Chili 5K

Charlestown, RI
Saturday, January 25, 2020

Background:  Fifth (?) annual race.  Only my second rodeo here, as I've had conflicts most years.  It's a really fun event, at a time of year when local races are few and far between.  I like that it's a single loop, or more accurately, kind of a lollipop, which is still fine with me.  With the demise of the Charlestown Police 5K, I believe this race and the Avondale "Setting the Pace for Conservation" 5K are now about the flattest races in the state.

Fake news:  Arrived a little later than I would like (about 12:30pm for a 1pm race), and there was already a decent line for checking in for pre-reg.  When I got to the front, the person checking us in was repeating her spiel that the kids' race would start at 1pm, and the 5K race at 1:15pm.  OK, good, that gave me extra time for a warm-up.  Or so I thought ...

Change of plans:  Dropped my runner entry loot (knit cap, bottle of water, and a women's nutrition bar) at the car, and went out for a solo warm-up.  During my warm-up, I heard an airhorn go off, figured that was the start of the kids' run, but got concerned when I double-checked the time on my GPS watch and saw it was 12:55pm.  Hmm ... if they're starting the kids' run early, how about the 5K?  Decided to saunter over to the start line, and got there as the kids' race was finishing up.  Well, I might as well as hang around now.  Good thing - the race started at 1:04pm, not the announced 1:15pm!  (I heard later that some runners missed the start.)

Mile 1:  After a brief race overview from the RD and course overview from Jonny, we were off.  The course makes a short loop of about 1/3 mile before coming right near the start again.  By then, the top five positions were set and would hold:  Chris, a shirtless Chariho runner, another Chariho runner, Jonny, and me.  I heard somewhat heavy footsteps right behind me until we reached the playground, just shy of a mile.  Mile 1 split 5:40.

In yellow shoes in 2nd row,
eventual four finishers on front line
(so for once in a local race runners actually lined up properly!)
[All pics courtesy of Jana]

Finishing up short loop near start (1/3 mile in)

Being chased by WTAC teammates
Eric Ciocca and newest member Stefan Cox

Mile 2:  The wind was oddly out of the east, so criterion course sections hampered by wind in past races (including the now defunct Charlestown Police 5K) were unaffected this time.  I followed pretty closely to Jonny, and was glad he was just ahead of me, as each time I slowed and he pulled away (several times) I pushed to get back close to him.  At the bottom (southernmost section) of crit loop, we headed east and the wind hit.  This was the toughest section of the course, into the headwind with no protection from trees.  Mile 2 split 6:04.

Mile 3:  Headed up the final section of the crit course before turning off at the "Seafood Festival building" and then headed home.  Unceremoniously uneventful mile as I chased Jonny, but I think he put a few more seconds on me.

Final steps before the finish
Breathing hard, but still feeling good

Final results:  17:53, 5th overall out of 106.  Full results here.

Seven seconds behind Jonny; almost a full minute before my next teammates.

Caught up with other finishers, my Mom, Jana, and Brady.  Five bearded WTAC runners (Chris, Jonny, Eric, Stefan, me) and one black dog went out for a cool down and pick up of flags, signs, and red adhesive tape arrows.  It's great to see runners pitching in to help out.  The cost to me was that my choice of chili (pumpkin turkey chili) was gone by the time I got back.  Oh well, tried two other chilis that were just great.  Again, fun race and environment in a fun locale.

As the event was wrapping up, Jonny came out to say his good-byes, and told me to please tell Brady (who was now back in the car) that he said good-bye.  That was fortunate, because as soon as we got into the car, the first thing Brady asked was, "Did Jonny at least say good-bye to me?".  Fortunately, Brady stopped there with his questions and he did NOT ask if Chris said good-bye.

On the way home, redeemed part of my winnings (a DD card) for a mocha latte.  A sweet finish, indeed. 

Weekly Log 20-Jan to 26-Jan-2020: Soup Inspired Weekend

Miscellaneous ramblings:

• A young gentleman I recently hired returned to work this week after the birth of his daughter.  I asked him her name, and he said, "Lola", to which I asked, "as in the Kinks?".  His response:  "What are the Kinks?".  Oh, man.  Sacrilege!  Young people!  He probably was thinking "Old geezer's reminiscing about something from the Civil War again".
• Got a call from our credit card company that someone with a Sarasota, Florida number was trying to attach our credit card to his Apple Pay mobile phone app.  Yikes.  Glad that was caught.  
• When I was trying to activate the replaced card that was sent me, I was amazed by the challenge questions I was asked to confirm my identity.  Everyone is used to having to provide their address, last 4 digits of Social Security, etc., but this was the first time I was asked the color of my eyes and year/make/model of the car I drive.  It's good that security features are enhanced, but also kind of scary the amount of personal info my credit card company has on me.
• Finishing out the cord cutting saga:  last month I reported about our ditching of our landline and saving a few $$$.  This month, I called to cancel our cable (satellite dish, actually), explained the kids are gone, we only typically watch news, etc.  They said they appreciate our long patronage (of course, they do, right?) and would offer a "loyalty discount".  I was prepared to nix that as I'm expecting $5 off our $80 monthly bill, but she shocks me with stating that would reduce our bill from $80 to $21 per month!  The catch is it expires in 12 months, but good enough for me to hold on for now.  It's crazy the profit made if you don't speak up.
• While eating at a Japanese restaurant this weekend, a man one table over was repeatedly committing a culturally offensive faux pas by sticking his chopsticks straight up into his meal.  I remembered learning this, but I have the benefit of having spent a fair amount of time in Asia professionally and personally.  My guess is he's not intentionally offending his hosts, but rather he is just unaware.  Do I tell him, and risk offending him or embarrassing him in front of his girlfriend?  The first time I let it go, but when he did it again, I discreetly went over to his table and explained the custom to him, not knowing if his reaction would be hostile or friendly.  He immediately removed his chopsticks, stuck out his hand to shake mine, and thanked me for letting him know.  Whew, OK, I feel better.  Should I have minded my own business?  In this case, I think I did the right thing.
  

