Monday: 2
Ran/walked the steep sections with chainsaw. Took out a huge blowdown on the HS cross-country downhill section. Mountain bikers had made a makeshift detour around the tree carnage, and I often like their twisty detours better than the original trail, but in this case it went under the large trunk section that will only fall further, so I don't think that would pass muster for a high school course.
Went to take out a smaller block on Pumpkins Connector (start of 2nd loop on 8K course), but the chain came off the chainsaw and I didn't have enough daylight to fix it. It's passable for now; I may come back another time to clean it up as well as a blowdown on the rock on Hansel & Gretel.
Tuesday: 7
Wednesday: 5
Progression run on Richmond roads in the dark. Had some time to spare between work and a holiday party in West Greenwich, so I went to Arcadia Y and ran from there, as easy to shower and change afterwards. With pulsating front and rear lights, I can't imagine cars not seeing me. Good seeing holiday light displays. Makes the season bright.
Thursday: 8
Morning trail run at Woody Hill with Brady. Crunchy snow. Never saw a soul out there, but it looks like I just missed WLT president Sheilia finishing up a trail run there herself. Brady's longest run ever. He came home and promptly crashed in his dog bed. Uh-oh. Did I take him too far?
Googling how far a dog can run, not surprisingly, the response is that it depends on breed, age, and health of the dog. However, it stated that the "average dog" can run between two and five miles, but a person interviewed who walks and trains dogs professionally said she has taken a mixed-breed 60 pound dog on 20 mile runs. The article also said running is good for dogs, they enjoy it, and while they can run asphalt and sidewalks, running on dirt and grass is better for their joints. Labs and retrievers were mentioned as good for long runs. "The biggest limitation for physically fit and well-built canines is temperature rather than distance." OK, I feel a little bit better.
Friday: 8
Adams Farm, Walpole, MA. Significantly more snow fell here than in Westerly, and I would estimate there was still a good 6" of the white stuff on the ground. For the first two miles of running, I was slipping a fair amount, so I came back to the car and put on my YakTrax Run for the first time this season. What a difference! Continued on in a mix of double and single-track. Very slow going on the untouched trails, but on a few trails some fat bikes had already gone through and packed it down for much easier running.
Saturday: 5
Easy shake-out run with Brady in Mastuxet Greenway properties and Champlin Glacier Preserve. Ran into two other labs on the trails and the three of them played for a few minutes before sauntering on.
Sunday:
Christmas 10K. Write-up to follow.
Weekly mileage: 46
Weekly synopsis: Just another good week of running! Felt great out there, with no issues. More trails than roads this week, but that will flip now that shotgun season just opened.
Weekly highlight: Christmas 10K! Good running, great weather, and fun with friends. What more can you ask for?
Weekly lowlight: None! Seriously.
Ran/walked the steep sections with chainsaw. Took out a huge blowdown on the HS cross-country downhill section. Mountain bikers had made a makeshift detour around the tree carnage, and I often like their twisty detours better than the original trail, but in this case it went under the large trunk section that will only fall further, so I don't think that would pass muster for a high school course.
Went to take out a smaller block on Pumpkins Connector (start of 2nd loop on 8K course), but the chain came off the chainsaw and I didn't have enough daylight to fix it. It's passable for now; I may come back another time to clean it up as well as a blowdown on the rock on Hansel & Gretel.
Tuesday: 7
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| Snow! About 4" here in our backyard. Brady wasn't too sure what to make of this at first. Stepped out of our garage into the snow and immediately turned around and came back in. |
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| After a while, he was fine and having fun running on the beach and through fields at Winnapaug Preserve. |
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| In the woods (Champlin Glacier Preserve here), he was frolicking and even putting his face in the snow. I just love snow runs as it is; running with Brady today for his first snow run was a special treat. |
Wednesday: 5
Progression run on Richmond roads in the dark. Had some time to spare between work and a holiday party in West Greenwich, so I went to Arcadia Y and ran from there, as easy to shower and change afterwards. With pulsating front and rear lights, I can't imagine cars not seeing me. Good seeing holiday light displays. Makes the season bright.
