Weekly Log 21-Oct to 27-Oct-2019: Building Back My Running Confidence

Monday:  0
Planned rest day after 19 days straight running, and a minor malady yesterday.

Tuesday:  10
AM:  4 mile easy local roads before work.  Good stress-buster before my 7th interview in 3 weeks; hope to wrap this up soon.  Also a recovery day after my hard 14-miler two days ago.  Everything feeling back to normal.

Another month ... another drop in Prednisone dosage.  Yea!  No adverse effects thus far.  Now taking 1/2 of the maximum daily dosage (10mg) I was using from late summer.  I'll see the rheumatologist around Thanksgiving to get the next evaluation and steps from there.

PM:  6 miles late afternoon from Li'l Rhody sponsor Dave's Coffee in Charlestown.  Ran with Paul and Justin P before meeting up with three other WTAC Clamshell committee members for deciding 2019 awards for the club Christmas party and 2020 events.

Wednesday:  7
New Haven, CT.  Run from downtown to East Rock Park, with a ~400' elevation climb.  Ran with my New Haven based colleague, who is also running Boston.  Other than the final ascent, I felt really good on today's run.  Average pace 6:47, with low 6s final three miles.

Nice walk through a village green downtown, as part of my 1-mile walk from
Amtrak's Union Station to the building I work in

Thursday:  7
Barn Island, Stonington, CT.  Beautiful weather late afternoon with temps in low 60s and sunny.  Unfortunately, my favorite single-track trails are just overgrown and I got cut up many times by overgrowth, mostly in the form of briars.  The trails just don't get enough traffic, I guess.  Hopefully a hard frost will help, but I might need to go in there with loppers as well.

Friday:  8
'Round the pond.

• Plan:  Run 2 miles easy (7-ish), 4 hard (6:20s), 2 cool-down (mid 7s).
• Actual:  Ran 2 miles at 6:45 pace, 5 at 6:10-6:15 pace, final mile at 6:30, for an average 6:24.  Just felt great out there today and went with it.

In the evening, I pulled a tick off my head.  Ugh.  Disgusting, vile creatures.  One more reason I'll be happy to get a hard frost.  It wasn't embedded, so I'm hoping it didn't have opportunity to pass me Lyme or any other fun tick-borne infestations.

Saturday:  8
Ninigret run with Muddy.  Mostly trails, with some park roads mixed in.  Good conversation and catch up.

While volunteering at a paper shredding event mid-morning, an elderly woman asked me if I had gotten clawed by an animal.  Hmm?  Um, no.  Then she pointed to my legs with all the scratches.  Ahh.  No, just briars from trail running, ma'am.

Sunday:  15
Burlingame solo trail run in light rain.  Pretty soaked by the end, but didn't bother me at all.  Changed into dry clothes when done and got a hot coffee on drive home.  Trails in great shape.  Didn't see a single person on the trails this morning.

New blazes on North-South Trail.  Am I mistaken,
or were the former blazes a lighter and more
visible shade of blue?

Weekly mileage:  56

Weekly synopsis:  Third consecutive fifty-plus week.  Pretty even mix between roads and trails.  I'm really feeling great, and got some solid runs in this week.  Contemplating running a trail race next week as kind of a tune-up and fitness check for Rhody.

Weekly highlight:  It's a toss up between today's 15-miler at Burlingame, and Friday's unplanned "fast" run (8 miles at 6:24 pace), but I'm going with the latter.  I know I'm not setting any land speed records, and it wasn't a race, but just felt really good getting in that kind of run without maximum exertion and without any issues.

Weekly lowlight:  Ticks.  Absolutely disgusting.  I've had three different tick diseases, some multiple times, and I sure hope I dodged a bullet this week.

Weekly Log 14-Oct to 20-Oct-2019: Another Good Week

Monday:  5
Columbus Day morning.  I had originally envisioned a techy, rocky run in Yawgoog, but as I woke up to rain, I figured I'd leave the rocks to a day when they were drier.

