Li'l Rhody 2019

Charlestown, RI
Sunday, November 17, 2019

28th annual running of the race.  My 16th consecutive.  Sometime before I started running in 2003, the race changed from running counter-clockwise to clockwise around the pond.  Like many other races across the country, the numbers have been slipping a bit in recent years.

Quick takeaways from this chart:  

1) long course finishers have fallen along with overall downward trends over the past 5-6 years.

2) while two years is not a sufficient statistical population, the 4-mile course adds almost no costs and has helped overall.

3) long course finishers remained flat over last 3 years, even with a change to 10-mile this year and USATF-NE championships.  

Accordingly, we looked at what we can do to help stem the outflow.  Last year, following up on a suggestion from Jonny and feedback from some runners that 8 miles is just too long for them, we added a 4-mile event.  This year, in early April, running friend and club member Leslie reached out to me on behalf of the club, with a proposal for an additional possibility of increasing field size:  with the Run for the Beavers out for the USATF-NE Trail Championships this year, would we be interested in hosting the championships at our Li'l Rhody race?  Sounds great.

With the USATF-NE Trail Championships in recent years (Exeter Trail Race, Run with the Beavers) having a 10-mile distance, we opted to do the same with Rhody for consistency.  Interestingly, while the total numbers increased for 2019, this was entirely due to the 4-mile addition.

What would the numbers in 10-mile have been had we NOT had the USATF-NE championships?   Analyzing further, only 25 of the finishers (16%) were USATF-NE members, and of those, 7 had run the race in recent years, so the net attributable runners might be 18.  Although there is the thought that this could have been promoted more to USATF-NE members.

Onto the race ...

First half:  After a moment of silence for BLS, and some pre-race remarks, the race got started right on time.  On the way out on Sanctuary Road, Jonny and I ran pretty much side-by-side for the first mile or so, and we caught up on the contenders that were out there ahead of us and going by us.  I mentioned I hadn't seen Muddy and wondered if he was ahead of us, but Jonny corrected me and said he was "lurking" behind.

A lot of orange waiting to start.

And we're off.

I think the new course running through the southern end of the campground is much more fun than running Four Boulders Road (the asphalt road in the campground from the playground).  Obviously I'm completely biased on the course, but others did provide similar unsolicited feedback.  I was able to mostly utilize parts of trails in Kimball Preserve and Burlingame Trail, but there is one section between campsites where I just went kind of "Galoob style" with marking a path through the pines where there was no trail.  Jonny and I followed Todd Callaghan and another into the campground, but then the pair was quickly gone.

Exiting the campground, through the Bog Bridge NST trail, and back onto Vin Gormley was pretty uneventful with no changes in position.  But now I'm almost three miles in and both Jonny and Muddy are behind me still.  Am I going out too fast?  Are those guys just running smarter and saving some energy?  What gives?  Finally Jonny goes past me, but it isn't until about four miles in (past Klondike Road parallel section) that Muddy goes by, along with the BISS-clad runner with him.

Coming through the water-stop at five miles, I give thanks to Rusty (Justin P's Dad) and the entourage manning the station, and drink about 1/2 a cup before tossing it and exiting onto Buckeye Brook Road.  I can see Jonny, Muddy, and BISS guy ahead of me as they re-enter the trail to start the back half.

Second half:  5 miles to go, but these will be much harder and on legs that will be increasingly fatiguing.  I occasionally see the threesome ahead of me as I navigate the rock climb and Rhody Rise.  I remember being surprised how quickly I come up on North Camp dirt road, which means that the new course turn-off to Sammy C's is imminent.

Turning up the long, tight, climb to the start of Sammy C's, I see Muddy for the last time in the race (or so I thought).  Sammy C's is the trail we used for the last three miles of this race.  This replaced the final two miles of Vin Gormley trail.  This section is more technical, tighter single-track, and with a lot of sections on rock.  I really love this section, and as I mentioned in my pre-race remarks, some runners will love this section and some will be cursing my name.  Yes, I felt tired, and yes, it slowed me down, but never to the point of exhaustion.

At the end of Sammy's C's, running across Cool Springs Road (a closed asphalt road just before end of VG trail), I spied a runner ahead of me.  Muddy!  Did I have a good run through Sammy C's?  Did he have a tougher time here?  A combination of both?  Exiting onto roads for the final mile, Muddy is almost constantly in view now, but not close enough for me to catch up to, despite my best efforts.  The road section always seems long to me, but knowing every single turn and feature does help.  As I see Mike B at the final turn coming back down Sanctuary Road to the finish, I pick up the pace for the downhill finish.

Finishing up.

Final result:  1:09:42, 15th overall, 4th in age group.  Full results here.