Thursday: 8
Morning trail run at Woody Hill with Brady. Crunchy snow. Never saw a soul out there, but it looks like I just missed WLT president Sheilia finishing up a trail run there herself. Brady's longest run ever. He came home and promptly crashed in his dog bed. Uh-oh. Did I take him too far?
Googling how far a dog can run, not surprisingly, the response is that it depends on breed, age, and health of the dog. However, it stated that the "average dog" can run between two and five miles, but a person interviewed who walks and trains dogs professionally said she has taken a mixed-breed 60 pound dog on 20 mile runs. The article also said running is good for dogs, they enjoy it, and while they can run asphalt and sidewalks, running on dirt and grass is better for their joints. Labs and retrievers were mentioned as good for long runs. "The biggest limitation for physically fit and well-built canines is temperature rather than distance." OK, I feel a little bit better.
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| Today we moved from the red line to the blue line (graph above). Not exactly an early adopter, eh? Do any others still have landlines? For my entire life until today, I had a landline phone in my residence, but the time to cut the landline had been overdue. We justified it for when the kids were in Westerly public schools, with announcements, etc., but what is the purpose anymore? We were paying ~$500 annually for calls which were well over 90% junk. Landline only usage is down to about 5% in the USA now; ironically, I know some of those people. |
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| The good ol' rotary phone with that stretched out cord was what I grew up with. ----- You actually rented these things from Ma Bell, and they were hard-wired. When my great-aunt passed away in 2003 at age 94, I (as executor) was astonished to learn that she was still renting this behemoth monthly from AT&T. Some people cleaning her house thought they were doing the right thing by cutting the wire and tossing this relic into a dumpster, but it had to be retrieved and returned! |
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| Remember the StarTAC flip phone? No? Well, I do. When I got this in the 1990s, I thought life just can't get any better than this. Slick! |
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| Of course, I also had the very suave hard case as pictured above left. I proudly attached this to my belt and wore it pretty much everywhere so that I could show everyone else just how cool I was with my flip phone. And important. Yes, very important. Somebody call me. Anybody? Please? |
Adams Farm, Walpole, MA. Significantly more snow fell here than in Westerly, and I would estimate there was still a good 6" of the white stuff on the ground. For the first two miles of running, I was slipping a fair amount, so I came back to the car and put on my YakTrax Run for the first time this season. What a difference! Continued on in a mix of double and single-track. Very slow going on the untouched trails, but on a few trails some fat bikes had already gone through and packed it down for much easier running.
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| Someone had the ingenuity to assemble a small snowman on the railing of a bridge! |
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| Most of snow is melted back in southern RI, but a lot of snow still here |
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| Nice hues just after sunrise |
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| Looks like people had been out on XC skis as well |
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Easy shake-out run with Brady in Mastuxet Greenway properties and Champlin Glacier Preserve. Ran into two other labs on the trails and the three of them played for a few minutes before sauntering on.
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| As most know, I don't have a FB account, but one of the FB-like features popped up on my phone from my Google Photos app: "Memories" ---- Ironically, it was a year ago today that I met Brady and took him for our first run. Lady Byrd Park, Arlington, VA, December 7, 2018 |
Sunday:
Christmas 10K. Write-up to follow.
Weekly mileage: 46
Weekly synopsis: Just another good week of running! Felt great out there, with no issues. More trails than roads this week, but that will flip now that shotgun season just opened.
Weekly highlight: Christmas 10K! Good running, great weather, and fun with friends. What more can you ask for?
Weekly lowlight: None! Seriously.
We still have a landline though I've been pushing to get rid of it for the last couple years. We justify it in case Ezri is home alone and needs to call someone. Soon we'll get rid of it.
ReplyDeleteI'm also a landliner for the same reason -- a 9 year old that may need to call out in an emergency. Hurry up and grow up, kid so I can save some money!
ReplyDelete