Ran the Kimball and Burlingame trail section of this year's Li'l Rhody.  Equipped with a pair of loppers, I took out a few overgrown and overhanging sections before dropping the loppers at the car and running a bunch of Kimball and Kettle Pond trails.  Light rain.

Matthew was home for Columbus Day weekend, and as he wanted to visit New England Aquarium on his way back to UNH, we figured we'd go with him for some family time, as none of us had been in years.  Drove in to the city, enjoyed the aquarium, walked around Boston a bit, had a light dinner at Legal Seafood on the harbor, and dropped him off at the train station for his train back to Durham, NH.

Penguins!

This boy is big!

I love sharks.  Well, maybe not if I encountered one in the
open ocean, but up close behind glass is pretty cool.

How many fish are in this picture?

Just beautiful!

Tuesday:  5
Continuing yesterday's theme, I ran one of the newer and less utilized sections of this year's Rhody course with loppers.  While trimming on Sammy C's, where I almost never see anyone, a guy on a bike comes up the trail.  Mike Galoob!  I asked if he bikes or runs more lately, and he said definitely biking.  It really gets dark much earlier now, and I almost ran out of daylight by the time I got back to my car.

Wednesday:  6
After working in Providence, a stop in Arcadia Management Area seemed like a good place for a run.  Hudson to Breakheart Pond, around the pond, along the river out to Frosty Hollow Pond, Deion Trail, NST, and Mount Tom back to parking area.  Beautiful day out there!

Thursday:  7
88% of Westerly without power today, after a peak of 70mph winds.  Just about all downtown businesses were closed, but unfortunately my employer has to be the one to remain open with a bank of generators.  Waited 'til late afternoon, then hit the trails at Wahaneeta, into Woody Hill as far as Bradford Preserve, and back around the pond.  A lot of branches and trees down.  Was surprised and disappointed to see that two weeks after the NEMBA bike event, there are still many course marker signs stapled to trees, as well as some downed and blowing around on the trails.  I just hope DEM or others don't see them and falsely tag them with our event or our club.  I ran past, but not onto, Hansel & Gretel.  While I was happy to see some pine needles down on the trail with the recent wind, I figured I'd give the trail more time to "heal".

I finished up the last mile of my run by being a
Good Samaritan to the forest by freeing this
letter E (?) helium balloon from a small tree
and dragging it out the woods and disposing of it.
Don't release helium balloons, people!

Friday:  6
Warm, late afternoon run in Burlingame.  Picked up and threw a lot of sticks and branches off the trail on Sammy C's in advance of Li'l Rhody race, but also ran on Schoolhouse Pond trail for the first time in a long time.  There was only one blowdown on Sammy C's that I couldn't clear:  a big tree that that you can just jump onto and over.  Schoolhouse Pond had a bigger obstruction that will need a chainsaw or detour, as will the short section of NST trail from Buckeye Brook Road to Vin Gormley, right near start of Lenny Lane.

I forgot how fun the Schoolhouse Pond Trail is!

Saturday:  10
Li'l Rhody course preview with Justin P, Kevin M, and an encounter with Jonathan running Sammy C's in the reverse direction as us.  Two blowdowns which I'll come back with a chainsaw and take care of this weekend, and thanks to the gang picking up and throwing a lot of branches on the trail, the course is looking really good!  I'm really excited about this race!

Justin and Kevin were both very gracious to offer to come back with me later to clear the blowdowns, but I went back with Jana and my Ryobi chainsaw in the afternoon and we cleared them pretty quickly.

Decluttering:  Packed up the car with years' worth of collected
junk, and headed to the transfer station.  If you were looking for that last XT
computer, modem, or 10-year old tires with rusty rims, you missed your chance.
Hopefully my accumulation stage (of junk) is in the rear view mirror.