Post-race:  Not everything went so well here today.  Immediately after finishing my own race, I was quickly advised that a number of 4-milers went off course at two locations, one due to signs and flags being pulled up after start of race, and one due to some confusion where the trail finish comes close to trail start where flags on starting portion were visible, causing 19 runners to run a second loop.

Most (but not all) of the runners that ran a second loop were OK with this and said they still enjoyed the race.  However, none of the runners (race leaders) that missed the final turn where signs/flags were pulled were OK.  At all.  Although the sign-pulling was certainly not due to anything I had personally done, I took the high road.  When I became a manager at Fidelity years ago, a leader that I admired gave me some sage counsel that when something went wrong, use the "I" pronoun (as in I apologize), and when something went well, use the "we" pronoun (as in "It was a team effort").  So that's what I did:  publicly apologized to all runners at the 4-mile award ceremony.  Not surprisingly, it took the wind out of some runners' anger, but not all.

On the 10-mile course, we got a lot of compliments overall on the course and course marking.  So it seemed to me that it went swimmingly.  Until the awards ceremony.

Based on the printed finishing results we received, "I" made a mistake and gave out awards to a number of the wrong recipients.  I only learned afterwards that USATF-NE members had mistakenly been omitted from general results we were using for WTAC awards.  I was truly so embarrassed about this and the confusion and delays that this caused, not to mention the awkwardness of having people have to give back the awards.  While all awards winners that were slighted were very understanding, I continue to hear how confusing the awards ceremony was all around, so it does raise the question of whether having the championships again is worth it, given the small number of USATF-NE participants and the fact that our biggest draw is from nearby CT, which is excluded from USATF-NE.  On the other hand, I've been to USATF-NE events where the only awards given are to those that are USATF-NE members, so that's much simpler, but if we did that, we'd be excluding the vast majority of Rhody runners from awards and I'm not sure how we'd handle the merchandise donated by local merchants that they earmark for our awards. 

Separate from the USATF-NE question:  revert to 8 miles next year, or continue with 10 miles?  Thoughts?  Lots of questions; no immediate answers.

We'll figure it out.  This is a great race put on by a great club that I'm honored to steward, and I'll be looking forward to next year with a few improvements from lessons learned.  A huge thank-you to all the volunteers and sponsors that made this race possible, and to all the runners and walkers that came out.

Weekly Log 18-Nov to 24-Nov-2019: Post Rhody Blahs

Miscellaneous ramblings:

• Please don't call me "honey".  Ordering fish at the seafood department at Stop & Shop this evening, the employee must have called me "honey" at least three times.  "How can I help you, honey?"  "Is that too much (weight), honey?"  etc.  [cringe] [cringe]  I always grin and bear it, as I know it's said with good intentions in customer service roles, but not something I relish as it feels patronizing to me, especially from someone that doesn't know me at all.  Harumph.
• Did you know that November is the historically cloudiest month of the year in southern New England?  I had no idea, but that's according to National Weather Service stats, so I'll buy it.  Figured it would be a more dreary January or February.
• Was happy to see SNERRO revert to classic music.  Whatever folk type of music they had playing at Wahaneeta was less than motivational.  However, at Avondale 5K, it was pretty cool that Highway to Hell was playing as I finished.  Appropriate for how I felt at finish line.
• Did you know that Barrow [Alaska] was renamed to Utqiaġvik in 2016?  For some reason, I've always had an interest in visiting our northernmost city.  How do you pronounce the new name?

  

  It does have a pretty cool logo!

• Christmas lights and wreaths are up downtown and into CT as I look out of my office window late afternoons across the state line.  Be it resolved that I'll try to get into the Christmas spirit more this year.  To me the season is all about goodwill and spending time with family, friends, and colleagues.  Even those that don't run!

  

  I don't know.  I just don't know.  I'm all for tolerance and
  equality for all.  I really am.  But as more and more traditional
  male-specific and female-specific morph into gender-neutral, something
  seems amiss to me as this is the second time this month in two different locations
  where the woman in line in front of me went into a bathroom with a urinal that she
  can't use while I was relegated to looking for a urinal in a bathroom that didn't have one.
  And don't some women prefer having a women-only bathroom free from sloppy and smelly guys?
  Don't send me hate mail; I'm just an outdated relic trying to adapt to a world with rapidly changing social
  norms and expectations.

• 
  

Monday:  3
Weird day.  Planned day off.  Many years the day after Rhody I will run a course reconnaissance the next day and pick up anything stray that we left behind.  I was just beat and didn't intend to get out there at all until at least Tuesday.  Until ...

