Wednesday, October 16, 2019

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!

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