After that, it was off to a new (to me) restaurant that Jana had picked out:  Golden Palace in Montville.  Exceeded my expectations!  I ordered (in Cantonese) a couple of authentic Chinese vegetable and steamed fish dishes that I recognized and had regularly eaten when I worked for many months on computer projects in Hong Kong back in the 90s.  (The restaurant owners were from Hong Kong.)  Really brought back positive memories of working and exploring during my numerous visits to the then British colony of Hong Kong.

Sunday:  14!
Tri-town MLR to/from Arcadia Y, with two 2-mile interval runs.  This one beat me up pretty good.  There are some rolling hills for sure, and 5+ miles were on soft dirt roads, where I ran the intervals, but still legs are feeling it post-run more than I had expected.  I really like [most of] this route, as it's just way out on rural country roads without traffic or humans.

While I was hoping my "hard" splits would have been faster (6:23, 6:23, 6:23, 5:34), [first three of those miles on rolling dirt roads, final hard mile on asphalt downhill], I felt good overall.  Until I stopped and knew something was wrong.  I won't gross out my readers with TMI, but let's just say that was the start of multiple instances of Gross Hematuria.  I'm really hoping it was purely exercised induced by upping the distance and intensity from what I've done anytime recently, and will go away in a day or two.  My aging body doesn't need any more maladies.  Definite complete rest day tomorrow.

Weekly mileage:  52

Weekly synopsis:  Second consecutive week of 50+ mileage!  Nineteen straight days of running, longest streak since last December.  Longest single run since Myrtle Beach Marathon in March.  Yeah, I would say it was a good week for me!

Weekly highlight:  Getting 14 miles in on rolling hills, with speed intervals.

Weekly lowlight:  The price paid for above highlight.  Hematuria.  'Nuff said.

Weekly Log 7-Oct to 13-Oct-2019: Nifty Fifty!

Monday:  6
New Haven lunch run on the Farmington Canal Trail.  Very warm 76 degrees for early October.

Tuesday:  4
Short window for running post-work and pre-meeting to secure the holiday party venue for WTAC.  Had a nice quiet run in the woods from Wahaneeta into Woody Hill.

Wednesday:  8
Take 1 - Alarm went off at 6am.  I had set it early with plans to go for an 8-mile trail run in Burlingame.  Pitch dark and steady rain.  No dice.  Reset the alarm for 7:30am and pulled up the bedsheet covers.  Wimp.

Take 2 - Lunchtime from the Y.  Just sprinkling.  Let's go.  A couple of miles in, the steady rain resumed.  Oh well, I'm out here now.  As the rain picked up, I was quickly drenched, but I think that actually pushed me a bit.  Ended up with an average 6:40 pace.  Felt great!  You know what also felt great?  Five minutes in the sauna, followed by a hot shower.

Thursday:  8
Late afternoon run in the woods.  48 degrees and drizzly.  It was super windy, so running in the woods was my first choice (I don't like wind and the forest protects you so well from the wind).  Ran Burlingame trails north of the pond.  Never saw a soul.  Down near the pond on the North Camp trails, I spied a deer in the middle of the double-track that just was not moving as I approached.  I convinced myself that eyes were playing tricks on me and it was just a big branch, until I got really close (estimate 15') and all of a sudden it darted.  That's the second time within a week that I got fairly close to wildlife on the trails.  Pretty cool.

Sammy C's is looking just awesome for Rhody.  A few minor clippings with a lopper maybe, but nice leaf and pine-needle covered floor and very fun single-track.  I went down once on wet leaves and bloodied the knees a bit, but that's what I do.

Friday:   8
Another super windy day, so another no-brainer for me to run in the woods and avoid it.  Please mid-day run from Grills Hopkinton across Polly Coon Bridge into Westerly, a loop on the Westerly side and then back.  Encountered 1 human (friendly), 2 dogs (friendly), and 3 white-tails.

Saturday:  8
Denison-Pequotsepos and Coogan Farm, Mystic, CT.  All trails.  No roads.