How do you like this FB post and caption?
Paul and JP's girlfriend both replied that we did
actually have a crew to clean up, and if we left a
sign or area behind of the 13 miles of trails we
marked, we apologized and would go back.
-----
This post has since been deleted, and I can only presume
it was because the original poster got skewered with comments to the effect of:
"Really?  First thing in the morning after the race and you post this?  Give me a break"
"Did you even try to contact the race organizer first instead of post on FB?"
"Yesterday I did an amazing thing.  I picked up a piece of trash and didn't even post about it on FB"
"You a$$h%#es need to get a life and stop bitching about meaningless sh%t"
-----
I continued reading just one post on this "Westerly Concerned Citizens" page, and then
I had to stop as multiple posts were just downright mean and vitriolic.  One reason I'm not on FB.

Based upon this FB post, Paul (our soon to be club VP) and I met up at 4pm to run the campground section.  Unfortunately, it turns out we did miss a section of picking up flags and signs, so we cleaned that up.  Not sure where the communication broke down with 4-mile sweepers, but life goes on.

The multi-car accident:  On the short drive home, it was now dark, and Route 1 was moderately busy.  Just before the Charlestown / Westerly line, I heard the screeching of tires right in front of me in the high speed lane and then heard and saw several collisions.  I slammed on the brakes, hitting a bunch of car debris and flying glass, but stopping short of the car in front of me.  My car had stalled, probably because in haste of the emergency stop I forgot to put the clutch in.  I put on my hazard lights and exited the vehicle.  There was car parts debris and broken glass all around me.

I went up to the driver of the car in front of me and asked if she was OK.  She said she was. The young woman was clearly distraught, with a deployed airbag in front of her head, and crying on the phone, in a car that is definitely inoperable now, and likely totaled.  I asked her if she was talking to the police and she said no, to her mother, and she asked if she should call the police.  I told her, no, talk to her mother, and I'll call 911.  It's a very narrow median there and cars were braking hard, screeching tires, etc in both northbound and southbound lanes.  Southbound lanes to avoid our cars and car debris, and in the northbound lanes to avoid a deer laying in the middle of the highway lanes.

I finally pieced it together:  A deer had jumped across the highway, the first car slammed on the brakes but hit the deer, sending it into the northbound lanes, the second car slammed into the first car, the third car with the distraught young woman slammed into the second car, and the fourth car (me) stopped just in time but now my car was surrounded by car parts in the road and I wasn't going anywhere, besides the fact that it's illegal to leave the scene of an accident.

Meanwhile, as I'm uncomfortably in the median still talking to 911, a heart-wrenching scene is taking place in the northbound lanes.  I just wanted to cry as the poor young deer is trying to get up but obviously very injured now, and cars slam on their brakes, some narrowly going around the deer, but a few ended up hitting it again.  I felt just horrible and helpless watching this beautiful animal, but couldn't risk going into the highway lanes myself lest I be hit.  (It's completely dark now and cars are traveling 50-60 mph.)  When the police finally got there (it was actually quick but seemed like an eternity), they blocked the northbound lanes long enough for a different woman and me to grab the deer and move it off the highway.  By this time, I'm quite sure the deer had died, which was probably a good thing given its internal injuries, but I sure didn't feel good about it.  At all.  What if ...  If only ...  No, there was nothing I could do.  After the police thanked me and dismissed me, a flood of emotion came over me, including when my dog Toffee got hit in the road in front of my house in Charlestown at the time, and I rushed her to the animal hospital but she succumbed on the way to internal injuries.  And when I was a teenager and was devastated that I had hit a rabbit.  Got out of my car and it was dead, but moving its carcass off the road haunted me for a long time.  I hope I don't have nightmares over this.  Obviously, I could never be a deer hunter.

Tuesday:  5
Impromptu workout in Avondale, mostly in the dark.  Warmed up on trails and roads, before running descending ladders.  Much of the workout I ran on the Avondale 1K loop, where the roads are closed to automobile traffic.  There was a guy on a bike riding loops in the opposite direction as me.  We were both wearing bright yellow, but that became less effective as darkness set in.  On one loop where we came very close to each other, it was obvious it was time for lights (not to see, but to be seen) and the next loop we both had lights on.  On another loop, he shouted out to me what I thought was "There's a bunch of queers out here tonight.".  I gave a nervous laugh as I sauntered on and tried to figure it out.  That can't be what he said.  Can it?  Maybe he said, "There's a bunch of deer out here tonight"?  Plausible?

Wednesday:   0
Unplanned day off.

Thursday:  4
AM run with Brady in Burlingame before work.  Had a moment of anxiety driving on Route 1 through the area of Monday night's accident scene, but was relieved to see the glass, car parts, and deer carcass had all been cleaned up.