Monday:  10

Normally Monday is a day off from running (or day of cross-training) for me, but with the holiday and snow in the woods, how could I resist getting out there?!

Brady seemed a little uncertain of some of the
wood plank crossings, and really slowed down on these.

Headed all the way to Hopkinton (the next town over), and ran some of my favorite trails at Yawgoo and across the state line at Green Falls Pond.

He walked across this one.

This one was our diciest crossing of the day;
you can see why.  At 18 degrees, I really don't want to
fall crossing that "bridge".  (I didn't)
---
Green Falls Pond, CT

Don't know what Brady was trying to do here,
but I love the shot.

Isn't it cold to sit in the snow?
(and that's ice on his belly, as a result of jumping into the water at 18 degrees)
---
(overlooking Green Falls Pond)

Post-run huddle with my canine friend,
before the drive home.

I'm in!  Final award for completing the Mountain Goat from last year's
USATF-NE Mountain Series.

Tuesday:  6
Chilly 11 degree AM run with Brady into Champlin Glacier Preserve, and back.

First day drug free in seven months!  Yeah!  The rheumatologist had gradually weaned me down to 1 mg, and today was the first day at zero.  Go back to see him in two weeks, and then hopefully that's the end of this malaise.

Wednesday:  8
Noontime solo run from the Y, on as rural as I could find for streets from downtown Westerly.  31 degrees and sunny felt warm after a recent cold snap.  Felt good on this run.  6:50 average pace.

Thursday:  5
"Early" morning pre-work run with Brady at Woody, from Fallon Drive.  14 degrees and nobody there.  I put orange on both of us, and just left his leash in the car.  Never saw a soul out there.

Friday:  6
Woke up in the morning with mild shoulder pain and limited arm movement above my head.  Uh-oh, this isn't good.  Should I just go back on the Prednisone?  No, I remember the rheumatologist had told me this might happen after I went off the drug and to suck it up, cupcake.  Well, I think he worded it nicer than that, but that was the gist of it, and if it really degraded to extreme pain or loss of movement, to give him a call.  OK, I'll hold on.  By end of day, it was completely gone.

Burlingame sunset trail run with Brady.  Reminded myself to go easy given tomorrow's race.  I ran most of the old Brrr-lingame loop, which interestingly is now marked with white and green plastic markers.  Must have been very recent.  The campground section of the old course was not marked of course, so I was surprised I was able to navigate that.  Saw Ironman and ultramarathoner Eric Winn and his dog early on, and then nobody out there.

Saturday:  7
Chili 5K.  A 5K followed by many different kinds of chili for finishers.  Good stuff.  Write-up to follow shortly.

Sunday:  11
Bagged my plan long run on the roads in favor of a trail run at Burlingame with Brady.  Mud in a few spots with last night's rain, but overall the trails were drained and fine.  Saw three hikers and a group of five mountain bikers.  Just a fun run at an easy pace.

What is the first thing Brady did when we got back to the car?
Found a good stick to chew on, and laid down and got to work on it.

In the afternoon we went on a group hike:

Just before starting out on group hike at Wahaneeta Preserve.

About 30 of us on the hike today.

Mid 40s and sunny.  Quite comfortable out there.

Hot homemade soup (choice of 4 kinds) and fresh cranberry, blueberry, and corn
bread post-hike.  The cabin was a bit packed, so Jana and I opted
to sit outside with our neighbors.

Weekly mileage:  54 (against a planned 58)

Weekly synopsis:  Acceptable week overall.  The mileage was fine, but absence of any long run wasn't.  Really happy with Saturday's race result.

Weekly highlight:  Tough choice.  A lot of good runs this week.  But as I'm a sucker for the rare snow run in RI, I'd have to say our 10-mile Yawgoog and Green Falls run in the snow.

Weekly lowlight:  As I said, it was really a good week of runs.  I guess I'd go with the lack of a long run.

Weekly Log 13-Jan to 19-Jan-2020: Long Run and Snow

Flashback:

For last Sunday's Newport long run with Matthew, I mentioned I wished I had
had a camera for the sea foam section.  Well, here it is!
You can see the sea foam up and over the Cliffwalk path.  It was about 6" deep!
-----
(Courtesy of runner Kevin Bruff's Strava post, as we ran into him on the run)

Here's another section of sea foam that we had to navigate through, and
this one was much worse as you couldn't see the rocks underfoot.