Highlights:  Council Rock, Stillman Mansion, and Coogan Farm.  Pretty sure it was my first time to all three; not sure how I missed them before.  Council Rock is actually a large rock outcropping, with several smaller "rocks" (boulders really) on top that look they would fit right in to some sort of ceremony or meeting.  Stillman Mansion is a foundation from the late 1800s, where Mr & Mrs Stillman planned a 49-room estate before running out of funds while building.  Coogan Farm is 45 acres of undeveloped farmland, with its roots dating to the 17th century.

Sunday:  11
Road run from home, through Avondale, Watch Hill, and Misquamicut.  Four miles solo, seven with Run While You Can group run.  Good catching up with a few runners I hadn't seen in a while.

Weekly mileage:  54!

Weekly synopsis:  Just a great week of running.  50 is just a number, yet at the same time having eclipsed this threshold for the first time since my PMR symptoms started in May, I feel like my running and health is getting back to normal and that I'm on my way to putting this behind me.

Weekly highlight:  In a kind of weird way, the soaking rain run mid-week.  Just felt great out there and was able to push it.

Weekly lowlight:  None.  Ran every single day.  No issues at all.  Life is good.  What a great week!

Pumpkins / Strides Double-Header

Westerly, RI
Saturday, October 5, 2019

The good and the bad:  This was our 3rd year of hosting an 8K trail option, and thanks to an awesome turnout of volunteers, the race went nearly flawless.  I say nearly, as there were only two negatives that I'm aware of, and I'll get those out of the way now and focus on all the positives that far overshadowed the two drawbacks:  1) Unbeknownst to us, a trail we created/maintained specifically for this race ("Hansel & Gretel" trail) was just recently leaf-blown against our wishes, replacing the trail's awesome soft pine-needle bed with slimy, slippery dirt/mud and exposed roots, and 2) an octogenarian club member collapsed in the finishing chute and had to be taken away by ambulance.  The leaf-blowing is chalked up to a "rogue volunteer" and hopefully will not reoccur ever, and the collapse was obviously unfortunate, but if there's a silver lining it was that it didn't occur out in the woods, and he is now fully recovered.

We lucked out for likely this year only by being able to
get safety orange tech singlets and stayed within the town's shirt budget.

Pre-race:  Now on to the race.  A chilly 34 degrees and frost on the field awaited us upon arrival.  With an exemplary race course setup team of Mikey B with the home-painted pumpkin mile markers, and a flag/sign marking team of Muddy, Justin P, and me, the setup (and subsequent take-down) went probably the quickest it ever has.  Unlike last year when the idiot Race Director showed up on the starting line without a bib and needlessly and embarrassingly held up the entire race, this year I had my race attire, including bib, ready to go.

First loop (WHS course):  The race got underway without incident, and after a seemingly fast trip around the field, I entered the woods just behind Muddy and Jonny.  At the top of the hill, where the 5K/8K course splits, Jeff Vuono did an amazing job in his reprisal role of course marshal, and to the best of my knowledge NO one took the wrong course.  Just after this split, both Jonny and Muddy went past a guy with glasses, the first of several URI club runners ahead of us, and I followed suit.  About a mile in, Muddy went past Jonny.  Jonny wasn't that far ahead of me entering the upper field section, and I was hoping I would catch and pass him on the steep downhill like I did two years ago, but alas, it was not it in cards today.

Start of 2019 Run for the Pumpkins

Before entering woods, just behind Jonny,
and Muddy at rear about to overtake us all

Second loop (Pumpkins Connector / Hansel & Gretel):  As we started ascending the Pumpkins Connector single-track, it seemed like Jonny was just ahead of me, until I reminded myself that's just deceiving because of all the switchbacks.  I had a clear view of Jonny and the guy just ahead of him (another URI club runner) and watched Jonny go past him, and I actually gained on him on the uphill myself.  After crossing the split where we'd see JV for the 2nd of 3 times, I went past the URI runner pretty comfortably and never saw him again.  Unfortunately, I never saw Jonny again either, except from a distance in the pine forest on Hansel & Gretel.  I slid one time on Hansel & Gretel due to a muddy section where leaf-blowed, and just tried to keep a positive focus on the race.  Leaving Hansel & Gretel we started the approximately one-mile downhill section to the field and finish.  I passed lots of 5K'ers here, and just about every single one of them was gracious and gave me room to pass.