We ran VG out and Sammy C's back.  Every single stream we passed, Brady jumped into the water, even it was 10 feet out of his way off the trail.  One bridge he jumped off must've been 3 feet above the water.  No matter.  Each time he would frolic for a bit in the water, and then since I kept going, come barreling past me on the trail at what sure seemed like sub-4 pace.  And then stop in the trail, look back at me, like, "Well, are you coming or what?".  I don't think he was very impressed with my running pace.

I should probably get him more orange during hunting
season, but anything bigger than this (my Nipmuck Trail Marathon buff)
he tugs or bites at and pulls off.

 A planned double in the afternoon never materialized, due to work issues.  Need to plan better on morning runs, and anything later in the day is just a bonus.

Friday:  6
So much for planning for morning runs.  Squeezed in a late afternoon run in the dark.  Downtown to Springbrook, North End, and back.  Bright neon yellow shirt with pulsating front and rear headlamps.  Nobody could have missed me, yet some cars still came much closer to me than I'm comfortable with.

Saturday:  0
Nice sunny day.  No reason not to run.  Zero motivation = zero running.  Some days are like that.  Pretty pathetic.  Life goes on.

Sunday:  14
Unlike yesterday, today was pouring rain most of the day, windy, and mid 40s.  But I was not having another zero.  I got out there, was cold for a mile or two, and then fine.  The hardest part of the battle is truly getting out the door.  Never saw a soul outside, and that was fine.  Had the wind with me along Atlantic Ave oceanside for the past few miles.  So glad I got out there.

Weekly mileage:  32

Weekly synopsis:  Really pretty pathetic mileage, and with no good reason.  Just low motivation.  I had the Mountain Series to pull me along from mid-spring to early fall, even when I was incapacitated with PMR.  Post-Mountain Series I had our own WTAC trail series to look forward to it.  Now that the trail races are over, I need something else.  To that end, I'm looking at two more races this year.  That should then bring me up to the start of the Road to Perdition Boston.

Weekly highlight:  Believe it or not, running in the rain today!  Was pleased that in the battle of mind over matter, my mind won out this time.  Once I got out there, it really wasn't that terrible.

Weekly lowlight:  Watching that poor deer die right in front of me, helpless to stop the onslaught of cars.  Heart wrenching.

Avondale 5K

a/k/a "Setting the Pace for Conservation 5K"
Westerly, RI
Sunday, November 10, 2019

This was the 8th year of the race, and I have now run seven out of eight.  Matthew has a detailed listing of stats of top performers over these eight years on his recent blog post here.

I was asked to serve on the Westerly Land Trust's race committee for the past few years, which I'm happy to do.  I don't ask for sponsorships, as I don't want to cannibalize efforts with my WTAC race sponsorship asks and my duties are relatively easy, including setting up the race on online calendars, participating in several planning meetings, leading the kids' 1K, and making announcements on race day.

The course is really great:  very flat and fast.  The cause is one of my favorite, the Westerly Land Trust, having preserved over 1,700 acres and 25+ miles of trails in my adopted town of Westerly.  (I'm told you're never considered a native unless you were born here.)

My stated goal for today was sub-18:36 (6-flat pace).  My previous two 5Ks over the past year were barely sub-19, but this is a fast-course and I've been resuming my mileage weeks with a even few speed sessions from time to time.

Race warm-up:  Met up with WTAC friends for an easy run.  Mikey, Tommy, Chris, Matthew, and even Brady came along.  Good to see these guys, many of whom I hadn't run with in a while.

Catching up with WTAC friends pre-race
(All pics courtesy of Jana)

Group warm-up.
Left to right:  Me, Matthew (Brady just ahead of him),
Shara, Tom, Chris

Inner 1K loop:  After giving a few brief remarks, it was time to go.  At the gun, I followed Chris and Tom out, but seemed really surprised that I didn't see Matthew.  I know he was debating how hard to run it given that he was coming back from his injuries and not racing XC season at UNH, but I thought he'd be way ahead of me.  Did he miss the start?  I committed a runner's faux pas and looked behind me and saw him there.  OK, intentionally conservative.

Race start (obviously).  I love the look of the meadow and solitary trees
this time of year.  Truly, I love fall and fall scenes in general.

Eventually, by a 1/4 mile in, Matthew had gone past me to my relief, but a 16-year old and then a 12-year had also galloped past the aging gazelle.  Just before the 1K, I passed the 12-year old back.  At the end of the 1K loop, as we come back through the start/finish, I saw my Mom there.  (She would later tell me that Brady was "crying" as Matthew and I ran by, and pulling hard to want to run the race with us.)