Monday:  0 run, 1/4 swim
Well, the holidays are truly over now.  Mark went back to Texas late last week and Matthew to NH today.  This will be my first five-day work week since Christmas.  I know, cry me a river.  I'll need to get into regular routines and force myself to get out there (that's the hardest part of my runs usually.)

My training plan calls for every Monday off from running, with either rest or cross-training.  Opted to jump into the pool today for the first time since April!  Arms sore, even from a short and easy 500 yard swim, but felt good overall.  Glad I did it.

Tuesday:    8
You know how some mornings you get up on the "wrong side of bed"?

• Brady woke me up, and I thought, great, time for the Grills trail run with him that I promised.  The alarm clock showed 8am; that can't be right, as I know I set it for 6:10.  Turns out Doofus set the alarm for 6:10PM.
• Came down stairs to eat breakfast quickly and go to work.  In my haste, I knocked over a glass full of water, smashing it into hundreds of pieces with some shards of glass and water falling on Brady.  He cowered, probably wondering what he did wrong.  What an idiot!
• Got into my car to find an engine check light.  Argh.
• Got to work to find I left my snacks (yogurt and apple) behind.  I should've just stayed in bed and called in sick.

Fortunately, I was able to fit in a trail run at lunch, albeit sans Fido.  I was still in my grumpy morning mood for about half the run until I kicked the funk.  Barn Island is a great place to run trails, except during the summer months when the trails just get too overgrown.  The state (of Connecticut) has done a lot of maintenance there lately, but unfortunately only on the fire roads and not on the single-track.

Wednesday:  9
Blue Heron loop (Dedham, Boston, Needham, MA).  Hadn't run this in a while, and really enjoyed it, with the exception of a short section that had been leaf-blown and had a lot of exposed roots and erosion as a result.  Why do people do that?

Anyway, a very enjoyable run before a work day in Wellesley.  Very few people on the trails, but in Millennium Park, Boston, there were a quite a few folks out walking their dogs.  All were surprisingly off leash, but all also seemed truly friendly and obedient.

(on the bulletin board of the Wellesley office)
I'm easily amused!  We will never be able to use this joke again.

Thursday:  8
Grills with Brady, before work.  From Hopkinton side into Westerly for a nice, if muddy, loop, and then back.  Brady jumped into every pond and stream that we went near; I guess that's the black lab in him.  Coming down Big Hill, there was a deer standing in the middle of the trail.  This time, Brady bolted after him.  It was fun to watch Brady chase the deer, until they were both out of sight.  I yelled to Brady, and to my pleasant surprise, he abandoned his chase, and came right back to me.

Misty and overcast, but fun.  Never saw a soul out there.

Friday:  7
After work road/trail mix from the house with Brady.  Mixed in four local preserves, which were all fun to run in.  The roads - not so much, especially between busy traffic, wind, and getting dark.

Saturday:  18
Solo long run.  16 degrees.  The past four weekends I had 14+ mile runs with Matthew, but today I had to get out there and do it myself.  Just tried to make any excuse to myself to defer it.  Maybe I'll just run in the afternoon when it's warmer.  Or maybe tomorrow.  Better yet, it's a 3-day weekend, so I can run long on Monday.  Somehow I fought those inner voices and got out there.  Brady giving me a sad look at the door, like "How come I'm not invited?" didn't help, but I got past it.

The first few miles I was still fighting the urge to cut the run short, but about four miles in, I snapped out of my funk, had warmed up, and was starting to enjoy it.  Saw Shara running in her neighborhood, and one other runner on Atlantic, but there were really very few people outdoors in the cold.  Ran an average of 7:15/mile, and fairly consistently.  Wasn't working hard, yet on the other hand couldn't see myself running much faster today.  I felt fine up until about Mile 15, and was really tiring the final three miles.  Much work to do.

Later that afternoon and into the night, the old man was very sore.

Sunday:  5
Snow run!  We went up to UNH to bring up stuff for Matthew, as he went up a week ago on his own (by train) for running, but couldn't bring much as the dorms weren't open then.  Anyway, planned a stop in Portsmouth for a run before meeting Matthew for lunch.  Parked at Portsmouth High School and ran the adjacent city-owned trails and XC course at Sagamore Creek Headlands.  6" of snow was my bonus!

King of the hill.

Romping in the snow.
You're not in Florida (or Texas) anymore, Brady.

Weekly mileage:  56 (against a planned 63)

Weekly synopsis:  Again, not concerned about being a few miles shy of a weekly plan.  I'm happy that this was my 5th consecutive week north of 50.  What did bother me, though, was that a pop-up on Strava showed my 18-mile run from exactly one year ago, and in that one I had two 5-mile blocks of running about 6:20 pace.  I'm way off that, and need to start mixing in faster blocks in my long runs if I want any chance of going sub-3 at Boston.

Weekly highlight:  The snow run, all the way!

Weekly lowlight:  My ineptitude with the alarm clock, and letting my ensuring morning get screwed up and get the best of me.  Alarm clocks really aren't all that complicated.

