This has been a crazy week in which it seemed ended in a different world than it had begun:
Monday: 3
I usually take Mondays off, but with Jana covering for someone at work early morning, we wanted to make sure Brady got his morning exercise. Easy road/trail loop.
Tuesday: 3 run, 3 walk
Was hoping my cold was over, but it looks like it's turned into a bronchial infection. Ugh. I'll leave the mucus secretion details out, but it's not pretty. Since Jana was working morning again, I took Brady out, but really was pretty miserable.
Volunteered for the Westerly Land Trust today. Some people went to work on a new bridge at Wahaneeta, others to repaint blazes at Riverwood, and I apparently drew the short straw and got sent to clean up a redneck camp out in the woods at Grills Preserve.
Wednesday: 9
Worked in MA today on what unbeknownst to me at the time, would be my last day working in the office for quite some time, likely weeks at minimum.
Blue Heron trail loop, Dedham, MA. Easy paced run on a sunny and warm (46F) morning.
Thursday: 5
Some mornings you're on top of your game. This morning I was not. Woke up at 7:30am feeling completely run down. Ate breakfast, canceled a morning meeting in which I was presenting, and went back to bed. Woke up at 11:30am! I guess I needed my sleep.
Got out for a lunchtime run with Brady at Grills Preserve. Quiet as expected, with just one other person out there. He had two small dogs and Brady wanted nothing to do with either and just stayed close to me as we went around them.
By late afternoon, ominous news came. The stock market had crashed 2,000 points in a day on continued COVID-19 concerns, and then word came in that the BAA was postponing the Boston Marathon. Strange times.
Friday: 10
Back to Blue Heron! I've never run this twice in the same week before, and hadn't planned to, but Matthew was looking for a place with easy trails to run on way home from picking him up from UNH for spring break, and this easily fit the bill. Couldn't believe how warm it was at 58°. Trails a little wet from morning heavy rains, but not bad overall. Brady joined us (for a double after running with Jana in the morning!) and looked for every puddle and pond to jump into on the run. Saw a few other dogs when going through Millenium Park in Boston, and most were off-leash, but all were friendly.
Saturday: 10
Charlestown Beach with Matthew. 42° and sunny, but a bit breezy. Included the breachway and Green Hill. Saw a quite few runners out there today, and I wondered to myself if people who usually go to the gym to work out and/or run treadmills are avoiding the congregating and limited services of gyms during COVID-19 scare and getting outside instead?
Stopped at one of my favorite places for an iced coffee and scone at the finish: The Bakery.
Sunday: 14
Brady's longest run ever. Meandering trails CCW around Watchaug Pond from Burlingame campground entrance. Not many people out there today. Are they hunkering down indoors with the COVID-19 concerns?
Weekly mileage: 54
Weekly synopsis: On a positive note, my stubborn cold had run its course by week end, and is now gone. On a more macro level, the world seems to be falling apart around me.
Crazy week in a very fluid situation that is changing daily. On Thursday night, at our monthly WTAC board meeting, we agreed to defer any decision on our April 19 Clamdigger club race, and make a decision two weeks out. Just three days later, with CDC advising no gathering of 50 people or more for the next 8 weeks, it was clear there will be no Clamdigger race, or any other race, in April.
With respect to my own running week, I ditched the long run, as it's hardly necessary anymore. I originally thought I still have to train for Eastern States, and maybe I'll run another spring marathon, but the reality finally sunk in for me that there will be no races at all anytime soon.
Now that I'm no longer training for anything, I'd say 54 miles is a pretty good week. Without any carrot now, I hope I can keep up the motivation and mileage.
Weekly highlight: Really a lot of good runs this week, but I would say the Blue Heron run with Matthew and Brady. Fun to show someone else one of my "regular" away from home routes, and pretty neat that Brady got to run it too.
Weekly lowlight: Personally, running with bronchitis early in the week. Bigger picture, the continued escalation of this crazy COVID-19 pandemic.
- US COVID-19 positive cases ballooned into the thousands, and we know that's grossly under-reported due to deficiencies in testing capabilities.
- The World Health Organization declared a global pandemic.
- Canada and the US are effectively closing the world's largest undefended border, and many countries in Europe are doing the same when typically they don't even have any border control within the EU.
- Most US states have banned dining in restaurants and coffee shops.
- Gyms and schools are closed for weeks, if not longer.
- My employer was late in joining many others in mandating working from home indefinitely (a skeletal staff remains).
- The Boston Marathon will not hold a regular spring marathon for only the second time since its 1897 inception.
On to the running blog ...