Re-passing the 12-year old, just before end of 1K loop.

Outer loop:  Ran hard out of the loop and onto Watch Hill Road, with a first mile split being a very fast (for me) 5:41.

After a very short section on busy Watch Hill Road, all the rest of the race is on very quiet Avondale roads.  The 16-year old came back to me and I easily went past him with no resistance.  There is a short out-and-back on Champlin Drive, but with a massive elevation gain of about 10'!  This must be the flattest course in RI.  While I generally don't like OABs, I don't mind this one at all as you go wide around an island at the end of road.  I got to see the leaders (Chris, Matthew, Tom) before the turn-around, and then was surprised to see the 12-year old had passed the 16-year old, but I still had a good gap on both.

Mile 2 split 5:57.  OK, I'm still in good shape to come in sub-6 flat, but can't slow down in final mile, and the finish will be into the wind.  Was surprised to still see Tom on long stretches of Avondale Road here, but could see no one else.  The wind coming into the preserve was there, but not nearly as bad as some past years.  I rounded the final turn and as the clock came in to sight, I saw the 17:5x ticking away to 18:00.  Hoofed it in, well under my goal!

Long strides to the finish.

Can you believe I got made fun of for my yellow shoes?!  :)

Final results:  18:15, average 5:53 pace.  4th out of 77.  1st in age group.  Full results here.

Felt ready good to be back in the 18:1x range.  Funny how when I do well in a race, I want to run a similar one again to see if I can get even lower.  Such is the case here, but alas that was my final 5K of the year.

Team WTAC runners today:
Haley, Shara, Tommy, Paul, Justin, newest member Eric Reubelt,
Brady, me, Mikey, Matthew, Chris, Rose, and Carol Ann

Post team photo, I had to hustle to lead the Kids' 1K and stay out ahead of the
leader, my 9-year old niece Lucy.  Sure looks like I'm panting like a dog here.

But of course I made sure Lucy crossed the line ahead of me.

She quickly went back to run her 4-year old sister, Ellie, in.

Everyone in this Walker family ran!
My sister-in-law Caroline, nieces Lucy and Ellie, and my brother
Kurt who was ten seconds out from winning his age group.

And here's another running family that looks pretty familiar to me!

Some old gasbag who was asked to lead the awards ceremony,
while Matthew comes up for his award.

Finishing out the day at Avondale:
Jana, Ellie, Brady, my Mom, and her friend Bob.
(OK, so I guess Jana didn't take this picture.  I have no idea who did.)

Great day for family and friends!

Weekly Log 11-Nov to 17-Nov-2019: Rhody Week

Monday:  8
Veterans' Day.  Thank you to all those who served our country.  The nearest and dearest veteran to me is my own Dad, who met my Mom while serving in US Army Intelligence in my Mom's hometown of Helmstedt, Germany, near the former East German border.  The folding of the US flag at Dad's funeral by my brother Scott (at that time in the Army himself) and handing to my Mom is an indelible image in my mind that I will carry to my own grave.

I couldn't find a photo of my Dad in military garb.  I guess I should ask my Mom.
Here's Dad with his family in 1992, left to right:
Me (yes, I had hair at one point in my life!), Scott, Mom, Dad, Greg, and Kurt.

Matthew's last day home of his long weekend.  He, Brady, and I ran mostly grass trails for five miles in Coogan Farm and Denison-Pequotsepos, Mystic.  I definitely overdressed, as the temps had gone from 19 degrees to 62 in just two days' time.  At the end of five miles, Brady was no longer bounding about, so I dropped him in the car, along with my shirt, before heading out shirtless and scaring the locals for three more on hilly roads with Matthew.  Final mile a 5:40 as I kept my momentum going from a downhill stretch and finished strong.

Tuesday:  5
Pumpkins course, plus a little of Woody Hill, in the cold and rain, as the temperature started a precipitous decline.

Wednesday:  8
Moose Hill Wildlife Refuge, Sharon, MA.  Chilly 17 degrees.  Not yet acclimated to this cold.  Seems a little early for mid-November.

Unusual trail marker, along some fun
single-track.

I brought my phone with me with a PDF trail map,
so at intersections I could always orient myself.
Worked out well, other than the annoyance of carrying
a phone.

Interesting mix of terrain, including this trail through a pine forest.

I guess I can't bring Brady here.  :(

Along the appropriately named "Bluff Trail".
Once I got here, things finally looked familiar from
my previous visit.

Frost covered boardwalks were very slick;
slowed down here.

Neat barn and old house on the property.

Thursday:  6
Morning road/trail mix from home with Brady.  Ran into Champlin, where a deer was right in front of us on the trail.  Interesting to watch Brady in this setting.  He was unleashed, but didn't take off after the deer.  Just raised his hackles and tail and stared intently until the deer left.