Weekly Log 6-Jan to 12-Jan-2020: Quick Road Trip & A New House Guest

Miscellaneous ramblings:

• What happened to Tappan Zee bridge?  I looked for it, but only saw signs for some "Governor Mario Cuomo Bridge".  Turns out the bridge was unpopularly renamed when rebuilt in 2018.  
• Mark's car got 41mpg on the trip south!  Pretty good for a wagon, and far outweighs the slightly higher cost of diesel fuel.
• Leaving all politics aside, it was gut-wrenching watching the Middle East turn of events this past week and escalation between US and Iran, as well as the shooting down of a civilian airliner.

Monday:  7
Ninigret in the dark.  Arrived just at dusk to run with Matthew and Brady.  I was a little concerned about running with a black dog in the pitch black.  We did have headlamps, but obviously that only shows what is front of you.  Brady was really good, though, and other than a few sprints early on, he ran literally right next to us.

Tuesday:  9 run, 2 walk
AM:  Worked with Westerly Land Trust's CCC.  I'm going to try to make this once per month, depending upon work obligations.  Fortunately my employer is very supportive and encouraging of volunteer efforts.  Today I was asked to lead a team of three to clear blowdowns in Mastuxet Brook Greenway and Winnapaug Preserve.  I did not know at first that I would be the sole chainsaw operator, with the other two helping with moving the debris I cut and also using pruning shears on vines.  Both guys were great and have much more experience with the CCC than me.  One thought it was great that I'm now on the board, and says the board needs younger people such as myself.  I replied that I'm not young; I'm 55 years old, to which he replied, "I have kids older than you".  Got it!  I guess it's all relative.

PM:  Late afternoon / evening run with Matthew and Brady.  Met up at Bradford Preserve after work, and the first two miles were in relative daylight.  The rest of the run was in darkness (with headlamps) on the trails.  Really a lot of fun!

Wednesday:  9
Midday run, a/k/a "Jonny lunch".  With Matthew, from the house out to Watch Hill in strong headwinds, and back.

Thursday:  9
Planned to run with Brady in the AM, but ran out of time getting prepared for WTAC meeting and evening road trip.

While I ran out of time for a pre-work run,
I at least took him to the Westerly Town Beach before work
and played ball with him.

Happy dog at the beach.

Crazy busy day, before leaving for road trip.  Ran late afternoon with Matthew in lower Pawcatuck.  Nice mixer on lower Pawcatuck roads and Barn Island trails.

Had our first WTAC meeting of the new year, at our new downtown location at an 1887 building owned by the Westerly Land Trust.  We deferred another month on any decision on Rhody 2020 distance.  The comments on new 10-mile course versus classic 8-mile course truly are split.

Post WTAC meeting, left Westerly about 7pm and drove with Mark about four hours to Allentown, PA.  I don't like driving at night, but we split the driving, and it meant we got past busy western CT and NYC for an easier start to Friday's drive.

Road trip time

The Homewood Suites in Allentown was pretty nice for a reasonable fee.
We each had our own bedroom with separate bathrooms and a king bed.
So I went right to bed when we arrived at 11pm and Mark stayed
up for a few hours, per his usual routine.

Friday:  0
While I would have liked to have run in PA before leaving, I was already beat and needed some sleep for the long 14-hour drive ahead of us.  PA to MD to WV to VA to TN to GA to AL.

The Sirius XM satellite radio subscription was quite cool.
Well, maybe not the "Road Dog Trucking" station, but they had
a few good classic rock stations, and that made it much easier than constantly
losing the station, finding a new station in a new city, etc.
[Of course, that also meant there were hip-hop stations that Mark availed himself
of when he was driving.  Fair is fair.  I guess.]
---
The subscription came free from VW for 3 months.  Not that I need any more subscriptions,
so when the renewal came, I planned to cancel, but just $2 for another 3 months?!
I'll take it for when I likely help him drive back from TX to RI in May.

Saturday:  5
First ever run in Alabama.  Got up at 6:15am and drove a short distance for a trail run I had planned out.  Upon arriving at the trailhead, I realized two problems:  1) signs were conspicuously posted that any vehicles parked there after dark or before opening hours of 7am would be towed (probably just a bluff to discourage, but I'm 1,200 miles away from home - do I want to take the chance?); 2) it's pitch dark and I don't have a headlamp.  What to do?  What to do?

Abandoned the trail run idea and instead drove another short distance to University of Alabama Arboretum, Tuscaloosa.  Yes, it was still dark, but there were a lot of open fields to run until it got light and there were a couple of people here also parked to walk their dogs.

University of Alabama's XC course that I ran on.

Then jumped into the University of Alabama Arboretum to
run a few trails,

... including some hills and fields ...

... and some fun trails through dense woods.

Post run, back to the hotel to shower and have breakfast, before starting the final day of the road trip.

After horrific severe thunderstorms when I had
to pull over in MS when I could no longer see the painted highway
lanes, we arrived back to my "favorite" state.

After 22 hours of driving 1,500 miles, this was my final destination
for the trip, before flying back to PVD.

Mark and his "new" car continued on to Texas,
and beat me back to RI, where I arrived just after 10pm.

