! Very cool. I'd be too cheap to get SiriusXM on my own, but listening to it on someone else's dime was fun. |
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| This was just weird. When I opened the driver's door, the Audi logo was projected onto the surface below. |
Tuesday: 6
Narragansett. After my annual physical, drove a short distance to Narragansett Pier and ran a beach / road / trail loop. Raw and 39 degrees.
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| Crooked Brook trail. Flooded. Tried to jump on to rocks and log you can see on left side of the trail, but slid right off into the drink! |
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| Canonchet Farm Trail. Just a tad muddy. |
Wednesday: 9
Blustery in the Bluff. Run with Matthew. Very exposed and windy in a number of areas. Mostly single-track in Bluff State Park, with a small loop into Haley Farm State Park. I like the trails in Haley, but that "Amtrak sprint" section along the tracks to get there and back is just awful. In addition to all those small awkward rocks used along the tracks, today it was just totally exposed to the cold wind. Fortunately, the train track section is really short, and overall I really enjoyed the trails and run. In fact, I felt really good in the last mile and actually picked up the pace for some reason.
Thursday: 7
Thanksgiving Day. Waited a little late, as unfortunately my morning holiday "fun" was replacing a dripping garbage disposal, then cleaning up the mold from who knows how long it had been dripping under the counter, and then apply a layer of Killz to the boards.
Because of that unplanned diversion, didn't start my run (with Matthew) until 11:30am and that narrowed our choices to fit in before heading to Narragansett for turkey dinner at my brother Kurt's. Anyhow, parked at the Burlingame North parking lot, and ran Lenny Lane, the North Camp trails down to the beach, Vin Gormley out to Cool Springs Road, and then Sammy C's back. 21 degrees and windy at times.
Friday: 10
Barn Island Black Friday group run with Muddy, Tommy 5K, and Matthew. 14 degrees! I really feared I would just freeze out there, so besides tights and a quarter-zip over a long-sleeve tech shirt, I wore my thickest running socks, thickest hat, and warm gloves that aren't even running gloves. I overdressed. Was mildly cold (can you use "mild" and "cold" together?) for the first mile only, and then sweated most of the run. Despite only warming up to 16 degrees, it is amazing how warm you can feel when it's sunny and pretty much no wind.
 |
| Frigid leaving the house for Barn Island. |
Mostly a single-track run today, which is my bread and butter. Unfortunately, a number of the Barn trails, especially some of the more obscure and less traveled twisty trails I took today, are very narrow to the point of being overgrown. I wish the State of CT (owner of Barn Island Management Area) would get in there with weed-whackers at the end of each summer growth period, like the Westerly Land Trust does, but it isn't to be. Good run regardless.
 |
| Post-run latte at Junk & Java hit the spot. Unfortunately, Mikey B couldn't join us. |
Saturday: 8
Grills Preserve. Ran from Hopkinton side, looped around in Westerly including my favorite trail, the yellow trail along the Pawcatuck, the former XC course, and back over the Polly Coon into Hopkinton. Back in Hopkinton, took the yellow trail that goes right along the river, and at one point, had to break through shallow ice to keep going, as there was no way around it. Soaked the shoes, socks, and feet, but it was near the end and in mid-40s anyway. Matthew took off the last half-mile, and I was already completing fading and had nothing to give.
Sunday: 11
Road run. Loop from Arcadia Y, Richmond. Up Blitzkrieg Trail (dirt road) into Exeter, back on Skunk Hill Road (almost a good portion dirt road). For road runs, this is really one of my favorite courses. Went a full nine miles without seeing a car! Thus we ran in the middle of the road most of the way. Felt really good; last four miles were in the 6:30 - 6:40 range.
Weekly mileage: 52
Weekly synopsis: Second week in a row with mileage north of 50, and second week in a row of solid runs where I felt good. No complaints!
Weekly highlight: While I really enjoyed the camaraderie of the Black Friday group run, I actually most enjoyed today's run (super quiet and rural roads in Richmond and Exeter). Super happy with a solid 11 miles at sub-7 pace, and having enough in the tank to finish strong.
Weekly lowlight: I have to think hard to even think of a lowlight, but it is the way I was fading and bonking at Grills on Saturday. If that's the worst, I'll take it!
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