Was shocked and obviously saddened to learn of Beth Lazor-Smith's unexpected passing today.
This picture and caption above were directly from Beth's blog, as I went back and read
a few posts this evening.  This is one of my personal favorite races (Christmas 10K in Newport),
and I recall Beth attending several years, including a most recent one when she put together
a group lunch post-race.  Her infectious smile above can be found in many of the pics of her.
I'm glad to have known her for the very short time she was here.

On a more upbeat note, I was pleased to have the confidence of the WTAC board this evening to be elected President, effective January.  It's a great club with a great group of people, and I am humbled to help steward the club at the helm for a bit.

Friday:  0
Unplanned day off.  Very busy getting things ready for Rhody, including picking up shirts, awards, getting registration compiled and off to the timing company, finalizing volunteer lists, etc.

Saturday:  8
AM:  5 miles.  Easy shake-out with Brady at Grills Preserve, Westerly.  All trails, at any easy pace that Brady seemed none to happy with as he had to keep stopping and waiting for me.  He probably ran 25% more than me with all his back and forth sprints.  Such energy!

PM:  3 miles.  Course marking with Justin Pearce.  So thankful to have three teams of volunteers marking the course today.  It really cut down on the amount of time and distance any one person or team needed to cover.

Sunday:  13
Li'l Rhody Runaround.  Long and tiring day, from morning setup to the race, to course break-down, to posting results, sending out thank-yous to runners and volunteers, and fielding surprisingly quite a few e-mail comments.

Very enjoyable race.  More to come in separate post.

Weekly mileage:  48

Weekly synopsis:  Back to a 50-mile week (almost), so I'm happy with that.  The legs are sore tonight as I write this Sunday night, so I'm thinking that's indicative that I gave it my all at the Rhody race.  Certainly a good week overall.

Weekly highlight:  Racing the Li'l Rhody 10-mile today.

Weekly lowlight:  The passing of Beth, a WTAC member, volunteer, and past WTAC secretary, way too early.

Weekly Log 4-Nov to 10-Nov-2019

Monday:  0
Enjoyed my planned day off after running 19 miles yesterday.  Fortunately, my fears of being banged up for a few days did not come to fruition.

Tuesday:  1 walk, 4 run
AM:  Volunteered with Westerly Land Trust at Avondale Farm Preserve, in advance of the Avondale 5K this coming Sunday.  Our work was to clean up some overgrowth and remove some old dilapidated split rail fences.  It rained the whole time, but as I say always, it's still preferable to be outside working events like these than in an office in a cement building.  I really like getting together with these guys (and gals).  They're a great group of people, mostly retirees, who selflessly give of their time.
PM: Ran Rhody 4-miler, in the rain.  And dark.  Unless we get a lot more rain, this year the 4-milers will finally be able to enjoy a treat of finishing up literally on the shores of Watchaug Pond before heading to the finish line.

Wednesday:  4
I had plans of getting out there earlier in the morning and running eight.  Coulda, shoulda, woulda.  Instead, I lazily kept hitting the snooze button before getting out for a measly four, promising myself I'd get another four during the work day.  Yeah, right.  I had Brady on the leash on the roads, and released him when we got to the beach.  Most entertaining to watch him sprint up and down the beach, run undaunted into the ocean, and have fun.

Brady enjoyed playing on the beach and even jumped in the ocean.

Thursday:  10
AM:  5 mile local neighborhood run.  Pace was fine at 7:30, but just felt really sluggish.
PM:  5 miles at Avondale.  1 mile warm-up, 1 mile at 5:41, 1 easy, 1 hard at 5:45, 1 cool-down.  Mostly in the dark.  The two hard miles were confidence builders that 18:30 might just be possible for Sunday's 5K.

Friday:  8
Mystic with Matthew, who just arrived home for the Veterans' Day long weekend.  34 degrees and windy at 5pm.  As this was the coldest day of the season thus far, it felt very really cold in shorts at the Mystic Y waiting for satellites to load and then for first mile or so.

Saturday:  8
The unseasonable cold continued, as it was 19 degrees leaving the house for Ninigret.  Funny to see Tommy and Riley just finishing their run, as we (Matthew, Brady, and me) were just starting ours.  We both said we should've texted each other.  Cold at start, but quickly warmed up into the mid-20s and felt fine in the sun after a mile or so.  First few miles were faster than I wanted with a race tomorrow, but we retreated to the mid-7s for rest of run.  We could not run in the federal wildlife refuge as it was closed for hunting.  