MSY is a real nice clean airport.  I learned later it was brand new,
and had only been open for two months!

Took me a few seconds to get that this shop was a play on words
on a popular street in New Orleans.
Some day I hope to go to New Orleans proper.

Well, this is interesting.  You do also take pictures of public toilets, don't you?
Out of amusement and curiosity, I both waved my hand over the wall sensor
AND pressed the button, as directed.  I prepared to be wowed by the old
toilet seat covering being whisked away and replaced by a new clean one.
Instead, both times the toilet only grunted at me, and then did nothing.  Not that I would
have put my arse on the cover, but I was at least hoping for an amusing show.  Disappointing.

Sunday:  16!
After recent rains, Matthew and I decided to abandon plans to run Sakonnet Greenway, which was likely flooded and we went to Fort Adams (Newport) instead, and ran [mostly] roads.  I had no idea the Fort Adams property was so big; we first ran the "Fort Adams Bay Walk", which was more than 1 mile long, before exiting to Newport roads.  Fun CCW loop through Newport along the waterfront, including the Newport Cliff Walk, and Ocean Drive.  Wind was extremely challenging at times, and on the Cliff Walk we had about two sections where the sea foam was about 6" deep!  We had to slow to a walk there as we couldn't see the rocks underneath.  Wish I had my camera for that one.  Ocean Drive is always fun, and the site of the Christmas 10K.  Great run, and fun to mix it up by running a different route.

Final run with Matthew for a while, as he heads back to New Hampshire tomorrow.  Always easier to get out there when you have someone to run with.

Weekly mileage:  55 (against a plan of 62)

Weekly synopsis:  55 is close enough.  I'm not that much of a stickler to plan details.  Really good week of running.

Weekly highlight:  Today's Newport run.  Newport is a fun place to run in general, and certainly RI's nicest of its eight cities.  Running along the waterfront was fun, with nearly everywhere deserted today on a less than stellar weather day.

Weekly lowlight:  Really no run issues or disappointments at all this week.  As to the quick road trip, I had negative vibes going into it, but it really went by quickly.  I guess my lowlight is that the road trip really tired me out and due to commitments on either end, we didn't get to do anything but drive.  (Mark and I did vow that next road trip we'll plan ahead to leave some time for something recreational.)

"New" house guest:  Ah, yes, back to this topic, and a good one which to end this week's blog post.  You have figured it out, right?  When Mark departed for Texas Thursday night, Brady for the first time ever remained behind.  You could tell Brady was sad and knew something was going on.  Brady won't see Mark again until he returns to RI at the end of this semester in May.  Mark had surprised me a couple of weeks back with wanting to discuss the possibility of having Brady stay in RI.  He said he thought that was the best option for Brady, as he indicated Brady had long hours all day in the apartment by himself, didn't have much room to exercise at his apartment complex, and he seemed happier in RI than TX.  Mark said he just wanted to discuss with me, though, and hadn't made up his mind, as he'd miss Brady a lot.  OK, fair enough.  I tried to listen and ask questions and be supportive.

Just about a week ago, Mark announced his decision to the rest of the immediate family.  He also just got a teaching assistant position, which means he'll only be spending more time at school with teaching undergraduate labs.  Well, it's been almost 20 years since we have had a dog live in the house, but we all love Brady.  We included him in our family vacations last year in Key West and Nova Scotia (he's a well traveled dog!) and when he visits, he gets lots of attention (Jana takes him for a run almost every morning and plays ball with him in our backyard, and Matthew and I take him for runs when we can fit them in, and he can often be found curled up next to Matthew).

Well, I don't know what this means in the long term after Mark finishes his
Masters program and likely leaves Texas in December, but in the short
term I'm long forward to a lot more adventures with my canine friend.
---
(top to bottom:  Acadia National Park, ME; Myrtle Beach, SC; Bluff Point, CT

Weekly Log 30-Dec-2019 to 5-Jan-2020: Into the next decade ...

... or is it?

[Source:  dateandtime.com]
We are about to enter the "twenties" (not to be confused with the "Roaring Twenties" [1920s]),
and that decade clearly starts this week.
Specific ordinally numbered date periods are different as there was no Year 0
(e.g., the 20th century ended December 31, 2000, not December 31, 1999)

Miscellaneous Ramblings:

• Enjoyed reading year-end / year-in-review blog posts from Matthew, Seth, Tommy, and Bob.  Hopefully more are forthcoming.
• Time to start thinking about 2020 races.  I've started a rough listing, having given some preliminary thought to at least the 1st half of the year.
• I was naively hoping to finally run Seven Sisters in 2020, until I saw the event registration already opened and closed in mid-December.  In one day!
• I'll have to do some research and come up with some additional regional trail races to run (that aren't already sold out).

Monday:  0
After running 72 miles last week, I was looking forward to a day off.  The day long heavy rain made the decision even easier for me.  In fact, I never left our property, and wouldn't have even exited the house if it weren't for letting Brady out for his duties in the back woods.

A productive day nonetheless, as we completed giving a new facelift to one of our upstairs bathrooms, dubbed "the boys' bathroom".  Patching some minor holes, two coats of fresh new blue paint, and all new hardware, including nickel towel racks and new lighting replacing old rusty fixtures that had been there since the house was built 21 years ago.

