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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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| 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.
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| Unusual trail marker, along some fun single-track. |
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| 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. |
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| Interesting mix of terrain, including this trail through a pine forest. |
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| I guess I can't bring Brady here. :( |
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| Along the appropriately named "Bluff Trail". Once I got here, things finally looked familiar from my previous visit. |
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| Frost covered boardwalks were very slick; slowed down here. |
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| 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. |
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.
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