Final:  34:39, 6:58 average pace.  6th overall, 1st in age group.  Just 14 seconds off last year's race, and about a minute off my fast 2017 finish.  Full results here.

Finishing strides.

Another great year at Pumpkins.  One of my favorite club races.

Waterford, CT
Sunday, October 6, 2019

Low key event at Harkness Memorial State Park, benefiting those with developmental and intellectual disabilities.  After a solo warmup on a mix of public and park roads, I took the starting line with Jana about two rows behind me.  There was a slight delay in starting, and as I looked around me, with no deference at all and conversely respect for all those on the starting line, I just knew that I had a high probability of winning this event.

Blasting off the starting line was a kid of about twelve and an African-American gentlemen about my age.  In about 1/10 of a mile I went past both and that was it for the race.  Sounds great, right?  No, not really.  At the park exit, there was no one there yet to point which way to turn onto the public road.  They raced out of their car when they saw me coming, but by that time I was on my way as fortunately I had run the course before and knew which way it went.  The way out was quite lonely and uninspiring as there were no spectators and no one pushing me.

The course is essentially an OAB.  Fortunately, instead of a cone turnaround, you take a series of short 90-degree turns and soon find yourself reversed on the course heading home.  The way back was much more enjoyable as you see the field of runners coming towards you, and many are very supportive.  Several have told me there is no one in sight behind me.  By the time I get to the last participant, my race has less than 1/2 mile left.

I cross the line and break the tape in 18:56.  I don't know what I'm capable of running a 5K in these days, as I don't train for it, I'm not getting younger, and I'm coming off a bout of very limited running over the summer.  What I do know is that it should still be a lot faster than 18:56, but at least it wasn't over that 19-minute artificial threshold.  Jogged back to see Jana out on the course and give her some encouragement as she always does for me.

Final results:  18:56, 6:07 average pace.  First place overall.  Full results here.

Very different post-race food,
but it all works for me.

Followed by cake!

You race whoever shows up!
1st place.

US Mountain Running Championships 2019: Waterville Valley

Waterville Valley, NH
Sunday, September 29, 2019

After-effects:  As I write this 2 1/2 days after the event, the aftereffects are still with me, as my legs are very sore.  It's mostly in the quads, but the calves are talking to me as well, especially when I walk up or down stairs.  There is zero pain, so I know I'll come out of this just fine.  While there's certainly an element that I'm a bit out of running shape, there is also the realization that this was just a very tough race!  And now, a flashback to the race itself...

Background:  This was the eighth and final race of the 2019 USATF New England Mountain Circuit.  You need to run six out of eight to earn your Mountain Goat status (which comes with bragging rights, a special tech shirt, and guaranteed entry to 2020 Mt Washington).  So I was in for this race from the get-go, and figured the only two I would miss would be road races.  Since the price first went up way back in February, and I have Scottish blood, I signed up way back then to save a buck (or twenty, actually).

Race day:  With the women's race starting at 8:30am and the men's at 10am, I was concerned that we would be handicapped by warm weather.  Not the case.  While it was a beautiful sunny day, it was a very comfortable 61 degrees at start.  After checking in, we had plenty of time for both a warm-up and watching the leaders of the women's race finish.  I had studied both the course maps as well as Leslie O'Dell's Strava preview, but in retrospect, still seemed woefully unprepared for this race.

Several major climbs and 3,000' of vertical overall awaited me.

Race start to 1.5 - rolling hills:  Kudos to the race organizers for starting the race orderly and punctually.  The first 1/4 mile or so was the usual chaotic settling and I was jammed in for a little while.  After that, no more bunching issues for the rest of the race.