Tuesday:  8
Two mile loop in Haley Farm, followed by a short road section and then the beginning of Groton Cross Town Trail.  Wet trails, but did not dampen our enthusiasm.  With Matthew.  Final run of 2019.

New Year's Eve plans kind of fell apart.  A planned dinner at a neighbor's house went asunder with her husband taking ill.  We went to the annual bonfire at Ninigret Park, only to watch for 30 minutes after numerous attempts at starting the massive bonfire failed and the flames extinguished, likely due to wet wood after soaking rains yesterday.  (Note:  the bonfire did finally successfully ignite, but only after we and many other attendees had left.)

Wednesday:  10
New Year's Day, with Brady and Matthew.  Ran the 3-mile Burlingame north loop, then 7 miles south of Buckeye Brook Road, including the full Schoolhouse Pond trail, which I had never run before.  (I had run the portion between VG and Sammy C's several times and really enjoyed that, but never the section west of Klondike).

For some reason, I had [erroneously] thought dogs were required to be
leashed at all times in RI State Parks.  (although I do think
this should be amended to something like "At all other times, dogs
must be under your voice command control or leashed")
---
After 3 miles, just put the leash back in the car.

Brady "stoop" atop a rock in
Burlingame north

Thursday:  5
Back to work blues.  3 miles trails, 2 roads, with the Brady dog, before heading in to work for "the man".  How many years to retirement?  (I do like my job, and am fortunate to have a good job, but life is short.)

Friday:  4
Pretty pathetic mileage.  Get it together, man.  Wimped out on an early morning pre-work run and opted to stay under the covers.  Squeezed in a solo late afternoon sunset run (if you can call 4 miles a run) on the trails of Wahaneeta.

Went to Mystic Aquarium for their nightime
holiday "Northern Lights" event
---
Fun family event before a nice dinner at Steak Loft

Saturday:  16
2nd long run in my marathon training.  This one went much better than the struggle-fest 16 miler a week ago.  Roads in Narragansett with Matthew for 10 miles in warm drizzle (mid 40s).  Had originally mapped out an 11-mile road/trail mix, including the Canonchet Farm Trail and Crooked Brook Trail, but after a night of constant rain, I figured those trails would be just flooded and changed course a bit to all roads.  Coming back on Kinney (about mile 7.5 on Blessing course), I heard someone shout out "Walker!" and recognized the voice as Dave Tetreault, as we ran into a gaggle of Narragansett Running Club runners.  Out of curiosity, I went on their club running site after getting home, and see they have Saturday morning group long runs starting at Narragansett Town Beach, so I assume that's what this was.  I don't recognize a single person listed as current officer, and was disappointed to see their site was last updated in July, plus it appears they won't be hosting any events again in 2020 (?).  I never ran the Gansett Half, but I still miss and can't understand why they dropped the highly popular Super 5K.  Anyhow ...

After the road run, I then ran the Resolution 5K "Group Run" moderately hard on the traditional course, and as I was 13 miles in, I didn't want to stop, so pretty much kept going to round out 16.  After a night of constant rain, it was no surprise that the Resolution trails at Black Point were pretty wet and muddy around the stone house.  Huge kudos to Steve Brightman for organizing this and marking the course.

Came home and took down the Christmas tree.  :(  As Matthew appropriately said, it's fun to put the lights up, but never fun to take them down.

Sunday:  8
Cockaponset State Forest, Chester, CT.  Only my second time ever here, the first being for the Trails to the Cure race in September, my favorite race of 2019.  Very, very well marked trails corresponded exactly to the map we had printed out in advance (well, of course in advance, kind of hard to print out trail maps while you're out running them).

Ran Cockaponset Trail (blue) up from Route 148; much of this dovetailed with the race course itself, although it was hillier than I remembered and had some long climbs.  I was getting pretty tired after a few 200' climbs, but I got a little bit of a second wind on the way back (red/blue) trail, as it was less technical and generally flatter.

Weekly mileage:  52 (against a planned 58)

Weekly synopsis:  Better than I had envisioned, especially as my motivation and time planning skills fizzled amidst a return to work.  I'm going to have to buckle down and get some early morning pre-work miles in, lest it won't happen.  That's going to be tough next week, given upcoming long travel days.

Weekly highlight:  Today's Cockaponset Forest trail run.  Tiring, but really fun trails.

Weekly lowlight:  My pathetic 4-miler on Friday post-work.  Nothing to be blamed except my lethargy.

Goodbye 2019; Hello 2020: Year in Review

Fast away the old year passes, 
Hail the new, ye lads and lasses!
 - "Deck the Halls", Thomas Oliphant, 1862

This is my 8th annual year in review post.  As I look back one year to the 2018 year in review post, it starts with "Let me just get it out there that 2018 was not my best running year by any stretch".  Ouch.  Then how should I classify my malaise of 2019?