(Dogs are never allowed in the refuge as they might scare the wildlife, "jogging" is never allowed in the refuge as it might upset the wildlife, yet for today and the next few weeks the refuge is closed to the public completely so that humans can go in to shoot and kill the wildlife.)  Help me out, please, as I'm not always the sharpest tool in the shed, but what logic am I missing?

Brady's longest run ever.  He seemed no worse for the wear during the run itself and was usually several strides ahead of us, but when we came home he crashed pretty hard.

Sunday:  8
Avondale 5K.  Write-up to follow.

Weekly mileage:  43

Weekly synopsis:  I'm trying to generally hold close to 50 miles as a base before Boston training starts in another month, but I guess this is close enough.  A good mix of terrain and running partners this week.

Weekly highlight:  Avondale 5K.  More to come.

Weekly lowlight:  As usual, my workday morning laziness holding me back from getting out early and banging out a few more miles.

Weekly Log 28-Oct to 3-Nov-2019: Running Interrupted

Monday:  0
Just not a good day.  Got progressively worse.  Rushing from a meeting in Westerly to a meeting in Providence at Noon, tried to get a quick lunch at a place that apparently was now permanently closed, and onto a second choice, which is closed for construction.  Two restaurant choices and both closed.  What are the odds?  The 2-hour meeting in Providence then turned into a 3-hour meeting, with NOTHING accomplished.  Ugh.  I don't know if I was more upset that we got nothing accomplished at the meeting, or that the 1-hour extension killed my chance for a planned run in Arcadia.  Life goes on ...

And then the phone call came late at night.  The kind every parent dreads.  "Hi, Dad.  I've been in an accident."  Oh, boy.  Slow down the racing heart and speak rationally and calmly is what I think I told myself.  It turns out that he is fine, Brady was in the back seat and is fine, but the Volvo wagon is totaled, it's late at night, and he and Brady are now stranded in rural Louisiana.  Ugh.

Tuesday:  0
Spent the morning getting a new hire oriented the best that I could, arranged for my boss to take him to lunch instead of me (it's usual practice for the new employee's manager to take him to lunch), for HR to help him with training, and one of my other team members to work with him over the next two days on getting up to speed.  Then I flew to Louisiana.  The final flight segment was one of the small regional jets.  As soon as I got on the plane, I saw so many large Americans, and just my luck, I was on the inside (window seat) of one such person.  He was kind enough, but took up a good portion of my seat as he wrenched himself into the seat and ratcheted up what appeared to be two seatbelt extenders.  Landed, rented a car, and headed to the town Mark and Brady were staying.

Getting off the plane in Baton Rouge, LA.  Excuse the lighting issue
in the dark and fog, but when's the last time you exited in this manner?
I think it's been decades for me.

Wednesday:  3
Acadiana Park, Lafayette, LA.  Up at dawn to go for a run.  Based on Strava runs, picked nearby Acadiana Park.  It was sketchy from the get-go.  Across the street from the trailhead, a very large guy (see a theme here?) saw me coming and got out of his home with his two dogs and just looked at me.  Awkward.  I parked the car, said "Good Morning", which was not answered (so much for "southern hospitality") and went onto the trail with Brady in semi-darkness.  Mid-70s, very humid, muddy, and lots o' spiderwebs.

Different flora here in the south.

Brady seemed fine to continue on this path, and if we were in
RI, I probably would have.  But I only brought one pair of shoes,
and who knows what lurks in the slimy looking water here?

Massive spiderweb at top of pic.
The spider inside looked pretty big too.

Murky brown water and more huge spiderwebs.

Good to get in a run with my canine friend.
This boardwalk through the swamp was very slippery.

Now that's a blowdown!

This boardwalk just ended in a dank river in the dreary swamp.

Covered in spiderwebs after the run.  Showered and got breakfast, signed over the car to a salvage yard, and now let's get out of Louisiana, please.  One of the poorest, unhealthiest, obese states in the entire country.

Unhealthiest state in the country, with the
healthiest states HI, CO, UT, and New England

Everywhere you go here are signs for Boudin &
Cracklins.  Got to be unhealthy for you,
nevermind all the fried catfish,
fried crawfish po'boy, Louisiana fried chicken, and other mainstays here.

"Best Boudin Balls in Town!" exclaims the sign.
Pork liver, hog jaw, heart meat, kidney, and sometimes blood, all rolled into a ball,
battered, and deep fried, served with fried pork rinds.  Yum!

Was finally glad to get out of Louisiana, and then Mississippi.
I sure do like Lynyrd Skynyrd's song of the title above,
but as to the state itself, I'm not so sure.  Let's keep going.

