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. |
 |
| 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.
No comments:
Post a Comment