Mass start.  Joe Gray from CO, eventual winner, on far right.
In fact, 8 out of the top 10 mens' finishers hailed from outside New England.

In green singlet, making my way up.

Not a lot of room to maneuver early on.

A half-mile in, I felt like everyone was passing me here (uphill).  Maine Jeff Walker went by me here as well, and we traded positions again on the next downhill and uphill.  After a brief uphill climb on service roads, we had a short but sharp downhill back to the start again, before starting the "Tommy's World Cup Run" ascent.  Michael Narcisi went past me here as well; surprised he was still behind me.

1/2 mile in, it's thinned out nicely.

After this short climb, we had a 300' drop on tall grass ski slopes, and with the legs still fresh, I was really able to bomb down here and pass scads of runners.

Bombing the downhills, about middle of picture, to right of two guys,
with Maine Jeff Walker behind me.

About to pass this whole section of runners.

Ragged edge of control as I go past them all

The guy behind me will trade positions with me multiple times,
but I think I beat him.  Two back is Maine Jeff Walker,
and three back is the eventual 3rd place winner in my age group.

Downhill over, and now well ahead of the competitors I just bombed past.
About to start another uphill climb,
where unfortunately a number I just went by will retake me.

Miles 1.5 to 5 - long climbs:  Another climb up a ski slope.  I gave words of encouragement to Maine Jeff Walker as he passed me uphill (again) and for the last time.  The course turned off the ski slope and onto a very pleasant section of single-track through the trees (or glades in ski parlance).  It was uphill, but not steep, and I was really enjoying this.  Coming out of the woods we were deposited onto a service road dropping 400' for about 1/2 mile.  Again, I picked off many competitors here, including retaking Michael Narcisi.

The next two miles included up Governor's Run and black-diamond ski trails Oblivion-True Grit-Hassle to the 3,840' peak of Mt Tecumseh.  This featured about a 1,700' gain and a fair amount of hiking.  There was a short 2-way section separated only by rope or caution tape, and you could see of the lead runners going by and cautiously running on the downhill rock scree.

Coming up the Governor's Run trail.
Beautiful views behind me.

I'm getting tired now, but I think at this point,
my form is still better than my competitor behind me.

Yep.

The final ascent. 

My form and energy are both totally gone now.
It's almost completely a hike for me now to the summit.

Miles 5 to finish - 2,000' drop!  We circled around some ski buildings at the summit, and finally, downhill.  This should be great and work to my total advantage.  Only by now my legs turned into jelly.  Or jello.  Or rubber.  Take the analogy that works for you, but it's that feeling after a long day or skiing, especially moguls or glades, when your legs just get floppy and you don't have as much control over them as you'd like.  A 2,000' drop is a lot and there are plenty of sections that are just way too steep for me to just run out.  I did pass a lot of people, but not the way I was passing runners earlier on, as many times it just felt like my legs were going to collapse and I had to back off quite a bit.

I'm feeling pretty weak on the final long,
2-mile, 2000' descent.
I should be loving this, but I repeatedly
feel like my legs are about to collapse from under me.

With only about 1/4 mile to go, I hit the smallest of berms and was quite sure I felt my legs buckling underneath me and I was about to go down.  I was way off balance, but somehow righted myself, and when one I guy had been dueling with suddenly darted by me just before the finish line, I had no response to give.

Coming into the finish on very wobbly legs.
Not exactly a picture of stability.

... and we're done.

Final results:  1:15:32.  65th overall.  4th in age group.  Full results here.

The two Jeff Walkers, post race
(Pic by Leslie O'Dell)

I am beat.  This was a fun, tough race.  So happy I hung in there during physical challenges in the summer, and was able to complete the series!

Very proud to have earned Mountain Goat status, by running 6 of the 8 races above.
This shirt is part of my award, in addition to bragging rights,
and automatic entry into Mount Washington next year.