Thursday:  0
Often I will seek out a hotel that is near to trails.  This time I just picked a hotel that worked for pet policies, and was on the highway home just over the Tennessee line into Virginia.  It turns out the VA Creeper Trail, used for Yeti 100 and other major races, was just literally outside the hotel door.  Unfortunately, we arrived at the hotel at 1am and departed at 5am, so no runs for me.

Friday:  5
Back home in RI.  1,500 miles of driving split between Mark and me.  Dead tired, but pushed myself after work to run Wahaneeta and Woody.  Lots of fresh blowdowns.  Was really enjoying my run, until in the last half-mile a snarly small dog gnarled at me and got right in my face yipping away incessantly.  I had to stop completely and interrupt my run until the owner came and picked the thing up.  He did apologize for "Cappuccino" but I had only derogatory things to say, so as my mother had taught me at a young age, since I had nothing nice to say, I literally said nothing at all, walked past him and his demon dog, and then finished the fun.

Saturday:  7
Ninigret Park, Charlestown.  Brady, Riley, Tommy, me.  Tom had texted me asking if I was interested in getting the dogs out for a run.  Sure!  I had originally hoped to run the Pachaug Trail Runs today, but they sold out with no waiting list or race day possibilities, so I could get my trail run either day this weekend.  I wasn't sure if Brady could last for seven miles, but he did just fine.  Even had plenty of energy when he came home.  Being 30 degrees at the start of our run probably helped his energy level.

Spent the afternoon on some overdue yard work.
Cleaned up and burned numerous downed branches from
not only the Halloween storm, but the more significant one before that.
-----
Funny how as a teenager I detested yard work, but now
having my own property, I kind of enjoy doing it and
definitely get a sense of satisfaction.

Sunday:  19!
Technical run in Yawgoog and Green Falls.  I had originally intended to run the inaugural Pachaug Trail Runs yesterday at a Rhody tune-up, but apparently I tarried too long and it had sold out.  Since I had wanted to run in Yawgoog for a while, I figured I'd extend it to include a loop around Green Falls in nearby Voluntown, CT, and hopefully get 16.  Well, I underestimated a bit.  And went off course.

Had trouble following the course in a few sections, especially where covered in heavy leaves.  Had to stop several times on the very technical red trail out to Southwest Marker, but always found the next blaze (often on rocks) and kept going.  I was pleasantly surprised that someone very recently had been out there with a chainsaw clearing blowdowns.  I have never seen another person on that trail.

Made my way out to Green Falls Pond, but similarly, on the west side of the pond, had to pause several times to figure where the trail went, and once went completely off course without even realizing it.  Added a loop around Hidden Lake, where I did see the first people of my run:  people out hiking with their dogs.  13 miles in, I started on the very technical Narragansett Trail going around Long and Ell Ponds, and I was really started to tire.  There were several groups of hikers here, some with dogs, and all friendly.

On one technical and narrow ascent, I came upon another hiker, and called out "On Your Left!", to no response.  I repeated several times, added "Right behind you", and "Excuse me".  Nothing.  Is he deaf?  Pretty much - he has headphones on!  Ugh.  Well, now I have no choice to force myself around him.  Unfortunately, it was just too tight, and as he veered back my way when I was trying to pass him, I slipped, and falling, I smashed my forearm onto what appeared to be rebar holding some erosion control wood in place.  Ouch!  Then and only then, he acknowledged me by saying "sorry".  I said I called you many times but you didn't hear me because you're wearing headphones.  Idiot!  Whatever he mumbled back was unintelligible to me.

16 miles in, just before reaching Ashville pond, I failed to jump over a log, trip and went down, banging my shin.  I think I was just getting tired and sloppy, and was ready for the run to be done.  I forgot just how much climbing was involved on the final trail (Table Rock Trail) and was now exhausted.  Unfortunately, I somehow completely missed the left turn off this trail and ended up adding quite a bit and having to finish the last mile on asphalt instead of a planned trail finish to the Canonchet Brook Preserve where my car was.

Tiring run, but glad I got it in.  4 miles on asphalt, with the balance on a mix of single-track and dirt roads.

Weekly mileage:  35

Weekly synopsis:  Obviously not the mileage I was looking for.  However, it was the right call to put my life on hold for a few days and try to be a good Dad to Mark in need.  Besides, I've had three consecutive 50+ mile weeks now, so a break doesn't hurt.  The bright spot was the 19-miler today, even though not planned to be that long.

Weekly highlight:  Today's long run.  Longest run since the Myrtle Beach Marathon in March.  I was just beat and run down by the end, so clearly not in marathon shape now, but hopefully on my way.

Weekly lowlight:  Dealing with a totaled car, the impromptu trip to Louisiana, and the long and tiring trip back.