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.
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| When I started raking up the dead spots of grass, look what was lurking underneath. |
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| Man, these things are vile. |
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| 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.
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