2nd year in a row of abysmally low miles relative to my goal, and 2nd lowest number of miles over
the past eight years

In both 2018 and 2019, my summers were crushed by health issues.  In 2018, some general consensus on "Adherent Nerve Syndrome" that got better through PT and time.  In this recent year just passed (2019), I was rendered invalid by a scary condition where I sometimes could not move a single arm or worse, either leg.  Eventual medical diagnosis as Polymyalgia Rheumatica ("PMR") and subsequent treatment (I'm still taking daily medication six months later) brought a gradual and full improvement.

Mid-May to mid-October was a scary and debilitating time for me,
but I'm happy to have this in the rear view window now

 So where did I run my 2,051 miles in 2019?

Top 10 places I ran in 2019 (including ties)

Looks like I'm more of a creature of habit than I either thought or professed to be.  Just about all of my runs were in Westerly or surrounding towns.  I suppose both residing and being employed in Westerly, the stats are not a surprise.  The five towns tied for 9th place with 4 runs each seem a bit odd (other than perhaps Middletown), until you consider that I visited both Austin and Myrtle Beach more than once this year, and Needham, New Haven, and Westwood all are tied to days when I was working at our subsidiaries near there.

As usual, here is a restatement of the past year's goals (in black), and responses in red.

2019 Goals:

• Mileage:  2,600.  Same goal that I failed miserably in 2018.  Let's hope I keep injury at bay.  Fail.  Again.  2,051 miles.
• Marathon:  Run a spring marathon.  Again, a failed leftover from 2018.  Finally, success!  Myrtle Beach Marathon was a highlight for me this year.
• Run at least one new trail race.  Success.  Five times over!  Sleepy Hollow, Wachusett, Cranmore, Trails to a Cure, Waterville.
• Left over from 2016 and 2017:  Document history of one of my favorite and most frequented running areas:  Woody Hill.  The WLT has requested that I research and write up the history on Wahaneeta and Woody Hill.  Fail.  Again.  Easy to say I just didn't have the time to take it on and do it right, but a bit of an excuse.
• Become a mountain goat, by running at least six of the eight USATF-NE mountain circuit races.  Definitely a stretch goal and super aggressive, especially as last year I failed to run any, but again this is contingent on staying injury free, which I couldn't do in 2018.  Success!  This was not easy for me at all, especially given my inflammation and mobility issues, but I switched races on days when I couldn't physically race, persevered, and got it done!  At our WTAC Christmas party this year, outgoing president Steve publicly called me indefatigable.  I'll take that!
• Run in every New England state.  Success!
• More dog runs (besides those I already ran with Brady in early January).  Success!  Numerous runs with my canine friend, in many different locations from Texas to Nova Scotia.  Even a few runs with Riley (Tommy 5K's dog).
• Run a warm-up, cool-down, or other non-race run with someone I've never run with before.  Success!  Barely.  Met Ian Bachman-Sanders after battling him at the Christmas Run, and ran and chatted post-run.  Also met and ran with Linda Cunningham for a few miles of one of the weekly Run While You Can runs in Avondale.
• PR in any distance I've already run.  Now, what makes me think I can possibly PR in my advanced age, especially given I haven't had a PR since 2015?  The fact that in 2018, I ran just 16 seconds off my 10K PR.  I would say my 4M, 5M, and 10K are all possibilities, albeit a bit remote.  This is why we have goals; to give something to shoot for!  Fail.  Not sure what I was thinking that I good get another PR, but I actually wasn't that far off in the Christmas 10K, as I was just 15 seconds off my PR.

6 successes against 3 fails.   67% isn't great, but better than last year.

Monthly pictorial highlights of 2019:

January:  Not sure which of us is happier.  Is it Brady or me?
Myrtle Beach, SC

February:  No races myself.  This is at the NE Championship
indoor race catching up with Matthew before he ran a 15:44 5K

March:  Looking pretty haggard at completion of
Myrtle Beach Marathon, but happy with my 2:57:27 race

April:  Sleepy Hollow Mountain Race, VT
Absolute mudfest in the rain, but what a blast!
(Thanks to Jana for being a good sport and taking pics in the pouring rain.)

May:  Very proud of our son, Mark, for graduating from
University of South Florida in just 3 years!
Considerably shorter than it took his old man to earn his Bachelor degree.
(Mark is now studying for an MS in Marine Biology at Texas A&M,
and has his sights on collapsing the 2-year schedule there as well)

June:  Cranmore Mountain Race,
my first time running this.  I'm not usually a fan of two-loop courses,
but this one was awesome!  Steep downhill technical single-track was the best.

July:  Not sure what's with the goofy face,
but was so happy just to finish my 17th consecutive
Blessing of the Fleet 10-Mile Road Race.
Extreme pain and mobility issues post-race from my PMR,
and a very slow time, but I got it done

August:  Hiking with the family in Cape Breton Highland National Park,
Nova Scotia.  I just love the ragged coastline.

September:  Trails to a Cure Race.
Yes, the water crossing was that deep!  My absolute favorite race of the year.

October:  Run for the Pumpkins Trail 8K.
Love the race and the singlets we were able to
procure this year.

November:  Notched an 18:15 at the Avondale 5K.
My fastest outdoor 5K this year (ran a 17:58 indoors at USATF-NE Masters Champs in Jan)

 

December:  With teammates Chris and Jonny before the start of one of my favorite road races,
the Christmas 10K in Newport.  Aptly described by Chris as
"The good-looking, if follicly-challenged, WTAC crew".

