Weekly Log 11-Feb to 17-Feb-2019: Another Down Week

This is a markhor, a rare mountain goat which is the national animal of Pakistan.
Isn't it majestic?  I had never heard of it, until this week when I read about the 3rd
person in recent months that went to Pakistan and hunted and killed this animal.
Bryan Harlan of Texas paid $110K for a permit to hunt and kill the markhor.  He is reported to
have said, "It was an easy and close shot and I am pleased to take this trophy."  Just because
you have money doesn't make it right to kill these gentle animals.  All three "trophy hunters"
were Americans!!!  Another embarrassment for our country.  End of rant.

Of course, this week we also learned about the mountain lion in CO killed by
trail runner Travis Kauffman.  Double standard?  Not at all.  Kauffman was justified
in the amazing choking/killing of the lion, as the lion attacked him, had his arm
locked inside its mouth, and caused him 28 stitches to the cheek, nose, and wrist.
Scary, but fortunately very rare attack.

Monday:  4
The sickness continues into its second week.  Ugh.  Slept in and went for two consecutive late afternoon runs:

• Barlow Preserve:  Ran the new trails at this new Westerly Land Trust preserve.  A lot of the 80-acre preserve is swamp, so the trails are pretty limited.
• Champlin Glacier Park:  Ran the perimeter before getting dark and home for dinner.

Tuesday:  6
Grills Preserve loop in snow/sleet.  I delayed my run until the afternoon, as I thought it would be fun to run in the snow, which it was, until it turned to sleet.  Such a disappointing winter thus far with barely any snowfall.  Certainly not enough to get out the snowshoes or build a snowman.

It was fun to run on snow-covered trails.

Dicey, slippery crossing, but I made it.

I love the relief of the letters against the embedded snow,
after I cleared the snow off his grave.
Posted this pic to findagrave.com as well.

Looking over a frozen section of pond connected to
Pawcatuck River.

Wednesday:  5
Ninigret Park lunchtime run.  Wet everywhere after yesterday's storm.  Stuck to roads and bike paths.  Some slush was unavoidable.

Thursday:  6
Ninigret Park Day 2.  I guess this has become sort of my "go to" place to run lately and get away from civilization.  Who wants to hear my hacking and sneezing?  Trails had snow and slush in shaded areas, but largely dry and clear.  A lot of these trails are gravel based so they drain well.  I have to imagine that trails in many other places, including Burlingame, continue to be wet and muddy.

Day 10 of my cold.  Sick of it.  Hopefully it's almost over.  Do you think we'll ever have a cure for the common cold?  My understanding is that part of the difficulty is that there are about 160 different strains of the rhinovirus that cause colds.

Friday:  6
Late afternoon loop from Avondale Farm Preserve down through Watch Hill and back.  Warm 47 degrees, but it didn't feel it with the damp, drizzly, breezy weather.  Faster than I expected, with first mile about 7:10, four middle miles 6:30 - 6:45, and feeling good, I picked it up in final mile to finish in 5:42 (full disclosure:  taking advantage of wind direction and a slight downhill on Browning to start the mile).

Best I felt on a run in weeks.  It didn't hit me until after the run finished:  NO KNEE PAIN!  As in ZERO!  It's been 2 1/2 weeks, and while one day does not a pattern make, hopefully that is it.  Now if I can just get rid of this blasted stubborn cold I'm nursing.

Saturday:  6
Afternoon run with Matthew at Ninigret.  Mix of trails and park roads.  Can't believe this is my 3rd trip to Ninigret in one week!  The trails are dry and relatively people free.  Super mild but fleeting knee pain, so while not completely gone, very much dissipated.

Sunday:  10
Parked at Pawcatuck River State Wildlife Management Area.  First time here in a couple of years actually.  Ran south along the river down to River View, reminiscent of runs with Mikey B a few years back.  Despite it being 32 degrees, with the sun and virtually no wind, quickly felt overheated in a quarter-zip, hat, and gloves, so Matthew and both shed these behind a tree for a later pickup, and then ran three miles of trails in Barn Island, before returning and finishing up a loop on roads.  In Barn, there were surprisingly a lot of people on the trails, and at least 10 dogs, fortunately all of them friendly (the people and the dogs!).  Most dogs were leashed, and the few that weren't posed no issues at all.  One looked just like Leslie's "Chill" and had a big stick in its mouth, and one was an adorable black lab puppy that looked like it wanted to come and run with us.  Not a single dog barked or growled at us; such a refreshing change from the spate of dog/owner issues you see on Strava recently and we've all been through at one point or another.

Weekly mileage:  44

Weekly synopsis:  Lowest mileage week in more than two months.  Not where I want to be, but I feel like backing off only made sense with my recent sickness.  I feel like I've done all the right things recently, including sleeping in, avoiding alcohol, increase Vitamin C and fluid intake, etc., but after all, it is a virus and needs to run its course.

Weekly highlight:  Probably a tie between the Grills run in the snow and the 10-miler loop today in the sunshine.

Weekly lowlight:  This friggin' cold still hanging on at the end of two weeks now.  Ugh.