Monday: 0
Usual day off. Had contemplated cross-training, but it didn't materialize.
Tuesday: 8
Solo road run 'round the pond. Average 6:40 pace. Felt really good on this one, and I'm loving my New Balance 890 v7. Lightweight at just over 7 ounces. Low humidity.
Wednesday: 8
Barn Island with Brady. Return of the humidity. I must've gone through about 5 spider webs. Reminded me of how much Crutch hates them.
Thursday: 5
Road/trail local mix with Brady. Another humid one. While I didn't expect to see anyone on the Mastuxet Greenway trails (behind Rotary Park), I was surprised that not a single person was in Champlin Glacier Preserve. At the onset of the COVID-19 restrictions, and especially the Stay at Home order, this and many other preserves saw so many people. With the Stay at Home order expired, it seems many of those people also opted to let their trail and outdoor time expire as well. Their loss; my gain.
Friday: 0 run, 1 walk
Unplanned zero. Contractors were coming over the house at 7:30, so I opted not to run in the morning. Fatal flaw, as just a very busy work day prevented me for getting out before I wrapped up my work day just after 6pm.
Got out with Jana and Brady to Avondale after dinner, as I "needed" to get out of the house for some fresh air.
Saturday: 9
Wachusett Mountain, MA. Matthew was planning an FKT attempt (which was successful), so since he was going by himself and the ride was "only" 1.75 hours, I told him I'd tag along if I didn't cramp his company. I wasn't thrilled with his idea of warming up on roads, but this was his run after all and I was just there for fun. After two miles running roads, I was chomping at the bit to hit the trails. I left Matthew to stretch out, and I ventured ahead as I would be running most of his planned route, except taking a steeper final ascent trail (Harrington) than his route, cutting off 1/2 mile at the turnaround (Balance Rock), and a slightly different diversion at finish.
Sunday: 11
Local roads with Brady, with 2 miles on the beach. Ran 4.5 miles with the Run While You Can gang. This was my first time since pre-pandemic that I ran with anyone outside my immediate family. Felt and seemed normal with a lot of people out walking, biking, and running. The only time I saw anyone was masks was running past the Cooked Goose where people were being seated outside for breakfast. Kelley's Pace owner Jeff Anderson was amongst our group of four. His fun runs just opened yesterday, but CT allows "crowd" sizes up to 25, and he had a small group. I hope this bodes well for some form of WTAC fun runs, although obviously fun runs as we know them won't be happening this year for us.
The easy 8-ish pace suited me just after running rugged mountain trails just yesterday. Once we got down to Watch Hill, Brady and I said our good-byes as we ran the beach home. I wasn't sure if dogs are allowed on the beach up to 8am or 9am, so I was prepared to leave if needed, but once we got on the beach, we saw plenty of dogs, all friendly, and almost all off-leash and playing. I took Brady off-leash and he immediately ran into the ocean and came back with a ball. That's when I saw three other dogs looking at him, and I realized it was their ball! Fortunately I was able to coax Brady into turning over the ball, and off we went, me at a leisurely gait, and Brady sprinting up and down the beach punctuated by frequent jumps into the ocean. So fun to watch him and his energy!
Weekly mileage: 43
Weekly synopsis: All in all, a decent running week. Only disappointment was two zeros instead of a planned one.
Weekly highlight: Wachusett Mountain trail run. Good mix of trails from technical to easily runnable.
Weekly lowlight: Only that I had two zeroes.
Usual day off. Had contemplated cross-training, but it didn't materialize.
Tuesday: 8
Solo road run 'round the pond. Average 6:40 pace. Felt really good on this one, and I'm loving my New Balance 890 v7. Lightweight at just over 7 ounces. Low humidity.
 |
| Post-run annual Westerly Land Trust clearing at their Quaker property. Operated above beast until my weak arms got tired, then traded off with another "young" guy. Signs at the entrance explained that a Quaker meetinghouse was originally built here in 1747, and that to this day weekly meetings continue at their location on Elm Street. --- An additional piece of historical trivia I learned was that eight of the early RI governors were Quakers. --- Glad to see one semblance of normality (weekly WLT coffee and clearing crew) has returned, albeit without the coffee gathering. |
Barn Island with Brady. Return of the humidity. I must've gone through about 5 spider webs. Reminded me of how much Crutch hates them.