Post-race, Steve Brightman asked me if I would run the series again next year.  My initial thought is probably not.  Some races I loved, some not so much, there are a lot of logistics (time, overnight hotel, etc) to get to some of these races and I'd like to try other trail races as well.  He pointed out that running it a second year would be a good comparison against baseline and an opportunity to improve.  Well, that is true.  Not ruling it out.

My own personal take on the series races that I ran this year.

Weekly Log 30-Sep to 6-Oct: Foxes, Grubs, and Back-to-Back Races

Monday:  0
Very sore from Waterville Valley, but Mondays are typically my day off anyway.  Will resume tomorrow.

Tuesday:  0 run, 2 walk
Got up and dressed in my running clothes to go for any easy run.  Heading down the stairs I realized the extent of my soreness.  Running is not happening today either.

Met up for coffee with the awesome Westerly Land Trust CCC (Coffee & Clearing Club), before heading out for today's assignment:  trail maintenance at Grills Preserve.  While stipulating that I'll go on any of three planned assignments as they see fit, my preference would be to go out and work at the Larkin foundation.  This is the thickest and most overgrown section of trail.  Our original mission was to clear all the way out to the racetrack, this proved too ambitious as we got as far as the foundation and ran out of time.  From there to Westerly Land Trust Avondale 5K planning meeting.  (The race is one of the flattest in RI and will be held at the Avondale Preserve on Sunday, November 10.)

Wednesday:  6
Hale Reservation, Westwood, MA.  As soon as I started running, I had soreness with every step.  Primarily in the quads.  Come on, now, it's three days past the race.  Worrying me a little as it's only three days to Run for the Pumpkins.

A red fox ran across my path in the latter part of the run.  It was very unusual, in that it crossed the trail in front of me, and then stopped and watched me.  It was probably 15' away from me.  I so wish I had brought my phone/camera.  It even joined in behind me running on the trail for a little while!  Very cool animal.

Thursday:  3
Run and mow upper field trail in advance of Saturday's race.

Friday:  4
Flagging on Pumpkins Connector and Hansel & Gretel.  Was initially SO angry to see that our pristine pine-covered trail built specifically for the Run for the Pumpkins race, was now leaf-blown by someone.  Exposed roots and rocks, ready for runners to trip on and erosion to take place, as well as a slimy dirt/mud surface as another club member described, now took the place of what just days ago was a pristine pine-needle floor in the forest.  There are so many other trails now throughout Woody Hill; can't "our" one 0.6 mile pine-needle trail be left alone?  If I don't like certain trails constructed by others in Woody Hill or elsewhere, should I just go and alter them to suit my whims and preferences?  I know this was undertaken with good intentions, but it sure is frustrating.

End of rant.  Deep breaths.  Let the anger go...

Saturday:  11
Run for the Pumpkins 8K.  Great day.  Great race.  Separate write-up to follow shortly.

Sunday:  6
Strides 5K.  Will include in race report with Pumpkins.

With the afternoon free, finally decided to tackle the issue Jana reported to me with a small part of our front lawn being dug up a couple of days ago.  It looked like the work of skunks, which unfortunately probably meant they were foraging for grubs.  When I started digging (literally) further, I was sickened by the extent of these pests.

When I started raking up the dead spots of grass,
look what was lurking underneath.

Man, these things are vile.

Spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning up a
large swath, hoeing/raking loose soil,
treating the entire front lawn,
and of course seeding.

Weekly mileage:  30

Weekly synopsis:  A much lower mileage than I expected or planned, but a slow recovery from Waterville and a double-header race weekend certainly contributed to that.  A ramp up to 45+ is what I'm looking for next week, and then I'd like to have a few steady weeks around 50.  I don't have anything "on the books" until Rhody, but I'll likely run Avondale 5K the week before to support the wonderful Westerly Land Trust, and may consider a trail race for Rhody prep.

Weekly highlight:  Having a fox so close to me and running behind me on my trail run.

Weekly lowlight:  Grubs are just plain vermin.