Monday: 0
Deliberate day off. Feeling a little run down from a high mileage week, yesterday's indoor track 5K, and some healing trail carnage injuries.
Tuesday: 6
Burlingame Campground in the dark. Headed there after work, and just after starting, was surprised to see headlights coming towards me. I heard, "It's Jeff". How does someone know me? Oh, it's Beth! And Jax! And the "Imaginary Husband" is real. I even shook his hand to make sure he wasn't some kind of mirage. :) Seriously, good to see fellow outdoors lovers. Rest of the run was uneventful. Really hard to follow the former Brrr-lingame course through the campground in the dark. Heck, it's hard to follow that even in the daylight! I say "former" as I'm guessing that the 4th season trail race series is now defunct. :(
Wednesday: 5
Back to Burlingame Campground for the second time in as many days. Roads this time, with a 10 x (1-minute on, 30-second off) workout. That sounds easy, right? The first few were, but the problem is you never really catch your breath. Was ready to quit by the 6th repetition, but pushed on.
Strange mild right knee pain throughout.
Thursday: 6
3 degrees. Two layers on top, two on bottom, and I was fine throughout the run. Local roads on my Westerly Hospital loop.
Unfortunately, the right knee pain continued into today, and it bothered me so much in the first mile that I was thinking of turning around and calling it a day. Fortunately, while it never went away, it did subside a bit. Hopefully short lived.
Mileage for month of January: 262
Friday: 5
Into February we go. 11 degrees out. Woody Hill short loop from Fallon Trail, through Wahaneeta, and around the pond. Was pleasantly surprised at the fancy new bridge built at the dam at Wahaneeta. When I saw e-mails that a crew would be out there working on a bridge, I just figured they were repairing some broken boards on existing bog bridges. Nope, this one is brand new, with side railings, and pretty neat. Will be much quicker through there at this year's Wahaneeta 5K. (The bridge is at about the 2.7 mile mark in race, and will replace a somewhat hazardous drop-off.)
The knee pain continued, although not nearly as bad today. A step in the right direction?
Saturday: 18
February 2, Groundhog Day
Had trouble getting out the door today. Temp was in the low teens when I woke up, and as I was planning on both a long run and some intervals, figured I'd wait until the afternoon when it warmed up. Well ...
It did warm up nicely, 29 degrees in fact, but it got rather windy with gusts up to 25-30mph along the ocean. Accordingly, while it was nice that I got to wear shorts for the first time in a few days, I never really warmed up. I had planned on 2 x (5MP, 2E), but faced with a cold and strong west headwind on Atlantic Avenue, I changed the 5-mile MP sections down to 3-mile MP sections and also threw in some north-south running streets to break up the wind on Atlantic.
Knee pain very bothersome first mile, then mild in the next two miles, and then completely gone for the rest of the run! Got it done with just enough time afterwards to get cleaned up and get ready for a nice neighborhood party.
Sunday: 7
Deep Pond trails with Jonathan Short. Met up at Beach Pond on the RI/CT line, and ran south on Tippecansett Trail to Deep Pond trail. Warm 37 degrees after several days that were quite cold. Continuing the trend, my knee was really bothering me at first and accordingly I was very deliberate and cautious in my steps on technical terrain. At one point later in the run (Jonathan said we were about 2.5 miles in), I had this distinct and very good feeling in my knee and then again the pain was gone. Weird!
At the shores of Deep Pond, we came across an abandoned and demolished little recreational shack that must have been quite neat back when it was functional. Only the fireplace and chimney remained standing. Varied, mildly technical trails. Back at Beach Pond starting point, we walked out onto the ice. A number of people were ice fishing there.
Weekly mileage: 47
Weekly synopsis: Mileage is down quite a bit this week, but against the backdrop of racing, banged up a bit and knee issue, that's really not too bad. My plan for next week, knee willing, is to ramp the miles right back up, including one final 20-mile long run.
Weekly highlight: Hmmm, no real standouts. I guess the Deep Pond run because 1) it's always more fun to have company on a run, and 2) I don't really know these trails well, so it's something different.
Weekly lowlight: That's an easy one: the knee pain, for sure.
Deliberate day off. Feeling a little run down from a high mileage week, yesterday's indoor track 5K, and some healing trail carnage injuries.