Monday: 3
I usually take Mondays off, but with Jana covering for someone at work early morning, we wanted to make sure Brady got his morning exercise. Easy road/trail loop.
 |
| Post-run, I came out of the shower to find this on my bed! No, this is not a staged photo; while I was in the shower he must have gone to get his stuffed dog, and jumped up on the bed with him and put him under his head. Hard to get angry with him! |
Tuesday: 3 run, 3 walk
Was hoping my cold was over, but it looks like it's turned into a bronchial infection. Ugh. I'll leave the mucus secretion details out, but it's not pretty. Since Jana was working morning again, I took Brady out, but really was pretty miserable.
Volunteered for the Westerly Land Trust today. Some people went to work on a new bridge at Wahaneeta, others to repaint blazes at Riverwood, and I apparently drew the short straw and got sent to clean up a redneck camp out in the woods at Grills Preserve.
 |
| Piles of assorted refuse from clean up of someone's camp |
 |
| And away it goes. Many heavy bags hauled through the woods and out to Bowling Lane. |
Worked in MA today on what unbeknownst to me at the time, would be my last day working in the office for quite some time, likely weeks at minimum.
Blue Heron trail loop, Dedham, MA. Easy paced run on a sunny and warm (46F) morning.
Thursday: 5
Some mornings you're on top of your game. This morning I was not. Woke up at 7:30am feeling completely run down. Ate breakfast, canceled a morning meeting in which I was presenting, and went back to bed. Woke up at 11:30am! I guess I needed my sleep.
Got out for a lunchtime run with Brady at Grills Preserve. Quiet as expected, with just one other person out there. He had two small dogs and Brady wanted nothing to do with either and just stayed close to me as we went around them.
By late afternoon, ominous news came. The stock market had crashed 2,000 points in a day on continued COVID-19 concerns, and then word came in that the BAA was postponing the Boston Marathon. Strange times.
Friday: 10
Back to Blue Heron! I've never run this twice in the same week before, and hadn't planned to, but Matthew was looking for a place with easy trails to run on way home from picking him up from UNH for spring break, and this easily fit the bill. Couldn't believe how warm it was at 58°. Trails a little wet from morning heavy rains, but not bad overall. Brady joined us (for a double after running with Jana in the morning!) and looked for every puddle and pond to jump into on the run. Saw a few other dogs when going through Millenium Park in Boston, and most were off-leash, but all were friendly.
 |
| Clarity in an e-mail from the BAA: The Boston Marathon is moved to September 14, which is technically still summer, and risks being hot and humid. Do I really want to train all summer as well? Not sure I want to run this. Do I still keep running long runs? What's the point? (Obviously, this is trivial compared to the health pandemic, but it does go through my mind.) |
Saturday: 10
Charlestown Beach with Matthew. 42° and sunny, but a bit breezy. Included the breachway and Green Hill. Saw a quite few runners out there today, and I wondered to myself if people who usually go to the gym to work out and/or run treadmills are avoiding the congregating and limited services of gyms during COVID-19 scare and getting outside instead?
Stopped at one of my favorite places for an iced coffee and scone at the finish: The Bakery.
 |
| COVID-19 hits home |
Brady's longest run ever. Meandering trails CCW around Watchaug Pond from Burlingame campground entrance. Not many people out there today. Are they hunkering down indoors with the COVID-19 concerns?
 |
| Craziness at Stop & Shop, Westerly (and apparently around the country) |
 |
| Bread racks. Insanity. |
Weekly mileage: 54
Weekly synopsis: On a positive note, my stubborn cold had run its course by week end, and is now gone. On a more macro level, the world seems to be falling apart around me.
Crazy week in a very fluid situation that is changing daily. On Thursday night, at our monthly WTAC board meeting, we agreed to defer any decision on our April 19 Clamdigger club race, and make a decision two weeks out. Just three days later, with CDC advising no gathering of 50 people or more for the next 8 weeks, it was clear there will be no Clamdigger race, or any other race, in April.
With respect to my own running week, I ditched the long run, as it's hardly necessary anymore. I originally thought I still have to train for Eastern States, and maybe I'll run another spring marathon, but the reality finally sunk in for me that there will be no races at all anytime soon.
Now that I'm no longer training for anything, I'd say 54 miles is a pretty good week. Without any carrot now, I hope I can keep up the motivation and mileage.
Weekly highlight: Really a lot of good runs this week, but I would say the Blue Heron run with Matthew and Brady. Fun to show someone else one of my "regular" away from home routes, and pretty neat that Brady got to run it too.
Weekly lowlight: Personally, running with bronchitis early in the week. Bigger picture, the continued escalation of this crazy COVID-19 pandemic.
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