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| Wequetequock Cove, at the end of the run. What is missing from this pic is that Brady was excited to see two Golden Retrievers swimming in the cove. One of them promptly came over to say hello to Brady. The owner apologized, but it was all good with me. |
Road/trail local mix with Brady. Another humid one. While I didn't expect to see anyone on the Mastuxet Greenway trails (behind Rotary Park), I was surprised that not a single person was in Champlin Glacier Preserve. At the onset of the COVID-19 restrictions, and especially the Stay at Home order, this and many other preserves saw so many people. With the Stay at Home order expired, it seems many of those people also opted to let their trail and outdoor time expire as well. Their loss; my gain.
Friday: 0 run, 1 walk
Unplanned zero. Contractors were coming over the house at 7:30, so I opted not to run in the morning. Fatal flaw, as just a very busy work day prevented me for getting out before I wrapped up my work day just after 6pm.
Got out with Jana and Brady to Avondale after dinner, as I "needed" to get out of the house for some fresh air.
Saturday: 9
Wachusett Mountain, MA. Matthew was planning an FKT attempt (which was successful), so since he was going by himself and the ride was "only" 1.75 hours, I told him I'd tag along if I didn't cramp his company. I wasn't thrilled with his idea of warming up on roads, but this was his run after all and I was just there for fun. After two miles running roads, I was chomping at the bit to hit the trails. I left Matthew to stretch out, and I ventured ahead as I would be running most of his planned route, except taking a steeper final ascent trail (Harrington) than his route, cutting off 1/2 mile at the turnaround (Balance Rock), and a slightly different diversion at finish.
 |
| Early on in the run, with Matthew well ahead |
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| Trail intersections were very well marked. |
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| Yellow "Mid State Trail" marker, and red blaze on the tree for the Harrington Trail. |
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| Top section of Harrington Trail was fairly technical. |
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| One of the trickiest sections. I ran the whole trail, but obviously quite slowly through here. |
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| At the summit. Not much for views. |
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| Old Indian Trail descent. A lot of rock hopping. |
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| 4-way trail intersection, but crystal clear markings. |
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| Crossing one of several ski slopes |
Sunday: 11
Local roads with Brady, with 2 miles on the beach. Ran 4.5 miles with the Run While You Can gang. This was my first time since pre-pandemic that I ran with anyone outside my immediate family. Felt and seemed normal with a lot of people out walking, biking, and running. The only time I saw anyone was masks was running past the Cooked Goose where people were being seated outside for breakfast. Kelley's Pace owner Jeff Anderson was amongst our group of four. His fun runs just opened yesterday, but CT allows "crowd" sizes up to 25, and he had a small group. I hope this bodes well for some form of WTAC fun runs, although obviously fun runs as we know them won't be happening this year for us.
The easy 8-ish pace suited me just after running rugged mountain trails just yesterday. Once we got down to Watch Hill, Brady and I said our good-byes as we ran the beach home. I wasn't sure if dogs are allowed on the beach up to 8am or 9am, so I was prepared to leave if needed, but once we got on the beach, we saw plenty of dogs, all friendly, and almost all off-leash and playing. I took Brady off-leash and he immediately ran into the ocean and came back with a ball. That's when I saw three other dogs looking at him, and I realized it was their ball! Fortunately I was able to coax Brady into turning over the ball, and off we went, me at a leisurely gait, and Brady sprinting up and down the beach punctuated by frequent jumps into the ocean. So fun to watch him and his energy!
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| While running on the beach, one woman pointed at my shirt and gave me a thumbs-up. I didn't quite get it, and then she said, "It's Flag Day. You wore our flag". Oh, yeah, right. I'd like to say that I planned it that way, but that would not be the case. |
Weekly mileage: 43
Weekly synopsis: All in all, a decent running week. Only disappointment was two zeros instead of a planned one.
Weekly highlight: Wachusett Mountain trail run. Good mix of trails from technical to easily runnable.
Weekly lowlight: Only that I had two zeroes.
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