Other memorable moments of 2019:

Despite the heat, our March family vacation to Key West was a lot of fun.
My first time ever to Key West.  Low point was Brady collapsing on an 87-degree
run we took him on; this idiot didn't bring any water for him, nor any money to
buy water.  Lesson learned.

I only ran Mt Greylock 8-mile road race because
I had to back out of planned summer mountain races
when my PMR flared up, and find a substitute in order to
get goat status.  However, I surprised myself and actually liked it!
(With fellow WTAC'er Kevin Murphy here at summit post-race)

This series championship was a tough, tough race
that I was beat up for days afterwards,
but so glad I did it.

Two Jeff Walkers!
(At Waterville race, courtesy of Leslie)

In November, sadly we lost WTAC member and past club secretary,
Beth Lazor-Smith, much too early at the age of 52.  In this picture
from the 2015 Christmas 10K, Beth is second from the right, next to me.
---
(The caption on this very pic, on Beth's blog write-up is as follows:
"Probably one of my most favorite pictures this year.
Joe, Tommy, Shara, Mikey, Crutch, Me, Jeff
Photo by Jana Walker")---
Recently I was rereading cards from my 50th birthday, and eerily,
the card at the top was from Beth.  RIP.

We made some significant changes to the 2019 edition of the Li'l Rhody
Runaround Trail Race.  I heard nothing but compliments on the bib I put together (above),
but there sure were mixed reviews on the 10-mile course we switched to, as well
as inclusion of USATF-NE champs/exclusion of nearby CT USATF members.
Numerous runners going off 4-mile course, signs and flags being pulled up on
4-mile course, and awards and results errors on 10-mile race didn't help matters.

At WTAC Christmas party, left to right:
Outgoing president Steve (after 20 years!), incoming president me,
incoming VP Paul.
---
Time for a change.  I won't be at the helm for anywhere near as long as Steve
was, and I want to make sure I help steward the club, but be inclusive of all
and minimize unilateral decisions and actions.  As I stated that evening, it's not just my club,
it's all of ours.  Looking for others to step up, help out, and bring new ideas.
We have a great club, and I'm appreciative of all of our members and volunteers.

Also in December, I was installed for a 3-year term on the
Board of Directors of one of my favorite non-profits,
the Westerly Land Trust.

Housing woes:

Here is one of the ugly scenes from 2018, when we had the entire house
exterior gutted, stripped, and removed, and sometimes found some ugly and
costly mold issues that required deeper surgery.

The deck was in rough shape as well, but after going way over
budget expectations with house repairs/renovations in 2018, we had
the contractor "patch" it for now and we put it onto
the 2019 replacement project list for a new deck/patio.

This summer we had the entire deck gutted ...

... and replaced with a new deck, completely made of AZEK for low-maintenance.
In April 2020, we will continue and finish the project by marrying the deck up to
a stamped-concrete patio at the bottom of the stairs.

Now onto 2019 stats:

• Races run:  24 (2018: 25, 2017: 22, 2016: 29, 2015:  36)
• Race breakdown by terrain:  Road - 11, Trail - 11, Beach - 1, Tri - 0, Indoor Track - 1
• Age group wins:  9
• Overall wins:  3 (yes, they were all wins at small local races in RI & CT, but as Muddy says, you race who shows up)
• Miles run:  2,051 - 2nd lowest since I started tracking in 2012
• Elevation run:  140,341'
• Most elevation gain in a single run:  3,077' (US Mountain Running Championships)
• Hours run:  281 (2018:  246, 2017:  360)
• Days run:  276 (2018: 240, 2017:  315)  Not as bad as last year, but nothing to write home about.
• Lowest mileage week:  5 (2nd week of July amidst pain and severe mobility issues)
• Highest mileage week:  75 (2nd week of January, while training for Myrtle Beach Marathon)
• Highest mileage day:  27 (Myrtle Beach Marathon)
• Highest mileage run:  26 (ditto)
• Longest running streak:  18 days (mid-October)
• Longest non-running streak: 6 days (forced break in July)
• Number of tickborne diseases:  0 
• Number of states run in:  15:  RI, CT, MA, NH, ME, VT, OH, MI, NC, SC, FL, TN, MI, LA, TX (tied 2017, but can't imagine running in this many again for a while)
• Number of provinces run in:  2: NB, NS
• Number of countries run in:  2 
• Run furthest from home:  San Antonio, TX

And, finally, some 2020 goals:

• Mileage:  2,600.  Same carried over failed goal from 2018 and 2019.  2020 will be my injury-free year.  I can feel it.  
• Marathon:  Complete at least one marathon.  As long as I stay injury free, should be easy.  
• Marathon time:  Break 3 hours in a marathon.  I've done that the past 8 marathons, but it's getting harder and the margin of error smaller.
• Run at least one new trail race.  
• Run a fun destination vacation run in a new venue.
• Rejoin the sport of triathlon after a 2-year hiatus.

Happy New Year 2020!  Looking forward to running adventures in the new year with friends new and old.