Sunday, January 13, 2019

Weekly Mileage Log: 7-Jan to 13-Jan-2019

Monday:  8
'Round the pond midday run with Matthew.  Pretty fast for me at average 6:35 pace.

Tuesday:  8
7am hill workout with Matthew.  Glad I did this, but pretty sure I would not have had the mental persistence to get out there on my own.

  • 5 x Narragansett Hills - I thought Matthew was going to lap me on this
  • 5 x 200 on track - 39, 40, 40, 40, 36


Wednesday:  9
Dedham and Boston, MA.  Blue Heron Trail CCW, including Millenium Park, Boston.

  • First encounter:  a dour human.
  • Second encounter:  two white-tail deer.  They moved off the wooded trail (barely) and just stood on the side of the trail looking at me.  Pretty sure I heard one say to the other, "I remember that trail runner guy.  He used to be much faster and thinner."

Thursday:  9
Started in Bradford at 7am, and ran hills with Matthew.  I was struggling on the long climb on Buckeye Brook Road.  Had some fast miles after that, with the final mile at about 6-flat, albeit downhill.

Friday:  8
Woody Hill late afternoon with Matthew.  Absolutely nobody out on the trails.  It got really fun when it got pitch black and we deep in the woods on single-track.

Saturday:  20!
Tough getting out there.  23 degrees.  Took me a good three miles for my hands and bare legs to warm up.  Ran from home through Misquamicut and Weekapaug before heading out to Dave's Coffee in Charlestown at mile 8, where I met up with Matthew to run the final 12.

Headed north up 216, where Matthew summarily dropped me, or so it would appear.  We were running low 7s on rolling hills, and I was feeling it and questioning whether I would be able to finish 20.  Felt slightly better on the downhill sections of Klondike and down to the beach.

At an environmental break at the beach at Mile 16, it was really tough for me to get going again, and I knew the final four miles would just be holding on to finish.  The last three miles Matthew picked it up a bit and ran in the 6:40s and then 6:30s.  Great, just what I need.  I did my best to not drop completely off this train, and finished in 6:40s.  This run was tougher than I imagined, but I finished the 20 miles.  Longest run in 15 months.

  • First encounter:  A black SUV slowed beside us on 216, and the driver rolled down the window and yelled out "Walkers, pick up the pace!".  (My brother Greg)
  • Second encounter:  Off East Beach Road, a friendly puppy coming towards us was carrying a stick that was bigger than him (or her).
  • Third encounter:  Off West Beach Road, an elderly woman seeing us coming had stopped and pulled Jagger (a yellow lab puppy) close to her.  He was well heeled and sitting until I went up to them and said to Jagger, "Want to come for a run?", and then he started jumping excitedly.

Sunday:  12
Matthew and I met up with Chris at DuVal for a slightly longer than planned 10-miler.  Mostly trails, some roads.  Warm on the trails; cold on the roads.  18 degrees; this is about my low threshold for wearing shorts, but oddly I was warmer than yesterday when the temp was higher.  I attribute this to the relative warmth and absence of wind in the woods.  Good discussion on Nathaniel Philbrick books, AC/DC, Strava segments, and injury recovery.

Weekly mileage:  75

Weekly synopsis:  Struggled a bit with getting back into the boring and time-sucking routine of a five-day workweek, yet proved that I can still get in the mileage.  Let's see if I continue that pattern next week, when it will be harder with the double whammy of temps in the teens and nobody to run with mid-week as Matthew returns to the Granite State.

Weekly highlight:  While I wasn't feeling it during the run, it would have to be the 20-miler on Saturday.  My legs are still feeling it as I write this log 24 hours in arrears, but am thrilled to have completed this.

Weekly lowlight:  Only the reality of going back to my first 5-day workweek since Thanksgiving.  Otherwise, running healthy and injury free.


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