Tuesday: 6
Burlingame Campground in the dark. Headed there after work, and just after starting, was surprised to see headlights coming towards me. I heard, "It's Jeff". How does someone know me? Oh, it's Beth! And Jax! And the "Imaginary Husband" is real. I even shook his hand to make sure he wasn't some kind of mirage. :) Seriously, good to see fellow outdoors lovers. Rest of the run was uneventful. Really hard to follow the former Brrr-lingame course through the campground in the dark. Heck, it's hard to follow that even in the daylight! I say "former" as I'm guessing that the 4th season trail race series is now defunct. :(
 |
| I've had a number of people ask me if I know anything about the 4th Season Trail Race series for this winter. Unfortunately, I don't, and we'll need to scramble to find a replacement February WTAC Clamshell race. As Leslie succinctly pointed out in a recent post, "mid-January has come and gone". Yes, it has indeed. ------------ Against that backdrop, and with no races listed in Running in the USA in February for either RI or nearby CT, I guess I won't be racing until March. Not necessarily a bad thing, although I did always really enjoy racing Old Mountain Field 5K Trail Race. |
Back to Burlingame Campground for the second time in as many days. Roads this time, with a 10 x (1-minute on, 30-second off) workout. That sounds easy, right? The first few were, but the problem is you never really catch your breath. Was ready to quit by the 6th repetition, but pushed on.
Strange mild right knee pain throughout.
Thursday: 6
3 degrees. Two layers on top, two on bottom, and I was fine throughout the run. Local roads on my Westerly Hospital loop.
Unfortunately, the right knee pain continued into today, and it bothered me so much in the first mile that I was thinking of turning around and calling it a day. Fortunately, while it never went away, it did subside a bit. Hopefully short lived.
Mileage for month of January: 262
Friday: 5
Into February we go. 11 degrees out. Woody Hill short loop from Fallon Trail, through Wahaneeta, and around the pond. Was pleasantly surprised at the fancy new bridge built at the dam at Wahaneeta. When I saw e-mails that a crew would be out there working on a bridge, I just figured they were repairing some broken boards on existing bog bridges. Nope, this one is brand new, with side railings, and pretty neat. Will be much quicker through there at this year's Wahaneeta 5K. (The bridge is at about the 2.7 mile mark in race, and will replace a somewhat hazardous drop-off.)
The knee pain continued, although not nearly as bad today. A step in the right direction?
Saturday: 18
February 2, Groundhog Day
 |
| Groundhog Day predictions. Oh, wait a minute, not those predictions ... |
 |
| Yeah, this is the prediction I was looking for. Silly, but fun tradition. For what it's worth, Punxsutawny Phil predicted an early spring this year. Not that we have really had any semblance of winter here in RI, save a few cold days thus far. Certainly next week's forecast looks like spring already. |
It did warm up nicely, 29 degrees in fact, but it got rather windy with gusts up to 25-30mph along the ocean. Accordingly, while it was nice that I got to wear shorts for the first time in a few days, I never really warmed up. I had planned on 2 x (5MP, 2E), but faced with a cold and strong west headwind on Atlantic Avenue, I changed the 5-mile MP sections down to 3-mile MP sections and also threw in some north-south running streets to break up the wind on Atlantic.
Knee pain very bothersome first mile, then mild in the next two miles, and then completely gone for the rest of the run! Got it done with just enough time afterwards to get cleaned up and get ready for a nice neighborhood party.
 |
| Since Winter is 1/2 over, next week's temps rising into the 50s, and this winter growth is quite itchy, time for it to go. |
 |
| Still old (can't help that one), but perhaps a tad less creepy? |
Deep Pond trails with Jonathan Short. Met up at Beach Pond on the RI/CT line, and ran south on Tippecansett Trail to Deep Pond trail. Warm 37 degrees after several days that were quite cold. Continuing the trend, my knee was really bothering me at first and accordingly I was very deliberate and cautious in my steps on technical terrain. At one point later in the run (Jonathan said we were about 2.5 miles in), I had this distinct and very good feeling in my knee and then again the pain was gone. Weird!
At the shores of Deep Pond, we came across an abandoned and demolished little recreational shack that must have been quite neat back when it was functional. Only the fireplace and chimney remained standing. Varied, mildly technical trails. Back at Beach Pond starting point, we walked out onto the ice. A number of people were ice fishing there.
Weekly mileage: 47
Weekly synopsis: Mileage is down quite a bit this week, but against the backdrop of racing, banged up a bit and knee issue, that's really not too bad. My plan for next week, knee willing, is to ramp the miles right back up, including one final 20-mile long run.
Weekly highlight: Hmmm, no real standouts. I guess the Deep Pond run because 1) it's always more fun to have company on a run, and 2) I don't really know these trails well, so it's something different.
Weekly lowlight: That's an easy one: the knee pain, for sure.
 |
| I know, I know ... Self-diagnosing with the Internet can be dangerous and misleading, but I have to start somewhere and it's not debilitating enough for me to immediately seek medical or PT advice. This plus additional reads really do suggest PatelloFemoral Pain Syndrome, or "runner's knee" |
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| Doesn't sound terrible. Hopefully short lived, with some rest and stretching. Source: https://www.painscience.com/tutorials/patellofemoral-pain-syndrome.php |
Runners Knee! Lucky you! NOT! Hopefully it isn't and more related to your recent falls on the trail and some stretching will help, and foam rolling that tight piriformis is always fun too.
ReplyDeleteYou can read the other side of the conversation in Burlingame with my imaginary husband. It was nice running into you too!